It is not our possessions, nor our actions that determine who we are. It is our decisions that make us. And if in this reality, with the divine power of life we have been given which is not defined, the destiny of our life is marked by its transience.

Throughout thousands of years, the traditional Mayan world has preserved the ancestral knowledge. This legend has been transmitted throughout different clans or groups that follow the highest Mayan spirituality – which is where the purity of the ancient wisdom has been maintained. Today we are living in prophetic times. Various prophecies of the Maya as well as other traditions point to these times. This transcendental time is where the changes are manifesting. Humanity needs to see these changes with respect to themselves and towards the whole of the sacred mother earth. We are at the doors of change for the structures of the system that we know both economically and socially, which need to be transformed towards something that is more just and balanced. The Mayan prophecies are a mixture of scientific/technological knowledge based on the sacred Tzolkin calendar and the visionary powers of the Chilanes Balanes (shamans/prophets). To date, all of the prophecies they made have been realized with a high degree of precision. The prophecies are the foundation of the Mayan world, which is based on the sacred calendar. In the Mayan world, this reality exists in the Najt (space-time), and is an infinite spiral in which cycles and events are repeated with a certain correlation to a previous/future time, corresponding to similar events. This is why each person has a sign inside of the cycles of the Winales (period of twenty days). This will mark their destiny regarding events that occur during different periods of their lives. Every human brings a certain energy and purpose to their life.

When a wise one speaks, it is not to convince the incredulous. They do it to guide and awaken the consciousness of those that follow the path towards consciousness. Their words are not only for intellectual debate or for the nourishment of the spirit. In actuality, the spirituality of these prophetic times are not limited to contemplation and meditation. Today spirituality is synonymous with action; and action is every act of your life, in harmony with Mother Nature, and most importantly the harmony within ourselves, and in relation to the way in which we live.
Don Pascual
Wise elder of the Mam Maya

This message begins from being with the elders and Aj’qij’ab (Mayan priests) of the Quiche Maya people on the Cerro Turkaj of Chichicastenango in the highlands of Guatemala on April 9th, 2002, at the start of the celebration for the beginning of the cycle of the sacred Tzolkin, known as the sacred Mayan calendar of 260 days. We received a phone call from a spiritual brother, Dr. Marco Cagastume G., that transmitted the words of the eldest wise one from the town of the Mam, member of the council of the grand confederation of Ajq’ij’ab, wise-ones, elders and Mayan principals. His call was of simple but very strong words. There was a tone of desperation, incredulousness; his strength and desire was to shake us from unconsciousness. He told us, “Enough is enough! Don’t you realize the damage that you are doing to your home? When did you loose your sense of reason? When did you loose the respect for our mother earth?” He would ask, “Why haven’t we taken action towards the implacable destruction we make every day, all the contamination? How is it that you can sleep at night, having this knowledge? Is it that perhaps we don’t feel a responsibility for what is happening? The reality is we do have a responsibility, a very big one. By our permitting a few others who have suspect economic interest to do what they want without our putting a stop to this action, we become equally responsible. Is it not enough to see how the climate has changed? How the earth is contaminated, as well as the air? How the rivers are poisoned, and without mentioning, the oceans as well? Where are our green Mountains? Where did the spiritual guardians run off to? Where will the jaguars, the birds and the flowers inhabit? And the rest of the brothers and sisters that gives joy and balance to life? Why have we let mother earth dry up? And then we become frightened of the floods, the plagues and the earthquakes? All of this, WHY? You know the answer. It seems we only live for the moment. We only live to obtain the material illusions, the uncontrollable consumerism of things that don’t serve us. Things that pacify us, distract us and make us feel as though we are somebody. What to say of the spiritual guides? This call is primarily for them, and for all the beings that are working for the light. Let’s take awareness – it is time to assume the role that they are responsible for. It can all be put into one simple word: UNITY! Let it bring us harmony and a return of consciousness. Harmony with mother earth, respect for each other, respect to our brothers and sisters the animals, towards the plants and most of all, toward ourselves. Ask your grandmother, your grandfather, the elders ? they have the peace and the wisdom, the awareness. Listen to the wind. Hug the ancient trees and ask them. Listen to the river or simply quiet your mind. You will see that the answer, the truth is within yourself, in the depth of your soul ? then you will know that you are a warrior of the light, of the peace, of love and of harmony. And then raise your voice ? without violence, but with strength. All of us united will reconstruct the wonder of life. Please, let’s return to be human beings!”

Today, one year after this phone call, after the prophetic warning, (about the war in Iraq and what this encompasses with this charge of violence and death. In spite of these unfortunate events, there was good fortune that the war began in March rather than April, because there could have been more tragic consequences. Before the start of the war, the visionaries and the prophets had begun to talk) we have received the messenger from Xibalbay, known as the underworld. This has nothing to do with the inferno of other traditions. It is a subterranean world where humanity lived for a long time, after a cataclysm that made it impossible to live upon the surface of the world. There are still some powerful magicians/beings of Xibalbay that live in the depth of this world and they have sent this messenger.

Cablicot is the name of this messenger. Its origin is as ancient as the night of time and has as its companion Camalzotz. Cablicot is the owl with two heads and Camalzotz is the bat with two heads. Today, Cablicot has come and its words are a warning; it is of the prophetic memory for these times during which various prophecies converge, be they from Mayan or other traditions. Because of its own dualistic nature, its words came with the war, like a preamble. This is a special messenger that looks towards the darkness. Its head turns three hundred-sixty degrees. Each of its faces looks with indifference towards the two polarities. Its words bring a call without charge, almost like a recording. Its own essence of polarity is the message.

