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The Purposeful Universe: How Quantum Theory and Mayan Cosmology Explain the Origin and Evolution of Life

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Here is a seminal work that comes at the most critical time in human history. Profound enough is the notion that our existence, in fact all of life, is not an accident. Yet Dr Calleman goes further and lays down compelling scientific evidence that the universe itself is on purpose, a purpose revealed in the origin and structure of the universe and in the operation our very cells. Purposeful Universe tells the story of this purpose juxtaposed on the Mayan Calendar and ends with a startling conclusion that is sure to stimulate controversy. Dr Calleman offers deep biology, cosmology and sacred geometry in a wonderful scientific articulation. This is not a casual read; it is a deeply contemplative study, thoroughly researched and exquisitely written. Be prepared for a journey that points to our origins, not just in the mists of time, but into the core of our present being where the Creative Principle mirrors its purpose in a sacred dance within us every moment of our lives.

As an avid student of Mayan cosmology over the past few years, I have devoured the works of Calleman, among others. Everything I have read, up until The Purposeful Universe, has left me with a number of questions. Those questions have now been answered by Dr. Calleman in this very important work. I am a metaphysician, rather than a scientist, but Dr. Calleman's explanations have clarified much about phsyics and biology for me, even if I had to work pretty hard to understand it all! So many nuggets of truth are contained within these pages and, for me, they have served to fuel the glowing embers of hope I hold for humanity and the future. I have understood for some time that we are here courtesy of a Cosmic plan; with the information in The Purposeful Universe, I now have an understanding of the mechanics behind the plan, an understanding that is soothing to the secular part of my being that I just don't seem able to shake loose! This is a MUST READ for anyone seeking an explanation of Creation that is, nonetheless, firmly rooted in science.

Dr. Calleman's previous book shows us that the 6th night of each mayan calendar has brought destruction of something which has laid the foundation for the 7th day. In these last 10 years which he calls the galactic underworld, we have seen a dominance of fear and a loss of personal freedoms. We have seen both a growing sense of randomness and big loss of control in our lives. It looks like our corrupt financial and obese medical system are about to self destruct. The consciousness of humanity is shifting. I spent a great deal of time wondering what will be destroyed to bring about the new in the upcoming 7th day (starting November '10) , and I came to realize that our belief in what might be called scientific materialism is what is likely to be destroyed to pave the way for a more holistic way of being, thinking, and relating.

The Purposeful Universe, if one really reads it, effectively destroys the darwinistic belief in random coincidence in our lives. The idea that humanity on earth is a freak of nature is no longer viable. That survival of the fittest is the law of the land is now seen to be a figment of our imagination created by our faith in a wayward mechanistic theory called Darwinism.

This brilliant book is the seed that destroys the dominance of darwinism and opens the door for a new world of purposefulness and optimism. Read and share this book and you will change the world.

Books that address the divide between science and spirituality intrigue me, so this seemed one to read. Further, the Mayan calendar on which Calleman bases his theory has an almost a mass appeal nowadays.

After reading the book from cover to cover, however, I still don't understand why he saw fit to trash the theory of natural selection in order to bolster his own. Unfortunately, he lifted criticisms of natural selection from sources supportive of intelligent design and creationism. Despite numerous possible observations that could prove evolution not true, no smoking gun has been found in more than 150 years of study. Despite what the creationists say, we continue to find instead vestigial organs, dead genes, missing links, half-wings, primitive eye spots and so on that not only address some of the assertions to the contrary, but beg the question of why a poof tada creator would be so careless. However, Calleman's prime objection with evolution is its purported randomness. Processes like natural selection, facilitated variation, mutation increases with environmental threat, and sexual selection are not random at all. To argue that they are simply says that you do not understand how these processes work.

Calleman also asserts that the human is at the "top" of evolution, essentially saying we are the most evolved things that are possible ("Who seriously thinks that a new, more intelligent species would evolve from us and outcompete us on the planet?"). We already have solid evidence that the human genome contains significant evolutionary changes within the past 10,000 years alone. And what about the possibility of silicone-based life arising? He makes unproven statements like: "The very fact that an exact time plan for the evolution of life has been verified proves without a shadow of a doubt that Darwinism is a false theory."

