THE WORLD WILL NOT END IN 2012

By Carlos Barrios

Carlos Barrios was born into a Spanish family on El Altiplano, the highlands of   . His home
was in Huehue tenango, also the dwelling place of the Maya Mam tribe. With other Maya and
other indigenous tradition keepers, the Mam carry part of the old ways on Turtle Island
( North America ).
 
They are keepers of time, authorities on remarkable calendars that are ancient, elegant and
relevant. Mr. Barrios is a historian, an anthropologist and investigator. After studying with
traditional elders for 25 years since the age of 19, he has also became a Mayan Ajq'ij, a
ceremonial priest and spiritual guide, Eagle Clan.
 
Years ago, along with his brother, Gerardo, Carlos initiated an investigation into the different
Mayan calendars. He studied with many teachers. He says his brother Gerardo interviewed
nearly 600 traditional Mayan elders to widen their scope of knowledge.
 
"Anthropologists visit the temple sites," Mr. Barrios says, "and read the inscriptions and
make up stories about the Maya, but they do not read the signs correctly. It's just their
imagination... Other people write about prophecy in the name of the Maya. They say that the
world will end in December 2012. The Mayan elders are angry with this. The world will not
end. It will be transformed. The indigenous have the calendars, and know how to accurately
interpret it, not others.
 
The Mayan Calendars comprehension of time, seasons, and cycles has proven itself to be vast
and sophisticated. The Maya understand 17 different calendars, some of them charting time
accurately over a span of more than ten million years. The calendar that has steadily drawn
global attention since 1987 is called the Tzolk'in or Cholq'ij.
 
Devised ages ago and based on the cycle of the Pleiades, it is still held as sacred. With the
indigenous calendars, native people have kept track of important turning points in history.
 
For example, the day keepers who study the calendars identified an important day in the year
One Reed, Ce Acatal, as it was called by the Mayans. That was the day when an important
ancestor was prophesied to return, "coming like a butterfly." In the western calendar, the One
Reed date correlates to Easter Sunday, April 21, 1519 the day that Hernando Cortez and his
fleet of 11 Spanish galleons arrived from the East at what is today called Vera Cruz, .

When the Spanish ships came toward shore, native people were waiting and watching to see
how it would go. The billowing sails of the ships did indeed remind the scouts of butterflies
skimming the ocean surface. In this manner was a new era initiated, an era they had
anticipated through their calendars. The Maya termed the new era the Nine Bolomtikus, or
nine Hells of 52 years each. As the nine cycles unfolded, land and freedom were taken from
the native people. Disease and disrespect dominated.
 
What began with the arrival of Cortez, lasted until August 16, 1987 - a date many people
recall as Harmonic Convergence. Millions of people took advantage of that date to make
ceremony in sacred sites, praying for a smooth transition to a new era, the World of the Fifth
Sun."
 
From that 1987 date until now, Mr. Barrios says, "We have been in a time when the right arm
of the materialistic world is disappearing, slowly but inexorably. We are at the cusp of the era
when peace begins, and people live in harmony with Mother Earth. We are no longer in the
World of the Fourth Sun, but we are not yet in the World of the Fifth Sun. This is the time in-
between, the time of transition. As we pass through transition there is a colossal, global
convergence of environmental destruction, social chaos, war, and ongoing Earth changes."

All this, Mr .Barrios says, was foreseen via the simple, spiral mathematics of the Mayan
calendars. "It will change," Mr. Barrios observes. "Everything will change." He said Mayan
day keepers view the Dec. 21, 2012 date as a rebirth, the start of the World of the Fifth Sun.
"It will be the start of a new era resulting from and signified by the solar meridian crossing
the galactic equator, and the earth aligning itself with the center of the galaxy.
 
At sunrise on December 21, 2012 for the first time in 26,000 years, the Sun rises to conjunct
the intersection of the Milky Way and the plane of the ecliptic. This cosmic cross is
considered to be an embodiment of the Sacred Tree, The Tree of Life, a tree remembered in
all the world's spiritual traditions."
 
Some observers say this alignment with the heart of the galaxy in 2012 will open a channel
for cosmic energy to flow through the earth, cleansing it and all that dwells upon it, raising all
to a higher level of vibration. 

This process has already begun, Mr. Barrios suggested. "Change is accelerating now, and it
will continue to accelerate." If the people of the earth can get to this 2012 date in good shape,
without having destroyed too much of the Earth, Mr. Barrios said, "We will rise to a new,
higher level. But to get there we must transform enormously powerful forces that seek to
block the way."
 
A Picture of the Road Ahead: 

From his understanding of the Mayan tradition and the calendars, Mr. Barrios offered a
picture of where we are at and what may lie on the road ahead. The date specified in the
calendar Winter Solstice in the year 2012 does not mark the end of the world. Many
outside people writing about the Mayan calendar sensationalize this date, but they do not
know. The ones who know are the indigenous elders who are entrusted with keeping the
tradition.
 
"Humanity will continue," he contends, "but in a different way. Material structures will
change. From this we will have the opportunity to be more human. We are living in the most
important era of the Mayan calendars and prophecies. All the prophecies of the world, all the
traditions, are converging now. There is no time for games. The spiritual ideal of this era is
action. Many powerful souls have reincarnated in this era, with a lot of power. This is true on
both sides, the light and the dark. 
....

