The Maya and 2012

Dawn of a New Day - a New Age

2012-01-01T17:27:00.000-08:00

I will be offering my 6 week hieroglyph class again at Santa Rosa Junior College starting Thursday March 1. Click here to go to their website to register.

Do not be fooled by the fact that this course is offered through Community Education. It is a full on academic level course with homework - although you will not be graded or receive academic credit. When I taught it at Sonoma State University many years ago, you could receive credit. The only complaint I've had so far was that it was 'a language course and that it was difficult'. Well...it is a course in Mayan Hieroglyphs and I guarantee you, if you show up, listen and do the work, you will learn a lot!
Here we are - the year we have all been waiting for... or dreading as the case may be. Show time!

Based on my 40 years studying the Maya, the Egyptians and many other cultures, and my lifetime studying religion, mysticism, esoteric traditions, languages etc., this is what I believe is happening/will happen. We are going to experience some 'visitations' from 'extra-terrestrials that will not be deniable by our governments. They may land on the Capitol Mall or at the Vatican, for example.

They will be seen by hundreds, maybe even thousands. It will become irrefutable that we have been contacted in the past, and that in fact, our cultures have been seeded and highly influenced through time by them. That we, in fact, contain 'extra-terrestrial' DNA, referred to up to this point as 'junk DNA' (how could we have 'junk DNA' in the first place? Duh), so that we are related to them biologically.

They will again assist us as they have in the past, to make our next step in consciousness. Up until now, there have been people who have been in contact with 'them', but usually these people have been deemed part of a fringe, if not totally nuts to most people. During this year, the contacts will increase, culminating in a major event when the Nine Lords of the Night, the Bolon ti Ku, also known as the Egyptian Ennaead, will be made manifest. This has been translated as "a seeing, the display of the god(s) in a great investiture".

The veil will dissolve between our worlds and we will see them. Mayan texts which speak about what happened on the last Creation Day, corresponding to our date August 11, 3114 BC say that it was preceded by the arrival of a female and a male deity.

The one text on Tortuguero Monument 6, that speaks about the upcoming 'Creation Day' ie cycle ending refers to the Nine Gods (some say God 9, but I believe this is a mis-translation, since The Nine Lords of the Night are called by that same name).

Solstice 2011 - One Year to Go

2011-12-22T14:43:00.000-08:00

Here we go...if you thought there was a lot of actions (hype) surrounding 2012 before, you will be mowed down by it now. EVERYONE is getting on the bandwagon.

The most recent buzz is about the so-called 'second reference' to the 2012 end date found on the Comalcalco brick.

The complete Long Count date for the last day is 13.0.0.0.0. 4 Ahau 3 Kankin.

The last part, 4 Ahau 3 Kankin, is called the Calendar Round (CR). It consists of a tzolkin date (Ahau) from the 260 day calendar and a haab date (Kankin) from the 360+5 day calender. These two cycles run continuously and repeat a particular combination every 52 years.

This was one of the repeating cycles connected to the Mayan prophetic tradition. It was thought that events would recur each time a particular combination came up. Another cycle for prophecy was the katun cycle used in the Chilam Balam.

This second reference consists of a CR and some difficult to interpret glyphs which might mean 'he/she/it arrives'. In the prophetic tradition, each time period has an 'event' ie verb associated with it which is performed by god(s) or natural phenomena. By analogy, we can say something like: "on Dec 21st, the Sun stops in the sky" (the solstice). If someone read that a thousand years from now, they might think that the Sun actually stops in the sky...wow! what would that mean? they might speculate...the end of the world?

With no other calendar glyphs besides a Calendar Round date on the brick there is no way to know which 52 year cycle it refers to. And even if the 'event glyph' (verb) is the same as that on Tortuguero Monument 6, it still means nothing as it would be expected. Just like if we see July 4th something written in the U.S., we assume the text has something to do with Independence Day.

I have read a number of posts about this...which, by the way, are only 'cuts and pastes' of each other. That is, the same article copied over and over, by people who know nothing about the Mayan calendar, ancient Mayan tradition or much else for that matter.

If you want to learn how this all works, I will be teaching my hieroglyph class again at Santa Rosa Junior College starting March 1. This is a 6 week class, where you will learn the basics of decipherment, the calendar, the mathematical system and much more. You will be able to read Mayan texts that refer to the last Creation Day.

In case you might think I am nothing but the facts...here is something that is fun. Your Mayan/Aztec horoscope. No such thing really, but fun to look at. Click here. WARNING you will get on their email list and will receive copious quantities of stuff you might not want.

A good website to figure out Mayan dates using different correlations etc. is this one. Click here. This is a legitimate resource and you won't receive anything from them.

2011-12-01T18:23:00.000-08:00

We are fast approaching the year we have been looking forward to or dreading depending on your perspective. We can't say nothing is changing, because, for most of us, change has become constant.

Astrology can provide a way to navigate these times. Go to my astrology blog to schedule a reading.

Some say it will be the end of the world....well, that is happening already. You can easily say that life as we knew it is over. As to what will happen on December 21? If you are not living in present time, you will miss it...just as you miss what is happening RIGHT NOW!

It is time to see how you create your own reality and thus your own future.

Time is speeding up...we don't have to wait years or lifetimes to feel the effects of Karma. Many people report 'instant Karma'. This proves the idea that we create our own reality. Instant Karma shows us that. We are seeing the Truth of the ancient traditions revealing itself.

It is important to move towards increased integrity, taking responsibility for our words and actions. The Shift we are going through will makes us better co-creators, so we need to make sure we are creating the best possible world. Paying attention to our dreams, feelings and relationships will show us what works and what
does not work. Developing resilience and being willing to let go, will help us deal with inevitable losses.

Meditation and other techniques which improve your ability to focus attention can help you still fearful thoughts, which only distract you and keep you from being able to act in present time.

As we move into this time, I am beginning to have more and more experiences of bleed-through from other dimensions. I am finding the mystery school information from ancient Egypt is serving as a guidebook for this Shift. The ancients provided us with operating manuals geared for this time.

I think with the fall of Mubarak (and the subsequent deposition of Zahi Hawass the former Egyptian Antiquities Minister) information that has been withheld from the public will be revealed and it will be quite significant.

Up until recently, I have avoided making connections between the Maya and the ancient Egyptians, but recent events, coincidences and synchronicities are showing me more and more connections.

I now believe that they both come from a 'mother culture' because of the extent of similarities in their cosmologies and hieroglyphic writing system.

The Nine Lords of the Night, the Bolon ti ku referred to in the Tortuguero Monument 6 are the Nine great Osirian gods and goddesses of Egypt - the Ennead. They were part of the original creation and
they will return for the next re-setting.

Osiris, the Egyptian god of vegetation is the Mayan Corn God, Yum Kaax, both represented by the seed - the end and the beginning. In the picture on the left, Osiris is in the center, notice the 'vegetation' on his head. The Mayan Corn God, Yum Kaax on the right, has corn tassels on his head.

In the ancient myths both undergo death and rebirth, siring their son(s) through the intervention/assistance of wood/trees and birds.

Memory plays an important part in the creation/death/rebirth stories, because it is through re-membering that the god is restored. Memory is one of the most important functions of the mind. During the process of the Shift, we will have access to ancient memory - the akashic records with which to re-member, re-create the world when it appears to be disappearing. It will seem to fade out and it will be our job to keep the vision of the beautiful blue planet alive as we go through the event horizon. Our collective memory will re-establish the world on another dimension.

Mayans and Egyptians...any connection?

2011-11-01T13:41:00.000-07:00

What does the end of the Mayan calendar have in common with Egyptian cosmology?

You may not know that in addition to studying the Maya since 1970, I have also been studying the ancient Egyptian language and culture. I was drawn to Egypt after watching a movie at the drive-in theater with my parents called "Land of the Pharaohs". I was around 5 years old. So...I have actually been studying Egypt since then...around 58 years!

Now that I have come the this level of research, I know enough about both cultures to be able to point to real correspondences. I will write about this shortly, for now, I want to announce a program coming up at the end of the month that is well worth participating in.

Unlocking the Pyramid Code: Ancient Egypt as a Model for Empowerment, with Dr. Carmen Boulter. She will be interviewing 6 experts on ancient Egypt including John Anthony West and Robert Bauval. This is a live stream coming from Europe on 6 Sundays and is available at different times in your local area. On the West Coast of the U.S., it will be at 11am.

You can sign up to receive this live stream on your computer and participate in the discussions, since you will be able to ask questions and interact with the participants.

To find out more click here or click the Prophets Conference banner above.

My research is showing the many ways that these cultures were connected, possibly coming from an older parent culture (Atlantis?) or even extra-terrestrial.

I do feel that this material is coming forth at this time to help us with the Shift we are going through. Ancient Egyptian rites assisted people in transformation from one state to another. These rites were both for the living and the dead. I, myself, facilitated these rites in a past life serving at the Temple of Denderah.

I will be hosting this program in my area in Northern California. If you are interested click here for more information.

October 28th - NOT

2011-10-10T18:28:00.000-07:00

I find it amazing that someone like Calleman is considered "a Mayan scholar", when, clearly the guy has come out of left field with ideas that are not at all supported by the over 100 years of actual scholarship in the area of Maya studies. It proves that if you continue to repeat stuff, eventually people will come to believe they are true. Repetition does NOT make something true friends.
Generally, people don't bother to find out the truth for themselves. They rely on others partly due to time and energy constraints. Things are just too complex and there is only so much time in a day. The problem with this, is that unless they do some research themselves, they will not be able to determine the credibility of so-called experts. They will continue to pass on erroneous information.

The fact that Calleman has been able to impose his ideas on the general public continues to turn my stomach. So many have taken his fantasy for the truth. His material is not based on anything real in Mayan culture past or present.

According to Calleman, the end of the calender will occur this month. BS!!!!

Who is this guy?

Recently I read yet another 2012 book. 2012 and the End of the World: The Western Roots of the Maya Apocalypse, by Matthew Restall and Amara Solari. Both academics, they show how the apocalyptic views of the first Catholic missionaries who went to Mexico during the Conquest period influenced the Maya and thus showed up in documents written during that period. The so-called predictions in the Chilam Balam which reflect the Book of Revelations are there because the scribes who wrote them had already taken on beliefs from the Judeo-Christian Bible. The book is short and easy to read. I recommend it.

Metamorphosis - Shape-Shifting Into a New World

2011-09-20T13:28:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned at my talk "2012: End or Beginning?" the other night at the Petaluma Museum, transformation will take place naturally. It is a natural process for creatures to evolve.
I gave the analogy of a caterpillar who one day gets the notion to start building this thing - a cocoon, not having any idea what it is or what it's for. One day, when it's nearly done, she knows she has to get inside and seal it up, closing herself off from friends and family. Not understanding why or for what purpose, merely that this is what she must do.
The cocoon hangs from a branch for a period of time, but she has no idea how long she will hang there.
Letting go of all desires and needs, she feels herself dissolving. She enters a timeless state.
One day, just as mysteriously as was the beginning of the process, it is time to emerge. She makes her way out of the cocoon and realizes her whole self is transformed. No longer a creature of the earth, she now can fly. Her lumpy old body gone, instead she has wings that glimmer in the sunlight. She is nearly weightless.
She can fly from flower to flower. She is called by scent and color to travel long distances, visiting places she couldn't have imagined in her previous state. The world is all new and it is beautiful.