The Mayan prophecies speak to us of the changes towards the fifth Ajaw (fifth sun), on the famous date of December 21, 2012. This date begins the period of 5,200 years. This is a cycle of wisdom, harmony, peace, love, of consciousness and the return of the natural order. It is not the end of the world as many from outside of the Mayan tradition have misinterpreted it to be. The first cycle (Ajaw/sun) was a feminine energy and its element was fire. The second cycle (Ajaw/sun) was of masculine energy, and its element was earth. The third cycle (Ajaw/sun) was a feminine energy and its element was air. The fourth cycle (Ajaw/sun) is a masculine energy and its element is water. The fifth cycle (Ajaw/sun) will be a fusion of both feminine and masculine energies. It will be a transition where there won’t be any more confrontations between the polarities. It will bring balance and there won’t be hierarchy of one over the other. Both energies will support each other. It is why this period is called one of harmony, the kingdom of love and the return of consciousness. Its element will be the ether. This fifth Ajaw/sun comes with the power of transmutation. To reach this state of supreme harmony, it will be necessary to create the balance of the forces of the light and the dark. This is where the importance of the call of the Mam elder comes into place ? the quest for the unity, the return of the natural order. This call is urgent in the face of the prophetic times in which we are living ? principally for the spiritual guides and conscious people. At this time, we need to unite and create a belt of light that will contrast with the negativity.

Those working with the negativity are clear in their purpose. They are the owners and lovers of the material world. They govern with their power and with the illusions that they create. They have most of humanity half asleep. A human being has become an object for the purpose of production, to generate certain output during their lives. Today, s/he is a number, and object which creates necessities and useless gratifications that fills the void of their unconsciousness. Those working with the negativity are clear in their roles ? they don’t discuss hierarchy, they know who the boss is in the different levels of power and they do their job with precision. The contrary exists in the side of the light. Here there is no idea of hierarchies ? every person goes off on their own, each one with their own ego. They believe they are the owners of the truth, the wisdom and in their egoism scream to the four winds that they are the path of salvation. Many don’t have a sense of what is happening. They have sold the knowledge that has been given to them. One of the gravest situations is that many cults and “new age” movements have emerged. Let it be clear that we are not against their work, but we are suggesting they return to the origin where their techniques came from. Many of them were taken from ancestral traditions ? but only in bits and pieces, not in their entirety. Although it may work for specific aspects, the most essential elements have been left aside – the integral and harmonious development. We know that they are necessary steps for development and are a bridge or a path towards the essence of the great traditions, but it is important to recognize the origin of their techniques and to guide the persons towards the depth of the highest spirituality. The call is for unity, to leave aside all differences, to find respect and tolerance, to create the balance. It is true that when a white magician is born, a dark magician is born as well. The ones that are being born now are not wasting any time and they are clear on their mission.

They prefer to destroy the planet (something which we can not deny nor close our eyes to) before the moment of the fusion arrives, rather than relinquish their position of power as owners of the material world. “We are living in dangerous times, my son” my teacher don Pascual would tell me. “If there is no clarity, if there is no unity, if we do not return to the natural order, if we do not reach harmony amongst ourselves we are condemned as a species to disappear as a result of our own madness.”

This is the call to spread, the cry of hope, of returning to the brothers and sisters to create balance based on consciousness, love, the surrender and above all the clarity that we don’t have time to play around anymore. This is the time of action! When we talk about not having any more time left, I am referring to the prophetic projections of the ancestral science of the Mayan world, and of our own intuitions in conjunction with our work with the visionaries, the diviners. This has given us the message of Cablicot. This makes us see a close future of great danger. This is a cycle that starts in mid August and lasts until mid-December of this year (2003). This period is of instability, destruction and confrontation and natural catastrophes can emerge: droughts, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes ? like we have never before seen ? bringing the consequences of death’s appetite. The most difficult confrontations are with intolerance as well as the economic interests. The most delicate confrontation is of the religious fundamentalists, guided by the negative forces that can provoke great conflicts. This is a tendency, an energy that is gestating, which does not mean that we can not change or minimize it on the level on which we are affected. At this moment, the elders and the shamans of the Mayan world are making fire ceremonies daily, without end, in a manner similar to the Native Americans who are working hard with their own ceremonies. This is true of our brothers the Hopi, the Huichol elders, the powerful Taitas throughout the Amazon, the great wise ones of the eternal snows of the Andes, the Ayamaras, our brothers in the Sierra Nevada, the great Tibetan wise ones and all others that don’t have a visible form. Each one with their own tradition and mystical knowledge and sciences, are working to create this balance that has been denominated “El K’uxaaj Saq’ Be'” – the path of the positive energy / the white path of the good heart. This is where the two poles intersect over the west coast of the American continent, touching the continent’s energetic centers simultaneously reactivating the positive flow of energy.

The call is so that we may all work together ? the elders, the shamans, the wise ones and all of the people that have the awareness in order to change the negative force. It is about reaching all of the people with an urgency, to counteract the events that are juxtaposed to this period of August to December. The elders are making a call for the balance that needs to exist, with the intention of calling all leaders as well as all of the people that have the desire to achieve the balance.

As an immediate action, it is important to meditate at sunset (if this is not possible i.e. work, then as close as possible), placing the focus on harmony, reconnecting with Mother Earth, asking for forgiveness for the damage we have done to her, for our own personal responsibility and for other peoples and institutions that are repeatedly destroying her. Then we can place the intention on sending a message to the negativity to let it know that we are active, that there is an awakening, that there is unity and that we will no longer permit the destruction of mother earth or of humanity and that we are conscious of the importance of this moment and to project to the transition of the date of Dec. 21 2012. For this, it is suggested that you light two candles ? one white, that represent peace, harmony, the positive thought – one red that represents the force, the light, the energy of a new dawn and the action. The reason for doing this at sunset is because this is the time of transition from day into night and it is the moment to create the balance and to send positive energy. As inheritors of an ancient civilization, the Mayan elders make us reflect upon the need and the urgency for creating this path of positive energy. The events of the cycle between August and Dec of this year can be extreme expecting plagues, natural phenomena, (such as hurricanes, earthquakes, drought and floods, overheating and the melting of the glaciers), if we don’t create that strength of peace , harmony and balance with mother earth and between human beings. There is also a possibility of creating a major warlike conflict. Theses cycles have occurred in the past with other humans (civilizations) and also at the end of cycles of the Ajaw, cycles of 5,200 years. We are now at the end of the fourth cycle Ajaw that will end Dec 20, 2012, and the fifth Ajaw enters Dec 21, 2012, a date that is known to be catastrophic by people outside of the Mayan tradition- which in reality marks the beginning of changes in the way we see and live life, focusing more on harmony, the key word for existence in this reality.

