May 21, 2011: The End of the World?

Well, tomorrow, May 21, 2011, is supposed to be the end of the world. Wait, I thought the Mayans said it was supposed to be December 21, 2012? Either way, it gets a lot of publicity. (This post is a good example.)

A Christian Family Radio station in Oakland, Calif. has been spending of lot of time, money and effort letting people know that if they step up and believe, they will be beamed to heaven when the giant worldwide earthquake hits tomorrow, while the rest will be left to suffer.

So what's the truth?

The quick and dirty answer is who knows? But these claims have been made for centuries on end, and each time, the next day comes. So my guess is that the probability of this happening is smaller than I can even imagine.

So what is it about the need to find a definitive date in religious or spiritual teachings when all things will come to an end?

Why strike fear into people's hearts and minds?

It doesn't get us anywhere to judge the people who are lighting up this movement, but it is more helpful to get curious about it. My guess is that it's not intentionally vindictive; there is a deep belief that this is true. If a person who believes is reading these lines right now, it's highly likely that they think I am ignorant and feel sad for me as I will likely go to hell. They're sure of this.

But how does that happen? How do these deep, unshakable beliefs come to be, and how is it reconciled when the next day comes?

I think these are all important questions to ask because to some degree, we all have deep-seated beliefs that we aren't even aware of.

We believe we have to dress and act a certain way to belong. We may believe that deep down we're unlovable, or that we'll never be able to write a book, get that job or lose weight. Beliefs are probably the most powerful subconscious thoughts that exist as they color the way we see life and influence our behaviors moment to moment.

We don't know when beliefs start, exactly, but we do know that from the moment we open our eyes in this world, we are sponges for how things work, and we absolutely buy what we see and hear in our environments. Our brains are in critical stages of formation and the wiring is happening quickly. So we wire together beliefs based on our experience. If you were abused as a child, it's highly likely that you felt unworthy or unlovable. If you were brought up in a loving and attuned environment, you may believe that you can do anything you set your mind to.

However, beliefs can be brought to light, and if they are unhealthy, they can be shattered.

Certainly many African Americans believed deeply that there would be no way they would see a black president in their lifetime, but it happened, and the glass ceiling disappeared.

Practice:

Consider whether you have any beliefs suggesting you are unlovable or unworthy, or that you just can't do something. See if you can ride the string back to earlier times in your life and see where that message came from. Then each time you experience those thoughts, let the emotion, whether it's fear, shame, etc., as it comes up in your body, ground you to the reality of the present moment. Then see if you can see an alternative vantage point.

Try this out as a practice over and again and see if you start to see cracks in your beliefs. It's through these cracks that the light shines through.

And by the way, if you're reading this post after May 21, congratulations, we've all made it!

As always, please share your thoughts, stories and questions below. Your interaction provides a living wisdom for us all to benefit from.

This piece is adapted from Elisha Goldstein's publication on Mentalhelp.net.

 

 

 

Follow Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Mindful_Living

Comments

[kld31]

08:06 AM on 05/23/2011

There is only one good thing that I can see that would come out of this. When Jesus really does return to rapture all believers and millions are missing, everyone will know why. They won't suspect other things like UFO's or aliens. The problem with Camping is that he thought he was so smart to set a date when the Bible clearly says that no man knows the day or the hour, but only God the Father. I have no doubt in my mind that the rapture is coming very soon. The signs are all around us in Matthew 24. One of the signs just before Christ returns is the rise of false teachers, like we just saw with Camping. When the rapture takes place, it will be a terrible time on earth for those left behind because God will pour out His wrath. It's all in the book of Revelation.

[kellygreen]

07:26 AM on 05/23/2011

People see--and pray to---the God that makes sense to them.

If you see the world through the eyes of Love and Compassion....you believe in a God that is Love and is forgiving. A God of Fear, Destruction, and Judgement makes no sense to you. Because it would be worshipping a God that is less psychologically and emotionally evolved, than you are.

Likewise....if you see the world through the Eyes of Fear, Shame, and Judgement....you believe in a God that is Angry, Judgemental, and perhaps even Vindictive. A God that is Loving and Forgiving (even if one professes to believe in such a God) makes no sense to you. Because you cannot forgive the imperfections of others---and of yourself----you cannot envision anyone else being able to truly forgive. It is like a person who has been blind from birth, trying to understand what the color "blue" looks like.

Wonderful advice on how to work through and resolve emotions. Because---when negative emotions and the beliefs they spawn---are projected out into the world....they turn into the pain and suffering that we inflict upon one another. Both as a result of unbridled passions...but also in violence and intolerance in the name of dogmatic and destructive ideologies.

[romanowskygo]

09:03 AM on 05/23/2011

Excellent analysis, for a moment I felt father was talking to me...................brougth up so many good memories, sensible comments, and logical trues.

[JDM73]

01:30 AM on 05/23/2011

It's nothing more or less than the inevitable result of fervent belief in evangelical Christianity. The end of the world *must* come--that's an essential tenet of the religion--and that end has been promised for two thousand years. So when things start looking more and more bleak but God's fiery vengeance still doesn't come to pass, the faithful become restless. They try to hasten the day of destruction through the sheer force of their own belief. Because they couldn't have been mistaken all along, could they? No, that's just too horrible to contemplate. The end *will* come...it will, it will. It must!
Expect more desperation from the evangelical community in the coming years.

[babby201]

12:50 AM on 05/23/2011

What the hell! , we're all going to go sometime , does it matter if its one at a time or all together.

