by Deborah Lindsey

I remember the day I first heard about the phenomena of “2012.” It was a notable day indeed. We had recently opened The Self-Health and Awareness Center, which would later become the parent to IMU, and we were having our very first Sunday Gathering and Ceremony. It was December 21st, 2001, the Winter Solstice Celebration. Reverend Randy Hastings, one of the founding deans for IMU, helped me to officiate the service. I had heard great things about Randy in our community though I didn’t know him very well. He was quiet and revered in our circle so I was a little intimidated and highly grateful to have his support in our little enterprise. We were new in town and knew very few people. Most everyone was there to see Randy.

Surprisingly, the service when over like gangbusters. Every seat in the place was filled with people standing in the back. The otherwise common room was lit by candlelight, with all eyes focused on the beautiful alter and the exquisite podium that my then life and business partner Joe Fielder had lovingly built just for the occasion.

I welcomed everyone then introduced Randy. With quiet aplomb, he began the process of invoking the spirits. Names and words I had never heard before sprung from his lips as if it were a language all of his own. The energy in the room heightened as the energies settled into our divine space. With that invocation and the intentions that came with it, SHAC and subsequently IMU was born. The energies of the whole universe and beyond had entered that room toward a common purpose — to commune with the divine on that very sacred day.

As the ceremony ended, I had that sense of elation that I know you all understand…that sense of belonging to something that matters and knowing that you are part of the love of all things. High on the energy, we moved to the lobby for a pot luck dinner. (I still remember that someone had brought baked apples, that seemed particularly appropriate, and quite yummy as well.

The lobby was small with few chairs and so everyone  just sat on the stairs. I found myself sitting next to Randy that night, thanking him for helping out and picking his very delightful brain for more info. It was then, as we discussed the power of the winter solstice, that I first heard tell of the prophecies of December 21, 2012.

He began to tell me about the breadth of prophecies that pointed to this very specific date as a date when ascension would occur. The Mayans get the most press on this thanks to the works of Jose Arguelles. But since that time, it has been noted that many other traditions point in the same direction.

At first the ideas were intriguing but held little merit, except that it came from Randy. He was one of these people who had been studying metaphysics for more than 30 years, had a photographic memory, and a personal library of esoteric books that would rival any in the world. (The literally thousands of books still exist and could use an appropriate home if anyone has a place for them and can put them to use…) With knowledge that deep, it was hard to disregard his teachings.

Like everyone, I learned the teachings of the galactic center from Drunvalo Melchizedek and Gregg Braden. I read it all and none of it ever really seemed true. Not, that is, until I got an email from then friend now IMU Dean Janet Decker with a video from a man named Ian Xel Lungold offering an explanation of the Mayan Calender that put it all into perspective. THAT, it was clear, was true. Ian’s teachings, which changed everything for me, were all based on the world of Carl Johan Calleman, who later became a friend and instructor for IMU.

Carl, who was a PhD trained researcher, began to review the Mayan Calendar and put it all into a perspective that made all of the sense in the world. Still does. The problem was that Carl’s calculations indicated that the REAL date for the end of the long count calendar was October 28, 2011. Well, like many, many predictions before it, the date seemed to come and go without the anticipated change. It was, however, one of the favorite days of my whole life. More than 2,000 like-minded people joined together on Serpent Mound that day along with Mayan Elder Hunbatz Men and his crystal skulls. A spontaneous drumming circle ensued with hundreds of drums raising the vibrations. Together we encircled the serpent with love and called for the awakening of a new consciousness, the birth of a new world. The divine answered with a double rainbow and we all knew that something very special had happened.

Sadly, though, nothing obvious happened to the global landscape and Carl’s theories were branded incorrect. Like many others, I was disappointed and saddened. I also felt Carl’s very public flogging, knowing it had to be hard to see the date come and go, and wondering where he went wrong.

So as time has passed I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on everything learned. And as the next “date” looms large on the horizon I have to ask myself if it, too, will come and go without so much as a blip in the cosmic roadmap. Sadly, I think that will be the case.

That doesn’t, however, mean that I think “nothing” is happening. I still believe that Carl’s work holds water. The idea that the earth herself is part of a cosmic and galactic evolution and that this evolution can be charted based on the Hermetic Axiom of “As Above So Below” still seems both true and inevitable. Carl likens the process to the growth of a plant. It starts with a seed, sprouts, buds, flowers, and falls away. The earth, which is also an organic, living being, must follow the same pattern only according to a galactic clock, not a human clock. As humans, its nigh on impossible to get the timing exact as a year to a human may be a second from a galactic perspective.

I still recommend Carl’s course on the Mayan Calendar, which we still offer at IMU, as the information is profound and life-altering, even if the date is not spot on. He also teaches a related course, which is equally spectacular, called “the Purposeful Universe” where he talks about how consciousness is on a schedule and rethinks the theories of both evolution and creationism. It is an absolutely fascinating course.

So if this is the case, what is this great change that we are looking for? Well, we can all theorize but ultimately we can’t know. I personally think the earth is a cell and progresses according to the sacred geometry found in the Tree of Life and Flower of Life. If that is the case, then the Bible itself tells the story of the shift as the birthing of a new heaven and a new earth. How that happens, if it happens, is yet to be seen.

The only thing we do know for sure is that December 21, 2012 is but three months away in human terms. Even for us it is a blink of an eye. Will the date prove to be yet another unheralded and diversionary prophecy? Or is it possible that the Mayans were able to tap into the mind of the cosmos to determine the exact date AND that Jose Arguellas was able to interpret the sacred writings with such precision that he really did get it right? If so, it could be a glorious, glorious day indeed!

All I know is that I am here and willing to be a vessel for any changes that are coming whether it happens in the next three months or not. I know that I will gather with like-minded people on that fateful day in ceremony and celebration trusting that the divine always gets it right even though humans sometimes get it wrong. I personally am looking forward to it and know that whatever happens, we’re all gonna be okay.

I should also note that I will be speaking on this subject at length at the Universal Light Expo on the Saturday, October 13th. If you’re in Columbus, Ohio you are welcome to join me. It would be nice to meet you. While we will not be at the booth all day as in previous years, I will be at ULE and willing to meet with any of you who wish to do so. Just call me on my cell at 304-917-6061. I’ll have it with me and will make it a point point to spend some time. Hope to see you then!