This is
an extensive article, brilliant work and well worth the read
Since the publication of Jose
Arguelles’ book The Mayan Factor: Path Beyond Technology (Arguelles 1987)
brought to the attention of lay audiences the ancient prophecy concerning
the end of the Maya Long Count calendar, which started on August 11, 3114
BC, and will end on December 21, 2012 AD, this date has become the focus
of many articles, books, and conferences and of a forthcoming movie
entitled 2012. Similar prophecies about the end of the Great Cycle can be
found in many other cultural and religious groups – the Hopi, Navajo,
Cherokee, Apache, Iroquois confederacy, ancient Egyptians, the Kabbalists,
Essenes, Qero elders of Peru, the Subsaharan Dogon tribe, and the
Australian Aborigines.
With a few exceptions, the Mayan prophecy about the end of the cosmic
cycle, the Fifth World, has been interpreted in terms of
actual physical destruction of humanity and of the material world, in a
way similar to the interpretation (or better misinterpretation) of the
term apocalypse by Christian fundamentalists, particularly the millions of
American Christians who believe that at the time of this global
destruction they will experience “rapture” and be united with Jesus.
People who see it this way are not aware of the fact that the original and
literal meaning of the term apocalypse (Greek Ἀποκάλυψις
Apokálypsis) is not destruction but "lifting of the veil" or "revelation.”
It referred to the disclosure of some secrets hidden from the majority of
humanity to certain privileged persons. The source of the
misinterpretation of this word is probably the phrase “apokálypsis
eschaton” which literally means "revelation at the end of the æon, or
age."
The purpose of this conference is to explore a radically different, more
optimistic interpretation of the Mayan prophecy – as referring to the end
of the world as we have known it: a world dominated by unbridled violence
and insatiable greed, egotistic hierarchy of values, corrupted
institutions and corporations, and irreconcilable conflicts between
organized religions. Instead of predicting a physical destruction of the
material world, the Mayan prophecy might refer to death and rebirth and a
mass inner transformation of humanity. In order to explore this idea, we
have to answer two important questions, First, how could ancient Mayans
two thousand years ago predict what situation humanity would be facing in
the twenty-first century? And second, are there any indications that
modern society, more specifically the industrial civilization, is
currently on the verge of a major psychospiritual transformation? I will
try to address these questions in the course of my presentation.
The Mayan prophecy concerning the 2012 winter solstice has an important
astronomical dimension. Over 2,000 years ago the early
Maya formulated a profound galactic cosmology. Being excellent observers
of the sky, they noticed that the position of the winter solstice
sun was slowly shifting toward an alignment with the galactic axis.
This movement is caused by so called precession - the wobble of the
rotational axis of the earth. The Mayans concluded that major changes
of cosmic proportions would occur at the time of this auspicious
solar/galactic alignment. This is an event that happens only every
25,920 years, which is the period required for the equinox to move through
all twelve zodiacal signs. C. G. Jung used in his book Aion and
in his other writings the term “Platonic Month” for the period that it
takes the vernal equinox point to pass through one constellation of the
sidereal zodiac (approximately 2160 years) and the term “Platonic Year”
for the completion of the entire zodiacal cycle.
Astronomers of the pre-classic Maya culture called the Izapa Culture
devised the Long Count calendar consisting of thirteen baktuns
to target the time when the cosmic alignment would maximize - December
2012 AD. The cultural legacy of ancient Mayans includes
stone monuments conveying in carved glyphs and images the prophecy
concerning this auspicious alignment. The above facts make it clear why
the list of presenters to this conference should include people like John
Major Jenkins, who has spent two decades studying Mayan archeological
records trying to understand their original meaning (Jenkins 1998, 2002)
or Robert Sitler, who has spent extensive time with contemporary Mayans
and can offer deep insights into their culture (2006). It is also obvious
that an accomplished astrologer and historian like Richard Tarnas would be
able to make a vital contribution to the main theme of the conference (Tarnas
2006).
My own area of interest in the last fifty years has been research of
non-ordinary states of consciousness or, more specifically, an important
subcategory of these states for which I coined the term holotropic. This
composite word means literally "oriented toward wholeness" or "moving in
the direction of wholeness" (from the Greek holos = whole and trepein =
moving toward or in the direction of something). These are states that
novice shamans experience during their initiatory crises and later induce
in their clients. Ancient and native cultures have used these states in
rites of passage and in their healing ceremonies. They were described by
mystics of all ages and initiates in the ancient mysteries of death and
rebirth. Procedures inducing these states were also developed in the
context of the great religions of the world – Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism,
Islam, Judaism, and Christianity (Grof 2000, 2006).
It is less immediately evident and requires some explanation why and how
experiences and observations from the study of holotropic states can throw
new light on the problem of the Mayan prophecy. The key consideration in
this regard is that powerful consciousness-expanding procedures
(“technologies of the sacred”) played an integral and essential role in
the Mayan culture. We have ample pictorial evidence on Mayan stone stelae,
sculptures, and ceramics that they used for this purpose the Mexican
cactus peyote (Lophophora williamsii), magic mushrooms (Psilocybe mexicana
or coerulescens known to the Indians as Xibalba okox or teonanacatl), and
skin secretions of the toad Bufo marinus. Additional plant materials used
in pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica were the morning glory seeds (Ipomoea violacea)
called by the natives ololiuqui, Salvia divinatorum, also known as
diviner’s sage, wild tobacco (Nicotiana rustica), and balche (a fermented
drink made from the tree Lonchocarpus longistylus and honey).
