2012 - Doomsday Or Hysteria? Is it the End of the World As We Know it?

This has been one heck of a week for the doomsday version of 2012. While there have been programs and presentations over many years (I've seen several of them), last week the entertainment industry outdid itself, speculating bigger, glitzier, and scarier. The latest movie intends to scare us out of our socks, with Armageddon, Independence Day and nuclear holocaust all rolled into one. Long before there was television and movies, there were books and prophecies and doomsday cults. Even our western Holy Book called the Bible is replete with multiple doomsday prophecies and warnings. There are as many detractors and nay-sayers as there are believers and they are just as vocal. Is there a middle ground between doomsday and denial?

I've been interested in and have studied prophesy in one form or another for 40 years. I am not afraid of 2012 but I also am not in denial of such possibility. I know what is possible, but this subject is currently clothed in hysteria, told in half-truths and outright speculation and that is surely not healthy. Even NASA took to the airwaves to discount the possibility of such doomsday, which has never been done before. The hype leads to hysteria and frightened people react badly. Before we start to examine what 2012 might mean, let's examine what would it mean if the doomsday scenario was true? We will take a few moments and face our fears and trepidations up front.

If doomsday is true, what exactly could you or I do about it? There is no other game in town; make or break it here on Earth is what we have. There is no place on this globe that I know of marked off as a safe place to wait out the destruction. If there was such a place, all six billion plus inhabitants (many are children) of this planet would try to get to that spot just as you or I or any other scared person would... and many of them would bring their animals as well. I would want my grand-dogs to be safe. Don't you feel that way about your pets? Realistically there is no safe place for catastrophe so we can dismiss that as a possibility right now. Hang in there, we're doing a worst-case scenario up front.

We do not have an unbelievable number of gigantic spaceships to evacuate all of us and take us to a place of safety while the planet goes through its convulsions, whatever the cause. Within reason, just in our galaxy, where would that place of safety be? Does it have food, water, shelter and accommodations for six plus billion people, their pets and their spaceships? Fuel, dry dock, etc. would require an entire world. Now we will take this to the next level... out there, beyond our local space.

What if an incredible number of spaceships arrive to evacuate us to some point of safety we don't know about and can transport, feed, shelter, and all that is required for all six billion of us? Obviously they are not our spaceships because 1) we don't have any, and 2) there's nowhere to go close by (the limit of our technology). If a spaceship hovers over your house, sends down a ladder and an announcement booms through the air "__(insert your name)__, it is time to get on board," what would you do, stay or go? Would you get on board now (they are in a bit of a hurry) or wait until you gather every single person you are related to or ever met (and possibly their animals) so you can be sure to all get on the same space ship? Would you wait for the magic announcement "Beam me onboard Scottie." What if you did board the obviously alien spaceship. Are you refugees, prisoners, slaves, or dinner? One of the scariest science fiction television movies I ever saw was entitled "To Serve Man." Those who elected to join the space farers turned out to be the menu.

Could there be a doomsday scenario such as an asteroid or comet strike? Sure. We were born in fire and fury, shaped and reshaped by such strikes over billions of years as our solar system slowly formed. What was left over from this violent formation retreated into bands of asteroids and icy debris settled in the outer reaches of the solar system called the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud. From time to time, space does get perturbed and some of that material is kicked inward through our system and naturally gravitates towards the Sun, our nearby - 93 million miles - neighbor. Could one of these bodies, in its natural trajectory or because of our superior gravitational force, slam into us? Sure. It has done so before so there is no reason to assume it cannot or will not ever do it again. Will it? At this time in the development of our planet and our solar system such an event would be rare. Our astronomers are seriously watching for such objects to allow as much warning as possible. Could we defeat it? We're learning how; we are developing our capacity continually. We will do our best if that situation arises. Do you or I have any control over that? Not really, so what is the point of worrying about it?

