Are we approaching the end of the world or the beginning of a new way of life? Will we become extinct? Does our heart have a brain? Are our core beliefs really true? What do our emotions have to do with anything? We are living in the most exciting and critical time on this planet. Each of us is here at this time for a reason. Our choices will determine the future of our children and grandchildren and whether they will have a future here on Earth. Wake Up and Join the Evolution presents scientific facts that have grave implications for the future of life on planet Earth. It challenges us to examine our beliefs and decide if they might still be true. It asks us to look closely at the world we have created and answer the questions: Is this a world that works for everyone? Are we enjoying peace and prosperity? Can we do better? Finally, it offers resources to verify information and delve deeper into the truth of what is happening on our planet today.

Wake Up and Join the Evolution

How To Create a world of peace, prosperity and happinessBy Sandra Weaver

Balboa Press

Copyright © 2012 Sandra Weaver
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4525-5084-8

Chapter One

The Mayan Mystery

Much has been written about the Mayan calendar and its predictions for the year 2012. The responses to these phenomena have ranged from those predicting it will be the end of the world to spiritual teachers who believe it will be the beginning of an era of peace and prosperity. As you are reading this book, we are well into the year 2012 and perhaps beyond. On the surface, it may seem that we are nowhere near an era of peace and prosperity. However, there are grass roots movements in many areas that could create a shift to turn us away from war, selfishness and greed towards harmony, love and the birth of a new humanity.

The Mayans measured time in cycles. The Maya "Great Cycle" equals 5125 years. It began on August 11, 3114 BC and will end on December 21, 2012AD at which time a new cycle begins. So, to put it in basic terms, 2012 is the end of one cycle and the beginning of another. The Maya considered the Great Cycle to be one world age, one growth cycle, at the end of which, humanity reaches the next stage in its spiritual development. They did not say it would be the end of the world.

The facts as we know them from archeological records show that the first Maya appeared over a millennium and a half ago in remote areas which are now in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, Guatemala, Honduras, and Belize. They appear to have arrived with advanced technology already in place. One of the most amazing discoveries was their exact calculation of cosmic cycles. In addition to tracking familiar solar and lunar cycles, the 5000 year old Mayan calendar also seemed to track a rare celestial alignment of our solar system, our sun and our planet aligning with the center of our galaxy. This event happens every 26,000 years.

This alignment is known as the Precessional cycle and was calculated and plotted in the Mayan calendars. The Earth's precession of the equinoxes cycle takes nearly 26,000 years to complete. It is the result of the Earth wobbling as it turns on its axis during its twenty-four hour orbit around the sun. There is a relationship between this and galactic synchronization: an astronomical event that will bring the Earth and the planets of the solar system into an alignment with a central point in the Milky Way. The next 26,000 year alignment will happen on December 21, 2012. The Maya related the 260 day sacred cycle (our human gestation period) to the 26,000 year cycle as our collective gestation, our unfolding as a species.

Jose Arguelles is one of the leaders in the field of modern Mayan calendar predictions. He is the author of the book, "The Mayan Factor". He describes his meeting with a Maya by the name of Hunbatz Men who told him that our star system represents the seventh star system that the Maya have mapped, charted and navigated. In his studies, Arguelles determined that the Great Cycle isn't so much a measurement of time as it is the measurement of this planet's passage through a beam that is 5,125 years wide. Earth has been passing through this beam since 3113 BC. According to the Mayan calendar, we will depart from that beam in 2012. While all of the planets are passing through this beam, the passing is expected to have particular meaning for planet Earth. Arguelles compares this beam to a wave that has been building up for 5100 years and is about to break. The breaking point of the wave occurred on August 16 and 17, 1987 and was known as the Harmonic Convergence, named for the world's first globally synchronized meditation. According to Arguelles, this would mark a new age of universal peace. There are other prophecies and writings about the Harmonic Convergence which can be easily accessed via the internet.

What sets the Mayan prophecy apart from the general predictions of other cultures is that is has an expiration date that occurs in our lifetime. The last cycle of the Mayan calendar corresponds to a series of tangible events, some of which are happening today. Here is what we know for certain: 1) the end of the Mayan great Cycle marks a rare alignment of our planet, our solar system, and the center of our galaxy, one that will not occur again for another 26,000 years. 2) On March 10, 2006 a cycle of solar storms ended and a new cycle began. It is predicted to peak in 2012, with an intensity 30-50-percent greater than previous cycles. (this is already occurring) 3) Scientists agree that Earth's magnetic fields are weakening quickly and some suspect that we are in the early stage of a polar reversal. While we have always thought of the magnetic fields of our planet as a certainty (the needle of a compass always points north), they are not. Every once in a while our familiar North and South poles trade places ... the magnetic field of the earth does a flip flop. While these are rare, they have happened 171 times in the last 76 million years. The symptoms of these flip flops are abrupt changes in weather patterns and a rapid weakening of the planet's magnetic field, both of which are happening right now. 4) Earth's magnetics play a key role in how we accept new ideas and change in our lives. All life is strongly influenced by magnetic changes. The human brain contains millions of tiny magnetic particles and connects us to the earth's magnetic field in a powerful way. Thus, if the earth's magnetic fields are changing, we too are affected. Scientists in the twentieth century learned, through looking at the strength of magnetic ribbon-like patterns across the planet, that places with stronger magnetic fields hold more traditional beliefs whereas, in places where the fields are weaker, people are more open to change. It probably comes as no surprise that one of the areas of lowest magnetism is the West Coast of the United States. California has always been known as a "trend setter".

One of the most visible changes that we are seeing is climate. We are experiencing global warming and dramatic deviations in our weather patterns. This has great implications for our future. Science has shown us that we are not the cause of these changes. The planet's position in space creates patterns of warming and cooling that repeat on a cyclical basis. However, this is a time when the people of this planet must work together to share resources and ideas, and to adapt to the changes that are beyond our control. What does climate change have to do with the way we are governed or the way that we live? It simply means that we have to become aware of what is happening on our planet, how it is affecting our way of life and take steps to adapt to the changing conditions.

Gregg Braden has studied the Mayan calendar, and has searched the remote monasteries of Egypt, Peru and Tibet for the live-giving secrets that were encoded in the language of our most cherished traditions. He has learned much from our indigenous ancestors and from the Mayan elders. They knew this time was coming. What they do not know is whether we can adapt to the changes and embrace the fact that we are a world family and possibly part of a greater cosmic family. Gregg Braden was a major inspiration for the writing of this book, and a listing of his books is included in the reference section.

As we enter this period of change, the systems that we have in place are challenged. Those that have proven to be sustainable will continue; those that are not will collapse. When we look at our economic system, monetary system, health care and even...