This diary requires a caveat because it explores the thought process behind the significance of the upcoming Mayan New Year. The MNY is a real thing, literally written in stone. Our contemporary society treats it as merely superstition. Since I'm writing this for the reality based community I too will treat it as superstition, with perhaps a grain of truth behind it, because the Maya obviously made a pretty big deal of it.
Most readers here are familiar with Objectivism, the Ayn Randian philosophy that individualism and laissez faire capitalism trump our pact with society: A selfishness which is not merely protective of each person's prosperity but heralded as being morally virtuous.
Yet one of the core tenets of Objectivism gets glossed over in the quick definition, namely that
reality exists independent of consciousness, that human beings have direct contact with reality through sense perception
A contrasting view is that each of us manifests our own reality through the power of our thoughts, and that our sense perception is insufficient and unreliable.
I am of the latter opinion, putting me outside the loop in our "reality based community."
In science, the Observer Effect says that the outcome of an experiment can be altered by the act of observation. In truth, it's the act of measurement which alters the outcome. But in psychology, a subject who knows he's being observed will behave differently. Neither of these theories actually concludes that the observer affects the experiment, but they push the limits of the Objectivist view of reality.
Taken to the furthest extreme, the observer has total control over the reality, as in the scientific explanation for Yogic mysticism. E.g. slower breathing can lower heart rate and blood pressure, and this process cascades down through the cellular level to the molecular and even quantum levels. In short, thing sync up, or "entrain" together. Since the building blocks of our reality are quantum level vibrations, called strings, it's conceivable that our thoughts can alter our reality.
The other day I got into a discussion of the Mayan calendar with kossack Karate Explosions, who is more of an adherent to the reality based community thing than I am.
The end of the Mayan calendar has been twisted into some kind of hyperbolic doomsday, but to me it's as misread as the Tarot card of "death." Neither one signifies the end of life, instead, they signify the beginning of a new life, a transformation. The Mayan calendar marks a celestial alignment
signified by the solar meridian crossing the galactic equator and the Earth aligning itself with the center of the galaxy.
Life on Earth will be exactly the same on 12/22, yet if we extrapolate my notion of a cascade of entrainments to take into account celestial changes, humans are likely influenced by imperceptible changes in cosmic energy and vibrations. Many of us have heard about, and believe in, the effects of
Mercury retrograde.
To this, Mr. Explosions said "Humbug, and Hogwash."
The Maya take exception to Mr. Explosions' point of view. Carlos Barrios, a Mayan elder, has this to say about the coming calendar end, based upon the notion of celestial entrainment.
"Humanity will continue, but in a different way. Material structures will change. From this we will have the opportunity to be more human."
I remember the big deal made about the 1987 "harmonic convergence," and to my knowledge nothing of significance happened that day, other than the Grateful Dead played in the town of Telluride. Being "more human" is not a measurable phenomena, but in the past few years I have observed firsthand an underground movement in humanity. I hate to use Burning Man as an example, since stereotype and cliche have made it widely misunderstood, but for as long as I've been a deadhead I've heard about the Rainbow Warriors, who are easily mocked as lofty idealists by people who can not see past the drum circles and dreadlocks.
I once attended a very unique private party / art performance in Chicago, hosted by a couple who have devoted their lives - and their home - to this new era in humanity. Even though they have a facebook page, I will respect their privacy and not link to it. It's an incredible, beautiful thing when the number of open hearted people gathered together passes a critical mass. Throughout my life I've tried to surround myself with such people, and still it was a mind blowing experience. What made it special was that they were taking the movement above ground. Although they protected their space by making it invitation only, their goal was to make it inclusive and ever expanding. I think it symbolizes the cusp that we now sit on. We have the opportunity to take a step outside of our comfort space and reach out to those who are willing to share our vision.
To believe in the significance of the upcoming Mayan New Year is to reject the Randian / Objectivist definition of reality and erode its tenet of selfishness.