Sunday, November 30, 2008

Fear of Darkness



Fear of Darkness

Over the weekend I thought I would stop writing this blog. It was too hard, and I did not have anything to give. I realized I was afraid because of all the pain flowing through my heart. Afraid that I would always be wandering in a desert of pain and confusion.

It was a very deep fear, that I could not find the way - the way inside. That I would always be a shadow needing someone to be close because I was afraid of my own darkness. And even if some kind soul was willing to try I had nothing to say in gratitude because there were no gracious words in my dark heart.

But finally I thought to just write a little about the fear itself. Because who knows, maybe this experience is not only mine. Maybe it is not merely my personal grief and anguish, but something other people suffer as well. Maybe it is part of the general human experience of these times.

And one thing I saw was that the fear invades all my confused thoughts – the horrible conflicts and twists and tangles that seem to have no solution. And these grow into dark smothering clouds of grief. But beneath the things fear says about how my life is so messed up, the scariest message is that – I can’t find the way and won’t ever be able to find the way. I will always be a blind man wandering helpless and hopeless in the thorny realm of endless emotional agony.

And I don’t know the answer to give back. Maybe it is true and if so I have a long hard road to go through until life mercifully ends. Or maybe it is not and sunlight will eventually break through and illumine a path that is now hidden from sight. Maybe the sun is closer than I even know, like in the beautiful scene above – hidden barely by some filmy clouds and ready to bathe the world in light.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

The Bridge People



The Bridge People

The bridge people are somewhere between what was and what is yet to be. They are separated from the shore, suspended above solid ground, abiding in uncertainty.

They learned that what was asked for would be given. The prayer of their heart wasn’t for things of this world, but rather to find again the long lost love, so dimly remembered. And the prayer was to follow whatever would lead closer to that love, without which life meant nothing.

An open door still needs to be passed through, and this requires leaving where one has been. Many devils held the bridge people in bondage to their comfort and consolation. They pummeled every possible doubt until fear rose like an unassailable terror.

But the devils were unwitting friends. The loss they threatened was salvation in disguise. To become less was to discover something deeper that could not be diminished. And thus the bridge people learned to trust no more in this world, but rather in the Life that creates all worlds.

And now they testify before the Unsleeping Eyes of their thanksgiving. Given what was asked for, they bow in gratitude before the Almighty Love.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

The Climb Toward Uncertainty



The Climb Toward Uncertainty

The more scientists discover about the workings of the universe, the more that knowledge reveals a profound innate uncertainty. For instance, quantum physics has proven that minute particles of matter are actually influenced in their actions by the observer himself, so that their behavior cannot be predicted by purely mechanical or logical definitions.

According to Wikipedia, “The Heisenberg uncertainty principle states that the values of certain pairs of conjugate variables (position and momentum, for instance) cannot both be known with arbitrary precision. That is, the more precisely one variable is known, the less precisely the other is known. This is not a statement about the limitations of a researcher's ability to measure particular quantities of a system, but rather about the nature of the system itself.”

As revelations about uncertainty on a micro level become known and experienced, it seems that a similar process is occurring on the macro level of human society. In centuries past, entire generations could live pretty much exactly as their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents had. Change was slow and unexpected.

In these days however, change is the norm and almost nothing remains as it was for long. New developments in technology are rapid fire, yet the hunger among consumers for what is faster, smaller, cheaper and more exciting never seems satisfied.

In human interactions transformation is also evident. Relationships shift, people move to other geographical areas and take up different occupations, all with a fluidity and dispatch that is unique to our times.

“Our times” is the key word here. For the Mayan calendar indicates that this period will continue to exhibit dramatic change that will even escalate in intensity – at least until the year 2012. We are currently in Day Six of the Galactic Underworld’s seven day cycle, which according to Carl Johan Calleman’s analysis is characterized by the theme “flowering” and “coexistence between new spirituality and the remnants of the global materialistic power.”

