newearthreview.com

"Making Sense Out of Chaos"

By: Matt Grannan

 

The topic of December 21^st, 2012 has penetrated just about every school of thought in our

 

present world. The spiritual school has different theories than the scientific school about what will

 

happen. These theories are just that though, they are only hypothesis. But unfortunately the basis

 

of many of these theories is fear. Words like destruction, catastrophe, apocalypse and cataclysmic

 

change are most often heard. Cataclysmic change does not always have to be a catastrophe. There is

 

always a more optimistic view to take. This is what I am going to attempt to show in this paper. I am

 

attempting to bring together the theories, prophecies and present day events to show how our world is

 

changing. It is time to bring clarity out of the chaos that I have encountered in my research.

 

Approximately 65 million years ago a meteor left a 110 mile crater in the heart of what would

 

become the Mayan civilization. This meteor is what scientists believe caused the extinction of the

 

dinosaurs and sent our world into an ice age. It is another major belief that this will happen again one

 

day. It is really not so far fetched of a theory. Meteors have hit our planet multiple times in the past. We

 

live in an enormous universe where there are plenty of obstacles and our Earth does not come installed

 

with a steering wheel.

 

Every July and August the Earth passes through the tail of the Swift-Tuttle comet, causing

 

meteor shower after meteor shower! Again, scientists are concerned that one day particles of this

 

comets tail will not “flame-out” and disintegrate in the atmosphere, but will continue until it is stopped

 

by the surface. This would ultimately create yet another catastrophe that destroyed species upon species

 

of Earth's inhabitants.

 

I will continue by discussing the Mayan Culture. MSN Encarta Online Encyclopedia quotes the

 

Mayan culture as "possessing many practical skills, the most distinctive Maya achievements were in

 

abstract mathematics and astronomy. One of their greatest intellectual achievements was a pair of

 

interlocking calendars, which were used for such purposes as the scheduling of ceremonies." These

 

calendars have been shown to be the most accurate from any ancient culture. Gerald Benedict wrote a

 

book that is titled The Mayan Prophecies for 2012. In this book Mr. Benedict writes about the Mayan

 

concept of time and their powers of prophecy. The Mayans believed that time was represented best in

 

cycles. They recognized that time neither began or ended but was free flowing and continuously

 

repeated itself. There is much discussion in this book about history repeating itself, which played a big

 

part in their prophecies. The Mayan Long Count Calendar is a major focal point in Mr. Benedict's book.

 

The Long Count Calendar was derived from movements of several planets and the sun, and has been

 

the basis of the majority of prophecies that we hear about today. The significance of this calendar is that

 

it measured a 26,000 year cycle. This 26,000 year cycle was then broken into 5 separate cycles that the

 

Mayans called "sun cycles". These sun cycles were approximately 5,200 years in length. The end of

 

each sun cycle was marked by some form of catastrophe, whether that be an epidemic or a natural

 

disaster. Each of these catastrophes were talked about in the prophecies that Mayan priests recorded,

 

and many of these prophecies were given hundreds to even thousands of years in advance. The Mayans

 

even predicted the coming of "the white man" and an epidemic that may have played a huge role in the

 

Mayans unusual and sudden disappearance. Now, despite the "seeing" of these catastrophes before they

 

happened the Mayans did not appear to fear these events. There were celebrations at the end of these

 

cycles, where lamps were extinguished and pots were smashed. The relighting of lamps and the making

 

of new pots marked the beginning of the new cycle. It is apparent that the Mayans saw these events as

 

being necessary to the survival of humanity. Should we fear natural catastrophe? Or, should we carry

 

the same attitude the Mayans had and embrace it as a clearing away and transformation?

 

Lawrence Joseph is a journalist and science consultant who has written on scientific and

 

environmental topics for many publications like the New York Times, for example. He is currently

 

chairman of the board of Aerospace Consulting Corporation in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He wrote a

 

book that is entitled Apocalypse 2012 that speaks much about the scientific theories that show us the

 

way towards the "End of the World."

