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The Complete Idiot's Guide to 2012
The final countdown?On December 21, 2012, the Mayan calendar will complete its thirteenth cycle. According to the Mayan belief system, the world will end. And if you don't believe the Mayans, you can check in with The Bible Code, The Nostradamus Code, or The Orion Prophecy, all of which predict planet-wide doom. Then again, maybe the year 2012 is just a new opportunity. Could 2012 bring us good things instead of bad? This book gives readers a look at what the Mayan prophecy is all about, what it means to them, and much more.*Addresses Mayan predictions about global warming and climate change*Includes a glossary of terms and symbols, resources for a changing world, and exercises to assist the reader in their journey*The existence of almost 600,000 websites on 2012 indicates a huge fascination with this subject
- GenresNew Age
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 7, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
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March 2, 2011I'm reading this for an IRL book club. The book was chosen before I joined. Please don't judge me.
October 23, 2011
Bottom line up front: Very informative book that covers many more topics and facets than expected. The 2012 point - it's not "the end of the world", rather, it's the time period when one "cycle" ends and another cycle begins. Highly recommended if you are interested at all in the Mayan calendar system, astrological cycles, earth events, ancient American history, or philosophy about "earth periods" and 2012.
More details: I found this book while perusing a local Borders out-of-business sale. Got to the sale late and this was one of the few books left! Not surprisingly, there were quite a few of them in the stack. I've always looked at the 2012 topic as one of those "societal filters". In other words, a large portion of society blows it off, a smaller portion has lukewarm interest in learning more or thinks there *may* be something to it, and an even smaller group actually has open-minded interest and would like to be more educated about it, taking action to do so. That's just the way it is, and I am fine with people among each of those groups. I just find I have more interesting discussions with people in the later group. ;)
I've been wanting to learn more about the 2012 topic for a while, so the book caught my eye. As I read the book flap I was pleased to see some of the expertise/background of the wife-husband author team, and that the focus of much of the book was on the Mayan calendar system (as if the cover image didn't give that away). I didn't think I could lose, especially for the price, so I picked it up. I'm glad I did.
Things that I knew a little bit about I learned more about. I also learned many things that I had not known at all, some of which were particularly fascinating to me.
The book starts off with a treatment of ancient American history. Several groups and summaries of their histories are presented, including the Maya, Aztec, Olmec, Zapotec, Teotihuacanos, and Toltec. As part of the historical review, the Spanish conquest is summarized. There are details in this section I hadn't caught before, including how long it actually took the Spanish to conquer the Maya (much longer than you think!).
The book then moves into the Maya world view. Fascinating stuff here, including discussions about topics such as the Mayan concept of "K'ul" (life energy, spirit, etc.) and how everything is connected in the universe. Other topics are presented such as Mayan holy books, mythology, beliefs around cycles and time periods, and so on. This section of the book continues into a detailed discussion of the Mayan mathematical system and how numbers are tied to spiritual qualities. These concepts were combined in the construction of Mayan villages and cities, where each building was aligned mathematically and astrologically. Amazing stuff.
Then we get into the "meat" of the 2012 discussion as the book takes the reader through a detailed review of the Mayan calendar system. There are actually many Mayan calendars, each representing a different cycle size (from a daily calendar system to a calendar that represents time periods that span thousands of years). Each calendar fits alongside the others like cogs in a machine. My big take-away here: the ancient Maya knew more about how cycles connect than we do, and their tracking of time periods has only been exceeded in accuracy by recent computers. Incredible to consider, when thinking about how long ago they devised their systems!
The book then heads into a discussion of Mayan prophecy and how the Maya use astrological cycles and events to predict earth events. This too has been accurate at an uncanny level and speaks to the connectivity between everything.
The authors get into a LOT more - too much to review with you here - but some of the topics include a review of other prophecies from different peoples/belief systems, present day views from Mayan Elders and others, a look at the signs visible today that support Mayan calendar events/prophecies, how "energy centers" in the earth are activating in time with the cycle predictions, what we've seen already and what to expect as possible future events before/after 2012, and so on.
