**Post a comment here (click on the “with X comments” link right under the title “Responsibility”) by July 27, 2009, and you will be entered to win one of three copies of The Book of Destiny: Unlocking the Secrets of the Ancient Mayans and the Prophecy of 2012. Be sure to include your e-mail address so I can contact you if you’re chosen using the Random Integer Generator.**
The very act of translation implies a great deal of responsibility. First and foremost, you have a duty to what the author is expressing: beginning with the message itself and ending with form (vocabulary and style). You also need to be true to the language you’re writing in: follow its grammar rules, accepted style, and word usage. You have a duty to yourself: to trust the countless choices you make at each step along the way, to know why you made them, and to be able to back them up. Finally, but no less importantly, you have a duty to your reader: to make sure they understand the author’s words as you understood them, to feel, experience, or learn whatever he or she intended. It’s an enormous task and one I take extremely seriously.
Now compound all of that by the fact that it is a book written by a Mayan shaman who has been asked and authorized by the Mayan Council of Elders to dispel inaccuracies about their existence, history, and culture; to set the record straight on the prophecy regarding December 21, 2012, which has been distorted nearly beyond recognition; to reveal prophecies and philosophies and ancient calendars never before seen outside of the tradition; to share the book on which their society has been based for thousands of years, in which “not a single word is ever added … or removed.” Takes your breath away, doesn’t it?! 
The pressure I thus felt translating The Book of Destiny: Unlocking the Secrets of the Ancient Mayans and the Prophecy of 2012 was enormous, and certainly wasn’t helped by the extremely tight deadline set by the publisher. Thankfully, the author, Carlos Barrios, agreed to work with me and we were in constant contact throughout the translation process… although nothing about that was easy either! As a shaman, Carlos is often in the highlands of Guatemala, without access to a phone or the Internet. Questions were therefore copied to his daughter, Denise. She answered when she was able to, but more often than not we would have to wait to consult with Carlos whenever he became available. In the meantime, I would push on, leaving great swaths of text highlighted in yellow (”waiting for an answer”) or green (”must ask”).
The more I read and the more my understanding grew, the more anxious I became. I felt – and feel – that the messages in this book are of the utmost importance to humanity. I agree with Carlos and the elders: we have lost touch with the Natural Order and we have wrongly appointed ourselves masters of the earth, using it thoughtlessly to satiate our excessive wants and desires, destroying its beauty and worth.
There is, as Carlos points out, a fair chance that people will scoff at what he has to say because of a lack of empirical evidence. I admit I felt this responsibility acutely as well, wishing there were only some way to add more facts or irrefutable proof so that Western minds would find his revelations more palatable. But, alas, a translator can only go so far.
Now that the book is out in the world, I can only hope I accomplished my mission by being faithful to the text and to the craft of translation. My last responsibility is to encourage you to read what Carlos and the Elders have to say, to discuss the topics he raises, and to take action in your own life in the hopes of contributing to this heightened level of consciousness awaiting us in the Fifth Sun. I certainly will be.
July 13th, 2009 - 10:27 am
Congratulations Lisa! You were faced with a painful climb to the top of an enormous mountain and you made it, WOO HOOO! It sounds like an intriguing read, and how cool is that, translating for a Mayan shaman. I look forward to it.
b.
July 13th, 2009 - 11:16 am
Wow, this book sounds amazing! I was wondering a few months back about when it would be released. I’m definitely looking forward to reading it. Congratulations!
July 13th, 2009 - 11:21 am
I read through your whole blog and I was very impressed (especially with the reference to me
) The book sounds very interesting and I can appreciate what a challenge it must have been to work on. I’m sure that you did it justice. Looking forward to reading it! Congrats!
July 13th, 2009 - 3:11 pm
Hi Lisa , what an amazing book , I have been pretty curious about the whole 2012 thing and this book sounds like the one to get !!! The author sounds so interesting , what an amazing opportunity to work with a shaman !! Loved your blog , hope your hand is feeling better! Also hope you have some time off to enjoy the summer!!
Sacha
July 13th, 2009 - 3:16 pm
Interesting to read a behind-the-scenes look at this translation. My daughter is obsessed with the Mayan prediction for 2012, because she will turn 20 on 12/21/2012. She tells people tongue-in-cheek that the world will end the day she turns 20
Thanks again for sharing your experience.
July 13th, 2009 - 8:37 pm
Hello Lisa, your dedication and loyalty to the literary and translation worlds can be sincerely felt. This is a definite must read!
Felicidades, -Teresa
July 13th, 2009 - 8:56 pm
Hi Lisa!