 

Lawrence writes that in 1993 NASA was testing some infrared photographic equipment over

 

Yellowstone National Park. These heat signature photographs showed the largest single caldera ever

 

discovered. Caldera means cauldron and is an underground depression filled with magma. In other

 

words, it is an underground volcano. This caldera is the size of Tokyo, Japan. Geological surveys have

 

shown that the magma has risen 3/4 of a meter since 1922. Geographical surveys show that

 

Yellowstone Lake, which is on top of this caldera, is now tilting due to the bulge caused by the magma

 

level. The Yellowstone caldera has been classified as a supervolcano. Volcanic eruptions have an

 

intensity scale, much like the Richter scale for earthquakes, called the volcanic explosivity index, or

 

VEI. The typical volcanic eruption, much like Mt. Saint Helens in 1980, is a 5 on the VEI. A five on

 

this scale is considered to be a fairly strong eruption. Unfortunately, the VEI on a typical supervolcanic

 

eruption is an 8 on the VEI, eight is as high as the scale goes. Most volcanic eruptions ooze magma and

 

explode the ash into the atmosphere. The ash blocks out the sun and makes it difficult to breathe, the

 

magma kills trees and wildlife. Supervolcanoes typically have devastating explosions that could have

 

enough force equal to 100,000 nuclear bombs. Not to mention the ash into the atmosphere. With the

 

force of these explosions a hundred times more ash could go into the atmosphere which would block

 

out the sun for much longer than that of any volcanic eruption we have seen in history. If that isn't

 

frightening enough, most known supervolcanoes are either covered by an ocean or on a shoreline,

 

which creates a boundary to the destruction. Yellowstone National Park is in the center of a continent,

 

there are no boundaries, only devastation. The typical eruption cycle for supervolcanoes is every

 

600,000 to 700,000 years, scientists believe that the last Yellowstone eruption was 640,000 years ago.

 

By this data, scientists believe that eruption is imminent and would, no doubt, be catastrophic.

 

Lawrence Joseph has written about a trip to South Africa where he visited the Hermanus

 

Magnetic Observatory. Here geophysicists study the Earth's magnetic field. This magnetic field

 

originates from the spinning of the molten core deep below our feet. This field expands from the poles

 

and far into space protecting us from harmful radiation from the sun. Far into our sky are two, what are

 

simply called, radiation belts. One layer contains protons and the other contains electrons. The function

 

of these belts are to dissipate and absorb solar radiation that comes in the form of solar storms. These

 

belts are why we have polar auroras. According to geophysicists here at the observatory, Earth's

 

magnetic field is weakening, and no one knows why. Some feel that this may be a cyclical occurrence,

 

in which we would not be able to avoid or change the events. One theory shows that the north and

 

south poles have increased their movement in the last decade. Typically the poles move a few miles a

 

year, but recently it has been found that they have been moving 12-18 miles per year. Increases in

 

movement of the poles is typically a sign that the magnetic field is weakening. The last polar shift is

 

suspected to have happened approximately 780,000 years ago, which would show that we could be due

 

for that also. Pole reversals do not happen instantly, if it did then that would point to a change in Earth's

 

rotation, which would be much more catastrophic. Instead a true polar reversal takes hundreds of years.

 

During that time we could expect to be bombarded with solar radiation, due to the magnetic field

 

growing too weak to protect us. Along with the prior we would see compasses pointing in all

 

directions, birds and other migratory animals would lose direction. Salmon would no longer be able to

 

find proper breeding waters. We would also see auroras going off at the equator. William Hutton is a

 

geologist who theorizes that the rapid movement of the poles shows that the Earth's mantle is moving,

 

not just the poles. If this is true then he states that we can expect an increase in volcanic and seismic

 

activity. Despite all of these theories, we still don't know which one is correct, if any of them truly are.

