Have you ever felt like everything—our politics, culture, even your personal life—is being pulled apart at the seams?
If so, join the club. So many of us (not everyone) look at the world and ask, “What is going on?” We live in constant disruption from dismantling social progress to growing political polarization, from spiritual seeking to existential dread. But what if this upheaval isn’t a sign of destruction but transformation?
Lately, I've sought to make spiritual sense of what is going on by looking at this moment through two powerful lenses—Chemicalization and The Fourth Turning. These two lenses can help us understand the deeper spiritual and historical forces.
A Spiritual Shift—and a Backlash
As global consciousness begins to awaken, many people embrace a new set of values: compassion, inclusion, equity, and interconnectedness. We're realizing that every person—regardless of race, gender, culture, or ability—has inherent worth. This spiritual maturity is guiding us to dismantle outdated systems that favored the few and harmed the many.
But here’s the truth: change always stirs resistance.
As we move toward a more inclusive future, those who benefited from the old order are pushing back. In the United States, this backlash is evident in political efforts to roll back policies that support inclusivity—initiatives that seek to give everyone a fair shot.
The resistance isn’t really about policy. It’s about power. It’s a last gasp to preserve the way things used to be. Spiritually speaking, that's what chemicalization looks like.
What Is Chemicalization?
Chemicalization is a spiritual term for the inner and outer turbulence that arises when new, higher truths collide with old, entrenched beliefs. It’s what happens when growth meets resistance.
When we adopt a new idea—about ourselves, our society, or our spirituality—the old patterns don't go quietly. They fight back. There's confusion, anger, and disruption. It feels like everything is falling apart. But what's happening is that old ways of thinking are being flushed to the surface so they can be seen and released.
The breakdown is not the end. It’s the necessary discomfort before the breakthrough. Just like when we detox our bodies and feel worse before we feel better, societies experience the same phenomenon. This current backlash is not a sign that progress failed—it’s a sign that it’s working.
The Fourth Turning: A Historical Perspective
To understand this moment not just spiritually but historically, we can turn to the work of historians William Strauss and Neil Howe, who introduced the concept of The Fourth Turning.
According to their theory, history unfolds in cycles of four “turnings,” each lasting 20-25 years:
The High – A period of stability and institutional strength.
The Awakening – A spiritual renewal and questioning of systems.
The Unraveling – Decline in trust, rising individualism, and social fragmentation.
The Crisis – A dramatic upheaval that challenges old institutions and calls for collective rebirth.
We are now in a Fourth Turning—a time of disruption and reinvention. It's a moment when society must confront its most significant contradictions and rebuild from the ground up. These are the birth pangs of a new world. That means everything we’re experiencing—the backlash, the polarization, the institutional chaos—is part of the process. It's how societies evolve, how the old gives way to the new.
Where Do We Go From Here?
It can be tempting to despair when the world seems to be unraveling. But if we widen our perspective—like the bug in the Persian fable who mistook the strands of a rug for a forest—we begin to see the divine design.The world isn’t falling apart. It’s falling into place.
To navigate this moment, we must:
Embrace the discomfort of change, knowing it signals transformation.
Hold steady in our love, compassion, justice, and unity values.
Release attachment to how things were and be open to what wants to emerge.
Seek the higher vision—the “Ideasphere”—where divine solutions await.
In every crisis, there is not just danger but opportunity. A new turning is coming. The question is: who will we choose to be as it arrives? Whether viewed through the spiritual lens of chemicalization or the historical pattern of The Fourth Turning, this moment in time is not random—it is sacred. It is the chrysalis before the butterfly, the fire before the phoenix rises.
Yes, the world feels chaotic. But within the chaos lies a more profound order—and a call to manifest our divine potential. Let us answer that call with courage, wisdom, love, and action.
Peace and Blessings,
James