| There have been plenty of ideas bandied about in | | | | 2012 might be the year in which humans discover time |
| recent times over what will occur in 2012. But how do | | | | travel. This would mean that the moment a time |
| we know which to trust? There's very little legitimate | | | | machine is invented, thousands of humans instantly |
| scientific evidence out there to tell us unequivocally | | | | return from the future and build more time machines. |
| what the truth is, so what do we really know? | | | | This would completely reshape our concept of time |
| The most important thing to remember when looking | | | | and reality, and may be what the prophecies have |
| into all the theories going around is this: No one knows. | | | | been pointing to. |
| Not the Mayan experts, not the conspiracy theorists, | | | | Those who claim to have had UFO contact often |
| not the sceptics. | | | | report being warned of a cataclysmic event in which |
| Recently sceptics have used comments from modern | | | | life on Earth is changed. Some are shown images of |
| day Mayans themselves that 2012 is a hoax, and that | | | | the world blowing up, and alien beings creating a sort |
| no Mayan calendar points to the end of the world on | | | | of Noah's Ark to take some people away. |
| December 21, 2012. This is somewhat misleading. While | | | | There are many Christians who believe the coming of |
| Mayans do not believe the world will end on 2012, | | | | Christ will happen within their lifetime. This idea shouldn't |
| many do believe that there will be a massive event, | | | | be discounted immediately, but it does not necessarily |
| which will change the way we experience reality. | | | | mean the Jesus we understand in Western culture (a |
| What that actually is, however, is anyone's guess. | | | | bearded wise man in a robe) will come sailing down |
| What gives the 2012 notion some level of | | | | from the sky. If we consider that Jesus was a |
| respectability is that different cultures point to a time | | | | manifestation of God, it's possible that Christ may |
| somewhere around this date. | | | | return embodied in another form. |
| Terence McKenna, a researcher into all things bizarre, | | | | One conspiracy theory that has been put to bed is the |
| began talking about the date of December 21, 2012 as | | | | notion of the mysterious "Planet X" that's going to |
| early as the 1980's. He claimed to find this out from a | | | | crash into Earth in 2012. There's really no scientific |
| computer program he devised using the Chinese | | | | evidence for this theory, and those who are |
| I-Ching, a number system somewhat similar to Tarot | | | | expounding it as a legitimate theory tend to be |
| cards. While the actual science behind his method is | | | | untrustworthy. |
| hard to understand, there's no doubt that McKenna | | | | It's possible that all the differing theories about 2012 |
| was a serious minded person who, despite having | | | | may all be about the same event, and have just been |
| some out-there ideas, was extremely intelligent and | | | | interpreted in different ways. For this reason, it's |
| took his work very seriously. You can search his name | | | | important we don't commit ourselves to one set idea |
| on YouTube to find out more about his theories. | | | | of what will happen, and remain open to all possibilities. |
| One of the theories put forth by McKenna was that | | | | |