Gobekli Tepe and The City of Prophets Sanliurfa, previously known as Urfa (and before that Edessa) boasts not only one of the most ancient cities ever uncovered by archeologists, it’s also a location where a number of prophets in ancient history hailed from, in particular…
A Country at the Crossroads of Europe, Asia and the Middle East Is Georgia (the country) situated in Europe, the Middle East or Asia? World maps tell me that it is in Asia, but more specifically it’s in the Caucuses. The Middle East is apparently…
Open/Save PDF Crossroads Crises in Perspective (Part 1) – The Bottleneck Ahead ** The view from the Global South: Looking from the outside in. This series of essays is based on readings of reports, articles, and presentations that are in the public domain, with provided…
Few places can compete with Mauritius when it comes to exotic sounding French names (from an English language perspective). In the north there is Cap Malheureux, and as you move down the west coast you find Péreybère, Grand Baie and Trou au Biches – all…
Dear Friends, It’s finally here – this e-book is a compilation of some of the most important chapters first published on this site on the subject of Energy Shifts. I’m making a copy freely available for download for personal use – see links below.…
Humanity at the Crossroads (Part 3) – Humanity at a Turning Point ** These essays are written for individuals who have a spiritual interest in Navigating the Greatest Shift. They contain futurology based on cycle science and the mystical sciences. Readers are encouraged to read…
Humanity at the Crossroads (Part 2) – The Cyclic Reordering of Civilizations ** These essays are written for individuals who have a spiritual interest in Navigating the Greatest Shift. They contain futurology based on cycle science and the mystical sciences. Readers are encouraged to read…
Humanity at the Crossroads (Part 1) – A World Out of Balance ** These essays are written for individuals who have a spiritual interest in Navigating the Greatest Shift. They contain futurology based on cycle science and the mystical sciences. Readers are encouraged to…
Navigating the Greatest Shift: 2022 to 2032 (Part 2) – Creating Structure Through Consciousness Note: This series follows on from the Darkness Before Dawn series Oneness and separateness exist at the same time. There will never be only separateness, neither will there ever be only oneness. At…
Navigating the Greatest Shift: 2022 to 2032 (Part 1) – Raising Consciousness Through Truth Note: This series follows on from the Darkness Before Dawn series — We will be witnesses to the confrontation of the Negative and Positive forces, the eternal fight among polarity, the…
August 8, 2021: A life and travel update from your host at GypsyCafe.org South Africa: Cape Winelands and Cape Town In January of 2020, two months before the first Covid-lockdowns were implemented world-wide, I arrived back in Cape Town, my city of birth. I had…
Darkness Before Dawn (Part 1-E) – The Lights Along the Way Note: This Chapter was first published at EnergyShifts.net The Seasons of the Yuga Cycle Just like with the Maya cycles, the 24,000-year Vedic Yuga Cycle consists of fractals, which are smaller cycles within the…
Few people expected so much turmoil to arrive so suddenly in 2020, whereas if it happened just after 2012 it might have been less surprising. However, it always takes a while for shifts to build momentum, and the larger the shift, the longer the delay. It would seem, though, that the real shift is now finally underway.
The Maya creation myth depicts a battle between the forces of dark and light in the story of the Hero Twins, two brothers who are summoned by the Lords of Xibalba for a ballgame with them in the underworld. What follows is a classic and rich example of The Hero’s Journey.
The objective is to identify patterns of events that occur whenever a particular katun is active. Through this method, what typically happens during a katun becomes sufficiently clear to make predictions for what would or could happen when that katun is active again in the future.
How can we deal with the pressing problems facing the world today in the midst of so much polarisation and why is there so much polarisation in the first place? Answers to these question are more accessible when taking a metaphysical view while keeping an open mind is also essential.
