Image
John Major Jenkins has made a point of claiming to be the sole originator of the 2012 "Mayan galactic alignment" hypothesis. Jenkins has gone to great lengths to present himself as a scientist and his theories as based in hard science. But first:

I. Who is John Major Jenkins?

A. Background

Online Jenkins is touted as a "leading expert in the mysteries of ancient Mesoamerican cosmology and calendars."

He is also touted (and touts himself) as the "originator of the '2012 alignment theory'"

Jenkins describes himself as an "independent researcher who has devoted himself to reconstructing ancient Mayan cosmology and philosophy" and as "a visiting scholar, [who] has taught classes at The Institute of Maya Studies in Miami, The Maya Calendar Congress in Mexico, The Esalen Institute (more on that below), Naropa University and many other venues both nationally and abroad", though the term "scholar" should be read lightly as he apparently completed only one semester of college as stated in this online article: "How John Major Jenkins, Jonathan Zap and Terence McKenna met during a Weekend of High Strangeness in 1996":
"Terence [McKenna] asked me [JMJ] what kind of credentials I had. Trying to be clever, I said something like "Psilocybin U," but Terence wasn't moved (I completed one semester of college)."
You can read more about Jenkins on Wikipedia, however it should be noted that on July 19th, 2010, after being contacted by parties whom Wikipedia has declined to identify, Jenkins' biography on Wikipedia.org was "scrubbed clean" of any information concerning his psychedelic drug use and advocacy.

B. Drug Use and Advocacy

As stated in his book, "The 2012 Story: The Myths, Fallacies, and Truth Behind the Most Intriguing Date in History ", Jenkins started experimenting with psychedelic drugs by the age of nineteen.
"At age nineteen I was inspired by the intrepid adventures of [Dolphin scientist John] Lilly, which I had read about in his books 'The Center of the Cyclone and The Deep Self'. At the time I was very into yoga, meditation, fasting, and breath work. It was an extreme phase of purification, identity exploration, and engaging transformative inner work. Being resourceful, I sought out a facility in Chicago called Spacetime Tanks that advertised its "relaxation" services and "state-of-the-art" isolation tanks. After four or five trial experiences without pharmacological help, I had become comfortable with the process and made friends with one of the clerks there, and decided to propose my experiment. I had logged some experience with sacred plants, although I had lately eliminated mind-altering substances in deference to yoga practice, seeking clarity of mind. Nevertheless, I believed in the transformative power of these substances and decided to experience what Lilly was talking about - they weren't called "consciousness-expanding" for nothing. I would be combining my ability to go into a meditative state, which I had developed as a result of daily meditation practice, with the isolation tank and a good dose of quality LSD." pg. 396

[...]

"The experience deeply affected me. It was completely different from the several psychedelic trips I had previously undertaken."

[...]

"I sat in a park, drank water, and ate an apple I had brought with me, which was truly nectar. My senses came alive and my body lapped up its juicy flesh. Wow. I wrote what I could recall in my notebook, and by that evening I was none the worse for wear. My notebook concludes with an odd pronouncement, a kind of philosophical muse that echoes some key ideas from The Popol Vuh. At age twenty in 1984, however, I had no knowledge of The Popol Vuh..." pg. 401
It is clear from the following statements that psychedelics may have influenced the writing of Jenkins' book, "Maya Cosmogenesis 2012":
"It was early May of 1996 [...] I had access to supplies of freshly grown psilocybecubensis mushrooms. I had ingested them fresh on two occasions in the previous two years. And more recently, I had done a dose that exceeded by far anything else I'd ever experienced. Since age 18 I had always approached drug use - even marijuana smoking - as opportunities for exploring consciousness."

"Most of the essays I compiled into Maya Cosmogenesis 2012 were written between early 1995 and late 1996."
Though Jenkins has stated that he does not advocate the use of psychedelics, he appears in this video that supports and promotes the use and benefits of psychedelics (JMJ first appears at 5:16):

The preceding video "Manifesting The Mind" is a documentary that has been billed as an "insightful documentary on the beneficial uses of psychedelics".

1. Jenkins "Suggests" Ancient Mayans Used Psychedelic Drugs

Not only does Jenkins advocate for the use of psychedelic drugs, he also "suggests" that ancient Mayans used psychedelics which in turn influenced their understanding of the cosmos.

In this essay Jenkins makes a case for the Mayans use of psychedelics in the creation of their "cosmovision":
"Psychoactive mushrooms and other powerful mind-altering substances were being used in the area of Mesoamerica that gave birth to the Long Count calendar. This is an important factor to consider in explaining the rapid transformation from the Olmec to the Maya culture, the rapid birth of a new cultural paradigm.

