I realized that the next week I was to publish an article as usual was THE day on so many people's minds: 12.21.12. How could I not comment about it? And, I decided to publish a day early. Know that it may seem at the start of this writing that I'm off track from my more usual comments, but I'll get there, I promise.
There are any number of beliefs about what this day represents, including that all it represents is just another day. There is one aspect to this date, though, that particularly interests me and seems to be backed by the science of astronomy; though, I'm not certain science backs the time mentioned. According to some Mayan shamans, on 12.21.12, at 11:11 P.M. in the Central Standard Time Zone in the U.S., the Earth, our Sun, and the dark center (rift) of our Milky Way Galaxy will be in a straight line, an alignment that will not happen again for another 25,627 years, give or take a few years.
Let's quickly recap what is happening on 12.21.12, and is scientifically provable.
It's the start of the winter solsticeIt's the actual start of the Age of Aquarius (where our axis will point)It's the end of the fifth Mayan long-count calendar cycle of 5,125.36 yearsIt's the completion of the Precession of the Equinox, which is 5 X 5,125.36 years longWe enter the Photon Belt (an energy cloud our scientists are aware of)Alcyone, the sun in the Pleiades constellation that our Sun orbits, completes its 225 million year orbit around our Milky Way Galaxy, as it also completes its orbit around Sirius.Because of gravity, we feel "in place in space" on our Earth, but we are always in motion. The Earth rotates each day, giving us what we call sunrise and sunset. Earth orbits around our Sun, which is one solar year for us. The Earth also tilts on its axis; and even where the axis points moves in a circle, called the Procession of the Equinox, which is how we move from one zodiac age to another. It takes 25,627 years to make one full rotation of the axis. This is the end of the more scientific part I wanted to include for those not familiar with it.
I recommend you watch a 70-minute YouTube video titled "2012 A-Z - A Galaxial Event of Disneyesque Proportion." The astronomical science information is well presented with an often tongue-in-cheek or black-humor approach to the prophecies and possibilities. I offer this disclaimer: my personal knowledge of astronomy is pretty slim and based on what others share; so I can't vouch for the validity of the video information, but it sure is interesting.
We got excited about changing millenniums because we could relate to that. What happens in space seems remote. Whatever your belief about this date or the significance of the celestial alignment is, in my opinion, it is especially significant that we, you and I, are here for it.
So here we are, at the time in our history when the rotation of the axis moves us from the Age of Pisces fully into the true start of the long-awaited and sung about Age of Aquarius, which is supposed to herald in elevated consciousness for mankind. According to Carolyn Myss, in her book, Why People Don't Heal and How They Can, as we neared the end of the Piscean age, and the two ages had some overlap, events happened that allowed cloistered people, now out in the world, to share Eastern and Western teachings not previously revealed.
Myss wrote: Through this shift in focus, the word consciousness has come to denote the pursuit of the deepest mystical insights in combination with rationality and freedom. Armed with a vocabulary that was previously restricted to monastics and mystics, Western culture has broken through the boundaries of religion and begun plunging, largely unescorted, into the realm of the sacred... Aquarian consciousness is holistic by design, meaning that it draws people to view life through the lens of unity rather than the lens of difference and division... Aquarian energy drives us to change every part of our lives, especially where we have become too dependent on the familiar, and to investigate every unknown place we can find, particularly those within ourselves. Aquarian power fuels our exploration of our "higher" selves, or the part of us that is beyond the boundaries of our physical bodies and the daily thrum of life.
We are on the threshold of the Aquarian age and its energy, as well as the time of the completion of the Precession. We are here when the hearts of our planet, sun, and the dark rift of our galaxy align, and when the Mayan long-count calendar fifth cycle ends and a new cycle and Precession begins. This time, we aren't reading about it years from any one of these happening; we are here when all of these celestial events, and a few others, are happening simultaneously. Whether you choose to believe your being here now is by coincidence or by design is up to you.
Then there's the time involved, that number 11:11. I admit to being surprised when I saw that this is the time (in the Central Standard Time zone) of the alignment, according to Mayan and other shamans around the world, as stated in Drunvalo Melchizedek's book, The Mayan Ouroboros: The Cosmic Cycles Come Full Circle. It's a number I've had a thing for, for around three decades, with special thanks to, first, LED clocks, and now digital ones. To this day, when I see those numbers aligned on a clock or computer, I feel and say "Thank you!" I feel a sense of relief, of joy, of calm, of appreciation, and that everything is okay, no matter appearances. I can't as yet explain why I've felt this for so long. There are many others who have the same relationship with this numerical alignment of two elevens. Many guesses have been made, and some believe or state they know what it's about. Most of us simply share this "mystery" and trust that it means something significant, and we'll know what that is when we know it. Perhaps the time for that is now, or not.
