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Page 8 of 17
My belly ached a lot when I was little. I was diagnosed as having stomach ulcers before I completed the second grade. It hurt. My life hurt.
It's been over twenty years since the year that was to be my last. At the start of the new Millenium, (how ironic), I'll celebrate my silver anniversary of survival. I've buried my pain for the most part, along with my secrets. For the past two decades I've refused to become an official member of any one religion and talk of doomsday till this day makes my skin crawl, and my blood heat. I want no part of anyone's Apocalyptic promises. I refuse to return to the terrible prison of fear that I fled years ago. So while I'm open to future projections based on current facts, and am going to share with you nine predictions made long ago, I still refuse to place my faith in inspired revelations regarding the world's end.
The Hopi's have been handing down ancient prophecies from generation to generation. Among them are the following signs that I understand would indicate to the Hopi that the end of the fourth world was closing in, and the beginning of the fifth was at hand.
The first sign would be the coming of light skinned men, who would strike their enemies with thunder. (Interpretation - the invasion of the white man with his guns.)
The second sign foretold that the land would see the coming of spinning wheels filled with voices. (Interpretation - pioneers traveling in covered wagons which rested on wagon wheels.)
The third sign would be a strange beast like a buffalo with great long horns, which would overrun the land in large numbers. (Interpretation: the long horn cattle imported by the white man.)
The fourth sign predicted that the land would be crossed by snakes of iron. (Interpretation: railroad tracks)
The sixth sign was that the land would be criss-crossed with rivers of stone that make pictures in the sun. (Interpretation - concrete highways and their mirage producing effects)
The seventh sign would be the seas turning black, killing many of its creatures. (Interpretation - oil spills in the oceans)
The eighth sign was to be the arrival of many white young males with long hair who would wish to join with the Indian Nations and learn their ways. (Interpretation - the hippie movement of the 1960's)
The ninth and final sign entailed a dwelling place in the heavens, above the earth, that would fall with a great crash and appear as a blue star. Soon after this occurred, the ceremonies of the Hopi would cease. (Interpretation: the U.S. space station Skylab which plummeted to earth in 1979. It's been reported that to eye-witnesses in Australia, it appeared to be burning blue.)
The fifth sign (I hadn't forgotten it) was that there would be a cobweb built around the world through which people would talk. (Interpretation: electric power and telephone lines.)
It's not my intention to assert the Hopi prophecies are accurate and will be fulfilled. I have no idea. What I do want to point out, is the significance of the prophecy which foretold of the giant web which would cover the world, and through which people would talk, and the astronomical growth of the "World Wide Web."
The WWW, more commonly known as the "net," has connected the citizens of the world to a degree never witnessed before. I'm an average, middle class woman who has conversed via "email" and "chat," with a woman in Australia, a man in the United Kingdom, and a woman from Iceland all in one day. And while the technology available to us is already being exploited and commercialized, it also provides us with enormous opportunities for connection, cooperation, collaboration, and healing. There are a huge number of resources available on the Internet to those interested in social activism, environmentalism, spiritual growth, holism, and so much more. Many not only provide information, they offer opportunities to network and work together on joint projects. There are far too many "gifts from the web" to list here in this book. I would like however to provide you with just a small sample of websites that I highly recommend to those of you interested in co-creating a gentler and more sustainable world.
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