 

But, we do need to worry about the existing "crack" in the magnetic field. According to the

 

geophysicists at Hermanus Magnetic Observatory this "crack" is the size of California. It stretches

 

100,000 miles in between South Africa and Brazil and is called the South Atlantic anomaly. Several

 

satellites have already been damaged by solar flares that have permeated the atmosphere due to this

 

crack. One may ask, Well what else is possible, do solar storms only affect satellites? The answer is

 

NO! If this crack were to continue then we would see outbreaks of skin cancer and considerable damage to power grids, just to name a few. With 2012 being called a solar maximum year, which

 

means that there is a big chance of more and harsher solar storms, there is a chance that we could be

 

sent into a new dark age. Another effect of higher solar storms is that solar radiation decreases the

 

amount of cosmic rays, which help create clouds, in our atmosphere. Clouds help block infrared

 

radiation from the sun. This means that without clouds there is a much higher chance of UVA and UVB

 

coming to strike our skin. Anyone who knows anything about UVB knows that it burns! It also causes

 

skin blisters and skin cancer.

 

Mr. Joseph continues to discuss the fact that scientists have increased their study of the sun due

 

to an increase in sun spots. Sun spots are "larger-than-Earth magnetic storms that blemish the surface of

 

the sun."(Joseph 88) These magnetic storms are significantly cooler than the surrounding surface,

 

contributing to a dark spot on the surface of the sun. Sun spots occur in cycles of 9 to 13 years.

 

Typically they occur in 11 year cycles and each cycle lasts 5 to 6 years. There is an enormous

 

correspondence between sun spots and other solar activity, such as solar flares. The year 2005 was

 

supposed to be a solar minimum year, which means that there is a decrease in sun spot activity. This

 

year turned out to have enough solar activity to be considered a solar maximum year, which typically

 

has increased sun spots. There were not many sun spots in 2005, but the solar activity was shown to be

 

distinct. Just so there is no confusion, solar flares are rated on a classification scale. A classification of

 

C is light severity, classification of M is middle severity and X is the most powerful. Along with the

 

letter classification there is a number that is assigned to show the severity inside the classification. The

 

lower the number, the less severe the flare. In January of 2005 a sun spot the size of Jupiter erupted 4

 

solar flares. The most severe of this storm was classified as an X-7. But this one was different than

 

most solar flares. Typically it takes a flare 1 to 2 days to reach the Earth from the sun. This X-7 flare

 

made it to Earth's atmosphere in an astonishing and alarming 30 minutes. When a solar flare explodes

 

from the surface of the sun it creates a shockwave which sends particles, mostly protons, rocketing

 

through the universe. In January's X-7 these particles were propelled 50 times faster than usual flares. Imagine a cosmic shotgun being shot at the Earth's surface and you can get a fairly good idea of how

 

this effects our planet. On September 7th, 2005 Earth was struck by a phenomenally strong X-17 flare.

 

This was the second largest flare ever recorded. This blast caused blackouts of many shortwave, CB

 

and ham radio transmissions. Out of the Sun spot that caused this X-17 flare 9 more X-class flares

 

exploded in about 7 days.

 

According to scientists the sun is the most active it has been in 11,000 years. So you may ask,

 

What does this mean? My answer is to remember the above paragraph and the fact that scientists

 

believe that the Earth's magnetic field is weakening. Remember that the Earth's magnetic field is what

 

protects us from the solar radiation that is produced by solar flares. If we truly are heading into a time

 

of increased solar activity and scientists are also correct about the magnetic field then we are in for a

 

destructive time. If solar radiation were to hit us, as humans, then it would cause many health

 

problems. Not just radiation poisoning, but if it were to hit us in marrow producing cells, the solar

 

protons would obliterate our bodies ability to produce fresh blood cells. If this were to happen, our

 

blood supply would be depleted in about a week. Basically all who were struck by this radiation would

 

need bone marrow transplants, and I do not feel that we have that many donors in the galaxy.

