Blog

LOVE NEVER DIES–JUST ASK A SPIRIT

For the full text of this published article, go to:

http://www.llewellyn.com/journal/article/2238

IS 2012 THE END OF THE WORLD OR JUST A POP CULTURE APOCALYPSE?

 Some people are actually panicking about 2012. For years many have heard rumors that this is the end of the world. Actually, rumors about the end of the world have been going of for centuries.

The Hindus believe that the end of the world is merely part of the eternal cycle of creation, sustenance and death/destruction. When one world ends another will be created in its place. This may be why in the east few people are concerned about the end of time since they believe it is only part of the cycle of eternity.

The Roman Emperor Caligula was a mentally unbalanced 24 year old with the power of life and death over everyone in the Roman Empire. He once remarked during the beheading of one of his alleged enemies, “I wish all Rome had just one neck!” Needless to say for many in the Empire, the end of the world for them depended on what type of mood Caligula was in that day.

Norse mythology actually has an end of the world “myth,” In that scenario, the evil Frost Giants escape from their frozen prison to attack Valhalla, the very home of the Norse gods themselves. Despite a valiant battle the world ends and the gods go down fighting. Very Viking, but so far no sightings of Frost Giants have been reported. “Phew!”

The Vatican claimed the world would end in the year 1000 A.D. Just last week, Pope Benedict XVI made a speech on television and held Christmas Mass, so it looks like the Vatican was wrong a thousand years ago.

Puritans, who were asked to leave England so they could come to the New World to practice their fanaticism without interference from the British Crown, were in love with the end of the world. In the 1640’s many of them confessed and openly proclaimed they were ready for God to come down from Heaven and judge them. Of course, they believed they were  going to be judged fit  for Heaven and everyone else was going to Hell.

Ironically, it is the New World where this modern obsession with the pop culture apocalypse arises. Unknowingly, the Mayans created a framework for people who would come centuries after their demise would panic about an end to all things. However, that assumes that the people generating this Pop Culture Apocalypse actually know what they’re talking about.

The Mayan calendar is based on what archaeologists call  “ The Long Count.” The Long Count began during the creation episode in Mayan mythology. The first day of The Long Count is what the Mayans referred to as Day Zero and that was August 11, 3114 B.C. Mayan time frames were based on the “baktun” which is a period of 400 years.

A “kin” is 1 day, an “uinal” is 20 kins (one Mayan month), a “tun” is 360 days (Mayan year), a “katun” is 20 Mayan years (7,200 days) and a “baktun” is 20 katuns (400 years/144,000 days).

The Mayan system of time keeping was solar based which is why the winter solstice (December 21 in most cases) is the starting point. According to Mayan history expert Professor Russell Colgate, “Though the Maya believed that successive creations were cyclic, there is no clear evidence of what they thought would happen on December 21, 2012.”

So the date the Mayan calendar returns to Day Zero is when 13 baktuns has passed and that will be December 21 (or possibly 22) of 2012. Then a new cycle of Mayan time keeping begins and it will be another 5,000 plus years before the Zero Day is reached again. Think of it this way, is it the end of your car when the odometer rolls over?

Basically the Mayan culture was tied to agriculture, thus the emphasis on the Winter Solstice as a starting point to gauge when to plant crops.  They were also gifted with superb mathematicians and astronomers who created a very elaborate system of tracking time. But as far as claiming the world was coming to the end—the Mayans weren’t really interested in that, much less did they foretell its coming.

Not too scary huh?

Mark Anthony

www.NeverLettingGo.com

In my new book, Never Letting Go, I explain how the objective of healing from loss is to “Let go of the sorrow, but hold on to the love.” This means releasing the emotional pain caused by the death, but never letting go of the love for the person who died.

In both my careers as an attorney and as a psychic medium, I’ve seen many lives haunted by regret for not being able to say “I’m sorry” to a deceased loved one.

Conversely, holding anger and regret is like drinking a bitter poison and expecting the other person to die. When that person is already dead, then you’re the one being poisoned. Only forgiveness can relieve you of the bitterness of regret.

