by Donald L. ODell
Perhaps you've heard about an event, believed to occur in or
near
The event, scheduled to occur in 2012 (some say 2011), is
when the ancient Mayan Calendar ends.
In 2012 the Mayan Calendar simply stops. Finis.
Done. Over.
Do we really just have only six more years? Is this Mayan
event equivalent to the promised biblical Armageddon? Do we need to be
frightened? Nervous? Awed? Anxious?
Mildly or intensely curious? Do we need to re-look at
our investment portfolios? Are we doomed or saved? Just what is this 2012
event?
Let's take a brief look at the Mayan calendar.
The Mayans - living in the
There are nine Underworlds in the universe of the Maya. They
are called Underworlds, not because of a Mayan concept of Hell, but because of
the activated crystalline structures in the earth's inner core. These
crystalline structures were not "scientifically" known by the Mayans,
but were "sensed" or "intuited" by the spiritual priests
and tribal leaders, chief of whom was Kukulcan - better known as Quetzalcoatl in the Aztec
culture.
Each Underworld consists of seven days and has a duration -
a length of time - that is equivalent to twenty times the length of the
subsequent underworld. These lengths of time are called "cycles" in
the Mayan Calendar. The last day of each cycle contains all of the following
cycles, so all cycles will end at the same time. Each cycle is divined to
accomplish a "greater" sense of consciousness: Build on the previous
cycle and, simultaneously, lay preparations for the following cycle.
A simplified summary follows (for more information on this
subject, I would recommend The Mayan Calendar and the Transformation of
Consciousness, by Carl Johan Calleman, PhD, Bear
& Company Publishers, Rochester, Vermont).
During the initial cycle, the universal consciousness moved
from the Big Bang and the creation of matter to the emergence of cell
structures. During the second cycle, consciousness moved from cellular
structures to mammalian organisms. Consciousness shifted from animals to
primates during the third cycle and from primates to humans in the fourth
cycle. During the fifth cycle, humans raised their consciousness with the
development of a spoken language and a community organization. The sixth cycle
began with the development of a written language and a sense of a national
consciousness - a consciousness of being a "people" among other
organized "peoples." During the seventh cycle, beginning about the
time of The Industrial Age, the idea that we were a global people was
germinated. The eighth cycle, which we are currently in, will see that
embryonic sense of a global community come to fruition. The last cycle - or age
- the Mayan Calendar records will begin in early 2011 and end later that year.
It marks the end of our dualistic civilization as we currently know it -
east/west, rich/poor, either/or, us/them, me/you - and the beginning of a new
order of life: Global citizenship; Intuitive knowledge; Sharing of resources;
Cooperation rather than competitiveness; Spirit-driven rather than
materialistic-driven.
As mentioned earlier, each "cycle," according to
the Mayans, is twenty times shorter than the one preceding. This rather simple
fact of the Mayan Calendar very neatly explains what we have all suspected and
often hear: Events not only seem to be speeding up, events are speeding up.
The first cycle began 16.4 Billion years ago, close to when
astronomers now fix the Big Bang event and the beginning of the creation of
matter. The second cycle began 850 million years ago, near to the timeframe
anthropology and geology use as the beginning of the first animals.
The third cycle began 40 million years ago, near to when
scientists now believe was the emergence of the first primates. The fourth
cycle began 2 million years ago, near to when anthropology places the emergence
of the first humans.
The fifth cycle began 102,000 years ago with the probability
of the first spoken language, according to anthropologists. The sixth cycle
began 5,125 years ago (circa 3100 bce) with the
emergence of the first written language - the Sumerians. This sixth cycle,
known as the National Underworld, is also the beginning of the Mayan "Long
Count" calendar.
The seventh cycle (known as the Planetary Underworld) began
256 years ago (circa the mid-Eighteenth Century),
about the time historians place the beginning of the Industrial Age. It was
near the end of this cycle that the 1st Harmonic Convergence occurred in August
1987, ushering in a countdown to the end of the Mayan Long Count. The eighth
cycle began
The Galactic Cycle will be marked by the realization of the
true impact of information technology on the global economy, as expressed by
the use of the Internet. The marked rise in the importance and role of
intuition and the spiritual unity of the global community will also be quite
evident. The movement will move rapidly from an either/or (or us/them)
mentality to one of true global cooperation and sharing. This phenomenon is
often referred to as one of higher vibrations or the beginning of a non-dual
cosmic consciousness. Incidentally, the 2nd Harmonic Convergence will occur
near the end of this cycle in May 2010.