A powerful and specifically Mayan mind-altering technique was massive
bloodletting induced by using lancets made of stingray
spines, flint, or obsidian to wound the tongue, earlobes, and genitals (Schele
and Miller 1986, Grof 1994). Ritual bloodletting opened up an
experiential realm that was not ordinarily accessible before the time of
biological death. The Mayans used the symbol of the Vision Serpent
for the experiences induced by blood loss and shock. This symbol
represented the contact between the everyday world of human beings
and the world of gods and sacred ancestors, who were expected to appear in
their visions in the supernatural realms. The lancet was
perceived as a sacred object with enormous power; it was personified in
the form of the Perforator God.
Because of the extraordinary importance that these “technologies of the
sacred” had in the Mayan culture, it is reasonable to assume that
visionary experiences induced by them might have provided inspiration for
the prophecy concerning 2012 and played a major role in its articulation.
It is thus fully justified to look at this prophecy through the prism of
the discoveries of modern consciousness research.
In holotropic states of consciousness, it is possible to obtain profound
revelations concerning the master blueprint of the universe designed by
cosmic intelligence of such astonishing proportions that it is far beyond
the limits of our everyday imagination. Individuals experiencing
psychedelic states, including myself, occasionally reported that they had
profound illuminating insights into the creative dynamics of the Kosmos.
More specifically, psychedelic pioneer Terrence McKenna described in his
preface to John Major Jenkins’ book “Maya Cosmogenesis 2012” that he
received his insights concerning 2012 in his mushroom sessions.
Individuals who had such illuminating cosmic visions suddenly understood
that what is happening in the material world is formed and
informed by archetypal principles, beings, and events existing in
dimensions of reality that are inaccessible for our everyday
consciousness. They also saw that the dynamics of the archetypal world is
systematically correlated with the movements of the planets, their angular
relationships, and their relative positions to the fixed stars. This led
to a completely new understanding of astrology, its origins, and paramount
importance. It became clear to them that the source of
astrology were global encompassing visions of the workings of the Kosmos
and not tedious accumulation of individual observations of correlations
between events in the world and celestial bodies. Richard Tarnas, amassed
over a period of more than thirty years impressive and convincing evidence
for systematic correlations existing between the archetypal world,
celestial dynamics, and psychological and historical processes and
presented it in his groundbreaking and paradigm-breaking book Cosmos and
Psyche (Tarnas 2006). Rick’s astrological research has focused primarily
on correlations with the movements of the planets, but there exist
astrological systems, which pay great attention to fixed stars;
experiences in holotropic states can provide equally revealing insights in
this regard.
An important aspect of experiences in holotropic states is that they
transcend narrow linear time and make it possible to see events in
the universe on a cosmic astronomical scale. In all their grandeur, time
scales like the Mayan Long Count Calendar or the Great or Platonic
Year are very modest as compared to others inspired by visionary
experiences, such as those found in Tantric science, in which the age of
the universe amounts to billions of years (a number similar to the
assessment of modern cosmologists), or to those discussed in Hindu
religion and mythology, such as the kalpas or the Day of Brahman that also
amounts to billions of years. The visions of ancient Mayan seers
could thus with the help of “technologies of the sacred” easily reach many
centuries into the future.
The Mayan prophecy concerning the galactic alignment is not limited to
astronomical observations and astrological predictions; it is
intimately interconnected with mythology, with what C. G. Jung called the
archetypal domain of the collective unconscious. For example, the
Mayan seers referred to the December solstice sun as “Cosmic Father” and
to the Milky Way as “Cosmic Mother. They envisioned the center of the
galaxy, where modern astronomy places a giant black hole, as her creative
and destructive womb. The time of the galactic alignment was thus the time
of a cosmic hieros gamos, sacred marriage between the Feminine and the
Masculine.
In the year 2012, the sun will have traveled to the edge of a cosmic dust
cloud known as the Great Dark Rift that lies along the Milky Way and seems
to divide its light into two paths. The Mayans called this dark rift
Xibalba Be {Road to the Underworld) and saw it as a place of birth and
death and of death/rebirth. It was for them the birth canal of the Cosmic
Mother Creatrix, where the December solstice sun gets reborn in 2012. It
was also a death place, because it is the doorway into the underworld, the
land of the dead and the unborn.
These associations clearly were not
products of everyday fantasy and imagination of the Mayans projected on
the night sky, but results of
profound direct apprehensions of the connection between the archetypal
world and the celestial bodies and processes.
The Mayan prophecy has also an important mythological connection to the
story about the Hero Twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque,
who were invited by the death gods to visit the underworld Xibalba and
play ballgame with them. The Xibalba Lords put them through many
ordeals and the brothers overcame them all and, finally, they died and
were reborn as the Sun and the Moon (or according to some
interpretations as the Sun and Venus). The part of the story that seems
particularly relevant in this regard is the battle of the twins with the
bird demon Vucub-Caquix ("Seven-Macaw"); he is a vain, selfish, and
impulsive ruler, who pretends to be the sun and the moon of the
twilight world inbetween the former creation and the present one. He seems
to represents the ego archetype that is dominant at the end of the cycle.
Seven Macaw seems to have an archetypal parallel in the New Testament -–
the Endtime Ruler or the "Beast," also known as
Antichrist.
