Readings from the works of John Major Jenkins
(including songs and poetry)

Read and performed by the author

I've been aware for some time that, to read and understand something one needs to get inside the mind of the author.

The written word is a mercurial thing, subject to a wide variety of interpretations and misinterpretations in the mind of the person reading it. What meaning or inflection of meaning did the author really intend? What emphasis, what subtle pauses, what cadence and flow could add greater clarity to the reader's experience? And how might this be best delivered?

My books and articles on the Maya calendar and Maya cosmology are sometimes noted to be quite thick with polysyllabic words and technical terms, whether they be scientific terms or phrases used in the study of profound non-dual metaphysical teachings. I don't go out of my way to use these terms. Rather, as a constantly learning and evolving writer I have striven to find words and phrases that best convey the often complex concepts and ideas I wish to express. As my own understanding has deepened, I seek expressions, words, and concepts that better convey these truths. Maybe when strange new words are encountered, it signals a moment when lexicons can be expanded by consulting a good 'ol dictionary — I still frequently do that myself.

And so, the solution is quite simple. Just listen. On this page I offer a constantly expanding resource. I will be selecting key passages from my various books and writings. I offer this as a service to clarity and discernment, because I see endless distortions about what I've said or believe, or what my methods and approach are. I launch this new program in May of 2012, at the 11th hour for clarifying the avalanche of misconceptions about my work and about 2012. I've always encouraged people to just read my books; that's why I write them. And I have received heartfelt thanks and encouraging feedback from many who have. (My writings have now been translated into some twelve foreign languages.) I'd still like the books to be bought and read, and you can purchase signed copies from me directly, at the links below. But here I offer samples as well as sumptuous meals.

This is a free resource. However, please donate to support my continuing efforts. One misconception that I find rather amusing is that I'm awash in money derived from my books, lectures, and TV appearances. The fact is that, despite over twenty years of writing, researching, editing, and publishing books and articles, and even with four books currently in print on a very hot topic including translations into multiple languages, I annually generate much less than poverty wage after my travel costs and other basic expenses are factored in. Average annual proceeds since my first book contract was signed in 1992 has been about $3000 (that's before subtracting travel and research costs, not even factoring in living costs.) And the modern publishing industry is a sinking ship. Maintaining my free, information-packed, websites since 1995 has alone been a substantial expense. I have never thought until now to give my fans and readers a chance to show their support. On some level I assumed that at this stage in my career I'd be in a stable place and able to meet my very modest living expenses and bills. That has not come to pass, despite my work being used (and often distorted) in hundreds of documentaries, books, and online web pages. So, please support your non-local independent Maya scholar and choose your buttom below. Anything and everything is greatly appreciated.

Support my past and ongoing work:









At the $100 level, I'll send you a copy of my 3-CD audio program titled
Unlocking the Secrets of 2012 (Sounds True, 2007, 3 hours), and the
76-page booklet A Bio-Bibliographical Reminiscence (see excerpt below)


I offer below many hours of recorded excerpts from my various books and articles (some as yet unpublished), in addition to my poetry and songs written on the guitar and bouzouki. It's OVER FOUR HOURS OF AUDIO (not including the songs). Enjoy...

From Lord Jaguar's 2012 Inscriptions (2011):

1. Excerpt from the Intro, the composite rendering, and commentary (13:39)

----- Buy the Book

 

Excerpts from The 2012 Story (2009):

1. Excerpt from the Introduction (6:27)

2. Excerpt from the Intro to Part II (2:53)

3. Excerpt from the section titled "Implications of the Galactic Alignment Theory" (5:24)

4. Excerpt from Chapter 12 (2:15)

----- Buy the book

 

Excerpts from Pyramid of Fire (2004):

1. Excerpt from Marty's short story (3:17)

2. Excerpt from the text of the Pyramid of Fire document (3:21)

3. Excerpt from Chapter 6 (1:51)

----- Buy the book. Proceeds support the Marty Matz website.

 

Excerpts from Galactic Alignment (2002):

1. The entire Intro to Galactic Alignment (9:08)

----- Buy the book

 

The Key to the Kalevala (Ervast, 1916 / 1999). In 1995-6 I edited the translation and in 1997 wrote the Introduction to this interesting book on the Finnish National Epic, the Kalevala. I also serve as Executor to the Literary Estate of Eino Friberg, beginning in 1995.

