The 2012 prophecies of the Mayan calendar have been the subject of media hype for years, often taking the form of “doomsday” prophecies.
Vikki Hanchin, a social worker and psychotherapist from Pittsburgh, shared a different take on the Mayan calendar when she spoke at the student union Thursday.
According to Hanchin, the Mayan “end of the world” prophecies are a metaphorical reference to the end of an era and the opening of a new era of raised consciousness.
Hanchin said that each age is approximately 26,000 years long, and that the end of each cycle is marked by our sun aligning with the galactic equator.
Hanchin elaborated on the significance of the time-span, explaining that 26,000 years ago is when humans are believed to have first gained the capacity for artistic expression.
The main focus of Hanchin’s presentation was the connection of Pittsburgh’s three rivers to the Mayan prophecy. According to Hanchin, Mayan elders visited the city and confirmed the sacred nature of three rivers converging.
In making these connections, Hanchin said that there is nothing unscientific about finding wisdom in prophecies and ancient wisdom.
“The Mayans were incredibly scientific,” Hanchin said. “They were incredibly knowledgeable. They had a poetic way of expressing their scientific understanding, and their science keeps being confirmed by our western science. Quantum physics is a lot of what’s confirming their understanding, but so is astronomy. The Mayans knew about procession of the equinoxes. They knew about solar flare activity. They mapped the transit of Venus. All that is astronomically proven now.”
The age approaching, according to Hanchin, is expected to be an era of unity, higher consciousness and integration of ancient wisdom with modern science.
“My passion is how to show that ancient wisdom is just a different language for what science keeps discovering now,” Hanchin said. “I think in the ancient times, the sense of interconnection and unity with the earth gave them a way to tap into ways of knowing that we are starting to recover now, like remote viewing. That’s scientifically proven. The military has been using that to look into enemy territory. They train people for it. We now, in a separated consciousness, have to rely on what we can see and measure and prove. I think there will come a time when our science is integrated with this other consciousness.”
Dr. Itzi Meztli, an assistant professor of English and co-chair of the Hispanic-Latino Cultures Series Committee, organized Vikki Hanchin’s visit to the campus.
“I was trying to get a local regional connection to this whole issue,” Meztli said. “When I saw that article about the Pittsburgh connection, that piqued my curiosity.”
In contrast to the doomsday publicity surrounding the 2012 winter solstice in our media and entertainment, Meztli believes that the day will be significant but not dramatic.
“It’s going to be a day like any other, but you need to be aware that things are going to change and a lot of it has to do with consciousness,” Meztli said. “It’s going to be a new consciousness, a new awareness of things, we’re going to be united. I think we’re going to go beyond the nation-state. We’ve got to find different forms of organization and how people can get along with each other.”
Meztli also cited the rapid development in technology in recent years as a sign of a significant societal change.
“We’re duplicating advancements in technology like every other year,” Meztli said. “That’s going to have a rapid change in our society, and that’s going to be a part of the end of one long cycle and the beginning of another. We live in exciting times.”