Hunahpu and Xbalanque defeat Seven Macaw and strip him of his teeth (the
instrument of violence), of his riches, and his power. By
doing this, they facilitate the resurrection of their father, One Hunahpu,
a just ruler who represents selfless divine consciousness that is
holistic; it shows concern for all beings, and makes political decisions
based upon future generations or - as Native Americans say – with regard
to how they will affect seven generations down the road.
Research of holotropic states – psychedelic therapy, holotropic breathwork,
and work with individuals in “spiritual emergencies” –
made major contributions to the understanding of mythology. Myths are
commonly considered to be products of human fantasy and
imagination not unlike stories of modern fiction writers and playwrights.
However, the work of C. G. Jung and Joseph Campbell brought about a
radically new understanding of mythology. According to these two seminal
thinkers, myths are not fictitious stories about adventures of imaginary
characters in nonexistent countries and thus arbitrary products of
individual human fantasy. Rather, myths originate in the collective
unconscious of humanity and are manifestations of primordial organizing
principles of the psyche and of the cosmos which
Jung called archetypes (Jung 1976).
Archetypes express themselves through the individual psyche and its deeper
processes, but they do not originate in the human brain and are not its
products. They are superordinate to the individual psyche and function as
its governing principles. In holotropic states the archetypal world can be
directly experienced in a way that is as convincing and authentic as the
material world appears to be, or more so. To distinguish transpersonal
experiences involving archetypal figures and domains from imaginary
products of individual fantasy, Jungians refer to this domain as imaginal.
French scholar, philosopher, and mystic, Henri Corbin, who first used the
term mundus imaginalis, was inspired in this regard by his study of
Islamic mystical literature (Corbin 2000). ). Islamic theosophers call the
imaginal world, where everything existing in the sensory world has its
analogue, ‘alam a mithal,’ or the “eighth climate,” to distinguish it from
the “seven climates,” regions of traditional Islamic geography. The
imaginal world possesses extension and dimensions, forms and colors, but
these are not perceptible to our senses as they would be if they were
properties of physical objects.
However, this realm is in every respect as fully ontologically real and
susceptible to consensual validation by other people as the material
world perceived by our sensory organs.
Archetypes are timeless essences, cosmic ordering principles, which can
also manifest as mythic personifications, or specific deities
of various cultures. The figures of Maya mythology – Hunahpu, Xbalanque,
their father One Hunahpu, Seven Macaw, Quetzalcoatl
(Kukulcan), and others - like those of any other culture are thus
ontologically real and can be directly apprehended by individuals
experiencing holotropic states. As John Major Jenkins pointed out, Giorgio
de Santillana and Hertha von Dechend contributed to the
understanding of archetypes another important dimension that is relevant
for the problem of the Mayan prophecy. They described in
their book Hamlet’s Mill the deep connection that exists between myth and
astronomical processes (de Santillana and Dechend 1969).
In 1948, after many years of systematically studying mythologies of
various cultures of the world, Joseph Campbell published his
groundbreaking book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, which in the following
decades profoundly influenced research and understanding in the field
(Campbell 1968). Analyzing a broad spectrum of myths from various parts of
the world, Campbell realized that they all contained variations of one
universal archetypal formula, which he called the monomyth. This was the
story of the hero, either male or female, who leaves his or her home
ground or is forcefully separated from it by external circumstances and,
after fantastic adventures and ordeals culminating in psychospiritual
death and rebirth, returns to his original society radically transformed -
as an enlightened or deified being, a healer, seer, or great spiritual
teacher.
In Campbell's own words, the basic formula for the hero's journey can be
summarized as follows: “A hero ventures forth from the world of
common day into a region of supernatural wonder; fabulous forces are
encountered and a decisive victory is won; the hero comes back from this
mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow men.”
Campbell's inquisitive and incisive intellect went beyond simply
recognizing the universality of this myth over time and space. His
curiosity drove him to ask what makes this myth universal. Why does the
theme of the hero's journey appeal to cultures of all times and countries,
even if they differ in every other respect?
Campbell’s answer has the simplicity and unrelenting logic of all
brilliant insights: the monomyth of the hero's journey is a blueprint for
the transformative crisis, which all human beings can experience when the
deep contents of the unconscious psyche emerge into consciousness. The
hero’s journey describes nothing less than the experiential territory that
an individual must traverse during times of profound transformation. The
story of the Mayan Hero Twins is a classical example of Campbell’s Hero’s
Journey. It belongs to a vast array of archetypal motifs that we can
experience in holotropic states.
I hope that the above discussion adequately addressed the first question
that I asked earlier in my presentation: “How could ancient
Mayans two thousand years ago discover anything that would be relevant for
humanity in the twenty-first century?” The theme of Joseph
Campell’s Hero’s Journey brings us to the second question: “If the Mayan
prophecy does not refer to the end of the world and to physical
destruction of humanity, but to profound collective psychospiritual death
and rebirth comparable to what Campbell described on the
individual scale, are there any indications that such inner transformation
is possible or that it actually is already underway.
My approach to this question is based not only on observations of the
experiences of thousands of individuals in holotropic states of
consciousness – psychedelic therapy, holotropic breathwork sessions, and
spontaneous psychospiritual crises (“spiritual emergencies”) - but
also on extensive personal experience of these states. I would like to
begin this discussion with an account of an experiential sequence from one
of my own psychedelic sessions. It provided for me deep insights into the
archetype of the Apocalypse, a motif that occurs relatively rarely in
holotropic states, but is particularly relevant for the topic of our
conference.
