Understanding The 2012 Phenomenon

Many have incorrectly associated the 2012 phenomenon with a line of apocalyptic doomsday thinking, a notion that an increasing number of Hollywood movies about the subject is only helping to reinforce. But in general, there has been a snowballing of interest in the subject both in popular culture and among spiritually-minded individuals. As discussion about the Shift continues, the level of disinformation and confusion that’s surfacing in the media and elsewhere only seems to increase.

To some extent, the study of 2012-related themes, traditions, and mythos is an acquired taste. It’s not a spiritual practice unto itself and from one perspective is not an absolutely essential element in the spiritual path. Predictably, not everyone who has a spiritual practice is comfortable with the core beliefs about 2012 emergence or the Shift as it’s sometimes called. Or they may simply not be aware of it.

Those of us who have studied the 2012 phenomenon for some time are working to foster balanced perspectives about what is clearly a very complex topic. Because we were fortunate to be able to sponsor Boston’s first conference on the Shift last June, we wanted to share some of our own ideas and perceptions.

While many associate the Shift with the Mayan prophecies, it touches upon and can be traced to the deep teachings of many other spiritual traditions. Vedic science is a rich source of information about the yugas or world ages, that many believe are in close alignment with the Mayan prophecies. According to the website 2012 Rising, "One of the most interesting calendar coincidences in relation to the Mayan 2012 information, is the similarity between the start dates of the last long count cycle of the Mayan system and the Hindu’s Kali Yuga."

Connecting the dots a little further, we can see other alignments including Hopi and other indigenous prophecies and the Taoist I Ching. Tibetan Buddhist, Christian, and Islamic traditions also have things to say about the tenor of the times we’re currently living in. But it is the Mayans that came closest to developing what might be called a "unified field theory" about what’s happening on a planetary and galactic scale.

In addition to being master astronomers, the Mayans also arguably developed a science of time. In Western contemporary thought, we tend to think of time as a linear marker and not much more. But the Mayans related the notion of time and space (i.e. galactic events) and saw that unique relationship as the fundamental basis for reality. They then took things a step further and developed teachings about how the unfolding of galactic events affected human affairs.

In Mayan cosmology, galactic events had specific impacts on human affairs and events in part through the alteration of the earth’s energy fields and grids. Solar activity plays a large role in this process. The dramatic earth changes we’re now seeing in the form of global climate change and other environmental disruptions are likely the result of these alterations.

The energies engendered by the Shift are powerful and increasing in intensity. Many energetically sensitive individuals can feel these changes taking place. Some spiritual leaders such as Lisa Renee (http://www.energetic synthesis.com/) provide detailed guidance on how the emergence of the Shift affects us as the process unfolds.

The new energies are repatterning our individual "reality bubbles", accelerating earth changes and weather patterns, altering our perceptions of self and other, creating karmic rebalancing "episodes", and bringing up blocked energies for clearing. As found in spiritual teachings (such as Taoist or Vedic traditions, for example), we are energetic beings and living in an energetic soup we call the universe. It’s not surprising then that these new energies are affecting all of us very profoundly (some even suggest on a cellular level.)

The genesis of the energetic shifts are galactic events such as those described by Mayan scholar John Major Jenkins in his book Mayan Cosmogenesis, a speaker at our conference. To some, it flies in the face of scientific logic that we are being affected this profoundly by galactic events and that these events were prophesized by Mayan or Vedic teachers thousands of years ago. But this is part of the rebalancing and reconciliation process. Much greater awareness of the limitations of our current knowledge will be a distinguishing feature of the Shift going forward.

The many misconceptions about 2012 and the Shift serve to create confusion and foster skepticism. One of the most common is the idea that 2012 is all about "the end of the world" or various apocalyptic scenarios. While it’s true that the choices that humanity collectively makes over the next few years will determine the extent to which these energies are tapped for positive transformation, we believe that excessively focusing on the negative can deflect attention from the important notion that this time in human destiny is a window of enormous opportunity.

One of the most important messages that we like to stress is the need to stay out of fear. Fear-based thinking is easy to slip into during this time of great social and economic turmoil, but easily becomes a millstone that weighs down the awakening process.

However the Shift is indeed surfacing darker aspects and energies that are being presented for what spiritual teachers and lightworkers call transmutation, i.e. ,working through the dark matter of accumulated karma. Carl Jung calls this "confronting the shadow self" in order to heal the whole. This is happening now on a collective scale. Although this process may be difficult to deal with, these "instant replays" of past events and stuck emotional energy are gifts and opportunities for spiritual growth.

The notion of transmuting is in many respects the very heart of the awakening process. We are being gifted with the challenge of transmuting our lower denser energies of fear, greed, hate and limitation into love, peace, harmony and expanded awareness. This emergence becomes easier if consciously aware of the process. In this sense, as we like to say in our talks, "The Shift is not a spectator sport." It affects every one of us here and now. And the idea that some undefined event will take place at some date in the future is really just a distraction from this opportunity.

While the 2012 phenomenon exists in harmony with any given spiritual practice or tradition, mindful preparation for the Shift can be integrated into anyone’s existing spiritual practice. Awareness of the Shift and what it means is a dialectic (and can be a life journey as well) . There’s no dogma or doctrine involved but rather participation in a rich, dynamic, co-creative living mystery at an amazing time in human history.