In the 1960s, parents and teachers complained that the younger generation had less respect for authority than they did when they were that age.

In the 1980s, parents and teachers complained that the younger generation had less respect for authority than they did when they were that age. In the 2000s, well, you get the picture. Every generation has progressed more in the same direction because The Shift is dissolving the old habit of submission to authority.

Traditionally, organizations were run on hierarchies of authority. In order to work within a hierarchy, you were expected to surrender your willingness to think for yourself and, instead, obey orders without question. Human creativity was suppressed while such a structure encouraged people to be closed-minded when exposed to any new information or ideas.

People with open minds, on the other hand, can think for themselves and therefore become their own authorities. Being open to new ideas, they can awaken to creative, new solutions to challenges in their work and in their lives.

Once the human mind is free to think for itself, these new ideas and solutions can be gained from the three main stages of focused conscious awareness. These are:

1. Concentration. This is used to make a study and rational analysis of all available material.
2. Reflection. This is the process of digesting information, sleeping on it, and thinking it over on more than one occasion. It opens up the problem to more levels of consciousness than just the daily, waking consciousness. Each time the situation is examined, a more insightful overview is obtained, leading to deeper and longer-lasting solutions.
3. Meditation. In this state of alert awareness, the full power of your intuitive insight can be accessed. In this state, your intuition senses the whole reality of the situation and delivers information which would be unobtainable by any other means. The deeper the meditative state, the clearer it becomes as to what the best solution can be.

Like all skills, meditation requires regular practice in order to become truly effective. A sudden crisis in life can upset a beginner's attempts to find a deep level of awareness. An experienced meditator, however, will have gained the experience to be able to bypass the emotional turbulence and still reach the desired, deep levels of insight in order to find the most elegant solution.

It is very simple to become an experienced meditator. Make meditation your number one priority, each and every day. The Ultimate Meditation technique is one of many techniques you can use, and it is a very powerful one. It can be found in all its spiritually-empowering detail here: The Ultimate Meditation

As we pass through The Shift into the New Reality, we are learning to apply self-empowerment to all facets of life. Self-education and reflection mean that you can rely upon your own perceptions about what is best for you.

Traditionally, the medical establishment has been the authority on what is best for your health. That is currently being replaced by self-education in nutrition and "alternative," or natural, health care.

Religious authorities are becoming ignored in favor of spiritual self-education. Political authorities have been in a crisis of mistrust for so many years that it will take a complete revival of standards and ethics to salvage the value of political representation.

When it comes to matters of authority, remember: It is better to be your own authority than to follow the crowd, wherever that crowd is being led.

Within you is all the insight you ever need to reach wise decisions about every challenge that you ever face. No one on the planet knows more than you about your needs, your situation and your potential to find joy in all of the aspects of your life.

Basically, it all comes down to these four words:

Be your own authority.