You and I know there are changes happening on our planet, and we receive many hypotheses and explanations about them; some say they're cosmic, even cyclical; others say they're the results of our own actions or inactions, or a combination of both. Some people believe 12.21.12 means destruction is around the corner, whether from solar storms or Nibiru (Planet X) doing its 3,600-year orbit near Earth. Others believe deliverance by advanced beings, or the return of advanced beings, such as those some ancient cultures say were their teachers in the distant past, is the plan. And others believe ascension is what we are to expect, meaning that somehow an upgrade in the consciousness of mankind is to occur. Some believe that people will experience whatever it is they believe about this time. And some believe nothing at all will happen.
I've read a number of books (since the 1990s) and watched a number of videos on YouTube, all of which encompass what I mention in the above paragraph, and more. Personally, I won't know what is to happen until it does, or doesn't. But I like to imagine a wave of conscious awareness, or at least a sincere desire and commitment to amp up enlightenment, washing over humanity, my own consciousness included. It seems that "wave" would be necessary to simultaneously raise the understanding, compassion, consciousness, and thinking of everyone here so that we can cease harming ourselves, each other, and our planet as we have been, and considering such harm "business as usual" in our personal and global experiences and responsibilities. Wishful thinking on my part, I know. Whatever, I'll continue to do my inner work and assisting others to do theirs.
I like to imagine us understanding the power of appreciation more deeply, feeling it, expressing it, causing it. I like to imagine all of us able to let our creativity flourish; all of us living in integrity with ourselves, each other, and our Mother Earth; that we grasp how our individual thoughts, words, and actions influence all of our experiences because we and our planet are all connected; that we pause to think and understand rather than react, and that we align with solutions based in integrity rather than harm or destroy without thought or care.
If anything being considered about this time has caused a larger number of us to commit to awakening, then all the facts, and any hoorah, served a good purpose. For too long we've believed and behaved as though money and what it buys was our top priority in life. We didn't consider awakening and how it could serve all of us as important or more so. This isn't in any way a judgment about money and what it can provide or accomplish in the system we currently embrace, but a statement about the fact that putting it before our own awakening has not been good for us, our brothers and sisters around the world, or our planet. We didn't do this only about money, though, we also put fear and doubt and other things ahead of our awakening, if awakening was even on our list.
Whether we approach ascension, enlightenment, or destruction, we need to wake up. We need to do our inner work so we know who we are and can be, and operate from there; so we have a relationship of trust with the Creator Consciousness and our own divinity; so we behave better than we have been. Whatever happens or doesn't happen, we'd only benefit ourselves, others, and our shared world if we'd put away resentments about our past, and anything else that no longer serves us and hasn't for a long time, and exist in our present and move into our future with a new model of behavior based in integrity.
At 11:11 P.M. CST on 12.21.12, I intend to connect my heart energy with the heart of Mother Earth, Father Sun, the galaxy, and the Creator Consciousness, and envision a new energy and awareness for us all. And on 12.22.12, it's my intention to wake and do my own celebration to welcome the new cycle, like the Maya and other shamans will do.
There's one more YouTube video I'd like to recommend. It's a 9-minute TEDxSF video, presented by Louis Schwartzberg, titled "Gratitude." Its message is profound, especially the statement that we protect what we fall in love with. One main reason for us and the world being as it is today is that we either never fell in love with or have fallen out of love with life and what it really means and can, and we and our planet reflect this. As one man in the video stated, the only appropriate response for this gift of life and this moment, and the gifts the Earth provides us with is gratefulness. If you can watch this video before or on 12.21.12, it would be ideal energy to carry with you through the day and the days that follow. You'll understand why this is once you watch it. If you must watch it after that time, it's still a worthwhile message to embrace as we move forward.
We can choose our vision for the present and the future (we already do this with our every thought) then do what we can to make it so. It's a good practice, one you'll appreciate.
Practice makes progress.
© Joyce Shafer
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Joyce Shafer is a Life Empowerment Coach dedicated to helping people feel, be, and live their true inner power. She's author of "I Don't Want to be Your Guru, But I Have Something to Say" and other books/ebooks, and publishes a free weekly online newsletter that offers empowering articles and free downloads. See all that's offered by Joyce and on her site at http://stateofappreciation.weebly.com/guest-articles.html
