An archaeologist and ancient historian by training, Dr. Eric Cline's primary fields of study are biblical archaeology, and the military history of the Mediterranean world from antiquity to present. In the first half, he discussed the factors which contributed to the decline and eventual collapse of late Bronze Age civilizations in the Mediterranean, and how the current trajectory of Western Civilization parallels these failed empires. There were a variety of cultural and economic links between the civilizations of the Eastern Mediterranean – Egypt, Minoan Crete, Mycenaean Greece, the Hittite Empire, and Kassite Babylonia-- during the second millennium BC, and they composed one of the first global ages, with all the different groups in contact with each other, he detailed.

Cline traced a number of causes to the downfall of these once thriving civilizations including natural catastrophes like earthquakes and prolonged droughts, migration and foreign invasions, internal rebellions, and the collapse of international trade. Scholars mention an invasion of Egypt by a mysterious "sea people" as part of the the downfall. Cline conjectured that these invaders might have been from Sicily or Sardinia. After the collapse, there was a kind of "dark age" where the art of writing, and craft of building large structures, and a centralized economy were all lost, he noted.

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In the latter half, energy practitioner Aleya Dao shared her process which involves helping people access a higher vibration, and shift their consciousness, so "they can really be in their essence and come from that deep, authentic, beautiful place." To accomplish this, she advises individuals to use "seven cups of consciousness"-- seven concepts that foster access to the higher realms. These concepts include:

• We live in a multidimensional reality with the physical dimension just one aspect of our experience.
• We are never alone-- we have guides, angels, and teams around us to assist.
• We have the ability to change our inner world, which leads to changes in the outer world.

Dao described the "team" that assists people on their evolution as being made up of separate beings who exist in another dimension, and serve as huge resources that can buffer our energy. She also spoke about her work as a sound healer, using sound to move people to a greater place of coherence and balance. Dao uses her own voice, and demonstrated this on the air, with her unique and ethereal tones. You can check out some samples of her healing sounds here.

News segment guests: Charles R. Smith, Lauren Weinstein