Workshop on Ek' Waynal in Santa Rosa, CA

I'll be doing a workshop on Ek'Waynal the Mayan Hieroglyph for the Galactic Center. What did it mean to the Maya and what might it mean for us.

John Major Jenkins says we are aligning with this place now and through 2012 and that the Maya predicted this alignment when they created their calendar around two thousand years ago.

The workshop is Saturday September 25, 2010 from 1:00 - 2:30 pm at the New Horizons School,  827 Third St., Santa Rosa. Please do not contact the school as they are busy with students and are not responsible for registration or content. If you have any questions email me through this blog or contact me through Facebook. This is a new venue for me and I want to continue working with them. The school is one block from the Central Santa Rosa Library and there is plenty of parking. Near downtown, there are restaurants and bookstores nearby.

Cost for workshop - $15.00 in advance or $20.12 at the door. Pay here at the PayPal button in the sidebar or contact me through email for the snail mail address to send a check.

Then, starting on Thursday October 7 at Santa Rosa Junior College and on Monday October 11 at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, two six week courses on learning to read Mayan hieroglyphs, understanding the calendar and 2012. These courses are offered through Community Education, so you don't have to be a regular student to take them. For these courses, click here for Santa Rosa Junior College or here for San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton.

Shimmering Behind the Veil - A New Reality

Yesterday at the All Things Herbal Fair, a benefit for the Sonoma County Herb Exchange I had a booth selling my handmade herbal products. In addition to salves, soaps, body butters, tinctures and perfumes, I make a 2012 Flower Essence blend and an aromatherapy spray called Precious Essence to go with it. I have also made a button with the hieroglyph for the Galactic Center. Since I teach courses on Mayan Hieroglyphs, the Calendar and 2012, at the local community college (Santa Rosa Junior College) and also at Delta College i Stockton, I promote my classes at my booth as well.

Two women were interested in what I thought about what will happen in 2012. We discussed the importance of staying positive despite all the horrible things that are happening. We shared our pain about the oil spill and all the death and destruction that is coming from it.

I told them about an idea that came to me on the last night of my Mayan class at SRJC. I connected the fact that a huge asteroid created the Gulf of Mexico and the environmental effects of it caused the death of the dinosaurs and now...dinosaur blood is spewing out of that same area. To read about the asteroid research click here To read another article on Wikipedia about an asteroid that hit off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, click here Here's another extensive article on the origin of the Gulf of Mexico click here.

One of the women told me about a recent discovery of a bird that moves so fast, no one knew it existed. A mystery surrounded the pollination of a particular flower because no one had ever observed a creature visiting it. So they did a time lapse photo over a period of time and when they slowed it down, they saw this bird. Here was a bird that moved so fast, no one could see it. In effect, it was invisible because it was moving at a different speed that our everyday perception.

We talked about how there could therefore be a new world manifesting right now, and that most of us cannot see it yet because the frequency is beyond our perception.

What was amazing about our conversation was that it changed my state. Within moments of contemplating the possibility of an alternative reality co-existing right now raised my vibratory level.

They moved on to another part of the herb fair and I was elevated to another state.

The possibility that we will be able to move through an 'event horizon' into a higher level was energizing. I began to feel a sense of expectation and joy and as I sat and gazed about. The new world seemed to shimmer behind what I was viewing.

It has long been observed that people can only see what is accepted in consensual reality. Psychics, clairvoyants and those who see the dead are usually thought to be insane, especially as children. In fact, most children do see things that adults don't, but are shut down by those around them. They are told they are 'imagining things' and not to talk about it. As they age, they shut down their vision.

In Mayan mythology, humans in this current creation, were initially created with unlimited vision. Some of the gods were threatened by this, feeling they would lose their power and control, so they put a veil over our eyes. This idea of a 'veil' keeping us from seeing true reality, is fairly common among many cultures of the world.

The veil is being removed. For those programmed to see the glass half empty... that will be their reality. For those who see the glass half full... ditto. But for those who don't see a glass at all AHA! A whole different world is being born.