 

To go along with the information from Mr. Joseph in his book Apocalypse:2012 I would like to

 

go back to Mr. Benedict's book Mayan Prophecies of 2012. I would like to introduce a prophecy that is

 

associated with symbology of the moon. The Mayans did not have only one calendar, in fact it was

 

mentioned above that they had several. The Tun-Uc is the Mayan calendar that was based off of the

 

moon. It provided daily predictions much like our horoscope does today, but was also a building block

 

for broader prophecy. This calendar tracked the phases of the moon in a 29 to 30 day cycle. To make it

 

more appropriate the Mayans took the median number of 29.5 days for the moon's true cycle. The

 

Mayans viewed the Moon as being a goddess. Childbirth, medicine and weaving were positive

 

associations with the moon and drunkenness, lust and sinful love were negative associations. The moon

 

was also associated with rain, therefore flooding and today we know that the moon's gravitational pull

 

is what controls our tides. The Mayans believed the moon to be unpredictable, hard to understand,

 

promiscuous and deceitful. Tarot also follows this with the meaning of it's Moon card, symbolizing

 

deceit, bewilderment and confusion.

 

Prophecies for the end of 2012 associated with the moon, although not specific, are less than

 

positive. It is more the influence of the moon that is being used in prophecy and symbology shows us

 

events that will surprise and challenge us, an association with water implies periods of disastrous

 

flooding. An association with drunkenness shows humanity intoxicated with materialism but in search

 

of deeper satisfaction and contentment. These with the contrast of Moon's relationship with childbirth

 

shows an emergence of a new, sensitive and more cosmically concious humanity. The two extremes are

 

fairly clear but the outcome is obvious balance. In this I must state that all of that sounds awfully

 

familiar! It seems as though that is a time that is pretty current to us right now. There truly is a sense of

 

optimism despite the destruction and fear that is associated with it.

 

There are several definitions for the word apocalypse. Religious sects like to say that it is the

 

end of the world. Some dictionaries define it as a prophetic revelation concerning a cataclysm in which

 

the forces of good triumph over the forces of evil. Another definition states that an apocalypse is any

 

universal or widespread destruction or disaster. These are both derived from the Greek phrase

 

apokalupsis eschaton which can be translated to "revelation at the end of an aeon, or age." There is yet

 

another definition for apocalypse, which is widely overlooked and that is directly derived from the

 

Greek word apokalypsis which is translated into "lifting of the veil." In this definition we have a n

 

awakening of ideas that are hidden from the majority of mankind. Which one do you feel fits into the

 

big picture of what we are going through today? Do either one of these direct translations say anything

 

about complete annihilation?

 

Even more along the lines of prophecy, the Mayans predicted that human beings would stray

 

away from celebrating the Earth and living from the Earth, as most ancient cultures did, to the attitude

 

of using the Earth for gain and abusing the Earth as we do today. We see this attitude today in every day

 

life. From the over use of fossil fuels and strip mining to the disappearance of wildlife from such

 

things as sub divisions and enormous cities. There is another prophecy attached to the prior that talks

 

about our return to the "old ways" in which we begin to treat the Earth with more respect, a respect that

 

we have strayed away from in our current way of life.

 

For now I would like to introduce you to a writer named Drunvalo Melchizedek. Drunvalo has

 

authored many books in the spiritual side of life. He has written books on sacred geometry and on ways

 

to live from our hearts. He is also a leader of several spiritual workshops and retreats to sacred sites in

 

Mexico and South America. Drunvalo is also a shaman who was trained in the ancient traditions of the

 

Taos Pueblo Native American tribe from New Mexico. Drunvalo is the author of a book called Serpent

 

of Wisdom: Beyond 2012. In this book, Drunvalo talks about his travels through Mexico and Central

 

America. Through these travels and his knowledge of sacred geometry he talks about channels of

 

energy that run through the Earth called the Unity Conciousness Grid. This grid, according to the

 

author, is what ties all living things together. This grid is what keeps us connected to nature and to the

 

divine, whatever version of the divine that you hold. The Unity Conciousness Grid can be closely

 

compared to the energy channels that acupuncturists and energy healers state run through our human

 

bodies.