[...]

Could the use of hallucinogens explain how the ancient skywatchers became aware of the Galactic Center? [...] Could the use of consciousness-enhancing drugs facilitate such awareness? [...] The sheer profundity and nearly impenetrable insights that are clearly present in Maya cosmology suggests this is so. Maya cosmology is based in experiential insights derived from using shamanic tools of vision, and to get an idea of the kind of worldviews that arise in cultures that use these substances as viable sources of information about the nature of reality, we can look to the cosmic models devised by hallucinogen-using Indians in South America: the Desana, Warao, and Kogi Indians.

[...]

These examples clearly illustrate the kind of complex multidimensional cosmologies that arise as a result of using vision plants to induce shamanic states of mind. [...] I feel that this temporal aspect of cosmology building was also influenced and, indeed, facilitated by the use of powerful vision plants."
II. The Psychedelic Phenomenon and the Origin of the 2012 Meme

I would like to digress here for a moment to focus on the psychedelic phenomenon and the origin of the 2012 meme because I feel that it is important when considering whether or not John Major is Jenkins a COINTELPRO pasty.

In order to connect the psychedelic phenomenon with the 2012 meme, and eventually tie-in John Major Jenkins, I would like to turn the readers attention to the dot-connecting article written by Jan Irvin, "How Darwin, Huxley, and the Esalen Institute launched the 2012 and psychedelic revolutions - and began one of the largest mind control operations in history."

In his insightful and thought-provoking essay Irvin shows how the "Esalen Institute", (co-founded by Aldous Huxley grandson of Thomas Huxley - a friend of Charles Darwin and key promoter of eugenics, humanism and Darwin's theory of evolution), was a key promoter of "evolving" through the use of psychedelics via a multigenerational plan. Irvin also shows the introduction of the 2012 meme via CIA agent https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_D._Coe Michael Coe in his 1966 book "The Maya". How is Coe linked to the Esalen Institute? Coe was married to Sophia Dobzhansky daughter of the evolutionary biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky who was closely tied to Julian Huxley and a constant defender of Darwin's theory of evolution, and a lifelong member and eventual chairman of the American Eugenics Society.

From there Irvin traces the 2012 meme to the television show "In Search Of" (Season 2, Episode 4). In the closing minutes of this episode Leonard Nimoy states:
"The ancient Mayans, men of knowledge, conceived their time on earth, their cycle of civilization to be 5200 years. Beginning their calendar Aug 12 3113 BC they predicted that on December 24, 2011 AD, a cataclysmic earthquake would terminate their cycle of civilization. New men of knowledge would then appear to fight the forces of evil and lead the people to create a World Government. If the Mayan men of knowledge were right in only in just 34 years we may learn the answers to some of the ancient Mayan mysteries."
As Irvin points out in his essay, the 2011 date mentioned in this episode was subsequently changed to 2012.

From here Irvin traces the 2012 meme to Terrence McKenna, who worked at the Esalen Institute and was closely tied to the Huxleys: The following statement by Dennis McKenna demonstrates the connection his brother had with Esalen and the Huxleys:
"He [Terence] knew Francis Huxley, an anthropologist and one of Julian's two sons. The other, Anthony, was a botanist. Francis lived in Santa Fe and we knew him through personal circles there. Though how well Terence knew him, I have no idea. Not well. I only met him once or twice myself, so it was more of an acquaintanceship than a friendship. Laura, of course, was Aldous wife and was a beloved figure in the psychedelic community as a result. I'm sure she probably hung out at Esalen and may have been there when T was there, which was regularly in the 80s and 90s."
Irvin then goes on to state that McKenna's archives were "coincidentally" destroyed in a fire at Esalen.

The dots that Irvin has connected so far look like this:

Charles Darwin links to Thomas Huxley (a friend Charles Darwin and key promoter of eugenics, humanism and Darwin's theory of evolution) who links to Julian and Aldous Huxley (grandsons of Thomas; Aldous was also a co-founder of the Esalen Institute) who links to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (originator of the "Omega Point Theory" and a key suspect in the creation of the "Piltdown Hoax") who links to Michael Coe (originator of the 2012 meme) and Theodosius Dobzhansky (Closely tied with Julian Huxley and Michael Coe's father-in-law) who link to The Esalen Institute (a key promoter of the use of psychedelics) which links to Terence McKenna.