The rules of cause and effect that we have been raised to accept are changing. We are really not capable of knowing if something is good or bad because our perspective is too limited at this time. We don't know what the ultimate purpose or meaning of events may be. What appears to us as 'bad' may be 'good' when viewed from a different level.

While an undergraduate in the 60s, I read a book called Earth Abides. Since then, I have had an deep trust that no matter what....the earth abides. Humans and other beings might come and go, but ultimately, the earth will survive. It has gone through so many intense changes over the billions of years it has existed.

Humans have also survived some tremendous changes. We lived through ice ages.

There is no doubt we are in the midst of huge change on many levels. I suggest you try not to judge whether it is good or bad. Try to remain open and stay in present time. The extent to which you can accomplish this will determine your peace of mind and will make you more able to respond appropriately to challenges that will come up.

Time is Speeding Up.....

My class at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton is going well. For those of you in Sonoma County, California, there is still time to sign up for the class at Santa Rosa Junior College.

It is called Mayan Hieroglyphs, the Calendar and 2012. It starts this coming Thursday night April 8, 2010 at 7pm.

Click here for a description of the course and to go to their website.

As you may know, the earthquake in Chile caused a slight speeding up of time. I can feel it. My life is on fast forward. I wonder what the cumulative effect might be of all these quakes we have been having lately.

In addition to teaching two classes simultaneously, I will be in many upcoming shows with my herbal products business: Wise Women of the West. See my herb blog

I have gotten (through downloads) a lot of new formulas for products to assist with dreaming which is an important part of the transition we are all going through at this time.

This is the time to work on your dreams since they are crucial in your process of transformation.

The Law of Attraction refers to our ability to create our own reality. In addition to the 'reality' of our daily life on planet Earth, we have our dream reality. Some of us spend a lot of time there. My dream world is rich and I love visiting it.

I worked on my dreams for years. When I was young, I sometimes had disturbing or recurring dreams that upset me. I consciously worked with them, learning the lessons they had to offer. Now, the only time I have 'bad' dreams is when I have eaten chocolate just before bedtime Ha Ha! No bedtime brownies for me! Unless....

In my dream world there is no sense of time and so... if 12/21/2012 represents the end of time, perhaps it will be like 'dream time' where there is no concept of yesterday or tomorrow.

I recently went to Osmosis Spa in Freestone just outside Occidental for 'locals night.' (It's right across that street from that incredible bakery) Once a month, for a nominal fee, you can put your feet in the cedar enzyme bath while sipping wine or saki, chatting with friends and enjoying sushi, quiche or any number of delicious treats. They also have speakers giving talks on healing and wellness.

For the last couple of months, they have featured Dr. Dan Kenner and his latest book The Whole-Body Workbook for Cancer. Don't let the the title limit you. I recommend this book for everyone. The information he gives would help us all prevent cancer and live a better life. In his talk he spoke about the effect fear has on our health and said that one of the best ways to stay out of fear is to live in present time. He said grief is connected to the past and fear to the future. When we are in present time, they cannot control us.

I believe that joy is only possible in present time. For some of you, it may seem impossible to feel joy without a 'cause' so just start where you are. If the only time you feel joy is when something outside yourself motivates it....with children, pets, flowers, sunny day whatever...Feel It! Know that you are feeling it. The feeling comes from you in response to something that delights you. Then, bring it closer and closer to you and less dependent on outer circumstances. Joy comes from inside you and you can learn to feel it spontaneously. It may surprise you when you do feel it without a 'cause'. You will find yourself asking "Why am I feeling so happy?"

May you have increasing episodes of spontaneous joy!

Geoff Stray on Tortuguero Monument 6

If you look long enough, you will eventually find something worthwhile.

As you may or may not know, I teach a course called Mayan Hieroglyphs, The Calendar and 2012.

I have been studying the Maya over a period of 40 years. I worked on a doctorate in Mayan Studies at Tulane University. Since then I have occasionally taught courses on Mayan culture and archaeology, and reading hieroglyphs at Sonoma State University and recently at Santa Rosa Junior College. In a couple of weeks, I start a course at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, CA.

