Interest in the ancient Maya is intensifying with the December 8th release of Mel Gibson's new movie "Apocalypto." Ask people what they know about the Maya, and you'll hear: They built huge cities in the jungle, abandoned them and disappeared, carved hieroglyphs on stones, wore intricate costumes with lots of feathers, and performed human sacrifice. While this is true, it barely touches the reality of the Maya's history and creations. Until now, you'd need to pour through dense archeological studies to learn about the Maya. But, Gibson's anticipated blockbuster movie, spoken in a Maya dialect with English subtitles (as "The Passion of the Christ" used Aramaic), brings the public a tale of internal strife and competition for resources that caused Maya societies to unravel from the inside, leading to their collapse around 900-1000 AD.

Did Mel get the story right? How much is accurate in the Maya world that "Apocalypto" portrays? Maybe there's more to the Maya story that could help the world now, as we approach the end point of the Maya calendar in 2012. The true legacy of the ancient Maya is a vision that connects humans intimately with the galaxy. They were master astronomers, and they understood the cycles that tie earth life to movements of the stars. They believed that cosmic forces like sunspots and eclipses had important effects on our lives. The forces of nature were alive to the Maya, full of God-like life force called itz. And, they knew how to communicate with these forces through mystical techniques like shamanic journeying, sometimes assisted by hallucinogenic substances.

This expansive vision is hard to reconcile with the story that archeologists read in the crumbling stones of Maya cities. Or, with the tale told in Gibson's movie that sees this great civilization as corrupting itself from the inside out. But, there were different value systems in ancient Maya culture, as in our own culture today. One man's defiance of his society is the theme of "Apocalypto." Even during the rise of kings, slavery and warfare, a core group held onto the original values that honored life and linked it to celestial forces. This continued as an underground oral tradition kept alive by generations of shamans in the villages. They use techniques similar to the meditations, postures and self-disciplines found in yoga. These practices are enhanced by the powerful resonances created through the geometric energies of the pyramids, which have strong effects on human energy fields and our thought patterns.

Now this deep wisdom is re-emerging, brought to the public's attention by contemporary elders and teachers, ushering forth a "Maya awareness." It prepares us for the great shift of 2012, when we begin a new era called the Fifth Sun, bringing a rise in human consciousness. Gibson's "Apocalypto" will expose millions of people to the Maya world. To understand this world more fully, you can read a new book on life in Maya times, seen through the eyes of a modern time traveler: "Dreaming the Maya Fifth Sun: A Novel of Maya Wisdom and the 2012 Shift in Consciousness," by Leonide Martin.

The story reveals the ancient Maya legacy in a visionary adventure, showing how modern people can use mystical Maya practices to change their own and others' consciousness. According to contemporary Mayan priestess Aum-Rak Sapper, "the details are accurate, giving insight into Maya magic and mysticism and bringing their message of the new era to come."