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Non-Believers Take on 2012

According to those who promote the 2012 meme, something really, really, really profound is due to happen on Dec 21st, 2012 (or perhaps on the 22nd, or maybe not then at all because its just a gestational period prediction/prophecy anyway, so dates and results may vary). Whatever the various ideas promoted, most are supposedly backed by ancient prophecies and bolstered by science (as very loosely conceived, i.e. pseudoscience). They cant all be right, can they? Lets take a look at some of the claims made for the supposed 2012 apocalypse: The Mayan Calendar and the Exotic Other: Perhaps first and foremost in the minds of 2012ers is that the ancient Maya predicted the end of the world according to their calendar, which supposedly ends on Dec 21st, 2012. Actual scholars of Mayan culture uniformly dispute this claim and regard it as 100% unsubstantiated. For one, they argue that the calendar merely rolls over at this point it does not come to an end. Secondly, they argue that all supposedly Mayan notions of an apocalypse were borrowed from Christian missionaries and influence, so its more Christian than Mayan. Thirdly, the supposed end date has already passed and came prior to Dec 21st, 2012. Fourthly, why should anyone care when the Mayan calendar ends? This only means something if one assumes that the Maya knew something valid about the distant future one would have to accept that the ancient Maya were able to accurately predict future events apparently an ability, if they had it, that did not prevent their ancient culture from internally collapsing. One might think that any culture gifted with genuine prophecy would have seen their own immediate demise and downfall and given more weight and effort to preventing it than some date in the distant future. One would only give special weight to the Mayan calendar if one already assumed that they had access to otherwise hidden and secret knowledge. The current New Age fascination with all things Mayan is decidedly egoic in nature exoticizing and romanticizing a culturally distinct other by non-natives a process used by egos to develop a sense of self in contrast to what is perceived as a dominant system of identification. It dovetails nicely with New Age desires to appear appreciative of indigenous wisdom and traditions, gives New Agers a sense of counter-cultural identity, and aligns them with what they have projected as noble savages. This kind of approach to indigenous cultures has been endemic in Western cultures for hundreds of years and is part of the history of Western domination of representations of the other, generally as projections of either their worst fears or greatest hopes in the uncivilized savage/noble savage conceptual dichotomy. It fits perfectly in line with the native woman depicted on Land O

by Martin W. Ball, Ph.D.

Lakes butter and the Boy Scouts dressing up as Indians and learning nature survival skills. It is part and parcel of the long history of Western appropriation of indigenous symbols, tradition, and culture for its own ends that fails to recognize the reality of the indigenous people and traditions being appropriated. It also dovetails nicely with New Age desires to appear congruent with watered-down, consumer-friendly versions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and shamanism in general all of which are appreciated for their otherness and assumed authenticity (i.e. non-Christian, non-Western nature). New Agers have adopted virtually any and all non-Western traditions that fit their desires to grow spiritually, often with only a superficial understanding of the traditions from which they are borrowing. This is obviously not true for all practitioners, but the trend is widespread. The overall effect is that these borrowings work as ego-trappings for New Age identities and do not produce anything even remotely close to awakened or enlightened individuals. McKenna, UFOs, and the Ingression of Novelty: A take on 2012 that is closely associated with beliefs around the Mayan calendar is that of Terence McKenna, though he claims to have developed his ideas independently (and therefore the similarities of dates is a coincidence). Psychedelic philosopher, Terence McKenna, predicted the end of history on Dec 22nd, 2012 (not Dec 21st), and purports to have developed a system of timewave zero that maps the ingression of novelty into the universe. McKenna predicts that the end of history will be accomplished when humans develop the ability to create UFOs out of translinguistic matter and will fly off into the universe and join the intergalactic community, which McKenna claims to have been informed of by The Logos and the loquacious mushrooms during his sessions of psychedelic ego- tripping. According to McKenna, Dec 22nd, 2012 will see the ultimate ingression of novelty into reality, an event of such radical transformative potential that it will effectively end history. In his own words, McKenna admitted to being either an unsung Newton or completely nuts regarding his understanding of timewave zero and his UFO at the end of history prediction. There is very little room to maneuver between these two positions, he wrote in the conclusion of his book, True Hallucinations. He also saw his personal role as being something of a savior or intellectual messiah, chosen by The Logos to save the world from the more dangerous and vulgar parts of itself. Its unlikely that McKenna could have stated his own position more honestly and directly. Because of McKennas growing popularity bordering on fanatical near-religious worship by enthusiasts it is unlikely that the majority of McKenna- ites will conclude on Dec 23rd that he was nuts when the UFO at the End of History fails to manifest. It is important to note, however, that McKennas predictions are quite specific, and if they do not come to pass, then his entire worldview is effectively thrown into question, along with all of his conclusions about the nature of psychedelic experience, space, time, reality, and history. Hes either completely correct, or completely and totally deluded. His predictions dont leave any wiggle room here, as he himself acknowledged. The mushrooms and

