I found this interesting and disturbing at the same time. My own biases will be reinforced in what I read, see and buy. Wow.

EPIC is based on the notion that humans will hold for the next ten years in a pattern based on power by association where religion, politics and patriotism rule; and on power by symbol as exemplified by the influence of branding on human ego.

However, humanity is quickly evolving, and is entering a cycle of power by reflection - a state where true power emerges through the process of turning inward. We will ask ourselves to define who and what we are as individuals. This is the human essence, and forces like EPIC will have little staying power because we are essentially too curious, too diverse, too bold, too creative, and too demanding as a species to be defined indefinately by forces outside ourselves.

In 2004, America began to awaken from her deep sleep of image and sound byte based reality which is externally driven. Many of us became fascinated once more with the issues of society, turning inward and asking "what has value to me". From here, we will continue to be drawn into thoughts and actions that will contribute to the new social, global renaissance. It will be like nothing before it, not because of it's synthesization of global information giants, but because information for its own sake will receed in value as it becomes more common - like all things do, and be replaced once more by the things that have become rare: shared truth and meaning.

As information consumers, we will progressively be driven by a collective unconscious that needs to agree on basic truths. Devisive illusions driven by commerce will not sufficiently capture our imaginations to keep us engaged. Those who do not see this coming will loose the interest of the emerging human culture. Those who hold space for the making of meaning and the formation of collective truth will form the nexus of global, societal - human - connection.

The most glaring disconnect at present lies in the perception that corporate power - which relies on power by association and power by symbol will ultimately subsume human power. How silly! If human needs are not met by corporations in the long run, corporations will fail. Otherwise we are lost eating our own tail. We are too intelligent a species to allow this obvious truth to go unnoticed.

Ultimately, we will understand that we must foster human "being" in order to maximize our power to live and enjoy life. Such power is driven by the soul's journey to perfection, not by the ego's desire for tailor made information.

We will come to eschew war as our means for getting high on conflict, and return to debate. Authentic debate - about important things.

Already added into the EPIC mix of mega mind melds, we find social innovations like MoveOn.org. and others, and we realize that human beings are far deeper than their pocketbooks.

The shift to "simple living" that is just beginning in America will continue, revealing excessive purchase power for what it really is: false, shallow, and ultimately boring power driven by conformity to external influences - however cleverly reflective of individual tastes and beliefs. Our collective excitement will continue to emerge as we embrace differing styles and points of view. This is already undeniably visible when we compare who we are today with who we were just fifty years ago. It is our curiosity and our fascination for divergence that make us human, much more so than our ability to custom tailor information to our narrowest views.