We Are All Students, We Are All Teachers

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.

Apocalypse Any Day Now

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.