One of the coolest surprises for me was a discussion on crop circles. I found this unexpected (how do crop circles relate to Mayan prophecies or calendars?!). I didn't realize when I picked up the book that Colin Andrews, the husband in the author duo, is the world's recognized expert on crop circles. I also didn't realize that the symbols displayed in the crop circles are Mayan symbols. And yes, they talk about the fact that some circles have been found to be human-made, but most are natural events (believe it or not) and are tied to magnetic fields that are highly concentrated in those areas (and readable by modern instruments). Yours to take as you will.
Those offended by New Age thinking may want to skip some chapters, as the author duo discuss some of this at various points of the book. In the "New Age Viewpoints" section of the book, for example, the authors present information about psychics, channelers, intuitives, remote viewing, and so on. The point (at least as I took it) is not to "sell" the reader on these activities, but to point out that in some instances the messages being received are the same as what we find in more traditional or religious sources such as the Bible or even computer algorithms/pattern matching/prediction. A side note for the skeptic - did you realize that the US government has a Remote Viewing department that is used regularly as part of covert intelligence operations?
A refreshing aspect of this book, for me, was that Synthia and Colin Andrews present historical fact as fact, but anything that could be something else (e.g. conjecture, opinion, myth, etc.) is presented as such. It is up to the reader to determine the validity of certain topics or aspects of discussion. I felt as though a couple of people who have studied these topics for years were simply presenting their discoveries to me, and it was up to me how to receive them. I was not being "sold" to. That's appreciated, especially when discussing topics some find to be a little bit on the edge.
The net result of everything pointed to in the book is that 2012 is a time of change. Unlike popular belief (or Hollywood, as the case may be) 2012 did not mark the end of the world to the Maya. Rather, it is an end to one of the earth cycles, leading into another cycle when things will be renewed, new discoveries made, etc. Great "changes" are indeed part of the prophecies, but these changes are cyclical and have occurred (according to the Maya) over and over again through the millennia of the earth's existence. We are at the precipice of another, and it's up to us what that means.
More details: I found this book while perusing a local Borders out-of-business sale. Got to the sale late and this was one of the few books left! Not surprisingly, there were quite a few of them in the stack. I've always looked at the 2012 topic as one of those "societal filters". In other words, a large portion of society blows it off, a smaller portion has lukewarm interest in learning more or thinks there *may* be something to it, and an even smaller group actually has open-minded interest and would like to be more educated about it, taking action to do so. That's just the way it is, and I am fine with people among each of those groups. I just find I have more interesting discussions with people in the later group. ;)
I've been wanting to learn more about the 2012 topic for a while, so the book caught my eye. As I read the book flap I was pleased to see some of the expertise/background of the wife-husband author team, and that the focus of much of the book was on the Mayan calendar system (as if the cover image didn't give that away). I didn't think I could lose, especially for the price, so I picked it up. I'm glad I did.
Things that I knew a little bit about I learned more about. I also learned many things that I had not known at all, some of which were particularly fascinating to me.
The book starts off with a treatment of ancient American history. Several groups and summaries of their histories are presented, including the Maya, Aztec, Olmec, Zapotec, Teotihuacanos, and Toltec. As part of the historical review, the Spanish conquest is summarized. There are details in this section I hadn't caught before, including how long it actually took the Spanish to conquer the Maya (much longer than you think!).
The book then moves into the Maya world view. Fascinating stuff here, including discussions about topics such as the Mayan concept of "K'ul" (life energy, spirit, etc.) and how everything is connected in the universe. Other topics are presented such as Mayan holy books, mythology, beliefs around cycles and time periods, and so on. This section of the book continues into a detailed discussion of the Mayan mathematical system and how numbers are tied to spiritual qualities. These concepts were combined in the construction of Mayan villages and cities, where each building was aligned mathematically and astrologically. Amazing stuff.
Then we get into the "meat" of the 2012 discussion as the book takes the reader through a detailed review of the Mayan calendar system. There are actually many Mayan calendars, each representing a different cycle size (from a daily calendar system to a calendar that represents time periods that span thousands of years). Each calendar fits alongside the others like cogs in a machine. My big take-away here: the ancient Maya knew more about how cycles connect than we do, and their tracking of time periods has only been exceeded in accuracy by recent computers. Incredible to consider, when thinking about how long ago they devised their systems!