 

To bring even more of an evidencial base behind what Drunvalo talks about in the Unity

 

Conciousness Grid, I introduce the idea of ley lines. In exploring the hypothetical idea of ley lines we

 

can see a similarity in Drunvalo's discovery of the Unity Conciousness Grid. Ley lines were first

 

discussed by Alfred Watkins in 1921. Upon exploring the British Isles, Mr. Watkins discovered that all

 

of the sacred sites were connected by straight lines. Mr. Watkins wrote a book, in 1921, called The Old

 

Straight Track and he shows that even when different cultures created different sites, the idea of the ley

 

line still existed. Now Mr. Watkins saw these as physical lines, not necessarily actual energy channels.

 

But this book was a groundbreaking look into something that New Age Spiritualists see even today.

 

These Spiritualists believe, much the same as Drunvalo, that these energy channels do exist but

 

are not detectable by the majority of society. There is also a belief that in Ancient Egypt obelisks, or

 

columns much like the shape and design of the Washington Monument, were used to channel the

 

energy coming from the Earth and bring it to the surface. All of these prior statements are, of course,

 

hypotheses but the evidence is definitely there.

 

Now along with the Unity Conciousness Grid, Drunvalo speaks about another energetic

 

mystery. He compares this next idea to the Hindu's belief of kundalini. The kundalini, according to

 

Hindu, is a coil of energy that rests at the base of the spine and through meditation can be brought up

 

through the torso and out the top of our heads. This is the route for enlightenment, according to

 

followers of Hindu. According to Drunvalo, the Earth also has kundalini. The Earth's kundalini is said

 

to settle in a specific area of the world and will move every 13,000 years. This energy was once in the

 

Himalayan mountains. Drunvalo explains that a huge spiritual influence comes from the place

 

wherever this energy is settled. The interesting thing is that the Himalayas border and cross into Tibet,

 

which was where Buddhism had it's biggest influence among the world. Buddhisms influence is still

 

felt today and has changed how some of us see life and the world. It was in between 1995 and 2000

 

when Drunvalo believes that the kundalini began making it's journey to a new resting place. This

 

resting place is in the Andes Mountains in South America. So now we are back to South America!

 

Now, we can go back to the Mayan prophecies. In the beginning of this paper I discussed the

 

prediction of how humanity would stray from the attitude of living one with nature. But the Mayans

 

also predicted that humanity would return to the "old ways" of treating the Earth with respect. These

 

events were predicted to be happening in the vicinity of December 21st, 2012. The amazing

 

coincidence between what Drunvalo explains of the Earth's kundalini moving to the Andes Mountains

 

and the Mayan's prediction of us moving to a more ecological way of life is that the majority of

 

civilizations that exist or have existed in South America are extremely shamanic and spiritual cultures.

 

These cultures have been extremely tied to the ways of nature and believe that if they treat nature with

 

respect then they will prosper. It is an attitude that would greatly benefit our world and humanity as a

 

whole. The belief is that we are heading there.

 

The beginning of the industrial age was the most influential time for our current worldview. We

 

were concerned with technology, we were concerned with advancement. In this attitude we sacrificed

 

our view of the Earth. It is not to say that this time has not had it's purpose. It has, we would not be at

 

this point in our evolution if all of that wouldn't have happened. We have made huge leaps in

 

technology the last 200 years.

We have made medical breakthrough, after medical breakthrough because of these sacrifices.