For people or collectives to function and find peace in these times means accepting and adapting to uncertainty. The “global materialistic power” is not merely “out there” in the world at large. It is in everyone to some degree. It is evident in the egoic mentality that revolts against uncertainty and seeks stability according to its own views. How to spot it? Watch for the following ego-reinforcing attitudes:

“This isn’t how my life ought to be right now. This shouldn’t be happening. Things are supposed to be different. “

Embracing uncertainty is not easy, and could be likened to a steep hike - the effort of climbing through dark woods toward the sunlight. Yet indications are that uncertainty is an aspect of the greater life of freedom that humanity craves.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

The Back Side



The Back Side

I have always thought that the alleys behind houses were more interesting than the streets in front of them.

The front of the house is the display side. If people care at all how they live, this is where they put on the best “front.” Things are spiffy, in their place, decorated to make an impression about who lives there.

The alley generally shows a different story. On the back side of houses you can observe how people really live, rather than how they want others to think they live. This view may be nice, but it can also be messy, trashy, disorganized and worse. There is a lot less pretense on the back side.

Because of that, alleys often display their own kind of beauty. It is usually a relief to get off the street and find an alley to walk down, even when you have to side-step some old tire, a mud puddle, a pile of debris here and there, and so on.

People are like this in themselves as well. There is the display side, which is what others are supposed to see. Then there is the back side, which may be quite different. If you ever find a way into someone’s alley and get a view of the back side, then you may catch of glimpse of the real person in all their messy beauty.

Monday, November 24, 2008

The Fog is Lifting



The Fog is Lifting

In the discussions about a global shift in consciousness there are many predictions regarding vast external changes of a geophysical nature which are expected to occur. Earth’s rotation may reverse, its magnetic field may collapse or change polarities, the Schuman resonance will increase, etc.

Externalization is a perennial disposition of the human mind – at least in our present Kali Yuga age. But what happens on the outside is not the big deal. It’s what happens inside that counts.

The Bible’s Book of Revelations is packed with graphic imagery of an end times scenario characterized by incredible destruction and devastation. Great plagues, suffering on an unprecedented scale, disease, death, planetary upheavals, and no place to hide. Yet what is the underlying meaning behind these catastrophes? Look for the clue in the following verses:

“And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk” (Revelation 9:20).

“And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory” (Revelation 16:9).

In other words, all the outer calamity and pain is a gift from a loving God that wants to turn mankind from its false view of reality and toward the truth.

Even a cursory review of earth’s geologic record will show that vast planetary changes are quite the norm, at least over an extended period of time. There is nothing in this of itself that should generate either anticipation or alarm, unless you are very attached to your life on this earth and afraid of losing it.

The really big deal is when something happens internally. There are wonderful stories in the Buddhist tradition of a monk who suddenly becomes enlightened, and the only outer event marking this conversion experience is a slight smile crossing his lips.

When the inner man is released from bondage to the outer materialistic world, to a limited, external view of reality, to a belief in separation from God and others. This is vast. This is beyond time. This is worth writing home about.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Wise Guidance



Wise Guidance

In the face of the radical change, what do people really need? Entities who successfully answer this question will be the survivors of our current global crisis. They will be the ones emerging as leaders in the years leading up to 2012 and beyond, because they perceived and responded to the shifting tectonic plates of human consciousness.

Radical transformation is disorienting – just take a look at the global economic situation for proof. People are scared and angry; they want someone to “take control” and make everything all right again – preferably “the way it used to be.” There can be a profound sense of loss, vulnerability, helplessness and uncertainty.

In this climate people do not need new cars. They don’t need new high definition televisions, fancy gadgets or non-essentials of any kind. They don’t need to give or receive unnecessary gifts just because it is the holiday season and merchants want to sell wares. The sense of crisis forces them to evaluate what is vital (from Latin vite, “giving life”) and what is not.

Someone lost in a blinding snowstorm needs one vital thing: guidance. They want to know how to find safety and how to get to it before freezing to death.