FROM DECEMBER 4- TO DECEMBER 7 OF 2003

Inside the charge of these cycles of changes, there are vortexes that open up a space. After the red planet distances its charge, there is a subtle convergence between the cosmic and telluric forces, a time that lasts four days. This openness gives us the opportunity to create the force and balance. It is a sublime space that will allow us access to Jun’ab’ku, heart of the heavens. This is a good time to ask for the internal strength, strength for the community, for the consciousness and to synthesize balance. This is the moment when the strength of all those beings of light, are needed. If possible, it is asked to fast, perhaps on fruit, to remain abstinent for at least four days prior and to do ceremonies at sunrise and sunset. It is important to work from sunup to sunset on both the 4th and the 7th, because this is the opening and the closing. The point of focus is to create the longing desire to awaken the south. Beginning from the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta, to the Amazons, to the mountain range of the eternal snows of the Andes and carry that energy to the most ancient mountains on this part of the world in Cordova, Argentina. The transcendence of this moment is of much importance for our beloved mother, PACHAMAMA. It is also the survival of this “fourth humanity”.

The day of the 4th brings to us the energy of the Nawal Tzikin, the great intermediary between the heaven and the earth. It is the messenger and the eagle-quetzal-condor that will create the unity between the north and the south. This will permit us willingly if we joined our forces together throughout the continent and around the world to awaken the Saq’ Be’, the white path. On this day we focus on the divine messenger that carries our prayers, our feelings and the drumming of our hearts. Let it be that on this day there is only one heartbeat, one sound of drumming calling to the four corners of the universe and at last finding Great Spirit. In the north it is the Eagle, in the center it is the Quetzal and in the south it is the Condor, (the ancestral messengers between the human and the divine). So, lets have just one heartbeat, one fire, a simple ceremony but very majestic. Let’s travel to the sacred places and reclaim the harmony.

The day of the 5th brings to us the energy of the Nawal Ajmaq, the keeper of the sin and forgiveness. This is a day to reflect upon our lives, to be in silence and to go within, to look at the damage we may have caused consciously or unconsciously, to forgive and be forgiven, to forgive ourselves, but most of all to ask forgiveness for the damage we have caused mother earth. We also need to ask for forgiveness for those that destroy without conscience but only for the madness or for riches. This is an internal ceremony we do. The elders will be having their fires and ceremonies, but our connection (be it through ceremony or meditation) will be channeled towards the south to awaken the force and the return of the wisdom of the condor. This is the moment of the return of the kingdom of TIHUANTISUYO, the giant panther. As of now it is called the kingdom of INCARI. As a day of duality, the energy gives way to balance between the polarities, so this is what we need to focus on.

The day of the 6th, brings us the energy of the Nawal No’j. This is the keeper of the wisdom, the harmony, the balance and the understanding, the power of the mind and of the imagination. This is a day to use the energy of the mind to create the power of balance. On this day we need to practice internal peace as well as peace with the community. The polarization based on religious fundamentalism is reaching its unsustainable limits and it depends on beings that are committed to the essence of the real spirituality and the survival of the human race and of mother earth, to help stop this energy. Let’s not forget that this thing we call reality is mental, the “great illusion”, and the one that commands this force is the Nawal No’j. It is recommended to light white candles, to create chains of meditation and raise our words to the heart of the heavens and to the Great Spirit. We need to purify internally and check our own existence so we can do away with that which no longer serves us; to be free of antagonizing forces so we can then create the force that needs to govern now, which is harmony.

The day of the 7th brings us the energy of the Nawal Tijaax. This day is the culmination of this cycle that opens with the intermediary between the earth and the sky, followed by the forgiveness and the sin, then followed by the purification of the mind (creator of all illusions). Tijaax is the double bladed knife. It is the energy that opens up dimensions and the vortex on this day, creating a space extremely subtle and only perceptive to sensitive spirits. To us humans it gives us the opportunity to cut the negativity, to let go of that which holds us back to the vain illusions, to open up our hearts, to awaken and be able to create the balance between the polarities. We need to ask for all the spiritual guides, so they can leave behind their personal importance, so they may know how to guide us without competition and to be united and so they may not forget they are not the keepers of the truth. Each and every one of us brings a force and internal power and that all the truths are part of one manifestation of reality and this is how we’ll be able to face the changes we are about to encounter. This will allow us to reach the date of Dec. 21, 2012, with much harmony. This is the purpose of Tzacol, the planet being alive, to then be able to transcend to the 5th Ajaw.

THE YEAR 2007

As of February or maybe sooner, according to the sacred books, the sacred Tzi’te and the projections of the wise visionaries, this seems to be an extremely delicate year. Again this has to do with us reaching peace and harmony. As of now the economies can start to deteriorate, we can see that it is based on an illusion. We have seen the real value of things have disappeared many years ago. Today the economic value, money as we know it, is an electronic fantasy and if the socio-economic systems doesn’t return to being human and to the real value, the actual system is condemned to extinction. This is the unconsciousness, the senseless race in the world that continues without stopping, without going anywhere. It is escapism to live an experience in such an accelerated manner. The fear of destruction and the instant gratifications we experience on a daily basis either help us to carry out our existence or to live alienated.

