BEYOND 2012 THE BEGINNING OF THE END

OF EGO CONSCIOUSNESS

MAURICE LAVENANT

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BEYOND 2012: THE BEGINNING OF THE END

OF EGO CONSCIOUSNESS

by

MAURICE LAVENANT

© 2008 – Maurice Lavenant – Including Artwork – All Rights Reserved

He whose vision cannot cover History’s three thousand years, Must in outer darkness hover, Live within the day’s frontiers.

Goethe - Westöstlicher Diwan

As long as we are not assured of immortality, we shall never be fulfilled, we shall go on hating each other in spite of our need for mutual Love.

Eugene Ionesco

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BEYOND 2012: THE BEGINNING OF THE END

OF EGO CONSCIOUSNESS

Introduction The year 2012 currently generates much interest as evidenced by a Google search that yields a return of some 2,230,000 pages exclusively dedicated to this subject matter. Indeed, the imminent end of the current long count of the Mayan calendar seems to be a convenient hook for much speculation in some circles. However, while this can be seen as the end of a cycle generating much concern, it can equally be understood as the beginning of a new one, pregnant with fresh possibilities. Before engaging in any form of speculation, anyone interested in cosmological cycles might first want to get a clear idea of what will actually take place, if anything, on the winter solstice of 2012. So, let’s first turn our attention to some astronomical data.

“The Galactic Alignment is the alignment of the December solstice Sun with the Galactic equator. This alignment occurs as a result of the precession of the equinoxes. Precession is caused by the earth wobbling very slowly on its axis and shifts the position of the equinoxes and solstices one degree every 71.5 years. Because the Sun is

one-half of a degree wide, it will take the December solstice Sun 36 years to move through the Galactic equator. The precise alignment of the solstice point (the precise center-point of the body of the Sun as viewed from earth) with the Galactic equator was calculated to occur in 1998 (Jean Meeus, Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, 1997). Thus, the Galactic

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Alignment zone is 1998 +/- 18 years = 1980 - 2016. This is era 2012. This Galactic Alignment occurs only once every 26,000 years, and was what the ancient Maya were pointing to with the 2012 end-date of their Long Count calendar”(1). From this explanation by John Major Jenkins, we can already conclude with some degree of certainty that we are not dealing with some sort of event happening on a precise date but rather, with a gradual shift occurring during a fairly extended time period. This is not altogether surprising considering the long time span covered by the Mayan calendar. To confirm this notion, we can look back to August 3114 B.C when the current long count of the Mayan calendar is supposed to have started and we can see that no notable event took place either on this day or during a period spanning before or after this date (2). It is well worth noting that if the forthcoming end of the current Long Count of the Mayan calendar appears to coincide with a real astronomical situation, the beginning of this cycle does not seem to be marked by any cosmological event that I have been able to identify; yet, something happened (3). Perhaps a reasonably accurate perspective of what might have taken place for humanity can be gained by using the framework of transpersonal psychology that informs us of the emergence of ego consciousness, c. 3000 B.C (4). Although this birth was not marked by any meaningful event, it is nonetheless a very significant step in the overall process of human evolution. This process is not altogether easy to grasp for most of us, given the large timescale needed for it to unfold when compared with our relatively short lifespan. Indeed, I am not sure if it can ever be conceptualised although there are some convincing attempts offering fairly good descriptions. Whether readers will agree or disagree with any of these representations will depend entirely on their own notions of the human evolutionary process. My own research and inclinations have led me to an overall agreement with transpersonal psychologist Ken Wilber’s model that I will therefore use as a reference. According to Wilber, the general process of human evolution seems to involve a movement from sub-consciousness to self-consciousness to super-consciousness. However, on its long quest for a fusion with Atman, the impersonal Supreme or super-consciousness, humanity has no other

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option but to invent substitutes every step of the way. The function of these substitutes is to alleviate the fundamental existential fear of death-Thanatos and to further life-Eros, thereby giving the temporary illusion of eternal life. These translation symbols will function adequately for some time but, being only translations of Atman and not Atman itself, they eventually fail and force a transformation of consciousness. New translations are then created that will operate until they eventually also fail, leading to further transformations and so on, until a true fusion with Atman is achieved. Thus, like any organic growth, this process is neither smooth nor linear but appears instead to run in successive crises during which humanity experiences phases of precarious equilibrium while it is shifting from one level of consciousness to the next (5).

The Great Year: A 26, 000 Year Cycle As pointed out in the quote by John Major Jenkins, we are now at the end of a 26,000 year period circumscribed by the cyclical return of the winter solstice Sun crossing the galactic equator. The dawn of this long cycle was marked by several important changes.

Firstly, there were some notable changes affecting our genus. The extinction of the Neanderthal people is thought to have begun gradually about 30,000 years ago in most places, except in the Iberian peninsula where the species is believed to have survived for another 5 to 10,000 years (6). The exact cause for their disappearance is still unknown and the reason for much debate. It is important to note that the only other surviving member of the Homo genus co-habiting with our species became totally extinct roughly as

this cycle began. Also, our own species is thought to have emerged about 130,000 years ago, but what are termed the “Anatomically Modern Humans” did not appear until after the beginning of the cycle we are concerned with (7, 8).

Another significant fact emerging from the anthropological records seems to be the beginning of mathematics. Dated to around 20,000-18,000 B.C, the Ishango bone is an

artefact thought to provide early evidence of counting related to both the duration of menstruation and the lunar month (9). If this is a correct

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understanding of the function of this man-made object, it would be very important, as it shows the early stages of a crucial change in consciousness for humankind, as we shall see in what follows. Around this time, it seems that the last glaciation reached a climax after which the earth climate began to warm up (10). This is very significant, as it enabled the beginning of agriculture around 12,000 BCE, at about the midpoint of the cycle. Although this might seem like a benign development from our current point of view, farming triggered the most prodigious mutation in consciousness that had yet appeared (11). As humankind began to farm, a new concept of time had to be invented. Prior to the invention of agriculture, humans were nomadic hunter-gatherers. As such, their way of repelling Thanatos and furthering Eros was simply to be successful in their daily quest for food. Immortality for the hunter-gatherer was simply to live until tomorrow. The success of the hunt was tentatively ensured by means of magical rituals believed to have operated favourably on the environment. Thus, the hunter-gatherer lived in a permanent present and life was experienced as a succession of biological and instinctual impulses seeking immediate gratification. The emergence of farming implies that time became extended into the future since farmers have to invest strenuous efforts during the spring and wait for several months to harvest their reward. Thus, the gratification of biological and instinctual impulses had to be delayed while their energy was channelled into new processes. Obviously, one of these processes included the practice of mentally projecting oneself and one’s activities into the future which represented a feat that cannot be underestimated. As farming was relatively complex and required temporal planning, it also promoted the full emergence of language. Mental constructs, such as planning, found a vehicle in increasingly complex linguistic forms because language is a means to transcend the present. Language was also necessary to co-ordinate present and future tasks between individuals so, it became at once increasingly rich in vocabulary as well as tensed to reflect the new perception of time. Whereas hunter-gatherers typically lived in groups rarely exceeding thirty individuals, the appearance of farming necessitated and allowed

