The Mystery of 2012 — Predictions, Prophecies & Possibilities by Gregg Braden, Peter Russell, Daniel Pinchbeck, Geoff Stray, John Major Jenkins
This book is amazing — the best of ancient wisdom and prophesy combined with intelligent predictions and marching orders for the future. This book has got it all — the personal, the global, the best of the shift and the worst of the shift — with 26 of the leading visionary thinkers of our time giving us their thoughts on a wide range of topics. If December 21, 2012 is the most talked about date on the calendar right now, then The Mystery of 2012 is destined to be the most talked about book of the year — or next five years!
Kudos to Tami Simon and the publisher, Sounds True, for gathering this fascinating anthology covering what Ms. Simon calls “a time of unprecedented and accelerated planetary change.” The list of contributing authors is impressive — Gregg Braden, Jose Arguelles, Jean Houston, Ervin Lazlo, Barbara Marx Hubbard and many other leaders of their fields give us facts, theories and visions from many diverse viewpoints. From the opening chapters, which distinguish what is fact from the Mayan tradition versus what is “New Age” add-ons, through comparisons to what other ancient traditions have to say about this time period, followed by a survey of how this all impacts us in the modern world, this book is comprehensive.
The Mystery of 2012 walks a fine line between what is visionary and what is realistic — all without crossing over into apocalyptic, catastrophic or alarmist thinking. Still, there is no “Pollyanna” or head-in-the-sand blindness here, just a level-headed assessment of what is going on in a variety of areas such as politics, the environment, economics, science, medicine and more, what are the foreseeable consequences if we don’t act, and what are the practical choices we can make to improve the future.
The keyword here is “choices.” As Ervin Lazlo puts it, “We are living in the opening phases of a period of social and ecological instability — at a crucial decision-window.” There are no surprises here — in every arena of life our current systems are unsustainable and unstable, our corporations are focused on profit at all costs and our governments are inciting conflict, violence and chaos.
Yet, the main message of this book is one of optimism — that the choices we make in the next few years are vital to the outcome, but that we are able to rise to the occasion. The rise of the Internet and our increasing global interconnectedness speak to an evolution of consciousness that bodes well — as do the increasing number of people who are becoming more psychic, multi-dimensional and wiser in their thinking. Many of the authors liken what’s happening now to a great awakening that will spur more ethical and moral choices at the personal, communal and global levels — and all the authors outline and inspire action in realistic ways. If you have been doing nothing because the idea of changing or saving our world seems too big or overwhelming for one person, then The Mystery of 2012 will change your mind, inspire hope and give you concrete ideas for what to do.
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The authors of The Mystery of 2012 — Predictions, Prophecies & Possibilities:
Arjuna Ardagh is the author of The Translucent Revolution and several other books. His newest book and documentary film, Awakening into Oneness, explores the phenomenon of Oneness Deeksha that has generated so much interest in recent years. Arjuna is the founder of The Living Essence Foundation in Nevada City, California. He speaks, appears regularly in the media, and leads seminars, longer retreats, and trainings throughout the United States and Europe. Visit his websites at www.livingessence.com and www.awakeningintooneness.org . NEVADA CITY, NV
José Argüelles, Ph.D., is the New Age spiritual leader for the Planet Art Network and the Foundation for the Law of Time. He holds a Ph.D. in art history and aesthetics from the University of Chicago, and has taught at numerous colleges, including Princeton University and the San Francisco Art Institute. Artist, poet, and historian, Dr. Argüelles initiated the Harmonic Convergence of August 1987. He is the author of The Mayan Factor, Time and the Technosphere: The Law of Time in Human Affairs, Surfers of the Zuvuya, and Earth Ascending. When asked how he would describe himself, Dr. Argüelles responded, “As a revealer of the context.”