The ninth cycle, known as the Universal Underworld, will begin
on
At the end of the calendar, according to the Mayans,
humankind will have direct divine contact, understanding, and consciousness. This
will not happen all at once, just as the Industrial Age, which historians
generally mark with the invention of
Think of this analogy: Two blacksmiths are standing in front
of their shops, across the road from one another, when the first automobile
comes putt-puff-putting down
It's an attitude. It's all in how we perceive change. If we
perceive change with fear, we will resist it, like the first blacksmith. We
recall the axiom: What one resists will persist. If we welcome change as part
of a divine plan (however you choose to define that), then we will adapt, grow,
evolve, and even flourish.
The end of the Mayan Calendar is not predicting a physical
end of the world - just like a physical end of the world is not described in
the Book of Revelations in the Bible. But, according to the Mayans, this last
Cycle, the Universal Underworld, does mark an end of the world as we know it -
as we have come to understand how things work. This is similar to the Book of
Revelations that describes an end to the world as the writer perceived it to be
at the beginning of the Second Century. John of Patmos
wrote Revelations in visionary "code," since to be caught with
recognized Christian literature was a punishable offense in his time. In a
sequence of dream-like visions, he perceives the defeat of evil empires and the
establishment of a reign of peace, ruled by God, where we are freed from pain
and suffering.
As these shifts in consciousness or shifts in perceived
reality occur, there will be persons - those in power, those invested in
keeping the things the way they have been, those immersed in religious systems
that assuage people's fears - who will "fight" to prevent change. So,
there will be conflict, as is always the case with change. Could the conflict
become so severe nuclear weapons could be unleashed
and the earth would become uninhabitable? It certainly is possible. Is it
probable? I don't think so.
We're moving from a level of collective consciousness: 1)
Where others are viewed as competitors, 2) Where we see ourselves as survivors
scrambling to get our share of what we perceive to be limited (or lack of)
resources, and 3) Where we perceive ourselves working, struggling and fighting
within all the elements of a dualistic view of the world where we see
everything in terms of right/wrong, good/evil, plenty/scarcity,
judging/comparing (from our us/them point of view, of course) and have created
a world filled with fear, guilt, shame and resentment.
We are moving to an Age of Peace and Harmony, summarized in
the ancient Mayan greeting In Lak'ech or "I am
another you." Other spiritual movements have similar traditions. Egyptian
and Vedic traditions describe the transformation of consciousness. The Incans,
the Hopi, and the Keys of Enoch discussed the return of the Children of Light
and the rise in spirituality and decline in religion.
During the last fifty years, Share International has been
predicting the emergence of Maitrayea, the world
teacher for the new age, and the remainder of a hierarchical of spiritual
masters, including the Christ, the fifth Buddha, the Imam Mahdi,
and the Messiah. There have been recent writings, such as Lee Carroll's Indigo
Children, that describe a higher form of consciousness and awareness that is
emerging today - an emergence that is visible as an indigo-colored aura
surrounding these gifted children, many of whom are misunderstood today.
Astrologers have been predicting our movement from the Age of Pisces, marked by
5,000 years of idealism and patriarchy, to the multi-centuries lifespan of the
Age of Aquarius. This new age will be noted by the resurgence of the power of
"the total group" in the raising of consciousness. The Age of
Aquarius also will bring back the divine Feminine to create a balance in
"unity" consciousness - a healing of the energies between the masculine
and the feminine.
Just think what is about to happen: Peace; Harmony; Sharing;
Cooperation; Caring for Mother Earth; A Truly Global Sense of Community; The
Spirituality of Love (or an Honest Spirituality) Replacing Fear-Based
Religiosity. Wow!
Prepare for it. Welcome it.
Rejoice in the end of this world, as we have known it.
Rejoice in the beginning of the world we have longed for.
Hallelujah!
About the Author
Donald O'Dell holds a Master of Divinity from Princeton
Seminary and is the author of How the Bible became the Bible, recipient of the
2006 Royal Palm Literary Award. Both Unity and Religious Science International
recommend his book. Visit http://www.DonODell.com for more information about
his book.