Throughout the book, Calleman looks for evidence to fit his hypothesis (and ignores that which doesn't), yet provides no objective testing. He interprets certain events as "quantum jumps," but not other events, which could arguably represent as much change as any of his "jumps." He does not address how or why the Mayans were privy to this "universal truth." Some speculations or hypotheses addressing this would certainly have made this book more interesting. I was left wondering how the "Tree of Life" is any more explanatory than any other conception of God.

To write so much about a theory of evolution of which he apparently knows so little was not wise. In fact, he could have easily incorporated current evolutionary theory within his Tree of Life schema. Life is full of symmetry and patterns and fractals that go unnoticed until someone really looks.

Setting aside his failure to reflect on how the Mayans may have actually sorted out a calendar corresponding with all known creation, his theory based on the Mayan calendar still offers the vast time periods predicted, the Cosmic Pyramid itself, and speculation about the key events taking place close to the activation of each of the Mayan Underworlds. However, of the Universal Underworld to begin in 2011 (or 2012 as popularly depicted), he simply says the nature of it is unknown. Well, yes, but if indeed the Mayans were on to something, wouldn't it be worth thinking about the possibilities? My own thought as I read these sentences near the beginning of this book was that it would usher in the Singularity: that period when technological change has become so rapid that human life will be irreversibly transformed--transcending (through the use of non-biological things like computers for example) the limitations of our biological bodies and brains. Real scientists are considering these topics. Many paradigm shifts and outcomes are possible.

This could have been a much better book. Calleman appears to have more than a little understanding of the Mayan calendar, and is imaginative enough to overlay the Underworlds on history as we know it. His Tree of Life may or may not represent another pattern within (or outside of) evolution (or quantum theory or cosmology) that has not yet been studied to any significant degree. He first needs to talk to some of the experts in evolution, and his questions answered and biases untangled. Or leave natural selection out of the discussion. He needs to pare from the Tree of Life most of the untestable and most speculative aspects. I would also ask him to think more about what the coming epoch may bring. And then re-write his book. I would be pleased to read it.

I don't normally write reviews but this book was so extraordinary that I feel compelled to do so. I will not summarize his theory, as other reviewers have covered this adequately. Suffice to say that Dr. Calleman combines ancient wisdom with quantum physics and his extensive knowledge of biology to synthesize a theory that will exemplify the zeitgeist of the 21st century.

Like the author I am a former biologist who grew frustrated working within the narrow confines of what is deemed worthy of study by the cult of atheistic Darwinism that currently dominates science. Ironically, biologists employ rational empiricism less than the typical 'man on the street', so I don't imagine that this theory will be accepted by the entrenched interests of mainstream biology. Nevertheless, it is a fact that, as the author quotes Stephen Hawking: "If ... we were to discover such a complete theory, its general principles should be so simple as to be understood by everyone, not just a few scientists." Dr. Calleman has achieved just that - a complete theory of the origin and evolution of life.

This work is a momentous achievement and a beautiful gift to all of humanity. Drop whatever it is you are doing and READ THIS BOOK!

Carl Johan Calleman does a splendid job of describing a balance between Darwinism and Intelligent Design. Instead of life and consciousness being a very fortunate result of an extraordinary number of random coincidences, Calleman presents overwhelming evidence that the universe was created for the whole 'purpose' of evolving life and consciousness.

His work will no doubt be ignored by a large part of the scientific community because his findings are highly controversial. However it is my contention that to completely ignore what is said here will be a tremendous detriment to the individual who does so.

Now is not the time for tradition, closed mindedness and ego. Now is the time to wake up, to open ourselves to intuition and to prepare ourselves for the coming dramatic surges in our evolution.

Dr. Calleman proves without doubt that Darwinism is a concept that should no longer control our thinking, our culture or our scientific community. This book takes the idea of the evolution of consciousness to a whole new level by introducing the concept of the Tree of Life and how our entire cosmos has been modeled after it. Dr. Calleman essentially proves the idea of evolution by intelligent design. I highly recommend it! It will change your world view for the better!

