Daniel Pinchbeck: 2012 reviewed

[London Eye]

By Andrew Mills (http://media.www.thestrand.ca/media/storage/paper404/news/2007/11/29/Features/Daniel.Pinchbeck.The.End.Of.The.World.And.The.Psyc hedelic.Resurgence-3119813.shtml).

The world is going to end in 2012. Oh, you didn't know? Perhaps you haven't been channeling mythological archetypes while tripping balls on tribal mescaline in the preternatural wilderness lately. Well, either that or you haven't yet read Daniel Pinchbeck's latest book 2012: The return of Quetzacoatl. The nature of the impending apocalypse, according to Pinchbeck, is actually metaphysical. He predicts "a sidereal movement of consciousness returning us to levels of awareness denied and repressed by the materialistic thrust of our current civilization." Far out, man.

With the acceleration of a planetary ecological meltdown, Pinchbeck speculates that it seems "likely the structures currently supporting our civilization, such as the sovereign nation state, will splinter along with the biosphere". The inevitable institutional collapse and consciousness shift will come to fruition sometime around the winter solstice, December 21st 2012.

Of course, all this is predicted, or hinted at with seemingly impressive synchronicity, through the Mayan prophetic calendar, Judeo-Christian scriptures, various astrological myths and other cultural phenomenon - all of which is skillfully culled in Pinchbeck's mad ambitious masterwork. He finds himself thrust into the center of some supra-conscious hyper-shift akin to the next step in evolution for the human species.

It's hard not to picture Pinchbeck donning a wolverine costume and massive sideburns, leading all the X-Men-like mind-freaks into the light. The coming consciousness expansion will induce a creative, spiritual and compassionate transformation of the human entity, empowering us to surmount the chaos and din of the current global climate, which seems to be reaching fever pitch.

What impressed me most about this book was Pinchbeck's ability to synthesize everything from quantum mechanics and Jung's psychology to crop circles and biblical prophecies into a singular, shamanic-drug jilted worldview. Although the over-quotation of Nietzsche, Jung and a whole host of esteemed intellectuals feels like an attempt to add credibility to his rather bizarre conclusions, I must confess a certain affinity for Pinchbeck.

In an age when psychedelia is not particularly fashionable to the intellectual community, he has woven together a shockingly well-reasoned manic interpretation of present global phenomenon. Still, the reliance on the use of psychedelics that is central to his futuristic ideas, which he believes were imparted to him by astral beings or archetypes, is suspect to even the most sympathetic of readers.

A cynical bohemian finding himself, bereft of inspiration or purpose wandering the urban desolation of New York City, Pinchbeck began experimenting with psychedelics. "On mushrooms and LSD, the world seemed temporarily renewed, restored to a level of sensorial acuity and openness I last knew as a child". Like Timothy Leary before him, Pinchbeck seeks to champion the use of mind-bending substances as part of centering rituals in a world veering wildly out of orbit.

I'm not entirely supportive of a critical response to the use of hallucinogens which would reduce any cosmic revelation catalyzed by conscious altering drugs solely to a temporary overload of serotonin or amplification of particular neural capacities in the cortex. Such a scientific dismissal of radical, drug fueled theorists like Pinchbeck may very well be accurate on a certain plane, but this type of rationalistic thinking is reaching beyond its philosophical grasp.

The epiphanies from drug use are often simply unveilings of deeply held beliefs or perceptions which have been covered in dust through the mundane conditioning of everyday sensory experience. To deny the often uncomfortable conjectures from psychic exploration is to deny a realm of experience, albeit taboo, upon purely subjective moral grounds without embracing the Platonic possibilities of internal revelation and introspective discovery - whether stoned or sober.

From my limited personal experience, I interpret my own past use of any psychedelic as risky adolescent indulgence, an immoral substitute for a healthy sense of natural wonder and proper relationship with God. But the scientific process of gaining empirical knowledge should not denigrate other more internalized aspects of gaining insight, regardless of moral objections.

