Guided by your Higher Self

by

Joel Bruce Wallach

You do have a higher self, and its purpose is to provide a healing, yet instructive cosmic perspective, provided that you are ready and willing to receive it. And you do have many aspects of self that could definitely benefit from higher self assistance: Your body, your emotions, and your thoughts all express their own understanding -- or misunderstanding -- of reality, and each of these aspects would certainly benefit from the endearing light of your higher self's deep compassion and cosmic guidance.

Your soul exists on many levels, ranging from the eternal higher self, to those troubled aspects of the soul that have become stuck in negative patterns acquired throughout many challenging lifetimes of experiences. It can seem a bit messy when you realize that at any given moment, you are getting signals from this unlikely combination of your multidimensional self:

•  Patterns from your past-life troubles and triumphs,
• Combined with your sub-conscious patterns, resulting from your experiences in childhood and adulthood,
• And infused with the cosmically spiritual perspective of your higher self,
• Then mixed with all the signals you receive from your environment, and
• All filtering through and mediated by your conscious thoughts in the present moment...

This is the mind-boggling mixture of your consciousness at any given time, but it all adds up to your uniquely splendid Self, and it leads to your understanding of the higher self and its purpose, so let's keep exploring...

Now about the nature of your higher self -- does your higher self sit like an owl upon a lofty perch high in its cosmic pine tree, quietly observing everything? Well, perhaps it does seem that way at times, because the ordinary self becomes embroiled so easily in difficult matters of the moment that it seems to forget the higher self amidst the daily excitements. This is not the fault of the higher self, however. It would be convenient indeed if the higher self would magically whisk away all your problems. But it can't, and it won't do that, but not because of spite or neglect.

Your higher self is available when you come to it, and when you let yourself raise your awareness to its level. Is it rude, though, that your higher self expects you to enter its domain, as if it were a doorman at an exclusive club? Or is your higher self, perhaps, trying to help you, in its own gentle way? But if so, and for what purpose, does your higher self seem to maintain such curious exclusivity? And besides, if your higher self has the wisdom, shouldn't it just give you the wisdom automatically, in the spirit of compassionate love and caring?

You are not a naive and helpless child, and your higher self is not an all-powerful parent. But to understand who you are, and who your higher self is, requires asking what you are doing here on this earthly plane. When you know that, you will appreciate how your higher self has ways to help you that, though subtle, may well exist for a higher purpose.

Your higher self is your eternal essence. It has always been, and will always be. It is made from the cosmic essence of the universe, and so you could say that it is made, as religious teachings might express it, out of the body of the creator. And your higher self seeks to grow. That sounds paradoxical at first, because you would imagine that being made of universal substance, your higher self is just about as advanced as can be. Everything's relative, though...

Your higher self grows in the same way that families grow -- they produce children, who have their own free will. They grow and evolve, benefiting from the family guidance, and also bringing in their own unique soul wisdom. Ideally, they are able to express the best from their ancestors, from their upbringing, and from their own creative mixture of all these influences blended with their own soul's history and possibilities.

So, what then, are you?

Your selves that express through each lifetime are, in a way, the children of your higher self. But not quite that, because you have another identity as well -- you are also choosing to utilize your higher self's wisdom. And that makes you somewhat like the president of a company who utilizes experts to assist in running the company. And that leads to the intriguing question...

Are you a growing child learning from your parental higher self, or are you the president of a company utilizing the knowledge and guidance of your higher self's expertise? Since these are both metaphors, and since you're a multidimensional being anyway, let's just say that you are both of these -- you are the child of your higher self, and you are a competent adult in charge of a company -- let's call it Divine Self, Unlimited -- and for both these aspects your higher self stands ready to assist you -- when you are ready to access the wisdom.

Consider the child aspect -- when you understand why parents let their children go hiking, even though it might be possible that the children could wander off and lose their way, you can understand why your higher self doesn't prevent you from having learning experiences. If you never learned, the younger aspects of the soul would remain naive. And this suggests that your younger aspects are maturing, through their daily learning experiences, and through their learning from the higher self.

The higher self does not avoid giving you appropriate cautions, when needed. However, it is not in the style of the higher self to step in and issue stern warnings. This is because the higher self prefers to give hints, rather than warnings. Now a hint is a rather subtle thing, so shouldn't the higher self be issuing strict warnings, instead? It depends whether you see the higher self's purpose as a rigid taskmaster, or as a friendly coach. When you look back on situations, you may see that you did, in fact, have a subtle sense of what was to come, but perhaps you didn't notice that insight or subtle feeling.