The book then heads into a discussion of Mayan prophecy and how the Maya use astrological cycles and events to predict earth events. This too has been accurate at an uncanny level and speaks to the connectivity between everything.
The authors get into a LOT more - too much to review with you here - but some of the topics include a review of other prophecies from different peoples/belief systems, present day views from Mayan Elders and others, a look at the signs visible today that support Mayan calendar events/prophecies, how "energy centers" in the earth are activating in time with the cycle predictions, what we've seen already and what to expect as possible future events before/after 2012, and so on.
One of the coolest surprises for me was a discussion on crop circles. I found this unexpected (how do crop circles relate to Mayan prophecies or calendars?!). I didn't realize when I picked up the book that Colin Andrews, the husband in the author duo, is the world's recognized expert on crop circles. I also didn't realize that the symbols displayed in the crop circles are Mayan symbols. And yes, they talk about the fact that some circles have been found to be human-made, but most are natural events (believe it or not) and are tied to magnetic fields that are highly concentrated in those areas (and readable by modern instruments). Yours to take as you will.
Those offended by New Age thinking may want to skip some chapters, as the author duo discuss some of this at various points of the book. In the "New Age Viewpoints" section of the book, for example, the authors present information about psychics, channelers, intuitives, remote viewing, and so on. The point (at least as I took it) is not to "sell" the reader on these activities, but to point out that in some instances the messages being received are the same as what we find in more traditional or religious sources such as the Bible or even computer algorithms/pattern matching/prediction. A side note for the skeptic - did you realize that the US government has a Remote Viewing department that is used regularly as part of covert intelligence operations?
A refreshing aspect of this book, for me, was that Synthia and Colin Andrews present historical fact as fact, but anything that could be something else (e.g. conjecture, opinion, myth, etc.) is presented as such. It is up to the reader to determine the validity of certain topics or aspects of discussion. I felt as though a couple of people who have studied these topics for years were simply presenting their discoveries to me, and it was up to me how to receive them. I was not being "sold" to. That's appreciated, especially when discussing topics some find to be a little bit on the edge.
The net result of everything pointed to in the book is that 2012 is a time of change. Unlike popular belief (or Hollywood, as the case may be) 2012 did not mark the end of the world to the Maya. Rather, it is an end to one of the earth cycles, leading into another cycle when things will be renewed, new discoveries made, etc. Great "changes" are indeed part of the prophecies, but these changes are cyclical and have occurred (according to the Maya) over and over again through the millennia of the earth's existence. We are at the precipice of another, and it's up to us what that means.
August 11, 2010
Before reading this book I knew very little about prophecies associated with the year 2012. I just wanted to find out "what the fuss is all about". I certainly didn't expect that by reading this book I would become a believer. But, surprisingly, that's what happened. The amazing thing about the 2012 prophecies is that much of what was predicted has been (and is being) supported by modern science and mathematics. Much of 2012 prophecy is credible, even to critical thinkers and skeptics. I gained a lot of useful scientific and historical knowledge by reading this book. I was shocked by how much knowledge the ancient Mayans had regarding natural and astronomical cycles, properties of time/space, the planet, and the galaxy. Their unique "calendar" is literally a miracle that cannot be explained by rational means (assuming that it is irrational to believe in supernatural beings that give knowledge to humans). I now look forward to the year 2012 with great interest (and dread). This book contains important information that is relevant to all living people. It is unwise to be ignorant about this topic at this point in history.
March 25, 2009
Ok, I didn't read the entire book. More skimmed or perused it. Could be some catalysmic changes happening that year, or not according to the Mayans and other various prophesies, but they thought the same about the year 1000, the year 1666, and recently with Y2K. I learned that Edgar Caycee predicted that California should have fallen into the ocean before the year 2000. I remember recently thinking that to myself- that Calfornia might someday be in the ocean and I wanted to see as much of it as possible before it disappeared. Now I know where I probably got that idea from. I don't think anyone -including the Mayans- know when Christ is going to come again or the world will end as we know it, or if and when California will ever cease to be (or when our own lives will end). But it is nevertheless good to be prepared as if it could happen tomorrow.