1. My frontispiece Kalevala-style poem "Talked with Pekka", and some comments (2:20)

2. Excerpt from my Introduction to Ervast's The Key to the Kalevala (3:20) ; ---continued (2:29)

3. Excerpt from 1996 article in Scenezine: Who was Eino Friberg? (4:38)

4. Performance of an excerpt from Runo 42 of the Kalevala

5. My 1995 poem "Louhi Gazes Deep" (text and discussion)

 

Excerpts from Maya Cosmogenesis 2012 (1998):

1. Excerpts from my Introduction: part 1 (2:33) and part 2 (2:55)

2. Excerpt from Chapter 11. "The Cosmic Symbolism of the Maya Ballgame" (3:46)

3. Read the chapter-by-chapter summary here (text)

----- Buy the book

 

Excerpts from The Center of Mayan Time (1995):

1. Excerpt from the Intro to The Center of Mayan Time (2:42)

----- This book is out of print (for now)

 

Excerpts from Mayan Sacred Science (1994/2000, formerly titled Jaloj Kexoj and PHI-64):

1. The new preface to the re-issue of the book in 2000 (9:38)

2. Excerpt from Chapter 1, "Perspective" (3:08)

3. Excerpt from Chapter 8 "Jaloj Kexoj" (9:13)

4. Excerpt from Chapter 8 continued (3:20)

5. Chapter 8 conclusion (2:01)

6. Excerpt from Appendix 4 (5:24)

7. "Paradigm In a Nutshell" summary of the book (3:50)

8. Excerpt, p. 118, "Astrology?" (2:30)

----- This book is out of print (for now)

 

Excerpts from Tzolkin: Visionary Perspectives and Calendar Studies (1992/1994):

1. Various excerpts from Chapter 1, "Causality vs. Synchronicity" (6:55)

----- Buy the expanded book ("Tzolkin 2", on a CD-disk, it is readable like a Web page)

 

Excerpts from Mirror in the Sky (1991):

1. From Chapter 1, "Dreams" (4:41)

2. From Chapter 1, continued (3:30)

3. From Chapter 2, "Journey" (4:04)

4. From Chapter 2, continued (2:15)

----- This book is out of print (for now)

 

Excerpts from Journey to the Mayan Underworld (1989):

1. The Introduction (4:51)

2. The first two pages of Chapter 1 (5:44)

3. "Night Train to Oaxaca" (5:38)

----- This book is soon to be re-released!

Excerpts from A Bio-Bibliographical Reminiscence (2010):

1. Various extracts (15:25)

 

Poetry, 1982 - 2012:

1. Four Tryptagonal poems from The 2012 Story (2008) 1:56

2. Reading of my "Ode to Abzu" poem (2006) 4:56

3. Quetzalcoatl's Return (1998) 4:58

4. Distance Gazing (1985) 2:02

5. Poems from the collection Selections to Forty (1982 - 2003) 4:48

6. Lay of the Land (poetry from 2003, in the Vincenzo's Star book) 5:49

7. True Nature Flashing Forth (2003) 2:37

8. Momentary Scintillation (1983) 1:02

9. Reincarceration (1982) 1:00

10. Nothingmist (1983) 0:57

11. Song of the Land (2003) 1:43

 

Some of my guitar and bouzouki songs (1984 - 2010):

1. Sailor's Dream (1990)

2. Her Name (2008)

3. This is What I'll Do (2010)

4. Power of Love (1992)

5. The E.L.G.E. Blues / Mexico (1988)

6. Commiseration (2009)

7. What Will Be Will Be (2010)

8. Java Jules (1992)

9. The Center (spoken lyrics 1983 / song written 1994)

Like my songs? Please donate (above).

 

Articles, short stories, introductions, excerpts:

1. New Dawn magazine: "Maya Cosmology, 2012, and Academic Ignorance" (9:19)

2. "Thesis," 1994 (3:43)

3. Excerpts from my preface to the Italian edition of Maya Cosmogenesis 2012: First (7:43) and Second (3:36)

4: "Reflections of War, Mitosis, and Related Phenomena," from Scenezine (1990):

first excerpt (8:31)
second excerpt (5:51)
third excerpt (2:55)

5. Excerpt from the my Introduction to Geoff Stray's book Beyond 2012 (4:02)

6. Excerpt from my article for The Mystery of 2012 anthology , 2007 (2:37)

7. Raising the Beast out of its Cave, short story (7:00)

8. Excerpt from my novel Remembering 2012 (5:06)

9. Early comments on "the 2012 Phenomenon":

excerpt from article intended for ReVision magazine, March 2004 (5:53)
excised paragraphs from my foreword to Geoff Stray's book, April 2004 (3:59)
email to Jonathan Zap, April 2004 (6:07) ; ---the text of this exchange