This year will be hard and bring us natural disasters, warlike confrontations and disaster in the world economy. Like with all prophecies and visions of the future, there is the ability to minimize things and in some cases even change them. Although this year is of much concern, we must focus on the present which is where we will define the balance. The period of now to the end of 2007 is of much importance to maintain the balance. We will be living in a very dangerous time that this humanity has not lived before. It is within each and every one of us to reach balance and change. The focus must be on the energy that got stuck in Panama, which, because of the canal, didn’t allow the energy to reach south. This is where the work will be the most revealing, which doesn’t consist only of these four days. It is urgent to activate the base of the spinal cord of the continent of the mountain range of the Andes and the ancient mountains of Cordova. To bring on the change and as the wise Mam elder said: “PLEASE LET’S RETURN TO BEING HUMANS!”

Carlos Barrios is a Mayan Ajq’ij, who originates from and resides in Guatemala. Carlos has been given the mission by his elders to begin sharing the prophecies and teachings of the Mayan peoples with the rest of the world. Carlos travels internationally to share these teachings and to generate awareness and support for the rescue and preservation of the ancient Mayan tradition in his homeland. Carlos is also the author of “Kam Wuj: El Libro del Destino”, and out of print book on the astrology and prophecies of the Mayan peoples. Carlos is presently working on a revised edition which is to be translated to English.

Saq’ Be’: Organization for Mayan and Indigenous Spiritual Studies is a non profit organization based in New Mexico, US. Saq’ Be’ works to bring people, especially young adults, together with ancient traditions for the purpose of cultural and spiritual preservation and to open the doors of opportunity for those traditions to share their teachings with the rest of the world. Preservation programs include Radio broadcast capacity for the Native community in Chichicastenango, Guatemala and support for filmed documentation efforts of elders and guides of the Mayan tradition. Meetings programs include trips to Native communities in Guatemala (next trip is for the Mayan New Year, June, 2004) and arranging for travel and teachings for the keepers of this ancient wisdom to the US and abroad. More information can be found at: http://sacredroad.org, or by email at: saqbe[at]sacredroad[dot]org.

Birds are dropping from the hot tarnished sky onto the congested streets of Mexico City. Treetop nests empty of baby birds plunging to their deaths as chainsaws and bulldozers terrorize the Amazon Rainforest trailblazing an insatiable path to feed the hunger for oil and fast food beef. When the World Trade Center was hit, thousands of birds fell to the ground, their wings burned off and their bodies still on fire joining the other trapped spirits in debris that extended for blocks.

Indigenous peoples throughout the world recognize birds as our spiritual messengers and as our relatives through clanships and stories. Occupying the world that links the Earth and sky, birds tell us what our lives have become and of our destiny. Just as the miner’s canary indicates the shift from fresh air to poisoned gas, so does the array of signs we have witnessed over the decades from the birds, other living things, as well as from ourselves. 9-11 was a human event with repercussions for the rest of the world. The messengers are dying. As an indicator species, the birds warn us that all of life is threatened by the terror perpetuated on the Natural World by unrestrained human voracity.

The events of 9-11 occurred during a time of World Renewal among the tribal communities of northwestern California, my husband’s people, who belong to a land rich in ancient redwood forests and cool, salmon filled rivers. Each year, with woodpecker red headrolls, the echo of songs, and the vibration of continued focused thought and movement, the world is realigned and made new again. Here they say that your behavior – – thoughts, actions and character – – during this time of ceremony, when the world is being fixed and re-made, determines how life will be for the coming year. Rash decisions and violence should not occur. Relationships are reaffirmed, not broken. Not abiding by these principles may not impact you personally, but may visit those you love. Spiritual justice. Probably because of this timing, my impression of “ground zero” where the World Trade Center was hit and the resulting actions is set within this metaphysical backdrop. So that I imagine the devastation of “ground zero” is something like standing in the middle of a clearcut where 1000-year-old families of trees used to live and support a vibrant ecosystem. Now it is a place consumed by violence. The bodies of the dead are unrecoverable, crushed under the debris.

As a pueblo Indian whose people are of the desert southwest, it is even easier to imagine “ground zero” as an open pit mine similar to the one run by Peabody at Black Mesa in Arizona, with massive gaping holes leaking out the Earth’s energy and from where pristine water is used to slurry coal hundreds of miles away, further draining a fragile area of a precious life resource. Perhaps it is more a reminder of the uranium mines that left sores, and cancer all over Acoma and Laguna pueblos and surrounding communities. Maybe that bleeding hole in the Earth is more like what the coal strip mine slated by the Phoenix-based Salt River Project for our sacred Zuni Salt Lake would look like if allowed to go forward. Salt Lake, where our Salt Mother dwells, is a cherished site rich in stories and a rainbow of memories for Zuni people and for so many other desert tribes reliant on the gifts of that sacred place for physical and cultural viability, but some others hunger for the coal underneath.

Indigenous peoples of the Americas live on intimate terms with the shadow of terrorism.
It has fed on us with a ravenous appetite for our peoples and lands for centuries. It is a shapeshifter, taking the form of the Scorched Earth policy that rips apart Maya communities and that war which has lain to waste over 60 million of the buffalo people on the Great Plains during Westward Expansion, and 3000 more bison since 1995. There was that same hunger for blood in Montana where the Gros Ventre sacred Little Rocky Mountain was scraped red, down to the Earth by Pegasus Goldmine’s cyanide heap leach method, leaving only a pile of rubble where a mountain once stood. And, we know of this violence in the forced sterilization that thousands of Native women have survived. We recognize signs of terrorism in the mutilated bodies at Sand Creek and Indian Island, and on the blood-soaked snow at Wounded Knee. The vampire was there in the boarding schools where Indian children as young as four were raped and tortured, laced inside by barbed wire and fear, their mouths bleeding from being scrubbed with wire brushes when they spoke their tribal languages, and those who fled for home, their dark eyes vacant.

