The Mayan Calendar – Are We All Doomed?
So are we all doomed? Is the world going to end four days before Christmas this year? Or is this just the start of a new era that could actually be a good thing? Most historians believe that the Mayans didn't intend to predict the end of the world as we interpret it. Rather, they simply ran out of days in their cyclical calendar, and the cut-off day just happens to be 12/21/12. If anything, the Mayans weren't predicting cataclysmic disasters - they were indicating that this marks the end of one phase in our history and the beginning of another.
What does the Prophecy actually say?
In all seriousness, not much. The Mayan calendar, which takes its starting point back 5,125 years, simply comes to an end on December 21st and resets to 0.0.0.0. The Mayans were expert astronomers and mathematicians, and their system is based on math and the movement of the stars in the heavens. This corresponds to many of the other creation myths found across both North and South America, and the Mayan interpretation closely mirrors that of the Hopi Nation in that they both believe this point marks an end to one epoch and the beginning of another. They speak of a time of transition, but where that transition takes us only we can determine. One of the indicators that we are already going through this change is our shift in how we look at our environment, and our place as a species within that complex system. If we can continue down that route and actually become more aware of our impact on what is a very fragile ecosystem, then that would certainly represent a considerable transition in our consciousness.
Remember all the fuss about the Y2K bug on December 31st 1999, and how that very obviously didn't result in global catastrophe? Well, the general consensus is that December 21st will be much of the same. The sky won't fall, and mankind won't face the apocalypse. But what it might herald is a new age where we take a long, hard look at ourselves and our relationship with our planet and, perhaps, begin a more spiritual journey into the next phase.