Higher Bodies of Water Just over a year ago, on April 16, 2019, I visited the port city of Puno on the shores of the famous Lake Titicaca in Peru. Titicaca lake is widely known as the “highest navigable lake in the world” at 3,812…
Group participation or affiliation is not required to experience a deep sense of unity that stems from understanding that we all suffer from the human condition. We are all in the same boat together here on planet Earth as human souls residing in physical human bodies.
Darkness Before Dawn (Part 5) – The Lighthouses That Make a Difference (UPDATED) In this 6-part series, we are exploring the purpose of polarity and the nature of truth. Please see index at the bottom of the page for chapter selection. Introduction If – hypothetically…
In June of this year while visiting Iguazu Falls in Misiones Province in Northern Argentina, I decided to do a side-trip to a recommended site in the region. This ended up being a very informative and enjoyable day trip which I am now finally posting…
Darkness Before Dawn (Part 3) – A Heart Monitor (UPDATED) In this 6-part series, we are exploring the purpose of polarity and the nature of truth. Please see index at the bottom of the page for chapter selection. A Heart Monitor “The test of any…
Darkness Before Dawn (Part 2) – An Incubator for the Soul (UPDATED) In this 6-part series, we are exploring the purpose of polarity and the nature of truth. Please see index at the bottom of the page for chapter selection. The Purpose of Polarity It…
(1) Iguazú National Park – Argentina June 14, 2019 Gallery *** (2) Iguaçu National Park – Brazil June 15, 2019 Gallery *** All photographs by J.J. Montagnier 14 – 15 June 2019 © Copyright. All Rights Reserved. Gypsy Café
Unity in Diversity vs. Disunity in Ideologies (UPDATED) Introduction Ethnocentrism: Evaluation of other cultures according to preconceptions originating in the standards and customs of one’s own culture [1] – Oxford Dictionary Ethnocentrism is inherent in all human beings. It has advantages and disadvantages. Since it…
‘All in a Days Trip’ On Sunday the 14th of April, a day after I arrived in Cusco on the weekend before Easter, I did one of the many excursions that are available from Cusco city. It’s always a good idea to select a smaller…
The Keys to Conscious Co-Creation (UPDATED) We are destined to be co-creators – and free will is the key. The interesting thing is that the source (the Source) and force of creativity (creative energy) flow through humans, which then leads to the creation of new…
Two hundred kilometres north of Lima lies the recently discovered remnants of one of the most ancient centres of a civilisation yet to be unearthed in modern times. The Caral civilisation is the oldest know of civilisation in the Americas and one of the oldest…
Barranco Murals – Lima, Peru. Taken on February 26, 2019. — All photos were taken while on a walking tour in Barranco, the bohemian neighbourhood of Lima. The tour was lead by local expert Gabriel Braun who also offers gourmet food tours of some of…
Energy Shifts (Part 6) – Going Beyond Limits To Growth [UPDATED] ** [Final Revision and Update Performed on September 4, 2022] — The overall message of this essay is about returning to a more spiritual way of life that is less resource intensive, due to…
In front of them lie the bright foundations of a New World. Those who have managed to traverse the Valley of Shadows in advance have become transformed by the process. They are now able to add their unique individual building blocks to the foundations of…
[click to enlarge] Buenos Aires is a paradise for street art enthusiasts and artists alike. One of the reasons is that unlike most large world cities it has an open and relatively unrestricted approach to urban art. This means that abandoned and derelict as well…
Santiago Murals. January 2018. Photography by JJ Montagnier. © Copyright. All Rights Reserved. Gypsy Café. — Also see: SANTIAGO STREET ART
Visiting The Chilean Lake District – January 2018 Photography by JJ Montagnier [click to view slides] These photographs were taken in the Los Lagos region of Chile, bordering North Patagonia: The lakeside towns of Puerto Montt and Puerto Varas are ideal places to take excursions…
(Note: Updated information about the prophecy has been published in Darkness Before Dawn – Part 1-B) — “It was halfway famine, it was halfway feast” [1]. This is the translation of the original Maya prophecy for Katun 2 Ahau (2012-2032). In the next chapters, we…
