Mayan elder shares ‘end-of-world’ message at The Diamond

This is it. The last week of the Mayan calendar and what has been touted as the end of it all. Leave it to Lake Elsinore Storm President Dave Oster to go directly to the source and show Southwest Riverside that there is much more than just the end of an era happening around here. There is also a beginning.

Through an interpreter, Mayan Grand Elder Alejandro Cirilo Perez Oxlaj (a.k.a. Wandering Wolf) captivated the crowd that had gathered Monday evening at The Diamond in Lake Elsinore. (Ashley Ludwig/SWRNN)

Through an interpreter, Mayan Grand Elder Alejandro Cirilo Perez Oxlaj — or Wandering Wolf — captivated the crowd that had gathered Monday evening at The Diamond in Lake Elsinore.

He spoke candidly about the changes coming on December 21, 2012, but mostly about the fact that we are all children of the earth.

“We are born in different places. We eat different, talk different, and yet, we are all the same … as with fingers on a hand, we are all connected,” Wandering Wolf said.

Also called Tata, or Grandfather, Wandering Wolf, dressed in colorful garments, issued calming words of wisdom regarding the coming end of what the Mayan calendar refers to as the “Fifth Sun” and the beginning of the “Sixth Sun.”

It is not the end of the world, according to Wandering Wolf, but the beginning of a great change.

“It is much like your December 31 and New Year’s. You say, ‘Happy New Year!’ and then get up the next day,” Wandering Wolf said.

Even still, you could have heard a pin drop in the room as the elder discussed the workings of the Mayan calendar, the end of one era and the beginning of the next in “a passage between cosmic seasons.”

“The Shift of the Ages,” directed by Steve Copeland, has inspired many already to do something to bring a positive change to our environment.

Just released in Hollywood this week, the documentary film is now available to watch for free online until Dec. 21, 2012.

“Those who get it, get it. Those that don’t, don’t,” Copeland said. “But Wandering Wolf speaks from the heart and his message is healing.”

Oster decided that there was no better place than Lake Elsinore to spread that encouraging message.

“In the movie, it says that we are all one and the same. Our attempts to be positive can influence others,” Oster explained. “You can control what you do and we are taking that message to heart.”

“We’ve had a vision at the Storm to do something positive and create a change,” Oster said. “Most recently with our ‘Going Green’ campaign and now with our ‘Play it Forward’ community action program that will organize communities and teams to make a difference for the earth.”

“This campaign will involve over 150 sports teams to promote clean-up and new ideas for bettering our planet,” Oster said.

According to film producer Joseph Giove, it is due to that vision that the Storm’s Diamond Club was one of the first stops on “The Shift of the Ages” promotional tour.

Elizabeth Dana and her husband Dave embraced the message Wandering Wolf shared.

“It was perfect. Perfect timing to hear about making this a better world,” Elizabeth Dana said.

“It is a very familiar message,” Dave Dana added.

And whether you believe the Mayan prophecy that the elders will return from the stars sometime in the next 5,000 years, one thing is certain — Wandering Wolf’s message is generating a positive shift in this world at a time when it is desperately needed.

For more information, visit: shiftoftheages.com/.

Ashley Ludwig is a local writer and regular contributor to SWRNN.