2012; The End of the World…or is it?

2012Ok, hang on folks; we’re going for a ride, a wild ride that may leave us wondering if tomorrow’s really going to come, or if the hype is all in our head after all.

December 21st (or the 23rd) in the year 2012 (either a Friday or a Sunday in the Gregorian calendar) is a day most everyone is anxiously awaiting.  It’s a day some fear with all their soul, others look forward to it as a day of ascendance, most wait with subtle curiosity and a nagging nervousness somewhere in the back of their mind.

The truth is that most people aren’t entirely sure what to expect, whether that be a product of their own ignorance, or the result of the volumes upon volumes of misinformation, mistranslation, speculation and conjecture flooding the internet on this subject.

Officially there is no official story, the establishment of mainstream science wholly rejects the prophecy as pseudoscience and lends no credibility to any one interpretation over another, though some critics suggest that many believers actually find credence in this scientific rejection of the theory, citing that science is the cause of this coming spiritual cleansing; ‘of course they [scientists] don’t understand it’.

A little cursory research and reading will lead you to a multitude of explanations for the theory, and even more than a few alternate theories for the end of the Mayan Calendar.  The problem, as you’ll soon find, is that there are so many theories, arguments and ideas on the subject, that one finds it difficult to believe one over another anyway.

Invariably, flocks of people have set up camp amongst their favourite theorists, and each group is slowly (or quickly as the case may be) gaining the support of certain sect’s of popular culture.  It seems the lines have been drawn, the debate is fuelled and the battle has begun.

In any event, there are some common themes, if you will, running through the various interpretations of this prophecy.

According to the Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar, Friday December 21, 2012 is the end…but the end of what?   The end of that particular calendar?  The end of the world?  The end of mankind?  Or just the end of time (as though that’s somehow less severe than the others)?

Now, while those questions hang in the air for a bit, let’s understand something here.  The origin of this legend is not based in academic fact; the Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar continues to count on well after 2012, the calendar itself shows no specific hiccup, pause or end to time, nor to the earth or her unendingly curious inhabitants.  What does end on that date, or the 23rd depending on your Gregorian calendar calculations, is the thirteenth baktun (essentially the Mayan equivalent to a millennia).  Scientists and several Mayan historians agree that there are no quantifiable and/or original theories from the Mayan era that suggest an end to anything other than the baktun.

Having dealt with the rational view of this issue, let’s look at what the “prophets” say isgoing to happen on that date.  Unfortunately for some, I have neither the patience nor the time to examine and lay out all of the 2012 theories, as there are many, but I will offer the leading ideas before we move onto my own reasons for why 2012 is a less of a threat than indicated.

Only two items in the Mayan Corpus (the body of scholarly writings from the Mayan era) out of the many hundreds of texts, carvings and documents that exist, are thought to deal with 2012, both of which have been defaced by time and vandals, though in spite of this, some historians believe that the Tortuguero and the Chilam Balam both discuss the prophesised events of 2012.  Roughly translated these works are believed to say the following:

“The thirteenth baktun will end on 4 ajaw, the 3rd of Uniiw [believed to be December 21];black will occur and it will be the decent of Bolon Yookte K’uh to the great.”

Bolon Yookte K’uh is believed to be the name of a Mayan God, though no one knows what is meant by his descending to the great.  In all, this theory, if that’s what we can call it, indicates that something will happen on this date, involving an as yet unknown God, who will do something…possibly falling from the heavens.

Now, no end-of-the-world prophecy would be complete without a new age twist in the works, and the 2012 myth is no exception.

Perhaps the most widely held prophecy for 2012 is that of a global shift in consciousness.  Depending on who you talk to, or whose book you read, you’ll get a different story about how this shift in consciousness will occur, let alone why.

