Harmonic Convergence
by Deborah S. McGee
Where were you in ’62? And where
will you be on August 16, 1987?
Local, national and international
New Age groups are holding events
centered around that date. Harmonic
Convergence is the title given the
phenomenon. There will be prayer,
meditation, celebration, ceremony,
purification and even a global radio
link-up of some of the earth’s sacred
sites.
It’s all worded in different ways and
coming in many patterns, but Har
monic Convergence could be the
Christmas Day of New Age folk.
There've been precedents: Earth Day,
1970, which spawned a still-vocal en
vironmental movement. The Live-Aid
concert, which united many of the
world’s peoples in action against
hunger. The Planetary Congress, the
Great Peace March, the First Earth
Run. And at the end of last year:
World Healing Day/Instant of Co
operation.
On bulletin boards about town has
appeared an anonymous “open letter
to 144,000 Rainbow Humans.” It is
expected that at dawn on August 16,
there will be 144,000 human beings
so drawn to the idea of Harmonic
Convergence that they will surrender
their Ego to the Cosmos. Some peo
ple are looking to dedicate themselves
to Earth first in their lives that day,
in hopes that their energy will con
nect more harmoniously with an all
Universe network of energy.
Why 144,000? That’s supposed to
be the magical number for critical
mass. The concept of critical mass at
its simplest means that when enough
members of a population begin to
adopt a certain mode of behavior, the
rest will follow in rapid fashion. Ken
Keyes of Coos Bay has promoted this
idea in his book The Hundredth
Monkey. Prevalent among many New
Age people is the belief that a large
push for social change, both indi
vidually and collectively, will bring
about a dawning era of utopia.
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Prophecies from
Central America
Whether positively or negatively,
many diverse groups speak of immi
nent apocalyptic changes. The proph
ecies of Native American peoples
seem to be getting more than their
usual attention these days. Interest
ingly enough, just when our nation is
faced with large questions about our
relations with the people of Cen
tral America, many thinkers and wri
ters are looking to the ancient cultures
from that area: the Aztecs and the
Mayans. That the great Mayan calen
dar comes to an end in 2012, after
over 5000 years of clockwork opera
tion, seems to be an important detail
in people's minds as they look to the
future.
Artist, poet and visionary Jose Ar
guelles has recently published The
Mayan Factor, in which he put forth
his theory of what's to come. Ar
guelles’ name appears more than
others in the literature available local
ly on Harmonic Convergence. With
his Boulder, Colorado-based group
The Global Family, Arguelles is one
of the driving forces behind the
August 16 celebration. On that day
and along with Barbara Marx Hub
bard, another futurist author, Ar
guelles will lead a panel discussion
during a three-hour live radio link-up
of Boulder, the Haliakala volcano of
Hawaii, and the ancient civilizations’
remnants at Machu Picchu, Stone
henge, the Greek Temple of Delphi
and the pyramids of Giza, Egypt.
(Unfortunately, I am unable to con
firm a local broadcast of this pro
gram.)
According to Arguelles and other
Harmonic Convergence thinkers,
Quetzlcoatl is returning. A mythical
figure prominent in Central Ameri
can cultures, Quetzlcoatl was a “spec
tacular culture hero” who “taught a
religion of love.” His return on August
16 is to be in the form of energy,
rather than in person. Arguelles be
lieves this energy will link us to “the
more evolved intelligent planets in the
galaxy.” With the New Age dawning,
Arguelles says we will bring forth a
memory of happier times before the
Great Mayan Cycle of 5000 years. He
says, “Earth is entrusting us to
remember all the old magic, which is
all the future magic, and to bring in
to being” the global awareness pre
dicted by the Mayans.
While articles on and references to
Harmonic Convergence have ap
peared in recent issues of such New
Age periodicals as Magical Blend and
Welcome to Planet Earth, news of the
phenomenon also has reached the
mainstream press. Newsweek ran a
story on Shirley MacLaine last
month, called “Going Even Farther
Out on That Limb.” According to the
author, MacLaine is telling audiences
that a “window of light” will appear
on August 16 and 17, which will
“allow us to rise to a higher plane of
cosmic understanding.”
The Wall Street Journal last month
did a feature on Arguelles, written in
rather glib style until suddenly the
writer Meg Sullivan reports, “Only
the hardest cynic here on the West
Coast could deny that a New Age has
66
Earth is entrusting
us to remember all
the old magic, which
is all the future magic
and to bring into be
ing” the global
awareness predicted
by the Mayans.
dawned, is dawning or will dawn
sooner or later.” And now cartoon
strip artist Gary Trudeau is getting in
on the act, through his usual method
of poking fun at the most sacred or
profane interests of his readership.
The predictions of Nostradamus
and the Bible’s Book of Revelations
lead some to feel it’s time for the big
fire. Increasing intensity of the
Mideast Wars nightly fuels the belief.
New Age thinkers, though, are quick
to point out that such negative
thoughts are dangerous and self-per
petuating. They prefer to look at Har
monic Convergence as a starting point
for healing planet Earth.
Astrological Link-up
August 16 is not an arbitrary date.