The Logos either told McKenna the truth, or he was deluding himself into believing a vast fantasy of his own personal construction, bolstered by his use of psilocybin mushrooms and DMT. In order for McKennas ideas to be taken seriously, we will need to be able to build UFOs out of translinguistic matter and fly off into the cosmos on Dec 22nd, 2012 (and not before then!). If this fails to happen, why would we take any of McKennas ideas seriously beyond this point in time? Up until Dec 22nd of this year, theres always the response of, You dont know what will happen, so he might be right! But as of Dec 23rd, demolishing McKennas faade of pseudo- insight will be in open season. Mass Awakening and a Cultural Tipping Point: Another take on 2012 is that humanity will awaken and reach a tipping point in evolutionary consciousness on Dec 21st, 2012. The idea is that even if not everyone experiences such a transformation, a crucial number of humans will, thereby permanently altering the shape of human history to come through the power of numbers. One of the primary problems with this prediction is that there is no uniform agreement about what it means to awaken, or what an evolution in consciousness would specifically entail. Due to the imprecise nature of these terms, this awakening has become something of a grab-bag of New Age ideas, most of which pass as pseudo-science, at best, though they are often appreciated as being integral to the nebulous artifice of New Paradigm science. The following is only a partial list: *Humans will become inter-dimensional space-time travelers *Humans will activate their latent DNA *Humans will activate their third eye *Humans will activate their pineal gland *Humans will realize their divine nature *Humans will realize that we are all one *Humans will see the unitary truth of all religions, spiritualities, and philosophies *Humans will develop a new paradigm *Humans will no longer be bound by space and time *Humans will manifest their desires at will *Humans will become masters of their destinies *Humans will accept the truth of reincarnation, multiple universes, and other dimensions of existence *Humans will transcend money *There will be an archaic revival *Humans will evolve into a higher vibration * Humans will accept all the ancient wisdom *Humans will live in balance and harmony with the environment *Humans will accept the reality of spirits, entities and mysterious others

 *Humans will join the galactic community *Humans will practice sacred spirituality with prayer, ritual, and community gatherings *Humans will become deeply spiritual and respect all life *Humans will develop free energy ( just like the ancients did!) *Humans will accept and acknowledge the reality of aliens, UFOs, crop circles, and the longstanding connections between aliens and humanity *Humans will develop Christ Consciousness *Humans will become enlightened *Humans will reject the materialistic scientific paradigm in favor of something spiritual *Humans will realign with the energies of the cosmos through accepting a new calendar There are many different ways in which the above is speculated to take place, according to 2012ers. Here is a partial list: *Governments will be forced to disclose the truth about UFOs *Various deities will return ranging from Maitreya, the future Buddha, to Christ, to Quetzalcoatl *In crossing the galactic ecliptic, earths magnetic field will change, thereby creating a correlating change in consciousness *Solar flares and solar magnetic activity will alter consciousness *Magnetic activity will produce a mass-state of psychedelic awareness by releasing DMT in human brains globally * Earth changes will force awakening on humans through climate change, species extinction, etc. *Ancient prophecies will come to pass take your pick: Hopi, Mayan, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, etc. *Planet Nibiru will appear in the sky and bring about catastrophic change *Aliens will reveal themselves, along with advanced technology and spiritual wisdom *Governments and financial systems will collapse, bringing about a new pastoral/local age Here, some profound event is expected to forever change the way that humanity thinks about itself and its place in the cosmos. However, rather than the self-liberation and enlightenment through careful observation of the self as promoted by early Buddhism, for example, the idea seems to be that some outside force, agency, or event will essentially force awakening on humanity as a whole, or at least in large numbers. In basic terms, rather than a mystical, non-dual process of self-realization, what is being promoted is an encounter with a mysterious other or numinous experience of the sacred or the holy. Historically, most wisdom traditions have associated awakening and liberation with self-analysis and careful deconstruction of beliefs about the power of outside agents or forces. The Buddhas message was quite clear, for example: only through your hard work at letting go of

