2012 and the Tribe

At the Unveiling 2012 conference this past weekend, Daniel Pinchbeck told a story about a documentary film crew and their work with the aborigines of Australia. When the crew asked their subjects how they wanted to be filmed, they said to keep the whole tribe in the frame from start to finish. No close-ups on any one person. The 2012 phenomenon reminds me of that, because each seeker-scholar-artist has a piece to share; no one person has all the answers. The film previewed, 2012: Science or Superstition, was a sampling of 2012 thinking, leaving the viewer to make up her own mind.

The speakers, too, brought their unique research passions to the conference. I'll be posting more on each of these later. One exchange that stood out to me, was during the panel discussion, and the tribe's answer to a question about what can we do? A young man from South America asked, There's a huge call for action, for doing something, for helping...although we don't know what to do? Should we follow the inner path, or focus on the outer one? Pinchbeck said it's about integrating both. We're in the shift. I would like to see these types of gatherings become more abut dispensing practical tools and information to people -- what they can do to transform their lives right now, not in five years.

John Major Jenkins, a Mayan culture scholar, said our system is broken because of the fragmented states of the inner plane. And that it's important to go within, heal, otherwise it's like putting band-aids on the problem or shadowboxing, he said. Jenkins also said to Find your Calling. Find out what you're good at. Then Pinchbeck countered that the New Age over focus on personal healing can be a trap. If you let yourself linger forever in the vibe of, 'Oh, I'm not healing; I have to do all this healing', then you're never going to take the next step to help people, to be part of the movement. Investigative mythologist, and host of the national radio show Dreamland, William Henry, then brought up Paul Newman as a role model, and also said a key is to Follow your bliss, your passion. The Latin American studies professor Robert Sitler told about the elderly gentleman he looks up to in Guatemala, and who is revered by everyone in his village. He rarely talks, quite honestly...he plants trees. He models respect, not through conceptual information. It's done through example and modeling.

It was a peak moment for me, to get to spend time at an oyster bar with these inspired knowledge-seekers. They don't claim to see into the future -- Pinchbeck laughed at how since writing his books, he's approached as the answer man. But each has rare insight and knowledge that puts this transitional time into a context, even as it changes constantly. What was unveiled at the conference was not, "What will happen in 2012?" One cosmic joke, as Robert Sitler said, is that key glyphs in a Mayan monument that warns of specific coming events, have been worn away. The revelation was that this kind of event is a coming together to share ideas and experiences, a sense of community for what we're all experiencing in this time of epic change. It's great to know you're part of the human tribe. That each of us has particular gifts, passions, talents, perspectives to contribute to the whole, to take us through whatever lies ahead. This picture of me and author John Major Jenkins was taken at 11:11 p.m. (which we noted), a fitting end to a memorable day.

• Daniel Pinchbeck's spirit-culture-arts website, Reality Sandwich