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for fairly large cities (of 5 to 10,000 people) to come into existence as evidenced by the Çatalhöyük site in Anatolia, for example (12, 13). Such large gathering of people necessitated new means of control to regulate their interactions which resulted in further postponement and sublimation of biological impulses, animal gratifications and sexual-emotional discharges in favour of temporal and mental processes. Thus, if hunting supported the body-self, farming supported the emerging mental-self implying an increased ability to reproduce not only physically (food- 1st chakra - archaic-ouroboric consciousness) and biologically (sex - 2nd chakra - magical-typhonic consciousness) but also culturally (mind - 3rd chakra - mythic-membership consciousness). To sum up, the translation symbols of immortality encapsulated in simple moment-to-moment survival ensured by the daily hunting and magical rituals of the hunter-gatherers were no longer sufficient to contain consciousness. In other words, translations were beginning to fail and a transformation occurred. Humanity surrendered the immediate gratifications of the hunter-gatherer in favour of the delayed satisfactions of farming because it created a future into which existence could be projected and death would be wishfully avoided. The structure of the mythic-membership period gradually evolved to produce all of the essential elements necessary for the next level to emerge: a farming consciousness, the state, rank, money, war, kingship, mathematics, writing, the calendar and a proto-subjectivity in consciousness. Social and cultural life became increasingly complex to a point where mythic-membership consciousness was simply too rigid to handle it adequately. So, towards the end of this period, the translation symbols began to fail: the instinctual responses, the magical rituals, the traditions and the goods accumulated by however much skilful methods of farming were no longer sufficient to keep Thanatos at bay. Transformations towards a new substitute self and new translation symbols were again necessary to re-establish Eros as the winner of the existential conflict.

Mayan Calendar, Kali Yuga and the Solar Ego The beginning of this cycle (the long count of the Mayan calendar is approximately 5,125 years) is marked by several important clues. The first evidence is found in the appearance of the worship of the Sun that is

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believed to have started in Egypt c. 3000 B.C, at the time of the establishment of the first pharaoh dynasty (14, 15). The second comes from Hinduism that postulates the beginning of the Kali Yuga around the same date. In Wilber’s own words: “The ego is perched midway between total slumber in the subconscious and total enlightenment into the super-conscious, and for this reason alone it is the most distressful period of all: the Kali Yuga which, incidentally, is said to have begun around 3000 B.C at about the time of the breakdown of the membership structure and the emergence of the ego” (4). Indeed, astrology also came into existence around the third millennium B.C (16). Let’s now take a look at the horoscope calculated for the beginning of the current Long Count of the Mayan calendar, arbitrarily set for the Mayan site of Palenque - Mexico (2). Although it might be ambitious to try and define an era as large as that with a single horoscope, we are presented here with a chart that seems to fit rather well with the general issues that characterized that period. The most relevant elements of the chart are the triple Pluto-Uranus-Moon conjunction in Capricorn in a fairly

tight opposition with a Cancer Sun both squaring Mars in Libra as well as

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a grand watery trine joining Neptune in Scorpio, Jupiter in Pisces and a wide Venus-Mercury conjunction in Cancer. The t-square can easily be related to ego consciousness and to power management since it involves the Sun, Mars and Pluto, which are traditionally associated with these topics. The presence of Uranus tends to raise the possibility of a radical change in consciousness and also introduces the notion of power derived from an increased use of technologies. The squares between Pluto-Uranus and Mars and between the latter and the Sun evoke an image of a poorly managed assertiveness resulting in frequent conflicts between individuals as well as nations. Meanwhile, the Pluto-Uranus opposition with the Cancer Sun signals a new type of consciousness emerging through an ongoing power-based relationship with the biosphere (Cancer - 4th house issues); through the new challenges inherent in the management of natural resources and of people (Capricorn - 10th house issues) derived from this relationship; and through an ongoing confrontation with the various effects of such relationships, requiring constant readjustments (opposition aspect) thus, promoting further growth in consciousness. This t-square being in Cardinal signs seems to add weight to the notion that this horoscope is related to significant new beginnings and new impulses for humanity. The grand water trine conceivably evokes the spiritual and religious motivations that frequently tinted the visions inspiring humankind during this period. It is perhaps of relevance that seminal spiritual/religious masters initiating major religions (Gautama, Jesus and Mohamed) supposedly lived during the current Long Count of the Mayan calendar. Although equally important spiritual/religious individuals existed prior to this era, it is clear that their influence has greatly declined and that their teachings have not given rise to religions still widely practised today. Hinduism offers an example of a major religion whose origins pre-date the current Mayan era. It differs from more recent religious forms in that it is not inspired by a single individual but mostly by the avatars of various gods and by various gurus (17). This is patently different from religious movements initiated since the beginning of the Mayan calendar mostly centred on single, masculine individuals which is consistent with the emerging ego consciousness. Of course, there are some exceptions to this, such as Judaism that is centred on interpretations of the Torah; but

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with only 13.2 million followers (0.23% of humanity) it is not particularly representative. Together, the power-driven t-square and the spiritually oriented grand trine form a fairly lethal tandem that found a means of expression through the numerous religiously motivated conflicts that have littered the last five thousand years. The next horoscope is calculated for the beginning of the Kali Yuga as it is associated with our current era and it eerily coincides with the

beginning of the Mayan calendar (18). A most striking and highly significant component is the exact Neptune-Uranus waxing square containing all the planets of this peculiar horoscope. The general meaning of squares can be readily identified by understanding the relationship between the spring equinox (0º Aries) and the summer solstice (0º Cancer) that represents the archetypal square, as it were. At the summer solstice, the northwards motion of the Sun (in declination) stops and begins to reverse southwards on the western horizon. The dominant Yang (individual) force has reached a

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maximum and now begins to wane in favour of the Yin (collective) force. Thus, a square represents a turning point requiring decisions and reorientation. Consequently, a square also tests our capacity and willingness to discard old forms in favour of new ones, as these are essential ingredients to any successful reorientation; any failure to do so means that the same issues will have to be rehashed over and over again until a final purging takes place. The meaning of the Neptune-Uranus waxing square is crystallised around spiritual and religious issues, as indicated by the signs and planets involved. Neptune in Sagittarius squaring Uranus in Pisces evokes the image of a radical departure from previous religious cultural patterns. It signals a time of spiritual reorientation, running through periodic crises, encapsulated in the emergence of new religious doctrines and dogmas. This is consistent with the observations made about the grand water trine of the previous horoscope albeit expressed differently here. Although this configuration has a strong spiritual component, dogmatism is emphasised by the Sagittarian trend. In fact, this could well be one of the main problems expressed by this square, as dogmatism often appears detrimental to an authentic spirituality. It might perhaps be worth noting that, as embodiments of Spirit, Gautama, Jesus and Mohamed radically departed from any known forms of dogma during their lifetime which is arguably their greatest message. So, it is somewhat ironic that their insights have been cast into yet more dogma which is perhaps an indication that the essential reorientation indicated by this square has never been fully understood. Indeed, what may need to be discarded once and for all might well be dogma itself. Such a concentration of planets within only 90º of a chart is not a sign of harmony or balance, as it denotes a strong concentration of energies invested in a single direction. This direction can be readily identified by the midpoint of the square that falls at 24º35’ of Capricorn. This sign is further emphasised by a stellium comprising the Sun, Venus, Mars and Saturn which brings us back to the theme of management of natural resources and of people, once again. This is somewhat mitigated by two exact waning sextiles: Uranus in Pisces sextile the Capricorn Sun signals a re-organisation of consciousness as well as an increased use of technology. Meanwhile, the sextile between Jupiter in Aquarius and Mercury in Sagittarius evokes an

