There's a new movie coming out and the title is 2012. I saw the previews of this movie and it is one about apocalyptic change in the world. There are earthquakes and tidal waves and all the things you would imagine accompaning the end of the world as we know it. It is a shame that we view dramatic change as taking such a dire avenue.

The year 2012 is one that people have been talking about for some time, but especially since the turn of the twenty-first century. I don't know that much about the predictions, but from what I understand, both the Mayan and the ancient Chinese calendars predict a huge change in the world in that year. Many think that it will mean the end of the world; hence the movie with earthquakes and so on. What the predictions are about is a huge change in life as we know it, not the end of it.

I have no idea if these predictions are true or not, and look forward to seeing if they are, but I know that we are going through some huge changes in our thinking and belief systems. We once thought that God existed in every thing in the world. The idea is called animism. God exists in the trees, the grass, the dog droppings in the grass. Everything had spirit, everything was a God. This is called pantheism, everything is a God. It did not mean that a single, monotheistic God was in each thing, that’s panentheism. It meant that each thing is a God. Then we went to a view of many Gods that controlled certain aspects of life. There was a God of storms, a God of fertility, a God of hearth and home. These Gods ruled over the earth at their whim and we had no control. Next, we came to understand God as a monarchical God that sat on His throne in heaven and caused things to happen. When the enlightenment came, we started to think that God may or may not exist, but science certainly did and had the answers we were looking for. Now we are in a position of melding these two thoughts and saying that God, not perhaps the God on the throne, but the Source of all and science may actually coexist. Quantum physics, or quantum mechanics effectively put an outside intelligent source back into the mixture. The biggest difference in this was that we understand, and are understanding more all the time, that we are part of the mix as well; there is an intelligence out there, and we are somehow linked to it.

We are beginning to understand that we are not useless victims, nor are we the center of our universe, but we are co-creators with the Divine, with the Infinite. We can control much more of our lives and the life of the world that we ever thought. Why don't we see more of this then? The answer is because we are just on the cusp of this understanding and there are many more people conditioned to the old way of thinking than the new. How many people do you personally know that believe they can control what happens to them? They either believe they are victims of circumstance or victims of a God of fluctuating emotions. Sometimes He loves us, and sometimes He hates us

I believe that the year 2012 could be a changing point in the world by people realizing that the energy of the Infinite is there for us to use to better the world. It could be the beginning of the end of war and disease. It could be the beginning of the end of hatred and prejudice. The answers are within our grasp, just as Jesus and the Buddha said. Perhaps we should listen to the new/ancient teaching and move forward.

What will you do? How do you see the Higher Power, the Source. Spend some time sitting with your beliefs and thoughts. Ask God, the Infinite, the Source, the Universe, whatever it is you believe in, to open you to understanding your place in life. Once you have some understanding of how you conceive your place in the universe, go out and actively live that way. See what happens. There may be huge changes and surprises for you. Things may not perceptively change at all at first. Look to the greatness of change and expect God to change his shirt. Expect the Universe to open before your very eyes. Be ready for 2012.

Author's Bio: 

I am a minister, spiritual teacher, Yoga and meditation instructor, and Reiki practitioner. More about me can be found at http://www.acommonpath.com