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The following is a transcript of an answer given by Theun Mares to an attendee of a retreat during September 2007:

"The era that we are going into now, in other words, the intent of the Unspeakable for the next step forward for us, namely the new, which is already upon us, is still for the individual, but now for the individual to see himself as part of his group. Now if we look at where average humanity is at, most people have never heard of the Toltec teachings, or the Warrior's Path, but the era where we are going into now, is where people will begin to understand, just because of where the world situation is at, that in order for the individual to survive, not only must he work on himself, but he must also start seeing himself as part of the group to which he belongs.

Now, I'm not being airy-fairy about that. It might just be, let's say, your neighbourhood. So, to keep it very simple, to try and explain it a little bit more clearly. In the time that we are moving into now, the economy will collapse, people will be losing their jobs, people will be losing their homes, because they can't afford the mortgages any more, because they haven't got the money, etc. So we are going back to an era where, first of all, the individual has to be wide awake, because you just can't sit in front of the TV and eat your hotdogs every night, you've now got to fight for survival. So you have to be aware of where you are at, and how you are relating to the people around you.

For example, the barter system will come back again. So maybe you don't have any money to get a plumber in, but you desperately need one, but you do have some vegetables that you grow, and so you ask if he will do the work in return for some vegetables. I am trying to demonstrate the principle of seeing yourself as part of the group. And the more that starts to happen, the more people will begin to realise that it is vitally important that I, as the individual, work on myself, and that I am wide awake, and that I'm living as impeccable a life as I can, but that in itself is not going to guarantee my survival. In order to survive, I also need everyone in my neighbourhood. I need the plumber, and the gardener, and the butcher, and the car mechanic, and we all need each other. In other words, it's the individual becoming aware that he is not just on his own, but he is an integral part of the group, whatever the group means to him, and in order to survive, he can only survive if the whole group survives.

In other words, technically-speaking, it's the beginning -- the very tiny beginning, but it is a beginning, nevertheless; tiny little seeds that are being sown for true group consciousness. As opposed to individual consciousness alone. And that is the change that is upon us."