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image of re-organisation and expansion of thought patterns and means of communication. Additionally, ego consciousness is associated with the 3rd chakra which is related to power, technology, metabolism and transformation. This fiery energetic centre is also linked with both Mars and the Sun and its chief operating force is combustion (19). These associations are self-explanatory and seem to fit rather well with what has been unfolding over the last 5,000 or so years. Indeed, both the Sun and Mars are astrologically related to ego consciousness, assertion and aggression amongst other qualities. Mars is obviously connected with conquests and wars, both of which have grown exponentially to catastrophic levels during that period. Conflicts have motivated a great deal of technological advances that have finally resulted in mimicking the Sun’s thermonuclear activity, serving as a basis for frightful weapons and powerful energy generation systems. To sum up, the beginning of the long count of the Mayan calendar and the Kali Yuga coincided with such activities as the worship of the Sun, the local star sitting at the centre of our planetary system, the apparent source of all life giving energy and, as such, a symbol of seemingly ultimate power. It also coincided with the emergence of the ego similarly sitting at the core of most individuals’ psychic activities. However, just as the Sun stands alone at the centre of a planetary system, the ego also stands alone as an isolated self. Thus, ego consciousness generated the strongest ever feelings of separateness for humankind. An important point remains to be covered, albeit only briefly. The transformation from mythic-membership to mental-egoic consciousness, from body to mind, also witnessed a shift from matriarchy and Great Mother (Moon) to patriarchy and Sun gods. While it might be obvious to most that such a shift occurred, it is important to understand why and how it happened. A clue may be provided by biology since all human beings are born of women. The mother is the first person we meet in life and she is biologically equipped for our nourishment. As such, she holds ultimate power over the survival of the infant and, by extension, the feminine holds ultimate power over the survival of the entire species. It seems that, for the infant, the whole world is the mother’s body in an extended

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sense (20). Hence, the very deepest imprints are indelibly left on the psyche of both the male and the female by the Great Mother image in a way that is biologically impossible for the father image. Females and fertility were therefore of primary importance in the archaic-ouroboric consciousness, the magical-typhonic consciousness and, to a lesser extent, in the mythic-membership structure. This was reinforced by the observation that only a few pregnancies resulted from the intense sexual activity taking place between individuals. Because sexual activity was not immediately related to fertility, the latter was perceived as a quality pertaining almost exclusively to the female. Also, the relationship between menstruation and pregnancy was not altogether clear but it was unmistakable that pregnancy invariably meant the absence of menstrual blood flow. Hence, symbolic connections were made between fertility, life and blood, which, in turn, were expressed in the practice of blood-sacrifice and the emergence of bloodthirsty Great Mother archetypes (21). The appearance of the ego and its mental processes provided an escape route from the excesses and demands of the Great Mother. As women were primarily focused on conceiving and child rearing, men seized this opportunity to identify with the mental process and to hijack it for their exclusive benefit. Obviously, this led to further excesses and the oppression of the feminine that characterize the patriarchal dominance.

Ego Consciousness - Benefits & Problems Gradually, a growing number of individuals became more and more dominated and controlled, not by instinctual responses or by rigid traditions rooted in natural rhythms, but by their own thought process at moments of decision. As human beings became progressively more aware of their thought process, ego consciousness began to crystallise. Thoughts, ideas and concepts increasingly became the new substitute self, as they seemed to offer something that neither nature nor flesh would: permanence. However, there is a price to pay for any growth in consciousness as it necessarily implies a more accurate awareness of mortality that must have brought new existential terrors to humankind. The emergence of ego consciousness meant that both a differentiation from, and ideally, an integration of the previous levels became possible. All lower levels are subhuman attempts at unity with Atman (the

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archaic-uroboric seeks unity by joining itself with physical food and the magical-typhonic by joining with another person via sexual-emotional exchange). Hence, consciousness was no longer fused with the body and dominated by biological-instinctual and sexual-emotional responses. The relative freedom afforded by the emerging mental substitute-self enabled several important developments previously impossible and a new set of responses became available to human beings. To begin with, it allowed the production and exchange of ideas, with discourse as its associated paradigm and communication as its associated sphere. In this sense, verbal communication is the first specifically human form of community in a society of inter-subjective understanding and practical discourse. This new level of mutual exchange allowed for self-recognition with reflexive self-consciousness as its associated paradigm and mutual personal esteem as its associated sphere. In turn, this structure potentially allowed for rational comprehension, a grasp of historical time, formal operational thinking, a capacity for introspection and a new form of respect and morality. All of this subsequently brought forth medicine, science and technology. As we have seen, farming consciousness necessitated an extended notion of time. It was doubtlessly temporal enough to provide a future into which a wish for immortality could be projected, but this perception of time was essentially cyclical. In this sense, time was moving around in circles, from season to season, perpetually ending where it started, getting absolutely nowhere. In this circular and recurring worldview, karma did not accumulate consciously because it was redeemed in rituals of regeneration. The guilt of past misdeeds and the fear inherent to any separate self were magically washed clean by periodic immersions into the myth of cyclical return that provided substitute expiation (22). In its intensified awareness of death, the ego’s immortality project needed a new concept of time. Thus, from circular, seasonal and cyclical, time became linear, conceptual and historical. Freed from the periodic reset of the cyclical return, consciousness could now project itself ad infinitum along an open line; a line that provided the ego with a space into which its fantasised domination of the future could be extended. The ego’s feats, the kingly heroic victories and the glorious triumphs were

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not only wishfully anticipated in the future but they were also retrospectively recorded (and usually favourably distorted): History was born. Alas, if ego consciousness provided many benefits, it also brought some considerable problems. As we have seen, each level of consciousness has its particular sense of separate self with its associated death fear, the denial of which energises a particular perception of time. Time is also energised by the guilt inherent to all separate selves, the guilt of past misdeeds that can no longer be washed clean in regeneration ceremonies and the guilt associated with the terrors of death, all of which requires time to expiate. Thus, karma began to accumulate consciously, and the resulting burden soon led to the application of some drastic measures. A heightened apprehension of guilt and death drives the self-system into intense defensive manoeuvres. The most common is simply to turn the death terror outwards into death dealing. An increased self-awareness exacerbates feelings of vulnerability which, in turn, amplifies a potential for brutal murder. As we have seen, substitute sacrifice began with magical-typhonic consciousness that equated blood with life and fertility. Both animals and humans were periodically sacrificed in rituals to the Great Mother in order to appease her desire for blood and to increase her fertility; one was slaughtered to save the many and Thanatos was thus kept at bay. So, substitute sacrifice is basically a way to ensure that the skull belongs to the other guy. This simple arrangement carried on during the mythic-membership period at the end of which (c. 3000 B.C) modern warfare - mass homicide as a new substitute sacrifice - was invented (23). It grew to catastrophic levels with the current mental-egoic period commensurate with the growth in consciousness and the resulting heightened death awareness. In order to understand the next topic, we need to trace the origin of an institution still with us today: kingship. In the great city-states of the mythic-membership period, a visible human representative of god was preferred to an invisible divinity, as it provided social cohesion by his presence and accessibility; hence, an individual was chosen to serve this purpose: the king. As ‘divine’ kings, they were also consorts of the Great Mother, and as such, they were periodically sacrificed in ritual regicide