A number of years ago, I was doing research on the origin of the Mayan calendars. Calendars usually begin with a significant event. Birth or death of a prophet, reign of a king or lineage, inauguration of a kingdom or country. I could find no such event in Mayab 'Mayaland' because on the date that researchers generally agree on, August 11, 3114, there was no need for a calendar. People were living in small villages. There was no 'government'. People's lives corresponded to the cycles of nature - there was no need to record time.

However, in Egypt, the first dynasty was in progress and they already had their hieroglyphic writing system. I'll write more about my ideas on the connections between Egypt and the Maya at another time.

When John Major Jenkins came out with his theory that the calender was designed with an even that would occur at the completion of a cycle in mind, then worked backward to establish a start date, I was a convert. He made a very good case for it and I was impressed with the extent of his research. He had read all the right books and spoken to all the right people. Being outside academe, he was free to state the obvious and, it seems to me, there are those who are p'o ed that they didn't think of it first. (See my article on 7 Makaw).

I decided to update my hieroglyph course to include the 2012 material and jumped on the 2012 bandwagon. After all, I did spend many years of my life and a lot of money studying this stuff and if I could shed some light on it for newbies, so much the better. I am a good teacher to beginners because I know how to break material down into digestible units. In six weeks, my students accomplish what it took me years to do, because I know how to go back to beginners mind.

Anyway... on to the point of this posting.

As 2012 approaches and I prepare to teach my courses, I continue to read everything I can get my hands on - academic or channelled. I want to cover all the bases and see what everyone has to say, because, after all, we won't know until we get there who was/is right. I only present academic material in class, because it creates a foundation from which students can better understand and evaluate what is being said. Besides, I am not there to promote my own interpretation - although I do have one.

Needless to say there is a lot of repetition on the Internet. People who don't have a clue about what they are saying merely repeat what so and so said.

But today I hit pay dirt. Clearly Geoff Stray has done plenty of homework. His lengthy article on Graham Hancock's Forum is eight information-packed pages long.

He shows connections between many cultures and traditions. He is a 'lumper' one who shows the connections between ideas, which is often the opposite of most anthropologists and historians who pride themselves on being experts of a micro-milli segment of life and then want to promote its uniqueness. Most academics are 'splitters', tending to look at cultures as distinct units in isolation.

The focus for this incredible article is the Tortuguero Monument 6, which is only extent Mayan text which actually refers to December 21, 2012.

The site of Tortuguero, Tabasco hardly ever appears on a map because it was buried under a cement plant for years. Many of it's artifacts are damaged or lost. The text on monument 6 is the subject of much speculation and discussion these days since some of the important glyphs are just too damaged to read.

While it was discovered a few decades ago, I believe the interest in the text was renewed by the "2012 phenomenon". I think academics were motivated to look for 'evidence' by the New Age community. Did the Maya say anything about the 'end date'? There are a few texts that refer to the last time the calendar read 13.0.0.0.0, referred to as the Creation Day on the Quirigua C monument. There are texts at Palenque which refer events that occurred a few years before 'Creation Day'. But, to date, the only hieroglyph inscription that refers to the completion of 13 baktuns that will occur on December 21, 2012 is on the Tortuguero Monument 6. This is not to say there aren't others, but so far, they have not come to light.

Naturally, there is a great deal of discussion about the exact meaning and since so much of the text is unreadable, an exact interpretation is impossible since the meaning exists in a context. Mayan words, like those in other languages have different meaning depending on context.

Still, the interpretations that have been offered are intriguing. One of the more reliable interpretations follows:

The ancient Mayan monument known as Tortuguero Monument 6 has been deciphered by Dr. David Stuart of the University of Texas at Austin.

