The Mayan Calendar

CARLOS BARRIOS was born into a Spanish family on El Altiplano, the
highlands of Guatemala. His home was in Huehuetenango, 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 steles and 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
daykeepers who study the calendars identified an important day in the
year One Reed, Ce Acatal, as it was called by the Mexicans. 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, Mexico.

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 Daykeepers 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. High magic is at work on both sides.

Things will change, but it is up to the people how difficult or easy
it is for the changes to come about. The economy now is a fiction.
The first five-year stretch of transition from August 1987 to August
1992 was the beginning of the destruction of the material world. We
have progressed ten years deeper into the transition phase by now,
and many of the so-called sources of financial stability are in fact
hollow.

The banks are weak. This is a delicate moment for them. They could
crash globally if we don't pay attention. If the banks crash ... then
we will be forced to rely on the land and our skills. The monetary
systems will be in chaos, and we must then rely on our direct
relationship with the Earth for our food and shelter. The North and
South Poles are both breaking up. The level of the water in the
oceans is going to rise. But at the same time land in the ocean,
especially near Cuba, is also going to rise.

A Call for Fusion

As he met with audiences, Mr. Barrios told a story about the most
recent Mayan New Year ceremonies in Guatemala. He said that one
respected Mam 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 a 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 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.

According to Mr. Barrios' reading of the Mayan calendar, if war
happens in November 2002 or after, then it's bad, but not
catastrophic. But if it happens between April and November 2003, it
will be catastrophic. Really bad. It could eventually result in the
death of two-thirds of humanity.

"So stay active," he said. "If we are active, we can transform the
planet. The elders watch to see what happens."

Many Mayan elders and knowledge keepers may be eliminated in the next
few years. For the first half of the current Katun (20-year period)
the dark side has a lot of power. But that will pass 3 to 4 years
from now. The tide will turn. Wonderous things are going to happen.

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," Mr. Barrios advised before
departing. "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."