your false beliefs and false sense of self can you liberate yourself no prayer, ritual, or worship or outside event or agent can do that work for you. The current 2012 view would seem to be the complete opposite of this insight, instead projecting importance onto some particular event. This view is far more Christian in nature than anything else a tradition that looks to an exterior savior and an apocalyptic event that forces the kingdom of heaven on believers and non-believers alike. Reality is What You Think: Another popular meme in the 2012 crowd is the reality is constructed by thought belief, and the idea that if enough people change the way they think, then reality is also changed. This view has been promoted by Daniel Pinchbeck, among many others. Pinchbeck has written that his own investigation into the prophecy of 2012 was, in fact, the fulfillment of prophecy, with his writing the book, 2012: the Return of Quetzalcoatl rendering Pinchbeck himself as the vehicle of the arrival of the incorrectly identified Mayan god, Quetzalcoatl (Quetzalcoatl is an Aztec deity, not Mayan). Pinchbeck even goes so far as to identify himself as the Beast as prophesized in the Bible, as his birthday was 6/66 and he therefore bears the mark of the beast. If nothing else, Pinckbecks work shows us the deep-seated sense of self-importance that infuses much of the work of 2012 promoters. The biggest problem with the reality is constructed by thought crowd is that this way of thinking cannot account for misapprehension, sloppy thinking, or discerning between correct and incorrect, or more or less valid. It is a radical form of relativism that is thoroughly self-centered and self-contradictory. Pinchbeck tells us that we are free to ignore his claims we dont need to believe him - but then goes on to tell us that the end of time approaches, thereby claiming that even if we dont believe him, he will be proven correct as of Dec 21st, 2012. This would imply that reality is not dependent on belief or thought and is objective, as he is claiming that this will happen regardless of what we think about his claims. Pinckbeck now appears to be hedging his bets a bit, however, recently claiming on Facebook that 2012 is more a gestational period that predicts a birth date, which, like a doctors prediction of a babys due date, is more a range of time than a precise prediction. To his credit, rather than take the pure pie in the sky approach to 2012 as discussed above (or machine elves in the DMT approach of McKenna), Pinchbeck has undertaken the task of reforming society according to his understanding of the transformational potential of 2012. To that end, he has helped create both RealtiySandwich.com and Evolver.net where like-minded people can gather to share ideas and values. Recently, Pinchbeck lamented on Facebook that Evolver.net has been accused of being a cult a claim he dismissed with the rebuttal that there was no dogma associated with Evolver. This is a bit disingenuous, however, for the Evolver community (and by extension, RealitySandwich) is highly self-selecting for people who share the beliefs and values of other 2012ers, New Agers, and psychedelic users. Most members of these communities probably accept at least one of the following propositions, if not all, and acceptance of these ideas as valid is often equated with being considered awakened or evolved those who reject them are labeled as un-awakened, intolerant, and ignorant:

 *Astrology is a valid method of inquiry and meaning making *Spirits, other realms, and disincarnate entities are ontologically real *The shamanic worldview is valid and real *Psychic phenomena are valid and real *Channeling is a genuinely real phenomenon *Psychedelics give access to other dimensions and realms *Aliens, UFOs and crop circles are genuine and real *Prophecy is valid and real *Using DMT or other psychedelics can awaken someone *Chakras (generally depicted in non-Indian iconography of rainbow form and incorrectly pronounced shakras) are real *Being awakened means accepting the reality of reincarnation *Karma and past lives are real phenomena *Prayer, ritual, and ceremony are genuine methods for shaping and influencing reality at a more-than-merely-psychological level *Reality is manifested through thought what you think becomes reality *All religions and spiritualities contain essential truths and wisdom and are, at their core, essentially the same *Ancient humans were highly evolved and technologically sophisticated *Ancient humans had ongoing interactions with aliens or other higher beings *Deities, spirits, and astral beings can be contacted through psychedelics, ritual, or shamanic states of consciousness and are fundamentally real *Crop circles are not a human-made phenomenon *Acceptance of DMT mythology (that DMT is produced by the pineal gland, is an inter-dimensional portal, is the strongest psychedelic, etc.) *Belief that New Paradigm science supports virtually all spiritual and metaphysical claims and experiences as valid *Belief in multiple universes and that they are accessible via altered states of consciousness Thus, while there may not be a dogmatic gate-keeper to joining the Evolver network, the community is certainly rife with belief. Through Evolver, local and on- line workshops are held on how to work with plant medicine spirits, astrology, crop circles, 2012, channeling, spiritual healing, ritual practices, shamanism, and many other related topics. As a popular social movement, it gives the impression that reality is transforming as like-minded people gather to reinforce their shared view of the world. However, none of this equates with the end of history or end of time trope of 2012. Realistically, it can be seen as social movement not a profound alteration of the very nature of reality itself. It remains to be seen how the community and movement will fare in the wake of failed 2012 prophecies of the end of time. 2012: The Weak and Strong Forms:

 Overall, it would seem that predictions and prophecies regarding 2012 have both a weak and a strong form. A weak form would be to claim that there will be a change in thinking as a result of significant events that will have widespread impact on human cultures and societies basically, a cultural shift. This weak form is not very interesting, as it could be claimed to be valid for virtually any period of human history. Human societies and systems of thought are always changing, and there are always significant events impacting human cultures, whether human or nature-made, from wars to volcanic eruptions, etc. The weak form of 2012 predictions hardly counts as fulfillment of prophecy unless one has a very watered-down sense of what fulfilling prophecy would mean. In this sense, the current era, marked by widespread economic inequality, environmental degradation, global warming, and reduction of resources could be historically seen as a watershed time-period, but that doesnt amount to fulfillment of prophecy in any kind of a cosmic sense. It certainly would not be the end of time or the end of history as Pinckbeck, McKenna, and Mayan calendar enthusiasts have popularized. It is easy to make an argument that we are currently living through transformative times with numerous challenges and potentials that require rethinking and reformatting many of the ways we go about living on this planet. It doesnt make 2012 any more significant than any other year, however, and certainly does not point to Dec 21st as being a date of any particular or cosmic significance, other than what people choose to project onto it. As it is, there are currently a number of awakening parties and events planned for this day, and certainly many people will feel as though it is something special, and in their individual lives, it probably will be. This is not cosmic, however just personal. The strong form of 2012 claims would have to be an event so profound, so radical, so thoroughly global, that there would be no denying that such an event had taken place and all of human history, culture, and society would forevermore be radically altered and changed into something that is currently unimaginable or inconceivable. This would be an event that would fundamentally change everything for everyone not just those who happen to think that 2012 is an important year for global change. This would be a true apocalypse of unpredicted change and transformation. The likelihood of any of the strong forms of 2012 apocalypticism taking place is exceedingly small to the point that one can only believe it if one so chooses. There is no reasonable evidence to indicate that any prophecy of an apocalypse will come to pass, other than the weak forms of 2012 predictions as stated above. This conclusion is bolstered by the dismal success rate of all previous examples of prophecy and apocalypse. Christians have been prophesizing the end of the world for 2,000 years, and they havent gotten it correct yet. Historically speaking, prophecy has a 100% inaccuracy rate and a 0% accuracy rate. Why would current speculations about 2012 be any different? It is only wishful thinking wishful thinking that is bolstered by perceptions of widespread crisis and a recognized need for change. Ironically, all this focus on Dec 21st, 2012, is the virtual opposite of what most spiritual traditions teach about acting as an enlightened individual. When it comes to being enlightened, most traditions encourage practitioners to pay attention to the

present moment and to focus on what is present right here, right now. All of this focus on a specific date in the future is about as unenlightened as one could get, at least in traditional, spiritual terms. When asked about becoming enlightened and liberated from the traps of the human ego, Buddha told his followers to shut up, sit down, meditate, and pay attention to how the mind works constantly making up shit through projection and then becoming attached to those projections and constructing an unreal identity around those thoughts. In somewhat Buddhist terms, all this 2012 stuff is samsara-extreme ego on overdrive pure projection, wish fulfillment, and attachment, all intimately associated with individuals sense of self and identity as awakened individuals, light workers, and evolved humans. Perhaps the true apocalypse, the true revealing and unveiling will be the widespread realization that its all been a load of bullshit, and people will learn to take responsibility for themselves, their desires, and their need to create an identity for themselves by forming attachments to unproven beliefs and speculations. Now that would be something radical, and worthy of the history books. If the history of Christianity, and other millennial traditions, serves as an example, however, the above seems unlikely. Complete failure to bring about the Second Coming of Christ and the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven for 2,000 years hasnt put much of a dent in Christianity. It seems more likely that 2012ers will, as of Dec 22/23rd 2012, start making arguments for why their apocalypse really did happen kind of like Harold Camping and his failed predictions for The Rapture, which he then claimed, post failure, as an invisible apocalypse. A possible genuine downside to the failure of 2012 predictions/prophecy is the close association between the psychedelic renaissance and 2012 culture. After being shut down for a generation, academic research into the potentials of psychedelics is again being pursued around the world largely independently of 2012 memes, values, and beliefs. Changing attitudes have also helped win some legal battles around the religious and spiritual use of psychedelics/entheogens such as with ayahuasca and Santo Daime. In the minds of many, however, use of entheogens such as ayahuasca and DMT are closely associated with beliefs surrounding 2012 something most clearly exemplified by Terence McKenna and Daniel Pinchbeck. What will happen to the credibility of psychedelic enthusiasts when 2012 is exposed for what it is: a giant ego-projection? The effect might be to discredit psychedelic experience in general as delusional and fantasy-laden. It will be a big hit on psychedelics. However, it may also open to possibility for more reality-based approaches to psychedelics and entheogens ones that are less entrenched in metaphysics, spirituality, and beliefs in entities, alternate realms, and divine prophecies. Indeed, it might be exactly the dose of reality that the psychedelic movement needs to genuinely integrate into and transform society for the better with a reduction of fantasy, projection, and ego-based attachment. It might, in the end, be just what the doctor ordered.