 

One example is that of Multiple Sclerosis, once a debilitating disease that put the inflicted into

 

wheelchairs, Rituxan is a cancer drug that is now used to treat the "white spots" and neurological

 

damage that is caused by Multiple Sclerosis. Some of the drugs that are used today to treat once

 

debilitating diseases are directly from plants that can only be grown in the rain forests of South

 

America. The unfortunate thing is that we, as humanity, take advantage of this fact and we deplete

 

these species of plants for our benefit. I say that now is a time for us to grow wiser and evolve and

 

begin thinking about how we can sustain our need for these rare herbs without harming nature in

 

the process.

 

There have been numerous discoveries in the last 200 years that have allowed us to be more

 

efficient and more successful. The discovery of what coal could do was one that gave us the power to

 

heat our homes more efficiently, it gave us a means to power trains. These trains are what allowed the

 

majority of this country to be inhabited. These trains helped deliver goods great distances which greatly

 

benefited our ancestors. The discovery of electricity was an even bigger benefit to society. Natural gas

 

allowed us to cook more efficiently. Gasoline made travel much more convenient. All of these things

 

had their benefits to humanity. We have moved from a time when someone ran the risk of dying from a

 

gunshot to the leg to a time where we have cures for most diseases that exist. If it wasn't for the

 

sacrifices that we have faced these years then we would not be at the point where we are. All of these

 

things have facilitated our evolution. They have had their sacrifices, some less obvious than others. But

 

those sacrifices and the effects are more obvious now than ever, and with greater knowledge comes a

 

greater responsibility.

 

Unfortunately, we can no longer live like this. It is time for humanity to once again evolve. That

 

does not mean that we lose everything that we have gained. It just means that we change the ways that

 

we think and live. This is a huge change, one that has much resistance. The pursuit of happiness has

 

been replaced by the pursuit of power and money. Greed has taken the place of nature. Greed has been

 

our downfall. This is evident in the panic of the international financial crisis. Those who were once rich

 

have lost everything. The price for gasoline has sky rocketed, all of these things are obvious. We have

 

lost respect for the things that assist in our survival, we have become complacent of humanity itself.

 

The old ways just are not working anymore.

 

We have hit another evolutionary spin. We are heading into a time of greater understanding, and

 

we have all of the crisis to thank for that. If we wouldn't have gone through the trials of today then we

 

would have no reason to change. Maybe this is the destruction phase that the Mayans speak about in

 

ending a sun cycle. Maybe it's a destruction in a way of life. Maybe this is what has needed to happen.

 

We now have a new attitude towards technology. We are in the process of expanding our uses of

 

ecological friendly materials. We are turning towards the sun and wind to power our homes. There are

 

actually states that have adopted solar and wind power grids. There are homes that are being run from

 

the sun and wind, and those people are making money off that power by selling off the excess. Hybrid

 

cars are popping up all over the freeways. We have a president that is working towards "energy

 

independence". All of these things are showing a change in attitude. All of these things are showing a

 

step in the right direction. All of these things are showing us a new way to live life. All of these things

 

are pointing to a more holistic and Earth friendly way of life. All of these things are showing that the

 

Mayans may not have been so wrong in their predictions. We have been slowly moving towards a

 

greater understanding of Earth Living. We do have a long ways to go, but I believe that we are heading

 

towards a greater place and a higher consciousness.

 

Through all of the predictions, theories and assumptions it is still hard to find the truth. The fact

 

is that we still don't necessarily know the truth. The fact is that we may not know the truth until the

 

final day comes. All that we can do now is live the way that we feel is right. In following our hearts we

 

will never go wrong. I hope that through this I have shown that there is no need to fear the events that

 

are called for by the Mayan calendar. I hope that I have taken, at least, a small percentage of fear out of

 

the words destruction and catastrophe. I hope that this has brought a much more optimistic tone to the

 

idea of 2012. May we move on with the wisdom gained from a prior way of life. May we learn from

 

our past mistakes and not repeat the events that lead us to this time. May we grow as a society just as a

 

teenager grows through life. The whole point of life is to learn and never stop learning.