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to renew the divinity thereby ensuring a continuation of life-Eros (24). While the early god-kings submitted themselves to this rite of renewal, their successors soon found a way to transfer the nasty sacrifice business to another human being. Once this was achieved, the god-king was in a position to fulfil his wildest fantasies of power, immortality, narcissism and omnipotence. As we saw, the farming consciousness of the mythic-membership era produced a surplus; primarily a surplus of food (life). Part of this surplus was given in offerings to the ‘divine’ king as another substitute sacrifice to avoid disasters and gain favours. Initially, the recipients of this sacrificed surplus were the priests, and their temples soon began to act as banks and started to issue money. Thus, the sacrificed accumulated surplus became accumulated wealth and taxes. In other words, the god-kings and the priests were given nothing less than total control over the immortality symbols of the community. Since the ‘divine’ king and the priests-bankers were central to this system of exchanges, they could distort, oppress and exploit these interactions for their personal benefit, which they did, and carry on doing today (although, obviously, god-kings and priests-bankers have since acquired new titles). As a result, it wasn’t long before everyone exchanged immortality symbols (food, money, gold, etc) in the marketplace and sought to accumulate them. It must be stressed that this situation - the origin of financial and political power - is a direct result of a co-creation between the people and the god-king and his priest-bankers, for it is the people who accepted to pay the price for a visible god (frequently embodied by idiotic, psychopathic or oppressive individuals) always present to receive their offerings. Thus, both war and money have been extremely popular symbolic forms of substitute sacrifice and immortality symbol; and the reason for their popularity is fairly easy to identify: neither requires much talent to gather or use. Another problem resulting from ego consciousness was the tragic failure to integrate the lower levels; instead, these were largely repressed, and the dissociation was particularly acute in the West. Ideally, consciousness evolves in nested hierarchy. Each emerging level first differentiates from lower levels then, transcends and integrates them. However, if a lower level is repressed instead of being integrated, the resulting distortion soon causes pathology - an ecological crisis - within the individual, and, by extension, within the whole community. This

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became extreme with the nascent ego structure. The exhilaration of the relative freedom from the fluctuations of nature, the emotions, the instincts and the environment afforded by the mental ego soon led to a severance from all ties with the body, and, by extension, with the Great Mother (nature). To escape death, the new self sense deserted the mortal body and staked its substitute salvation on the sphere of thought. A war between mind and body, between reason and instinct, between humankind and nature, had started. Thus, the mind-body split came into being. Finally, the ego is a structure largely based on memory, hence on the past, and the past is utterly static. Indeed, it is the static quality of memories that offers both stability and the illusion of permanence to the ego. Based on memory, the past is repeated, barely modified in the present, and then further projected into the future. As such, the ego provides a very strong, stable and seemingly safe structure extremely difficult to transcend. Cocooned in its memories, the ego tends to cut off from the subconscious and to deny the super-conscious. Obviously, thoughts do not entirely operate from memory. A mature ego is quite capable of a creative relationship with the subconscious and the super-conscious otherwise there would be no progress at all. But the average ego tends to be caught in the web of its own records, and as such, is seldom capable of living a truly creative life. It usually takes a fairly traumatic experience for such a structure to open itself to the possibility of transcendence.

Signs of Dissolution: From Modernism to Post-Modernism The egoic period has been roughly divided into three parts. The low egoic period spanned 2500-500 B.C; the middle egoic period: 500 B.C-1500 A.D; and the high: 1500 A.D-present (25). The appearance of ego consciousness was previously dated c. 3000 B.C, thus, it took about 500 years for the mythic-membership consciousness to dissolve and for the ego structure to emerge. By the time of the high egoic period, thought became virtually the ruling principle of the human psyche as evidenced by the work of influential thinkers such as Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), René Descartes (1596-1650) and Isaac Newton (1643-1727). With this, the so-called ‘Age of Reason’ began, and the Western dissociation between mind and body

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came to a peak (26). As we have seen, the ego tends to cut itself off from both the subconscious and the super-conscious, and consequently, functions as a fairly closed system. In turn, this tendency is reflected by a propensity to conceive equally closed systems which, obviously, represents very serious conceptual and concrete flaws because nothing in the universe functions in isolation. The body was conceived as an automaton inhabited by a mind (or a soul); time became further divorced from natural rhythms and was increasingly measured by mechanical means; phenomena were observed scientifically, meaning, they were isolated from their context, and so on; humankind was no longer an integral part of nature. Instead, nature was experienced both outwardly and inwardly, as an object to be tamed with increasing power. As a whole, ego-consciousness is reflected astrologically by the planets contained within the orbit of Saturn. Each planet is traditionally associated with a particular sphere within the psyche, and their location and aspects symbolise the relationships between the various sub-personalities present in the average individual. Saturn being the last planet visible to the naked eye thus represents a concrete boundary corresponding with the egoic tendency to function as a closed system. Precisely when thought tentatively became the ruling principle of the human psyche, the outer planets were gradually discovered. Uranus was unveiled on the 13th of March 1781 by amateur astronomer and musician William Herschel (1738-1822) although it had been spotted many times prior to this date. The earliest recorded observations were made by John Flamsteed in 1690 (27). This discovery was followed by that of Neptune in 1846 by Urbain Le Verrier although, again, it had been previously observed by Galileo as early as 1612 (28). Finally, Pluto’s existence was brought to our attention by Clyde W. Tombaugh in 1930 (29). Each discovery of an outer planet corresponded with significant changes in consciousness concomitant with the nature of the planet involved. Hence, Uranus oversaw several revolutions that were collective expressions of a shift in consciousness happening simultaneously in myriad human beings reclaiming their individual rights. As we saw, these rights had been previously surrendered in substitute sacrifices to a “divine” king. It took several millennia of slow growth in consciousness