This book is a follow on to The Mayan Calendar and the Transformation of Consciousness which was a blockbuster in terms of understanding the function of the Mayan Calendar as a record of large cycles of time and their effects of physical morphology and consciousness. That second book predicted the financial collapse of 2008. It also predicted a revolutionary 20 day period of the last 260 Tzolkin cycle beginning Feb 11 2011 running to October 28 2011. Not coincidentally that first day of this last 260 day countdown to Oct 28 2011, was Feb 11, the day when Egypt's Mubarak resigned. This revolutionary period of the Mayan calendar has seemingly prodded Tunisia, Egypt, and now Algeria, Iran, and the entire middle-east is shifting towards the voice of the young people of the region. These are some of the effects of the movements of galactic consciousness as outlined in the Mayan Calendar.

In this book, Callemans third, he has hunkered down and attempted to root his theories more as facts into biology and history. The problem is that this approach is very dry and uninspiring. (Another reviewer said 'plodding'. This book does not captivate the way that The Mayan Calendar and the Transformation of Consciousness did. There are also times when Calleman attempts to shoe-horn larger cycles of the Mayan calendar into the evolutionary explosions seen by paleontologists. However, many of those leaps occurred during the 'nights' and not the 'days' as Calleman preaches. So that is an example of the harder views/angles that this third book has taken. And Calleman has also changed out some aspects of his charts based on new information from The Tortuguero Monument 6 from 2006. But this change then shifts the minor day cycle into an 18 day period from the original 20 day period. These changes indicate there is still speculation afoot. Additionally Johan Normark does a fine job of picking apart Carls changing ideas and how the latest ones do not match anything Mayan at all.

And upon finishing the book I realize that from about the half way mark the book just get's into a somewhat boring ramble. He presents a combination of his own ideas mixed in with bits from science that all of us have heard already through What The Bleep and other sources. The book fizzles in the second half and shows it does not really have anything meaningful to add to the conversation of things Mayan or metaphysical.

So if you are new to Calleman then do start with the second book. If you have read the second book and want more inspiring impressions rather than facts you will likely be disappointed. Calleman also does not adequately address the differences between energies of the cycle completion of his calendar correlation (Oct 28 2011) and the conventionally held calendar cycle completion (Dec 21 2012). You basically have to take his word that Izapa was a local cult and their 2012 date is just plain wrong.

If you want more solid information about the Mayan Calendar and 2012 you would do better to spend time with John Major Jenkins (JMJ) as in Galactic Alignment: The Transformation of Consciousness According to Mayan, Egyptian, and Vedic Traditions or The 2012 Story: The Myths, Fallacies, and Truth Behind the Most Intriguing Date in History. JMJ's material is more conventional and factually sound. It is not as inspiring as Callemans second book but there is also less filtering you have to do.

If you really want to get into what new consciousness is about then you should get into finding out about how the native people viewed resonance and consciousness as in The Orion Zone: Ancient Star Cities of the American Southwest and The Ayahuasca Visions of Pablo Amaringo. Check the books I've reviewed from more ideas.

UPDATE: 29-OCT-2011 : We are all still here. Carl, will you admit that you got at least someone not quite correct regarding 28-OCT-2011 your end of the Mayan calendar?

I am convinced that Dr. Carl Johan Calleman is the only Mayan calendar (Tzolkin) researcher who truly understands the real purpose and meaning of this codex that basically pertains to the number 9 that is the Destiny number of humankind, as I illustrate and prove in my 2008 book (Amazon) entitled: Universal Numbers and the Number 9 Destiny of Humankind, which depicts that the Soul of each entity in human embodiment only can be perfected via a nine cyclic process that will end on October 28, 2011(per Dr. Calleman). The year 2011 is the great hope for humankind, but each soul must experience and assimilate the scenario for this 9th and last Universal Creation Cycle as a prerequisite to the ultimate transformational process concerning human Consciousness that the year 2012 represents.

If you are a college graduate, then you may find it difficult to grasp the simplicity of this book. If you are going to read this book, then you have to have a mind that is open to new premises about the origins of life and the universe. If, like me, you are someone who has been embracing a more cosmic approach to life, then you will be grateful for Calleman's ease in bringing together the legends of our great past cultures with our current modern view of the universe. My advise is to leave your culturally engrained concepts of creation outside of yourself, and trust your intuition and heart when you read this book.