10. From the ReVision article, commenting on Alten's sci-fi book, Domain (8:16)

 

More Free Essays, Texts, Interviews, Articles, Research:

There are also many free essays, reviews, and links to various audio, T.V., and video interviews on Alignment2012.com, Update2012.com, and the2012story.com. In addition, in the last two years I have posted many free research essays at The Center for 2012 Studies, including:

"Photographic Clarification of Lord Jaguar’s Birthday and the P4 Glyph on TRT Monument 6.” 6- 2011
"The Birth-Sacrifice Monument." 7-2011 
"Review-Essay of Dennis Tedlock’s Book 2000 Years of Mayan Literature (2010)." 4-2010 
"Dating the Construction of the Izapan Ballcourt, and Corrections on the Study of Astronomy in the Izapan Ballcourt." 10-2011
"The Comalcalco '2012' Date - an Academic / Media Rerun." 11-2011
"A Reassessment of Date Ambiguities on Tortuguero Monument 2." March 2, 2012.
"Further Investigations on Tortuguero Monument 2." March 5, 2012. 
"Sun and Moon at the Cosmic Crossroads in an Inscription from Palenque Temple XIX." 3-2012
"18 Rabbit's Sacrifice, Bolon Yokte', and the Associated Astronomy." 4-2012.
"The Bolon Yokte Reference on the Copán Hieroglyphic Stairway." 5-2010
"The Milky Way and Quirigua Zoomorph B." 5-2010.
"Astronomical Events Leading Up to Bahlam Ajaw’s Accession on February 4, 644 AD." 5-2010
"Calendrical Patterns and Tortuguero Monument 1." 5-2010.
"Evidence that 2012 Represents a New Creation, or Worldrenewal." 6-2010.
"The Sun Binding Ritual on Tortuguero Monument 8." 5-2010.
"The ‘Ecliptic as Road of Souls’ Theory and the Iconography of Quirigua Zoomorph G." 6-2010.
"Steps in Understanding Calendar Continuity and in Verifying the Correct Correlation." 7-2011

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All audio and other links on this Web page are Copyright © John Major Jenkins.
They are not to be copied or duplicated or re-offered or re-linked on other Web sites or in other formats
or frameworks except for on this current Web page (Readings-JMJ.html on Alignment2012.com).

John Major Jenkins is a pioneering voice in the 2012 discussion with over twenty years of experience defining and debating the issues. Informed by innovative field work at archaeological sites and inspired by living and working among the Highland Maya, Jenkins’ comprehensive work covers media misconceptions, assessments of 2012 theories, consciousness studies, Maya shamanism, archaeoastronomical research, Perennial Philosophy, academic misconceptions, and the crisis of sustainability faced in the modern world. His unprecedented “galactic alignment theory” is now receiving new support from recent discoveries in the Maya inscriptions. While integrating the scientific and spiritual viewpoints, Jenkins honors contemporary calendar Maya tradition and the ancient Maya vision of a unified cosmos. 

His work has been featured since 1998 in media produced by ABC Nightline, The U.S. News and World Report, The New York Times, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, The History Channel, and NBC’s SyFy Channel.
Since the 1980s John’s articles have appeared in many magazines, newspapers, websites, and book anthologies, including: The Mystery of 2012 (2007), You Are Still Being Lied To (2009), Towards 2012 (2008). His best known books are Maya Cosmogenesis 2012 (1998), Galactic Alignment (2002), Unlocking the Secrets of 2012, (3-CD audio, 2007), The 2012 Story (2009), and Lord Jaguar's 2012 Inscriptions (2011).  His books have been translated into twelve languages, and his work appeared in a feature profile in The New York Times Sunday Magazine, July 2007. Jenkins has a chapter in 2012: Decoding the Countercultural Apocalypse (ed. Dr. Joseph Gelfer, introduced by Dr. Michael Coe) and also wrote a chapter for the forthcoming peer-review anthology called Archaeoastronomy in the Americas (eds Dr. Robert Benfer and Dr. Larry Adkins, University Press of Florida). His Society of American Archaeology presentation (April 2010), in which the astronomy of Tortuguero Monument 6 was treated, was debated by Maya scholars in an open debate hosted by scholars at The Maya Exploration Center.