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and untold abuses inflicted by rulers psychopathically inflated by the immortality project of the community for individuals to become sufficiently self-conscious to let go of their projection. Uranus’ discovery also corresponded with a flourishing and a systematic formulation of the sciences. As such, Uranus seems associated with the attempted correction of issues crystallising around socio-cultural personal and collective power as well as an opening towards ultimate knowledge. Similarly, Neptune’s emergence coincided with more changes in consciousness. Notably, the question of the distribution of wealth among the population became a burning issue together with other humanitarian considerations such as the abolition of slavery, for example. With Neptune, science became a legitimate profession, which led to such novel understandings as the germ theory (and by extension, pharmaceuticals), the periodic table of chemistry, hypnosis, psychoanalysis, long-distance communication, travel, and so on. Neptune’s discovery also coincided with an artistic renewal in contrast with the relatively cold rationalism of the previous century. As such, Neptune seems therefore associated with the tentative correction of issues crystallising around sexual-emotional personal and collective exchanges as well as an opening towards subtle expression and communication. The discovery of Pluto corresponded with the shattering of our previous concepts of what was happening at the very heart of matter. In our search for a fundamental building block of matter, which is to say, in search of ultimate certainty, we paradoxically only found a great deal of uncertainty. To this day, Newtonian physics then rectified by Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity are still incompatible with quantum mechanics; yet, both have been proven to work by theoretical and empirical methods. From deterministic the universe became probabilistic. Nonetheless, this new understanding of matter was accurate enough to allow for the release of the huge amount of energy stored in the nuclear binding force. Meanwhile, the rise of totalitarian movements and their associated atrocities defied the very notion of a deity which, in turn, led to some deep questioning regarding the fundamental meaning of existence. These questions were tentatively answered by existentialist philosophers who postulated that individuals created the meaning and essence of their life instead of a deity or an authority presiding over them. As such, Pluto seems to be associated

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with the attempted correction of issues related to fundamental survival questions as well as a possible opening towards subtle relationships and healing. Since then, many more bodies have been discovered in the solar system and many more particles have been discovered at subatomic level. Such complexity is virtually impossible to hold in egoic consciousness because thought is linear and consecutive by nature. What is required is a spherical and spatial type of consciousness capable of holding many elements together with their interactions. This is the raison d’être of the system and chaos theories, for instance, both of which require enormous computing power to model. While astronomers, astrologers and physicists have been struggling to incorporate these newcomers into their respective systems, fresh data might well supersede our obsession with visible or detectable objects. From the late 1990’s, a new cosmological model began to emerge. As the visible matter of the universe was not present in sufficient amount to

explain its behaviour, it was theorised that a large quantity of dark matter and dark energy must exist (see diagram – courtesy of Wikipedia - 30). So far, none of this exotic matter and energy has been formally identified. But should such a model prove accurate, the

implications would be profound, not least because it would relegate visible matter to a lesser position. If there is a preponderance of elusive matter and energy in the universe, it would corroborate some intuitive perceptions expressed long ago by Taoist philosophers. Our notion of time has also changed a great deal since the emergence of ego consciousness. Time is no longer a fourth dimension separated from space as defined by the Greek philosophers of the early egoic period. Instead, time is now intimately bound to space (space-time) and speed. And, as we have seen, a change in consciousness invariably energises a different perception of time.

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In the last few decades, some philosophers of science and some scientists have strongly questioned Western scientific methods. They have argued that Western science is only one tradition amongst many and that scientific objectivity is a fallacy. They claim that Western civilization was not accepted willingly because of its intrinsic truthfulness. While doing some good, it was imposed either by force or because it produced better weapons, thus causing enormous damage. They also criticise the theoreticians who extol the ‘rationality’ and ‘objectivity’ of science without realising that a procedure whose main aim is to get rid of all human elements is bound to lead to inhuman actions. After some five centuries of Western scientific practice, those philosophers of science now assert that there are no ‘objective’ reasons to prefer science and Western rationalism to other traditions (31). It also appears that the so-called fundamental constants fluctuate. That such constants should vary at different rate implies differing qualities of time, ‘not unlike those envisioned by astrology, but with a more radical basis’ (my italics - 32). To sum up, the mental-egoic substitute self is a closed system. Cut off from the body and closed to transcendence, it lives under a powerful illusion of safety and permanence, the price of which is extreme isolation. As such, mental-egoic consciousness can only conceive of fairly closed systems: sciences, technologies and industries unrelated to nature, causing a disastrous and unprecedented ecological crisis and social systems failing to include and transcend lower levels (I.E.: distorting and repressing the archaic-material ouroboric and sexual-emotional typhonic levels of exchange) generating unparalleled levels of inequalities and mass homicides (substitute sacrifices) reaching a peak during the 20th century. As the Long Count of the Mayan calendar draws near to its end, humanity has brought the energy of the Sun under its dominion. It seems then, that ultimate power has been achieved, as we are now capable of extinguishing all life on earth at the click of a button. The third level/chakra has thus been thoroughly investigated and translated into symbols of eternity, mostly related to abstract concepts and power. However, these have failed to produce a true fusion with Atman, or, in other words, to fulfil the promise of eternal life. On the contrary, thought has generated the greatest ever feelings of separateness, danger and insecurity for humankind and threatens to destroy the entire biosphere. The dominion of thought and reason has been gradually challenged by

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the realisation of those facts, coincidental with the discovery of the outer planets, among other factors. Hence, as the individual, moment to moment, recreates his illusionary boundaries, so reality, moment to moment, conspires to tear them down. Egoic translations are now failing regardless of how much power is at humanity’s disposal. These translations – the horizontal growths within one level – being exhausted, a vertical growth – a transformation – to a higher level seems the only option left.

Further Developments in Human Consciousness Before we begin an exploration of possible developments in human consciousness, a few points need clarifying. Firstly, a distinction needs to be made between the average mode of consciousness and the most advanced mode of consciousness. Throughout the course of human development, it seems that some individuals have managed either to come close to super-consciousness or to fuse totally with it. Thus, during the magical-typhonic period, it is probable that a few shamans achieved fairly high levels of consciousness, likely psychic. The same applies to the mythic-membership period when some rare individuals managed to reach yet higher levels, such as the subtle or causal levels. Similarly, a handful of human beings seem to have achieved a fusion with the Ultimate during the mental-egoic period. Meanwhile, the vast majority of people remained caught in their respective era’s average mode of consciousness. It would seem that several mistakes have been made in relation to these observations. One considerable and fairly common error consists in comparing the current average of consciousness with the most advanced levels of the past which only results in deluded nostalgia. When comparing past and present average modes of consciousness, there is little doubt that humankind is currently functioning at a higher level. The average shaman, for example, was probably no more than a magnificent conman caught in the projections of the community’s immortality project, trying to fulfil the role befalling him/her the best s/he could. Another mistake is to confuse higher levels of consciousness with lower ones. Such is the stance of the Freudian movement, for example, that invariably reduces the higher to the lower, particularly to the magical-typhonic level of sexual-emotional exchanges. Freud was right in his