It is not your higher self's job to force you to notice subtle hints. That would be a function of your spiritual maturity, evolving over many lifetimes. Now if you're reading this, you've no doubt been told, at some time or another, that you are an old soul, and that you have spiritual wisdom exceeding that of many younger souls. All well and good, but if you're assuming that being an older soul means that you're entirely free of younger soul limitations, realize that learning is eternal. It takes place each day.

Yes, you have some deeper insights and attitudes that reflect your spiritual maturity. And yes, as well, you are still working on some seemingly-silly younger soul concerns. These are not contradictory, because they are the human condition.

What did it take for you to listen to your higher self so that you could evolve into an older soul? Could it be that when you are expressing your older soul wisdom perspectives, you had enough challenges from lifetime after lifetime that you finally realized what your higher self was talking about? But this doesn't mean that your higher self was communicating in mysterious abstract terms, because your higher self can speak as simply as you require. However, if you choose not to notice or listen, then that is the likely reason for your situations. You're learning, and there's no one to blame -- not even yourself.

To shift out of blame of self or others, just quietly tune into your higher self, and ask what is the best way to proceed for any given situation. If you demand a pathway, and the higher self seems not to give it, that doesn't mean that it is withholding vital information from you. Rather, the higher self is offering you something more subtle than an action plan. It is sharing a non-verbal offer for you to access its pure presence, and in that presence you can cultivate the subtle knowing that can lead you in an effective direction.

Then, there are those situations that, from the deeper perspective of the higher self, require your participation through active engagement in a situation. In other words, the guidance seems not to be given because this is a learning experience for you. Not that your higher self will be absent, because it is always there. This seems to be a rather mysterious way to be helpful, but it has its own wise purpose to it.

When you aren't getting specific guidance from your higher self, you can still tune into the vibration of your higher self, at any stage of any activity. Although that helpful vibration isn't specifically verbal, it is a vibration of spiritual alignment that does bring balance and blessings to every situation.

When you realize that the higher self is helping, but not in the way that your ego prefers, then you become free to release blame, of self and others, and to proceed with a new plan: You can choose to attune with your higher self, as often as possible. But would this mean that you are quietly closing your eyes and chanting Om all through the day? Only do this if you want to express an amusing spiritual cliche, because shared presence with your higher self really involves practicing something subtle, yet profound...

Being present with your higher self involves staying grounded in your body, being aware of your surroundings, and gently including the subtle presence of your higher self. However, this description -- the higher self -- may make it seem that the higher self is somehow lofty or above you. Not so, for it is ever-present, within you and around you.

It has no form, and so it is not located specifically anywhere. Your higher self is not superior to you, nor inferior either. It is what it is, and you can utilize it. And it wants you to do that, because it evolves along with you.

Words make it seem that you are different than your higher self. And paradoxically, your higher self is an aspect of you, but at the same time, you are an aspect of your higher self. Don't try to figure this with your rational mind, because it can't be done. But you can let yourself be present with these paradoxes, and this helps you bypass the limited understanding of the rational mind.

In fact, holding this curiously contradictory realization, that you are an aspect of the higher self, and that it is an aspect of you, lets you access a marvelous state of cosmic unity.

At all times, your higher self is present with you, and so you can choose to let yourself include its subtle presence in your consciousness. You aren't bowing down to it, and you aren't issuing it orders, either. You are participating with your higher self in a subtle conversation, and this conversation may include words. However, being a special kind of spiritual conversation, it may be free of words. It may have pictures, feelings, or just shared presence.

How do you know when you are contacting your higher self? If it seems to be making demands, or making vaguely pompous mystical pronouncements, you are likely opening your attention to a discarnate entity, instead. This is because the higher self doesn't need to make demands, as that is not its way of working. The higher self doesn't feel grand, because it is too humble for that. Nonetheless, there is a general sense of vastness when you encounter your higher self, but vast is rather different than grand or ornate. Consider the vastness of a forest or an ocean, because they are deep and majestic, but in a natural way, and not at all affected or fancy.

And when you most need your higher self, it is there. You may not be listening, though, because the noise of your ego or your lower mind may be making its own noisy complaints that draw your attention. It takes much practice to notice your noisy mind without becoming drawn into its arguments and issues. When you recognize the characteristic quality of the inner ego noise, and you compare that with the distinctly different quality of vastness and calm within the higher self, then you learn the secret of the higher self. It is so quiet that you had almost missed it, but it shares a healing presence with you, as deep as the forest or the ocean.