Once upon a time,
I dreamt
I was a butterfly...Suddenly
I awoke...Now, I do not
know whether I was then
a man dreaming I was
a butterfly, or whether I
am now a butterfly dreaming
that I am a man.

- - - - Chuang-Tzu

Ek' Waynal CD ready to order! Get yours today

2011-05-05T13:36:00.000-07:00

It's ready! The CD of Ek'Waynal, The Galactic Center and 2012 is now ready for order.
Learn what the Maya said about 2012, and how the Galactic Alignment affects us today.

Current astrological events confirm the power of Now! The veils are thinning, transcendent experiences are available to everyone.

How can you navigate the Shift?

This hour long PowerPoint presentation is accompanied by a recorded narration by Hamida Judith Dides, M.A. who started studying the Maya 40 years ago. As an anthropologist, linguist, astrologer and spiritual seeker, Hamida is able to see the connections between levels of knowledge.

Get your copy by clicking the PayPal button in the Sidebar "Ek'Waynal CD".

It's 21.95 plus 3.95 for shipping and handling.

Who is Haramein?

2011-03-08T12:38:00.000-08:00

Do you know about Nassim Haramein?

A rare opportunity to attend a Delegate Program offered by The Resonance Project coming May 6-8 in Petaluma! Check it out here and here.

Haramein teaches all over the world and having him coming here is so exciting. Not to be missed!

When I attended an evening presentation a couple of years ago by one of the 'emissaries', as Haramein's assistants are called, I realized I found something that was truly 'cutting edge'. A 'psychics' that united science and spirituality. Unified Field Theory.

I would not even try to explain Nassim Haramein's work because it is still beyond my comprehension, so I invite you to go to his website and view his YouTube videos at The Resonance Project website.

Let me say this - it has to do with a theory of the whole Creation, black holes, time/space, time travel, worm holes and ancient temples. If any of those words spark you to check it out... do it!

Haramein is the physicist of the New Age. He may just have an answer if not THE answer to solving many of the current issues that are facing planet Earth. 'Radical' ideas that explain all those things that don't make sense. He is able to communicate complex ideas so that you can totally grok them. Included in this weekend event:

"Meditation techniques based on this knowledge will also be offered as an invaluable tool to aid in further integration, as you learn how to more effectively tap into the vacuum energy and the curvature of space and time and connect to your own personal singularity."

Now if that doesn't whet your whistle, what would?

Hope to see you there.

(Oh, and by the way, this is not a paid ad, nor do I earn anything from promoting Nassim - although I am not adverse to the idea)

12/21/2010 or 12/21/2012?

2011-03-04T17:34:00.000-08:00

For those of you who were fortunate enough to witness the Lunar Eclipse on the Winter Solstice (I was), and who know the Creation story of the ancient Maya, you may have felt that that was the big event - 12/21/2012!

It was a powerful event that is still resonating in me. After all, the alignment with the Galactic Center does take place over 36 years and the anthropologists have been discussing the correlation question for decades. They could be wrong!

2012 is not only a date, it is also an event- an event that occurs in the Underworld (the night sky). The celestial bodies and areas of the sky represent beings operating in a world. It is a sky drama, which is reflected here on earth and which the ancient Maya sought to replicate through their ceremonies and architecture.

Soon Neptune will enter Pisces, its natural sign. The veils will be lifted. Another opportunity to examine aspects of our life and by extension, our world, that are no longer working.

With the lifting of the veils, we will have increased access to other dimensions and also other beings. If we cannot deal with 'aliens' to our country from across the border, we surely will not be able to deal with ETs! Ha ha! What are you going to do when someone from Andromeda takes your job?(Surely they wouldn't want it). In fact, most will see the petty level they have been existing on- that all those things we deem important will just be gone. Reality as we know it is dissolving.

Our connection to Source is all that matters.

Ek' Waynal Workshop at Songbird Center in Cotati

2011-01-24T13:52:00.000-08:00

Workshop on Ek' Waynal in Santa Rosa, CA

2010-08-24T15:39:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-07T15:24:00.000-07:00

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.....

2010-04-03T13:24:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-01T13:47:00.003-08:00

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!

2010-02-26T18:00:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-02-20T16:53:00.000-08:00

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?

2010-02-19T16:24:00.000-08:00

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?

2010-01-19T16:51:00.000-08:00

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.

New Moon Conjunct the Galactic Center

2009-12-13T15:46:00.000-08:00

The upcoming New Moon in Sagittarius at 24°39' on December 16, 2009, is conjunct the current location of the Galactic Center at 26°55'. To read more about it, go to my astrology blog.

For a Galactic Center reading, contact me.

The Feel is For Real

2009-12-12T15:25:00.000-08:00

Just finished a book by Gregg Braden "Fractal Time: The Secret of 2012 and a New World Age". His voice is calm and reassuring, unlike that of other books I have read that seem to preach and scream about the necessity of change. I appreciate that.

His basic thesis, as I understand it, is that time, like all elements of Nature is fractal. Like a hologram, there are repeating patterns that differ only in scale. What happens in a particular piece of time is reflected in larger time cycles and vice versa.

He discusses material from many sources.. not just the "usual suspects," although you cannot write any book about this topic without mentioning Jose Arguelles and John Major Jenkins. He gives a more detail about what the Hopi have said about this time period. He also brings in the information from the "bible code" regarding 2012.

He has developed something called the Time Code Calculator which is based on the mathematical principal known as the 'golden proportion' that was used to build the Great Pyramid in Giza. You can access it here.

Braden claims that events in the life of individuals, nations, and even the planet, repeat and that the timing of those events can be predicted based on a 'seed event'. While calculating the possible repetition of the seed event will give us a probable date...it is not necessary for the event to recur. All the elements may be present and still the event may not happen.

This, of course, ties in very closely with the prophetic Mayan texts known as the Chilam Balam. Based on the notion that history repeats itself, the Jaguar Priest prophesied into the future. The Chilam Balam that we have found date from the Colonial period of Mayan history, but they are believed to be based on earlier practices and texts.

Indeed, the Maya concept of time is based on fractals... that is many levels of time occurring simultaneously. Repeating cycles within cycles.

I got two useful things from this book.

First, he refers to a Buddhist teaching that says "Reality exists only where we create a focus." I would love to know where this came from... but it is not necessary.

Lately, I have been trying to find my next step. Not by 'figuring it out,' but rather, by feeling my way, listening. But as usual, I tend to look outside of my current circumstances for an answer. That is... whatever I am doing now, cannot be what I am supposed to do....because it is 'not working.' Sound familiar? This one sentence changed all that. Rather than looking for something different from what I am already doing... I feel the meaning is I should do it more. That is, put MORE energy into it... FOCUS on it rather than always looking out the window so to speak. DO IT with my whole being. In Latin, the word 'focus' means hearth, cooking fire. It is the 'focal' point of the home. The fire in the heart/hearth. Make my heart/hearth the center of my life. In Roman times, the fire place evolved into the altar where the sacred fire was kept lit. In Mayan cosmology, the 'three-stone place', ie, the heart/hearth of the cosmos, is the creation place.

This leads to the second thing I got from this book, which was the nature of the change we must make to thrive during these times.

I am not sure if Braden was aware of the number of times he used the word 'focus' in the book, or if he knows the etymology of the word, but it stood out for me. It was lighting up like a beacon. What is my focus?

He writes about the research by physicists that shows the effects consciousness has on matter, citing some experiments that have been done to demonstrate this. He talks about how a particular team of scientists noticed a rise in global magnetism during 9/11 and other 'world shattering' events. This led to research and observation of the relationship between emotional states, health, and magnetic fields.

He writes about the Institute of HeartMath and its founder who said, "regulating emotions is the next frontier in human evolution." This has significance for me because I have believed this for quite awhile. My years of study and practice of Sufism, a 'heart-centered' spirituality, aims at healing the broken heart of humanity. Basically asserting that it is because we are broken-hearted that we act out in destructive ways, reacting rather than responding, living in fear rather than love and trust.

As an aromatherapist and flower essence practitioner, my role is to serve as a conduit between the plant and human worlds. I truly believe that the plant world is in many ways more advanced than the human. Plants came before animals and made animal life on this planet possible. Every step in evolution was made first by plants, then the animals/humans followed. So, now, we need to trust the plant kingdom to lead us in the next step of our evolutionary journey. Incredibility, scent affects the emotional center immediately. It bypasses the rational mind and goes right to the instinctual level. Flower essences work on the energetic level, again below the radar of the mind. Both these modalities are effective in helping us toward a heart-centered reality.

Braden says that the key to our transition lies in our collective feelings about the change. I agree completely. How we feel about what is going on right now is crucial. Because we, in the modern, western world, are so accustomed to using our mind to understand, we don't know how to do it any other way. Seeking other modalities seems 'silly', 'crazy' or 'weird'. The closest thing we come to any other way of knowing is if we have a religious belief - which is the only kind of 'irrationality' we accept. But, for most people, religious practice and belief eroded away a long time ago. We may still participate, but don't feel anything.

One thing I am aware of is how effective the media are at numbing us. We are becoming armored by watching and hearing all this bad news. We can't allow ourselves to feel because it is overwhelming. How many starving, drowning, brutalized people can you seen in the news? But unfortunately, what this also does is numb us to our immediate circle of friends and family. Numb to the suffering of humanity just to survive the day, we have become numb to our own life. The way out of this is to fast from media. Don't watch it. Don't listen to it. Don't read it. It's true, there's little you can do about it. But what you can do is be sensitive to those in your immediate world. Open to those around you. Help them when you can. If everyone did that...all would be cared for.

How we feel is more important that what we think. The New Age has made us all familiar with 'your thoughts create your reality.' Let's go one more step.... how you feel affects your thoughts. Joe Miller, an incredible man I never met, but who was well known my many of my Sufi friends said, "you can get more stinkin' from thinkin' than you can from drinkin', but the feel is for real".

Thank you Gregg Braden for reminding me of my focus.
His website

Research Continues - Jaguar Paw and the World Tree

2009-12-02T14:37:00.000-08:00

I am in the process of preparing my course on Maya Hieroglyphs so that it can be purchased as a downloadable file or on CD. Many people have expressed an interest in my course and I want it to be accessible to as many people as possible.

I will be teaching the course "live" in March at San Joaquin Delta College and at Santa Rosa Junior College starting in April.

Meanwhile, due to the release of the Hollywood film: 2012, many more people are becoming aware of the 'end of the Mayan calendar' and the energy is building.

Personally, I am going through the Shift and have been for some time. It is something I have anticipated and prepared for as much as one can prepare for something like this. The birth process is both painful and ecstatic. Few mothers would say it was easy, but most would say it was worth it. So, too, we are all going through a birth process. But first, we must undergo the death and rebirth.

