Q: I'm hearing some talk about Ascension and 2012. What's it got to do with me?

A: Ascension refers to a process by which the vibrational frequencies of the energies that subsist us and our world speed up to such a degree that we move into what is described as a 5th Dimensional existence, where duality ends and those who remain begin going about life in a new way.

It is described by some as the promised Golden Age, a time of great peace and prosperity for all. Love and cooperative effort are to be the order of the day (and necessary attributes to get there), not some distant aspiration reserved only for a few.

There is also our own personal Ascension, when we merge with our souls and then into our Higher Selves, ending our existence in this world and returning us to the state from which we came before our journey through 3D life commenced.

In one sense, they are much the same, terminating our existence in this dense world of turmoil and trouble (unless we choose to return). However, the process of achievement is much different. For Ascension is the result of Divine planning for our world and universe, and will occur for all who choose to participate. The other comes as the culmination of our evolutionary journeys, and can happen regardless of what transpires in our world.

For even after Ascension, our evolutionary journeys continue, just in another "place" and "form."

So what's it have to do with you?

Many awakening souls are called to add something to our world, either to prepare for the Ascension, or to help build the world that will be required afterwards.

Maybe that means teaching others or helping them through their struggles. Maybe that means engage the existing order to loosen the energies holding it in place so a new way to conduct our affairs can begin to form.

While the Ascension is a given for our planet, participation by any individual or group, as well as the promised "Golden Age," are therefore not givens; they are only possibilities of what can be that become ever more probable with every individual act of love, kindness, and service to anchor them into our reality.

Furthermore, contrary to some beliefs, it will probably not come in a sudden magic moment. Rather, it will happen as part of a more gradual shift that occurs "over time" in the very fabric of life, one that will take place very rapidly from an historical perspective encompassing the course of human evolution, but less than instantly for those participating in it.

Of course, the concept of time is changing as well, but the point to remember is that the New World won't happen by itself; we have to create it.

As with may changes, the process promises to be uncomfortable, perhaps even tumultuous. The problems life life that awakening souls are experiencing today are preparatory for what's coming down the road, both for their own participation in Ascension as well as to enable them to assist others who may be taken quite unaware by the disintegration of the lives and world they've known.

As Ascension nears, the existing system will experience greater and greater problems. The hold of the ruling "elite" will loosen. Things that once worked won't work the same as before. That's because our increasing vibrations are triggering an expanding wave of consciousness, making it harder for those vested in its ways to maintain the status quo.

Moreover, accumulated lifetimes of garbage is playing out for us to deal with once and for all. In a very real sense, our karma (the result of the law of cause and effect) is playing out once and for all, and we can't escape the consequences of thoughts and actions (in this life and others) that are not aligned with the ways required for the post-Ascension world.

We're tested to move through those difficulties, engage the powers that be, and still prepare the way for others to follow and lay a foundation for the New World.

It's a tall order, but someone has to do it.

By asking, you've probably got a part to play in it all. Find it. Do it.

If you're struggling along the way, don't try to go it alone. Otherwise, you might perpetuate many of the problems you're trying to solve.