Summary
The author wrapped up her evidence and explanations in this last section in the book with a chapter dedicated to her conclusion. Bruce stated that the 2012 meme is not really about the Mayan's Long Count Calendar that ended on Dec 21, 2012 but on what we believe personally of the theory. She said that it is all about us. Bruce also talked about Jean Gebser's book named Ever-Present Origin which analyzes the history of human culture and "of the different predominating modes of consciousness of each era" (Bruce 211). According to his book, there are five stuctures of human consciousness: The Archaic structure, The Magical structure, The Mythical structure, The Mental structure, and finally, The Integral structure. He believes that we are currently doing a transition from the Mental structure into the Integral structure. The main difference between the two is that the Mental structure is three-dimensional and "rational thinking has become primary and it is highly skeptical of all the other structures of consciousness" (Bruce 213) whereas the Integral structure is four- dimensional and is described as an "aperspectival world of transparency, where we see through things and perceive their true nature" (Bruce 214). According to both Bruce and Gebser, the 2012 meme presses all button of consciousness at every level.
Quote
"... I do not rule out at all the possibility that all of us are going to be looking at the mystery and meaning of life in a very different way, very soon and that date, 21st of December 2012, sticks in my mind as one that is really worthy of consideration" (Bruce 216).
Reaction
This is the very last quote of the book and I think it was well picked out. I believe that most of the world has already thought about the realism of the 2012 theory, even if they don't believe in it. At some point in this book, I actually had some credibility for the whole 2012 end of the world thing, yet, as I ended the book, that original feeling and thought of it remains. I don't believe anyone can tell when the world will end. Only God knows.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
2012: Science or Superstition (130-174)
Summary
This section focus a lot on the history of how 2012 came to be. Not about how Mayan calendar ended on Dec 21, 2012 but about how it became a universal accepted date for "the end of the world". There was a software called Timewave Zero that was introduced by Terence McKenna that shows the 4yr interval (from Oct 2008) leading up to Dec 21, 2012. The book showed a screenshot of the software which had bars that represent period of tumultuous. The very last bar occurred at the "last event", the expected 2012 doomsday. However, the end of the world in relation to the Mayan calendar, according to the book, was first introduced to the broad public by Jose Arguelles during a New Age event in 1987 called the "Harmonic Convergence".
Quote
"Scientists have come up with the radical suggestion that the universe's end may come not with a bang but a standstill--that time could be literally running out and could, one day, stop altogether... Everything will be frozen, like a snapshot of one instant, forever" (Bruce 155).
Reaction
Basically, they are saying that the world would just freeze and come to a sudden stop, which in my opinion, is ridiculous. Scientist come up with a lot of theories, a lot of predictions and other stuff that sometimes make me never want to believe anything they say. Ever since I was little, I had this thing against scientists and doctors. Not only because they were too smart for me, but because most of what they tell us are predictions and not facts, which I figured, made them more wrong then right. To this day, I still have a thing against them. Yeah, sure that they could be right and have all the information and evidence to back up their argument but that still does not satisfy me. They make themselves seem like they know everything, but, in my opinion, some things are better if they are left unanswered or in this case, unpredicted.
This section focus a lot on the history of how 2012 came to be. Not about how Mayan calendar ended on Dec 21, 2012 but about how it became a universal accepted date for "the end of the world". There was a software called Timewave Zero that was introduced by Terence McKenna that shows the 4yr interval (from Oct 2008) leading up to Dec 21, 2012. The book showed a screenshot of the software which had bars that represent period of tumultuous. The very last bar occurred at the "last event", the expected 2012 doomsday. However, the end of the world in relation to the Mayan calendar, according to the book, was first introduced to the broad public by Jose Arguelles during a New Age event in 1987 called the "Harmonic Convergence".
Quote
"Scientists have come up with the radical suggestion that the universe's end may come not with a bang but a standstill--that time could be literally running out and could, one day, stop altogether... Everything will be frozen, like a snapshot of one instant, forever" (Bruce 155).
