According to the organizers of the upcoming Emergence Project conference,
The current period through and beyond the year 2012 heralds a unique time in the cycle of human history and is a profound transition referenced in many different spiritual traditions, including Mayan, Christian, Hindu, Hopi, and Taoist. [...] The conference includes presentations from four well-known experts and a special series of workshops. Topics include the Mayan background and history associated with the 2012 shift; the scientific and astronomical underpinnings for wide-scale planetary change; and, most importantly, how, on a practical and existential level, individuals can move beyond the limitations of fear-based thinking towards a positive, mindful, and meaningful engagement towards a sustainable, egalitarian world.The organizers hope "to offer a unique platform for exploring the amazing opportunity for growth and change that the 2012 phenomenon presents," for $195.00. Boston Nonsense Watch official recommendation: the wisdom on offer in the chambers of this event isn't worth $2, let alone $200.
We can hope that this first 2012 conference is the last, but New Age is a hydra with many heads. The sponsor of all this nonsense is an outfit called The Emergence Project. Their charter is a patchwork of millennialist doomsdayism and New Age earnestness:
As the world becomes increasingly chaotic and the structures and systems that we have relied on for centuries seem to be failing, The Emergence Project seeks to examine the relationship between the current state of humanity and the shift in consciousness that has been predicted throughout the ages centering on the year 2012. We are a concerned group of spiritually-aware individuals who seek to explore the opportunities that currently engage our awareness and who also believe that change is simply the sum total of our collective intent to not only experience the shift but affect its outcome in a positive and constructive way. The Emergence Project seeks to bring available information, understandings and resources together on the subject of 2012 and provide a platform for in-depth discussion, dialog and debate around the issues, experiences and implications of the 2012 phenomenon. Above all, the Emergence Project seeks to educate, prepare, and empower both the individual and communities for the coming paradigm shift.Conference co-chair Annette Farrington seems to be the driving force behind The Emergence Project; she's a local -- from Winchester, MA -- so we can look forward to similar convergences of the ridiculous with the expensive in the Boston area. Of course, her reign of nonsense can't last very long, if the predictions about 2012 come true.
Ben Tremblay over at Daily Common Sense has a series of articles explaining why we should not be too terribly worried about the fatal augers that point to 2012 as the end of it all. Boston Nonsense Watch is a free service of the Boston Atheists.