The original text and the translation of Dr Stuart are:

…uhtiiy waxak Chuwen b’olon(te’) Mak
hekwaniiy K’anjalnaah
Upib’naah Ahkal K’uk’.
Cha’ b’olon winikij ux ha’b’ waxak winikha’b’(?) ux pik
tzuhtz-(a)j-oom u (w)uxlajuun pik
(ta) chan Ajaw ux(te’) Uniiw
uhtoom ..?..
ye..?.. B’olon Yookte’ ta ..?..

…(long ago) it happened, the day Eight Chuwen, the ninth of Mak
when the Becoming-Ripe-House was constructed(?).
It was the ‘underground house’ (shrine) of (the god) Ahkal K’uk’.
It was two and nine-score days, three years, eight-score years and 3 x 400 years
(before) the Thirteenth Bak’tun will end
on Four Ajaw, the third of Uniiw,
when ..?.. it will occur,
the descent..?.. of B’olon Yookte’ at ..?..

(It will be) the descent(??) of the Nine Support? God(s) to the ?

The question marks refer to glyphs that are unreadable or where the meaning is in dispute. The parentheses show elements that are either implied or dependant on context.

There is a lot of discussion on the Internet regarding the identity of B'olon Yookte' (which may be written in a number of ways).

You can view Geoff Stray's article by clicking here.

Click the graphic to go to Graham Hancock's website.

Mayan Hieroglyph Classes Start Soon!

My course - Mayan Hieroglyphs, The Calendar and 2012 starts soon at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, CA. Six Mondays starting March 15, 2010.

In April I teach the same course at Santa Rosa Junior College in Santa Rosa, CA. Six Thursday nights.

Learn how to read ancient texts, how the calendar works and what the Maya said (or didn't say) about 2012.

This course will enable you to look at any Mayan hieroglyph text with increased appreciation and comprehension.

You can register at SRJC online by clicking here

or at San Joaquin Delta College by clicking here

See You This Summer in Vancouver!

As promised, more on the upcoming 2012 Tipping Point Conference in Vancouver in July, 2010.

Here's what the promoters have to say about it:

THE PURPOSE OF THIS CONFERENCE is to explore a radically different, more optimistic interpretation of the Mayan prophecy – as referring to the end of the world as we have known it. Instead of predicting a physical destruction of the material world, the Mayan prophecy might refer to death and rebirth and a mass inner transformation of humanity.

THE CONFERENCE BRINGS TOGETHER Jose Arguelles, John Major Jenkins, John Kimmey, Peter Russell, John Perkins, Llyn Roberts, Daniel Pinchbeck, Richard Tarnas, and Miguel Angel Vergara and in the beautiful setting of Vancouver, Canada. Following the conference will be in-depth post-conference workshops.

All conference sessions are all plenary with no overlaps. The venue where the conference is being held is Images Theatre at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby campus, Canada. Inexpensive on-campus accommodations are available

Main Conference 23-25 July 2010
Intensives 26-27 July 2010

Missed 2012 The Tipping Point in Cancun?

If you missed the Tipping Point 2012 Conference in Cancun in January or if you just can't get enough of it... there's another one coming up in Vancouver July 23-25. I'll be posting more about it as we get closer or you can click the Prophets Conference icon above.

If you want CDs or DVDs from the Tipping Point 2012 Conference in Cancun, click here.

Here's a list of the presenters and what they talked about.

2012 TIPPING POINT: THE PROPHETS CONFERENCE CANCUN

Full Set in vinyl binder - $150 CD
Full set of conference CDs

Russell Targ - $20 2-CDs
Experiencing The Future

Mario Mayorga & Rocío Ruíz - $15 CD
The Call of Mother Earth

John Major Jenkins - $20 2-CDs
The 2012 Story: Reconstructing Ancient Maya Science and Wisdom Teachings

Christine Page, M.D. - $20 2-CDs
The Return of the Great Mother

Jacque Fresco & Roxanne Meadows - $15 CD
Future By Design: Beyond Money Politics & War

Daniel Pinchbeck - $20 2-CDs
Our Entry Into Galactic Civilization

Jose Arguelles - $15 CD
On the Beam: Crossing the Rainbow Bridge - the Harmonic Convergence of 2012

Jose Arguelles with Daniel Pinchbeck - $15 CD
José Arguelles interviewed by Daniel Pinchbeck on the Great Cycles

Miguel Angel Vergara - $15 CD
Mayan Cosmology

Graham Hancock - $15 CD
A Species with Amnesia

Buy them here DVDs are also available from the same online store for abour $30.00 each.