About fifty minutes into the session, I started experiencing strong
activation in the lower part of my body. My pelvis was vibrating as
enormous amounts of energy were being released in ecstatic jolts. At one
point, this streaming energy swept me along in an intoxicating frenzy into
a whirling cosmic vortex of creation and destruction.
In the center of this monstrous hurricane of primordial forces were four
giant herculean figures performing what seemed to be the ultimate cosmic
saber dance. They had strong Mongolian features with protruding
cheekbones, oblique eyes, and clean-shaven heads decorated by large
braided ponytails.
Whirling around in a frantic dance craze, they were swinging large weapons
that looked like scythes or L-shaped scimitars; all four of these combined
formed a rapidly rotating swastika.
I intuitively understood that this monumental archetypal scene was related
to the beginning of the process of creation and simultaneously to the
final stage of the spiritual journey. In the cosmogenetic process (in the
movement from the primordial unity to the worlds of plurality) the blades
of the scimitars represented the force that is splitting and fragmenting
the unified field of cosmic consciousness and creative energy into
countless individual units. In relation to spiritual journey, they
represented the stage when the seeker’s consciousness transcends
separation and polarity and reaches the state of original undifferentiated
unity. The direction of this process seemed to be related to the clockwise
and counterclockwise rotation of the blades.
Projected into the material world, this
archetypal motif seemed to be related to growth and development (the
fertilized egg or seed
becoming an organism) or destruction of forms (wars, natural catastrophes,
decay).
Then the experience opened up into an unimaginable panorama of scenes of
destruction. In these visions, natural disasters, such as volcanic
eruptions, earthquakes, crashing meteors, forest fires, floods and tidal
waves, were combined with images of burning cities, entire blocks of
collapsing high-rise buildings, mass death, and horror of wars. Heading
this wave of total annihilation were four archetypal images of macabre
riders symbolizing the end of the world. I realized that these were the
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. (pestilence, war, famine, and death). The
continuing vibrations and jolts of my pelvis now became synchronized with
the movements of this ominous horseback riding and I became I joined the
dance, becoming one
of them, or possibly all four of them at once, leaving my own identity
behind.
Suddenly, there was a rapid change of scenery and I had a vision of the
cave from Plato’s Republic. In this work, Plato describes a group of
people who live chained all of their lives in a cave, facing a blank wall.
They watch shadows projected on the wall by things passing in front of the
cave entrance. According to Plato, the shadows are as close as
the prisoners get to seeing reality. The enlightened philosopher is like a
prisoner who is freed from this illusion and comes to understand that the
shadows on the wall are illusory, as he can perceive the true form of
reality rather than the mere shadows seen by the prisoners. This was
followed by profound and convincing realization that the material world of
our everyday life is not made of «stuff» but created by cosmic
consciousness by infinitely complex and sophisticated orchestration of
experiences. It is a divine play that the Hindus call lila, created by
cosmic illusion maya.
The final major scene of the session was a magnificent ornate theater
stage featuring a parade of personified universal principles, archetypes -
cosmic actors, who through a complex interplay create the illusion of the
phenomenal world. They were protean personages with many facets, levels,
and dimensions of meaning that kept changing their forms in extremely
intricate holographic interpenetration as I was observing them. Each of
them seemed to represent simultaneously the essence of his or her function
and all the concrete manifestations of this element in the world of
matter. There was Maya, the mysterious ethereal principle symbolizing the
world illusion; Anima, embodying the eternal Female; a Mars-like
personification of war and aggression; the Lovers, representing all the
sexual dramas and romances throughout ages; the royal figure of the Ruler;
the withdrawn Hermit; the elusive Trickster; and many others. As they were
passing across the stage, they bowed in my direction, as if expecting
appreciation for the stellar performance in the divine play of the
universe.
This experience brought me a deep understanding of the meaning of the
archetypal motif of the Apocalypse. It suddenly seemed
profoundly wrong to see it as related exclusively to physical destruction
of the world. It is certainly possible that the Apocalypse will in the
future
be actually manifested on a planetary scale as a historical event, which
is a potential of all archetypes. There are many examples of situations in
which archetypal motifs and energies broke through the boundary that
usually separates the archetypal realm from the material world and shaped
history. The giant asteroid that 65 million years ago killed the
dinosaurs, wars of all ages, the crucifixion of Jesus, the medieval
Witches’ Sabbath and Dance of Death, the Nazi concentration camps, and
Hiroshima are just a few salient examples. But the primary importance of
the archetype of the Apocalypse is that it functions as an important
landmark on the spiritual journey. It emerges into the consciousness of
the seeker at a time when he or she recognizes the illusory nature of the
material world. As the universe reveals its true essence as virtual
reality, as a cosmic play of consciousness, the world of matter is
destroyed in the psyche of the individual. This might also be the meaning
of the “end of the world” referred to in the Mayan prophecy.
The observations from modern consciousness research that are most relevant
for a positive interpretation of the Mayan prophecy are
related to a phenomenon that is much more common in holotropic states than
the experience of the Apocalypse; it is the experience of
psychospiritual death and rebirth. This experience has played a crucial
role in the ritual and spiritual history of humanity – in shamanism, rites
of passage, the ancient death/rebirth mysteries, and in the great
religions of the world (see the Christian concept of being “born again”
and the Hindu “dvija”). The process of death and rebirth is a multivalent
archetype that manifests on many different levels and in various areas and
ways, but in self-exploration and therapy it is closely related to the
reliving and conscious integration of the memory of biological birth.
