FRACTAL TIME

To see a world in a grain of sand,

And a heaven in a wildflower,

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,

And eternity in an hour.

     -----William Blake

FRACTAL TIME: The Secret of 2010 and a New World Age by Gregg Braden explores the mysterious ideas about the Mayan prediction of the world’s end in 2012. In this scholarly read, Braden looks back to predictions and recorded events made by ancient cultures by referring to  the cave drawings, songs, oral literature, and artifacts connected with the Mayans, the Hopi  Indians, India’s Vedas: esoteric  hymns sung by Vedic priests, the Puranas, the epic The Mahabharata , the I Ching, and the Book of Revelation.

Using references to scientific evidence, mathematical formulas, and poetry, Braden poses the notion that the human condition is affected by the patterns of nature in a cyclical universe of repeating ages measured in 5,125 year cycles of time.

Braden contends that the earth and our solar system journey in a cyclical pattern as the earth’s position in the heavens changes, and when the planets in our solar system cross the equator of the earth’s galaxy, we are connected with the energy of the Milky Way. Ancient cultures knew that the earth’s position in the skies would affect our world both emotionally and physically. As the earth moves closer to the core of the Milky Way, we become more conscious in our spiritual awareness.

Ancient traditions divide Earth’s 25,625 year orbit through the twelve constellations of the zodiac into five world ages lasting 5,125 years each. Our zodiac age is determined by which constellation provides the backdrop for the rising sun on the day of the spring equinox each year. We are presently transitioning from the Age of Pisces to the Age of Aquarius. Braden mentions the symbols and traits associated with past ages. The Age of Aries was represented by the ram-headed Ra for the Egyptians in the sixteenth century B.C. Early Christians chose as their symbol the two fish swimming in opposite directions during the Age of Pisces [ying-yang, East-West, body-soul, etc.]

Defining historical events happened in each Zodiac Age: Leo-global warming; Cancer-biblical flood; Gemini, alphabets and writing; Taurus, Egyptian civilization; Aries, the Iron Age, and Pisces, the birth of Christianity. The Age of Aquarius symbolizes humanity, developing a global community, modeling ourselves as mind, body, and spirit. Thus, Aquarius represents an age of unity.

A fractal is a pattern that repeats itself in similar ways on different scales. Braden cites mathematical research and formulas posed by brilliant mathematicians and scientists to show how man can understand this complex key to the universe.

The chapter on the mystery of Phi and the Golden Ratio 1.618 explains how nature approximates the Golden Ratio. Examples of how the human body is governed by the Golden Ratio include the following; ratio of navel to total body weight is .618; ratio of length of hand to that of forearm .618; ratio of human face from brow to chin .618 and countless other examples in our universe. Thus, the pattern.

Baton Rouge takes brunt o hurricane Gustave. The Ancients feared the events of our time. Our 21^st century world is experiencing massive flooding, earthquakes, droughts, and global warming that have affected the world’s infrastructure.

The chapter on Armageddon or the Second Eden challenges humanity to create mass positive emotion in a spirit of cooperation and a heart-based mode of living our lives, forgiveness and peace instead of betrayal and war, a far cry from the direction our species is living today.

You will be mesmerized by Braden’s text. It is not a quick read, but one that may inspire you to think about your place in the universe.