Is 2012 the End of the World?
The recent phenomenon of 2012 End of the World predictions and increasing interest in the subject can be in large part attributed to the triumphant march of Roland Emmerich's movie 2012 over cinemas across the world and its enduring popularity even now, a few years later. The emotions movie fans have experienced when watching the world ending in “2012” movie can only in part be attributed to the intensity of action and quality of special effects - although it is undoubtely the strong point of the 2012 movie. Opinions of the scenario vary (as always when it comes to blockbuster films, not less the catastrophic movies in general), however the impression which the 2012 movie has left on the audience (especially the newcomers to the year 2012 theme) led many people to start wondering: is 2012 real or even asking: is 2012 possible? and: will the world end in 2012?
Such is the impact the 2012 movie has made and, what's more interesting, it still continues to do. As we're nearing the dreadful end of the year 2012 the concern about our future and interest in 2012 predictions is on the increase.
The first wave of interest in year 2012 predictions can be traced back to 1976 when Jose Argüelles (an arts academic in North America) together with Mayan Elder Alejandro Cirilo Perezoxla published a book about the Mayan calendar. Jose Argüelles became famous by seeding the idea of the Harmonic Convergence in 1987. He organized an event in which thousands of people have met at sacred sites around the planet for synchronized meditation in an attempt to “change the global perspective of man from one of conflict to one of co-operation”. He stated that the time between August 1987 and December 21, 2012 is an interim phase before global consciousness shift.
There is quite a decent crowd of people out there who believe in the possibility of doomsday for the human race when we approach the year 2012. Some insist, that even Mayan calendar supports this theory. And there exist a belief that a comet, asteroid or meteor impact may bring 2012 end of the world. But how could it be possible that we officially still don't know of the imminent doom upon us? Well, the doomsday theory supporters point out that we're not informed in order to avoid worldwide panic. The truth is, if a large asteroid, comet or meteor was to hit the Earth, it would surely cause total chaos, and if it would be heading toward a densely populated city... Only imagine such a scenario!
There is a chance, that single asteroid or comet impact wouldn't immediately fulfill the 2012 End of the World prediction, but certainly this would be a dark and gloomy time for large part of the globe. The recovery and return to normal life (if it would be possible at all in the affected areas within a reasonable time) would take many following years. Although there is no confirmed proof of any specific asteroid speeding toward us, there are predictions saying, that the asteroid will hit the Earth by December 2012 and this, to some point, could be regarded as the 2012 end of the world scenario. Or End of the World as We Know It?
There is a hypothesis, that in 2012 the course of the human race may come to an end. The people believing in this scenario often base their statements on 2012 Mayan Prophecies. One factor that may cause the cataclysm to happen is said to be the 2012 alignment of planet Earth. This conclusion results from the assumption that the 2012 planet alignment is likely to cause a pole shift, devastating earthquakes and deadly cosmic rays exposition due to weakened athmospheric protection. Some say of the Great Cross in the sky, that is, the unusual alignment of the planets in our solar system, inducing gravitational interaction between them, which would lead to cataclysmic outcome. However, when we try to pay more careful attention to the Mayan calendar, it becomes clear that the Mayans - believing in a cyclical nature of time - made their calendar to show the cycles of Earth's history, rather than predict one abrupt end of the world in 2012.
The 2012 Mayan Calendar prophecy contains some clues to important events that will happen in, or shortly after 2012. One of them could be the alignment not only of the Earth, Sun and other planets within the Solar System, but of the whole Solar System with the plane of our galaxy, the Milky Way.
Mayans were aware of the Dark Rift region of the galaxy and attributed strong spiritual meaning to predicted alignment. Therefore, it might be that we're in for the event of untold importance for the future of humanity, but this doesn't have to be the world ending in 2012. It might be a great change, in part a hard time of transformation, assisted by 2012 cataclysm events, but the aftermath still could be positive for us. The alignment of Solar System and planet Earth may trigger the world we are living in to move to a new direction on the path of the development and, some even say, an enlightenment.
There are many TV shows, movies, books and web pages related to year 2012 subject and 2012 end of the world. However, the quality of information on the possible scenarios vary greatly. Many theorize and speculate that in 2012 our civilization is doomed to be annihilated. Yes, it may happen, though it might not necessarily be in 2012, but can really happen anytime. However, there is already an abundance of doomsday 2012 catastrophic scenarios and year 2012 possibilities are discussed everywhere. So, the wisest choice is to research the 2012 theme as much as possible - there is no other sensible option for us. Because even if something ominous is going to happen in 2012, we're not going to lose by being prepared in advance to the greatest extent possible to survive 2012.