As I have said before, I am trying to read everything I can find (more and more coming out each day) about 2012, both to be most prepared for my class and students, and to see what people are thinking about it.

The '2012 phenomenon' is developing a life of its own and I wonder how we will all feel on Dec. 22, 2012 if nothing happened. Talk about 'the morning after'. Ha ha!

I am truly amazed at all the Mayan elders who have suddenly come out of woodwork in the last couple of years. Where have they been hiding? Have they been invisible?

And as for all these prophecies. When were they written or received...in 2005? I can't help being skeptical. But I believe it is a healthy level of skepticism. I am willing to change my mind and do so on a regular basis. I want to be convinced, not just with my head but mostly with my heart, my gut, my intuition.

I am on many lists and recently received a link I found very useful, because it presented a large cornucopia of ideas and information, from several perspectives.

Although I personally do not subscribe to the Dreamspell calendar of Jose Arguelles, there are many people who do. It must be said that this is not the traditional tzolkin as used by the ancient Maya and some living Maya. The Dreamspell calendar is inspired by the tzolkin, but is a calendar created by Arguelles through his own intuitive processes. This has its own value, but it is not the same thing as the traditional tzolkin.

Even though this site promotes the Dreamspell calendar of Arguelles, it still offers valuable general information about 2012 and thus is well worth viewing.

Through it, it got to information about monument 6 at Tortuguero, which actually refers to the 2012 end date in particular. Other texts (such as that on the Temple of the Cross in Palenque) refer to the last 13 baktun ending/creation day that occurred in 3114 B.C. This inscription at Tortuguero has been badly damaged, (wouldn't you know it?) and work is still being done on it.

It seems to say that on the end day, a god named Bolon Yokte K'u may descend. John Major Jenkins discusses this on his site and it is very interesting. I am fascinated by what the jaguar paw at the bottom of the world tree refers to and if anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them. It's got to be a star or planet or some other celestial body - perhaps a comet passing by at a particular time. In any case, the idea of a god descending on that date could mean a whole lot of things.

2012 The Movie

2009-11-10T15:51:00.003-08:00

The new Hollywood movie entitled 2012 is scheduled to come out Friday the 13th. From what I have seen of the trailer... it is a typical end of the world scenario with incredible special effects. Probably worth seeing on that account. But only on that account.

While it may reflect effects caused by earth changes due global warming, sun spots or electro-magnetic shifts, it is certainly not the whole story ... not the most important part of the story.

The ancient Maya said we were in the 4th world, the Aztecs, the fifth. Both wrote about 'ends of the world' in terms of cataclysm, flood, fire etc. This movie shows all of that.

Personally, I have always known that the world would end in my lifetime. As a child growing up in the 50s I was accustomed to those nuclear drills where you 'duck and cover' under your desk. Ask an extremely intelligent child (you might ask... what happened?), I knew this would not save me or anyone

When I got a little older I realized that the end of the world was more like the end of a type of consciousness. I knew we would not blow ourselves up, because the imminent possibility of doing so would usher in a change of mind as I called it then. I was right.

People have changed a lot since 1960. The whole planet has changed a lot since 1960.

The important part of the story, whether we see an apocalyptic end of the world or not is usually left out. Because it is the hardest part - self transformation. It is so hard for people to change. Do you actually think we can do what has to be done to stop the cascading effects already put in motion on this planet, in time to save the Earth? It took hundreds of years to do the damage, which some say began when we started growing our own food - tilling the soil, changing the natural order. Even if everyone you know (who is probably at least as enlightened as you are, right?) stopped all destructive activities right now... what about all the millions nay billions, who are just dying to start doing them? such driving cars, having the modern lifestyle. with all the gadgets and products. Just the magnitude of plastic floating on the surface of the planet is enough to kill us all. When I was in Morocco a couple of years ago, the landscape was so filled with black plastic bags, it looked like flocks of blackbirds. I heard on KPFA the other day that all the plastic that has ever been created since the 30s is still here.

Okay, so we are facing destruction due to environmental degradation. Maybe we can fix it, maybe we can't. But it seems to me that this is ultimately not the real point. it is about inner transformation

People who know nothing about Islam, throw the word jihad around like 'cool' or 'hot'. Many Muslims don't understand what it is. The Qur'an speaks of two types of jihad. The little jihad, where you struggle with external enemies - 'enemies on the outside' like having a war, for example. The Great Jihad, and the one almost everyone avoids.. is the one where you struggle against yourself in a process of purification and transformation. Trying to be a good human being. Working at being your best - which includes having compassion, forgiveness, love, acceptance - values all religions have at their core. This much harder and it must be done one moment to the next, over and over again; it must be sustained.

As we are distracted by movies such as 2012, end of the world, apocalyptic cataclysms, those who are on the 'little jihad,' fight the outer battles, blame others for their problems and seek to 'destroy' them, when the real work is on oneself. Movies such as this one entertain us, scare us, and maybe make us wonder, but... they do nothing to move us along our real journey, which is to transform into beings of light. We are distracted by the ephemera of appearances. not seeing what is real.

The world ends everyday. We die everyday. We are reborn everyday too. Do you know for sure that when you go to sleep you will wake up? Do you know for sure when you wake up you are the same person who went to sleep? How do you know? External clues, relationships etc. But what if all those contexts and referents were gone? How would you know that you even exist?

Scary huh? actually scarier than a movie like 2012. That's why we avoid the Great Jihad - the work of inner transformation, in favor of the little jihad externalizing things. Easier to watch death and destruction than to build a soul.

Here's the link for 2012 The Official Movie Site. See you at the movies. But will I see you on the pilgrimage? in the ashram? at the retreat? Are you willing to do the inner work? Do you want to?

These are the questions that movies like this fail to address and so for me they are 'eye candy' Interesting, but not useful

2012 Official Movie Site.

Conference in Cancun January 22-24

2009-11-08T15:13:00.000-08:00

John Major Jenkins has a new book out and I have been trying to find where I can buy it. Went to his website and learned about this upcoming conference in Cancun, Mexico that sounds like it is not to be missed.

Put on by The Prophets Conference, 2012 Tipping Point will feature Jose Arguelles, Stanislov Grof, John Major Jenkins, Graham Hancock and others.

Here's what they have to say about the conference:

2012 will be here before we know it, and what is going to happen? To quote Dan Brown (author of the Da Vinci Code) from his just released book, The Lost Symbol...

“For millennia, mankind had wandered in the darkness…but now, as had been prophesied, there was a change coming. After hurtling blindly through history, mankind has reached a crossroads. This moment had been predicted long ago, prophesied by the ancient texts, by the primeval calendars, and even by the stars themselves. The date was specific, its arrival imminent. It would be preceded by a brilliant explosion of knowledge…a flash of clarity to illuminate the darkness and give mankind a final chance to veer away from the abyss and take the path of wisdom.”

2012 TIPPING POINT: THE PROPHETS CONFERENCE CANCUN, taking place 22-24 January 2010, and followed by a 4-day sacred Mayan temple tour, is bringing together the leading researchers to explore this global transformation. Come to Cancun and share your questions and visions.

Study Mayan Hieroglyphs in 2010!

2009-11-08T13:09:00.004-08:00

This coming spring semester of 2010, you have two opportunities to take my class on Maya Hieroglyphs, the Calendar and 2012. Starting in March at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, CA then in April at Santa Rosa Junior College. You can register online, in person, or by phone. The courses will not appear on the website until the registration period begins for Spring 2010, so don't go there now.

This is a 6 week class where you will to read what the Maya actually wrote about 'period endings'. Hands-on exercises will lead you through the decipherment process and provide you with strategies for viewing any text with increased understanding.

Students are surprised at how much they can learn in just 6 weeks. I will put you through your paces in this class. I am effectively putting a whole semester into 12 hours. But... that semester in a university would cost you thousands of dollars and you could not even take the class unless you were a student in an academic program. Since my course is offered through Community Education, anyone can take the class and it is affordable.

My years of experience teaching anthropology, linguistics, and ESL, as well as working in State and Federal government as an information specialist, tour guide and researcher, have honed my skills at communicating complex and unfamiliar information.

I live in Sonoma County, but I will be in Stockton the day before and day after class each week during the 6 weeks of the course. If you want to arrange for a flower essence consultation, a Galactic Center reading or an astrology reading, contact me to schedule by leaving a comment at the end of this post, with your contact info and I will email or telephone you.

I have the academic training...with degrees in anthropology, linguistics, I also worked on a doctorate in Mayan Studies at Tulane University and intuitive/spiritual training...plant spirit healing, flower essences, astrology, Sufism, meditation and other spiritual practices. I easily cross the bridge integrating and synthesizing from many dimensions.

Still Here...

2009-10-29T17:54:00.000-07:00

In case you thought I had ascended and was no longer
here...

Ha! ha! Right.

So many changes and things to deal with... I just have not felt like writing. I'll begin with the following which was written over a month ago, but still applies.

Lately I spend a lot of time playing computer games, especially through Facebook, where you can create many different kinds of worlds. I say I will only play for an hour, and then find 8 hours have gone by (or more).I have felt uninterested in doing much else. It seems that every time I try to 'do' something in the 'real' world, it fails or does not get off the ground, yet I am a 'millionaire' in these games. True, I am still sad over the death of my cat Grace, worried over my finances, and still recovering from the ankle I broke in May. I have been allowing myself to just while away the time, sensing that this just a phase and it will pass.

At first, I was concerned about myself. Was I totally losing it? Wasting so much time, accomplishing nothing. But I saw that most people 'waste' a lot of time. That in fact, ultimately, almost everything we do is a waste of time. What 'real' value is there in 'work'? I thought about this a lot. The only thing I found to be of value is helping others. But then, even that turns out to be useless to some extent. It just seems better because it appears to be self-less.

I really started looking at other people's lives and saw that most people have a certain amount of leisure time which they waste in front of a T.V. or some such dulling activity.

Even though I live in the country, there is a state highway that goes out to the ocean next to my property. I can see it from where I sit playing my games. Every morning and evening the 'rush hour' as they go to and from work. On Friday and Sunday nights a steady stream of campers, RVs and motorcycles as they go to 'have fun'. Yet what is the purpose and meaning of all this activity? Make enough money to live and to have fun on your free time. All that driving back and forth. While I am totally content right here, neither coming nor going - just being here.

I saw that millions of people all over the world play these games and that one can 'communicate' with people this way. You give each other gifts of all kinds and there is sense of community. It is amazing how I have begun to feel affection for these strangers based on the 'hearts' they send or the consistency with which they attend to their virtual farms.

Then one night it occurred to me that in fact, creating and living in the virtual worlds of games is preparation for living in a non-material reality.

There is a lot written about the power of the creative imagination. All that humans have created, began in their minds. Every invention began as a thought and thus on the energetic level. It is also said that the level of existence will be totally on the level of energy. Perhaps these virtual worlds are parallel realities, like our dream world. Learning to work within these virtual worlds may be like mastering lucid dreaming. Perhaps there is a 'bleed through effect'.