Vast though it is, it is not something to get lost in. Rather, you include it in your daily activities, whenever possible. Don't judge yourself when you forget. Just quietly bring your attention back to gently including your higher self. Your higher self never judges you, and doesn't demand anything. But it is there for you, and infinitely patient with you. Simply look about you, right now, and know that within this experience of the moment, you can choose to include your higher self.

So the problems of life aren't going to go away, but there is hope nonetheless, because your ability to navigate through each daily situation become easier when you include your higher self. And the blessings you receive from your higher self truly help you bring balancing vibrations to each situation you encounter. This doesn't promise a life free of difficulties, but does offer the possibility that each situation can be relatively more smooth than it would have otherwise been.

You've encountered too many naive platitudes in your spiritual journey over the years, and now you're ready for the refreshing reality of your higher self. It won't lie to you, and it won't live your life for you. Your higher self won't control you, and it won't leave you adrift. For now, please take a slow and gentle breath, and quietly inhale the divine and peaceful presence of your higher self, as you uncover the subtle gifts that your eternal self shares with you within this sacred moment.

Many Blessings,

Joel Bruce Wallach

Founder, Cosmic Living for spiritual empowerment - tele-classes and home-study mp3's

Do you have a strong desire to align with your spiritual essence? Are you wondering how you can activate your divine potential? Experienced practical mystic and teacher Joel Bruce Wallach helps you learn practical self-healing and inspiring metaphysical teachings in a centered, guided, sacred space. Live teleseminars, self-paced learning via mp3s, and inspiring articles and the transformational tips blog are available now.

I'm Joel Bruce Wallach, and I look forward to sharing step-by-step methods and insights with you, so that you can develop practical cosmic awareness, and experience your higher potential with ease and grace. Listen to mp3 samples of the teleclasses here:

http://cosmic-living.com/group-sessions-archive/

Activating your cosmic consciousness is easier than you had realized, when you know how to place your awareness, and have steps to guide you. Spiritual realizations and energy healing are within your capacity, because the power is already within you. In this amazingly accelerated modern age of spiritual empowerment, self-paced learning is the key to realizing your potential. I am honored to share these step-by-step teachings with you.

Goal Setting and the Power of Autosuggestion

by

Gary Greenbank

Most people who read about goal setting take away the idea that thinking positively will help them achieve their goals. There is always a deeper message if you are ready for it.

You've probably also heard that 'we are all one' and that you are a 'spiritual being having a human experience'. An increasing amount of people believe that our minds are connected at some level in what could be called 'infinite intelligence' or the 'universal mind'.

Consider the idea that we actually change our life situation by using autosuggestion to tap into this 'infinite intelligence'. That is, if we can see and feel ourselves in possession of a goal, then this emotion of desire opens up the connecting link to 'infinite intelligence' through our subconscious.

To explain the idea of oneness in human terms think of your Higher Self as the ocean and your Limited Self level as a drop of water in that ocean. When you look at the ocean you know that it is made up of individual drops of water, however, all you see is one great expanse of water. This is the same as the relationship between you at your Limited Self and Higher Self level. Just as all the drops of water make up the ocean, you and every other living thing in the universe make up your Higher Self. You are the ocean having the experiences of each drop of water that is part of you. As your Limited Self, you are a drop while as your Higher Self, you are the entire ocean.

In our mind, at our Limited Self level, we have what is called our conscious faculty which is the guardhouse that helps us analyse and make judgments on the environment around us. Behind this lies our subconscious. We can tap into our subconscious in a variety of ways including meditation, prayer, hypnotism etc.

Many people believe that our subconscious is the connecting link between our finite brain and infinite intelligence. This is the basis for all manifestation theories involving positive thinking and goal setting. Many books have been written on this subject including 'The Secret', 'The Law of Attraction', 'The Power of Now', 'Think and Grow Rich' and many others.

What is often not understood is that when we want something to change in our life the change isn't actually manifested by us as our Limited Self. The actual process we use to change our situation, whether we know it or not, is to use autosuggestion to open the connecting link between our subconscious and our Higher Self or Infinite Intelligence where we are connected to everything else as one. It is at this level that we change our environment and therefore change our life situation.

Autosuggestion is where you have such a burning desire for something to change that you can actually see and feel yourself in possession of what you desire in your life - visualising and then adding the emotion of actually feeling yourself in possession of what you want.