One of the most telling passages in the book has Pinchbeck musing, "had I been preparing myself, without knowing it, to receive the signal from this emphatic archetype? Had I broken though, albeit fleetingly, to a new level of consciousness, receiving 'a new covenant' for humanity? Or did overuse of hallucinogens merely distort my judgement, tilting me towards madness? These questions, among others, swarmed around me"

Important questions indeed, Mr. Pinchbeck. I personally suspect that the continued use of powerful psychedelics does present certain obstacles to the balanced functioning of the brain with effects akin to developing a delusional messianic importance. This is not to say I find no merit in Pinchbecks writings; they are certainly provocative, timely and intelligent, but I see them more as a glowing distillation of multiple sources of knowledge into a disturbingly surreal prophecy, A testament to the psyche's ability to objectify or rationalize a very particular and personal interpretation of reality.

Pinchbeck has come to be a bit of a torchbearer for the present counterculture, he has earned [L.Eye note: I think rather than "earned" that should be "has been bequeathed"] his place in Beat poet lineage (his mother had a explosive relationship with Kerouac). He's claiming his inheritance amidst the fringe intellectuals of this century, who, championing personal freedom and reeling in the haze of globalization, industrialization and free market ideology, spiral in eloquent, poetic flights towards societal and personal destruction. If there is any merit to Pinchbeck's timetable, we best buckle our mind-belts tight as history accelerates. Regardless of what happens in 2012, we exist in a global climate demanding urgent original and practical thinking. Let's try it without the drugs this time.

[mike ra]

read the book.. not a fan of pinchbeck, the thinker.. at all.. in fact, he sorta annoys me. he says some good thing, but his ideas of a psychedelic elite is on some capitalist type agenda.. he supposedly is against.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/11217201/daniel_pinchbeck_and_the_new_psychedelic_elite

most may disagree with me, but i think pinchbeck is rather closed minded. with that said, i did enjoy that book. not a great book by any means, but include some enlightening information.

[Hy Bri]

I am more than half way through this book now. I absolutely love it. Thank to C-Realm for bringing to my attention!!

[#8#]

Agree with mike_ra. I'm wary of anyone crowning himself western civilization's shaman.

I've not read this book, but I've read his posts and heard him innumerable times in interviews, and there's an odd kind of graduate school "baffle them with bullshit" vibe (which I'm all too familiar with, being in grad school and having read many of the texts he name-drops).

Mix that with the kind of impatience he sometimes shows for countering points of view (passive-aggressive denunciation masked as engagement), and the self-proclaimed title of shaman, and my "ego trip" detector starts to go off.

[LendogPDX]

Agree with mike_ra. I'm wary of anyone crowning himself western civilization's shaman.

I've not read this book, but I've read his posts and heard him innumerable times in interviews, and there's an odd kind of graduate school "baffle them with bullshit" vibe (which I'm all too familiar with, being in grad school and having read many of the texts he name-drops).

Mix that with the kind of impatience he sometimes shows for countering points of view (passive-aggressive denunciation masked as engagement), and the self-proclaimed title of shaman, and my "ego trip" detector starts to go off.

In the same boat here. I prefer Max Freakout myself :D

[London Eye]

Agree with mike_ra. I'm wary of anyone crowning himself western civilization's shaman.

I've not read this book, but I've read his posts and heard him innumerable times in interviews, and there's an odd kind of graduate school "baffle them with bullshit" vibe (which I'm all too familiar with, being in grad school and having read many of the texts he name-drops).

Mix that with the kind of impatience he sometimes shows for countering points of view (passive-aggressive denunciation masked as engagement), and the self-proclaimed title of shaman, and my "ego trip" detector starts to go off.

Went to a talk of his in London and I'd have to agree with all of the above, including the passive-aggressive put downs which I saw happening for myself. Meh, he writes well and can be used as some kind of focal point.

But, yeah, Max_Freakout roolz :D

[max_freakout]

I really wish i could feel positive about Pinchbeck, but i just can't :(


and im glad there are some other people who arent too keen about him on here so i can honestly say what i think about him....