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understanding of psychopathologies resulting from the egoic repression and distortion of the lower level but he was wrong to reduce all modes of consciousness to a repression of sexual energy. To say that mental life is built upon the repression of animal life is to say that animal life is built upon the repression of vegetable life and vegetable life is built upon the repression of mineral life. Freud’s perspective puts the great chain of beings exactly backwards. God consciousness is not sublimated sexuality; sexuality is constricted God consciousness. Because the psychic level emerged during the typhonic-magical period; the subtle and causal levels were experienced during the mythic-membership period; and the ultimate level was reached during the mental-egoic period, they were all lumped together. Thus, higher levels of consciousness have frequently been confused with lower ones. This is particularly noticeable in the ‘Dharma bum’ syndrome of the 60’s or in some aspects of the New Age movement where some otherwise intellectually mature individuals promote regressions to typhonic, narcissistic and licentious freedom while claiming to pursue trans-egoic spontaneity. The path of evolution is remarkably reflected in biological structures. The human embryo begins its life with the meeting of two cells and retraces all the steps of evolution during gestation. Similarly, the make-up of the brain also mirrors the different levels of consciousness. Very roughly described, the brain stem is the siege of primitive (archaic-ouroboric) consciousness; the next layer is the limbic system, the emotional brain (magical-typhonic); and the more superficial layer is the neo-cortex, supporting thought and action (mental-egoic). This leaves the question as to what brain structure, if any, would sustain further growth in consciousness. The relationship between the neo-cortex and deeper brain structures can easily be subjectively experienced as exchanges between consciousness and sub-consciousness; but it is not altogether clear what would physiologically come to represent a subjective relationship between consciousness and super-consciousness. However, since past individuals seem to have achieved higher states of consciousness, we must assume that the brain is anatomically and physiologically already adequate enough for the purpose. The path of evolution can equally be observed in the psychological development of any human being. Very briefly put, archaic-ouroboric consciousness is seen from birth to about 2 years old, magical-typhonic

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consciousness emerges from 2 to about 7 years old and mental-egoic consciousness with its various stages, from about 7 to 28 years old. The table below gives a more detailed description of the possible stages of growth (33). In an ideal situation, individuals can begin to experience the more subtle levels of consciousness from the first Saturn return when differentiation from and transcendence of egoic consciousness become possible. Therefore, this individual life phase represents a crucial transition as it is the meeting point between the exoteric and esoteric curves of evolution. Ken Wilber refers to this stage as Centauric because it requires a (re)integration of mind and body. From then onwards, the outer planets become increasingly instrumental to the individual’s evolutionary process. So, from an astrological point of view, it seems that everyone is given equal opportunities to further the path of evolution. Hence, to co-operate with this process by finding ways first to differentiate from, and then to transcend the mental-ego substitute self appears to be not only in agreement with the cosmos but also critically important in the current delicate period of evolution. Two unrelated quotes will further illustrate this point; the first is taken from R.L. Wing’s commentaries on the Tao Te Ching; and the second from one of Ken Wilber’s books on transpersonal psychology. “If individuals do all their thinking on the physical plane and make little effort on the non-physical plane – cultivating intuition, gaining instinctive knowledge of the workings of the universe, and developing the insight to evolve both themselves and their society, then those lives have no real meaning or significance in terms of physical reality. This is so because work done on the non-physical plane is more aligned with the purpose of the universe and, therefore it has a more powerful effect upon our physical reality. Our inner work influences and evolves the universe, which in turn, evolves our reality. So, the deeper we work, the more striking the changes on the physical plane and the more rapid the evolution of the species as a whole. By comparison, our efforts on the physical surface of this remote piece of earth stranded in the farther edge of the universe are not only insignificant, but hopelessly entangled in cause and effect, in action and reaction (34).”

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Aspect Age of

emergence Self Social Phase Defence

Astrological Life Phase

Archaic, Ouroboric,

0 -18 months Material Self Distortion, delusional, hallucination

é

Archaic, Typhonic, Magical,

1-3 years Body-ego Tribal, Hunting magic,

Self object fusion, projection, Splitting,

é-á

Typhonic, Magical, Mythic Membership Name self, Concept self,

3-6 years Persona Horticulture, Villages, Mythology, Empires Gods and

Isolation, Repression, Reaction, Displacement, Duplicitous transaction, Covert

é-á-â-ã Tå£Rå à-ä

Mental-egoic, Rational, Formalism, Pluralistic Relativism,

11-12 years Mental-Ego Heroes Medieval, Modern, Democracy, Individualism

intentions, Suppression, Anticipation, Sublimation, Inauthenticity, Deadening,

Tä¡Rä Tå¥Rå Tæ£Ræ Tå£Rå Tä¡Rä TCh£RCh

Mature ego, Existential integrated self, Holistic integration, Psychic self,

28-35 years Centaur Global consciousness

Aborted self actualization, Bad faith, Psychic inflation, Split life goals,

Tæ¤Ræ Pé¡ Ré Tç¢Rç TCh¤RCh Tå¡Rå Pà§Rà TCh¥RCh

Subtle self, 35-42 years Soul Failed integration, Archetypal fragmentation, Failed differentiation,

Tä¡Rä Tå£Rå TCh¤RCh TCh£RCh Tè£Rè(earliest)

Pure self, 42-49 years

Spirit Arhat’s disease Tæ¥Ræ Tç£Rç Tå¥Rå Tä¡ Rä

Non-dual After 49 Spirit Tå£Rå TCh¡RCh Tè¤Rè(earliest)

Pé¡Ré Tç¤Rç Tæ¤Ræ Tå¡Rå Pà¢Rà Tæ£Ræ Tå£Rå Tå¥Rå Tç¥Rç Tæ¡Ræ

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This excerpt tends to indicate that the ancient naturalist philosophers’ insights of the deep workings of the universe were in agreement with the emerging cosmological model and its preponderance of dark matter and energy, as already mentioned above. “If we - you and I - are to further the evolution of mankind and not just reap the benefit of past humanity’s struggles, if we are to contribute to evolution and not merely siphon it off, if we are to help the overcoming of our self-alienation from Spirit and not merely perpetuate it, then meditation – or a similar and truly contemplative practice – becomes an absolute ethical imperative, a new categorical imperative. If we do less than that, our life then becomes, not so much a wicked affair, but rather a case of merely enjoying the level of consciousness that past heroes achieved for us. We contribute nothing; we pass on our mediocrity (35).” If we accept the alchemical precept “as above, so below” and see another analogy between the evolutionary process and the emerging cosmological model, then this passage is perhaps an indication that thoughts – the objects populating the psyche – must subside, so that the hidden energy mirrored within can become manifest. Hence, the transpersonal level of consciousness largely depends on each and every individual committing to his or her own evolution. Such a commitment would surely have profound implications. Our perception of time would be radically transformed. In the exoteric curve, more and more time is needed to expiate the guilt inherent to all separate selves; not only more time, but also more resources, and consequently, more substitute sacrifices are needed to escape death. This path is obviously bound to fail since it involves elements that are finite by nature, and, as such, they can never produce eternity. By contrast, it is not eternity that is sought in the esoteric curve but timelessness (36). During the exoteric phase of evolution, visible blood sacrifices have been demanded, whether in the form of individual sacrifices to a Great Mother image, or in the form of mass homicides (wars). As we are now entering the esoteric curve of evolution, our notion of sacrifice can be mercifully revised. Indeed, we might come to understand that it is not a substitute

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other that needs to be brutally sacrificed (exoteric sacrifice) but the substitute self that must be gently transcended (esoteric sacrifice).