This emotion and faith then stimulate your subconscious to link with the infinite intelligence to change your life situation. So how do you use this process to change your life? As mentioned earlier, the most effective way of tapping into your subconscious is through autosuggestion.

The following is an excerpt taken directly from the classic book, Think and Grow Rich. The example Napoleon Hill uses is making an amount of money however in reality your goal can be anything and you would just replace money in the excerpt below with your own goal.

'First. Go into some quiet spot (preferably in bed at night) where you will not be disturbed or interrupted, close your eyes, and repeat aloud, (so you may hear your own words) the written statement of the amount of money you intend to accumulate, the time limit for its accumulation, and a description of the service or merchandise you intend to give in return for the money. As you carry out these instructions, SEE YOURSELF ALREADY IN POSSESSION OF THE MONEY.

For example:-Suppose that you intend to accumulate $500,000 by the first of January, five years hence, that you intend to give personal services in return for the money, in the capacity of a salesperson. Your written statement of your purpose should be similar to the following:

"By the first day of , I will have in my possession $500,000, which will come to me in various amounts from time to time during the interim.

In return for this money I will give the most efficient service of which I am capable, rendering the fullest possible quantity, and the best possible quality of service in the capacity of salesperson of (describe the service or merchandise you intend to sell).

I believe that I will have this money in my possession. My faith is so strong that I can now see this money before my eyes. I can touch it with my hands. It is now awaiting transfer to me at the time, and in the proportion that I deliver the service I intend to render in return for it. I am awaiting a plan by which to accumulate this money, and I will follow that plan, when it is received."

Second. Repeat this program night and morning until you can see, (in your imagination) the money you intend to accumulate.

Third. Place a written copy of your statement where you can see it night and morning and read it just before retiring, and upon arising until you have been memorized it.

Remember, as you carry out these instructions, that you are applying the principle of auto-suggestion, for the purpose of giving orders to your subconscious mind. Remember, also, that your subconscious mind will act ONLY upon instructions which are emotionalized, and handed over to it with "feeling." FAITH is the strongest, and most productive of the emotions. Follow the instructions given in the chapter on FAITH.

These instructions may, at first, seem abstract. Do not let this disturb you. Follow the instructions, no matter how abstract or impractical they may, at first, appear to be. The time will soon come, if you do as you have been instructed, in spirit as well as in act, when a whole new universe of power will unfold to you.

Scepticism, in connection with ALL new ideas, is characteristic of all human beings. But if you follow the instructions outlined, your scepticism will soon be replaced by belief, and this, in turn, will soon become crystallized into ABSOLUTE FAITH. Then you will have arrived at the point where you may truly say, "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul!"

Many philosophers have made the statement that man is the master of his own earthly destiny, but most of them have failed to say why he is the master. The reason that man may be the master of his own earthly status, and especially his financial status, is thoroughly explained in this chapter. Man may become the master of himself, and of his environment, because he has the POWER TO INFLUENCE HIS OWN SUBCONSCIOUS MIND, and through it, gain the cooperation of Infinite Intelligence'.

The actual performance of transmuting DESIRE into money, involves the use of autosuggestion as an agency by which one may reach, and influence, the subconscious mind.

This same mechanism, where we connect with our Higher Self, has also been called Creative Genius and is the process behind intuition, imagination and instinct.

If you need any more proof read the biographies of people such as Einstein and Beethoven and you will realize that they were working with intelligence greater than that in their finite brain. Similarly with great inventors, this process of linking to the infinite intelligence allows them to operate at a higher creative plain than in their normal finite mind.

If you're interested in this idea that we are all one, and our minds are connected in some way we don't at this stage understand, I'd suggest you read my article on Internet of Minds and also watch a very interesting video presentation by Jill Bolte Taylor a brain scientist who documented her incredible experiences while she was having a stroke!

For more advice and answers to questions you won't find in a text book go to businessadvicecolumn.com

copyright Gary Greenbank 2012

Mayan Calendar

Tomorrow is the last day of the Mayan Calendar.  Not the last day of the year in their calendar - the last day of the calendar itself!

Should we be running to the hills for survival?  Not according to John Major Jenkins, an expert on Mayan Cosmology and Mayan sacred science.

