2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl 
asked by james58 on November 23, 2006 9:46 AM
Cross James Merrill, H. P. Lovecraft, and Carlos Castaneda -each imbued with a twenty-first-century aptitude for quantum theory and existential psychology-and you get the voice of Daniel Pinchbeck. And yet, nothing quite prepares us for the lucidity, rationale, and informed audacity of this seeker, skeptic, and cartographer of hidden realms.
Throughout the 1990s, Pinchbeck had been a member of New York's literary select. He wrote for publications such as The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, and Harper's Bazaar. His first book, Breaking Open the Head, was heralded as the most significant on psychedelic experimentation since the work of Terence McKenna.
But slowly something happened: Rather than writing from a journalistic remove, Pinchbeck-his literary powers at their peak-began to participate in the shamanic and metaphysical belief systems he was encountering. As his psyche and body opened to new experience, disparate threads and occurrences made sense like never before: Humanity, every sign pointed, is precariously balanced between greater self-potential and environmental disaster. The Mayan calendar's "end date" of 2012 seems to define our present age: It heralds the end of one way of existence and the return of another, in which the serpent god Quetzalcoatl reigns anew, bringing with him an unimaginably ancient-yet, to us, wholly new-way of living.
A result not just of study but also of participation, 2012 tells the tale of a single man in whose trials we ultimately recognize our own hopes and anxieties about modern life.
Throughout the 1990s, Pinchbeck had been a member of New York's literary select. He wrote for publications such as The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, and Harper's Bazaar. His first book, Breaking Open the Head, was heralded as the most significant on psychedelic experimentation since the work of Terence McKenna.
But slowly something happened: Rather than writing from a journalistic remove, Pinchbeck-his literary powers at their peak-began to participate in the shamanic and metaphysical belief systems he was encountering. As his psyche and body opened to new experience, disparate threads and occurrences made sense like never before: Humanity, every sign pointed, is precariously balanced between greater self-potential and environmental disaster. The Mayan calendar's "end date" of 2012 seems to define our present age: It heralds the end of one way of existence and the return of another, in which the serpent god Quetzalcoatl reigns anew, bringing with him an unimaginably ancient-yet, to us, wholly new-way of living.
A result not just of study but also of participation, 2012 tells the tale of a single man in whose trials we ultimately recognize our own hopes and anxieties about modern life.
Reviews
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I enjoyed parts of this book, but like others I got really, really turned off by the author's weird diatribes against women and his manic justifications for his bad behavior. Like the author's wife I also suspect he's an addict- not just drugs but addicted to any adrenalin rush experience. i don't think psychadelics are bad per se but he seems to be avoiding the very advice he sets for himself as quoted from Steiner- that spiritual development must be made calmly and maturely. I give Pinchbeck credit for his honesty and his sense of adventure, but i kept cringing when he would throw every idea in the pot together. You could see he had lost all ability to discern,to use his metaphor, the signal from the noise. He writes about how a certain author or idea is even to him ridiculous and then proceeds to wear down his own intuition by giving in to the idea so he can go further and further out there. The man clearly responded well to experiencing devotion and diligent spiritual practice at the end of the book- not very glamorous but any true spiritual practitioner will tell you this is what it is like 90% of the time. His diatribe against monogamy, his own attempts at prophecy, and the jumbling of every alternative theory together were a distraction from some truly interesting thoughts buried in this book. Instead of coming away with transformative, deeply spiritual ideas the book felt like a cheap carnival ride. His ego overwhelms what he professes to be the intent behind his book.I agree with another reader that anyone purchasing this book should read a couple hundred pages before they buy it.
reviewed by nexus on November 27, 2006 10:48 AM
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This is a more important,more profound work than B.O.T.H. The highlight of it for me was the section on Santo Daime. I was disappointed he didn't report on Santo Daime members views on 2012 etc. If substantial conversations weren't had this should have been explained. Also "Forest of Visions" a book on Santo Daime was ignored, why?
Like others I found his views on women objectionable. If he wanted to include this material then there replies should have been incorporated into the text in italics! He will have some explaining to do to his daughter when she grows up and reads this!
There was a little too much of the "I have been chosen" refrain in this book, also I found his transmission unremarkable so a bit more humility would have been useful. I feel the importance he gives to his transmission unbalances the book. When he says the Daime will be will you forever that means these experiences will be commonplace, so get used to them! The change of title for the U.K is wise.
He writes beautifully which is something is undervalued in this New Age, so despite the odd problem it merits five stars.
Like others I found his views on women objectionable. If he wanted to include this material then there replies should have been incorporated into the text in italics! He will have some explaining to do to his daughter when she grows up and reads this!
There was a little too much of the "I have been chosen" refrain in this book, also I found his transmission unremarkable so a bit more humility would have been useful. I feel the importance he gives to his transmission unbalances the book. When he says the Daime will be will you forever that means these experiences will be commonplace, so get used to them! The change of title for the U.K is wise.
He writes beautifully which is something is undervalued in this New Age, so despite the odd problem it merits five stars.
reviewed by carrots on November 28, 2006 1:12 PM