As interest grows rapdily in Ascension, expected on Dec. 21, 2012, here’s a historical backgrounder on Terence McKenna’s ground-breaking work on what he called the zeropoint singularity, written in 2009.
Timewave Zero and the 2012 Convergence
Timothy Connolly, Shift of the Age, 2009 December 18
http://www.shiftoftheage.com/2009/12/18/timewave-zero-and-the-2012-convergence/
Timewave Zero and the 2012 Date
In a follow up to my book review article on Fractal Time by Gregg Braden, I feel compelled to expound a bit more on the apparent cyclic nature of time. As with all things related to various cycles of time, and recent discussions surrounding December 21, 2012, they all appear to miss the point of a much grander of view linear time as we know it. What seems at face value to be random events occurring in time may actually be a reemergence- a quickening repetitive replay of the essence history has shown us. Much like a fractal which at any level of magnification resembles, that is, repeats the larger whole. Could our time-space continuum act in much the same way?
With an ongoing, personal quest to more fully understand this much debated 2012 date coupled with a desire to integrate myths and ancient prophetic writings with recent scientific and esoteric hypothesis, I believe one must investigate cycles of time more closely. While the subject of time is vast, trying not to think of time as experienced in three dimensions can leave one scratching their head in bewilderment. Hopefully, we will avoid a mental black hole and come to some definitive conclusions about repetitive time cycles and their significance to December 21, 2012. Clearly we are experiencing exponentially faster repetition of global events where it appears through closer examination, the similarity of our experiences are merely an echo from our past.
From Yarrow Sticks to Three Coins
We will look into two related observations of time and repetition which come together from vastly different eras of linear time, yet speak to an audience who embrace future possibilities. The first comes to us from 1150 BC China originating in a work what is know today as the I Ching or “Book of Changes”.
Later in around 500 BC it is believed the original text was re-worked then incorporated into the Confucian cannon. While the source history of this divination form does go further back than 1150 BC, it was Literary King Wen Wang who has been attributed to creating, naming and organizing the 64 hexagram symbols and accompanying text used in decoding the meanings arrived at during a divination reading.
The I Ching divides into 64 hexagrams, each one a combination of six lines representing the properties of yin or yang. Each hexagram is made up of six lines shown as broken or solid and according to the King Wen tradition, represents the various archetypes of human interactions. Rather than expound here the actual processes involved throwing yarrow sticks or three coins to create the lines needed to use the I Ching, think of it as a method to receive clarity and guidance to questions posed in simple formats to the oracle.
Even to this day, it is used as a way to reduce chaos or the unexpected imposed by changes that life here in this part of the universe is all about. This brings to mind the statement- “Order out of Chaos” in the purest sense. The great push and pull of these dichotomies creates patterns and cycles and in culmination, really push us towards cosmic order and ultimately freedom.
Over the centuries, many have consulted the I Ching for guidance like a wise friend, even Carl Jung the Swiss Psychiatrist used it in his practice, so it’s not hard to understand its allure to help seize opportunity and avoid adversity.
Timewave is not just Theory
Before you ask- what does an ancient Chinese method of divination have to do with cycles of time, hold on because it gets very interesting as the I Ching may possibly be more than an archaic fortune-telling method. Although it took over 3,000 years to add credibility to the I Ching premise, someone came along proving this age old marvel is no Chinese fortune cookie.
Fast forward, to the mid 1970’s and a gentleman named Terence McKenna.
Thankfully, a brilliant mind has returned from dimensions beyond our time and space bringing forth new concepts to better understand time. Along with what impact time has on our perception of reality and the actual unfolding of future events. As mentioned earlier, one such event being much debated and so near on the time horizon is of course, 12/21/2012.
Way before 2012 was in vogue or on the public radar, Terence McKenna tabled a time theory which incorporated this date unbeknown to him at the time. More on this later. Terence was known as philosopher, spellbinding orator, writer and self described anarchist in the popular counter-culture revolution. Very appropriate considering the time in which he lived; unfortunately Terence died way too early in April, 2000 from a violently aggressive form of brain cancer. However, his work based on the I Ching sequence called- Timewave Theory or Zero Point is still today, considered ground-breaking.
In his first book published in 1975, The Invisible Landscape, McKenna reveals details of a fascinating story about a three week journey in 1971 that he, along with his brother, Dennis took into the Amazon jungle in Colombia. This adventure was for the purpose of scientific discovery and experimentation culminating with the gestation of a natural hallucinogenic substances which local shamans prepared called Ayahuasca and have used for eons which included a naturally-occurring tryptamine called DMT, Dimethyltryptamine.
It is said, that Terence believed in the power of psychedelics to unlock the mind’s ability to ascertain the secrets of the universe. On a side note, today, Dennis McKenna holds a Ph.D. in botanical sciences, and is currently on the faculty of the University of Minnesota. In all seriousness, it appears neither were wayward 70’s “hippies” looking simply to trip out.