John Major Jenkins is the author of two key books on this subject: "Maya Cosmogenesis 2012: The True Meaning of the Maya Calendar End Date" and "Galactic Alignment: The Transformation of Consciousness According to Mayan, Egyptian and Vedic Traditions".  You can purchase either of the above books from Amazon by clicking on the name.  If you wish to pay in pounds sterling or have the books shipped from the UK you may order the first here (Maya Cosmogenesis 2012), or the second here (Galactic Alignment).  Please do not hold Amazon or John responsible if the world ends before your books arrive! ;)

John's full article is appended below.  It is a long article, but very well worth reading.  If you don't have time to read it, though, the conclusion is this:  the end of 2012 is not the end of the world, but it is a time when we are being given the opportunity to sacrifice our self-centered, egotistical view of the world and our place in it, and to replace this view with that of a selfless, higher consciousness.  This applies equally to society as a whole and to each of us as individuals.

Here is the full text of the very carefully researched article by John Major Jenkins on the end of the Mayan Calendar.  It was written in 2010 and refers to what will happen as we enter 2012 as well as what may happen tomorrow, the 21st December 2012 or the last day of the Mayan Calendar.  Do you think he got it right?  My own view is that it really doesn't matter whether or not he did.  What is important is whether we will take this opportunity now to change ourselves, which is the only way we can change society.

The Mayan Calendar and 2012: Why Should We Care?

by

John Major Jenkins

In my own process of studying the Maya and their traditions, I moved progressively into deeper water with time. Twenty-two years in, I can report back to newcomers that the implications of the Mayan calendar are staggering, its connection to other cosmologies around the globe is deep, and its most famous artifact, the cycle ending date of 2012, encodes an understanding of the cosmos that modern science is unprepared to grasp.

That’s where the investigation leads, but we will not venture so far in this article. Many people will be introduced to the existence of the Maya and their calendar through the attention generated by the 2012 date. You may be one of them. In fact, I hope you are, because this article is written for you. How can we even begin to understand the Mayan calendar and its 2012 date? What is it? What was it intended to represent? What did the ancient Maya believe would happen as 2012 draws close? Sit back and read on, for there are answers to these questions.

In my speaking events and workshops, people ask questions and I’ve noticed that many of them are based on misconceptions. I will anticipate and address these, hopefully guiding you away from dead ends.It is no surprise that 2012, the so-called ‘end of the Mayan calendar’, is a topic filled with images of the end of the world, doomsday, and cataclysm. Many writers have and will exploit such a hot topic to play into human fears. They are not necessarily interested in understanding 2012 as the ancient Maya understood it. Here we must state a guiding principle so we can have a healthy approach to 2012: let’s honour the authentic Mayan tradition.

This seems self evident, but is rarely taken to heart by modern writers. As a result of this unfortunate situation, newcomers are likely to encounter a smorgasbord of ideas, information, opinions, and models about 2012. The loudest barkers in Carnival 2012, as my friend Jonathan Zap reminds me, are likely to be the first ones heard. There’s the Pleiadian faction, there’s the crop circle theorists, there’s the alien invasion crowd, there’s the doomsday tribe, there’s the ascension light workers. People like many choices on the menu, right? Sure, but what about the real ding an sich, the thing-in-itself? Are we interested in getting to the heart of the Mayan insight? I propose that we should be, and that such an approach yields interesting, satisfying, revolutionary, and lasting results.

A little research reveals that a large cycle in the Mayan Long Count calendar ends precisely on December 21, 2012. The precision comes from a painstakingly established correlation between the Long Count calendar and our own Gregorian calendar. Scholars figured it out, beginning in the 1890s, testing and retesting the correct correlation. It was settled by 1950.

The Gregorian calendar and the Long Count calendar are simply two different methods of tracking time. Each one tracks one day after another, but designates the days with different symbols and words. The correct correlation between the two means that, for example, 9.16.4.1.1 in the Long Count equals May 7, 755 in the Gregorian calendar. We are simply correlating two different systems. It’s the same challenge of correlating the ancient Egyptian calendar, or the ancient Hindu or Roman system, to a time frame we recognise. With the ‘key’ of the correlation, we can make a precise conversion between the Mayan calendar into our own. It’s not rocket science, and there’s no need to mystify it.

What you need to know is that scholars have isolated the precise correlation for the Mayan calendar, such that the end of the 13-baktun cycle in the Long Count (written 13.0.0.0.0) falls precisely on December 21, 2012. Most importantly, the surviving 260-day calendar (the tzolkin) among the Maya today verifies this correlation, since it confirms that the cycle-ending date falls on 4 Ahau in the tzolkin. Authors that write popular books and broadcast other notions have simply not done their homework.

