Longtime readers & friends can see this as a "cooling off" phase of our new era of individual expression and responsibility, that began in June, 2005. Take heart! We've made it well past the turning point. There is no going back. Yet, 2011 & 2012 will often reflect the more regimented mood of the previous order. Consider the congressional gridlock in 2011.

Indeed, you'll hear many who hearken back to the "good old days". If you listen, you'll notice that they overlook WWII, Vietnam and the Cold War, as they fondly remember.

Instead of seeing 2011 and 2012 as a slide back to the past, consider this. It's a natural progression! What was born in 8 Soil was then written in 7 Metal, and will be carved in stone in 6 Metal (2012). This is simply the process through which 8 Soil changes endure. Every energy-state is but one form of the others. It's All One in play.

This second year in the process, 6 Metal, will often provide clear insights of financial, political and military conditions and events. The mood of relative stability that began in 2011 will actually increase, yet events that are too mechanical, too authoritarian could produce severe problems. If you light gunpowder in an open field, it simply makes fire and smoke. If you consolidate the gunpowder under pressure in a metal jacket, you have a bomb.

If used wisely, this can be a very beneficial ki. Consider the possibilities. Clearer insights. Practical solutions. Well defined goals. New, more streamlined processes and organizations. New material goods and services, such as renewable energy companies and the electric car industry. In most areas, the first challenge will be to create financial stability.

Consider this year, not as returning to the ways of the past, but as an opportunity to regroup and to visualize the best way into the future -- keeping in mind all of the generations yet to be.