Could the Sun superheat and either explode or send off huge solar prominences that can affect life here on Earth? Sure. Remember that early violent formation of the solar system and the Earth I mentioned? Our Earth records show cataclysmic events in our past, gradually slowing as we evolved. The trumpeted solar maximum for 2012 is a normal fluctuation of the Sun's activities that occurs every 11 years. Over the 4.5 billion years of our life some of that solar fluctuation has been destructive, but we are still here. Sure it could happen again, but what exactly are your options? If the Sun were to explode or send an enormous burst of energy (solar prominence) toward us, we wouldn't know about it for approximately eight minutes, then we'd see it and would just about immediately experience it. The destruction would be over in little more than seconds. Can we change any of that? No. If we can't materially affect the outcome and that outcome is almost instantaneous, why should we worry about it?

Biblical prophecy is married to the doomsday scenario because if you read the Book of Revelation in the Protestant Bible, it is filled with dire prophecy and warnings. As close as I can tell from that reading there does not appear to be a way out for us physically. Holy Books are not as interested in our physical fortunes as much as it is our spiritual fortunes; therefore the rescue promised is spiritual in nature. For 20 centuries we have been unsuccessfully trying to figure out what those prophecies mean and when they will occur. There have been so many doomsday predictions and cults biblical and otherwise that it could fill up weeks, months or years of study. All those people lived and died and such prophecies did not manifest in their lifetimes. The Bible clearly states that we are not to attempt to figure it out, that it will happen when it gets here. But do we back off and not speculate? Of course not; we are just not built that way. You also remember the story about the tree, the forbidden fruit, and how well man handled that one don't you?

Man dreams his dreams and has his visions. I, woman, have had several of those myself. Man is curious, independent, at times willful, and blind in their belief systems. We were supposedly formed in the image and likeness of the Creator with the attributes of that creative principle and we were put on Schoolhouse Earth to find our way and learn our lessons. This was not a gigantic joke or punishment of a capricious deity, stamping a gigantic foot in petulance. That concept of deity is way too human for me.

Oh... and if you wonder how people get caught up in "cult" experiences and beliefs, watch this period until 2012 and listen and learn. This qualifies as a cult experience along with many other human habits and beliefs and it doesn't matter if you are mainstream religious or not or which belief system or book you prefer.

Okay, we've examined a few of the most popular ridiculous beliefs and our inherent fears of such potentially catastrophic events. We are in this together, whether we like it or not. If such awful possibilities were true, we are not in a position to do much about it. If we can't change the outcome, why bother putting yourself through the worry? Fearing a thing will not make it go away but that fear can immobilize us or cause us to follow beliefs, cults or leaders who also can't change the outcome. Trust yourself. Save your mental energy for doing what you can about the possible and don't fret over that which you can't control.

I live in hurricane territory and have been through a couple of them. There are common sense things you can do to protect your safety and survival. You don't ignore the potential, you prepare. Beyond that you wait along with everyone else and deal with what comes down the road. Insane overriding fear will not change the outcome other than you can scare yourself silly. A reckless I'm-going-to-stare-that-sucker- in-the-eye mentality could ensure disaster. Sane, common sense preparation is the best we can do. And when the outcome has occurred, whether it be from natural or unnatural causes, we do the best we can with who we are and what we have at our disposal. That's the best any of us can do for any catastrophic event. Worrying about it does not change the outcome, so stop worrying.

Is 2012 Doomsday? The Mayan and the Hopi legends point to a major shift or change that will occur at the time of the Winter Solstice 2012 on December 21st. Of all the possible Winter Solstices that can occur within an approximate 26,000-year cycle (one galactic revolution), this specific solstice occurs because of the lineup of the solstice with an assumed black hole that is at the very center of our Milky Way Galaxy. This black hole with its tremendous gravitational force appears to be the center around which our Galaxy revolves. I say assumed because it is the position held currently by our scientists, but scientific opinion changes from moment to moment.

Briefly, this approximate 26,000 year revolution is conveniently divided into twelve compartments which we call "ages" and it is our Earth axis that is the "pointer." There is much rampant speculation on whether or not we are on the point of the changing of an Age, but it really has nothing to do with this 2012 lineup. My personal opinion is that we have already moved into the Age of Aquarius but I will save that for another article. 2012 is about the lineup of the Winter Solstice with the center of an assumed but massive and powerful black hole. It can happen once in that almost 26,000-year cycle and that time is December 21, 2012.

