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.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Sunday, December 13, 2009
New Moon Conjunct the Galactic Center
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.
For a Galactic Center reading, contact me.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
The Feel is For Real
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
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
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Research Continues - Jaguar Paw and the World Tree
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.
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.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
2012 The Movie
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.
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.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Conference in Cancun January 22-24
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!
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.
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.
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