Conclusion After 26,000 years, the winter solstice Sun returned to cross the galactic equator in 1998; in 2008, Pluto entered Capricorn, thus also crossing the winter solstice point (37); and the day of the winter solstice 2012 marks the end of the long count of the Mayan calendar. Thus, for some, 2012 has become a focal point for a crystallising death fear, the intensity of which is commensurate with a sense of accumulated guilt. The coincidental renewal of several cosmological cycles tends to indicate that humanity could indeed be coming to a crucial phase in its development; and many scenarios are circulating ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. Some forecast the return of planet X, supposed to destroy all life on earth in a clean sweep (38). Others warn of some dangerous increase in solar activity (39). Others still, foresee grandiose cataclysms such as a sudden polar shift (in fact, these take a few thousand years to complete), mega volcanic eruptions, or earthquakes, floods and hurricanes of biblical proportions. While any of those events could indeed happen, it seems humanity is quite capable of destroying itself without any help from nature. Within our immediate sphere of influence, some aspects of human activity are outright worrying and could well be the cause of some fairly unsolvable problems before long (40). Certainly, there are serious causes for concern as we are now facing an ecological emergency, an energy crisis and a scourge of conflicts, amongst other problems. Most of these predicaments result from our inner fragmentation and the inner arguments it causes. As we saw, self-consciousness was a necessary step in the overall process of human development and it brought many benefits and many struggles. As already stated, the mental ego is a structure very hard to transcend. Should humankind be on the threshold of a major self-created crisis, it could well be precisely what is required for a sufficient number of people to understand the pressing need to transcend the egoic substitute self thereby initiating a collective movement. That being the case, humanity would just about enter the esoteric curve of development – the conscious return to Atman.

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However, given the large amount of time it took to get half way along the path, it would be grossly unrealistic to expect this return to happen by Friday, 21st of December 2012 at 11:11:37, Palenque time! It is likely to take a little longer. Indeed, there are still some large portions of humanity that have not yet developed to a fully mature egoic level. Some still function at magical-typhonic level; others are caught in mythic-membership translations; others still, are struggling at various stages of egoic development. So, realistically, it would be radical enough to witness everyone develop to the level of mature mental-egoic consciousness and participate freely in an open exchange of mutual self-esteem. Added to this, we also need to address the considerable distortions and repressions inflicted by the mental ego on the lower levels. This requires a lucid appreciation of what caused them in the first place and a willingness to undo them. For thought to subside, the brain needs basic security. That means enough food, clothing and a decent shelter for every human being. Until these essential needs are cared for globally, there will be insecurity. To solve this simple problem requires that egoic mutual self-esteem be firmly established. Jean-Jacques Rousseau pointed this out long ago when he stated: “The first, who, having fenced off a plot of ground, took it into his head to say ‘this is mine’, and found people simple enough to believe him, was the true founder of civil society (41).” Thus, private property ended primitive equality which led to the differential ownership of wealth or, in other words, to severe distortions of material exchange (level 1). One of our first steps must be to address these distortions. We, human beings, are compound individuals made of matter, emotions, language, ego, soul and spirit. The material body is exercised in labour, the emotional body is exercised in breath, sex and feelings, the verbal body is exercised in communication, the ego, in mutual personal recognition and exchange of esteem, the soul in psychic and subtle transcendence and the spirit in absolute absorption in super-consciousness. Perhaps era 2012 represents the crucial point of transition when all those levels begin to function in an unobstructed way for a growing number of hopeful individuals. The evolutionary path has

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taken us this far and although the transition may prove arduous, we must trust that it will carry on to lead us in the right direction.

References and Endnotes 1 - John Major Jenkins - http://alignment2012.com/whatisGA.htm 2 - Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayan_calendar See under “Long Count”. 3 - http://mayacalendar.com/introduccion.html Maya World Study Centre - Merida, Yucatan, Mexico “Historically, people have sensed the need to have a fixed point to start their time calculations. In order to do this generally the starting point has been determined either by a historical event (the birth of Jesus) or by a hypothetical event (the date of the world's creation). Of all known cultures the Maya seem to have been the first to discover the need for such a date, using probably an astronomically significant or a hypothetical event they placed at 3114 B.C.” 4 - Ken Wilber, “Up from Eden” P. 119, Quest Books, 1996 (first published, 1981) 5 - Ken Wilber, “The Atman Project - A Transpersonal View of Human Development”, Quest Books, 1996 6 - http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/96/13/7604 See under “Introduction”: “Human paleontological evidence from Zafarraya in southeastern Spain indicates that late Middle Paleolithic technology from this region was the product of Neandertal populations (5). This evidence has led to hypotheses

as to why Middle Paleolithic Neandertals endured in the cul-de-sac of Iberia between 5,000 and 10,000 years after they had been replaced (by whatever historical processes) elsewhere in Europe (4, 6, 7).” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neanderthal_extinction_hypotheses See under “Unable to adapt”: “Another problem with this idea is that the glacial period of our ice age ended about 10,000 years ago, while the Neanderthals went extinct about 24,000 years ago.” See also: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5343266.stm “A study in Nature magazine suggests the species may have lived in Gorham's Cave on Gibraltar up to 24,000 years ago. The Neanderthal people were believed to have died out about 35,000 years ago, at a time when modern humans were advancing across the continent. The new

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evidence suggests they held on in Europe's Deep South long after the arrival of Homo sapiens.” 7 - ibid - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_sapiens#Origin See under “Origin”: “Anatomically modern humans appear in the fossil record in Africa about 130,000 years ago.”

8 - http://archaeology.about.com/od/earlymansites/a/cro_magnon.htm “The physical characteristics of Cro-Magnon are very similar to modern humans, although a bit more robust, particularly in the skull. The earliest Cro-Magnon were taller than we are (often reaching over 6 foot four inches), with longer limbs, especially the lower legs; but after about 26,000, the size of Cro-Magnon begin to fall within the modern human range. By 12,000 years ago, Cro-Magnons are fully human. Or rather, we are fully human, because Cro-Magnons are our direct ancestors.” 9 - John Kellermeier - www.tacomacc.edu/home/jkellerm/Papers/ Menses/Menses.htm - “How menstruation created mathematics” by John Kellermeier (2003) Tacoma Community College, - ibid http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishango_bone 10 - ibid - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_glacial_period “The general glacial advance began about 70,000 BC, and reached its maximum extent about 18,000 BC. In Europe, the ice sheet reached northern Germany.” - ibid - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctic_Cold_Reversal “The Last Glacial Maximum and sea-level minimum occurred c. 21,000 years before the present (BP). After 18,000 BP, Antarctic ice cores show gradual warming.” 11 - Ken Wilber, ibid, Chapter 5, “Future Shock” 12 - ibid - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_gatherers “Individual bands tend to be small in number (10-30 individuals), but these may gather together seasonally to temporarily form a larger group (100 or more) when resources are abundant.” 13 - ibid - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%87atalh%C3%B6y%C3%BCk “Çatalhöyük /ʧɑtɑl højyk/ (also Çatal Höyük and Çatal Hüyük, or any of the three without diacritics; çatal is Turkish for "fork", höyük for "mound") was a very large Neolithic and Chalcolithic settlement in southern Anatolia, dating from around 7500 B.C.E for the lowest layers. It is the largest and best preserved Neolithic site found to date …/… The population of the eastern mound has been estimated at up to 10,000 people, but