I will say this, after years of wishing for a particular change in my herbal products business, I literally got my wish one night. At the moment it happened, it felt like I had just hit the 'Enter' button on a newly created universe. I had been thinking about something I wanted to occur in my company and one night 'out of the blue' I got just what I wanted.

I realized I had imagined it for 2 years. And I had decided that I would not 'look' for the opportunity. That for me to know it was the right thing to do, someone had to ask me rather than me trying to sell it to them. And it happened.

In fact, the only things that 'work' these days are things that I do not seek myself. They are all gifts from the Universe. Whatever I try to initiate myself, fails or has to be recalled.

I was all set to go to the Resonance Project training with Nassim Haramein this weekend in Joshua Tree. I was really looking forward to it, but my financial situation got so bad that I had to cancel. I am quite disappointed.

It was a year ago (over Halloween weekend) that I went to the Shift by the Bay 2012 Conference in San Francisco and my whole life changed.

Now I am teaching Mayan Hieroglyphs, the Calendar and 2012... Spring semester 2010 in two locations... Santa Rosa Junior College and Delta College in Stockton.

I have continued reading every book I can find on 2012 no matter how strange, so I can see what others are thinking about it. I am also getting deeper into my own research.

I am studying glyphs related to portals.

I discovered an incredible book, that was published in 1991, but had never heard of before. From the Mouth of the Dark Cave is a study of ritual use of caves and the associated iconography. Caves are considered portals to the Underworld. The gods are born from and live in caves. The author has shown how rituals depicted on stelae actually took place in caves.

Preparing for Ascension

2009-08-11T16:21:00.000-07:00

We are in the midst of a huge paradigm shift. It is affecting all major areas of life. An amazing film that shows how the new physics is affecting the field of medicine is The Living Matrix.

It demonstrates how fields outside our bodies affect our health. Health is a relationship between inner and outer - another level of 'as above, so below.' The heart is the major organ of perception and the brain follows. The body responds last.

Our system of medicine works on the slowest level - the body. Psychology works at the next slowest level - the mind. No wonder it takes people so long to heal.

The portal that we entered a few years ago, which will climax with the completion of the 13th baktun and coincide with the Solstice of December 21, 2012, will provide an opportunity for many to 'ascend' to the next level.

What this will look like 'on the ground' I am not sure. I do feel that in some way, it will look like a judgement day in the sense that 'the sheep will be separated from the goats.' But it has nothing to do with judgement by an outside force (God). Those who judge themselves will condemn themselves. This is what I believe.

Emotional healing is key component to the 'ascension' process as it is to optimal functioning at any level. As I move about in the world, I sense that many if not most people are suffering deep emotional wounds of one sort or another. Trauma has many causes. It may serve a higher purpose however, which is to force us to 'wake up.' My experience shows me that most people learn through pain rather than through the other major modality - pleasure. When we are in deep pain and not 'medicating' through escape behavior - and we decide we want to do something about it - this is the first step. (It can be equated to the 12 steps). When we realize that our lives are unmanageable because of what our pain has made us do or not do (self-sabotage for example), then we can address the causes of the pain and removing that imprint from our being.

We are being offered so many modalities for emotional healing right now. There is no reason to continue to suffer or be caught in addiction. This film shows many new methods. One that I am looking into is Thought Field Therapy. It looks a lot like Emotional Freedom Technique working with the energy meridians by tapping on them in a particular sequence and pattern. I am fascinated with the whole concept.

While this idea is new and is related to the New Physics, traditional cultures may have referred to this field as a ghost, demonic possession, spirit companion, etc. that hovers just beyond or even inside one's aura. Now we see this as a thought field that can be modified.

How is Country-western Music Like Sufism?

2009-08-06T14:37:00.000-07:00

When I was a child, my mother liked to listen to country-western music (as well as many other genres). I hated it. She told me "some day you will love it." I didn't believe her. But... it was true. After I had my heart broken a few times, suffered, cried myself to sleep over love, I got it. To really like country-western music, unless you grew up with it, you have to have suffered a broken heart. Read on to see how that is like Sufism.

Just finished reading Serpent of Light: Beyond 2012 by Drunvalo Melchizedek. I have to admit I have been avoiding this one because I thought it was too far out. But since I am reading everything on the subject, I knew I would have to read it eventually. (Hmmm kind of like country-western music)

What I found was one of the books that may not necessarily be 'true' on the level of the intellectual mind, but does have a huge 'inexplicable' effect on the heart and psyche.

For one thing, I had a hard time putting it down. It was compelling. For another, ever since I started reading it, it has been affecting me at a deep level. I can feel something shifting in me.

When I read a book like this I know that there is a level of 'truth' to it that is beyond the intellectual way of thinking. In fact, I can still hear myself saying 'Oh come on...'. Meanwhile I find myself in tears for no reason or finally understanding the difficulty I am having working with the public lately.

Now that I can leave the house, drive and walk, I don't want to be 'in the world' at all. This has been a disturbing recent development. But after reading Drunvalo's book, I had an inspiration concerning what is happening to me and why I am so sensitive to energy.

This is coming forth right now because of this eclipse we are in. I feel a strong desire to re-connect (in a different way) with the Sufi path I have been on (with some detours) for the past 15 years. It has been referred to as the path for those with a broken heart.

The timing of completing the book, the eclipse, working at the County Fair and seeing my teacher's face is perfect. Of course. And once again, The Galactic Alignment is not only occurring out there in the sky. It is occurring in our heart.

Nassim Haramein says there are black holes at all levels of existence. At the level of the human body, the black hole is in our heart. This is the place of creation. Drunvalo says the same thing in this book. And... the Maya say the same thing. The Dark Rift is also the ultimate place of creation/recreation. Death, Birth, Rebirth.

Teachings For Cycle Endings

2009-07-11T11:30:00.000-07:00

For all of my European readers, Nassim Haramein will be with you in August. I highly recommend that you go to one of his presentations if you can.

He will be giving public talks in Europe in August. He will be appearing in Belgium the week of August 3, Spain the week of August 8, Germany soon after, the UK the week of August 15, and the Netherlands on August 21 and 22. More specific details will be announced soon. Go to The Resonance Project website.

Nassim Haramein will be appearing live in the Watford area of London on Thursday, August 13, 2009 from 12:30PM - 4:30PM (GMT) at the Park Inn Watford.

I first heard about his ideas from one of his emissaries who spoke in Sebastopol, CA in conjunction with Daniel Pinchbeck. After that, I watched some of the videos on YouTube and purchased a DVD.

While I have not seen nor heard all that is available by him, what I have seen is truly amazing and his so much to do with what we are beginning to experience vis a vis 2012 and the Galactic Alignment.

I have signed up for his training in Joshua Tree, Halloween weekend.

Meanwhile my own research on ancient Mayan ideas related to portals is deepening. There has not yet been a sufficient explanation of either the origins of Mayan cultural developments such as the calendar or writing system, or the 'collapse' of the culture and the subsequent decline. Perhaps the 'itzers' left through the portals/wormholes from whence they originally came. Perhaps, having seeded a particular element in consciousness that would resurface now, they were free to move on to their next 'assignment.'

Jenkins says the monuments at Izapa have instructions for those who live at cycle endings - us. Of course, I wish he would spell it out a little better for the denser ones among us - like me.

I feel I am having to piece together information gathered from many sources, then, trusting in my own intuition, come up with an understanding.

As above, so below, with Pluto at the beginning of Capricorn, all structures are either collapsing or in dire need of transformation. We simply cannot go back to things as they were, even if we could. In order for humanity to evolve to the next level, everything has to be redesigned. See my astrology blog.

Haramein's ideas are a crucial part of understanding what is occurring and it's significance.

Thanks to My Friend Bob B. - That's What Friends Are For

2009-07-04T15:16:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are interested in the progress of my CD-ROM - Beginning Mayan Hieroglyph Class - it is coming along well and should be available soon.

I was wondering the other day how I got into this 2012 thing. I never gave it much thought even though I knew the calender would 'end' I also knew that since the Maya had a cyclic view of time and that endings overlap with beginnings, I wasn't that concerned.

Then I remembered that my long time friend Bob B. had suggested I read 2012: Return of Quetzalcoatl by Daniel Pinchbeck. That's what started it.

One thing led to another and I realized I had purchased Jenkins' Galactic Alignment at the NCGR (National Council for Geocosmic Research) conference in Baltimore a couple of years ago, feeling that it was important, but not sure why. I also read his Maya Cosmogenesis and had quite a shock.

Many years ago, I did pen and ink drawings on handmade paper, of any date requested in Mayan hieroglyphs. I remembered that I got an order from Terence McKenna's wife for the Maya end date. Not sure if she wanted the GMT or the GMT+2, I wrote back for clarification. It was the GMT. So, I made the drawing, which was to be a gift for McKenna from his wife. Seems that it was McKenna who had uncovered significance to the end date that others had not seen. Unknowingly the web of connection was being woven even then. I wonder whatever happened to that pen and ink drawing? A few years later, I saw the two McKenna brothers at the Bioneers Conference and learned about plant messengers.

After reading Pinchbeck, I started reading everything I could find on the topic then went to the Shift by the Bay in S.F. Halloween weekend 2008 and everything changed for me.

I was so inspired and felt that finally all my pursuits, studies, hobbies - entire life experience had been preparing me for this present time. I had read all the books, studied the languages, travelled to most of the places, following my intuition - and now I knew why.

It was such an exhilarating experience to have all the pieces of my life finally fit together.

With my natal Jupiter conjunct the Galactic Center in my 4th house, opposing Uranus in my 10th house, and my mid-heaven conjunct the Pleiades, my natal astrology chart clearly indicated someone whose mission was connected to this time period. That is why I decided to teach my Mayan Hieroglyph class again after a hiatus of several years. See my astrology blog.

As is my wont, I have many interests. I move between them in a kind of spiral motion. Revisiting them, hopefully, on a deeper level each time.

When I stopped teaching my Maya course before, it was to deeply immerse myself in Sufism. I studied to become a Cherag (minister of the Universal Worship), became an initiated Semazen (dervish in the Mevlevi Order), and studied Classical Arabic so as to read and recite Qur'an.

In the past few years, I have gone to several training programs in herbalism and related topics, and gotten more deeply into astrology as well. See my herbal blog.

I regret none of this, because even these subjects, which might seem unrelated to the Maya, have deepened my understanding of their language and cosmology during the Classic period.

Studying the religions of the world for my ordination, I learned how religions are deeply connected at their core. It is only the external forms that differ - related to time and space. The message is very much the same, but new messengers are required who speak to the times of a particular culture.

One way I interpret the idea that Muhammad is the seal of the prophets, ie, the last prophet, is that in the current day we all have direct access to God and can receive divine inspiration ourselves. We don't need prophets anymore. (This is just my opinion). we are all potentially prophets.

As I see it, part of the 2012 shift, is that religion will no longer be needed. The past 5125 years has been the Age of Religion (as I see it). People needed to have someone else, something else, help them to figure out what to do, provide moral guidance, etc. That has run its course. The reason I know this is that it has become its opposite. The intention has now been run through totally and it has now become the justification for immoral acts. We see it everyday. Religion justifying horrendous behavior. No longer the ideal towards which we strive, it has become the excuse for being our worst possible selves. Obviously religion's day is done.