First of all, congratulations on _The Book of Destiny_! A work we certainly need!
I agree with your’s and the Mayan assessment made of our role on this earth!
Best wishes,
Victoria Furio
Yonkers, NY
(Espalista)
July 14th, 2009 - 10:01 am
Congratulations Lisa! It certainly sounds like work to be proud of. I can’t wait to read it.
July 14th, 2009 - 11:07 am
Lisa! Being a non-technie, I have had so much fun browsing through your website! I congratulate you, not only on your most recent translation (the book of which is intriguing), but on the design of your website! It’s fantastic! and very easy for the likes of me to maneouver around! I have subscribed to postings on your blog (I think), which I found most interesting and thought-provoking. We miss you at golf – hopefully one day! Take care!
Sue R.
July 14th, 2009 - 11:26 am
Great job Lisa! I’m sure it took a long time to accomplish that task. Now you can move on to other things. I really hope to read this book soon.
July 14th, 2009 - 4:10 pm
Felicidades por el nuevo libro. Me encanta el diseño de tu sito.
July 15th, 2009 - 12:56 pm
Lisa, as a fellow (ATIO) translator I very much enjoyed your description of the translation process!
As for the book, I can only hope it is true what you wrote: “A change in consciousness will occur, leading to a period of human harmony, understanding, peace, and wisdom.”
I hope to win a copy. Please tell your random generator… If I don’t win, well I’ll buy a copy and support the publisher and author and translator.
July 15th, 2009 - 1:50 pm
Hey Lisa S. it’s always nice to hear about you. I’m very proud of u. Congrats for the new job.
July 15th, 2009 - 7:09 pm
Hi Lisa,
Congratulations! How good are you! Enjoyed your blog and identified with everything you said about balance. It sounds like an awful way to live, so why, I ask, do we do it??? I heard about your arm problems but can´t remember where. It´s surprising how physically demanding this work is. No one who hasn´t been there would understand.
Sounds like you are enjoying life in Ottawa. Enjoy the rest of the summer.
Best regards,
Joan Shnier
July 20th, 2009 - 10:55 pm
Lisa, the website looks great! Congratulations on your new work, and I look forward to checking it out!
July 21st, 2009 - 2:53 pm
Thank you for your passion and dedication, Lisa. I am excited to read this work and am very grateful that you have brought this perspective to the western world. I wish that gifts of your hard work are returned to you many fold. Congratulations!
July 21st, 2009 - 8:23 pm
Hey Lisa,
Congratulations on your achievement, with your accompanying fabulous announcement and blog post!
Thanks for bringing the Book of Destiny to the English speaking world. I look forward to reading it, discussing the topics, and taking action to contribute to a higher level of consciousness!
Abrazos,
Sylvia.
July 22nd, 2009 - 2:07 am
Many congratulations on your book! It sounds absolutely fascinating. Good wishes to you!
July 22nd, 2009 - 11:30 am
Congratulations Lisa! I do plan to read this book. It sounds fascinating. I hope to win a copy
but I will buy one if I dont. As a former translator myself I can relate to what you are saying about translating other people’s thoughts, ideas and style and I certainly admire you for doing that from Spanish and on a topic that probably was quite a challenge to translate. See you soon! Marc
July 22nd, 2009 - 11:55 am
Je te trouve courageuse d’avoir entrepris une telle aventure avec succès.
Je peux t’assurer que si le hasard ne me favorise pas dans le tirage, je vais quand même acheter ton volume, car cette question de 2012 me fascine depuis quelque temps. Et d’avoir une version en anglais me permettra de faire la comparaison des textes.
Tu pourras peut-être songer à traduire aussi en français!! Je pourrais t’aider.
Et je suis soulagé d’apprendre que ce n’est pas la fin du monde mais bien un changement dans l’ordre social qui est anticipé. Tant mieux! On en a grandement besoin.
July 22nd, 2009 - 5:48 pm
Felicitaciones por esta nueva obra traducida. Se que se ha escrito una buena cantidad de interpretaciones en torno al “mito del calendario Maya y el 2012″, pero no he sabido que se haya echo escuchar la voz de los shamanes mayas, eso es desde ya magnifico y marca una diferencia. Tengo muchas ansias de leer el libro y de conocer sobre el proceso de la traduccion que tiene mucho de experiencia creativa.
Estoy convencido que el libro acerca parte importante del conocimiento Maya a los lectores de habla inglesa, y todo conocimiento pertenece a la humanidad, gracias por eso Lisa.