BUT! The guidance must be true – that is, it must be based on wisdom, and wisdom comes from real experience combined with insight. Anyone with wise guidance has something priceless to offer in a crisis. This is a service that can generate life-saving hope. It is like giving a blind person sight again.

“Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18). In this world right now are millions of people without a vision who don’t know what is happening or why it is happening. They may feel death looming - figuratively if not actually. What they want more than anything is wise guidance.

Michael Brown’s “Living in Aberdeen” blog (http://navigating2012.blogspot.com) has a fascinating quote from the late Nelson Fernandez of the Mohave Tribe:

"Dreams are for sleeping people - waking people have visions. This is why America is in such a mess; the people here are chasing their American dream. What about their American vision?"

The Bible suggests something similar through the Old Testament prophet Joel. An idea so important that it is repeated also in the New Testament Book of Acts:

“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions” (Joel 2:28).

The old men, which is to say the “old man,” dreams. But the young men, or the new men, the people of the new consciousness, have visions. And those visions can be a source of hope for new life to those who are still asleep and dreaming.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Crisis for the Global Materialistic Culture

In the countdown to 2012 we continue to see the world economy collapsing. The S&P 500 has now slid to an eleven and a half year low. The Dow and NASDAQ both closed at their lowest points since March 12, 2003, which was just above the low of the last bear market. The big three automakers in Detroit are looking for a government bailout with taxpayer money, while flying to Washington in private jets to ask for it. Why are they in this predicament? Because they have not been interested in building what people really need.

According to Carl Johan Calleman, the Mayan Calendar suggests that this present period is characterized by a “deep crisis for the global materialistic culture.” Although media pundits anxiously speculate on when the crashing economic picture will “bottom,” it is quite possible that the world is changing permanently, and will not ever return to what it has been.

Much of the global materialistic culture has been devoted to creating consumer addicts, people who want products not out of need, but for superficial and spurious reasons. This ultimately depletes and wastes not only finite and precious planetary resources, but it also militates against the authentic nature of persons, who exist in a multidimensional reality that includes more than this physical universe.

The global materialistic culture MUST collapse, because it is fundamentally unhealthy. This process, while necessary, is likely to be rough and painful. It will be a collective experience similar to that which someone goes through personally when he or she finally becomes willing to face their own inner state of dysfunction.

The good news is that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and that the tunnel isn’t really that long. And the main question for everyone involved is this: are we going to accept the change, or resist it?

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

The Kali Yuga - Ending in 2012

The Kali Yuga, or of Age of Vice, is what the Indian scriptures call this present age which began in the year 3102 BCE. It is considered to be one of the four ages of mankind’s development, the darkest age of materialism, egocentricity and spiritual blindness. The Kali Yuga is destined to end in 2012 and lead to another age, a new golden age for mankind. Rene Guenon writes:


According to the Hindu tradition of cosmology, we are now nearing the end of the Kali Yuga (the Age of Iron) which is the final and most negative of four evolutionary Yugic cycles.

Each Yuga is like the season of a super-cosmic year, even greater than the cosmic year of the precession of the equinoxes. When the Earth came into its current phase of manifestation and the first Yuga began ('Satya' Yuga, meaning 'Purity') humanity was barely removed from its original state of God-like innocence. This was the original Golden Age. As time progressed the planet underwent the influence of a negative descending spiral, and the quality of life in each successive Yuga became further and further removed from the knowledge of truth and natural Law (in other words, 'Reality'). In the second, Treta Yuga (Silver Age) spiritual awareness decreased by one fourth and by the time of Dvapara Yuga (Copper Age) negativity had a 50% holding. In the Kali Yuga the vibration has become pretty murky and humanity is labouring against heavy odds. Righteousness (right-use-ness) has diminished to scant one fourth of its original strength.