What's next? People taking personal responsibility for themselves and the results of their actions. Conscience, accountability, integrity. Only then can we move to the next level.

The zeros in the end date are portals. They indicate that we have spiralled up into the next level of human development. What comes next for each one of us depends on what we want to see in our future. Each thought, word, action contributes to creating the next 'world'. We all have free will. It's up to you. Set your intention.

In The Flow of Time

2009-06-27T16:17:00.000-07:00

My class is coming along fine despite my broken ankle and transportation challenges. I still can't walk or drive and have to be moved around in a wheelchair.

I am so fortunate to have Stargazer Li from Keeping Time in the class. The other night I was presenting the Calendar Round, ie. the tzolkin and haab calendars and Li added so much to the conversation.

She has been following the tzolkin for 13 years. She also produces her own 'modernized' calendar and makes incredible planetary essence blends using planets, rocks and trees. Check out her website - Keeping Time.

The first night of class, I was searching for the flower essences I had chosen to take to help me with nerves (performance jitters), but could not find them. I remembered I had Li's Pluto Potion there in the car, but thought "this is way too potent and I don't need any more excitement tonight." So I didn't take it. The tzolkin day was Etznab (sacrificial knife - obsidian or flint). Ha! The Pluto Potion contains obsidian! Wow, right on target. That first night did feel like a bloodletting ritual for me because I had so many challenges to overcome. I suffered all night and all the next day. I was not able to control my mind. It felt like some heavy karmic thing was being played out which I could at best observe. It also contains pomegranate, the fruit Persephone eats by mistake while in the Underworld. In some way, I feel this time that I am restricted to my house as a kind of journey to the Underworld. I am very familiar with it. I spend a lot of time there for one reason or another.

For the ancient Maya, the Underworld was the place of death and rebirth. The challenges overcome there would prepare one for rebirth. You didn't stay there permanently.

My interest is on the belief system of the ancient and modern Maya. And while the calendar is an intrinsic part of that, I have not taken the time to master it. I see myself more as a synthesizer. I study a wide range of topics, find connections, and pull them together. I usually don't focus on one area and go deeply into it.

It is great to have someone in the class who knows so much about the tzolkin and works with it everyday.

After class, I pointed out to her that there are 260 katuns in a Great Cycle of 13 baktuns. Could each katun relate to a day in the tzolkin? We would be in the last "day" which is Ahaw. Since a katun is approximately 20 years, the last 'day' that is the last katun of the 13 baktuns would have started around 1992 or so.

For more information on flower essences see my herb blog.
For more information on Pluto, see my astrology blog.

We Are All Students, We Are All Teachers

2009-06-20T12:34:00.000-07:00

Since I don't have T.V. out here in the woods where I live, I miss those few programs that are worthwhile. I get Netflix, which allows me to be selective about what I see and when I see it.

I came across this DVD of a show put out by PBS NOVA that is a must see and a must have for anyone interested in studying Mayan Culture and the Hieroglyphs - Cracking the Maya Code. I highly recommend it.

Watching it, I realize how far the study has come since I was a graduate student studying glyphs for the first time in the early 80s. Watching the DVD, I saw many people I knew and associated with then. For just a moment, I regretted my decision to abandon that path. I might have become one of those people in the program.

At the time, however, and ever since then, I realized I could not play academic politics (nor any politics for that matter). This has never been possible for me. I have not felt it was worth becoming a false person or changing just to please people or get ahead. I'm not saying the people in the DVD did that. It's just that I didn't feel I could be myself in that environment.

My path has been of a different order. With that in mind, about 15 years ago, I got deeply involved in a spiritual path. My whole life was committed to it. I began to take on responsibilities and minor leadership, but, once again, politics (yes, even in spiritual groups there are politics), drove me out. Even though I was becoming part of 'the in-crowd', I was disappointed to see people jostling for a seat next to the Teacher. Competition turns me off.

I don't think there is anything wrong with accomplishment. People who work hard and achieve goals, of all types, merit reward or at least acknowledgement. But that is different from situations where people are put on pedestals and regarded as superior.

The Mayan rulers claimed the divine right to rule, as many rulers have through human history. They wrote about their connections to ancestor gods which made them 'special' and therefore entitled.

My favorite part of the DVD is at the end where they show Mayan children learning to read and write in hieroglyphs. That would have been worth working toward.

Currently, I am becoming the author of my own life. I bow to no authority. I have a direct relationship with the Spirit of Guidance. I don't need any intermediaries. I sit at no one's feet. This requires a level of trust that sometimes alludes me. I am challenged on a regular basis. There is no one else who has THE ANSWER. Some have a piece of the puzzle. I have to follow my inner guidance system, known as Intuition, to see what is true and what is not. We all do.

Nassim Haramein, Black Holes and Resonance

2009-06-14T15:02:00.000-07:00

Nassim Haramein claims that Black Holes are the source of creation. Recently the American Astronomical Society has found evidence that Black Holes were here first. What does this have to do with 2012?

Well, in addition to being the end of a major cycle in the Mayan calendar, it is the center point of the alignment of our Sun with the Black Hole at the center of our Galaxy.

John Major Jenkins sees this as a re-Creation moment, when the Father (Sun) connects with the Mother (the Galactic Center). His research shows that this will culminate on December 21, 2012.

Haramein's theories work very well with the ancient Mayan belief system of substitutes. Where time is cyclic and at every level of manifestation, there are objects or people who are representations of those at other levels. The holographic universe.

For example I am the current representation of a particular person who existed in the past or alternately, exists simultaneously but on a different level or plane of existence.

The concept of wormholes as connecting points between levels of reality also finds a home in both ancient Mayan thought and Haramein's theory of reality. The Maya saw them as portals to other worlds.

That's why I was so excited to find out about his upcoming training in Joshua Tree, California. It's called the Delegate Program and will take place October 30 - November 1, 2009.

I was struck by the 'coincidence' of this date, because last year I went to the Shift by the Bay conference in San Francisco on the very same days and after that, my whole orientation changed. My purpose changed. I began to view reality in a totally different way.

I signed up for this training and I suggest you check it out and sign up soon because it's going to fill up fast. Click here to find out more and register.

Evolver Intensives and John Marshall Roberts

2009-06-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

Last night was the first in a series of conference calls offered by Evolver Intensives called "Beyond 2012: Practical Tools for Your Transformation". It lasted 2 hours and included a little Q&A but the technical stuff was a little distracting. I know these 'kid's will get it right soon enough.

When I listen to these guys I feel like a fossil. They are so smart and so young! LOL

The first presenter was John Marshall Roberts. His website:
http://www.jmarshallroberts.com/ offers "Persuasion Tools for Visionaries". I love it.

His presentation was useful, informative and above all, full of heart. I plan to follow this guy. He has some very important information for us all about how to cope with what's coming. He talked about a way of understanding the different ways people communicate based on their concerns and their approach to life.

As I listened, though, I found myself being very skeptical, perhaps this is related to my age and current circumstances (stuck in the house with a broken ankle). He seems to believe that communicating with and then convincing people to get behind making the huge changes that need to be made, if we are to survive, is possible and even desirable. At risk of not being PC and being 'positive' I think that 'human nature' or at least human nature as it is manifesting today, is intrinsically self-centered. People care about their own selves, their family and perhaps a few friends. Our capacity to even imagine caring about 'the world' is limited.

Since over-population is the major reason we are destroying the environment, wouldn't it be better for the Earth if we were all gone?

I believe it was Einstein who said, "Problems cannot be solved at the same level of consciousness that created them." That being the case, we have an extremely short time to change our consciousness. The consciousness revolution we started in the '60s has only just hit some parts of this country, let alone the majority. It was 45 years ago when I first saw the Beatles in San Francisco.

The main thing that mobilizes people is disaster. I've lived long enough to observe that.

Since there is no cable here where I live, I don't watch T.V. I get shows later on Netflix. So, I just watched the whole Jericho series. I thought it was right on about how people would react to such destruction. Actually, I thought it was mild compared to what really would occur. There was little evidence of despair, depression, emotional paralysis. I also think the level of fighting over resources would be much more extreme.

Since I live in the woods, albeit not far from town, I can really feel the energetic difference when I go into town. I live near small towns in Sonoma County. Last week when I got taken to the doctor, it was overwhelming! The frenetic energy wiped me out in only a couple of hours. I can't imagine how bad it is in cities. I can feel the stress people are exuding in relation to hanging on to life as they knew it.

One of the greatest teachings my recent injury has provided was the absolute need to release everything. On the radio right now they are talking about things falling apart. LET IT ALL GO! Don't try to hold on. Relax, breathe and let it all go. It's all NOT REAL anyway! This is what the Sufis mean when they say "Die before Death". This is the basic teaching of Carlos Castenada's famous "Teachings of Don Juan". Using Death as an advisor. Learn to let go of everything because when you die, (and we all will, eventually), it will all be left behind.

I appreciate the attempts these people are making, but I can't help but thinking (cynic that I am), that people are just trying to make a buck from the situation. It could be worse. At least they are not selling Botox and Whiter Teeth. They are selling evolution.

Unfortunately, contributing to the discussion was nearly impossible since there were over a hundred on the conference call. And, as usual, Pinchbeck served as gate-keeper. Anyone brave enough to stick their necks out and look stupid or uninformed risks his smirking negativity. Sorry Daniel, but you are not a model that I would want to emulate.

To subscribe to their series go to the Evolver website.

Study Mayan Hieroglyphs This Summer

2009-06-05T10:11:00.000-07:00

You still have two weeks to register for my class at Santa Rosa Junior College in Santa Rosa, California.
The class, Mayan Hieroglyphs, the Calendar and 2012 is offered through the Community Education department, making it more affordable than most courses offered at universities - where you must be a regular student.
This program is open to all.
The class is from 7-9 pm for 6 Thursdays. It will be offered again in the Fall in case you can't make it this summer.

We have a good group already and there is always room for more.
The course includes hands-on practice with real texts and will give you strategies for deciphering any text.

The Mayan Calendar, Cosmology and Ritual will be covered as well as the research done by John Major Jenkins.
Hope to see you there.

I am working on producing a downloadable version of the class since I have had a lot of interest from Canada and Europe.

Searching for True Corn

2009-06-04T13:50:00.000-07:00

In preparation for teaching my class in a couple of weeks, I have been reviewing books I read years ago and reading others that have come out recently. It is amazing how one's perspective can change over a period of time and how you can understand something in a totally different way.

I am also doing research on what the Maya knew/know about 'portal technology'. I believe that the alignment with the Galactic Center (a black hole) gives us access to a huge portal and that we are on the brink of an evolutionary shift.

The Creation Myth of the Quiche Maya - the Popul Vuh says that there were former creations in which 'humans' were made of wood, mud etc., and that they were destroyed because of their failure to honor the gods and follow the rules, which included natural birth control.