The McKenna brothers claim while under the influence of this substance, they were able to tap into the “collective consciousness” at such an accelerated rate that it could be compared to a computer today downloading massive amounts of information from the internet on a T1 connection. It was this collective consciousness source information and more specifically, through these experiments where details of the nature of time originated from that became their focus. The initial method of mapping out this theoretical nature of time pointed to the I Ching as an ancient time-like computer which ultimately developed into the “Timewave Theory”. What Terence discovered with the input of his ethno botanist brother, theorist Rupert Sheldrake and chaos scientist Ralph Abraham, enabled him to further clarify his Timewave Theory of novelty with refined mathematical computations along with the help of specialized software and computing power.
Zero Point is Singularity
The principle of novelty is intrinsic to the structure of time and also creativity which is change itself, and just as important, the rate (time/speed) at which we experience this change they proposed, is mathematically heading towards an infinity point. Could that time be around 2012? The existence of an infinity point is a fact, and that is where it gets really interesting. No one can deny the rate of human progress, the pace of which is astounding. You need not go back even 1,000 years to be shocked. Just look back a few hundred years- we just learned then how to mass produce basic machines, 50 years ago rudimentary computers appeared; today we can now hold in our hands far more computing power that what took us to the moon in 1969 just 40 years ago!
What we have experienced can be viewed as various revolutions in consciousness: Three for example are: the Agricultural, Industrial and now the Information Revolution. It seems reasonable to conceive 2012 and its meaning, is rooted in the next revolution- The Human Transformation. The following short clip featuring Robert Anton and Terence McKenna conveys nicely the rapid, ever acceleration of information and experiential knowledge.
Once Terence received his inspiration, he set out to rigorously formulate his mathematical Timewave theory on paper by incorporating transforming numbers of the I Ching, then finally into software to plot and graph linear time. What eventually came out of this research was quite phenomenal. The Timewave software correlates our linear history with the rise and fall on the graph of novelty periods at points in time going forward or backwards on the time scale. At certain points, low spikes on the graph make it is easy to identify monumental novelty events such as the Atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan in August 1945 or the assassination of JFK. Even more recently, the day of awakening- September 11, 2001 appears vividly.
Hundreds of other novelty points are easily identified when compared to history. This ebb and flow of novelty according to the Timewave theory expresses itself in a compounded fashion the closer we get to the Zero Point of singularity. Again, much like a fractal, repeating the essence of itself in what seems like infinity.
It is important to point out what critics have said of his theory. McKenna’s Timewave theory must first establish and utilize a “Zero Point” date of singularity for all these graphical points of historical significance to appear in logical fashion. Without such a date, the theory truly becomes more pseudo junk-science. According to McKenna, he arbitrarily chose what he felt was a very novel date in recent history, the Atomic bombing of Japan in 1945 as the base line date to set the “Zero-Point” date of singularity. To this 1945 date, he added 67.29 years arriving at, you guessed it- December 2012. Remember this was first published in 1975 way before the Mayan long-count calendar and Hopi prophesies were widely discussed.
Not to bore you with the computations, but some may like to know how he arrived at that number of years. The 67.29 years comes from the I Ching and his “revelation of time” downloaded in the Amazon. Based on the I Ching, one day corresponds to one line on a hexagram, each hexagram has 6 lines (six days) multiplied by the total number of 64 hexagrams equals 384 days. Expanding into larger cycles of time, 64 X 384 = 24,576 days which add up to 67.29 years. The time cycles can and does continue on. This 67.29 year window of time represents the culmination of linear time in which all of preceding history must repeat in a condensed fashion before reaching the Zero-Point date of December 21, 2012. Apparently if one chooses another future date as Zero Point, the historical novelty points on a corresponding graph do not line up in any coherent fashion.
A Message of Hope
In conclusion, I believe Terence McKenna’s Timewave theory expands our awareness of just what is possible when you tap into the higher realms available to all of us. While I do not fully understand his method of achieving access to the higher consciousness realms, the indigenous people have relied on these natural substances with great success so we may not want to simply discount through a western culture mindset assumptions about their value.
Let’s not forget our own bodies naturally secrete DMT, Dimethyltryptamine which is generated within the pineal gland deep in the brain. The fact remains- higher realms of consciousness exist and are available to all of us whether through meditation and other similar practices or by psychedelic means as Terence chose.
It could very well be that one divine message to receive about the days leading up to and after 2012 is a message of hope in that we are to shift into a greater awareness on a collective level. While we travel linear time towards Zero Point which very well may be around 12/21/2012, we will continually experience events appearing to repeat on some level and speed up to the point of singularity. This could be what the Mayan’s referred to when they spoke of when “time becomes no more”. Finally, we now are receiving a clearer picture helping to remove fear-based thoughts allowing us to open previously closed doors of understanding into the nature of time just as time itself collapses into infinity.
Here’s an additional video of Terence McKenna discussing the singularity that Mckenna predicted will occur when the timewave reaches zero, expected on Dec. 21, 2012.
Click here to view the embedded video.
via The 2012 Scenario