Throughout our current history we have created and been assailed by all the evils of Pandora's box. No wonder the human race is having such a difficult time. But the turning point has now arrived, and the dawn once more sheds its light on a confused and ignorant planet. The Vishnu Purana, one of the oldest sacred texts of India says about the Kali Yuga, "The leaders who rule over the Earth will be violent and seize the goods of their subjects... Those with possessions will abandon agriculture and commerce and will live as servants, that is, following various possessions. The leaders, with the excuses of fiscal need, will rob and despoil their subjects and take away private property. Moral values and the rule of the law will lessen from day to day until the world will be completely perverted and agnosticism will gain the day among men."

There are many other references to this division of time. For instance, in the Bible, Nebuchandnezzar's dream (Daniel 2:31-45) was of a bright and terrible image with a head of finest gold, chest of silver, hips of brass and legs of iron. The feet and toes were of iron mixed with clay. This image was destroyed by stone, unmade by human hands, which crushed the feet to dust and the pieces blew away in the wind. Although Daniel the prophet interpreted the various metals as the world empires which succeeded Babylon, the dream also has a more cosmic meaning. It represents the great yugas. The iron legs are the Iron Age or Kali Yuga which deteriorates at the end of its cycle into the present unstable civilisation symbolised by the feet of iron and clay. The prophet interpreted the stone as the true kingdom of God which would replace the other civilisations as the real and lasting Kingdom.

This end only appears to be the "end of the world," without any reservation or specification of any kind, to those who see nothing beyond the limits of this particular cycle; a very excusable error of perspective it is true, but one that has nonetheless some regrettable consequences in the excessive and unjustified terrors to which it gives rise in people who are not sufficiently detached from terrestrial existence; and naturally they are the very people who form this erroneous conception most easily, just because of the narrowness of their point of view. ...the end now under consideration is undeniably of considerably greater importance than many other, for it is the end of a whole Manvantara, and so of the temporal existence of what may rightly be called a humanity, but this, it must be said once more, in no way implies that it is the end of the terrestrial world itself, because, through the "reinstatement" that takes place at the final instant, this end will itself immediately become the beginning of another Manvantara...if one does not stop short of the most profound order of reality, it can be said in all truth the "end of a world" never is and never can be anything but the end of an illusion.

(from "The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times" by Rene Guenon)


This information may provide some intellectual comfort, but the emotional experience of it is another matter. We may feel intense anger about living in a world where so much goes wrong, inside our own selves that we don't understand but are held accountable for. Where we don't know how to love or be loved. Where there is so much excruciating pain that we have closed ourselves off so as not feel to anything - just to survive and function.

We may feel anger that we hurt people and don't know how to not hurt them. Anger at this frustrating, problematic, wounded life that has broken our hearts from the beginning, broken us so completely that we don't want anything, don't care about anything, just wish we could fall into oblivion and forget it all.

We don't know what to do - We cry and weep and hope those dark depths of sorrow could somehow find their end and give just a hint of sunshine. And the Mayan Calendar offers some hope that indeed, the dawn is about to break. The countdown to 2012 will not last much longer. Of course, this doesn't mean we can simply do nothing and let everything happen around us. Our intent must be to enter the dawn consciously by courageously facing the darkness within our own selves.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

The Antichrist

There is a large body of prophetic writing and conjecture about the mysterious person called “Antichrist,” who is supposed to appear in the last days of this world and captivate virtually all of mankind. Contemporary interest in this subject is amply demonstrated by the popularity of the “Left Behind” series of books and films. If Antichrist is actually to come however, it is likely that such popularized depictions do nothing but play into his hands by creating expectations about definite political scenarios to be played out on the world stage.

No matter what people say they “believe in,” the thing they most truly believe in is THEMSELVES, their own sense of identity as a body, as a collection of behaviors, as a history of life circumstances. All of this is temporary and passing, therefore vulnerable to manipulation. Those whose sense of identity is strongly within their own egos are therefore prime candidates to be swept into the realm of Antichrist, regardless of any professions of “faith” that might suggest otherwise.