According to Arguelles, at sunrise on
that date and for eight days after
wards, the Pleiades constellation will
be straight overhead in Teotihuacan,
Mexico. Teotihuacan is thought by
many scholars and psychically-ori
ented people to be a holy place, a
power center connected to other long
accepted-as-holy places. Together
these holy spots are believed by some
to be sort of acupuncture points of our
planet. If enough good healing energy
can be applied, Earth will begin to
heal from the ravishes of mankind.
Many true believers will be at those
points on August 16.
Other unique planetary phenomena
abound at the time of the conver
gence, explained in detail in recent
issues of Mark Lerner’s locally-pub
lished Wslcome to Planet Earth
astrological monthly. An “as above,
so below” philosophy lies behind this
look to the heavens; celestial align
ments and positionings reflect earth
ly realities. Some go so far as to say
that we’ll be in a position to link our
selves up to more advanced extrater
restrial consciousness. As the Mayan
Great Cycle comes to a close with the
end of the Mayan calendar in 2012
A.D., just 25 years away, August 16
is supposed to be the begining of our
chance to turn around destructive
forces on Earth.
Steven S.H. McFadden calls the
New Age “The Age of Flowers,” and
speaks eloquently of it in the Cancer
1987 issue of WIPE. He writes that
“Quetzalcoatl prophesied that after
his passing the world would go
through 13 52-year cycles of de
creasing light and choice, followed by
nine 52-year cycles of increasing
darkness and trouble, the period of
the nine hells. The last of those
periods ends this summer—on August
16, 1987 to be exact.”
Earthy Perspective
Harmonic Convergence is another
in a long chain of visionary human
events. Every once in a while some
where somewhen on Earth along
comes a group of people with a pic
ture of how humans can improve their
lot and attain a state of at-oneness with
all creation. In the 1960s people talk
ed and wrote of the dawning of a New
Age, the Age of Aquarius. A similar
movement is afoot. Perhaps it all
reflects a deep need by our species to
have occasional light-filled dreams,
that we may go on.
Whether you believe in the great
changes some say August 16 will
bring, or whether you just look for
ward to an opportunity to hobnob with
other people interested in and open to
these ideas, here are some of the ways
of connecting in Eagene:
Circle of Light: Nine evening
gatherings from 7:30-9:30 pm. Au
gust 16-24. Persons may attend as
many as wanted, at a suggested dona
tion of $36 for all evenings, or $5/
session (sliding scale). Free orien
tation meeting at 7:30 pm, Friday,
August 14. Call 484-4243 for place.
Activities include visualizations,
meditations, a Wave of Love cere
mony, and forums by Karimu Kudura
and Mark Lerner.
Harmonic Healing Evening:
Women only, from 4-8 pm, Saturday,
August 15. Donations. Drumming,
crystals, channeling. 343-3925,
345-3433.
Star Gate: This New Age store
will repeat its recent Harmonic Con
vergence workshop on August 23.
Clearing away of negative emotions
and thoughtforms, releasing stress
energies and more. Alan Stein and
Moira Timms will use music, sound,
movement and creative visualization
with group and individual process.
342-8348.
Norma Cordell: Local psycho
therapist, bodyworker, songwriter and
teacher, Norma sponsors two events.
A morning meditation at 8:30 am on
August 16 at Skinner’s Butte Park.
Free. At 6:30 pm on the same date
she will give a teaching on the conver
gence, followed by a ritual of medi
tation, visualization and rattling, “to
take you through yourself’ to the
“Land of the Dreamwalkers.” $10.
344-0178. Preregistration required.
Eugene Yoga Center: Open from
dawn to dusk August 16 and 17. Group
meditations from 7 am-11 am and
from 7 pm to dusk—walk in any time.
Learn to breathe instruction from 1-3
pm. Deep relaxation at noon, 3 pm,
5 pm, 7 pm. At 1315 Willamette
Street. 485-6220. Free.
is open seven days a week serving delicious New
York Pizza by the slice or by the whole pizza
pie. Choice of regular crust or deep-dish Sicilian. Eat
here or take out. Also serving Vegle and Meet
Calzones every Tuesday and Thursday.
Now Open Earlier on Saturday, at 11:30 a.m.
3 30 pm-Midnight Sun
Open 11 30 im-Midnight Mon -Sat
SY'S PIZZA • 1211 Alder on Campus • 686-9598
HARMONICCONVERGENCE
CIRCLE OF LIGHT
Attune yourself to the Planetary Consciousness...
For nine evenings (August 16-24) we will gather to focus and generate energy
for the planet by working on the four planes—physical, emotional, men
tal and spiritual. Activities will include: Group Meditations • Movement
• Visualizations • Wave of Love Ceremony • Sound and Color Meditations
• Relaxations • Walking Meditations • Singing and Mantra
-PLUS SPECIAL FORUMS—
• Mark Lerner, publisher of Welcome to Planet Earth,
on the astrological significance of the Convergence
• Karimu Kudura on The Wave and The Metasociety
—Free Orientation Friday, August 14, 7:30 PM—
Call 484-4243 for location and preregistration.
Come to as many sessions as you wish. Suggested donation: $36/all 9 sessions, $5/session
(sliding scale). Sessions will meet 7:30-9:30 pm.
C* (ale4 4
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