October 31, 2010
I visited Chichen Itza and was amazed at how advanced the Mayan civiliation was. Ever since, I read anything I can find on Mayan culture. If you are like me, or even just interested in history, you definitely want to check this book out. While the text covering the Mayna calendar was a little to intense for me, it is still an information piece. If you are end times doomsdayer, you will be shocked to learn that the Mayan Elders, who are often not consulted or refuse interviews, don't view 2012 as the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 13, 2008
I must be a step beyond 'idiot' because I had a hard time following most of this book.
I did find a few new things to be concerned about, like photon belts, some dreadful disease that makes unnatural fibers come out from under your skin and a random humming underneath some city in England.
Beyond that, eh. I'm stocking up on duct tape, peanut butter and water filters. I can survive a long time with that stuff!
I did find a few new things to be concerned about, like photon belts, some dreadful disease that makes unnatural fibers come out from under your skin and a random humming underneath some city in England.
Beyond that, eh. I'm stocking up on duct tape, peanut butter and water filters. I can survive a long time with that stuff!
July 22, 2009
This was on the "NEW BOOKS" shelf. Made for interesting, if off-beat thought. Great if you're into gloom and doom. Many theories and hypotheses are presented,but lots of focus on the Mayan Long Calendar which, they feel, signals the end of our time in 2012. That's all the farther the Mayan long calendar goes. Of course, the calendar that I have hanging on the wall (from my parish church) ends on December 31, 2009. Take it from there...
March 19, 2010
This is a good overview of the whole 2012 "potential" from a fairly unbiased couple of authors. They discuss a lot of different angles and point out what pieces are theory (most of it) and what pieces are fact. It's an interesting read, and I was glad to be reading it on my Kindle so that I could look up some of the words easily :-) All in all, it confirmed what I figured... Be aware, be prepared, but think positively. It may actually make a difference.
April 21, 2012
I found this book very, very intriguing and enlightening. This book is not a bunch of exaggerations and doomsday predictions that shouldn't be taken too seriously; it's informational, factual, and incredibly fascinating.
Of course, it is slightly biased; it's evident the authors really buy into this stuff. However, the bias isn't overwhelming, and they do their best to use information to back up their claims, so I didn't pay it much mind.
Of course, it is slightly biased; it's evident the authors really buy into this stuff. However, the bias isn't overwhelming, and they do their best to use information to back up their claims, so I didn't pay it much mind.
September 6, 2012
Very informative and unbiased in any particular direction about the possible 'end of the world'. This book just laid out all of the history surrounding the Mayan beliefs for 2012 and other scientific and historic views on this topic, including astronomy, the earth, culture, etc. Also gave some great advice for survival kits and such. Loved this book and wish that everyone could read it. And, no, I do not think the world will end in Dec. 2012.. (well, I hope not)
November 26, 2011
Very good and very thorough. I really enjoyed the information presented. The only tone of the book was a little more dire than I choose to believe will happen but I respect the authors point of view.
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May 15, 2009currently reading
January 20, 2010
Will a lot of crap happen in 2012? Probably. Does it match the Mayan calendar? Maybe. Is all of the crap self-inflicted by the stupidity of the human race? Most definitely.
July 29, 2010
Interesting...comprehensive...a good place to start if wanting to introduce oneself to a broad spectrum of topics related to the possible Mayan approach to time/space.
March 13, 2011
Fascination. Very easy to read and understand. Great way to learn complicated subjects. Scary above the predictions of the Mayan Indians.
March 2, 2013
I found this book interesting, readable and unbiased, giving a variety of views. I thought some of the astronomical science was inaccurate or poorly explained.
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April 2, 2014LOL. Don't judge me. =)
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March 17, 2015dagvadLKJHASDF LJHadf hsadf hsd jfgl
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November 13, 2008In preparation for Doomsday...
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