In this current creation, humans are made of corn. I find it very interesting that corn is at the heart of our current food crisis. Almost all prepared food contains some form of processed corn. Most corn grown in the world now is GMO and threatens the hundreds of varieties of native corn. The Maya saw corn as sacred. Our corn is 'plastic'. A scientifically produced imitation of corn. We neither honor it, nor pray over it, except maybe on Thanksgiving, when we eat our packaged corn meal stuffing.

Who knows what the total effect will be on us as a result of ingesting all this GMO corn. Rather than partaking of sacred substance full of Ch'ulel, we are eating poison. One effect of this that I do know about, is that this poison creates a type of static in us that keeps us from being able to hear the Divine Heartbeat of the Universe. I suggest you look at the ingredient labels on everything you eat. Look for the hidden plastic corn and try to avoid it. Disconnect from unnecessary media. Spend more time in nature, quietly. Drive less, laugh more.

Stargate, Worm Hole, Galactic Center?

2009-05-16T18:20:00.000-07:00

Have been watching a 2 DVD set by William Henry titled Stargate 2012. Fascinating!

Most of his research is on Sumerian, Babylonian and Egyptian symbolism and mythology. He references material from Early Christian, Masonic, Cathar, Rosicrucian, Asian and other sources. The scope of his research is remarkable.

Even though he only minimally relates it to Mayan material, it is clearly relevant to the upcoming 2012 end date. The idea that people were able to open worm holes into other dimensions is parallel to the concept of 'portals' in Mayan Cosmology. Some portals were permanent, others temporary. Accessing portals was among the powers of the shaman.

He says that the ancients possessed the worm hole technology and that many today are searching for it. He shows examples from art of many times and places that seems to indicate the operation of these worm holes. What humans call gods are beings who have arrived on earth via these worm holes.

Henry also shows that these early cultures possessed what he calls a Milky Way Metaphysics, another concept shared with the Maya. The Maya saw the Milky Way as the Cosmic Tree, The Sak Be 'the White Way' the Xibal Be 'the Path of Awe or Veneration.'

His research has shown that there is a type of cosmic glue which holds the Universe together, which he refers to as Love. Interesting that the word for that 'glue' in Mayan is 'Itz' and in Arabic it's 'Ishk.' Sufis say that 'Ishk' (Love) holds the Universe together.

"Life is about preparation for existence on another dimension," he says in the YouTube presentation on his website.

I definitely want to know more about what this guy has to say. What I have seen so far resonates deeply with me and somehow I know it's true.

Taking a Second Look

2009-05-12T12:26:00.000-07:00

Since I am restricted a lot right now by my broken ankle, I watched 2012: Science or Superstition again and have to revise my assessment of it. It is a very informative and valuable DVD.

It includes Anthony Aveni (an archaeo-astronomer) who is pooh poohing "all the hype." I am fascinated by those who decry the hoopla, but still want to get in on it and put in their two cents.

Lawrence Joseph includes the information on the Sun's activity vis-a-vis global warming etc. Apparently sunspot activity will peak in 2012. There is a lot of information given on what could happen to the planet because our electro-magnetic shields happen to be going down during this time of heightened sunspot activity.

They also discuss the reversal of the poles, which has occurred dozens of times during the history of the Earth. Of course, it has not happened for quite a long time and not during human history.

Another fascinating idea was presented which was that the alignment of the December solstice Sun in 2012 was like an eclipse. Our Sun will 'eclipse' the Galactic Center. One of the presenters said that whatever beneficial energy the GC sends us, would be cut off for awhile. The effect was likened to a momentary power outage. What is momentary in terms of the Galactic Center? These days, when most electronic equipment is digital, we find that all our clocks and even our micro-wave oven and coffee pot, have to be reset. Not a big deal, but annoying. If you forget to reset, your coffee won't get made automatically in the morning. But... there could be much worse effects.

So what is it that comes out of the GC that we need?

Alberto Villoldo talks a lot about the Inca prophecies. When the Inca elders took the pulse of the Earth, they said it was going to be much worse than first predicted. There will be cascading environmental collapses that will result in the deaths of millions. Clearly this is already happening and has been for awhile. We have been having many weather-related disasters, fires, earthquakes, etc. Mortality statistics never include animals and plants. They die too. So, counting up all the loss of life, we are already seeing 'deaths in the millions.'

I guess when I watched it the first time I was a little distracted by my own physical condition and the pain meds I am forced to take to cope with it.

Meanwhile, as I prepare to teach my course in June in Mayan Hieroglyphs, I am reviewing and updating my research material.

There is an inscription at Palenque in the Temple of the Cross which begins 9 years prior to the ending of the last 13 baktun period, so it begins 3122 B.C. It was not an apocalypse situation but rather a 'contact' event between the gods and earth.

Messages in Stone

2009-05-10T14:01:00.000-07:00

Last night I watched two DVDs on 2012 that I highly recommend. No hype, no hoopla. Informative and positive. One was 2012: The Odyssey by Sharron Rose, the other was 2012: Science or Superstition by Nimrod Erez. Both feature researchers and educators who are well-known authors with a lot of credibility. None claims to 'have the answer' about what is going to happen. They just give the evidence from their particular field that it is an incredible time with much potential.

Sharron Rose, who I met at the San Francisco Shift by the Bay Conference last October, travels around the U.S. speaking to different people for their take on 2012. Towards the end of the film she goes to Elberton, Georgia to view the Georgia Guidestones, which I had never heard of before.

In June 1979, a person under the pseudonym R. C. Christian hired Elberton Granite Finishing Company to build the structure. The main texts are written in eight different languages one on each face of the huge standing stones. The eight modern languages are: English, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian.

The message includes references to certain themes such as "maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature", "guide reproduction wisely", "improving fitness and diversity", "prize truth — beauty — love — seeking harmony with the infinite", and others, concluding with "leave room for nature — leave room for nature." (from Wikipedia)

Across the lintels, another message is written in four ancient languages: Babylonian cuneiform, Classical Greek, Sanskrit, and Egyptian hieroglyphics.

The Maya left their messages in stone. These were not communications to the people, but to the Gods. The Georgia Guidestones, on the other hand, are a message to humanity, which seems to say that we need to "shape up, or perhaps we're gonna have to ship out."

I keep wondering whether it is too late, whether we can fix it or not. Sun activity and the weakening of our magnetic field shield seem to be things that our out of our control. This heightened Sun activity is said to be responsible, in part, for the melting of the polar ice caps. Global warming is not solely caused by human activity.

Rose says on her website: "I once heard Terence McKenna say, 'We must act as if the apocalypse has already occurred.' At the time I didn't understand what he meant, but I think I do now. What Terence was saying is that we must begin to live in the future—right now. We must act as if the corporate, materialist-based culture has already withered away and we are living in a future of our own creation."

The DVD by Nimrod Erez is also a low-budget production. It is less artistically done than the one by Rose, but also features credible experts. Personally, I like to get a chance to see and hear the writers of the books. This DVD is a good one for someone new to the 2012 phenomenon.

Go Out of Your Mind, Slow Down and Go Into the Zone

2009-05-07T14:37:00.000-07:00

I continued watching Ian Xel Lungold's videos and this one was very thought-provoking - Lost Secrets of the Maya vol 2. He goes beyond explanation of Calleman's theory to add his own thoughts and perceptions.

He says that our mind can only process at a certain rate. We are maxed out now. This is the greatest cause of stress. Our minds are trying to keep up with all the changes. He suggests that we just 'go out of our minds' and move into intuition. He says that intuition moves so much faster than our mind. Rather than trying to understand and figure out what is going on, we do what athletes do. He called it 'moving into the zone'.

Not being into sports, I'm not sure what that means, but I think it means that you train like the dickens, then when it's time to perform, you let your well-trained body act without thinking about it. When you do this, things may appear to slow down so that they are manageable.

Now, since synchrony is alive more than ever, today as I am writing this two 'coincidences'. On the Herbal Highway show on KPFA, Jane Bell (my flower essence teacher) was the guest speaker. She talked about resting, relaxing and slowing down. Then the next show, Caroline Casey, Visionary Activist, was about slowing down. Her guest speaker Woody Tasch, talked about 'slow money' and 'slow food.'

And for those of you who know, my recent accident, where I broke my ankle, has definitely slowed me down.

I am working on the CD of my Mayan Hieroglyphs class, which I needed to do and hope to have it available for sale here soon.

Down the Rabbit Hole

2009-05-04T10:13:00.000-07:00

I have been watching the videos by Ian Xel Lungold on the Mayan Calendar. So far, I have seen 3 videos and they are very repetitious. I see no point in watching more than one. He is explaining and elaborating on the work of Calleman, which posits an end date of Oct. 28, 2011.

Supposedly, all the Mayan scholars for the past 75 years or so missed a text that relates to a correction in the calendar that was done during Pacal's reign, whereas a micro-biologist from Sweden figured it out. I find that hard to accept. Sorry. Apparently there is an on-going controversy about this. However, no one has ever given this date as the end date before or since.

Even though I read Calleman's book, I didn't understand what he was trying to say until I watch Lungold's videos. He does a good job of elucidating Calleman's theory. With the corrections that would need to be made, it would still correspond to a way of viewing the evolution of this planet. You can read some of this at Lungold's website. Lungold passed away in 2005 so he won't be there to see it.

Lungold adds a few of his own ideas, which I found the most thought-provoking and significant.

He admits he is self-educated and there is a certain down-to-earth quality of his presentation The video in Sedona is a bit pathetic. He seems to be talking outside or in a parking garage or something and the paper he is writing on keeps flying around. This does him a great disservice. He is sincere and yet the circumstances of this presentation are less than ideal and distracting.

That all being said, some of things he said have gotten me thinking. He said at the highest level, beings would regard each other with admiration. Without admiration, we would not want or do anything. We have to admire someone or something in order to want to emulate them or have something. I never thought of it that way.

Other points he made were that after the 5th night (of destruction) there was a huge change that catapulted creation to another level. Developments before the 5th night sort of caused the destruction in the first place, but that once there was this sort of purging, a higher level could be achieved. That made me think too.

One of the reasons we are having so many problems on the planet at this time is over-population. We got here because of the agricultural revolution, the industrial revolution and all the advances of science. Our achievements may become our undoing.

There has been an incredible response to this latest threat of swine/bird flu. Schools close with only one child sick. Could the deaths of millions be required so that humanity as a whole can survive?

Lungold reads a letter from the Hopi which speaks about this time when a great river is flowing faster and faster and that we should not try to hang on to the bank, but go with the flow. It is worthwhile looking around to see who is floating along with you on this ride.

It is not easy to let go. Just this weekend all my plans for the next couple months got changed when I broke my ankle. I can't drive, nor walk without crutches for a month or more. I am in survival mode again. Just taking care of basic needs is challenging. I live alone and my house is less than comfortable on a good day. I will be missing many activities I had planned.

At the time I was attending a training in Plant Spirit Healing. Personally, I view my injury as entering the portal of the Underworld. "Just what I wanted". Right. Yes, oh yes, I want to evolve. I want to grow. I want to be ready for the Shift. But not like that. Ha! Ha! My injury is a sign that Spirit is taking me seriously and has accepted me into this apprenticeship. My shamanic dismemberment. Gee, I thought I already did that.