Gregg Braden, New York Times best-selling author, is internationally renowned as a pioneer in bridging science and spirituality. Following successful careers as a senior computer systems designer for Martin Marietta Aerospace and the first technical operations manager for Cisco Systems, Braden’s work, published in 14 languages and 23 countries, includes The Isaiah Effect, The God Code, and his newest bestseller, The Divine Matrix. For more than 20 years, Braden has searched high mountain villages, remote monasteries, and forgotten texts to uncover their timeless secrets. It is those secrets, he believes, that hold the key to meeting the greatest challenges of today. Beyond any reasonable doubt, his work shows us that we have the power to reverse disease, redefine aging, and even change reality itself, by embracing the focused power of belief and human emotion as the quantum language of change. Visit his website at www.greggbraden.com . SANTA FE, NM
Carl Johan Calleman, Ph.D. holds a doctorate in physical biology and has served as an expert on cancer for the World Health Organization. He began his studies on the Mayan calendar in 1979 and now lectures throughout the world. He is author of Solving the Greatest Mystery of Our Time: The Mayan Calendar and The Mayan Calendar and the Transformation of Consciousness. To learn more about him and his work, go to www.calleman.com and www.maya-portal.net . SWEDEN
Gill Edwards is a chartered clinical psychologist and author of Living Magically, Stepping into the Magic, Pure Bliss, Wild Love, and Life Is a Gift. She is trained in metaphysics, shamanism, energy psychology, and energy medicine, as well as psychodynamic and family/systemic therapy. Her passion is for exploring the practical links between the seen and unseen realms and how reality creation is linked with unconditional love. Gill has run Living Magically workshops in the United Kingdom and internationally since 1990. She lives in the heart of the English Lake District and adores walking in the mountains as much as she loves writing and teaching. Visit her website at www.livingmagically.co.uk . UK
Jean Houston, Ph.D., scholar, philosopher, and researcher in human capacities, is one of the foremost visionary thinkers and doers of our time and is regarded as one of the principal founders of the Human Potential Movement. She is the author of several dozen books; her most recent is Jump Time. Considered to be one of the world’s great teachers, she is the creator and principal teacher of two schools, a mystery school of philosophical, psychological, and spiritual studies, and a school for social artists. She has lectured in over 100 countries and worked intensively in some 40 cultures. As an adviser to several United Nations agencies, she is training leadership in many developing countries through her programs to bring vision, innovation, and creative solutions to social issues at every level of society. To learn more about her, go to www.jeanhouston.org .
Barbara Marx Hubbard has been a leading voice for innovative change in the world for the past 40 years. As a visionary, author, speaker, social architect, and cofounder and president of the Foundation for Conscious Evolution, and a former nominee for the vice presidency of the United States, she posits that humanity now, as never before, is on the threshold of a quantum leap. Her books include Conscious Evolution: Awakening the Power of Our Social Potential, Emergence: The Shift from Ego to Essence, The Evolutionary Journey, and The Hunger of Eve and Revelation. Her DVD documentary series is called Humanity Ascending: A New Way Through Together. To learn more about her work, go to www.barbaramarxhubbard.com . SANTA BARBARA, CA
Janosh is a Dutch graphic designer who, since 2003, has created computer-generated art incorporating principles of sacred geometry. He owns a popular gallery in central Amsterdam, Janosh Art and Design, and regularly tours the United States and Europe, exhibiting his work in diverse locations, from San Francisco’s Supperclub to the United Nations. To learn more about his work, go to www.janosh-art.com . THE NETHERLANDS
John Major Jenkins is an independent researcher who has devoted himself to reconstructing ancient Mayan cosmology and philosophy. His books include Tzolkin: Visionary Perspectives and Calendar Studies, Maya Sacred Science, Maya Cosmogenesis 2012, and Galactic Alignment. He has taught at Esalen Institute and Naropa University, and his work has been featured on the Discovery Channel and the History Channel. To learn more about his work, go to www.alignment2012.com . WINDSOR, CO
Lawrence E. Joseph is chair of the board of New Mexico—based Aerospace Consulting Corporation. He is the author of several books, including Apocalypse 2012: A Scientific Investigation Into Civilization’s End, and has written for a number of major newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times, Salon.com, Family Circle, Audubon, and Discover.
John Lamb Lash, teacher, mythologist, and author of five books, has been called the heir and successor of Joseph Campbell. A specialist in the World Ages, precession, and comparative star lore, he has lectured in the United States and Europe and has appeared on numerous documentaries. His most recent book, Not in His Image, offers an intimate view of the mysteries of pre-Christian Europe and proposes a Gaia-oriented cosmology based on the Gnostic myth of Sophia, the goddess who morphed into the Earth. In Quest for the Zodiac, he compares the real-sky constellations known to the ancients with the popular astrological signs and presents a new paradigm for destiny. He is co-originator and principal author of www.metahistory.org , a teaching site sponsored by the Marion Institute.
Ervin Laszlo, a native of Budapest, Hungary, is Docteur des-Lettres et Sciences Humaines of the Sorbonne (Paris) and the recipient of honorary Ph.D.s from universities in the United States, Canada, Finland, and Hungary. He is the founder and head of the General Evolution Research Group, founder and president of The Club of Budapest International, president of the Private University for Economics and Ethics (Vienna), and editor of World Futures: The Journal of General Evolution and the corresponding book series. He has published more than 400 scientific and public-interest papers and articles, and 80 books have appeared under his name, translated into as many as 20 languages. He also edited a four-volume encyclopedia. Laszlo has been awarded a variety of distinctions, including the Franz Liszt Prize, the Goi Peace Prize of Japan, and the Mandir of Peace Prize of Assisi. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 and 2005. To learn more about his work, go to www.clubofbudapest.org .