The Mayans had an incredibly sophisticated calendar system, one that takes years of study to fully understand. Mayans were able to do amazing predictions based on their calendars within calendars. The question is not whether their calendar system works, it does, but whether 2012 is catastrophic in conclusion. Their long calendar is set for 5125 years and the upcoming solstice marks the termination of the current cycle that began around 3113-12 BC (the transition between BC and AD has the oddity of no "0" year). This is not the first measured or experienced cycle. There have been cycle conclusions in the past that have not ended in catastrophic finality for the Earth and its inhabitants. We have limited records but we are living proof that we made it though those cycle changes.

What is happening in reality is that a Mayan long calendar year is ending and simultaneously beginning a new long calendar year. It is a marker year, one of great importance, and there is no known guarantee of wholesale destruction although I do believe the moment could have a monumental effect. Look to the Hopi and other legends that also mark this date for major change. Some of these legends we trot out as prophetic are catastrophic and some are not. Some Nostradamus prophecies go beyond 2012. The only prophecies that get the headlines are the catastrophic doomsday type. Fear and excitement sell product. Besides, we like scary stuff.

One last point... have you noticed that we are not handling our stewardship of this planet all that well? We are polluting our home, ravaging each other and the planet with incessant and violent wars. We lack tolerance of each other, take advantage of one another like wayward children. We could do this doomsday job of destruction all by ourselves without any outside help. We choose to call such events the Wrath of God, but I believe it should be called the Stupidity of Man.

What do I think is going to happen in 2012 after studying various forms of prophecy for over 40 years? We have been on a runaway train of change approaching a point of great change. Look around you. Look at how far we have evolved intellectually but also look at how well or how poorly we have handled those changes. In the USA we have unprecedented freedom, the culmination of the universe's attempts and successes in human rights. We must take care of those rights and that freedom. We are the latest attempt on the part of the universe, not the only attempt. We, you and I, are responsible for the success or failure of those freedoms. Choice.

The centuries-long agricultural and merchant society gave way to industrialization. Progress has been amazing. Did we handle all of it well? Can we fix what we did poorly? Can we pool our talents and resources to fix what is possible and to make good ecology a way of life? Choice. We discovered and developed atomic energy. We have used it for good and for ill. It holds a major key in its power for the benefit or destruction of the human race and possibly the planet. Choice.

We are becoming a one-world community; our borders are porous. This is not going to go away because we are uncomfortable. Have you noticed that life does not always consider our personal comfort its primary directive? We are so far along in the one-world process that it is like that runaway train that I mentioned. We need to embrace those changes in order to control the effect on our lives. Choice.

So much is said and written about the "haves" and the "have-nots" of our world. Old sayings like the 'rich get richer and the poor get poorer' emphasize the disparity between countries, people, societies, companies, health issues, food, power sharing, all stages of the human condition. We are all into self-preservation and the "pursuit of happiness" whatever that means individually. Is it possible to want good for every person, that they have food, shelter, education, safety, progress and the "good life" that we want for ourselves? Do we have to succeed personally at the expense of others? Or is there enough to go around for everyone? Can I applaud your success and lifestyle openly and honestly? Can you do the same for me? Can we help one another succeed? Choice.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin in his book The Phenomenon of Man indicated we were facing a paradigm shift in consciousness within the evolutionary cycle of man. We are approaching a go/no go point where we succeed in a break-through in consciousness for our species and progress beyond our wildest imagination or we fail and our species stops our evolutional process and becomes a page in history. I encountered that concept in the early 1970s and was appalled that we could evolve this far only to fail and to become a footnote of history. I made a choice then to do what was in my power to contribute to that pivotal evolutionary moment in time.