A Call for Fusion: 

As he met with audiences in Santa Fe , Mr. Barrios told a story about the most recent Mayan
New Year ceremonies in . He said that one respected elder, who lives all year in a solitary
mountain cave, journeyed to Chichicastenango to speak with the people at the ceremony. The
elder delivered a simple, direct message. He called for human beings to come together in
support of life and light. Right now each person and group is going his or her own way. The
elder of the mountains said there is hope if the people of the light can come together and unite
in some way.
 
Reflecting on this, Mr. Barrios explained: "We live in a world of polarity: day and night, man
and woman, positive and negative. Light and darkness need each other. They are a balance.
Just now the dark side is very strong, and very clear about what they want. They have their
vision and their priorities clearly held, and also their hierarchy. They are working in many
ways so that we will be unable to connect with the spiral Fifth World in 2012.
 
On the light side everyone thinks they are the most important, that their own
understandings, or their group's understandings, are the key. There's a diversity of
cultures and opinions, so there is competition, diffusion, and no single focus."

 As Mr. Barrios sees it, "The dark side works to block fusion through denial and materialism.
It also works to destroy those who are working with the light to get the Earth to a higher
level. They like the energy of the old, declining  Fourth World , the materialism. They do not
want it to change. They do not want fusion. They want to stay at this level, and are afraid of
the next level. The dark power of the declining Fourth World cannot be destroyed or
overpowered. It's too strong and clear for that, and that is the wrong strategy. The dark can
only be transformed when confronted with simplicity and open-heartedness. This is
what leads to fusion, a key concept for the World of the Fifth Sun."
 
Mr. Barrios said the emerging era of the Fifth Sun will call attention to a much-overlooked
element. Whereas the four traditional elements of earth, air, fire and water have
dominated various epochs in the past, there will be a fifth element to reckon with in the
time of the Fifth Sun: ether. The dictionary defines ether as the rarefied element of the
Heavens. Ether is a medium. It permeates all space and transmits waves of energy in a wide
range of frequencies, from cell phones to human auras.
 
What is "ethereal" is related to the regions beyond earth: the Heavens. Ether, the element of
the Fifth Sun, is celestial and lacking in material substance, but is no less real than wood,
stone or flesh. "Within the context of ether there can be a fusion of the polarities," Mr
.Barrios said. "No more darkness or light in the people, but an uplifted fusion.

But right now the realm of darkness is not interested in this. They are organized to block it.
They seek to unbalance the Earth and its environment so we will be unready for the
alignment in 2012. We need to work together for peace, and balance with the other side. We
need to take care of the Earth that feeds and shelters us. We need to put our entire mind and
heart into pursuing unity and fusion now, to confront the other side and preserve life, to be
ready for this Moment in History."
 
Mr. Barrios told his audiences in Santa Fe that we are at a critical moment of world history.
"We are disturbed," he said. "We can't play anymore. Our planet can be renewed or ravaged.
Now is the time to awaken and take action. Everyone is needed. You are not here for no
reason. Everyone who is here now has an important purpose. This is a hard, but special time.
We have the opportunity for growth, but we must be ready for this moment in history."
 
Mr. Barrios offered a number of suggestions to help people walk in balance through the years
ahead. "The prophesied changes are going to happen," he said "but our attitude and actions
determine how harsh or mild they are. We need to act, to make changes, and to elect people
to represent us who understand and who will take political action to respect the earth.
Meditation and spiritual practice are good, but also action. It's very important to be clear
about who you are, and also about your relation to the Earth.

Develop yourself according to your own tradition and the call of your heart. But
remember to respect differences, and strive for unity. Eat wisely. A lot of food is corrupt
in either subtle or gross ways. Pay attention to what you are taking into your body. Learn to
preserve food, and to conserve energy. Learn some good breathing techniques, so you have
the mastery of your breath. Be clear. Follow a tradition with great roots. It is not
important what tradition, your heart will tell you, but it must have great roots. We live
in a world of energy. An important task at this time is to learn to sense or see the energy
of everyone and everything: people, plants, animals.
 
This becomes increasingly important as we draw close to the World of the Fifth Sun, for it is
associated with the element ether - the realm where energy lives and weaves. Go to the
sacred places of the earth to pray for peace, and have respect for the Earth which gives
us our food, clothing, and shelter. We need to reactivate the energy of these sacred
places. That is our work.
One simple but effective prayer technique is to light a white or baby-blue colored candle.
Think a moment in peace. Speak your intention to the flame and send the light of it on to the
leaders who have the power to make war or peace. We Have Work To Do."

According to Mr. Barrios this is a crucially important moment for humanity, and for earth.
Each person is important. If you have incarnated into this era, you have spiritual work
to do balancing the planet. He said the elders have opened the doors so that other races can
come to the Mayan world to receive the tradition. The Maya have long appreciated and
respected that there are other colors, other races, and other spiritual systems.

"They know," he said, "that the destiny of the Mayan world is related to the destiny of the
whole world. The greatest wisdom is in simplicity," ...  . "Love, respect, tolerance,
sharing, gratitude, forgiveness. It's not complex or elaborate. The real knowledge is
free. It's encoded in your DNA. All you need is within you. Great teachers have said that
from the beginning. Find your heart, and you will find your way."