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population totals likely varied over the community’s history. An average population of between 5,000 to 8,000 is a reasonable estimate.” 14 - Washington State University, Timeline, Richard Hooker, 1997 http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/EGYPT/TIMELINE.HTM 15 - ibid - First Dynasty of Egypt -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_dynasty_of_Egypt 16 - ibid - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_astrology See under “Egyptian Astrology”: “Astrology has a very ancient history in Egypt, with star charts found there going back to 4,200BC.” See under “Astrology in Babylonia”: “The history of astrology can now be traced back to ancient Babylonia, and indeed to the earliest phases of Babylonian history, in the third millennium B.C.” And also under “Chinese astrology”: “Astrology is believed to have originated in China about the 3rd millennium BC.” 17 - ibid - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism “A conglomerate of diverse beliefs and traditions, Hinduism has no single founder.” 18 - ibid - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali_yuga See, paragraph one: “Kali Yuga began at midnight (00:00) on 23 January 3102 BCE in the proleptic Gregorian calendar. Hindus believe that human civilization degenerates spiritually throughout the Kali Yuga: it is mostly referred to as the Dark Age, mainly because people are the furthest possible from God”. The date is associated with the start of the 'Great War' (of the Mahabharata) and the start of the Kali age. The site of that great battle was Kurukshetra. 19 - Anodea Judith, “Wheels of Life - A User’s guide to the Chakra System”, pp. 161 – 203, Llewellyn Publications, 1995 20 - Melanie Klein, “The psychoanalysis of children”, Vintage, New edition, 1997 4 - Ken Wilber, ibid, P. 229 21 - Joseph Campbell, “The Hero with a Thousand Faces”, Paladin UK, 1988 (first published in 1949), pp. 93-94 & 140-141. See also, Ken Wilber, ibid, p. 131-137 & 175-180 22 - Mircea Eliade, “The Myth of the Eternal Return - Cosmos and History”, Arkana, first published in the UK in 1989, pp. 49-92 23 - ibid - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prehistoric_warfare “Historical warfare sets in with the standing armies of Bronze Age Sumer, but prehistoric warfare may be studied in some societies at much later dates.”

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24 - Ken Wilber, ibid - P. 177; J. Campbell - “The Masks of God, Vol. 2: Oriental Mythology”, Penguin Books, 1976. 25 - Ken Wilber, ibid, P.188 26 - ibid - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Reason See, Age of Reason 27 - ibid - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranus#Discovery 28 - ibid - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptune#Discovery 29 - ibid - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto#Discovery 30 - ibid - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_matter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_energy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambda-CDM_model 31 – Paul Feyerabend, “Farewell to Reason”, Verso, 1987, pp 297, 299 32 – Rupert Sheldrake, “Seven Experiments that Could Change the World, Fourth Estate, 1994, Chapter 6, “The variability of the ‘Fundamental Constants’” 33 – Ken Wilber, “Integral Psychology”, Shambhala, 2000, pp. 197, 217 34 – R.L. Wing, “The Tao of Power – A Modern translation of the Tao Te Ching”, Thorsons, 1997, The Whole Mind Approach, p.22 35 – Ken Wilber, “Up from Eden”, In Prospectus: the Future, p. 341 36 – Jiddu Krishnamurti & Dr David Bohm, “The Ending of Time”, HarperSanFransico, 1985 37 – Maurice Lavenant, “Pluto in Capricorn: 2008-2023 – An Astrological study”, The Mountain Astrologer #137 38 – http://nai.arc.nasa.gov/astrobio/astrobio_detail.cfm?ID=2624 “Nibiru is a hoax. There is no such planet. There are a lot of hoaxes on the Internet, but this one is especially strange, because there is no evidence whatever for its existence, and past predictions about it hitting the Earth several years ago were obviously wrong.”, David Morrison, NAI Senior Scientist, 26 December 2007 39 - Solar Storm Warning 03.10.2006 http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/10mar_stormwarning.htm “Like most experts in the field, Hathaway has confidence in the conveyor belt model and agrees with Dikpati that the next solar maximum should be a doozy. But he disagrees with one point. Dikpati's forecast puts Solar Max at 2012. Hathaway believes it will arrive sooner, in 2010 or 2011. Who's right? Time will tell. Either way, a storm is coming.” 40 – Readers might want to research the HAARP project as an example of such activities. http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/envronmt/weapons.htm

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“The ability of the HAARP / Spacelab/ rocket combination to deliver very large amount of energy, comparable to a nuclear bomb, anywhere on earth via laser and particle beams, are frightening. The project is likely to be "sold" to the public as a space shield against incoming weapons, or, for the more gullible, a devise for repairing the ozone layer.” Rosalie Bertell, Ph.D., GNSH - http://www.rosaliebertell.net/index.shtml 41 – J.J Rousseau, “The first and second discourses”, New York: St. Martin’s press, 1964

© 2008 – Maurice Lavenant – Including Artwork – All Rights Reserved

BEYOND 2012: THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF EGO CONSCIOUSNESS is a short essay of 10,000 words informed by the fields of Transpersonal Psychology and Western Astrology. It reviews the past evolution of Humanity and explores future possibilities for Human developments. Anyone interested in these topics must read this study to understand where we are heading and how to make the best of this challenging

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Maurice Lavenant was born in 1958 in Aix en Provence, France. He became a student of astrology in his teens and followed the teachings of André Barbault, Dane Rudhyar, C.E.O. Carter, Liz Greene, and many others. He graduated from the London School of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine in 1992 and again in 1997, after studying Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine for five years. He dedicates his life to Chinese medicine, astrology, writing, and music creation and production. He has published many articles about Astrology and Alternative Medicine. He is a contributor to the “Mountain Astrologer”. He can be contacted at mauricelavenant@yahoo.com

“After 26,000 years, the winter solstice Sun returned to cross the galactic equator in 1998; in 2008, Pluto entered Capricorn, thus also crossing the winter solstice point; and the day of the winter solstice 2012 marks the end of the long count of the Mayan calendar. Thus, for some, 2012 has become a focal point for a crystallising death fear, the intensity of which is commensurate with a sense of accumulated guilt. The coincidental renewal of several cosmological cycles tends to indicate that humanity could indeed be coming to a crucial phase in its development…”

BEYOND 2012: THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF EGO CONSCIOUSNESS is a short essay of 10,000 words informed by the fields of Transpersonal Psychology and Western Astrology. It reviews the past evolution of Humanity and explores future possibilities for Human developments. Anyone interested in these topics must read this study to understand where we are heading and how to make the best of this challenging time.

© 2008 – Maurice Lavenant – Including Artwork – All Rights Reserved