I believe we are approaching that pivotal moment in time and the date is December 21, 2012. We are teetering on the brink of just about every kind of disaster that humans can produce and that is something we can choose to fix. We don't have to act like spoiled children, defile our own living conditions and destroy ourselves ecologically. We don't have to destroy each other because we demand that everyone play by our personal or national rules. We could respect each other and our individual rights and clean up our prejudices. We could practice reasonable tolerance for each other's beliefs and practices. We could celebrate our diversity and pool our talents and resources to make this a truly wonderful place to live. The question is will we? Will we choose to ignore, avoid, blame, refuse responsibility, let the other guy do it, or wallow in self imposed stupidity? Or will we present ourselves as agents for good, accept that it is our personal job to step up to the plate and do what's possible to help ourselves and our way of life. Choice.

Marilyn Muir, author of "Presidents of Hope and Change: Bringing Hope to our Future by Reaching into our Astrological Past." Jefferson, Lincoln, Kennedy, Obama... The Lineage of Hope. Based on ground-breaking research by noted astrologer Marilyn Muir, this book describes the remarkable similarities of these four presidents in their Aquarian connections to the USA and their commonalities of character and motivation.

In a non-technical way, the author details how their sky maps (astrological charts) synchronize with the important events that took place during the lifetimes of presidents Jefferson, Lincoln and Kennedy-all of whom held office at profound moments in our nation's history. Ms Muir reaches deeply into the USA past to predict our nation's future. Demonstrating through meticulous astrological research how, under each of these president's watches, the country not only survived deep setbacks, but went onto greater and more successful heights.

The author takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the stars as she details the strengths and weakness in President Obama's own sky map; describing how and where it aligns to not only the birth chart of the USA but also his connections to the specific chart of his own inauguration. Is he the right man for the job? Read the first 36 pages (PDF) including the charts of all four Presidents - you'll get hooked!

http://www.presidentsofhopeandchange.com

The Mayan Calendar 2012 - Does is Really Predict the End of the World?

Will the world end in December 2012? If you believe in the people who interpret the Mayan calendar as a prophecy, then the answer would be yes. There is just one thing that people need to know. The Mayan predictions do not actually say that the world will end in December 2012. What it says is that there will be a major transformation, a shift in the way things are. There are people who are saying that it is all metaphorical while there are some who are claiming that a literal change will happen to the earth. Something devastating but very significant to man's evolution. An end to the world as we know it.

So what can we expect from in December 2012 if the Mayan calendar was talking about a literal shift? Everything that the movie 2012 depicted and more. There will be earthquakes brought about by volcanic eruptions and movement of the earth's surface. There will be widespread tidal waves and tsunamis that will wipe out entire villages. There will be storms and hurricanes that are several times more powerful than Katrina. There will be death, destruction and chaos everywhere That is, if messages of the prophets of doom are true.

Why should we even give importance to the Mayans? What qualifies them to make such a prediction? If you must know, the Mayan civilization is one of the greatest that ever existed. They were great thinkers who made great discoveries about the nature of the earth and the universe. They were scientists and philosophers who loved knowledge and who sought the truth with passion. This is the reason why the Mayans and their accomplishments matters. And this is also the reason why some scholars believe that the Mayan predictions should not be ignored.

It is really hard to say whether there will be a major catastrophic event in December 2012. But as many people are saying, better safe and ready than sorry. We should always be prepared for disasters such as earthquakes, storms and flooding.

You must also make yourself informed about the Mayan calendar and the predictions of things that will happen on December 2012. There are many materials available on the subject and you should try to at least get your hands on some of them. Knowing what to expect is probably the best thing that you can do to prepare for the worst things that could happen two years from now. To find out what to expect and how to survive, click on this link: http://www.squidoo.com/December_2012

Hello, the author specializes in writing medical and psychology articles and works in the psychlogy field. Please leave lots of feedback for my articles. Thank you.

Doomsday 2012 - Mayan Prophecy Turned Hollywood Movie Or Eighth Event to End the World?

The hype cycle of the film "2012", working full tilt, about the Earth's impending destruction has been so powerful that Nasa representatives have been shunted out to appear on American talk shows to reassure viewers that it simply that: hype. However, they have far from soothed the general public's propensity for panic.