Terrorism is nothing new and it did not begin at the World Trade Center on 9-11. Through the lens of time and in the collective consciousness of peoples on every continent are the memories of the disappeared, the displaced and the dismembered. Terrorism has long been perpetuated in the name of God, Gross National Product, and globalization and such destruction continues unrelenting against the Natural World and each other every day. In the essence of our being Pueblo people can easily remember Onate, Coronado and De Guzman. Salmon from the Columbia River near the Hanford Nuclear Facility are covered in tumors and glow in the dark. The School of the Americas trains killers in Georgia. The Vatican put a telescope on Mt. Graham, a sacred site. An Afro-American man is dragged to his death in Jasper, Texas.

Considering this urgent social and environmental crisis, flags should be hanging half-mast and upside down.

Let this not be a war against memory. Whether it is drilling for oil in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge or in U’wa territory in Colombia, dumping toxic waste in Yucca Mountain, the strip mining of a sacred salt lake, or bombing Hiroshima, Nevada or Kabul, it is clear the birds have been reminding us that the world is out of balance. What was once a lush world is becoming a dry landscape, which only tears soften now. We can refer to the deaths at Camp Mauthausen or Manzanar, lynchings at Mankato, or the desecration of Medicine Lake, all in the same breath because the impetus of their destruction is the same and the results are so similar.

The rain burns. Whole plant, animal and human societies have vanished and others continue to be threatened with extinction at an ever-increasing rate. Terrorism is nothing new. This is not a time to celebrate violence in the name of patriotism but a time to mourn and act with compassion and vision for our collective survival. A third of the world’s birds are threatened with extinction due to habitat depletion, pollution, corporate invasion and other human threats. And birds in Afghanistan are dropping dead from the burning sky.
Tia Oros c. 2001

Tia Oros (Zuni) serves as the program director of the Seventh Generation Fund, an Indigenous peoples’ nonprofit organization.

They can be reached at:

Seventh Generation Fund

PO Box 4569

Arcata, CA 95518
www.7genfund.org

 

In April, 2003 we sat down with Mayan Ajq’ij Carlos Barrios in New Mexico for a question and answer session. The questions come from you, the Saq’ Be’ audience. This videotaped session was trasncribed with the help of Juliet Calabi and is very elucidating in the way Carlos helps to explain many aspects of the Mayan tradition and prophecies for this time.

In Steve McFadden’s article you are quoted as saying “a possible war in Iraq between November 2002 and March 2003 would be bad, but war between April and November of 2003 would be catastrophic.” The question is what factor in the timing difference would cause bad to turn to catastrophic?

That is because the elders made projections in the spiral of space and time, and they saw that if the war began before March of this year, the possibilities of something more catastrophic happening were not that great because the energies were really down. It wasn’t an aggressive time and there wasn?t alot of energy and not a lot of opposition. The work in that moment could be done more quickly and peacefully and not many people would die. If it started at a later time it would last longer and more people would die, and the people would become more conscious about what is really happening in the world. The importance of this is that the energy after April is an energy of confrontation, of violence. In March/April it is dangerous, but this is not as important as what could come in the months between 16th of August to 15th of December, 2003. This is a real moment of possible disaster, of catastrophe. War happening during this period would have serious repercussions for humanity.

We need to know that Mayan people, Mayan elders do not conceive of time and space as separate entities. We call it najt– one word meaning space and time. It’s like a spiral and we can check, we can make a projection in this spiral because history repeats itself in a period of time. In these times, humanity is in real danger. It’s not just the war. It’s epidemics, it’s mother earth who is going to make disasters, like hurricanes, earthquakes. For all the Mayans, for the elders, this is a moment for reflection. It’s a moment to say to humanity that we need to change the consciousness of the people, because the people who are in the dark side are clear about what they need to do. The people who work for the light are not together. For the elders the message for this moment is to call everybody to unity. All the people must work not just for peace, but to create a consciousness, in harmony, first with themselves, then with others, and of course with mother earth, mother nature, because we are destroying mother earth and nobody gives importance to this destruction.

What?s going to happen on this famous date of the 21st of December 2012 is not the end of humanity. It is the beginning of the Fifth Sun and that means also the fifth element. It’s going to happen that there is a fusion of polarities. The people of darkness are not interested in losing the power that they have at this time, and they would prefer to destroy humanity or even the entire planet like a being. They prefer to destroy this than go to the fusion created by ether, the new element arriving to this reality. The change won?t happen exactly on this day because it’s not changed like a flash of light. It will take years, but this is the awareness, this is the moment of peace, of real understanding, of comprehension, and tolerance, and all humanity can live really in harmony. That’s what the elders are saying, especially to the people who are at the forefront of the different religions and traditions or all these new age people who are working. They call to all these people to go into the real traditions, the deeper traditions, the oldest tradition which has not just a part of the knowledge, but all the knowledge to transform into wisdom.

Is there a relevance in the fact that we are moving into 20:13 cycle in 2013 the Mayan numbers, and do the Mayan teachers see a return to the 13 month cycle following the moon? And the third part is I would like to hear how the Mayan calendar can be used as a tool for personal transformation and development of the resurrection soul.