There are those who believe that this shift will be a period of enlightenment and transcendence for only those people, who either deserve it, or who have achieved a certainly level of spirituality; naturally, the enemy of this enlightenment is western society and culture.  Others believe that we are facing a stage of spiritual evolution, or a mutation of consciousness; this theory often involves an outside influence, whether extraterrestrials, inter-dimensional beings or unseen cosmic forces.  Those who argue for this particular theory often cite UFO sightings and encounters, and crop circles as evidence for their ideas.

Third on our list comes from the doomsayers of our time, though they certainly aren’t alone in their ideas and fears.  In this category ( I hesitate to call it a category as some of these theories are so far fetched they don’t really deserve the attention) are traditional apocalyptic ideas of the end of the world, as well as cosmic alignment theories and even planetary collision theories.

It’s no surprise that religious theorists have latched onto this phenomenon of belief and spun their own versions of how 2012 will be the end of days.  Even though there is no connection whatsoever to any biblical prediction, many claim that the time of Christ will come to an end on this fateful day, and we will be plunged into Hell. (This is me, rolling my eyes.)

Seemingly to aid the Christian apocalypse theory, some fringe astronomers and cosmologists have come up with theories of flattering scale in an attempt to explain what might happen in 2012.  Though, be careful to read that correctly.  These theories were engineered in reverse, they were dreamt up to provide a vehicle to house our irrational fear of 2012, and they are not historically founded.

andy_lloyd_nibiru_pathOne such theory is that a cosmic alignment will occur on that date which will cause magnetic and gravitational forces in our galaxy to rip our planet apart.  Another is that during this alignment, the hidden and as yet undiscovered planet Nibiru, a twin of our Earth trapped in a mirroring orbit on the opposite side of the sun, will fall from its orbital path and collide with the Earth.

You may be able to sense my growing distain toward these theories, but regardless of what I may think, many people are steadfast in their confidence that one of the above catastrophes will occur on December 21st (or 23rd) 2012, and as I hope to demonstrate below, my opinion may be entirely irrelevant.

The Law of Attraction…while I think Einstein might have argued against calling this concept a law, the popular definition of this term is sweeping the globe as a fundamental principal of personal empowerment.  Generally speaking, the Law of Attraction is the basic idea behind Intention Manifestation, or the idea that the universe (a term used loosely to describe the cosmic forces that bind us all together), can and does grant wishes; that we can, through guided visualisation and positive reinforcement, create our own realities.

yaegerIntention Manifestation is not a new idea, some claim that it’s a product of ancient Hindi teachings, others that it has a Buddhist origin, whatever the case, it is widely taught and practised by self-help gurus, guides, counsellors and even Christian ministers etc (the idea of prayer is thought to be an extension of the same principal).  When a person fine tunes and uses their own intention (their will, combined with their needs and emotions), they can manifest or create the object of their intention in reality.  Basically, make a wish, and want it, truly and honestly, and the universe will provide.

So here’s were my monologue is going to get a little strange for some of you.

If we accept the prophecies of 2012 to be true, as so many people have, then the Law of Attraction isn’t really such an out there theory either.  Though, I would suspect some would argue against that logic.  In any event, as I follow this line of thinking, I can’t help but notice that in nearly every person I know, and probably in every person on the planet (with certain exceptions), there is a deep seeded desire to survive.

No one wants to die (again, with certain exceptions), and I suspect that even without knowing, nearly every person on the planet is able to contribute to our species survival, even beyond the potential catastrophes of 2012, by manifesting that reality for themselves.

I know, we’re getting bogged down here, lets get past it.

If intention manifestation and the law of attraction are true, even in small part, the effect those principals could have on an apocalyptic event, one that has been foretold by say…the 2012 prophecies, could be to cancel out the possibility of the event from happening at all.

I told you it was going to be a wild ride.  In any event, both of these ideas, the Law of Attraction and any one of the 2012 prophecies, is just as likely as the other to be true.  Belief in one certainly doesn’t require belief in the other, but as much as they are not complimentary to each other, they are potentially related, I suppose it all depends on your perspective.

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