The timing of its release has been impeccable, with only a few weeks left before the Climate Conference in Copenhagen convenes. It is said that the conference, although unlikely to reach international agreement due to perceived unfairness over the burden of responsibility facing the undeveloped world, is essential and that the world's governments must reach a consensus so that a Copenhagen Protocol can be agreed upon, thereby committing all nations to reduce carbon emissions dramatically to prevent further instability over "global warming" and climate change.

On the ground, however, public concern about doomsday in December 2012 has grown exponentially and is spreading internationally, causing almost mass hysteria. Indeed, some Mayan and Nostradamus believers, who predict Earth's ultimate extinction in three years' time, assert that this date will be the dawn of a new age and "spiritual growth" for survivors. Jokingly, a recent New York Times article mocked these soothsayers with: "It is kind of depressing if you were looking forward to taking a vacation from mortgage payments to finance one last blowout."

Today, there are literally mountains of conspiracy theories that inhabit YouTube on the subject, most of which suggest an alignment between the Sun and the centre of the galaxy that will bring about a "radical event", with maximum emission activity storms on the Sun's surface which will pour out massive subatomic particles, known as neutrinos. All of this, astronomers say, is objectionably absurd, akin the putative black hole at CERN. Moreover, they argue, the Sun and the galactic centre will not coincide, as doomsday theorists would have us believe, in 2012.

The essence of this end-is-nigh school of thought is tied in with predictions that Nibiru, a planet supposedly discovered by the Sumerians, is headed toward Earth. The fallout from this, to paraphrase David Morrison, a CSI Fellow and Senior Scientist at the NASA Astrobiology Institute, is that associated attributes to this event encompass a reversal of the Earth's magnetic field, create severe solar storms associated with the eleven-year solar cycle, cause the reversal of the Earth's rotation axis, long with bombardment by large comets or asteroids, and with a fanciful bit thrown into the mix about the Sun aligning with the galactic centre on December 21, 2012, subjecting us to potentially deadly forces.

This now populist theme, based on the Mayan calendar and ways to survive the coming apocalypse, seems to be causing havoc with the minds of the irrationalists and the huge hordes of the psychologically unhinged. According to one website, many people in Russia are saying they are "anxious by problem Nibiru", with one woman asking: "Why doesn't your government put a ban on the TV shows and report telecasting about Nibiru and 2012. If [the] US can [take steps] to protect the world physically from terrorism, why can't it protect us mentally from [this] news, if they are hoax?"

If it's clearly a hoax, then mentally we should ignore it. However, according to Wiki: "There are a variety of popular beliefs about the year 2012. These beliefs range from the spiritually transformative to the apocalyptic, and centre upon various interpretations of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar. Contemporary scientists have disputed the apocalyptic versions."

Whilst the film's impact on the human psyche is building up to the "event" in 2012, let's not be too hasty about denying the affects of climate change altogether though. While the world's leaders assemble in Copenhagen next month, James Lovelock, a respected voice in the scientific community, said in an article in The Guardian newspaper, "Enjoy life while you can", and talks about the catastrophe that will "inevitably happen" (for the full article see ( http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2008/mar/01/scienceofclimatechange.climatechange ). For interest's sake, let's look at some of the extracts:

"Working alone since the age of 40, Lovelock invented a device that detected CFCs, which helped detect the growing hole in the ozone layer, and introduced the Gaia hypothesis, a revolutionary theory that the Earth is a self-regulating super-organism. Initially ridiculed by many scientists as new age nonsense, today that theory forms the basis of almost all climate science."

Lovelock has been dispensing predictions with consistent accuracy since the 1960s, which have earned him "a reputation as one of Britain's most respected - if maverick - independent scientists."

"His latest book, The Revenge of Gaia, predicts that by 2020 extreme weather will be the norm, causing global devastation; that by 2040 much of Europe will be Saharan; and parts of London will be under water. The most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report deploys less dramatic language - but its calculations aren't a million miles away from his."

