If you’ve ever dipped your toes into the wild and wacky waters of the New Age river, you’ve heard about something called the ascension process.

Most simply put, ascension is the process of waking up spiritually. You become aware that you are more than just a human in a body. You become aware that you are connected to a much bigger energy Source. Some call it God. Some call it The Universe. Some call it Martha. (I made that last one up. I’ve never heard anyone call it Martha. But someone probably does!)

It doesn’t matter what you call it, though. Once you’re aware of Source energy, you can’t ever be unaware of it.

Although, actually, you can. Like when you get caught up in your mind and your troubles and you genuinely forget that you’re connected to something much bigger and wiser and more loving than your little self. You forget all about Martha!

But that’s okay. Because then you remember again. Ascension is a process. It doesn’t happen all at once.

Ascension is also something that a lot of different people have a lot of different opinions about. Thus the “wild and wacky waters” characterization above.

There are folks who will tell you that, in order to ascend, you cannot consume any animal products whatsoever. There are those who will tell you that you have to meditate 5 hours a day and repeat the Blue Lotus Mantra five hundred times every morning. (Not a thing. I just made that up.)

But there are also those who have a lot of great information that is incredibly helpful and informative.

One of these folks is Panda Bear.

No, that’s not really his name. His name is Lee Harris.

But I have given him the name of a black-and-white, bamboo-munching, fuzz-ball of adorableness. Why? Because when I was first introduced to the work of Lee Harris, I couldn’t remember his name. Both Lee and Harris are such generic names. They can be first names or last names and they’re not particularly memorable. At least, not to me.

As a result, I couldn’t keep the name Lee Harris in my brain. Is it Harris Lee? Reed Miller? Jackson Parker?

I decided that Panda Bear was more memorable. So Panda Bear it is!

My buddy Panda Bear recently came out with a book that has been blowing my mind. It’s called The Future Human and it’s about the ascension process. The book also addresses current global events in a way that metaphysical channeled works don’t always do. At least, not in a way that feels tied to what’s happening on both an individual and global basis.

And yes, I did say channeled.

Panda Bear channels a group of entities called the Z’s.

No, I don’t love Panda Bear because I share the same name as his channeled peeps. Though that does make me even more fond of him.

Panda Bear named his channeled peeps the Z’s because when individual members of the group first contacted him, they all had names that began with Z. Eventually, they started channeling as a group, which was when Panda Bear started calling them the Z’s.

Anyway. The Z’s have lots to say in The Future Human, but one thing that really blew my mind, one thing that is continuing to change the way I see myself and the ascension process, happens at the very beginning of the book.

The Z’s talk about how we often view the ascension process as our individual human selves making shifts that affect the whole. But the bigger picture is that it is consciousness itself that is driving us forward. We just need to try and keep up with it.

I’m an American. I was raised in a culture that values individuality above almost anything else. (Except maybe money.)

As a result, I’ve often viewed the ascension process as an individual process. I, little Z, am becoming more conscious and awake. And this is affecting the whole.

But thanks to Panda Bear, I’m now seeing it the other way around. Consciousness itself is waking me up. It’s waking all of us up, whether we like it or not.

Both are true, of course. The changes in me are affecting changes in the whole. But expanding my old view of “little me affecting the whole” to include and emphasize “the whole affecting me” makes me feel more connected to the whole.

And this is, ultimately, a big part of what’s changing in the world in general. Many of us are beginning to understand, in new and important ways, that we are connected to each other. We are connected to the planet. And making decisions, both individually and collectively, from this sense of connection is what’s going to serve us best in the long run. And the short run!

Like I said, this is something we’re seeing playing out politically right now. And financially. And environmentally. The ascension process affects all the systems on the planet.

Another benefit of reading Panda Bear’s book is that it makes me feel hopeful. Yes, I’m aware that hope can feel like a precious commodity these days.

But viewing everything that’s going on from a wider context is illuminating. And inspiring.

And it’s all thanks to a black-and-white, bamboo-chomping, fuzz-ball of adorableness.

Thank you, Panda Bear!

What’s your experience with the ascension process? Share your comments below!

Want Sneak Peeks, Insider Info, and other Fun Stuff?! Become a member of OhMyGod Life!