Stan Grof was on the schedule, but was unable to attend due to health concerns. Part 1 of his talk follows:

2012 and Human Destiny:
End of the World or Consciousness Revolution?Stanislav Grof, M.D.

Since the publication of Jose Arguelles’ book The Mayan Factor: Path Beyond Technology (Arguelles 1987) brought to the attention of lay audiences the ancient prophecy concerning the end of the Maya Long Count calendar, which started on August 11, 3114 BC, and will end on December 21, 2012 AD, this date has become the focus of many articles, books, and conferences and of a forthcoming movie entitled 2012. Similar prophecies about the end of the Great Cycle can be found in many other cultural and religious groups – the Hopi, Navajo, Cherokee, Apache, Iroquois confederacy, ancient Egyptians, the Kabbalists, Essenes, Qero elders of Peru, the Subsaharan Dogon tribe, and the Australian Aborigines.

With a few exceptions, the Mayan prophecy about the end of the cosmic cycle, the Fifth World, has been interpreted in terms of actual physical destruction of humanity and of the material world, in a way similar to the interpretation (or better misinterpretation) of the term apocalypse by Christian fundamentalists, particularly the millions of American Christians who believe that at the time of this global destruction they will experience “rapture” and be united with Jesus. People who see it this way are not aware of the fact that the original and literal meaning of the term apocalypse (Greek Apokálypsis) is not destruction but "lifting of the veil" or "revelation.” It referred to the disclosure of some secrets hidden from the majority of humanity to certain privileged persons. The source of the misinterpretation of this word is probably the phrase “apokálypsis eschaton” which literally means "revelation at the end of the æon, or age."

The purpose of this conference is to explore a radically different, more optimistic interpretation of the Mayan prophecy – as referring to the end of the world as we have known it: a world dominated by unbridled violence and insatiable greed, egotistic hierarchy of values, corrupted institutions and corporations, and irreconcilable conflicts between organized religions. Instead of predicting a physical destruction of the material world, the Mayan prophecy might refer to death and rebirth and a mass inner transformation of humanity. In order to explore this idea, we have to answer two important questions, First, how could ancient Mayans two thousand years ago predict what situation humanity would be facing in the twenty-first century? And second, are there any indications that modern society, more specifically the industrial civilization, is currently on the verge of a major psychospiritual transformation? I will try to address these questions in the course of my presentation. The Mayan prophecy concerning the 2012 winter solstice has an important astronomical dimension. Over 2,000 years ago the early Maya formulated a profound galactic cosmology. Being excellent observers of the sky, they noticed that the position of the winter solstice sun was slowly shifting toward an alignment with the galactic axis.

For part 2 click here.

Seven Macaw Alive and Well...JMJ - One Hunapu?

I finished reading John Major Jenkins' most recent book: The 2012 Story: The Myths, Fallacies, and Truth Behind the Most Intriguing Date in History a couple of weeks ago. Whew! long title.

I have been considering what I could/would say about it, dealing with weather, promoting my upcoming class, etc. I guess it's time to get down to my thoughts on the book.

Jenkins does a review of the many ideas that are out there and I would say, is as objective as one could be considering how outrageous some of them are. It is useful to have his take on what's going on in relation to "2012", since he is one of the ones who originally brought it to the attention of the world.

While I could not put the book down...partly due to Jenkins' writing style and interesting way of expressing himself, I do have to say I was hoping for more new, original material. Having read all the books that are out right now myself, I did not need a review of them...but some people might. I did appreciate knowing his perspective, and, I must say, it resembles my own.

