2012
Posted on Feb 27th, 2007
by 
spiral5
spiral5
I've been reading quite a bit about 2012, the end of the Mayan calendar for the 4th age. There is much speculation about what it means for mankind, and some say the world will end on 12/21 of that year. The center of our galaxy will be shielded from us by our own solar system on that day so we will temporarily be free (well, relatively) from the forces of the black hole at the center of the Milky Way. Will the earth fly off its trajectory, will some atmospheric catastrophe strike, will we see the Second Coming as our friends disappear one by one as the novels describe?
My feeling is that we are ready for a change. I do see a shift in perspective in the circles I move in at least, and in the books and articles I am reading. Personally, I do not believe the world will end in 2012, but I do believe the timing may coincide with a world shift in culture. I see a turn away from overt materialism, an embracing of mind-body integration and an acceptance of the tangible power of intention from one being to another. By the latter I am referring to the work of Lynne McTaggart who is attempting a large experiment to determine the power of thought to change physical aspects of the world.
We have moved through the Information Age and are now into the Age of Ubiquity where we accept we are all connected with technology at least. This next phase, or age as the Mayans would have it, could represent the coming together of our technological connection (t see what is going on far and near) and emotional connection (to influence human behavior remotely). I'd be interested in others who have been wondering what 2012 will bring and how it might relate to Integral living.
Access: Public
2012
May 2008 
I am more than skeptical at these doom predictions… reading history, we find numerous repeated instances of “The End Of The World”… at the first millennium in A.C.E. 1000, of course the Y2K fiasco, many others have 'calculated' the final day… to me it's all BS. There is no pre-determined destiny for the planet or the universe. Of course, physicists can predict certain things for sure, like the sun burning out several billion years hence. I'm not losing any sleep about that. What does concern me though is the things that Man has brought about that will definitely affect ourselves and other life on the planet… not just global warming, but other things we may not even know about yet.
I do believe in spiritual power, the thought and prayer experiments are positive things. But let's not wake up on Jan. 1, 2013 and say “the prayers worked! we averted the Apocalypse!” That is as hubristic as the materialist philosophy that is drowning us in bad karma.
Hank,
Thanks for these comments. I agree with you whole-heartedly. My sense is that we are moving away from ‘the prayers are working (or not)” paradigms wrought by more traditional religions, to a more open inquiry about the workings and benefits of spiritual power per se. The appearance of sites such as Zaadz, the philosophy of Wilber and others, the current interest in quantum physics and what it means for our closely held assumptions about ourselves and our world, all point to an emerging trend away from determinism and reductionism. I don’t believe in Utopia any more than I believe the world will end in 2012, but I do believe we are due for a shift in perspective that future generations will look back on as having the relevance and impact of, say, the Enlightenment Period.