I read 'breaking open the head' when it first came out, and i thought it was 'alright' bordering on 'mediocre', not particularly well written, and not shedding any new light on the psychedelic issue

then a few years went by and his popularity grew and grew, and i kept waiting for him to say something new and interesting and he just didnt

he seemed to be acting as if he was revealing something new and profound, but imo all he has ever done is thoroughly rehash everything that Mckenna said, and he threw in a bit of crap about the Mayan calender just to make it sound even more complicated and revolutionary

but really it was just him bringing a bastardised version of Mckenna's legacy to a much wider audience

and it infuriated me the Mckenna put-down he made in the talk he did at burning man (which Lorenzo has for download), basically misquoting Mckenna and then pretending as if he was some kind of 'better version' which he isnt

then he started going on about being the reincarnation of quetzlcoatl and i lost interest

but at the social gathering where me and Seeker both met him, he was a charmingly nice guy and expressed a keen interest to come on psychonautica, so i may be a bit 2-faced in the future and interview him. I am skeptical of his value as a teacher, but he is no doubt an inetersting character, and he has spread the psychedelic word very far indeed with his popularity

[max_freakout]

the passive-aggressive put downs which I saw happening for myself.


YES!!! We both agree on that one ;)

[crowley666]

I enjoyed breaking open the head but have been put off by the lecture I heard and the general subject matter of his new book. Not rushing to give it a look.....and I have to agree that he seems to be aiming to be the new Mckenna but a rather substandard one....G:)oing by what I have heard in the latest Psychonautica.(only listened to half of it so far but enjoying it!)...I am presuming the Seeker (london eye) has probably read some R.A Wilson.....Max.....have you read Prometheus Rising??? Excellent book which incorporates lots of different stuff as well as some NLP. Seriously...think you would enjoy it.

[max_freakout]

Right!!!! P-body actually gave me a copy of Prometheus Rising but it's been sitting on the shelf ever since, but now that you've said that i will check it out properly

[mike ra]

i am very much enjoying prometheus rising right now.. and if i where to judge pinchbeck.. he's appears to be stuck on the anal emotional circuit RAW so elegantly described.

[#8#]

Is Prometheus Rising available as an e-text online anyplace?

[mike ra]

Is Prometheus Rising available as an e-text online anyplace?

Yep.. I'll hook you up - pdf:
http://www.mediafire.com/?c3djy4w1mmv

or you can read it online.. http://www.scribd.com/doc/219847/RAWilsonPrometheus

i got plenty of other RAW books too, ;)

[crowley666]

LOL...yeah you are right Mike...Pinchbeck sounds like he is stuck on that!:D

[max_freakout]

Is it just me who doesnt know what RAW is? :confused:

[crowley666]

RAW is Robert Anton Wilson...:D

[max_freakout]

RAW is Robert Anton Wilson...:D

*slaps own forehead* :o

[#8#]

Cheers to mike_ra for posting that. I love reading RAW on James Joyce.

[Lowlight]

I think Pinchbeck gets a slightly unfair bad-rap...though it isnt totally unjustified...

2012 was better than i thought it would be though it didnt have the same effct on me as Breaking Open The Head did. Basically he is a collector of other peoples theories and a fairly good generalizer of them. As a thinker in his own right he is not that impressive, though he does make some good points and writes in a engaging way.

Theres no way this guy is the Messiah or anything though:D

[#8#]

Lowlight, that sounds very much like the journalist that he really is. And that's where Pinchbeck got his start, as a hipster journalist.

I've heard Pinchbeck in interviews where he starts to channel an idea through his conversation, only to later explain that he'd been reading [name your author] on [name your idea that he's channeling], which is very much in the mode of the cross-over journalist/commentator/nascent public intellectual.

As far as the entheogenic ideas go, at least from a journalistic perspective, I guess I just prefer someone like Graham Hancock. His approach seems more, I dunno, open and less deterministic to me, and even when he's in the story, the story is less about him than it is about the thing he's exploring.

