JOSE ARGUELLES - ARTIST AND NEW AGE LEADER
FAMOUS VISIONARY ARTIST, AUTHOR, EARTH DAY & WHOLE EARTH FESTIVAL FOUNDER
So too, as with the Mayan Tzolkin' calendar, Argüelles also originated a system of personalized days for use with his modern Dreamspell calendar. Like the Tzolkin' which drew its exactness from the 13x20 matrix of 13 time periods with 20 individually named and personified days, the Dreamspell calendar also used the same construct for a 260 day cycle, in addition to a new matrix of 13 time periods with 28 days. The basic reasoning for this new structure was to create a 365 day calendar year by multiplying 13x28 and adding one nameless day (a concept that's similar to the Mayan Haab calendar's 5 day Wayeb). Because the Dreamspell calendar fused concepts of the Mayan Haab and Tzolkin' calendars along with elements from a standard lunar calendar, the Gregorian calendar, I Ching, Futhark runes, and even the Tarot, it was not received well by many serious scholars of the Maya. Yet, despite the Dreamspell calendar's obvious departure from Mayan orthodoxy, Argüelles' critics would disparage this highly ingenuous creative effort by claiming exactly this. That, it wasn't exactly like any other calendar of the Mayan calendar system, the obvious. Nevertheless, in so much as the main intent of so much of his life was to find inventive ways of reintroducing humanity to many of the evolved concepts and wisdom of our ancient Mayan ancestors, through the invention of his Dreamspell calendar, again Dr. Arguelles was a success. For the example of a critic click: here
The Harmonic Convergence - Humanity's First Simultaneous Multinational Meditation
Commonly recognized as the main person to instill the Mayan Long Count Calendar end date of December 21, 2012 into public consciousness, Argüelles is thus generally known for his prolific writings on Mayan cosmology, myth, and numerology. In addition to this usual recognition, he is also regarded as one of the founders of the modern ecology movement by helping to establish Earth Day, the Whole Earth Festival, and the push for corporate responsibility in protection of the Earth. However, what's not commonly known is the important place that Dr. Jose Argüelles is very likely to assume should his vision of life after 2012 come true.
Throughout his career, Argüelles professed a steadfast belief that human beings have the capacity to affectuate positive effect in our shared destiny through the practice of global mass meditations and the development of humanity's telepathic abilities. At no time in the history of humanity was this belief and the public support of it more manifest than on Aug. 16, 1987, date of the Harmonic Convergence.
Often labeled as the world's first global mass meditation, Argüelles had organized the Harmonic Convergence to begin a multi-year countdown acknowledging the end of the Mayan Long Count Calendar cycle and the start of a New Age. According to Argüelles', in theory the dates August 16-17, 1987 provided humanity with an excellent opportunity to "re-connect" with the powerful positive energies of our universe as our local planets would be in a favourable alignment to facilitate the global mass meditation and/or telepathic connection with it.
In their book "Perspectives on the New Age", J. Gordon Melton and James R. Lewis wrote that the Harmonic Convergence attracted "more public attention than any New Age event before or since." At places around the world, such as the perceived spiritual "power centers" of Mt. Shasta in California, Machu Picchu in Peru, the Great Pyramids in Egypt, the Red Rocks of Sedona, Arizona, and Mt. Fuji in Japan, to places of modern myth and legend such as the Arthurian town of Glastonbury in England, and epicenters of modern world power such as Central Park in New York, a mass of humanity gathered to usher in the New Age. So now, as 2012 rounds the corner, may you rest in peace Valum Votan. Rest assured knowing you made a difference, and your lessons persist.