Psychospiritual death and rebirth is one of the most prominent themes in
therapeutic work using holotropic states.
When the age regression in the process of deep experiential
selfexploration moves beyond the level of memories from childhood and
infancy and reaches the level of the unconscious that contains
the memory of birth, we start encountering emotions and physical
sensations of extreme intensity, often surpassing anything we
previously considered humanly possible. At this point, the experiences
become a strange mixture of the themes of birth and death. They involve a
sense of a severe, life-threatening confinement and a desperate and
determined struggle to free ourselves and survive.
Because of the close connection between this domain of the unconscious and
biological birth, I have chosen for it the name
perinatal. It is a Greek-Latin composite word where the prefix peri-,
means "near" or "around,” and the root natalis signifies "pertaining to
childbirth." This word is commonly used in medicine to describe various
biological processes occurring shortly before, during, and immediately
after birth. The obstetricians talk, for example, about perinatal
hemorrhage, infection, or brain damage.
However, since traditional medicine denies that the child can consciously
experience birth and claims that this event is not recorded in memory, one
never hears about perinatal experiences.
The use of the term perinatal in connection with consciousness reflects my
own findings and is entirely new (Grof 1975).
The perinatal region of the unconscious contains the memories of what the
fetus experienced in the consecutive stages of the birth process,
including all the emotions and physical sensations involved. These
memories form four distinct experiential clusters, each of which is
related to one of the stages of the birth process. I have coined for them
the term Basic Perinatal Matrices (BPM IIV).
BPM I consists of memories of the advanced prenatal state just before the
onset of the delivery. BPM II is related to the onset of the delivery when
the uterus contracts, but the cervix is not yet open. BPM III reflects the
struggle to be born after the uterine cervix dilates. And finally, BPM IV
holds the memory of the emerging into the world, the birth itself.
The content of these matrices is not limited to fetal memories; each of
them also provides selective opening into a vast domain in the unconscious
psyche that we now call transpersonal.
This involves experiential identification with other people and other life
forms, ancestral, racial, collective, phylogenetic and karmic memories,
and material from the historical and archetypal collective unconscious,
which contains motifs of similar experiential quality. Emergence of this
material into consciousness constitutes the process of psychospiritual
death and rebirth and results in deep inner transformation.
Some of the insights of people experiencing holotropic states of
consciousness are directly related to the current global crisis and
its relationship with consciousness evolution. They show that we have
exteriorized in the modern world many of the essential themes
of the death rebirth process that a person involved in deep personal
transformation has to face and come to terms with internally. The
same elements that we would encounter in the process of psychological
death and rebirth in our visionary experiences make
today our evening news. This is particularly true in regard to the
phenomena that characterize what I refer to as the third Basic
Perinatal Matrix (BPM III)(Grof 2000).
As I mentioned earlier, this matrix is related to the stage of birth when
the cervix is open and the fetus experiences the tedious
propulsion through the birth canal. This stage is associated with the
emergence of the shadow side of human personality – murderous
violence and excessive or deviant sexual drives, scatological elements,
and even satanic imagery. It is easy to see manifestations
of these aspects of the death rebirth process in today’s troubled world.
We certainly see the enormous unleashing of the aggressive impulse in the
many wars and revolutionary upheavals in the world,
in the rising criminality, terrorism, and racial riots. Equally dramatic
and striking is the lifting of sexual repression and freeing
of the sexual impulse in both healthy and problematic ways. Sexual
experiences and behaviors are taking unprecedented forms, as
manifested in the sexual freedom of adolescents, premarital sex, gay
liberation, general promiscuity, common and open marriages,
high divorce rate, overtly sexual books, plays and movies, sadomasochistic
experimentation, and many others.
The demonic element is also becoming increasingly manifest in the modern
world. Renaissance of satanic cults and witchcraft,
popularity of books and horror movies with occult themes, and crimes with
satanic motivations attest to that fact. Terrorism of the
fundamentalist fanatics and groups is also reaching satanic proportions.
The scatological dimension is evident in the
progressive industrial pollution, accumulation of waste products on a
global scale, and rapidly deteriorating hygienic conditions in large
cities. A more abstract form of the same trend is the escalating
corruption and degradation of political, military, economic, and
religious institutions, including the American presidency.
Ancient Mayans showed profound interest in death and in the process of
death and rebirth. They saw it happening on an
astronomical level every day watching the sunset and sunrise and every
year during December solstice when the sun got “reborn” and
its light started returning into the world. The highest octave of this
solar return was then the alignment of the December solstice sun
with the galactic center, which the Mayans saw as hieros gamos – Sacred
Marriage between the Cosmic Mother and the Cosmic
Father. This phenomenal event occurring only every 26.000 years heralded
for them a major rebirth of cosmic proportions, beginning
of a new world cycle (Jenkins 1989).
