Mayan Hieroglyph Classes Start Soon!

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

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

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

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

You can register at SRJC online by clicking here

or at San Joaquin Delta College by clicking here

See You This Summer in Vancouver!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Missed 2012 The Tipping Point in Cancun?

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

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

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

2012 TIPPING POINT: THE PROPHETS CONFERENCE CANCUN

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

Russell Targ - $20 2-CDs
Experiencing The Future

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Miguel Angel Vergara - $15 CD
Mayan Cosmology

Graham Hancock - $15 CD
A Species with Amnesia

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

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

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

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

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

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

For part 2 click here.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.