2012
Apparently, we've got about 5 more years, and then, on December 21, 2012, when the Mayan calendar rolls over, something is going to change.
It might be the end of the world, massive war, some cataclysm, some something else. Hard to say.
Of course, if you are Daniel Pinchbeck, whose talk I saw at Book People last night, then you've got a very interesting take on the situation. When the mayan calendar rolls over, humanity is going to go through a profound evolutionary process. It might be disastrous or wondrous or something different. There will probably be a lot of telepathy afterwards. The physical and spiritual worlds will be much more connected. Things will be awesome. If they don't completely suck.
Evidence? Crop circles, alien abductions, personal psychedelic experiences, synchronicity, archeology, mayan (and other) calendars, evidence of telepathy and improved psychic abilities, etc, plus all of the bad stuff - environmental disasters, wars, the world going to hell, etc.
Anyway, this Daniel Pinchbeck fellow is pretty matter-of-fact. He's pretty chill, and seems kinda like the kind of crazy person that you'd want on your team, all in all. Someone called him an optimist, and he said he was not. He didn't know what was going to happen, but he thoroughly believes that if everyone wanted to make the world a paradise, then it would happen, and so he is doing his part by showing an inspiring vision of how awesome the future is going to be. I'll give him that, it is a nifty philosophical trick.
As for his view of the future? Well, I have no evidence, like he does, and I've got a lot of science training that says I should be rather skeptical, so for now, I'll not believe. It would be awesome if people experienced a profound paradigm shift toward wisdom and psychic interconnection. I'm just not going to hold my breath.
Not that I'd have to hold it very long. Five years? Piece of cake. Plan to throw a party on December 21, 2012, though. It is the solstice, and, like every powerful event in the timekeeping of our world, it is fun to watch it pass and then see everything the same.
Ok, maybe that's a bit too cynical. He has some powerful ideas that are worth pursuing, like the idea that personal discovery is worthwhile, and the idea that our culture has gotten out of touch with nature, and the idea that interconnection would bring greater wisdom, and the idea that people should feel more and be more in touch with mystery. I like all of those. They just aren't an alien spacecraft that runs on symbols, of which the crop circles are simplistic "kindergarten" versions designed to teach us the way. And hey, he may be a crazy, but he's no Gene Ray.
It might be the end of the world, massive war, some cataclysm, some something else. Hard to say.
Of course, if you are Daniel Pinchbeck, whose talk I saw at Book People last night, then you've got a very interesting take on the situation. When the mayan calendar rolls over, humanity is going to go through a profound evolutionary process. It might be disastrous or wondrous or something different. There will probably be a lot of telepathy afterwards. The physical and spiritual worlds will be much more connected. Things will be awesome. If they don't completely suck.
Evidence? Crop circles, alien abductions, personal psychedelic experiences, synchronicity, archeology, mayan (and other) calendars, evidence of telepathy and improved psychic abilities, etc, plus all of the bad stuff - environmental disasters, wars, the world going to hell, etc.
Anyway, this Daniel Pinchbeck fellow is pretty matter-of-fact. He's pretty chill, and seems kinda like the kind of crazy person that you'd want on your team, all in all. Someone called him an optimist, and he said he was not. He didn't know what was going to happen, but he thoroughly believes that if everyone wanted to make the world a paradise, then it would happen, and so he is doing his part by showing an inspiring vision of how awesome the future is going to be. I'll give him that, it is a nifty philosophical trick.
As for his view of the future? Well, I have no evidence, like he does, and I've got a lot of science training that says I should be rather skeptical, so for now, I'll not believe. It would be awesome if people experienced a profound paradigm shift toward wisdom and psychic interconnection. I'm just not going to hold my breath.
Not that I'd have to hold it very long. Five years? Piece of cake. Plan to throw a party on December 21, 2012, though. It is the solstice, and, like every powerful event in the timekeeping of our world, it is fun to watch it pass and then see everything the same.
Ok, maybe that's a bit too cynical. He has some powerful ideas that are worth pursuing, like the idea that personal discovery is worthwhile, and the idea that our culture has gotten out of touch with nature, and the idea that interconnection would bring greater wisdom, and the idea that people should feel more and be more in touch with mystery. I like all of those. They just aren't an alien spacecraft that runs on symbols, of which the crop circles are simplistic "kindergarten" versions designed to teach us the way. And hey, he may be a crazy, but he's no Gene Ray.