The sacred Mayan calendar is a cycle of 260 days and this calendar comes from the elders. Thousands of years ago they saw into the najt that this reality is the convergence of twenty different energies. Ten come from the cosmos and ten come from the telluric energy of the mother earth. This convergence makes this thing we call najt, space and time. What we call reality exists in the najt. The cycles of 20 and 13 are about this time. Of course we don’t pretend all of humanity uses this kind of calendar. This is a calendar we need to learn, because it’s a calendar which is in relationship with our energy. Each day of these 20 different energies has a special charge -positive and negative- which has an essential meaning. For example, there is a day for the law, a day for art, there is a day for the development of our consciousness, of our mind. All the relationships of the 260 days have a specialty, and it’s important to us to know what we are- what is our destiny, what is our purpose of life, and what we can move in ourselves with the different energies of each day. This is the purpose of the sacred Mayan calendar that we call Tzolkin or Cholq’ij. Of course, when the time arrives, at the end of this cycle of 5,200 years (which ends on this date of 21st of December 2012) it’s the beginning of the change, and of course all humanity is going to use the energies. They are going to learn to move themselves to work with their own energy in relation to the cosmic and telluric energy, and this relationship is what the elders are trying to share with humanity. We just need to say that this is important The elders are interested in the people going into the traditional calendars in the right way because there are now people making their own calendars with other influences from Chinese astrology or other things. And this is not the tradition of this special calendar of the energies.

There is talk that the Mayan calendar has become out of alignment with the Gregorian calendar and that the end date is actually at the end of 2003. There is also another question that says that there’s been some controversy and some of the dates have been compared to when the great cycle is prophesied to end and that that date is actually moving earlier and earlier. Can you respond to these questions?

Ok, for the answer we need to know something about the different Mayan calendars. There are 20 different Mayan calendars. One of these one is cosmic. Another is galactic. Another has the faces of Venus, but in essence there is a calendar which is called the Long Count. This calendar is for 5,200 years, with 360 days each year. This calendar doesn’t have a mistake because the Mayan people never lost count of the days. What happened is the Gregorian calendar needed to make a lot of corrections, and this happened with the Pope Gregorio in 1200 A.D. something. He understood that it was not correct and it affected agriculture, and he ordered some people to make the corrections. Before this calendar was the Julian calendar. This calendar came from Roman times, and of course, this also had many mistakes. What happened with the Gregorian and Julian is not our problem. We know our dates. We know we are in the exact count and Mayans have the most perfect calendar of all the races, of all the civilizations, because we just need to add one day each 260,000 years. That’s the most amazing and incredible calendar, and we don’t have a mistake. The mistake is in the other calendars. And the story someone told about this time (that the date is incorrect) is because they aren’t using the real Mayan calendar. They are based in the Gregorian and the Julian. For us there is not a problem. We just take the base of the day exactly when the Long Count is finished for these times- the date of 21st of December of 2012- and there is not a mistake for us. The mistake is for the people who relate it to the Gregorian, but we are clear. We never lost our count. Ok?

I would be honored if you could please tell us more about the spirit of the white jaguar and what the Mayan prophesies say of the signs of white jaguar and what they mean in these times.

Ok, to understand the energy of the jaguars that we call Balaneb it’s necessary to know it’s not just one jaguar who is working because there are four human divinities that we call the Balaneb. The first one is in orientation to the east and this is the jaguar of the red race. It’s the jaguar that we call Balam Quitze and it’s the guardian of the fire. The second is in orientation to the west and the name is Balam Aq’ab, and it’s the guardian of the element earth. The third one is Majakutaj Balam. This is the white jaguar, or Balam, and he is the guardian of the white race and the guardian of the element air. The fourth one is Iq’i Balam. This is the guardian of the yellow race and this is the guardian of the element water. The four Balaneb arrived to the earth. They said they came from the Pleiades. They are like humans and they made civilization for the actual humanity. They went to the four corners of the world and they civilized all the people. So the importance of the white jaguar, or Majakutaj Balam, is that he is the one who makes our mind grow and he’s the guardian and the owner of the wind and that’s to make us clean. We can clean our mind, our body and he can make our spirit grow. The importance of this is because people are putting a lot of attention just on knowledge and they don’t transform it into wisdom.

The prophesy says this moment is the time of Iq’i Balam, the jaguar of the water. When they came he didn’t have his own children, but the sons of Balaam Quitze took the place of this divinity. But they say for these times, these prophetical times in the 12 Baktun, 13 Ahau, is the time when the sons of Iq’i Balam are coming to the Mayan world. And they say that their sons come from the four corners of the world. That’s the reason why most of the spiritual people in the humanity are interested now in the Mayan world.

So it’s important, too, to know that the year 2012, December 21st, is announced the arrival of the fifth Balam, who is Rax Balam, and this is the one who comes with the energy of peace, of love, of understanding, and this is the awareness of the fifth element, of the new humanity. They have no race- it’s the union of all the races.

What happened to the culture? We went to Mayan Indian villages and saw Mayan Indians, so why don’t they worship at the old temples any more? What happened?

During the invasion, when the conquerors arrived to America, (America, the continent,) when they arrived to the Mayan world they began to destroy all the temples and they persecuted and they killed the kings, the Mayan priests and what they needed to do was to have a low profile. They went to the church and they used the different saints and they matched them to their own divinities. Of course, it’s the western people who dominated, and they are the owners of everything in the Mayan countries like Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras. So the ones who have the power and have the access of the sacred places, the sacred temples are the governments of these countries as well as the anthropologists? institutes. They are the one who administer the sacred places. In Guatemala it?s easier than in other countries- easy in terms of if the Mayan priests go and ask for permission to make a ceremony, the government doesn’t create many obstacles because when they signed the peace agreement (ending a 36 year civil war in 1996) this is one of the regulations which is in the deal of the peace. But we Mayan people don’t have access to make temples because we don’t have the money. The money is in other hands. But that’s not meaning the tradition doesn’t work because it’s not the temples which were made by the ancient people that are the most important. In reality the most important are the natural altars which are in alignment with the cosmos and the mother earth. And in these altars, of course, there are ceremonies all the time, from thousands and thousands of years ago.

What training does one go through to be considered a Mayan priest?

