2012: Does The Date Matter?

Much has been made of the exact date at which the Shift will have reached its greatest point of intensity or will have completed, depending on the interpretation. But placing too much emphasis on the date itself can be a distraction. The Shift is already taking place and the parameters of the cycle -- when it started and when it will end in the scheme of things -- needs to be placed into perspective.

What’s most important is aligning with the new energies in ways that each of us feels is right for ourselves in the here and now. There’s no formula, no magic calculator . Worrying about this or that date in some ways almost amounts to a kind of New Age theology (which is as good an oxymoron as any....remember medieval theologians debating about how many angels could fit on the head of a pin?)

None of this is to take away from the work of many very worthy interpreters of the Mayan information such as John Major Jenkins and Carl Johan Calleman. This deep and mindful scholarship is a necesssary part of the process of trying to understand and explicate interpretations of this sacred wisdom and the living mystery of 2012. But Annette and I have noticed that for many who are newly familiar to the background behind the Shift or are skeptical about it in general, the notion of a specific end date is often a kind of stumbling block to further exploration. Focusing too much on the date and "Shift as event" can also be a distraction from mindful preparation for a deep transformation that's already well underway.

2012, the Movie: Exploring Alternative Perspectives

Daniel Pinchbeck was one of the keynote speakers at our June 6th conference in Boston. He’s a keen observer about the social and cultural nuances of the Shift and the expressive meme dance that gets played out in the mediasphere as the process of emergence continues. Daniel founded an organization called Evolver which is working on a number of fronts for positive social change in the larger context of the Shift.

There are Evolver groups in many major US cities including Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta, Phoenix, and Boston. But it’s a worldwide reach with groups in Athens, Stockholm, Vancouver and other cities internationally. I’ve attended a number of Evolver Boston meetings ably guided by Joe Moore. Monthly topics are synced up nationally. To date the discussions have been intriguing and wide ranging and have included health care, permaculture, innovative approaches to currency and finance, relocalization, sustainable agriculture, and others.

On November 21 in Boston, The Emergence Project will be partnering with both the Disinformation Company and Evolver to host an event in Boston on 2012 and the Shift. The timing and theme is keyed to the release of Sony Pictures movie “2012”. As Daniel explains it:

“Considering that nobody knows what’s going to happen in 2012, the end of the Mayan Calendar functions as a tremendously intriguing meme upon which we can project our hopes and fears, dreams and desires. Hollywood has now offered up a massive collective shadow projection in the form of a $250 million disaster epic that takes the aesthetics of annihilation to a new pitch of perfection. Paradoxically, this doom-riddled blockbuster could create a great opening to offer an alternative vision of what 2012 could be for our planet. Potentially, 2012 could represent the coming-to-consciousness of the human species, in which we take responsibility for our role as agents of conscious evolution. “

Annette Farrington, our Executive Director, and I will be speaking at this event on "Ten Things You Should Know about 2012”. We hope to see you there.