Jesus said repeatedly that his “kingdom is not of this world,” and that “the kingdom of heaven is within you.” Yet we continue to look to this world for answers and salvation; we want someone to take charge who knows what to do. The American presidential elections are good examples of this.

The transformation of consciousness to which Jesus alluded, and whose approach is indicated by the Mayan calendar, is not a “given.” According to prophetic literature, it is a matter of choosing that which is above rather than that which is below, that which is whole rather than that which is in part, that which is true rather than that which is false. What the Mayan calendar indicates is that the implications of this choice will become increasingly palpable, and that the consequences of making it one way or the other clearer.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Less Time to do More



Less Time to do More

People frequently complain that they have less and less time to do more and more. Why is that? The Mayan conception of time was fundamentally different from that of modern man. They conceived that there were nine Mayan underworlds, or periods of life development, since the origination of the universe. These were related to one another with mathematical precision, and one led to the next – but not in a strictly linear fashion.

  1. The Cellular Underworld spans 16.4 billion years and began 16 billion years ago

  2. The Mammalian Underworld spans 820 million years and began 820 million years ago

  3. The Familial Underworld spans 41 million years and began 41 million years ago

  4. The Tribal Underworld spans 2 million years and began 2 million years ago

  5. The Regional Underworld spans 102,000 years and began 100,000 BCE

  6. The National Underworld spans 5,125 years and began 3100 BCE

  7. The Planetary Underworld spans 256 years and began 1769 CE

  8. The Galactic Underworld spans 12.8 years and began January 5, 1999

  9. The Universal Underworld spans 260 days and will begin February 11, 2011

So, which underworld are we currently in right now? ALL OF THEM! Except the last and shortest one which hasn’t started yet. Imagine nine boards of different lengths, symbolizing these periods of time. The shorter ones are stacked on top of the longer ones creating a pyramidal structure if you look at the side where they start. But if you look at the other side, each edge is exactly vertical with the one below.

In other words, though each underworld starts sequentially after the one before it, they all end together at the same moment, which Calleman calculates to be October 28, 2011 (other researchers believe the end date is December 21, 2012). This means that there is a cumulative effect of the energies associated with these underworlds, a deepening and intensifying of the transformative influence with each new underworld that is added to the mix.

Speaking of time, the effect of this cascading pyramidal energetic structure is that time itself seems to move quicker and quicker as the underworlds progress and more of them are working together. What modern person hasn’t had THAT thought, that there wasn’t enough time in the day!

Coincidentally, the Bible suggests this phenomenon about time in a number of passages relating to the “Last Days.” Jesus said, “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened” (Matthew 24:22).

There are also verses which suggest an incrementally decreasing experience of time with the words “times, time and half a time,” a formula which is repeated in both the Old and New Testaments:

“And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent” (Revelation 12:14).

“And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished” (Daniel 12:7).

So the universe is giving less and less “time” while the world is demanding we do more and more in that time. Something has to give, and that is the endless “doings” that man’s egoic mentality is constantly engaged with. These doings include not only physical activities but mental thought processes, both of which can obstruct awareness from what is most important: being.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

The Mercy of Crisis




The Mercy of Crisis

Is mercy in crisis during the countdown to 2012? There is a sub-current of dissatisfaction with our lives that we generally try to avoid becoming aware of. Is the daily routine what our existence is supposed to be all about? The constant effort to survive and hopefully prosper? The endless conflicts, both little and great? Frustrations both within and without?

We look at ourselves and see a mean, self-serving person who is preoccupied most of the time with what he or she can get, which is anything that can make the seemingly endless drudgery of life “easier.” We do our work but resent it, and wish there was more “free” time – then we use the free time we get doing mindless, pointless things such as watching other people on TV likewise doing mindless, pointless things.

We want the world at large to be orderly and predictable because if it isn’t our inner sub-current of dissatisfaction increases and becomes even more uncomfortable. We have this vague idea of enduring till the “end,” when death will mercifully set us free from the constant stress and misery of living in a world where no one, most especially ourselves, is at peace. At the same time we dread the idea of dying before we’ve learned how to really live.