Meg Blackburn Losey, Ph.D., is the hostess of the Dr. Meg Show: Conscious Talk for Greater Reality, the author of Pyramids of Light, The Children of Now, and The Online Messages. She is a regular columnist in Mystic Pop Magazine and a contributor to many other publications. Dr.Losey has recently served as a consultant to Good Morning America. To learn more about her work, go to www.spiritlite.com . CERRILLOS, NM
Joanna R. Macy, Ph.D., is a scholar of Buddhism, general systems theory, and deep ecology. She is a leading voice in movements for peace, justice, and a safe environment. Interweaving her scholarship and four decades of activism, she has created both a groundbreaking theoretical framework for a new paradigm of personal and social change, and a powerful workshop methodology for its application. Her wide-ranging work addresses the psychological and spiritual issues of the nuclear age, the cultivation of ecological awareness, and the fruitful resonance between Buddhist thought and contemporary science. The many dimensions of this work are explored in her books Despair and Personal Power in the Nuclear Age; Dharma and Development; Thinking Like a Mountain (with John Seed, Pat Fleming, and Arne Naess); Mutual Causality in Buddhism and General Systems Theory; World as Lover, World as Self; Rilke’s Book of Hours; In Praise of Mortality (with Anita Barrows); and Coming Back to Life: Practices to Reconnect Our Lives, Our World (with Molly Young Brown). Joanna has also written a memoir entitled Widening Circles. To learn more about her work, go to www.joannamacy.net . BERKELEY, CA
Karl Maret, M.D., is president of the Dove Health Alliance, a nonprofit foundation based in Aptos, California, connected with an international network of physicians and scientists focused on energy medicine and other subtle energy approaches to healing. He specializes in complementary medical modalities, functional medicine, and energy medicine. As partner in an educational company called Heart-Mind Communications, he teaches seminars and is coauthoring a book entitled Awakening the Dialogue of the Heart, to be published shortly. He is a poet, artist, author, and lifelong student of the Ancient Wisdom traditions, including esoteric astrology. To learn more about his work, go to www.heartmindcommunications.com . SANFRANCISCO BAY AREA (Aptos)
Corinne McLaughlin, coauthor of Spiritual Politics and Builders of the Dawn, is the executive director of The Center for Visionary Leadership based in Washington, DC, and the San Francisco Bay Area. She coordinated a national task force for President Clinton’s Council on Sustainable Development and has taught politics at American University. She is a fellow of The World Business Academy and the Findhorn Foundation. Portions of her essay are excerpted from her forthcoming book, Creators of a New World. To learn more about her work, go to www.visionarylead.org . SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA (San Rafael)
James O’Dea, president of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, was the director of the Washington, DC, office of Amnesty International for 10 years, where he represented Amnesty International to the State Department, the White House, the United States Congress, and the World Conference on Human Rights. Subsequently, he spent five years as executive director of Seva, a nonprofit organization dedicated to international health and development issues in Latin America, Asia, and on American Indian reservations. He has participated with the World Wisdom Council (WWC) in partnership with Ervin Laszlo. To learn more about his work, go to www.noetic.org . SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA (Petaluma)
Christine Page, M.D., has over 30 years of experience in the caring professions, as both a medical doctor and a homeopath. Through her work, she is committed to finding ways to enhance a state of well-being through enhancement of the intuition, listening to the wisdom of the body, and working in cooperation with the more natural elements of this world. She is an international speaker, and her five books include Spiritual Alchemy, Frontiers of Health, The Mirror of Existence, Beyond the Obvious, and the Mind/Body/Spirit Workbook. To learn more about her work, go to www.christinepage.com . SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA (San Anselmo)
John L. Petersen’s government and political experience includes stints at the National War College, the Institute for National Security Studies, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the National Security Council staff at the White House. In 1989, Petersen founded The Arlington Institute (TAI), a nonprofit, future-oriented research institute. An award-winning writer, Petersen’s first book, The Road to 2015: Profiles of the Future, was awarded Outstanding Academic Book and remained on the World Future Society’s (WFS) best-seller list for more than a year. His latest book, Out of the Blue: How to Anticipate Wild Cards and Big Future Surprises, was also a WFS best seller. He has also written papers on the future of national security and the military, the future of energy, and the future of the media. Petersen is a past board member of the WFS, a network member of the Global Business Network, and a fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science. To learn more about his work, go to www.arlingtoninstitute.org . ARLINGTON, VA