[Samwise Ganja]

Hey people :):eek::)

I´ve read Cosmic Trigger 1, a bit of 2, Prometheus Rising (RAW) plus Christopher S. Hyatt´s Undoing Yourself and Hyatt and Iwema´s Energized Hypnosis: A non-book for self change which is sort of in the same field. They are all great books and provide plenty of insights and practical exercises and practical jokes to use on yourself to help you to explore and re-program your mind.

Also read Pinchbeck´s Breaking Open the Head and 2012 which at the time I really enjoyed and thought he brought a lot of far related fields together, but now I´m starting to see what every is saying on here about him being a bit messianistic.

Just got a copy of Joe Dispenza´s Evolve Your Brain: The Science of Changing Your Mind. He was in the film What the Bleep Do We Know. Check him out, he seems a pretty down to earth man of science. Haven´t started it yet, but I´ll let you know how it goes. Anyone else read it yet?

Regarding another 2012 author, I found Carl Johan Calleman´s The Mayan Calendar to have a simliar idea to McKenna´s Time Wave Zero. Although I´ve not read any McKenna, only listened to several audio downloads, so I can´t really say, but Calleman provides a nice assessment of various areas of historical events which support his idea of the various phases of days and nights in the Mayan Calender.

Ah book reviews... I wrote another today post about Jean Houston´s Jump Time: Shaping Your Future in a World of Radical Change but I believe I forgot the point in the end, and kinda went off trail and didn´t really add anything constructive. So much for my degree in Philosophy, maybe I´m just getting warmed up?

Really appreciate everyone on this forum. I´m learning lots. Much respect and laughing ya butt off moments!

[Cosmicbenji]

I realize this isn't a Pinchbeck hate thread or anything like that, but I must agree with the consensus here. He seems to be some kind of Noephyte primadonna, and I have honest doubts about ANY revalation regarding some kind of determinist singularity, that is being regarded as dogma in the psychedelic community. His assertions are no different than those of fundamentalist cultural ideologies, the've just got a radically liberal slant to them.

Unfortunately however, the review of the book, doesn't paint a very bright picture for the future of psychedelia as it put it. Any lack of cohesiveness, or real susbtance beyond frivilous citation seems to have steered the reviewer into a negative view towards any of the psychedelic potential that IS authentic. I think that too often, Pinchbeck makes too much of an attempt to speak for the entire psychedelic community as a whole, and don't think that most psychonauts think he's as cool as he does.

With that said, why does this 2012 date HAVE to be this "singularity" that so many psychonauts have swallowed, hook, line & sinker? Terence asked us to take his work, and break it open over the head of rational discourse, and yet so many of us are so quick to simply subscribe to this 2012 end date Escaton. There was even talk at the 2005 Mindstates conference, (with Dennis McKenna's name being dropped, among others) that the Timewave zero was "fugded" a bit to get it to have applicability. Now I LOVE Terence WILL ALL OF my being, as many of you do I'm sure. Because this is so, I think we OWE it to him to GO BOLDLY BEYOND HIS IDEAS OF THE 2012 ESCATON.

With humanity's fervant focus on technology, and the actual mass "sharing" of media, hyperdistribution, hyperintelligence, and hyperconnectivity, why can't our continued evolution, actually be a technologically actualized one? Why does it always have to be about this ,"...In Dec. of 2012, when the Mayan ...Galactic center of the .... Yada Yada Yada..."? Why can't it be something like, "On Dec. 12 2012, the first human dream will actually be recorded digitally... OR In 2012, the first time machine will become operational, OR In the next 5 years, Nanoscience will create a cure for the global eco catastrophe that mankind has perpetuated for the last 150 years... OR Within the next 5 years, 1 million wind turbine power generators will be erected across all of the starving third world nations, providing abundant, power , and trade opportunity for food and medicine..."?

I simply think that the psychedelic experience lends itself for much greater things than the perpetuation of cultural ideology. Through it we continue to affirm incredible insight, and knowledge, but we tend to still just spew forth ideologies that work for OUR psychedelic culture. I think the human experience is capable of taking more away from spirituality, and consciousness evolvement than this; and conversely it is this kind of thinking that the psychedelic communtiy has an issue with in regards to the religious community. So in light of this, why do we think that 2012 has all of these answers, that up to this point, are still based in conjecture?