Much of the Mayan ritual and art was dedicated to the process of death,
from the soul's entrance into the underworld
called Xibalba to a final rebirth and apotheosis. Mayan mythology and
funereal art described death as a journey whose challenges
were known and its important stages were depicted on coffins, wall
paintings, pottery, jades, and other objects that accompanied the
deceased during the great transition. Mayan funeral vases of the Classic
period were decorated with paintings depicting rebirth of
young lords from a cracked skull or turtle carapace and many sculptures
showed similar figures in the process of being reborn
from water lilies.
Unfortunately, no specific eschatological texts comparable to the Egyptian
or Tibetan Book of the Dead have survived from
the Mayan Classical Period, since much of the Maya literary legacy has
been lost for posterity. Only a few codices, accordion-like bark
paper screenfolds with rich and colorful illustrations, survived the hot
and moist climate of Central America and escaped the ravaging
of the Spanish invaders." However, in the 1970s, mayologists Lin Crocker
and Michael Coe were able to distinguish a group of
funeral vessels painted in the style of the Maya codices, probably by the
same artists. Cardiosurgeon and archeologist Francis
Robicsek was able to assemble substantial evidence for his theory that
certain sequences of the vases of the 'ceramic codex,' placed in
proper sequence, actually represented a Maya Book of the Dead" (Robicsek
1981).
Observations from the research of holotropic states of consciousness have
thrown new light on human propensity to unbridled violence and insatiable
greed – two forces that have driven human history since time immemorial
and are currently threatening survival of life on this planet. This
research has revealed that these “poisons,” as they are called in Tibetan
Vajrayana, have much deeper roots than current biological and
psychological theories assume – biology with concepts like the
naked ape, the triune brain, and the selfish gene and psychoanalysis and
related schools with their emphasis on base instincts as the
governing principles of the psyche.
Deep motivating forces underlying these dangerous traits of human nature
have their origin on the perinatal and transpersonal levels of the psyche,
domains that mainstream psychology does not yet recognize (Grof 2000). The
finding that the roots of human violence and insatiable greed reach far
deeper than mainstream academic science ever suspected and that their
reservoirs in the psyche are truly enormous could in and of itself be very
discouraging. However, it is balanced by the exciting discovery of new
therapeutic mechanisms and transformative potentials that become available
in holotropic states on the perinatal and transpersonal levels of the
psyche.
We have seen over the years profound emotional and psychosomatic healing,
as well as radical personality transformation, in many people who were
involved in serious and systematic experiential self-exploration and inner
quest. Some of them had supervised psychedelic sessions, others
participated in holotropic breathwork workshops and training or various
other forms of experiential psychotherapy and self-exploration. Similar
changes occur often in individuals who are involved in shamanic practice
or are meditators and have regular spiritual practice. We have also
witnessed profound positive changes in many people who received adequate
support during episodes of spontaneous psychospiritual crises (“spiritual
emergencies”). Thanatologist Ken Ring referred to this group of
transformative experiences as “Omega experiences” and included in it
near-death experiences and alien abduction experiences (Ring 1984).
As the content of the perinatal level of the unconscious emerges into
consciousness and is integrated, the individuals involved undergo radical
personality changes. They experience considerable decrease of aggression
and become more peaceful, comfortable with themselves, and tolerant of
others. The experience of psychospiritual death and rebirth and conscious
connection with positive postnatal or prenatal memories reduces irrational
drives and ambitions. It causes a shift of focus from the past and future
to the present moment and enhances zest, élan vital, and joi de vivre
-ability to enjoy and draw satisfaction from simple circumstances of life,
such as everyday activities, food, lovemaking, nature, and music. Another
important result of this process is emergence of spirituality of a
universal and mystical nature that, unlike the dogmas of mainstream
religions, is very authentic and convincing, because it is based on deep
personal experience.
The process of spiritual opening and transformation typically deepens
further as a result of transpersonal experiences, such as identification
with other people, entire human groups, animals, plants, and even
inorganic materials and processes in nature. Other experiences provide
conscious access to events occurring in other countries, cultures, and
historical periods and even to the mythological realms and archetypal
beings of the collective unconscious. Experiences of cosmic unity and
one's own divinity result in increasing identification with all of
creation and bring the sense of wonder, love, compassion, and inner peace.
What began as a process of psychological probing of the unconscious psyche
conducted for therapeutic purposes or personal growth automatically
becomes a philosophical quest for the meaning of life and a journey of
spiritual discovery.
People, who connect to the transpersonal domain of their psyche, tend to
develop a new appreciation for existence and reverence for all life.
One of the most striking consequences of various forms of transpersonal
experiences is spontaneous emergence and
development of deep humanitarian and ecological concerns.
Differences among people appear to be interesting and enriching rather
than threatening, whether they are related to gender, race, color,
language, political conviction, or religious belief. Following this
transformation, these individuals develop a deep sense of being planetary
citizens rather than citizens of a particular country or members of a
particular racial, social, ideological, political, or religious group. and
they feel the need to get involved in service for some common purpose.
These changes resemble those that have occurred in many of the American
astronauts who were able to see the earth from outer space (see Mickey
Lemle’s documentary The Other Side of the Moon).
It becomes obvious that our highest priorities as biological creatures
have to be clean air, water, and soil. No other concerns, such as economic
profit, military pursuits, scientific and technological progress, or
ideological and religious beliefs, should be allowed to take priority over
this vital imperative. We cannot violate our natural environment and
destroy other species without simultaneously damaging ourselves. This
awareness is based on an almost cellular knowledge that the boundaries in
the universe are arbitrary and that each of us is ultimately identical
with the entire web of existence.