Daniel Pinchbeck has written features for the New York Times Magazine, Esquire, Wired, Harper’s Bazaar, Village Voice, Salon, and many other publications. He was a 1999—2000 fellow of the National Arts Journalism Program at Columbia University. He has also been a columnist for the Art Newspaper of London and an editor at Connoisseur Magazine. He is the author of Breaking Open the Head: A Psychedelic Journey into the Heart of Contemporary Shamanism and 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl. He is currently the editorial director of Reality Sandwich ( www.realitysandwich.com ) and a columnist for Conscious Choice Magazine. NEW YORK, NY
Sharron Rose, M.A.. E.D.D., is a filmmaker, teacher, writer, choreographer, and Fulbright senior research scholar in world mythology, religion, and the sacred arts of theater, music, and dance. She is the writer/ director of the feature-length documentary 2012: The Odyssey, author of the award-winning book The Path of the Priestess: A Guidebook for Awakening the Divine Feminine, creator of the DVD Yoga of Light, and producer of the Sacred Mysteries DVD collection. For the past 30 years, she has worked in the fields of education and the esoteric arts to investigate, integrate, and impart the knowledge and wisdom of ancient and traditional cultures throughout the world. This work has taken her across the planet and has been disseminated through master classes, lectures, workshops, live performance, and film and video. For more information, go to www.sharronrose.com or www.sacredmysteries.com . PORT TOWNSEND, WA
Peter Russell, M.A., D.C.S., is the author of 10 books and producer of two award-winning videos. His work integrates Eastern and Western understandings of the mind, exploring their relevance to the world today and to humanity’s future. He has degrees in theoretical physics, experimental psychology, and computer science from the University of Cambridge, England. In India, he studied meditation and Eastern philosophy and, on his return, took up research into the psychophysiology of meditation at the University of Bristol. He was one of the first people to introduce human potential seminars into the corporate field, and for 20 years worked with major corporations on creativity, learning methods, stress management, and personal development. His principal interest is the inner challenges of the times we are passing through. His books include The Global Brain, Waking Up in Time, and the most recent, From Science to God. SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA (Sausalito)
Robert K. Sitler is an associate professor of modern languages and director of the Latin American Studies Program at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. He received his doctoral degree from the University of Texas at Austin after completing a dissertation on Maya-related literature under the guidance of the late Dr. Linda Schele. His travels include over 30 years of regular visits to the Maya world, among a wide variety of Maya ethnic groups. He has a particularly close relationship with the Mam Maya community of Todos Santos Cuchumatán in Guatemala. He has published a number of articles on Maya and Maya-related literature. His current research focuses on the cultural phenomenon surrounding the 2012 date on the Long Count Maya calendar. To learn more about Sitler and Maya perspectives on 2012, visit www.stetson.edu/~rsitler . FLORIDA
Geoff Stray, author of Beyond 2012 and The Mayan and Other Calendars, has been studying the meaning of the year 2012 for over two decades and has compiled the information on his website, www.diagnosis2012.co.uk/ . As a 2012 expert, he has given presentations around the world. UK
Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, Ph.D., is a Sufi teacher and author of the Naqshbandiyya-Mujadidiyya Sufi Order. Born in London in 1953, he has followed the Naqshbandi Sufi path since he was 19 years old. In 1991, he moved to Northern California and became the successor of Irina Tweedie, author of Chasm of Fire and Daughter of Fire. In recent years, the focus of his writing and teaching has been on spiritual responsibility in our present time of transition and the emerging global consciousness of oneness (see www.workingwithoneness.org ). He has also specialized in the area of dreamwork, integrating the ancient Sufi approach to dreams with the insights of modern psychology. Llewellyn is the founder of The Golden Sufi Center ( www.goldensufi.org ). His most recent books are Spiritual Power and Awakening the World, A Global Dimension to Spiritual Practice. SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA (Inverness)
Jay Weidner is a writer, filmmaker, and Hermetic scholar. He is the coauthor of Mysteries of the Great Cross at Hendaye: Alchemy and the End of Time and A Monument to the End of Time: Alchemy, Fulcanelli, and the Great Cross. His documentaries include Artmind: The Healing Power of Sacred Art, featuring Alex Grey; Healing the Luminous Body: The Way of the Shaman, featuring Dr. Alberto Villoldo; Healing Sounds, featuring Jonathan Goldman; The Secrets of Alchemy, which discusses the Cross at Hendaye; and many more. For more information on his work, go to www.sacredmysteries.com . PORT TOWNSEND, WA