Next, what is the Long Count and how does it work? The Long Count calendar system was developed about 2,100 years ago in southern Mexico. Archaeologists know this because the first carved monuments with Long Count dates appear in the first-century BCE, mostly in the state of Chiapas in southern Mexico. Theoretical reconstructions of the calendar that trace its origins further back in time are possible, but for now we can rest safely with the carved monuments that date to the first-century BCE. This is a good indicator of when the Long Count was formally inaugurated and carved in stone.

A typical Long Count date contains five place values. A baktun is a period of 144,000 days. A katun is a period of 7,200 days. A tun contains 360 days. A uinal contains 20 days, and a kin is a day. I’m surprised when newcomers begin to wonder how anyone can possibly know this. Some assert that the Maya disappeared long ago, so how do we know this information about their calendar? Well, the truth is that the Maya have not disappeared, as the popular misconception goes. The reason why we can say things with certainty about how the Long Count works is because scholars have reconstructed its operation from a careful examination of the archaeological evidence. It’s not so mysterious or far fetched for scholars to piece together fragments of a forgotten tradition, especially something as tangible as the basic mathematics of a calendar system.

A typical Long Count date is written 8.16.3.12.5. The cycle ending date is written 13.0.0.0.0. After this date, the calendar cycles back to 0.0.0.0.1. Why? Because there are 13 Baktuns in one Creation Cycle, or Age. We know this because there are several carvings that are called ‘Creation Monuments’, and they tell us that 13.0.0.0.0 is the completion of a World Age. The Long Count is thus part of a philosophy of time known as a World Age doctrine. It is a belief that many ancient cultures share, that the world passes through a series of chapters or Ages. For the Maya, an Age lasts 13 Baktuns, which is 5,125 years.

The Maya’s Creation Myth contains information about the World Ages, and therefore we can consult it to gain an understanding of what the ancient Maya believed occurs during a cycle ending. General principles can be identified. For example, at the end of all Ages, humanity goes through a transformation and is reborn. A person chooses from two ways, because free will is honoured. One can go the way of Seven Macaw, the vain ego-driven ruler who appears at the end of the cycle, or one can go the way of One Hunahpu, who sacrifices his false self and is reborn whole.

The point is that the Creation Myth actually provides relevant and meaningful information concerning the ancient Maya belief about what would happen as 2012 approached. Therefore, studying the messages in the Creation Myth is an effective approach for understanding 2012.

Another important question is, why did the Maya believe that the year we call 2012 in our calendar would be so transformative? What is so special about 2012? The answer to this has been the focus of my pioneering research. My 1994 article “The How and Why of the Mayan End Date” really broke the case, as it identified how a rare astronomical alignment (the ‘galactic alignment’) was encoded by the Maya into their Creation Myth. My 1995 book The Center of Mayan Time explored my new findings further, by examining the early Maya site, Izapa, that invented the Long Count cosmology. More discoveries occurred in 1995-1997, and were reported in various articles and in my books Izapa Cosmos (1996) and Maya Cosmogenesis 2012 (1998). The galactic alignment is the key to understanding why the ancient Maya believed 2012 (or, to be more accurate, ‘the years around 2012’) would be so transformational.

What is the Galactic Alignment?

  A = the solstice sun’s position 4,000 years ago. B = the solstice sun’s position 2,000 years ago. C = the solstice sun’s position in era-2012 (the galactic alignment). Note the dark rift and the crossroads of the Milky Way and the ecliptic.

The galactic alignment is a rare alignment within the cycle of the precession of the equinoxes, or let’s say ‘precession’ for short. Precession is thought to be caused by the slow wobble of the earth on its axis. The earth spins once every 24 hours, giving us the day cycle. But like a spinning top it also wobbles very slowly, making one complete wobble in just under 26,000 years. This phenomenon changes our angular orientation to the larger field of stars and constellations that surround us. One effect of the precession is that the position of the sun on a solstice or equinox slowly shifts in relation to the background stars. Ancient skywatchers might observe the stars of Capricorn rising ahead of the dawning solstice sun. Eight hundred years later, however, it will be the stars of Sagittarius. The constellations served as markers for this celestial shifting.

For the Maya, the bright band of the Milky Way was a very important feature of the night sky. It was seen to be a river, a road, a cosmic snake, a Great Mother, or even a celestial ballcourt. Compared to the very wide constellations, the Milky Way is a better marker for precessional shifting, because it is thin, like a ‘finish line’ in the sky. If the sun’s position on, say, the December solstice, was tracked, skywatchers would notice it shifting closer and closer to the bright band of the Milky Way. According to my pioneering research, ancient Maya skywatchers noticed this shifting, and calculated forward to the future day when the December solstice sun would line up with the Milky Way. They even used a more precise marker for the alignment, the dark rift in the Milky Way, which lies right along the Milky Way’s mid-plane.

