3 Steps to Quit the Matrix and Build an ArkJulian Rose Not so easy. But essential of course and in many respects a natural process of follow-through without which, knowing whats wrong gradually fades away. Until there are three sharp knocks on the front door and then its too late. The way we progress our conscious awareness is by bringing together, or becoming in some way part of, a group of individuals who wish to share together the experience of putting into place a manner of daily existence which fulfils our creative aspirations and practical needs. Both. If we cant do that we cant be fully human. And not being fully human means never realizing who we really are. Now the first thing which comes up is the question: How can I find such kindred spirits? And the answer is: you either know them already or you are able to intuitively recognize those on the same wave length as yourself. And dont forget, intervention from sources of higher support will come to your aid if you purposefully ask them to. The next question which comes up is: Can I commit? Everyone can commit, but ones ability to do so is dependent upon the level of emotional need and the degree to which one cannot endure ones present dysfunctional existence in the Matrix any longer. Its the point where you cannot go on compromising your knowledge and awareness of whats wrong by carrying on as though it wasnt. After all, once we do know how almost every action we take is supporting the continuation of a way of life which we no longer believe in and recognize that its also contributing to a rapidly escalating planetary ecocide then is there much choice other than to make the shift? We all have a tendency to allow ourselves to believe that there are some things that are still OK. You know, the fact that one can still afford to buy some certified organic food; take some better quality natural medicines; pick and choose which TV programme to watch; take a walk in some green space; mess around with the iPod; chill out in the bar; chat on the cell phone with some old friends. If you are financially secure enough to be able to do all these, then youre probably still holding down some sort of a job, living in an urban area, using a car, maybe have a partner, children, a home. All this is what we call our comfort zone, and its only when we feel so uncomfortable in our comfort zone and cant stand it any more that the need for step number three looms-up in front of us. To recognize that your present comfort zone stuff cannot and will not last is a key part of making that next step. Actually, you know it already, yet are not really convinced that you are right, or are thinking that maybe your current compromise is manageable for at least another year or two. Tough one that. But outside, the lockdown is moving inexorably forward. The civil liberties are crumbling. Another false flag has upped the ante. A whiff of cordite taints the air. The Police State is at your door. No action should be based on fear alone. Yet fear has its place in jolting us into action. The third step is one you must genuinely feel attracted to taking because it holds a certain promise. It presents a certain challenge. A new horizon. A brush with the unknown. You wish to embrace that challenge, experience that new horizon. Come face to face with the unknown. Coupling this to your growing awareness that the Matrix is a vicious spiders web of sophisticated mind control which counts on your slavish support for its continued existence and you will have all the ammunition you need to get out while you still can. But where to? You see, the third step places that question right up in front of us like a road block. Once again, something, some clue, some intuition may already give you a sense of the answer to this. If not, start the research while the Internet is still functioning. Now comes the big one: if you want to be able to take control of your destiny and not be led by the nose by the vampiric forces that currently run this planet, you are going to have to get very close to the ground. Beneath the radar as it were. You are going to have to participate (in some way) in the production of your own food, your own power, your own shelter. You are going to need to become humble enough to be willing to learn the simple art of survival. That which has been practiced for centuries by small farming families throughout the world. Their wisdom is your gold. The most crucial resource we have available to us if we are to be free. Free and independent enough to stake out our new ground, and to turn around and defend it when the heat comes on. To build together with fellow travellers Arks of Resistance. That is step number three. Dont think about it for too long. Ask yourself, right now, what these words are making you feel. Do they touch a chord somewhere inside you? Does some forgotten part of you long to be intimately in touch with mother earth? Feeling the subtle granules of soil between your fingers? The wind on your face? The smells of nature both pungent and sweet almost every day? If it doesnt raise a certain little thrill, but only a sense of fear, even disgust perhaps, then you are unlikely to have much chance of being part of the change you know you need. You know is needed. Intellectually, you can see that the consumptive pattern of life upon which your urban lifestyle depends is trashing the planet your physical health your sanity. You are plugged into main street. The time is already five minutes after midnight. No amount of psychotherapy, physiotherapy, hypnotherapy, aroma therapy, color therapy, naturopathy, massage, yoga, meditation or spiritual counselling is going to help you: unless you first help yourself get off your iceberg-bound Titanic. We are not all destined to become farmers and sowers of seeds. We are not all bound to become house builders and artisans. We are not all destined to live a life of simplicity on the land. But we are all in great need of finding our place in and amongst such. Not as parasites and stooges, but as participants, supporters and workmates of those who make it possible for us to eat, drink and be sheltered from one day to the next, for the rest of our lives. Hard work need hold no fear. Sweat on brow and body is part and parcel of all purposeful action. But shared the load is lightened, deeper friendships formed, achievements celebrated. Life gains a richer texture. The blood flows more freely. Sleep is deeper. Do not imagine that some powerful new technology is going to mean its all OK after all. Some super nuclear fusion program that will supply all the people of the world with free power. That is the great lie of the Matrix whose socket you will still be plugged into. Do not believe that a time will soon be at hand when food will be grown from air, in vast nanotech petri-dish laboratories whose transgenic cabbages and reconstituted chicken thighs pour off the production line straight onto your patented plastic plate. You will still be paying your fee into the Illuminati laboratory for your robotic daily dining. No, you must dump your procrastination and any day dreams of an easy way out. There is none. Know that our illusions are nothing more than the holographic mind tilts of paid-up, target toughened, thought police. Illusions manufactured to keep us slaves to the system. The system whose survival is assured just as long as we continue to fuel it with our best energies. Get out now. Take your energy back. We dont need to be complicit in aiding our own self destruction; let us now set out to build the new Arks. Arks launched into a body of water where true empathy and cooperation with fellow sailors becomes a realisable reality. Here, amongst shared work in the fields, forests, rivers and re-fertilized plains, can also rise again creative arts, crafts, music, dance. But now directed towards and inspired by a higher truth and a deeper awareness; freed from the aggressive, acquisitive commercial trappings that still stand as the tragic grand-totem for a lost and listless human race. Take up your ax, for that tree is rotten to the core. Dont let it stand between you and your destiny. Julian is an organic farmer and international activist. He is the author of Changing Course for Life Local Solutions to Global Problems www.changingcourseforlife.info His next work: In Defence of Life Essays for a Radical Reworking of Green Wisdom is to be published later this summer. 