Drive safely,
Ben.

[Little Elf]

Yeah I was kind of left more confused over sexuality with Pinchbecks perspective. Did he want to give the responsibility to women for these problems? I like Terence's perspective far better myself. I think I personally thought Pinchbeck was trying to replace McKenna in an archaic revival. But he comically responded thats a negative, to my questions use of language, "Are you looking to fill Timothy Leary's or Terence McKenna's shoes". His response was something about him wearing his own shoes. Which of course left me terribly embarrassed.

Seems like a great guy. But I agree, I could see someone doing a far better job of building community. So yeah I see more posting going on here than Reality Sandwich.

I don't know, but I think everyone needs to find love. We need this entire generation to get out of their heads and back into their heart. -spin on something Fraser Clark said.

I think Graham Hancock's Supernatural needs the attention if not more than Pinchbeck has received. There must be a Supernatural thread about?

[Samwise Ganja]

Hey Cosmicbenji, I hear what you´re saying about why this 2012 thing can´t be about some other things as you suggested (revolutionary technology, etc). I think this is probably more probable for the fact that most "prophecies" and speculations about the future, especially end of the world scenarios have always been wrong. The world is still here.

However, that said, the fact of the matter remains that things are getting pretty bad (environmental changes, overpopulation, loss of personal liberties, increasing economic divide). These are bad aren´t they? Or have I interpreted something incorrectly?

But then again on the other side, things are also getting pretty good (an increase in responsible "intentional" communities, the learning of ancient wisdom, massive cultural exchange, development of new technology such as XBOX 360, iPhone and the Volcano Vapourizer).

Perhaps we just have to remind ourselves what the mass media presents and compare it to what we non-mainstream/alternative audiences are focusing on. Is it all bad? According to several hundred Nobel Peace Prize recipients, it is.

btw check out this year´s winners: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/lists/2007.html

For me, it´s hard to say "which side is winning" ; painful oppression / destruction of life, or a peaceful sustainable future of creation? But I´m an optimist and believe humanity´s future is going to be an exciting and positive one for all.

We are witness to the most increased breakdown of pretty much everything in all of known history, but that doesn´t mean the end by any means. In fact, most breakdowns in history have brought about a new world.

Maybe everyone just needs to buy a Volcano, have a baggie, listen to the Cannabis Podcast Network, and chill? Now if that´s not an answer to the world´s problems, I don´t know what is.

[max_freakout]

Theres no way this guy is the Messiah or anything though:D

He says he is an avatar (divine incarnation) of Quetzlcoatl, although bizarrely enough, he was TOLD this BY Quetzlcoatl (something a little schizoid going on there)

i dont know what the historical significance of Quetzlcoatl, although i have read about Tezcatlipoca, who i feel quite strongly i myself encountered on a mushroom bummer, because of his description as hlding a 'smoking mirror'

Tezcatlpoca and Quetzlcoatl are sworn enemies but i dont know much else

[Lowlight]

Hey there Max,

Did you see the smoking mirror before you read about it? If so that would be V.interesting...Maybe thats where Tezcatlipoca was first seen by the Maya who used the Mushroom as you know.

I know pinchbeck has ambivalent feeling about his prophetic 'download' experince in the sense that he doesnt take it 100% seriously. Its interesting nonetheless though. I used to be a big poster over at his breakingopenthehead forum when it was alive and kicking a couple of years ago. The energy has left the place now and his new realitysandwich project doesnt have a very active forum community so ive been looking for somewhere to spread my psychedelic wings again...

good podcast work btw, i listen to yours and lorenzos podcasts when im in work so that my brain doesnt rot. Keep up the good work!

[max_freakout]

Did you see the smoking mirror before you read about it? If so that would be V.interesting...Maybe thats where Tezcatlipoca was first seen by the Maya who used the Mushroom as you know.