Modern astronomers call the Milky Way’s precise mid-plane the ‘galactic equator’. So, a good definition of the galactic alignment is ‘the alignment of the December solstice sun with the galactic equator’. Modern astronomers have largely ignored this alignment phenomenon, but one named Jean Meeus calculated it after being encouraged to look at it by astrologer Daniel Giamario. With his calculation, and recognising that the sun itself is one-half of a degree wide, we arrive at a reasonable ‘alignment zone’ that stretches from 1980 to 2016. This is the ‘alignment zone’ of the galactic alignment. In the mid-1990s I pioneered a comparative analysis of Mayan traditions, such as the ballgame, king-making rituals, and the Creation Mythology, to show how the Maya were aware of this future galactic alignment (also sometimes called ‘the solstice-galaxy alignment’).

The galactic alignment occurs at an important location along the Milky Way – right at the crossing point formed by the Milky Way and the ecliptic (the path followed by the sun, moon, and planets). This crossroads in the sky is a critical feature of Mayan star lore. It is the Mayan Sacred Tree. Most interestingly, this cross targets the ‘nuclear bulge’ of the Galactic Centre. For this reason, the galactic alignment is often described as an alignment to the galactic centre, which it is, generally speaking.

These astronomical features had profound symbolic meaning for the ancient Maya. And some still do for the modern Maya. The Milky Way was the Great Mother, the galactic centre was her womb, and the dark rift was her birth canal. The December solstice sun was also very important, energetically, because that day signals the turnabout in the year, when increasing night shifts to increasing light. After the December solstice, the light begins to return as days grow longer. When THAT sun, the December solstice sun, shifts into alignment with the dark rift ‘birth canal’ of the Milky Way, the Maya believed the world would be reborn. It constituted a good location to place the end of a World Age, 13.0.0.0.0 in their calendar, and the beginning of the next Age. The cycle ending is ultimately about renewal.

The galactic alignment, so defined, happens only once every 26,000 years. This is the big news, why we should be astounded at what the ancient Maya achieved. If we honour it only as a profound galactic cosmovision, whether or not we believe in its transformational power or correctness, that would be enough to shatter the continuing stereotypes of the ancient Maya as barbaric savages. Progress in understanding the brilliance of the ancient Maya’s achievement is hindered by stereotypes and clichés propagated by an exploitative media, as recent Hollywood movies illustrate. They play into fear and deep-set biases, and newcomers should be on alert for attitudes and books that disrespect the authentic Mayan calendar tradition, the one that makes December 21, 2012 equal to 4 Ahau, 13.0.0.0.0.

But what of it? Does the galactic alignment somehow ‘cause’ change? This is an inevitable question, and one that is currently not easy to answer within the limits of our science. Astrophysicists look at distant galaxies, peer into galactic centres, and theorise about black holes, quasars, and dark matter. That’s all well and good, but they have not looked at the empirical effects of the galactic alignment phenomena. The possibility that our changing angular orientation to the galactic plane might somehow trigger seasonal changes on Earth, over very long periods of time, should be examined. Speaking from personal experience, however, it’s been very difficult to get astronomers and scientists to engage in a rational dialogue about the galactic alignment, although there have been some exceptions.

I’ve suggested scientific research that may answer the question of how the galactic alignment effects life on planet earth. It is, after all, an interesting question. In my 2002 book Galactic Alignment I discussed the Cosmecology theory of Dr. Oliver Reiser. Combining Reiser’s ideas with the galactic alignment concept, which he was not aware of, results in a possible model by which galactic alignments trigger consciousness. In 1995 I noted that our sun is roughly 26,000 light years from the galactic centre. I wondered if this could mean that precession is somehow entrained to this distance. A principle of sub-atomic physics that I located, later confirmed in the work of Reiser, provides the missing clue. The principle of ‘proton precession’ observes that protons have a varying wobble rate or ‘precession’ just like the earth does. The frequency of the wobble is directly related to the strength of the magnetic field that the proton is in, as well as its distance from the source of field. Here we have a principle that connects distance from source to the precession rate.