"Somewhat unexpectedly, Lovelock concedes that the [Daily] Mail's plastic bag campaign seems, 'on the face of it, a good thing'. But it transpires that this is largely a tactical response; he regards it as merely more rearrangement of Titanic deckchairs."

Then the pi?ce de r?sistance: "There have been seven disasters since humans came on the Earth, very similar to the one that's just about to happen. I think these events keep separating the wheat from the chaff. And eventually we'll have a human on the planet that really does understand it and can live with it properly. That's the source of my optimism." Why then, I plausibly ask, after seven "events" already, weren't we the source of our ancestors' optimism?

However, seven disasters already of this magnitude? Is he saying that the micro disaster scenario, that is to be debated by the world's leaders next month in Copenhagen, is a complete waste of time? Well, I suppose he is, yes.

He argues in the piece that: "Most of the things we have been told to do might make us feel better, but they won't make any difference. Global warming has passed the tipping point, and catastrophe is unstoppable. It's just too late for it. Perhaps if we'd gone along routes like that in 1967, it might have helped. But we don't have time. All these standard green things, like sustainable development, I think these are just words that mean nothing."

In this quote there is no allusion to a cyclical macro pattern, but in his interview with The Guardian newspaper ( http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/video/2009/apr/22/james-lovelock-gaia-space-biochar ) he reiterates the coming of the "Eighth Event": "Don't forget that in the Earth's history, while humans have been on the planet - that's about a million years - there have been seven major climate events of this kind. And I think the geneticists say that at one of those events, we were reduced to a mere two thousand individuals; a genetic bottleneck. If that is true, then they are very violent events indeed. And the one up ahead looks every bit as violent, if not more so than the ones that have happened in the past..."

He continued: "As soon as the system grows unstable, it goes into positive feedback. And as the positive feedback strengthens, then any small perturbations, in either direction, get amplified. So the tendency to cooling will give you a really cold winter," he suggests. "More extremes are likely because the system is becoming stressed."

While the greenists run about suggesting that we all plant trees to alleviate the impact of climate change, he warns: "This is the trouble with climate science and green actions: they theorise all the time and never do experiments. Now, people have seemed to have forgotten that experiment and observation are at least half of science." When he planted 1,000 trees years ago he found out it really wasn't a good idea at all, because "you can't plant an ecosystem".

So, while the film "2012" is an obvious and clever marketing hoax - one that is based on the exploitation of human fear in return for quick returns - dig a little deeper into both the micro level (Earth's biosphere) and the macro level (the course and interaction of all celestial bodies) and the conclusion is that we really haven't got a clue about what could potentially become reality; unless, of course, you believe in the stern warnings of Mr Lovelock.

Media Director of V9 Design & Build ( http://www.v9designbuild.com ), providing both local and outsourcing web and SEO services: we provide both brochureware and custom-designed websites, with tasteful design and branding, professional design and build, proven and successful SEO and e-marketing, e-commerce-driven database integration and content management systems.

Is 2012 The End of the World? Is it For Real?

Is December 21, 2012 the end of the world? The date marks the end of the Mayan long count calendar but there is no further information given by the Mayans about the world or events after this date. Many "2012 researchers" have also found reasons as to why the world may end in 2012.

James Michael Sayer, a 2012 researcher has put different scenarios predicted for 2012. From the worlds' magnetic fields reversing to solar flares to massive volcanoes and earthquakes, 2012 is surely one of the most sort after doomsday prophecies in modern times. It is still uncertain as to what might cause the devastation. It is predicted though that the world as we see today will never be the same. Chaos and destruction will lead to a new beginning as the world recoups after 2012. According to most predictions it is still not certain whether the change is going to do any better to our world or the human race.

For now, all we have is a countdown towards 2012. As usual the skeptics will have their own views on this prophecy and the believers will see it as a fight of survival. In preparing for 2012 or any disasters for that matter the most knowledgeable is often geared up for the best circumstances. We can sit back and see as the date approaches or we can get as much information as possible and be prepared for the uncertain events. Whatever the case may be 2012 has been marked as the end of the world. It is up to us to believe it or not.