In 2011, I received by what I refer to as a “divine download,” the Enough Message. It completely changed how I perceive not only myself but the world around me. In five simple sentences, it told me that from a worldview based in lack, humanity creates mostly lack. What we create is the hoarding and greed that decimate the natural world upon which all life depends. What we create is the belief that we “aren’t enough” as individuals to change any of it. What the Enough Message told me in no uncertain terms was this: Take the blinders off. Of the nearly 9 million species on earth, humanity is the only one – yes, the only one – who behaves according to the principle of lack. I found that humanity’s “never enough” worldview took hold globally about 5,000 years ago, in contrast to nature’s universal Enough Story which is 13.8 billion years old. Five thousand years is long enough for us to forget that “never enough” is not the only story possible, but short enough to absolutely prove it is not the only story possible.

I spent the next three years vigorously researching systems theory, social movements, quantum physics, indigenous wisdom, anthropology, evolutionary biology and cutting edge consciousness for evidence of what my heart instantly recognized as truth: we live in an Enough universe. The edges of innovation in science, technology, business, politics, economics and consciousness are brimming with abundance precisely because they tap into territory outside the mental model of lack. They explore the barely perceptible or ignored life-force and genius hidden in the subtle, the interconnected, the vibrational in our midst. For example, the community currency and resiliency movements explore ways we could share our talents and resources to build locally strong support systems. Permaculture produces food by copying nature’s naturally self-sustaining abundance. Cloud-based and wireless technologies provide information literally “out of thin air.” Quantum physics shows that what appears to be solid matter has a former and concurrent life as pure, invisible energy. Sun and wind technology tap an endless supply of sustainable, nonpolluting energy.

All of these breakthroughs set humanity up for a planetary rebirth, that is, when we assemble the puzzle pieces into the one big story that is birthing in our midst – the Enough Story. What makes this paradigm shift different from any over the past 5,000 years is that we have reached the limit of the prevailing worldview’s ability to contain our accelerating consciousness. There are just too many of us peeking behind the curtain to be able to collectively sustain the illusion. The assumption of lack, we are now able to see, is the root cause of human behaviors that create the suffering in our world, whether it is war, exploitation of people or the environment, corporate greed, discrimination, species extinction or global climate disruption. The assumption of lack is also the root cause of our individual suffering, perpetrating an overall belief that “I am not enough and don’t have enough,” directly driving depression, suicide, anxiety and addiction and the belief that we, ourselves, are the problem. In reality, people are not the problem. The faulty paradigm is.

While we squander resources trying to ameliorate symptoms, the single driver of all suffering chugs along undetected. There is a reason why natural living systems are sustainable: all the members of the system both pay it forward and give back. The free sharing of life force energy and resources characterized by an Enough system ensures continual flow for all. It would be suicidal, for example, for one cell or group of cells in an organism to hoard resources for itself at the expense of the larger organism. Rising cancer rates should be a direct wakeup call. Unwise social norms based on lack are killing us.

The Enough Message is here to tell us the best possible news: an Enough future for our planet is inevitable, unstoppable, and happening right now. How do we know? Because this is the real story of the universe. The nightmare of irreversible environmental crisis is only inevitable if we remain locked within a “Never Enough” mindset. A new worldview pulls us from the brink, releasing vast hidden resources for unprecedented genius, synergy and collaboration. In Blessed Unrest, author Paul Hawken calls the explosion of social movements across the globe “nature’s immune response.” I agree. As fractals of a universal and loving intelligence that permeates everything, we are being drawn away from a world in which “the house always wins” towards a world in which “the universe always provides.”

As I was finishing compiling my research into a book, the Enough Message delivered a final wink and a nod. I discovered that the word enough has its origin 1300’s Old English ge-nog which translates to, guess what?

Together we rise!