In view of the fact that everything in nature runs in cycles and is based
on the principles of optimum values, homeostasis, and sustainability, the
technological civilization’s frantic pursuit of unlimited economic growth,
exploitation of non-renewable resources, and exponential increase of
industrial pollution hostile to life appears to be dangerous insanity. In
the world of biology excess of calcium, vitamins, or even water is not
better than lack of these substances and unlimited growth is the main
characteristic of cancer.
It is clear that a transformation associated with the experience of
psychospiritual death and rebirth would increase our chances for survival
if it could occur on a sufficiently large scale. The great German writer
and philosopher Johann Wolfgang Goethe was aware of the importance of the
experience of psychospiritual death and rebirth for the quality of our
life and sense of belonging when he wrote in his poem Selige Sehnsucht:
“Und so lang du das nicht hast, dieses: ‘Stirb und werde!’ Bist du nur ein
trüber Gast auf der dunklen Erde.” (“And as long as you do not experience
this: ‘Die and become!’ you will be only a shadow guest on the dark
earth”).
Holotropic states of consciousness experienced in a supportive environment
and under responsible guidance offer thus an opportunity for profound
psychospiritual transformation of two different kinds or degrees. An
individual who experiences death and rebirth – usually in the context of
reliving and integrating the trauma of biological birth – discovers his or
her own divinity, sacredness of all creation and oneness with other
people, nature, and the cosmos. Deeper exploration of the transpersonal
realms and particularly the experience of the archetype of the Apocalypse
then radically changes the perception of the world we live in. We begin to
understand that what we experience as material reality might be what the
Hindu teachings refer to as lila – divine play created by cosmic
consciousness. Both of these two forms of spiritual transformation have
profound positive effects on the individual’s hierarchy of values and life
strategy described above.
Various methods of inducing holotropic states –“technologies of the
sacred” – have been an integral part of ancient and native cultures for
millennia (Grof 2000). Modern humanity has been rediscovering the healing
and transformative power of these states in many different contexts.
Meditative practices of the great Eastern spiritual traditions and various
shamanic techniques are becoming increasingly popular, particularly among
the young generation. Translation and publication of spiritual literature
of many cultures, recording of their sacred music, and availability of
competent teachers have greatly contributed to this process.
The isolation and chemical identification of the active principles of many
psychedelic plants, development of new synthetic psychedelic compounds,
and increasing knowledge about these substances have been instrumental in
inner transformation of many individuals who have used these powerful
tools wisely and responsibly. The use of psychedelics – the most powerful
means for inducing holotropic states of consciousness - is seriously
hindered by legal restrictions, bad and misleading publicity, and
difficulties in obtaining pure materials. However, there exist very
effective forms of experiential psychotherapy, such as various neo-Reichian
approaches, primal therapy, rebirthing, and holotropic breathwork, which
can induce these states without the use of chemical agents. Their
increasing popularity thus represents a very promising trend.
Advances of modern medicine have made it possible to save the lives of
individuals involved in life-threatening accidents and diseases and have
increased the incidence of near-death experiences (NDEs) The development
of thanatology, a discipline studying death and dying, has amassed and
spread information about these states and made it possible for survivors
to use them for positive inner transformation (Ring 1982, Ring and
Valarino 1998).. As the economic, ecological, and political global crisis
escalates, it instills fear and diminishes hope for fulfilling and
satisfying life in the minds of hundreds of millions of people all over
the world. The resulting emotional turmoil seems to engender spontaneous
psychospiritual crises (“spiritual emergencies”)(Grof and Grof 1989, Grof
and Grof 1990).
Once mainstream psychiatrists recognize that these states have an
extraordinary healing and transformative potential - if they are properly
understood - and provide support and guidance for this process rather than
suppress it by tranquilizers, it could greatly contribute to
inner transformation of many people.
As Gregg Bragden pointed out, the potential significance of 2012 can be
supported by scientific observations (Braden 2007).
Astrophysicists have shown that we are at the beginning of a new cycle of
magnetic storms (sunspots) that will peak in 2012 with an
intensity 30-50% greater than previous cycles. Although the solar magnetic
storms are cyclical, they have never occurred during the
last 26.000 years at the time of galactic alignment and with the
population and the technology we have today; it is therefore
uncertain what effects this phenomenon will have on our future.
Scientists also agree that the magnetic field of the earth has been
rapidly weakening and there are indications that we are in the
early stage of reversal of the magnetic poles, which could occur in 2012.
Historical analysis shows that periods and areas of weak
magnetic fields are conducive to greater acceptance of new ideas and
change. Magnetic reversals are rare in the history of civilizations, but
common in the history of the earth; at least 14 of them happened in the
last 4.5 million years (one of them coinciding with the sudden extinction
of the mammoths). However, none of them happened at a time when the planet
had over 6 billion inhabitants with significant number of them depending
on modern communication technology – television, radio, computers, and
satellites.
We can now return to the subject of our conference and of this paper – the
Mayan prophecy concerning 2012. Whether or not this was predicted by
ancient Mayan seers, we are clearly involved in a dramatic race for time
that has no precedent in the entire history of humanity. What is at stake
is nothing less than the future of humanity and of life on this planet.
Many of the people with whom we have worked saw humanity at a critical
crossroad facing either collective annihilation or an evolutionary jump in
consciousness of unprecedented nature and dimension.
