The quantity of 2012 literature out there is mind-boggling. There are hundreds of books about the Maya calendar cycle ending on December 21, 2012, but few give a rational, researched, big picture of the 2012 phenomenon and its related aspects.
Fewer still focus on the eight million living Maya and how they look at 2012, and are written by such a respected and experienced author as Robert Sitler, PhD, a professor and Director of the Latin American Studies Program at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida.
Sitler began his career studying Maya culture 40 years ago while traveling in the rainforests and ruins of Chiapas, Mexico. He continues to draw lessons from his decades among the Maya, and his latest book, The Living Maya: Ancient Wisdom in the Era of 2012
The book begins with the Yukatek Maya greeting, “Bix a bel?” which means, “How is your road?” And that’s right where the author puts us—in the vivid landscapes of the Guatemalan highlands and southern Mexican villages, traveling through misty, surreal scenery and interacting with modern-day Mayans of all types.
Along the way, Sitler outlines the lessons the Western world can learn from the Maya: Namely, “Cherish our babies, connect with our communities, revere the natural world that sustains us, seek the wisdom of humanity’s elders, and immerse ourselves in direct experience of this divine world…”
He writes:
These “invaluable lessons from the living Maya are not esoteric messages from the stars of complex prophecies hidden in hieroglyphic texts that we must struggle to interpret. On the contrary, they are gems of wisdom drawn from thousands of years of human experience.”
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***Learn more: The Living Maya: Ancient Wisdom in the Era of 2012 Facebook page is a must-like, constantly updated with interesting, intelligent tidbits and links.