One thing is evident, Jenkins' ideas are not getting the serious consideration they deserve. He reports on an academically sponsored 2012 conference that took place last February, 2009 at Tulane University in New Orleans, where I myself worked on a doctorate in Mayan Studies in the early '80s. Many experts were on the program. But, since he is not part of the "club," Jenkins was not invited to speak.

This is one reason why I decided to leave academe. Unless you have been given the keys to the exclusive club, you are nobody. And yet, looking at the history of all disciplines it was so-called outsiders who had the most significant insights. Being basically a rebel, whistle-blower and wild woman, I figured they would probably never let me in their club and truth be told, after awhile, I didn't want to be in it anyway.

Indeed, in many cases, the outsiders were the ones who started the field in the first place. The ones who could not find answers to their burning questions in the extant realms of knowledge...the innovators, the prophets and the inspired...are the ones who move us along all through the history of civilization. Of course, they are invisible to the establishment...they challenge its very existence!

Jenkins provides a recording of part of the conference that you can listen to on his website.

The address by Anthony Aveni was particularly disturbing to me. The more he talked, the more he resembled 7 Macaw, the more he sounded like a 'poor loser'. I can hear him asking himself..."Why didn't I see that? Why didn't I think of that?" At the same time, he was ridiculing JMJ by putting his ideas in the same bin as those of Calleman or Clow.

While what Calleman and Clow have to say may have some validity....(not to me, but maybe others) but they are of a totally different ilk. Their ideas are the result of channelling, dreams, inspiration. Their work has nothing at all to do with what Mayan people alive or dead, ever thought - they made it up.

Jenkins' work, on the other hand, is based on scholarly research, observation on the ground, and communication with the other credible researchers. He has actually studied the material made available by archaeologists, anthropologists, linguists and has traveled widely. He was able to look at it all from a fresh, unbiased perspective. He had no committee to please, his tenure was not threatened. The only thing he 'failed to do,' was pay the university to sit at the feet of professors and play their game long enough to get the 'proper' credentials from them. He did not get the degrees. By the way, for what it's worth, I envision him getting an honorary PhD. from some accredited university in the near future, because he had done what no academic has done... provide an entirely plausible and well researched theory for the creation date of the Mayan calendar.

All calendars have a beginning date. It may be based on the founding dynasty of kings, a significant event, beginning of a new religion or philosophy, etc. Academics agree that there was no such event for the Mayan calendar (at least none have been discovered to date). So what was the motivating issue? To put it simply... Jenkins realized that the start date was dependent on the end date. That given the numerical system, the astronomical knowledge they had discovered, they worked backwards from an end date that would occur far into their own future.

I was struck by the genius of his discovery immediately when I first read it, for I like many others, had spent much energy trying to 'figure out' what the starting event was for the calendar.

There are those academics who do endorse Jenkins. They recognize that his research is sound and his conclusions are verifiable. They are secure beings who don't have to resort to jokes, scoffing and innuendo... like Aveni did in his presentation...in order to puff themselves up. They do not display the obvious jealousy, mean-spiritedness and down right childish behavior that Aveni does.

Rather than making Jenkins' ideas look ridiculous and unsound...Aveni succeeds in making Jenkins more credible for his professionalism.

Another new bit of info I got from the book was to learn about the inscription on Tortuguero Monument 6 which is the only one we know of at this point, that actually refers to the 2012 end date. Apparently, it is badly eroded in very important places... but nonetheless, many are at work to decipher it. Jenkins also has material on this on his website.

I highly recommend the book and due to the new material, must amend my upcoming course to include it. It is full of references, has an incredible bibliography and is well-written and interesting. (More than I can say for the academic reports he mentions as source materials.)

For those who are interested, I will be teaching my course:
Mayan Hieroglyphs, the Calendar and 2012 at two community colleges this Spring.

Starting March 13, 2010 at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, California. 6 Monday nights

Then at Santa Rosa Junior College in Santa Rosa, California, starting April 8, 2010 - 6 Thursday nights.

Still working on my CD version which I plan to market as a downloadable file and as a print on demand CD. Hope to have that out soon.