In a recent reading I conducted for Marlene, the spirit of her mother Beverly came through.

Beverly, who had been an alcoholic, showed me sad memories from her life. Both mother and daughter shed many tears during Marlene’s childhood. Beverly died of liver disease when Marlene was only fourteen years old, leaving behind an emotionally-scarred child, who was now the attractive and sophisticated woman sitting before me.

“Your mother regrets all the pain she caused,” I conveyed.

“She should,” Marlene replied.

“She feels your anger,” I explained.

Marlene’s eyes locked on mine. “Do you know what it’s like having an alcoholic mother? Forgetting to pick me up after school. Embarrassing me in front of my friends. No dinner on the table—she always had plenty of booze though!”

“She’s showing me a sweet orange fruit—a tangerine,” I described.

Marlene was astonished, “Every Christmas there was a tangerine in my stocking—from Santa.”

“The tangerine is important,” I continued.

Fighting tears Marlene said, “One Christmas Eve—I was six—Dad and I got back from Church—I was so excited Santa was coming…”

“Tell me,” I knew this was crucial.

“Mom was passed out drunk on the floor—next to a bag of tangerines—that’s how I learned there was no Santa Claus.”

Tears flowed from Marlene’s eyes. “I’m mad at her for drinking herself to death—and I‘m guilt-ridden with regret for feeling that way. She was a good person—I know she didn’t really mean any of it.”

“Your mother was a good person; she suffered from depression. She regrets hurting you,” I delivered the message.

“Mom I forgive you! Please forgive me!” Marlene cried out.

“She forgives you—and thanks you for forgiving her—and for what you still do with tangerines,” I conveyed.

“She does?” Marlene’s lit up with joy. “Every Christmas I put tangerines in my children’s and grandchildren’s stockings—I’m so happy she knows this! I love you Mom!”

Beverly’s forgiveness was Heaven-sent, just as Marlene’s forgiveness was sent to Heaven. Both of them healed a bit that day by cleansing the bitterness of regret with the sweet flavor of forgiveness—which for Beverly and Marlene tasted like tangerine.

Our thanks to Mark for his guest post! For more from Mark Anthony, read his article “Love Never Dies—Just Ask a Spirit.”

We all know that Christmas is a time to acknowledge the birth of Jesus, and we all know that Jesus taught about the eternal nature of life.

However, we place many decorations in our homes and offices and think they are simply happy reminders of the Christmas season. What you may not realize is that most, if not all of these decorations have deeply mystical and symbolic roots, all of which relate to the message of eternal life.

HOLLY WREATH: The circle or ring shape is symbolic of eternal life, because a circle has no beginning or end. The ancient Druids are the first society in known history to have worn sprigs of holly and mistletoe. They believed holly, with its glossy, shiny prickly leaves of green adorned with red berries, remained green all year due to their magical properties. The Druids considered Holly sacred. Many speculate the holly berries have given us our green and red colors of Christmas.

Combining the symbolism of the wreath with the believed magical powers of Holly, the Romans exchanged Holly Wreaths as gifts. Once Christianity took hold inRome, Holly Wreaths became Christmas Wreaths as part of popular holiday decorations.

In the 16th century, the word “Holly” appeared in writing for the first time, used by Shakespeare. By the 17th century, holly had become a grander part of Christmas celebrations, the Christmas Wreath, and holiday decorations once again. The shape of the wreath symbolized the crown of thorns put atop the head of Jesus Christ, as well as the resurrection and eternal life. The red berries symbolized the blood of Christ.  Holly and Christmas Wreaths came to stand for peace, joy, and contentment.

To add color to Christmas Wreaths, colonists used pomegranates and other colorful fruits. Pomegranates, in particular, indicated wealth. The colonists celebrated the Christmas season for 12 consecutive days (this is where we get the “12 Days of Christmas”). At the end of the 12th day, on January 5th, the homeowners took down their Christmas Wreaths and other holiday decorations. They removed the fruit and added them to the holiday feast, enjoying the bounty of summer in the heart of winter.