Editor’s Note: As 2011 comes to an end, many are confused about the coming of 2012; there are several theories regarding the drama surrounding the new year. José Arguelles was an individual who spent decades researching the Maya calendar and its’ intended message, none of which include the ending of the world. The prolific author and humanitarian passed away on March 23rd, 2011. An open mind is helpful in understanding the theories and teachings of Arguelles. The following is an interview with Arguelles -- prior to his death -- who explained his research and life teachings.

José Arguelles, author of the 1987 new age classic, “The Mayan Factor,” lived in a tiny coastal town in southern Australia. At dawn, the art historian said he had been up for three hours already, meditating and reading.
“I find that if I can get up and have two or three hours before the rest of the world wakes up, that’s the best time to tune into the cosmic frequencies,” Argüelles said, “tune into God, the higher forces that govern the universal order of reality.”
Much of Argüelles’s energy was focused on preparing for December 21, 2012, the date around which the ancient Maya “Long Count” calendar resets, at the end of a 5,125-year cycle.
It’s in large part thanks to Argüelles’s writings, beginning with “The Mayan Factor: Path Beyond Technology,” that the year 2012 has emerged as shorthand for apocalypse in global pop culture, resulting in a slew of Internet sites, books, documentaries, as well as a Hollywood movie. An authorized biography of Argüelles written by his apprentice, Stephanie South, “2012: Biography of a Time Traveler,” calls him “the man behind the 2012 phenomenon.”According to the biography, Argüelles believed 2012 will bring, not destruction, but “the transformation of the present material-industrial order ...