Discovering The Truth of the End of the World, Shania McCrillis [small books to read txt] 📗

Discovering the Truth

This is the first article in a series of posts that will hopefully clear up some misconceptions about the upcoming "zero date" in 2012 by unraveling some of the tangle of often-contradictory information we do have. A disparate collection of answers as to what the significance of this controversial date represents have been proposed from a wide range of sources, from New Age theorists to astrological enthusiasts to academic scholars to modern-day Maya timekeepers themselves. One thing they all have in common is the recognizance that this upcoming date is making a strong impression on a growing number of people, and that much of this impression is based on a belief that the world as we know it is about to undergo some sort of profound change. But what (if anything) is really predicted about this change, and why do so many people think that these predictions have validity?

To gain some understanding of why the idea of 2012 as a phenomenon is gaining such traction and widespread, viral popularity in our modern culture (particularly in Western countries such as the United States), we have to look at several factors:
First: We must examine our beliefs pertaining to The End Of The World in its various guises, as well as other beliefs regarding the desire for a supernaturally rapid social/spiritual transformation on a mass scale, and find out more about those who encourage these beliefs.
Second: We must discover what is actually known of the Maya themselves and their beliefs (particularly pertaining to their calendar), and consider the most credible interpretations of the information we do possess on their works.
Finally: We must look at the role of Hollywood and the rest of the entertainment industry in using creative interpretations of science, history, culture, and archaeology to deliver a sensational product to thrill mass numbers of people; all while making the end product appear as plausible as necessary to suspend the audience's disbelief.

To understand these three factors, we must suspend any of our own preconceptions about the 2012 phenomenon for a moment (assuming that we have any) and attempt to look at this unwieldy picture of impending doom and/or spiritual transformation from outside of its frame, replete with all of its clashing colors and questionable juxtapositions.

Over the next month, I will be discussing some possible interpretations of this much-debated upcoming date over several upcoming blog entries. The first entry, coming next Friday, takes a look at the views of modern people who are, for various reasons, heavily invested in the idea that something major is going to happen on December 21st (or 23rd!), 2012 C.E. So stay tuned here at CyArk for more to come; and don't get out your crystals or start climbing into your fortified subterranean bunkers just yet!

Unless, of course, that makes you more comfortable...

Publication Date: 05-19-2011

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