I am neither a sub-atomic particle physicist nor am I an interstellar astrophysicist, so this is not really my department. I offer this observation to others who are more interested in exploring the empirical models by which precession, and galactic alignments, may effect consciousness on earth.

We may be on the verge of a revolution in how we, in Western countries, understand the cosmos and our relationship to it. We may be going through a paradigm shift, much like the seventeenth century, when the sun became the centre of the cosmos during the Copernican revolution. Now, inspired by Mayan cosmology (just as Copernicus was inspired by Greek precursors), we might begin to see the womb of the Great Mother as the centre of the universe. This shift has important ramifications for our socio-political assumptions, for ‘god the solar father’ cannot be reborn unless it is through ‘goddess the galactic mother’. A higher principle that has been winnowed out of Western thought is reasserting itself, and our embracing it may be the key to transforming our unstable world into a sustainable one.
 

What Does 2012 Mean for the Modern World?

The pressing question is ‘what does 2012 mean for us?’ Consider this: the Maya offer us the 2012 date and tie it to a rare galactic alignment that our science barely acknowledges. They believed, for reasons we cannot quite grasp, that such an alignment would signal great transformation on the planet. If we look around us today, and recall events of the last twenty, fifty, and a hundred years, great transformation is indeed what is going on. Perhaps we should pay more attention to what the ancient Maya teachings actually say, rather than injecting modern assumptions and distortions into the 2012 discussion. There is no better place for accessing this Mayan wisdom than the Creation Mythology, otherwise known as the Popol Vuh or Hero Twin myth.

And here it is in a nutshell: 2012 bodes a challenge and an opportunity for humanity to rebirth itself. Such a transformational rebirth can only be accomplished through sacrifice, sacrificing the illusions that bind us to states of suffering and limitation. We can reconnect with the higher source, our true selves, the centre and source of the world. This invitation is reflected in the galactic alignment, our sun’s rare alignment with the cosmic heart and source (symbolised by the galactic centre).

This requires a little context and explanation. In the Creation Myth, the vain and false ruler Seven Macaw appears at the end of the cycle. He deceives and controls people, trying to take all the wealth for himself. He represents the archetype of self-serving egoism. That is the Mayan prophecy for 2012. Today, world leaders, megalomaniacal presidents, and even corporations all exhibit this trait. The Mayan prophecy for 2012 has come to pass. This is no accident. Ego takes control of the world at the end of the cycle, and this is a fact of the dynamics of cycles. We see this insight in many World Age doctrines, from the Hindus to the Greeks and especially among the indigenous peoples of the New World, such as the Maya. Spiritual light at the beginning gives way to darkness. Day turns to night, and at midnight the darkness has maximised. Year 2012 represents galactic midnight in the great cycle of precession. Everything is inverted; the ego denies any spiritual authority higher than itself. But because the ego’s vision is short-sighted, limited only to its own gain, it corrupts the world.

There is a second part to the Mayan prophecy in the Popol Vuh. Seven Macaw’s nemesis is One Hunahpu, the December solstice solar deity. He is the father of the Hero Twins, and much of the story is about facilitating his rebirth at the end of the Age. First, Seven Macaw, the ego, must be put in his place. In order for the higher consciousness to appear, for the mind and heart of humanity to be reborn, the self-serving squawking of ego must be stopped. The whole story is about the dynamic between the limited ego (Seven Macaw) and the eternal soul (One Hunahpu). Since One Hunahpu represents the December solstice sun, the entire myth is framed upon the galactic alignment. And here’s the key to the transformation, the key to putting Seven Macaw back into right relationship with One Hunahpu: sacrifice.

The challenge and the opportunity of 2012 lies within the province of our free will choice to sacrifice our illusions, the illusions that entangle our consciousness with the ego limitation of Seven Macaw. 2012 is not about something that ‘will happen’ in a predetermined sense while we sit around waiting. It is about our free will choice to open up and reconnect with the eternal wisdom, or hunker down in defeatism, closing our minds in fear.

These ideas, found in the Maya Creation Myth, are really perennial teachings. It is very significant that hidden within the depths of the Mayan calendar we find the same spiritual wisdom that resides at the root of all great spiritual traditions. Called the primordial tradition or the perennial philosophy, Mayan genius has linked up this global human heritage to galactic seasons of change timed by the galactic alignment of era-2012.

The ramifications of the 2012 opportunity are critical for creating a sustainable future. The key is embodying the higher wisdom, the higher vantage point, to resolve problems that are impossible to solve when consciousness retains an allegiance to lower consciousness, to the self-serving agenda of egoism.