People use the terminology of “Mayan priest” but this is a comparison because it is easier to understand for western people. In reality, the real name is Ajq’ij , which means the lord or the senor who has the relationship with the Father Sun in the culture of the Father Sun. There are two or three different ways. One is by the tradition of clans which exists as a heritage in families that carry the tradition and give birth to new Ajq’ij who are then prepared for the profession. The other way is when the elders make the symbol, the Mayan chart, for the person and they can see in the chart this person has the power to be an Ajq’ij. Some people have the power but don’t need to develop this power, but there are others who have an obligation. And the third way is when the elders know someone and there are signals. For example, they saw a rainbow or some bird flew around the person or some snake came, or different manifestations with animals of power, or just the elder has a vision that this is a power person or a medicine man or Mayan priest who can go into the tradition. That’s the three ways to know if someone has the power. Of course before going into the tradition the elders present these people to the sacred fire because the fire is the one to receive and accept these people or say no.

You were going to speak about the training also?

When the person is received by the fire, they need to learn about the Mayan calendar. They need to develop this internal power and that means working with the different altars when they visit and they make ceremony for the people who receive the power and they develop this internal power and they need to know how to be noticed. They learn about the sacred pouch of Tzi’te which is the oldest kind of divination of humanity. This is with the use of the famous sacred red beans which we call Tzi’te, and, of course, with the obsidians and the quartz. The story is people are preordained to be our medicine people, to be our healers, to be our diviners -the different professions which are possible to the Mayan Ajq’ij. That takes years for training and preparation. It’s not easy because of what we call the Toj, but in other traditions is called karma. It is to be accelerated and the people learn by themselves. But it’s the elder who sees when the disciple is ready to go out to humanity and that depends on the intention of the person, on the character and the development of their attention. It depends too on the surrender of the people into the mission they have.

Are there prophesies that go beyond 2012?

Yes, the most important prophesies are the prophesies of the cycles of Tiku and the other important prophesies are about the big cycle of the Long Count; the prophesies for this time of Cablicot, which is duality, the polarity which is going to have a fusion in the year 2012, 21 of December. But the prophesies go beyond these years because it is not like you turn on the light and the light is arriving on this day ;it is just the beginning and needs more than 13 years for its accommodation. In reality, it’s 52 years more from 2012- when the time of peace, the time of harmony is coming. But there are a lot more revelations for these times. It?s not only about peace, it?s a proposal to human beings to work together with mother earth, to go to a transition. The prophesy of the Rax Balam – the jaguar of blue-green is arriving in 2012, but that year is the beginning of the change and the new energy which will be working. Some people say this is purple or violet, but the reality is the mixing of the blue, green and baby blue. There are a lot more prophesies: there are prophesies for the cycles from Tiku because the cycles don’t end- it will be in a new dimension and more subtle, but confrontations will still happen in another way, more spiritual confrontations, not with the density of this moment, but there are more confrontations. It’s a storminess that’s unavoidable with the polarities and the coming of the fusion. And there are more, there are a lot of things, so we can talk.

Oh, I’m going to talk about the quartz skull prophesy because it?s important. Of course, of the prophesies of this awareness in humanity, one of the most important is the prophesy of the quartz schools. It is necessary that there be the union of no less than 52 quartz skulls which are going to develop all the information that is inside this quartz skull but for humanity it’s better if we can find the 260 by going to a sacred lake which is in the United States. When they are together each one of these has a hologram of information. And altogether it’s going to make possible the technology for rebuilding the mother earth and for realigning human beings. There are more prophesies because there will be a time when men and women, the male and female energy, are going to have a fusion and we will come back to be hermaphrodites but this will be in thousands and thousands more years?so there are a lot of prophesies.

Why have the Mayan people and elders decided to begin sharing their knowledge at this time?

This is the time of the prophesies. This is the time people need to know what is the purpose of their own lives. This is a dangerous time because we can go to the next step, to the transition, to the fusion of the polarities or it is a time when we can be destroyed. This materialistic way of life, all this business about economic and social position in the world, it needs to change and the people need to go inside themselves in order to know what they are and to find harmony with the mother earth, with human beings, with their brothers, with the animals, with the plants. It’s an important time because we are in the moment of the prophesies and humanity can be destroyed or we can be saved, all together. Of course, it’s the ancient traditions like the Mayan, like the Tibetan, like the Hindu, and the other traditions who preserved for thousands of years the real purpose, the real power, the real knowledge, not just the Mayan traditions are open in this moment. Many the ancient traditions are open and they are calling to humanity, to the unity, to come to learn because the elders need to share, because they know that this is a special moment we are living. We need more people to come to the side of the light to create a balance because the other side they are too strong and we need to create a balance because if not, we are going to be destroyed. And of course, this is an important moment for each one by himself to develop his internal power and the Mayan tradition has it’s own technology, like the other ones. Some people have a certain vibration and they like to go to the saints, to go the Tibetan people, or Hindus, but some people like to go into the Mayan tradition because it’s in harmony with the mother earth and with all the energies. The Mayans are something old, but it’s something new- it is an awareness- and the people are really interested. The elders are ready to open and they are teaching around the world and they are expecting many people, because the sons of Iq?i Balam who are all of humanity are arriving into my country and they are beginning to learn about the real Mayan tradition.

Carlos Barrios is a Mayan Ajq’ij, who originates from and resides in Guatemala. Carlos has been given the mission by his elders to begin sharing the prophecies and teachings of the Mayan peoples with the rest of the world. Carlos travels internationally to share these teachings and to generate awareness and support for the rescue and preservation of the ancient Mayan tradition in his homeland. Carlos is also the author of Kam Wuj: El Libro del Destino, and out of print book on the astrology and prophecies of the Mayan peoples. Carlos is presently working on a revised edition which is to be translated to English.

