somewhat entertainingly there's going to be a total eclipse of the sun in 2012. it's going to be great viewing conditions on the northern tip of australia in queensland. should be an amazing place to view the eclipse, tropical beaches and all. i'm sure there will be a big psytrance party. woo woo central but i'll be there. haha.

haha. this is a funny line from the wiki...

"Thus, given the multiplicity of anticipated outcomes of the Harmonic Convergence, its effect on subsequent world history is questionable. Effects on individuals, of course, vary with their experiences and are naturally difficult to confirm."

perhaps the ennui resulting from modern civilized comfort? no danger, despite the changes in many ways just more of the same until they die. perhaps they long for some vital change, some new thing to occur.

the transhumanists are similar in some ways. what do you guys think about them? oh that's a good topic, i think i'll start another thread.


"I certainly don't see why it's such a popular fantasy. "

I trace this unhealthy apocalyptic urge back to dualism, a la Plato's Idealism, which was taken up by Christianity (but not just by it), then later given a philosophical jumpstart by Descartes (ironically, because in some ways he was a father of modernity), and which persists to this day: the idea that there are two realms of reality, a physical one and a non-physical, "spiritual" or whatever, one, with the non-physical one deemed to be "purer" or more basic somehow, and with the consequence that physical reality, biological reality, etc. are devalued in comparison. The "spiritual" realm is imagined to be the "real" one, with physical reality just an unimportant illusion (Maya?) and an eternal afterlife usually is imagined, as more important than one's actual (finite) life. (Whereas I and a lot of other atheists feel that an awareness of one's finite existence is a very healthy thing which helps one to value reality.) It isn't just the three desert religions that have this dualism, of course, but they seem to have much more of the apocalyptic element. And most of the people talking 2012 trash, while usually not adherents of any of the three, have certainly grown up in the midst of the dualism our "civilization" has inherited from them, which still pervades much of everyday Western thought.

Dualism makes it easier to say oh well, everything will be fixed in the physical world when the big changes originating in the spiritual world manifest at X or Y prophesied date. Another variation is being whisked off to the spiritual world, so it really doesn't matter what happens here in this lowly, impure physical world - the fundies have their "Rapture", but there are New Age analogues as well.

It's a good way to evade responsibility for acting in the here and now to save this planet as it is - the task is all so overwhelming, but it's OK because we're gonna get help from above! Sky Daddy (or similar) will save us helpless kids! I think it's an extremely pernicious, destructive mindset.

Does anyone remember that the Rapture was supposed to happen in 1993?

I still recall those signs pasted about the Boston area when I lived there...

I was recently on a tour of the Tulum ruins. Our 100% Mayan guide (so he kept telling us, again and again) was chock full of information on this 2012 ending/change/shift. His belief is that it's the time when the Mayans (who are part of the Marked people--along with some asians, native americans, and some other groups--I was getting confused at this point) will begin to re-establish themselves as leaders of the world--or something like that.

It reminded me of a discussion I once had with an upper caste hindu telling me about the circle and how India once was the cradle of civilization, and will be again in the future. I guess it's a way to be happy with life in the here and now. However, putting a specific date on it, like the Mayan belief, does set one up for dissatisfaction.