A visit to San Cristóbal Hill – Santiago “The Sanctuary of the Immaculate Conception on San Cristóbal Hill is one of the principal places of worship for the Catholic Church of Chile, as well as being an icon of Santiago, Chile. It is notable in…
Note – this article refers to the Original Mayan Prophecies listed in Part 1 (updated) ** Paradigm Shifts in the Age of Polarity Mild Paradigm Shifts An example of a mild paradigm shift happened for many people during and after the unexpected global financial crisis of…
After Dark So-called “dark ages” are not only dark; they are also light. Although we tend to view dark ages with some trepidation or, perhaps, even with fear, they serve an important role. It is during dark times that we seek out our own light…
** *For background on the Mayan Fifth World and the Fifth Element, please see: The Maya World Tree Introduction The first five years of the new Great Cycle, the Mayan Fifth World, turned out much less apocalyptic than initially forecasted, considering the dire predictions for…
*For background on the Mayan Fifth World and the Fifth Element, please see: The Maya World Tree Mayan Mythology and Symbolism The Mayan Calendar constitutes at least three calendars in contemporary terms which are used to map different cycles, but there are at least twenty…
*For background on the Mayan Fifth World and the Fifth Element, please see: The Maya World Tree The Fifth World 2012 Revisited Prior to December 2012, scores of Mayan calendar enthusiasts, authors and scholars had put forward a plethora of predictions, forecasts and interpretations about…
*For background on the Mayan Fifth World and the Fifth Element, please see: The Maya World Tree ** Introduction The Fifth Element Five years have passed since December 2012; we are five years into the Mayan Fifth World and the Fifth Element has entered the…
When faced with difficult choices, especially amongst bad options, conscience can always show the way. Needless to say, what the planet needs right now, more than ever, is a return to conscience. Conscience lends itself to a variety of peaceful solutions. Moral relativity does not…
This essay continues the discussion from: What is Progress? Introduction Tabloid press, reality TV, TV talk shows, social networking and, perhaps, increasingly also, modern-day politics have all got something in common – they contain similar ingredients to those found in soap operas. A trademark of…
The Yin and Yang of Spirituality Carl Jung is famous for having brought the concept of working on shadow elements within the psyche into Western psychotherapy, although the process of self-therapy, self-transformation and psychic self-evaluation with subsequent spiritual elevation is indeed a very ancient practice.…
Introduction In this series we are exploring reasons for humanity going in repetitive negative loops and we are looking at ways in which we can spiral upwards out of our unhealthy and destructive patterns, onwards into a more balanced future. Theatre Theatre has many objectives.…
“All the world’s a stage” – Shakespeare We are all actors in the theatre of life and we all play our parts, consciously or unconsciously At this moment in time – in space and time – we find ourselves in a shifting paradigm In the…
What is Progress? In the 1993 film, Groundhog Day, we saw Bill Murray’s character calling the weather bureau from a pay phone at a filling station during a blizzard. He needed urgent weather information, but could not access the internet via his Smartphone. At the…
Peru planning: I patched together an itinerary by working out a route which would connect the main places I was going to visit (Arequipa & Colca Canyon, Puno & Lake Titicaca, Cusco & Inca Trail) with coach journeys in-between, which would include stopping at various…
The Classic Inca Trail Peru, South America Part 2 Things we learned on the Inca Trail: It is not a competition. It is not about fitness, but endurance. It is not so much about endurance of the body, but of the mind. The speed of…
The Classic Inca Trail Peru, South America Part 1 (January 7 – 10, 2016) The Inca Trail is not what you think it is. Or rather, it was not what I thought it would be. I had no expectations. In fact I was slightly apprehensive…
Inca Design, Architecture and Technology Machu Picchu & Ollantaytambo Peru, South America While in Peru in January I found myself at two sites where examples of Inca architecture and design could be observed in its finest form. Here below follows a visual tour. [click to…