In human history’s past such a condition could continue without apparent change for an extremely long time, perhaps through a person’s entire life, without resolution. The message of the Mayan Calendar is that this is no longer possible. Crisis has been brought to bear upon humanity, both individually and collectively, in order to force into conscious awareness what has been hidden in the depths.

We are not meant to live pointlessly, purposelessly. We are not meant to be consumed by our culture of materialism and ignorance. We are not meant to be so little, so self-absorbed, so dead. But the process of changing from that condition into a genuine existence is neither easy nor painless. It involves plunging into the inner condition of our hearts and experiencing this directly. It requires touching that sub-current of dissatisfaction and feeling it thoroughly, out to the extremities of our finger tips.

The crisis is there to destroy what no longer truly serves, and force us to abandon our dependence on outer, superficial validation for the interpretation of reality. The crisis is an expression of ultimate divine mercy.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Day Six of Mayan Galactic Underworld Begins

Day Six of the Mayan Galactic Underworld Begins

Thursday November 13, 2008 marked the beginning of “Day Six” of the Mayan Galactic Underworld according to Carl Johan Calleman, author of “The Mayan Calendar and the Transformation of Consciousness.” The Galactic Underworld spans a nine year period between January 5, 1999 and October 28, 2011. Calleman’s calculations differ by some months from other scholars of the Mayan Calendar, who have put the conclusion of the Mayan Long Count at December 21, 2012.

Regardless of who is be right on that point, the verdict will be clear to everyone in not many years. A lot of other prophetic literature is also pointing to this same time period, so there is widespread agreement that major changes, both personal and collective, are going to be put in place at that time.

In fact this is already occurring. Night Five of the Galactic Underworld concluded on November 12, 2008, having begun on November 19 of the previous year. “The Mayan Calendar” was published in 2004, yet Calleman wrote about the forthcoming (for him) Fifth Night as follows: “Deep crisis for global materialistic culture; destructive reaction; ‘Armageddon.’”

A deep crisis for global materialistic culture? To say the least! According to CNN, nearly one million American homes have been lost to foreclosure since the housing crisis hit in August 2007. “October marks the 34th consecutive month where U.S. foreclosure activity has increased compared to the prior year” (James J. Saccacio, chief financial officer of RealtyTrac). 85,000 homes were lost to foreclosure in October alone. At the same time, jobless claims in the United States are currently the highest they’ve been since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The Department of Labor reported 516,000 initial filings for the week ending November 8, and the labor market continues to deteriorate.

Last week GM’s stock sank below $3.00 per share for the first time since 1943, and the company is seeking assistance from the government. Most companies are not “important” enough to warrant governmental attention and so simply go bankrupt. Retail sales in October suffered the worst monthly drop on record. The ever expanding crisis has taken the Dow down 40% from its high, the S&P 500 is off 42% and Nasdaq 46%. These are staggering numbers that represent an incredible annihilation of wealth.

World leaders are meeting frantically to try to staunch the economic hemorrhaging, but they are operating from a mentality that is fundamentally flawed. The fact is, people don’t NEED all the new cars with fancy new gizmos that Detroit wants to build. They don’t need the vast majority of consumer objects that are hyped upon them relentlessly, to which generations have become slavishly addicted. At the end of their lives it will not matter if they bought a new car in 2008.

But, as stated earlier, Night Five of the Galactic Underworld has just ended and Day Six is just beginning. What does Calleman expect to occur in Day Six? “Renaissance of advanced unifying synthesis: tense coexistence of East and West and between new spirituality and the remnants of the global materialistic power.” This sounds promising, but not necessarily easy or painless.

So we’ll see how it goes and what Day Six brings for us all to experience and grow through. At the end of our lives it won’t matter if we bought a new car in 2008 or 2009. But what WILL matter? That is the question we all need to ask ourselves.