ascension is both a process and an event. as a process it's always happening. we are always ascending as our consciousness expands more and more every day. this process is VERY slow and that's why we don't notice. but what about ascension as a singular event? as we see in nature, after long periods of evolution there are great changes, or leaps to new stages of life. we generally call these changes "catastrophes", but only because we have been programmed to fear change. every catastrophe sets the stage for a new and more powerful beginning. indeed, on a mass scale, change is always a catastrophe, because the majority is always unprepared. it's a great shock for them. in fact it's a great shock for anyone that hasn't been preparing since the cycle begun. a cycle is one full stage of the ascension/consciousness evolution process. the ascension process is nothing more than the evolution of consciousness. ascension as an event happens at the end of a cycle and it's a great shock if the individual is not prepared. it's the grand finale, and consciousness takes a giant leap in a very short amount of time. this leap is forceful if the individual rejects evolution and Creation and wants to stay the same, in his cocoon of comfort. in this case, the individual generally dies, stays unconscious for a while and then is reborn. amnesia or trauma can result (that's why we hardly remember anything from past lives). between similar lives of an individual, there is very little improvement in consciousness, but the transition between one life to another is still ascension, but since there is almost no improvement, then some people think that it's simply a repetition, or "reincarnation". this is true, but ascension is always happening. there is always improvement and evolution going on. it's difficult to explain, because there is change (evolution) at one level, and then there are other levels where the rate of change also increases, and the rate of the rate of change, ad infinitum. there are several orders of change. at the end of a cycle, all orders (rates) of change tend to infinity, not mattering if you are still at the lowest order in the universe. after the event of finalization of the cycle, you will sort of resume where you were at before, but in a higher order. they call this a phase shifting. the catch is that sometimes the end of a cycle coincides with the end of bigger cycles that include the cycle that you are in, and, in this case, the ending will be a huge event. for example: inside a galactic cycle we have several planetary cycles in succession, and the transition from one to another does not offer a whole lot of improvement. but when the galactic cycle itself ends, then the individual that is inside the LAST planetary cycle will go through not only the end of his cycle, but the end of a whole galactic cycle and his whole path of evolution throughout this cycle after several incarnations in the planet. in this case, the individual will make a HUGE leap in consciousness and there will be a lot of improvement, generally a matter of even achieving a higher dimension/realm of existence. 2012 will be the culmination of the ascension process, but the actual ascension, the "giant leap" toward a new ground where your consciousness can stabilize into a higher frequency (and consequently tune in a higher dimension) can happen even before this date, depending on the individual. 2012 itself, the date, is not important. it could be any other date, but generally when we near the end of a cycle, even the artificial structures, like our calendar, start aligning with the sacred geometric aspects of Creation. a cycle in creation has 9 stages and 12 "events". 12 is the final event, the grand finale. also, we have a lot of evidence that the consciousness of the planet is rising, and the rate of change of this growth too. generally, at the end of a cycle, the rate of change tends to infinity. we call this a "singularity". if you reject the singularity, you go crazy, if you accept it, you experience universal consciousness for an instant. the final steps leading to 2012 are our opportunity for ascension. ascension WILL happen in one way or another, because it's simply the will of the universe. you must remember though that even that i'm explaining all of this in a linear fashion, the actual process is not always linear. consciousness is not subject to time. it's the other way around. a cosmic being experiences several incarnations on Earth at the same time, even though it will be a slow and boring linear process for the earthlings involved. sometimes a being can even incarnate as more than one person at the same time period on the planet. other beings are fully present as just one individual that evolves slowly and linearly for several incarnations. the possibilities are many. a correction: ascension of an individual can happen even before or after 2012. but the end of cycles are a great facilitator for everyone to ascend together. this doesn't mean that some people aren't able to ascend before or after.