By Carlos Barrios

Carlos Barrios was born into a Spanish family on El Altiplano, the highlands of Chile. His home was in Huehue tenango, 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 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 Mayan Calendars 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
Mayans. 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, .

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 Ahead:  

From 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.

….A Call for Fusion:  
As he met with audiences in Santa Fe, Mr. Barrios told a story about the
most recent Mayan New Year ceremonies in . He said that one respected
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
History."

Mr. 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
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 the 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 have 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.

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 Do."

According 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,"
…  . "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."

Carlos Barrios is author of  The Book of Destiny: Unlocking the Secrets of the Ancient Mayans and the Prophecy of 2012

SKY SHOW TONIGHT  
PERSEID METEOR SHOWER:  The annual Perseid meteor shower is underway.
Earth is passing through a wide stream of debris from Comet
Swift-Tuttle, and each time a fleck of comet dust hits Earth’s
atmosphere–flash!–there is a meteor.  Forecasters say the shower will
peak on Thursday, August 12th, and Friday, August 13th.  You can see
Perseids flitting across the sky at any time between about 10 pm on
Thursday evening and sunrise on Friday morning. Observers who get away
from city lights can expect to count dozens of meteors per hour,
especially during the dark hours before dawn. Tune into
http://spaceweather.com for full coverage of the shower, including a
live meteor radar, a "fireball cam," updated meteor counts and pictures
from around the world.  BONUS:  If you go outside a little early on
Thursday evening, around sunset, you’ll see a beautiful gathering of
planets in the sunset sky–Venus, Mars, Saturn and the crescent Moon. 
It’s a nice way to start a meteor watch.