Astral: (Theosophy) Consisting of, belonging to, or designating, a kind of supersensible substance alleged to be next above the tangible world in refinement; as, astral spirits; astral bodies of persons; astral current.
Rare Message from the Medium
25 December 2012
Well, the Mayan Apocalypse has come and gone and now I have a new reference to use when I am explaining the term “anticlimactic” to my students. Those of us here in the Humanities Sciences might use our inquisitive nature to ask “What went wrong?” (or perhaps "what went right" if we consider continued existence a good thing.) Much discussion has revolved around the Mayan calendar cycle. Although many scholars had explained the philosophical view of the Mayan people regarding life’s cycles, the disaster view is the one that went viral. Local poet Paul Nelson touched upon this in his commentary, quoting Evo Morales, the President of Bolivia and an “indigenous man,” in his speech to the UN General Assembly:
And I would like to say that according to the Mayan calendar the 21 of December is the end of the non-time and the beginning of time. It is the end of the Macha and the beginning of the Pacha, the end of selfishness and the beginning of brotherhood, it is the end of individualism and the beginning of collectivism – 21 of December this year. The scientists know very well that this marks the end of an anthropocentric life and the beginning of a bio-centric life. It is the end of hatred and the beginning of love, the end of lies and beginning of truth. It is the end of sadness and the beginning of happiness, it is the end of division and the beginning of unity, and this is a theme to be developed. That is why we invite all of you, those of you who bet on mankind, we invite those who want to share their experiences for the benefit of mankind.
Nelson prefaces his commentary by noting how people tend to filter life events and other cultures through their own cultural lenses. In this country what Nelson refers to as “the muscle of their media empires” propagates this distorted view in an Orwellian kaleidoscope of significance and insignificance. Thus, theater audiences flock to see movies such as 2012 and even Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. Regardless of how much evidence there is to the contrary, it seems we like the “don’t confuse me with facts; my mind is made up” perspective.
Here is the link to Paul Nelson’s blog entry with further discussion on his part:
Reviewing all this here at Christmas time reminds me of a letter the Seattle Times published 15 years ago regarding this celebration time and how circumstances may have been altered through different cultural filters over time:
I remember reading Mad Magazine back in the 1960’s and one issue had a cartoon showing three houses during the holiday season. The houses on both ends were decorated with festive lights outside and people were having loud parties inside, obviously thoroughly enjoying themselves. The house in the middle had no outside decorations and through the window viewers could see a family sitting together and reading from a sacred text. Two people were standing on the sidewalk and one turned to the other while indicating the house in the middle commenting, “I guess they must not be very religious.”
Of course that was around 50 years ago, but when the local media is encouraging people to send in photos of light displays in neighborhoods so the community can vote on the “best” display …..
Hopefully, the Mayans were right in the aspect of the changing of the nature of the age.
Walter Lowe
Astral Facts is a somewhat regular presentation of Humanities Science, produced in the bowels of the Humanities Science offices during the academic year.
