Wednesday, October 29, 2008

The Mayan Prophecies



I’ll be getting to my topic today in a rather round about way. Not that it makes it so different from other days; I just thought I would mention it. We (my family) have finally arrived in the 21st century; we now have cable TV for the first time. R has wanted it for a while. It didn’t really matter to me as I never watched TV anyway. The kids have wanted it, and now that we can afford it, we decided to go for it.

I have to admit, at this moment, that I have found myself mysteriously drawn to the History channels. We also have some nature and science channels that run a close second for me. So, yes, I have started to watch some TV for the first time in, oh, about 11 years. It’s the TV that brings me to my topic today regarding the book The Mayan Prophecies.

I was watching Ancient Discoveries on one of the History channels the other day. They were investigating the Mayan culture, their calendar, and the prophecies made by one of the known Mayan priests. The prophecies correlate with their calendar, which is amazingly accurate. The Mayan’s had a knowledge of time and astronomy that is unbelievable. It could be seriously argued that the Mayan’s knowledge of these topics actually surpasses our own modern day understanding. That said, if you get a chance to watch the program I would highly recommend that you do.

I noticed, while watching, that the program also had a lot of information that I recalled reading about in a book entitled The Mayan Prophecies by Adrian G. Gilbert. I read the book about, ironically, 11 years ago and I was impressed by the amount of technical information that was made available on Mayan society and their knowledge of science and mathematics. I would also recommend reading the book if you are at all interested in the topic.

According to both sources, it seems that one of the prophecies foretells the end of our age. Now, we’ve all heard the doomsayers and apocalyptic jargon that gets tossed around, but I think this information is worth examining further. The prophecy states that on December 21st (some say 22nd) of 2012 the end of the world (as we know it) will take place. Ouch! That doesn’t give us much time now, does it? But…this post is NOT about doomsday. It’s about the day after.

Here me out here. It’s not just the Mayans who have talked about the destruction of the world as we know it. This has been seen throughout history by many cultures and religions. The Mayans, just happen to have put a date on it. A date that, well if you read the book or watch the show, will seem quite impressively possible. The point here is this. All of these people have claimed it will be the close of the age, including The Bible, depending on the translation you read. It never states it will be the end of the world, that mankind will fail to exist, or that the world itself will fail to exist. It will, instead, be the dawning of a new age.

Now, I don’t know if catastrophe will proceed the new age or not. Heck, I’m just a simple blogger. I do know, that no matter what happens, mankind will be in a position to choose our path. The Mayans also have a prophecy for the new age. They say it will be one of peace, where mankind units, and where religion is not an issue. So, I guess amongst the meandering, my point is really this. I want people to focus on what the world could be. Let’s look at how our lives will be better if, say, we can stop global warming, overcome our need for fossil based fuels, stop the religious wars, feed people, and increase the quality of life. These may seem like dream filled goals here people, but can anyone of you truly claim that they are not worthwhile? With that in mind, and knowing that our ancestors believed that we could make it happen, I guess we’re left with the question…Are we going to make it happen?


Tomb Picture


Lid of Palenque


The Crystal Skull


And what would Halloween be without the picture of the cave spider inside the tomb?

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