Saq’ Be’: Organization for Mayan and Indigenous Spiritual Studies is a non profit organization based in New Mexico, US. Saq’ Be’ works to bring people, especially young adults, together with ancient traditions for the purpose of cultural and spiritual preservation and to open the doors of opportunity for those traditions to share their teachings with the rest of the world. Preservation programs include Radio broadcast capacity for the Native community in Chichicastenango, Guatemala and support for filmed documentation efforts of elders and guides of the Mayan tradition. Meetings programs include trips to Native communities in Guatemala (next trip is for the Mayan New Year, June, 2004) and arranging for travel and teachings for the keepers of this ancient wisdom to the US and abroad. More information can be found at: http://sacredroad.org, or by email at: saqbe[at]sacredroad[dot]org.

 

Messages from the Mayan Milieu:

Steven McFadden ©2002 http://www.chiron-communications.com/

In early Autumn 2002, Carlos Barrios journeyed North from his home in Guatemala to the Eastern edge of the Four Corners. In Santa Fe, NM, at the tail of the Rocky Mountains, Mr. Barrios spoke in a knowledgeable manner about the Mayan tradition and the fabled Mayan calendars.

The Mayan calendars are an object of intense interest for many thousands of people right now, because they focus upon the watershed date of Dec. 21, 2012. Everything changes by then, it is said.

With a cultural heritage including thousands of pyramids and temples, and a calendar that has proven itself to be astronomically accurate over millions of years, the Maya tradition is widely considered to be a mystic key to the soul of Turtle Island (North America).

In public talks and in a private interview, Mr. Barrios laid out his account of the history and future of the Americas, and the larger world, based on his understanding of the Mayan tradition as both an anthropologist and an initiate. He spoke also about the path he sees ahead from now until the Winter Solstice of 2012.

The range of teachings and insights offered by Mr. Barrios must be considered in the context of the realpolitik of his American homeland. The Maya of Guatemala, their pyramids, and their calendar have endured not in a new-age Shambhala of love and light, but in a milieu of treachery, beatings, torture, rape, and mass murder.

Decades of DarknessFor 30 long years right-wing Guatemalan governments supported both overtly and covertly by the US government waged a terrorist war against the people of the land, murdering over 200,000 citizens, many of them indigenous Mayan people.

When the war finally wound down in the 1990s, the United Nations Truth Commission conducted an 18-month investigation.* The UN found massive violations of human rights by the government of Guatemala with the complicity of the US government. The UN report stated that acts of “aggressive, racist and extremely cruel” violence descended to the level of genocide directed against the country’s indigenous Mayan population.

When Amnesty International studied the Guatemalan situation in recent years, they came to an arresting conclusion. They wrote that real peace could come only through confronting Guatemala’s “Corporate Mafia State.”* They described this corporate Mafia state as an “unholy alliance” of certain national and international economic actors, who work alongside sectors of the police and military and common criminals to control black� industries such as drugs, arms trafficking, money laundering, car theft rings, illegal adoptions, and kidnapping for ransom.”

About the great dark shadow that has hung over the south-most part of Turtle Island, Mr. Barrios observes: “These injustices began five hundred years ago and continue to this very day in all the Americas. The Indian Wars have never ended…I think the power holders in the developed world see it as necessary to destroy the indigenous peoples, or at least to destroy their culture, because they are not consumers.� The American Dream is built on the back of the Third World…But that is a false distinction for there is no Third World. There is only one world. We are all part of that one world, and we are all due respect.”

While Guatemala has ostensibly been at peace for the last eight years, it is a disturbed peace. The war continues to have a residual impact on the people. Human rights violations still occur regularly, and even international human-rights monitors have been under threat.

Still, in the view of Mr. Barrios who came of age during the war, there have been improvements. “There are no armed guerrillas, and the police and army are more decent, more respectful,” he observed. “Because there is more human respect now, we can try to find a new life.”

One eventual consequence of Guatemala�s long-enduring climate of terrorism, has been mistrust and criticism. From this few are immune. Accusations are often aimed at people who purport to speak of the Mayan traditions. Mr. Barrios is enmeshed in this matrix of uncertainty. He criticizes others, and he is criticized himself.

The World will Not EndCarlos 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 stelas 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 CalendarsMayan 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 day-keepers who study the calendars identified an important day in the year One Reed, Ce Acatal, as it was called by the Mexica. 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 Day-keepers 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 AheadFrom 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. One critical period is October and November 2002. If the banks crash in these months 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 FusionAs he met with audiences in Santa Fe, 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 HistoryMr. 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 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 can turn. Amazing things are going to happen.

One simple but effective prayer technique is to light a white or baby-blue colored candle. Think a moment in peace. Speak your intention to the flame and send the light of it on to the leaders who have the power to make war or peace.

We Have Work to DoAccording 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 leaving Santa Fe. “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.”

 

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Carlos Barrios is the author of the Spanish book, Kam Wuj: El Libro Del Destino. Carlos is in the process of having the book translated and published in English. Carlos can be contacted via Saq’ Be’: Organization for Mayan and Indigenous Spiritual Studies at: saqbe[at]sacredroad[dot]org, 505.466.4044; P.O. Box 31111, Santa Fe, NM 87594. Saq’ Be’ is a US based non-profit organization operated by young adults to bring young adults and others together with ancient traditions for cultural preservation and to foster a deeper spiritual, ecological and communal awareness so as to plant the seeds for a more harmonious future; www.SacredRoad.org.

*For background see these reports:

UN Truth Commission Report on Guatemala http://www.icomm.ca/carecen/page36.html

Guatemala: Twenty Years Crying for Justice http://web.amnesty.org/ai.nsf/Index/AMR340182002?OpenDocument&of=COUNTRIESGUATEMALA

Guatemala’s Lethal Legacy: Past Impunity and Renewed Human Rights Violations http://web.amnesty.org/ai.nsf/recent/AMR340012002

General resource for information on the Mayan calendar http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_3.htm#top

General resources for information on 2012 http://www.diagnosis2012.co.uk 
http://www.greatdreams.com/2012.htm