After seeing Menopause the Musical at the Rose Wagner earlier this week, I learned that menopause isn't the only big change to fear. --- Over a glass of wine following the show with astrologer Holly Alexander (who operates a website at YourDivineBlueprint.com), I learned the Mayan calendar runs out today! Damn, I told her, I thought I still had a year and a couple months before needing to pack for the "big trip" of the world's end. I asked her to fill us in on the details:

Many believe that the Mayan calendar ends Dec. 21, 2012. But some say it is actually Oct. 28. What do you say? Should we bother rounding up a Halloween costume for this weekend?

It's October 28. According to some scholars on the Mayan calendar, this date marks the end of time as we have known it, relative to the evolution of consciousness. December 21, 2012, marks a 26,000 year cycle known as the precession of the equinoxes. At this time, during the winter solstice, the sun will align in the Galactic Center, in our Milky Way galaxy. This is also referred to as “The Turning of the Ages.”

What is the Mayan calendar, anyway? How does it have an effect on modern life?

The Mayan calendar is a system describing the pattern of creation that looks like a pyramid and has nine cycles. It begins with the cellular level, 16.4 billion years ago, and ends with the universal cycle, the unlimited ability of conscious co-creation. I don’t think that “it” has an effect on life. As stated above, it’s a system for understanding the evolution of consciousness.

What types of collapse are predicted?

A dramatic increase in floods, droughts, hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, global warming, famine, human suffering and disregard for human life, disease, wars, terrorist attacks, nuclear threats, and belief in the emergence of the antichrist.

If nothing happens on Oct. 28, is doomsday on hold till Dec. 21, 2012?

We’ve already been seeing evidence of these predictions. These events are ones that take place over time, not just on one day. More of them are expected to occur between Oct. 28 and Dec. 2012.

What's the best way to cope with doomsday predictions?

Not to dwell and focus on the fear that is created by them. The out-of-balance structures and systems that do not serve the planet and her inhabitants on the whole will need to come into balance through destruction, collapse and breakdown. Take your power as a co-creator of reality, focus your energy on compassionate action, deepen your connection with nature, keep visioning a world where our earth and all life is treated with dignity, respect and reverence.