Terence McKenna put it very succinctly: "The history of the silly monkey
is over, one way or another" (McKenna 1992). We either undergo a
radical transformation of our species or we might not survive.
The final outcome of the crisis we are facing is ambiguous and uncertain;
it lends itself to pessimistic or optimistic interpretation and each of
them can be supported by existing data. If we continue the old strategies,
which in their consequences are clearly extremely destructive and
self-destructive, it is unlikely that modern civilization will survive.
However, if a sufficient number of people undergoes a process of deep
inner transformation described above, we might reach a stage and level of
consciousness evolution at which we will deserve the proud name we have
given to our species: homo sapiens sapiens and live in a new world that
will have little resemblance to the old one.
■
Stanislav Grof, born in
Prague, Czechoslovakia, is best known for his work in the field of
consciousness studies. He was trained as a Freudian Psychoanalyst at
Charles University (M.D.) and the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences
(Ph.D.). He explored the clinical and therapeutic uses of LSD at the
Psychiatric Research Institute in Prague until the mid-1960s, then at
Johns Hopkins University as a research scientist and professor of
psychiatry 1967-1973 and as Chief of Psychiatric Research at the Maryland
Psychiatric Research Center (1969-1973) where he worked with Walter Pahnke
and Bill Richards among others. During the 60s, he worked closely with LSD
and conducted more than 4,000 sessions of psychedelic therapy.
In 1973 Grof was invited to Esalen Institute where he lived as
Scholar-in-Residence until 1987, writing, lecturing, and developing (with
his wife Christina) Holotropic Breathwork. He also served on the board of
trustees of Esalen. He was the founding president of the International
Transpersonal Association (ITA), which has organized major conferences on
transpersonal psychology. Over the years he has written a number of books,
first about LSD and its use in psychotherapy and later about other methods
of conducting deep psycho-spiritual work.
Literature :
Arguelles, J.: The Mayan Factor: Path Beyond Technology. Rochester, VT.:
Inner Traditions, Berar and Company.
Campbell, J. 1968. The Hero with A Thousand Faces. Princeton: Princeton
University Press.
Corbin, H. 2000. “Mundus Imaginalis, Or the Imaginary and the
Imaginal.” In: Working With Images (B. Sells, ed.). Woodstock,
Connecticut: Spring Publications 71-89.
Grof, S. 1985. Beyond the Brain. Birth, Death, and Transcendence in
Psychotherapy. Albany, NY: State University of New York (SUNY)
Press.
Grof, C. and Grof, S. 1990. The Stormy Search for the Self. Los Angeles,
CA: J. P. Tarcher.
Grof, S. and Grof, C. (eds.) 1989. Spiritual Emergency: When Personal
Transformation Becomes a Crisis. Los Angeles, CA: J. P. Tarcher.
Grof, S. 1994. Books of the Dead: Manuals for Living and Dying.
London: Thames and Hudson.
Grof, 2000. Psychology of the Future: Lessons from Modern
Consciousness Research. Albany, NY: State University of New York
(SUNY) Press,.
Grof, S. The Ultimate Journey: Consciousness and the Mystery of Death.
MAPS, Sarasota, FL, 2006.
Jenkins, J. M. 1998. Maya Cosmogenesis 2012. Rochester, NY: Inner
Traditions, Bear and Company.
Jenkins, J.M. Galactic Aligment:The Transformation of Consciousness
According to Mayan, Egyptian, and Vedic Traditions. Rochester,
VT: Bear and Company.
Jung, C.G. 1959. The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious.
Collected Works of C.G. Jung. Vol. 9, Bollingen Series XX,
Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Jung, C.G. 1959. Aion. Collected Works of C.G. Jung. Vol. 9.2,
Bollingen Series XX, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University
Press.
McKenna, T. 1992. Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree
of Knowledge. New York: Bantam Books.
Ring, K. 1982. Life at Death: A Scientific Investigation of the Near-
Death Experience. New York: Quill.
Ring, K. 1984. Heading Toward Omega: In Search of the
Meaning of
the Near-Death Experience. New York: William Morrow.
Ring, K. and Valarino, E. E. 1998. Lessons from the Light: What We
Can Learn from the Near-Death Experience. New York: Plenum
Press.
Robicsek, F. 1981. The Maya Book of the Dead: The Ceramic Codex.
Charlottesville, VA.: University of Virginia Art Museum.
Santillana, G. and and Dechend, H. von. 1977. Hamlet’s Mill: An
Essay on Myth and the Frame of Time. Boston: Godine.
Schele, L. and Miller, M. A.: The Blood of Kings: Dynasty and Ritual
Art in Maya Art. New York: George Braziller, Inc.
Sitler, R. 2006. The 2012 Phenomenon: New Age Appropriation of an
Ancient Mayan Calendar. Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative
and Emergent Religions, Volume 9, issue 3, pp. 24-38.
Tarnas, R. 2006. Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World
View. New York: Viking Press.
Save
and Share this article
Enjoy Life and Take
Good Care of Your Self ™
Remember to subscribe to our free
E-zines
■Visit
Our
Trusted Wellness
Goods Partners■
The Leap!
Movie
Watch the Leap! Trailer and order The Leap! Movie on DVD
SPECIAL OFFER :
Download
10,000 different Best Selling
and Consciousness subject Audio Books for only $7.49
each
Spiritual Cinema
Exclusive
Inspirational, and Original Movies on DVD.