8 B'atz Ceremony in Northern California

2009-04-23T13:25:00.000-07:00

Got an announcement about an upcoming event you might be interested in from Earth Peoples United.

Waqxaqui B’atz Mayan Spiritual Renewal Ceremonial Retreat
at the Deer Mountain Healing Center in Montague, CA north of Mt. Shasta

Thursday May 21st – Sunday May 24th, 2009

Check out their website for more information.

OmeAkaEhekatl Erick Gonzalez, one of the teachers there, spoke at the Shift by the Bay last October in SF. It would be great to see him again in a natural environment. He's a Day-keeper from Guatemala.

Venus Retrograde - Time to Listen and Breathe

2009-04-08T14:03:00.000-07:00

The focus of my current research is learning about the belief systems of the Mayans. We see various events and ceremonies depicted in art, but what were the beliefs that gave rise to them? True they did blood sacrifice, but why? They used plants and other substances to attain altered states, but what did they want to know? where did they go in their trances? who did they communicate with?

Along with many the other subjects, I have been studying religions for years. I have found that they share core beliefs, while the practices vary depending on time and place.

Venus was an important planet to Mesoamerican culture. It was a male god and represented drought, danger and warfare. We are currently in a Venus retrograde period see my astrology blog.

In our culture, Venus is a goddess and represents love, beauty and harmony. One of her attributes is the ability to listen and respond with affection and caring. During this retrograde period, we are asked to re-evaluate those people and things that we value. We are warned about making major purchases, painting or decorating our homes or making major changes to our appearance during this time, because when she goes direct will probably regret our choices.

I highly recommend this 3 CD set by John Major Jenkins. It explains how he came to his conclusions after many years of research. Working with academic and other information, while outside the academy, he was free to come up with his own creative interpretations.

One problem I always had with being part of the academic world is that they insist on viewing everything from a strictly 'scientific' system. They don't seem to realize that Science is a belief system, not unlike any other. They are adherents of a fundamentalist-like religion. Other ways of knowing are not acceptable. One can get marginalized very easily for stepping on toes or stepping outside the box. I knew I could not conform.

Jenkins looks at the data and interprets it. I can't tell you how sick I got, as a graduate student, of reading boring descriptions of structures: measurements, materials, technology, etc. and few would dare say we were looking at a 'house'. Duh.

Jenkins has read all the scholarly material, communicated with the authors, pursued his inspirations and gone down and checked it all out himself. I really respect his work.

He shows the evolution of spiritual tradition and belief that occurred through time in Mesoamerican cultures. He also makes connections to traditions that we are more familiar with. In short, he gives some indication about the belief system that was a the heart of the people who created the calendar and how we can connect to it.

The third CD gives some breath practices that I recommend. I believe that working with the breath is an extremely important way we can accelerate our evolution and spiritual development. The best thing about working with the breath is that it is free! We can do it while we wait in line. We can do it in the car while waiting at red lights. Our breath is our connection to life. When we are born, we take our first breath and establish our own separate self. When we die, we release our connection with the breath and merge with Unity again.

Chocolate, the Long Count and the Izapans

2009-04-02T13:39:00.000-07:00

First of all, let me revise the info about the class I'm giving through Santa Rosa Junior College, Community Education. It will be on 6 Thursday nights 7-9pm from June 18 through July 23. Anyone can take the class. You register at this website, but the new classes for summer are not there yet.

Since these days I am following instructions from my spirit guides, I had a table at the recent Wellness Fair in Sebastopol, CA. I was 'instructed' to make products from chocolate and to use the Mayan hieroglyph for cacao on the label. I decided to write a little history of chocolate in my brochure and while researching in Sophie and Michael Coe's book The True History of Chocolate, I found out that the Izapans domesticated chocolate and that the word 'cacao' came from their word 'kakawa', reconstructed by historical linguists. Since the Izapans also created the Long Count calendar, there actually was a connection! I got an eerie feeling from finding this out. I was truly being guided to educate people on Mayan culture and communicate their beliefs and practices.

I have to admit that I was not sure what I was doing there (at the Wellness Fair), and so when people asked me what my table was about, I sometimes just had to say "I don't know. I'm just following orders." Some people got it (Sebastopol is a capital of New Agers). Some didn't. I had my 'props' - my chocolate lip balm and body butter and the flower essence blend and aromatherapy spray I was instructed to make by my guides. But sometimes I just felt foolish. Still, I knew that in some way I was a cultural envoy and so had to maintain my dignity. By the end of the day and ever since, I have been in such an altered state that it is challenging to function.

I just finished a book by Mark Borax called 2012: Crossing the Bridge to the Future. It is primarily an autobiography and an account of Borax's apprenticeship with a teacher in the Santa Cruz mountains during the late 80's early 90's. There is a minimal connection to 2012, but (in my opinion) not enough to justify a third of the front cover. It was a compelling book - hard to put down and thought provoking.

My research these days is focused on two areas: 1) updating the information for the class I'm teaching, 2) finding information from Mayan culture, past and present, that speaks to the meaning of 2012 as they see it.

I am reading as many contemporary books as I can to see what non-Mayans are saying about it too. If something is going to happen, then there should be some correlation between traditional and modern information. I am searching for shared Truth.

Study Mayan Hieroglyphs this Summer!

2009-03-20T09:42:00.000-07:00

My course on Mayan Hieroglyphs, the Calendar and 2012 will be given through the Santa Rosa Junior College Community Education program this Summer mid-June through July.

I taught a Mayan Hieroglyph Workshop for several years through Sonoma State University Office of Extended Education. This updated course will focus on the meaning of 2012.

Anyone can take the course, you do not have to be a regular student at the junior college. It will be one night at week for 6 weeks. The bulletin will be out in 3 weeks or so and you can go the their website to register.

The course will cover the Mayan calendar, mathematical system, mythology and basics of decipherment which will give you a foundation so that you can understand the meaning of the 'end date'.

I will present the fascinating information that John Major Jenkins writes about in his books Maya Cosmogenesis 2012 and Galactic Alignment: The Transformation of Consciousness According to Mayan, Egyptian, and Vedic Traditions.

In conjunction with the course, I am preparing a CD which will be available here. Watch for it!

Pinchbeck and Jenkins

2009-03-05T16:50:00.000-08:00

The first book I read about the 'phenomenon' of 2012 was "2012 Return of Quetzalcoatl" by Daniel Pinchbeck (see the carousel). It was recommended to me by a friend who knew of my interest in the Maya.

This book is partly an account of Pinchbeck's own journey through drugs and relationships; and interesting information about various phenomena like crop circles. I have to say that it was through reading Pinchbeck's account of crop circles etc., that I finally came to 'believe' in them. He gave a very convincing argument and provided useful data.

According to Nassim Haramein, crop circles are evidence of contact. There is no way any human could have made them.

In the early 80s, I started a doctoral program in Mayan Studies at Tulane University in New Orleans. My interest in the Maya had begun in the late 60s when I studied Mesoamerican archeology as part of my B.A. degree in anthropology. Thus, I have been studying the Maya on and off over a period of 40 years.

While working on my doctorate, I leaned toward Mayan languages and hieroglyphs because of my M.A. in linguistics. As I learned more about the glyphs and texts, I was 'disappointed' to learn that those incredibly beautiful and complex inscriptions on temples were primarily political billboards. Accounts of the rulers' activities and justifications for their right to rule. Dull and boring.

I couldn't help but feel there was more to it than that, especially when I worked on the illustrations for a book written by one of my professors: "A Grammar of Mayan Hieroglyphs", by Victoria R. Bricker. As I learned to draw the glyphs myself and followed their lines, I began to sense that they could not be translated completely by using only the left brain. There was a whole other dimension to them. An element that could only be reached 'shamanically'. This is another thing that Pinchbeck writes about. He refers to Terrance McKenna. Around 1989, when I used to make pen and ink drawings of the Mayan equivalent of birthdates for people, McKenna's wife ordered one for the Mayan end date, which I made and sent to her. I wondered at the time why anyone would want that particular date. Duh

As an academic, I knew that the calendar would 'end' in 2012 and I also knew that it was the end of a cycle within a system of multiple cycles and so.... I thought it was unimportant.

I taught some courses on Mayan Hieroglyphs and others on Mayan culture in the early 90s and from time to time over the years revisited the material, thinking I 'should' try to finish my doctorate. Most recently, I was looking for some significance to the beginning date of the current cycle. In general, calendars chose a significant event to time the beginning of their calendar - for the west, it is the life of Christ, in Islam it was when the Hijra occurred—Islamic prophet Muhammad's emigration from Mecca to Medina.

Since the Mayan calendar begins in 3113 or 3114 B.C. (depending on the correlation you use), I was interested in discovering what that could relate to. The only thing I knew of was that this is approximately the date of the first dynasty in Egypt. In Mesoamerica, people were living at the tribal village level - no state government, no writing, no need for a calendar.

I guess it was Pinchbeck's book that shook me out of the narrow mindset I was stuck in. After that, I read John Major Jenkins "Maya Cosmogenesis 2012" and experienced the integration of the left and right parts of my brain. Since Jenkins has worked outside of academe, he was free to think 'outside the box'. The academic environment definitely is a box. That's why I had to leave it. I couldn't get what I wanted there. It was job training for a job I did not want.

What struck me the most about Jenkins' work is that he 'discovered' that the calendar was designed with the end date in mind. They discovered an event that would occur on the end date, then worked backwards. The evidence he gives is truly amazing! My academically-trained mind was fully satisfied with his evidence because it came from all those people I had been studying. Some of whom were my professors - all of whom I knew or had read myself. It clicked in.

I went to the Shift by the Bay conference in San Francisco last Halloween and that was it. Everything came into focus. From time to time I have wondered why I got hooked on the Maya the first time I heard about them, and why I went to all the time and expense to study them as I have. I am beginning to know why. The BIG AHA!

Practice Being Present

2009-02-24T15:40:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned before, I have undertaken a campaign to read as many of the current books on 2012 as I can. One thing I've noticed: while the writers disagree on exactly what is going to happen and on what level of being, they all agree that something big will happen on or around 2012. Whether it's major changes on the planet itself, or 'merely' changes within human consciousness, something is coming.

What they also have is common is not giving any strategy as to deal with these changes.

Some say doomsday, some say heaven on earth or elsewhere.

All well and good. I don't know about you, but 'big changes' of any sort tend to 'freak me out' just a little. What? Where? When? Is it the Rapture? Am I going? Etc. etc. Our tendency as humans is to start wondering and worrying. Should I bother to pay my income tax?

I have been thinking about 'the end of the world' all my life. I dreamt about it constantly as a child and expected it to occur in my lifetime. I was one of those kids who went through nuclear attack drills. Hiding under the desk, come on. I also expected contact with beings from other planes, planets, dimensions.