Yes i did, it wasnt until about a year later when i read about Tezcatlipoca and it really shocked me

a very powerful magical entity opened up a mirror in front of me, in which i could see my bare soul. It was a very difficult experience, and the imagery throughout the whole trip was in that aesthetic (i was seeing totem poles and other stuff like that)


I know pinchbeck has ambivalent feeling about his prophetic 'download' experince in the sense that he doesnt take it 100% seriously. Its interesting nonetheless though. I used to be a big poster over at his breakingopenthehead forum when it was alive and kicking a couple of years ago. The energy has left the place now and his new realitysandwich project doesnt have a very active forum community so ive been looking for somewhere to spread my psychedelic wings again...

i posted on b.o.t.h. forums to promote psychonautica for a while but i could see it was dead, i missed that trip


good podcast work btw, i listen to yours and lorenzos podcasts when im in work so that my brain doesnt rot. Keep up the good work!

Thanx man, keep listening and i'll keep them coming :cool:

[Cosmicbenji]

We are witness to the most increased breakdown of pretty much everything in all of known history, but that doesn´t mean the end by any means. In fact, most breakdowns in history have brought about a new world.

Maybe everyone just needs to buy a Volcano, have a baggie, listen to the Cannabis Podcast Network, and chill? Now if that´s not an answer to the world´s problems, I don´t know what is.


Well said!!! BUT, until Max starts offering Volcanos as prizes for "The LONGEST damn post of the Week!" its gotta be on my waiting list. I get to enjoy those of friends' when I visit, but still need one for the homefront.

If there are any Volcano reps reading this forum right now, I'll gladly offer a testimonial and be willing to demo your latest and greatest model at no charge!:D


Drive safely,
Ben.

[Samwise Ganja]

If there are any Volcano reps reading this forum right now, I'll gladly offer a testimonial and be willing to demo your latest and greatest model at no charge!:D

I live 2 hours drive north from the Storz & Bickel German Headquarters in Tuttlingen. So when I get the 398 Euros needed, I am going for a little drive.

Oh don´t worry, I´ll be saying a big hello from all the C.P.N. listeners and forum users!

:cool:

[Cosmicbenji]

I live 2 hours drive north from the Storz & Bickel German Headquarters in Tuttlingen. So when I get the 398 Euros needed, I am going for a little drive.

Oh don´t worry, I´ll be saying a big hello from all the C.P.N. listeners and forum users!

:cool:

In my best "online" Napoleon Dynamite voice: "LUUUUUuuuuuuucCKkyyyyYYY!"

[Lowlight]

Now that is interesting Max! I wonder if anyone else has seen/experienced mirror/smoking mirror imagery on mushrooms? If i remember correctly Tezcatlipoca is generally seen as evil, but in a deeper way he may be a postive force in the same way that Kali is seen as blood thirsty yet enlightening in Hindu traditions. Maybe him showing you your soul was for the good in the long run, even if it was a painful experience at the time...

Yeah BOTH is effectively dead these days, but it was such a vibrant and active place a few years back. It descended into a lot of back biting in the end with many personal attacks on Pinchbeck (who was to his credit a major poster there). There were also 2 suicides which were both tragedies. In fact one may be of interest to you (not the suicide but the person). His name was Daniel Carpenter and he wrote a book about the DXM trance which was published by Inner Traditions (same company who did Strassman's DMT book). Sadly he died before it actually made it to the bookshelves. It si an interesting book (He sent me a copy of the original draft which he submitted to the publisher) and contains a lot of info on the DXM experience. He took V.High doses and reported very powerful trips. It is a great loss that he passed. Incidently it wasnt through DXM that he died. He had long term alcohol problems which were i think the main cause. Check it out if you ever get the time - http://www.innertraditions.com/Contributor.jmdx?action=displayDetail&id=1520

I've rambled enough for now...

[max_freakout]

Maybe him showing you your soul was for the good in the long run, even if it was a painful experience at the time....

It most certainly was, the power of denial is very strong