What does this all have to do with John Major Jenkins? From Irvin's essay it is clear that Terrence McKenna was influenced by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and CIA agent Michael Coe. McKenna also knew Julian Huxley's son Francis and hung out with Aldous Huxley's wife Laura at the Esalen Institute. As stated earlier in this essay Jenkins knew, admired, and was involved with McKenna. See: "How John Major Jenkins, Jonathan Zap and Terence McKenna met during a Weekend of High Strangeness in 1996". McKenna also wrote the introduction to Jenkins book, "Maya Cosmogenisis 2012".

Is this connection between Jenkins and McKenna coincidence? Possibly, but the larger picture, which includes the CIA origins of the New Age movement and the active promotion of psychedelic drugs by the CIA and other shadowy government agencies in an effort to derail any serious human potential movement, warrants further consideration.

III. Where Does John Major Jenkins Fit Into the 2012 Phenomenon?

Jenkins is one of the principal people who have "promoted the idea that the ancient Maya calendar ends on 21 December 2012 and this portends major changes for the Earth". And, if the reader will recall from earlier on in this essay, Jenkins is also touted as the "originator of the '2012 alignment theory'". He is also the author of the following publications which advocate for the use of psychedelics, promote the 2012 meme, and extensively expound upon his "galactic alignment" theory:

-Journey to the Mayan Underworld (Four Ahau Press, Boulder, CO: 1989)

-Mirror in the Sky (Four Ahau Press: 1991)

-Tzolkin: Visionary Perspectives and Calendar Studies (Borderland Sciences Research Foundation, Garberville, CA: 1992/1994)

- Mayan Sacred Science (Four Ahau Press, Boulder, CO: 1994)

- Maya Cosmogenesis 2012 (Bear & Company, Santa Fe, NM: 1998)

- Galactic Alignment: The Transformation of Consciousness According to Mayan, Egyptian, and Vedic Traditions (Inner Traditions International: 2002)

- Pyramid of Fire, co-authored with Marty Matz, (Bear & Company: 2004)

- The 2012 Story: The Myths, Fallacies, and Truth Behind the Most Intriguing Date in History (Tarcher/Penguin: 2009)

In addition to these publications, Jenkins has also appeared in various videos and documentaries, and has attended many speaking events. In conducting this research on Jenkins, I also found that he is connected to Jay Weidner. Jenkins and Weidner appear together in the documentary, "Timewave 2013" Weidner also interviewed Jenkins on his "Smoke and Mirrors" radio show. Jay Weidner is a long-term internet troll, and defamation artist.

Jenkins also has tourism interests with which he collaborates with to promote his version the 2012 meme including cruise lines, The Maya Conservancy, Jades S.A., JB Journeys, and Mayan Spiritual Journeys:

See: "Impide INAH Ceremonia Maya en Chiapas", in El Orbe, p. A-7,

_http://jadesmaya.blogspot.com/2008/09/tour-new-maya-cosmovision-museum.html

_http://mayaconservancy.org/blog/meso-redonda-de-izapa/

_http://mayanspiritualjourney.com/

_http://www.mayaspirituality.com/uploads/4/2/2/5/4225946/izapa_2010_brochure.pdf

JB Journeys (travel & tours): _http://www.jbjourneys.com/%5Bbook%5D/itinerary

It seems that being a self-proclaimed "originator of the '2012 alignment theory'" can be quite lucrative.

IV. So, Is John Major Jenkins a New Age COINTELRO patsy?

Based on the statement made by Gregory James in his response to Jenkins complaints concerning his original essay, "The 2012 Collective Shift & the Secret History of End-Times Prophecies":
"Jenkins' complaint that I am accusing him of plagiarism seems a gross overstatement to say the least, and idle threat at worst. This type of MO is right out of the COINTELPRO handbook, incidentally: ignore what is actually said and redirect to some overblown and fallacious declaration in an effort to discredit the source. And before I am accused of making baseless assertions myself, allow me to confirm that I am only stating an interesting observation - not a fact that Jenkins is COINTELPRO." (emphasis mine)
and also Jenkins' connection, "friendship" and admiration for Terrence McKenna, not to mention his involvement with the advocacy of psychedelics, and the promotion of the 2012 meme (albeit with his own 'original' twist), I think one can reasonably deduce that Jenkins may very well be a New Age COINTELPRO patsy, that is to say, someone who has been used and promoted as part of a grand scale disinformation campaign designed to lead humanity 'down the garden path', so to speak.

What else can we conclude? After all, if we are to believe Jenkins, the 2012 "galactic alignment" idea, which includes the idea of some kind of mass "transformation" of humanity, is the result of a combination of some native American Indians taking mind-altering drugs 1500 years ago and a 20th century self-styled 'scholar' who also took mind-altering drugs that were being promoted by the CIA that enabled him to flesh out this 'ancient psychedelic hypothesis.'