Having grown up a Catholic, I was taught that the Virgin Mary had appeared to shepherd children in Fatima with three letters. The last and final one was to be opened on what just happened to be my 12th birthday, in 1960. I heard about this when I was 7, so I had a few years to think about it. The night before my birthday, I went to bed with my rosary expecting not to see another day. Imagine my surprise when everything went on 'as normal'. After awhile, I wondered if somehow I had heard wrong. If my child mind had imagined it. It was many years before I met another person who had heard the same thing and anticipated the same event just as I had.

There have been other situations throughout my life. I have always felt I was preparing or waiting for 'the end of the world'. Thus I have developed several methods of both preparing for it and dealing with the fear or stress involved.

According to many, we are already in the conjunction to the Galactic Center and whatever is going to happen, is already happening. Look around you and pay attention. What is happening?

1. The Economy as we have known it - is collapsing.
2. Organized religions have so distorted the message of their original Messengers, that people committing crimes in the name of religion.
3. There are no guarantees.
4. There is no such thing as security.
5. All the 'knowns' and 'givens' are vanishing.
6. Rapid and constant changes are occurring.
7. Weather patterns are changing and beginning to affect all aspects of life.
8. Things seem to be 'falling apart'.

Whoopee, I'm excited. Oh yeah? More like - Yikes! Now what?

I will start writing about some of the things that I have found to help. I would love to have your ideas and feedback.

Among the current 'beliefs' is that we create our reality. I believe we create with our thoughts and our emotions. Thus, what we are feeling, in relation to both the changes that are occurring and those that will come, is extremely important. Living in fear and dread is not healthy, nor will it bring about the most positive outcome possible. It is not helpful to feel guilty about not being able to be positive either. You feel what you feel. But often our feelings are based on things we imagine to be true, not what is actually happening.

One very strong pain-killer on the market functions well because it breaks the relationship to time. It puts you into present time. Now this is great if you have chronic pain, because you are neither remembering all the pain you have been in for the last several hours, days, weeks, month etc., nor are you anticipating continuous pain. You only feel the pain of the moment. Ah ha! A strategy for dealing with fear. No, not taking this medication. Rather, learning to stay in present time.

One of the things that will happen for sure on December 21, 2012 is the end of a 5125 year cycle in the Mayan Calendar. Mayan scholars say it is a cycle within huger cycles. Kind of like the end of a 1000 year cycle in our calendar. Yes, they have caused turmoil in people's minds in the past, but the world did not end.

Some say, that the concept of 'Time' itself will end. That we will all live in the eternal present. Sounds like Nirvana!

Start now. Practice being present. Hmmm.... Haven't the Buddhists been teaching this for centuries? YES! Exactly. All the religions of the world contain kernels of TRUTH. Aside from the politics that have crept in, religions were usually brought by enlightened Masters, Messengers, Angelic communication, etc. and contain methods for improving LIFE here and now and the hereafter if there is one. Learning to be present is one major strategy for improving your life right here, right now. It can't hurt you. Why not try it?

When you find yourself falling into fear about what might happen, change your focus on what is actually true right now in the moment. Experience and feel what you have right now, not what you lack. Try to see how your perspective on whatever is happening in the present has to do with your attitude. See the glass half full rather than the glass half empty. Have gratitude for what you have. As you are able to do this, your experience of the moment seems to expand and fill your mind, leaving less or no room for the negative thoughts. Practice this constantly throughout the day in different circumstances until it becomes second nature. Here is a guarantee. To the extent that you can stay in present time, your life will get better right here, right now. And... folks, that's all we've got.
Love and blessings.

Hand Clow and Calleman

2009-02-15T10:51:00.000-08:00

Finally finished reading a book by Barbara Hand Clow, called: "The Mayan Code: Time Acceleration and Awakening the World Mind." Hard to get through. That should tell you something. Hard to understand her point. Seemed to be based on one of those arguments that goes something like this: "It's true because I say it's true." A tautology, I think they call it. She seems to think that just because you say something or worse yet, it gets published, it must be true.

As I prepare to teach my course on the Maya and 2012 this summer, I plan to read all the books I can on 2012, even those I think are fringe, because I want to familiarize myself with the "literature". Reading Hand Clow's book was drudgery because she just repeated herself again and again. And, since I have a grounding in academe, I expect someone to make an argument before coming to a conclusion.

Her main point seemed to be the 'truth' of the ideas presented by Carl Johan Calleman in "The Mayan Calendar and the Transformation of Consciousness." Just because someone has a Ph.D.in one topic, does not make him/her and expert in everything. I read that book very carefully and for the life of me, I don't understand how he arrives at his 'discovery.' It is one of those constructs for which there is no evidence in Maya belief systems past or present.

Just as there are 'weirdos' in our culture, there are often 'weirdos' in indigenous cultures. Why is it that we think that every Mayan knows the esoteric knowledge of his culture, when most Americans don't even know their 200 year history, let alone the philosophers of Greece? Many years ago while working on my B.A. in Anthropology I had to read a book called "Marginal Natives" for a class. A valuable book, it showed me how anthropologists are fooled and led astray when studying indigenous cultures - either intentionally or by choosing 'informants' who just want to work with the anthropologist, but who know nothing about their culture. In fact, one could make the argument, that only a marginal person would dare speak to an outsider in the first place. What do they stand to gain within their culture by talking about hidden knowledge? At best, they make a few dollars for their efforts, at worst, they are killed by their peers. It's not just anthropologists who are lied to, fooled, given the run-around. I have done my share of fieldwork with native people in California and Mexico. I have had people tell me one thing over coffee and then when the tape-recorder got turned on, tell me something completely different, denying having ever said anything else. I have also watched native people deliberately fool people for a laugh. Haven't you ever done something like that?

In any case, Calleman has developed an elaborate concept and Hand Clow has run with it. After reading both their books, I still don't get it. The only part that makes any sense to me is that time does seem to be accelerating. Everyone I know feels the same way. Of course, most of the people I know are over 50, so that might be why we feel this way.

One thing I found intriguing in Hand Clow's books was a concept of memory of catastrophe that exists within our psyches and has been handed down genetically from around 9,500 B.C. It causes us to be born with a certain amount of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), which affects our entire lives. Since we all have this memory, we are easily driven into fear about the 'end of the world', because way back in time, our ancestors experienced it due to floods, asteroids, or other catastrophic 'natural' events. Since we all have this memory deep within, it can easily get activated. Because many are billing '2012' as the 'end of the world', we are reacting in fear instead of seeing it as a beneficial time of transformation.

What do you think? End of the world or time of spiritual transformation?

Ek' Waynal

2009-02-12T15:24:00.000-08:00

In the course of my research, I discovered a hieroglyph the Maya used which represented the Galactic Center. True to Mayan languages, the glyph has many meanings including: the "black hole", "star portal", and "place of dreaming". It is the place the shamans go in vision quests and dreams. It is also where your "double" resides. It is read Ek' Waynal.

I have created a graphic using it and am offering some products for sale. These will eventually included T shirts, mugs, caps and tote bags. For now, I only have buttons and magnets. Click the Cafe Press button in the sidebar.

Apocalypse Any Day Now

2009-02-01T15:28:00.000-08:00

Currently devouring a book by Lawrence E. Joseph called Apocalypse 2012: An Investigation Into Civilization's End.

In my research, I have, until now, stayed away from titles which seem to predict doom and gloom because I do not want to buy in to that mindset. However, on the side of objectivity and thoroughness, I decided I had to read everything there is (as much as is humanly possible)

I am having a hard time tearing myself away from this one. Joseph, a journalist and science consultant, is an excellent writer. He keeps you hooked.

The book basically presents scientific data concerning such things as: volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, the activity of the Sun and other astronomical facts that show compelling evidence that "something" could definitely happen anytime.

It is full of facts and still reads like a mystery novel. I highly recommend it.

Towards the end of the book, he mentions the numerous cultural and spiritual traditions that point to 2012 as an "end date".

For me, the most interesting material is on how volcanoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes are interrelated and connected to Sun activity. According to Joseph, it is not just global warming but solar system warming that we have to fear and.... buying a different car is not going to make any difference.

He also stresses the fact that not only are the experts in these various fields, not looking at the data from the other fields, they are not even aware of it. Each scientific community insulated from one another, speaking their own arcane language, talking only to each other. This is exactly why it took us so long to interpret the Maya Hieroglyphs.

For decades the various disciplines - linguistics, archaeology, art history, cultural anthropology and biology among others, each did their studies of the Maya. It was not until the late '70s that they began to speak to each other about their findings and to share information. Because of their collaboration, there has been incredible progress. So much so that there is now a dictionary that includes the Mayan, Spanish and English words (more on this later).

What will it take for the different sciences to do the same in regards to upcoming disaster scenarios for planet Earth?

Strangely enough, although the case for THE END is well made, I feel good. Hmmm Why is that? Well, since the pressure is off me to try to "fix" something, I realize that living fully in the moment is ALL THERE IS! And so, I intend to. "Don't Worry, Be Happy" Meher Baba preached and now I see why.

Resonating with the Resonance Project

2009-01-29T16:52:00.000-08:00

The other night I went to a presentation by Daniel Pinchbeck "2012 and the Return of Quetzalcoatl" and Jamie Jamison who presented the work of Nassim Haramein. My mind wast so totally blown by what Jamie Janover had to say about Haramein's ideas that I have not been the same since.

I literally stand in the middle of the room and don't know what to do. I am in an altered state. Both blissed out and excited all at once. None of my usual activities seem worth pursuing. I don't seem to need as much sleep as before and when I awake in the morning, I feel like I've been far away for a long time.

I feel like I have something to do or say that is really important, yet I don't know what it is. I spend a lot of time meditating.

You can check out Haramein's work at The Resonance Project.

As those of you who have been reading my other blogs know, I am into energy healing and that the concept of resonance has been informing my work for quite a while. Now it has taken on new meaning.

The "unified field theory" gives new meaning to the spiritual law "as above, so below", in the sense that it shows how the macrocosm and the microcosm are connected.

What is 2012?

2009-01-28T18:18:00.000-08:00

2012 refers to the end date of a cycle in the Mayan Calendar. There is a lot of disagreement as to when the actual date is, but most agree it is December 21, 2012. The reason there are so many theories about the the 'end date' is related to the different ways that our calendar was correlated to the Mayan calendar by the many people who have studied it over the last 150 years.

As far as we know, the Long Count has not been in use for over 300 years. There are Mayan daykeepers who currently use the tzolkin, but that is only a small part of the system and by itself, it is not adequate to correlate the calendars.

For a number of reasons, I support the December 21, 2012. One reason is that this date is the Winter Solstice and, many ancient cultures including the Maya, recognized this astronomical event.

This blog has several goals and I hope to post at least once a week.

Among the goals are:

Reviews of the many books that are now coming out.
Local events related to 2012
At least one forum on 2012.

Along the way, I will write my thoughts on what is going on and what it might mean.

Presently, I am preparing to teach a course at a local community college on Mayan Hieroglyphs and 2012.

I taught the hieroglyph part several times in the past, but since then there have been a lot of new translations. I am in the process of updating the glyph part of the course, then adding the latest thoughts about 2012.

I am producing a CD or DVD Mayan Hieroglyph course which will be available here as soon as it is finished.