December 21, 2012 has come and gone, and I am still alive to tell you that nothing happened (but I’m sure you’re aware of that yourself).

However, people around the world were preparing for this day by discussing survival techniques and sharing the locations of stores with the best supply of non-perishable food, and connecting to the spiritual world behind the backs of those who gave no thought to the day at all.

Steven Bancarz, 20, is a Philosophy student at the University of Guelph, and he also operates the popular Facebook page “Spirit Science and Metaphysics”.

For Bancarz, December 21 would not entail any of the Hollywood inspired events such as the touchdown of aliens or the destruction of the earth in a giant fireball. He believed this date served to welcome “an age of unity, love, community, and spiritual and political awareness where we finally begin to wake out of this materialist ego-driven trance to pursue a more conscious way of living.”

To prepare for this “Golden Age”, Bancarz has worked to cleanse himself of undesirable qualities, which he believes is an important step for all of humanity in order to create a “utopian harmony for the planet”.

Bancarz said global meditation was being organized and over 250,000 people planned to celebrate the day at the Mayan ruins.

Regardless of whether an apocalypse was going to happen or not, numerous people were planning for their safety that day, stocking up on food and other supplies that would assist them if the world ended.

“Expect to see robbery, looting, and all the chaos you expect to see from misled individuals expecting the world to be destroyed,” said Bancarz.

He believed the chaos would be minimal, however.

“There was definitely a lot of hype about that day, but mostly it was just a lot of talk, and restricted to a relatively small number of people,” said Bill Kennedy, 42. “Sure, the blogs and forums were full of people who worried about the world ending that day, but the average person on the street had no idea there was anything special about December 21.”

Kennedy is the owner and founder of a variety of post-apocalyptic themed websites including PostApocalypticForum.com, Post-Apocalyptic.info, PostApoc.net, and Megaton.us.

Kennedy has a passion for the post-apocalyptic genre of novel and he enjoys using his websites to review books and movies, as well as have longer conversations with people around the world about post-apocalyptic topics.

He did not prepare for the day in any way, and neither did anyone he knows.

“I think we went to the zoo that day,” he said.

Bancarz spent the day in reflection and he meditated at night. Now that the day has come and gone, Bancarz said he does feel different.

“It’s more of an energetic feeling of excitement to know that what is to come in the next five, 10, 20 years is going to be something revolutionary for humankind,” he said. “I feel like this is the time for me to fulfill my own spiritual potential, just as everyone else is doing knowingly and unknowingly to varying degrees,” said Bancarz.

The media wasted no time in benefitting from the end of the Mayan calendar. With films like 2012, people were faced with glorified doom and gloom, which depicted the end of civilization as we know it.

There have been several predicted apocalyptic events since the beginning of time and, thus far, none have come true. Six other claims of the world’s end have been predicted over the past two years, yet none reached the fame of December 21, 2012.

In 2011, various people predicted May 21, September 29, October 16, and October 21 would be the end of the world. May 27 and June 30 2012 were other predictions as well.

Due to the extensive amount of prophesized dates to mark the world’s ultimate destruction, Kennedy did not think December 21 would be a dangerous day.

“End of the world prophecies are a dime a dozen and until I see the scientists running for cover, I don’t give them much credence,” he said.

Many websites, such as survivetheapocalypse.net, have prepared handy checklists of equipment recommended to keep on hand in case the world is met with an apocalypse. Items such as wool socks, gas masks, a book of edible plant life, bootlaces, and a gun made the list.

The website is “made with any and all aspects of survival, from urban assaults and kidnappings, to hurricanes and getting lost in the woods in mind,” said a webmaster of survivetheapocalypse.net. “The topics are well researched and given in a witty way.”

Their site also features guides such as “100 Uses of a Bandanna”, “Use Houseplants for Clean Indoor Air”, “How to Convert a Tanker Truck into a Post Apocalyptic Home”, and even how to prepare for the apocalypse on a budget.

Bancarz believes that people are becoming more alert to environmental, political, and spiritual issues with the coming of this new age.

“Those of the spiritual community are beyond excited for this time and feel the shift in energy taking place,” he said. “If you ask the average person, I’m not sure they would feel any different at all.”