Reaction
Basically, they are saying that the world would just freeze and come to a sudden stop, which in my opinion, is ridiculous. Scientist come up with a lot of theories, a lot of predictions and other stuff that sometimes make me never want to believe anything they say. Ever since I was little, I had this thing against scientists and doctors. Not only because they were too smart for me, but because most of what they tell us are predictions and not facts, which I figured, made them more wrong then right. To this day, I still have a thing against them. Yeah, sure that they could be right and have all the information and evidence to back up their argument but that still does not satisfy me. They make themselves seem like they know everything, but, in my opinion, some things are better if they are left unanswered or in this case, unpredicted.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
2012: Science or Superstition (85-130)
Summary
This section of this focused on a lot of things. A lot of things that by reading this over and over, I will still never get until I actually study it. There is so much mind-blowing research and information. It can inscrutable sometimes. One thing, however, that drawn me in and that I had a good understanding of was the Hinduism belief on the 2012 theory. It actually made me rethink that this 2012 "end of the world" thing might actually happen. According to them, humankind has been living in the Kali Yuga, the "Age of Vice" for about 5,0000 years (modern humankind). Some of the things they believed about this modern era is that: 1. people will murder for no reasons and won't see anything wrong with it 2. husband and wife will find contempt in each other 3. pre-teenage girls will get pregnant 4. social acceptance of sex as being the central requirement of life and, 5. people will be addicted to intoxicating drinks. There are much more but these are five random theories they believe that is actually true in our society. To come back to the 2012 assumption, the Hindus believed that: 1. there will be increasing desertification and extremes of heat and cold (hint: Global Warming!) 2. plant life will become extinct, animals will die off, and humans will be reduced cannibalism, and 3. at the end of Kali Yuga, an avatar of Vishnu called Kalki will appear to destroy whoever is lost then the new Golden Age of spirituality will began.
Bruce also talked about the Apocalypses, which some religion (such as Jews and Protestants) refer to as Armageddon or even "judgement day". They know that we are near the world's end but they are not specific on when it will end. Surprisingly, they have also predicted that on April 13, 2036, a near-earth asteroid named Apophis will make a huge terrestrial impact on Earth.
Quote
"People will take vows only to break them soon after ... People will without reason destroy trees and gardens ... There will be no respect for animals, and meat eating will start" (Bruce 85).
Reaction
This is part of what the traditional Hindus believed. I didn't find this at all shocking, but a little amusing. When it said "meat eating will start", it made me think about what did the Hindus eat back then. Was it unethical for someone to eat meat/animals in their days? While reading all the Hindus predicted about our generation, not only those listed above, I slowly smiled to myself at how all freaky that is. They have predicted everything so accurately so far. Now their belief are making me think that this "end of the world" could possibly be a fact. The 2012 belief is still not scary to me though, just a little bit entertaining.
This section of this focused on a lot of things. A lot of things that by reading this over and over, I will still never get until I actually study it. There is so much mind-blowing research and information. It can inscrutable sometimes. One thing, however, that drawn me in and that I had a good understanding of was the Hinduism belief on the 2012 theory. It actually made me rethink that this 2012 "end of the world" thing might actually happen. According to them, humankind has been living in the Kali Yuga, the "Age of Vice" for about 5,0000 years (modern humankind). Some of the things they believed about this modern era is that: 1. people will murder for no reasons and won't see anything wrong with it 2. husband and wife will find contempt in each other 3. pre-teenage girls will get pregnant 4. social acceptance of sex as being the central requirement of life and, 5. people will be addicted to intoxicating drinks. There are much more but these are five random theories they believe that is actually true in our society. To come back to the 2012 assumption, the Hindus believed that: 1. there will be increasing desertification and extremes of heat and cold (hint: Global Warming!) 2. plant life will become extinct, animals will die off, and humans will be reduced cannibalism, and 3. at the end of Kali Yuga, an avatar of Vishnu called Kalki will appear to destroy whoever is lost then the new Golden Age of spirituality will began.
Bruce also talked about the Apocalypses, which some religion (such as Jews and Protestants) refer to as Armageddon or even "judgement day". They know that we are near the world's end but they are not specific on when it will end. Surprisingly, they have also predicted that on April 13, 2036, a near-earth asteroid named Apophis will make a huge terrestrial impact on Earth.
Quote
"People will take vows only to break them soon after ... People will without reason destroy trees and gardens ... There will be no respect for animals, and meat eating will start" (Bruce 85).
Reaction
This is part of what the traditional Hindus believed. I didn't find this at all shocking, but a little amusing. When it said "meat eating will start", it made me think about what did the Hindus eat back then. Was it unethical for someone to eat meat/animals in their days? While reading all the Hindus predicted about our generation, not only those listed above, I slowly smiled to myself at how all freaky that is. They have predicted everything so accurately so far. Now their belief are making me think that this "end of the world" could possibly be a fact. The 2012 belief is still not scary to me though, just a little bit entertaining.
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