The Mayan Calendar, after many thousands of years of accuracy, is believed to come to an end on December 21, 2012. Speculation of apocalyptic events and cataclysm will doubtlessly escalate between now and the end date.My previous post about the so-called New Survivalism reminds me that so much of our day-to-day experience is influenced by beliefs, recollections and emotions, even those that are extremely deep seated in the depths of our minds. We all know people who are natural optimists and other people who meet every new event and concept with fear and trepidation.
Reading about the growing number of mainstream Americans who see harbingers of apocalypse in global warming, the stock market, housing slumps and gas prices, I recall something Barbara Hand Clow wrote in her 2001 book Catastrophobia: The Truth Behind Earth Changes. Her premise - shared by a growing number of scientists - is that Earth suffered an enormous cataclysm in the Late Pleistocene era about 11,500 years ago. She believes the archetypal memory of that event lingers in our subconscious, and triggers apocalyptic fears in people when they learn about situations of potential catastrophic enormity, such as Y2K and the like.
Here's what she wrote:
"Many of us are inflicted with catastrophobia, an intense fear of catastrophies. This causes individuals and society to think of the future in terms of a coming potential disaster; thus, most people do not care for Earth and its inhabitants, which includes themselves and their families.
"Crippled by collective fear from the past earth changes - the racial memory of this geological paroxysm - our surface minds are filled with floating images of disaster, guilt and suffering. We project these painful thoughts out of our inner minds, which creates a coming apocalypse as a self-fulfilling prophey. However, it already happened! Because few people know this, our attention is riveted when preachers and New Age prophets make predictions that sound true because they resonate with these disassociated inner images."
Coming to grips with these deep-seated fears and racial memories will prove even more important in the next few years, as we approach 2012 and are certain to be reminded time and again that the final day on the ancient Mayan calendar is December 21, 2012, which CNN will undoubtedly say is the day YOU will probably DIE.
Reading about the growing number of mainstream Americans who see harbingers of apocalypse in global warming, the stock market, housing slumps and gas prices, I recall something Barbara Hand Clow wrote in her 2001 book Catastrophobia: The Truth Behind Earth Changes. Her premise - shared by a growing number of scientists - is that Earth suffered an enormous cataclysm in the Late Pleistocene era about 11,500 years ago. She believes the archetypal memory of that event lingers in our subconscious, and triggers apocalyptic fears in people when they learn about situations of potential catastrophic enormity, such as Y2K and the like.
Here's what she wrote:
"Many of us are inflicted with catastrophobia, an intense fear of catastrophies. This causes individuals and society to think of the future in terms of a coming potential disaster; thus, most people do not care for Earth and its inhabitants, which includes themselves and their families.
"Crippled by collective fear from the past earth changes - the racial memory of this geological paroxysm - our surface minds are filled with floating images of disaster, guilt and suffering. We project these painful thoughts out of our inner minds, which creates a coming apocalypse as a self-fulfilling prophey. However, it already happened! Because few people know this, our attention is riveted when preachers and New Age prophets make predictions that sound true because they resonate with these disassociated inner images."
Coming to grips with these deep-seated fears and racial memories will prove even more important in the next few years, as we approach 2012 and are certain to be reminded time and again that the final day on the ancient Mayan calendar is December 21, 2012, which CNN will undoubtedly say is the day YOU will probably DIE.
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