[babby201]

12:47 AM on 05/23/2011

Now we have to see if we can get our money back on all those Ferraris'

[tanzaniteocean]

12:45 AM on 05/23/2011

It seems to me that many people are so desperate for relief from the current chaos in the world today that even religious leaders fantasize and predict future Godly events without accurate proof. This can lead to more disappointment and dismay to the ones who believe, hope, and pray for relief. It also leads to fear in children and others who don't understand these false predictions. I am sorry for those who sold their belongings and were disappointed in their hopes being broken. The best and smartest thing we can all do is to love one another, help one another, and encourage our government to stop wars from going on, etc. I learned from the bible that there will be many obvious signs of Jesus returning and to trust the Lord. There will be no specific date revealed, so live life fully and not to worry. One can only prepare for this time to come by believing in Jesus and acting the way he would want us to.

[patililac]

12:38 AM on 05/23/2011

Speak for yourself! It doesn't say anything about me. It's bogus and stupid.

[sologos1]

11:14 PM on 05/22/2011

Does Dr.Goldstein believe that his opinion carries more weight than Camping's because he has a PhD after his name?

[Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D.]

11:39 PM on 05/22/2011

What opinion are you speaking of. If you read the post, it is about being curious about how beliefs come to be. Sometimes our brains are too quick and color the way we perceive even what we read. Read it again...

[Matthew Coleman]

07:31 AM on 05/23/2011

While Dr. Goldstein may be a bit on the egocentric side, his PhD does give him a degree of credibility in the field he is talking about -- the reason that people gravitate to "prophecies of doom." And, since Harold Camping is an engineer, the conflict of ideas here is between someone who has sought and gained a doctorate vs. someone who has left their field of expertise behind and moved from the technical to the spiritual, with no formal education. Education only has validity within the field of study, and the good Doctor Goldstein has been wise enough to stay within his field, unlike Mr. Camping.

[e dick schuster]

11:01 PM on 05/22/2011

Not so quick with this "us" rot. I had no idea any of this nonsense was going down until late last Thursday, and cannot say as I gave it a second thought. If I had, it would've been to dismiss it out-of-hand. Thing cannot be all that bad if this Crapturist piffle manages to dominate the news.

[saddlesman]

10:43 PM on 05/22/2011

seems to me that the proprietor of this prediction should bear some responsibility to those people who fundamentally changed their lives due to his assurances. Religious leaders have a unique position of authority and trust, and when they use it in such an irresponsible manner society shouldn't just ignore it! What about the people who sold property, left families and quit jobs. They're not just crazy or ignorant, they've been lead by someone they believe, in, believe knows the truth, can predict the future. What if some politician, or wall street professional did the same thing, said that the world was going to end on a certain date?? he'd be prosecuted for fraud for sure. For some reason we're willing to give religious leaders a pass on this subject. This isn't just an issue of belief or religion, frauds involved pure and simple.

[Matthew Coleman]

07:33 AM on 05/23/2011

Mr. Camping's right to say crazy things is protected by the 1st Amendment. The responsibility of belief resides wholly and completely with the listeners. The vast majority of Christians and non-Christians dismissed this as lunacy, but for those who didn't, it was a free choice on their part.

[RLaitres]

09:49 PM on 05/22/2011

Nice attempt at analysis, but totally without merit and extremenly shallow. It would have been sufficient just to say that the human being, both as individuasl and as part of a species are arrogant fools. We form such a small part of even that part of the universe that we know, yet many are still of the opinion that they are indespensible; i.e. that everything depends and resolves around us. It would seem that the biggest failure in man is his insufferable arrogance. The consciousness of the self has resulted in the "worship of the self" as the real "god."

[aliosh]

09:33 PM on 05/22/2011

I am a Christian and I am always prepared for the day of Revelation. Just because it hasn't happened when predicted by man doesn't mean it won't happen at all. The Bible does say that no one will know when the end will be...Not even the angels.

[RLaitres]

09:43 PM on 05/22/2011

The Earth, as a planet, will come to an end. That is simply a physical fact. I would suspect that many want to "escape" because they can't accept or handle reality. So, if it ends "prematurely" it will be by human hands, not that of any deity. It is not the "earth" that will end, it is humanity which will end up destroying itself, and long before the earth as a planet does.

[RLaitres]

09:58 PM on 05/22/2011

Permit this individual to provide the poster with a "Revelation." You are not "god", I am.

Peace my child,
God

[khanti]

08:48 PM on 05/22/2011

Nothing is permanent, the World will end for sure only a matter of when. I don't think the World will end next year either, even if scientific projection of a catastrophic event comes true I don't think the World will end. Perhaps it may meant extinction of certain species and extermination of a billion lives or more the earth won't be totally sterile and it will regenerate.
Even the Universe is impermanent, ever moving and changing; collaspsing and expanding; new ones are formed, so will our galaxy and solar system. Until then we must cherish life and love all those that live within. Castastrophic events will only teach us to value life and Mother Earth that we take for granted.

[stephendelong1]

08:02 PM on 05/22/2011

Here is my theory, GOD may get bored with our socialist ways and we may become the next dinosaurs. Cheers

[runredrunn]

11:11 PM on 05/22/2011

Jesus was the most socialist among us. I'd like to point to Mr. Stephen Colbert's wonderful quote that states, "If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don't want to do it."

[TheBee]

09:16 AM on 05/23/2011

Please understand that "helping the poor", does not meaning giving things to them, it means teaching them how to get them for themselves. Yes, there are times when we need to give things on an emergency basis, but rewarding a complete lack of one's responsibility for themselves, is not helping anyone... it is causing them to forever be poor. It is better to teach one how to fish than to give them fish, which only feeds them for a short period of time, while teaching them, can feed them forever... and enable them to teach, or, help feed others.

[thebigbike]

07:58 PM on 05/22/2011

what all this reveals about "us" is the ubiquity and the intellectual vacuity and laziness of mass media