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Cult figure on a psychedelic mission to unlock the mysteries of 2012.
    #11529676 -

Cult figure on a psychedelic mission to unlock the mysteries of 2012.

http://www.kelowna.com/2009/11/25/cult-figure-on-a-psychedelic-mission-to-unlock-the-mysteries-of-2012/

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 | 1:41 am

Canwest News Service

JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming – Psychedelic drug booster Daniel Pinchbeck doesn't know if Dec. 21, 2012, will spell out Doomsday for the planet.

But that doesn't mean he doesn't fear cataclysmic disaster the likes of which the world has never seen. And he does think the Maya people were onto something in making their current calendar end on that date. He also hopes that the real significance of 2012 ultimately will depend on how civilization responds to it – on whether or not it will continue provoking nature's wrath.

"My feeling of 2012 is that we don't know what it's going to be. So rather than looking at it as Doomsday, we can see it as an opportunity to evolve and become more creative and more intelligent as a species on the planet and use the skills and technical capacities we have to engage in a very deep work transformation."

And, he adds, let's not ignore crop circles and UFOs.

Shaggy-haired, bearded and intense, this is clearly a man on a mission. But some film critics have unkindly suggested that Pinchbeck – a cult figure, author, shaman and 2012 scholar who is both revered and reviled within the culture which worries about such things – is the model for Woody Harrelson's off-the-wall performance as an ecological paranoiac in the new disaster film, 2012. Pinchbeck isn't commenting on that but neither is he prepared to dismiss the movie out of hand.

He does feel the world is heading for disaster and that primitive cultures are capable of possessing mystical portents of the future – themes which he explored in his controversial book, 2012: The Return Of Quetzalcoatl, now available from Penguin in a new, best-selling paperback edition. So, if nothing else he sees the movie as a warning call – and maybe something more, given what he knows about Mayan culture and prophecy.

"Personally, I think the film is part of the prophecy in a sense, because it's bringing this idea (of disaster) to a global level. I'm glad it's coming out in 2009 rather than 2011 because our collective consciousness has been trained to react to fear and hug spectacles of destruction, so that's kind of where the collective consciousness needs to experience it. Maybe after that, we can recognize that – yes, this is a collective window of transformation for our species and that we could collectively move global civilization in a very different direction – and actually, we're going to have to, if we want to have a thriving future for our descendants."

So Pinchbeck doesn't think it's just Hollywood fear-mongering to release a movie in which the planet is ravaged by earthquakes, volcanoes, mass flooding, dust storms, tsunamis and other displays of nature's wrath. He believes the world has much to fear and needs a wake-up call.

He also think the Maya culture has always been plugged in to what is happening, and what will happen, because drugs provide a conduit into a different dimension. That's why, in Pinchbeck's view that the psychedelic element can't be ignored: "that's how indigenous cultures like the Maya access other levels of information – visionary information, prophetic information."

Psychedelic substances and shamanism dispatched Pinchbeck on his own "transformative journey" which he described in an earlier book, Breaking Open The Head. "So for me, part of what I did almost by accident was to recapture some of those other levels of awareness that cultures like the Maya were based on."

Pinchbeck's studies of indigenous cultures and experimentations with their psychedelic substances helped resolve his own "existential crisis." More than that, they ended up making him think hard about 2012.

"It opened me to the idea that maybe we needed to take more seriously what tribal people and indigenous cultures and tribal cultures know. At the same time, I began to understand this time prophetically as a time of intense transformation. So that kind of led me to 2012."

But he admits you don't need ancient calendars and prophecies to know that the planet is endangered.

"When you just step back from what they (the Maya) knew or didn't know and how they knew it, it's very clear that we're in a period of extremely critical transformation and that we actually need a rapid evolution of consciousness as a species or we're simply not going to survive on this planet.

"If you look at the statistics that scientists are putting out there, 25 per cent of all mammalian species, perhaps all the species in general, will go extinct in the next 30 years if we continue at the concurrent rates of deforestation, industrialization and so on. The oceans are currently fished out of large fish. Whole chains of aquatic life are disappearing . . . . Acceleration of climate change is producing all sorts of effects, reducing the amount of arable land on the planet, which could ultimately lead to a food crisis. We have depletion of major resources – oil, water. We just had a major financial crisis in the U.S."

He also accepts other, more controversial, symbols of change.

"I've also studied crop circles in depth . . . . From my research, they're probably not being done by people, considering the level of precision. There are changes in the planets that have been documented, and we're seeing a worldwide increase in UFO phenomena. It's getting pretty wacky."

For Pinchbeck, all this might lead to a cleansing – "a sort of biospheric transformation." This in turn might lead to the development of new sustainable technologies free of ecological consequences.

"There's also a change that's happening in the nature of human consciousness itself," Pinchbeck argues. He says even the ancient Greeks knew that higher levels of consciousness are possible. So, today, do indigenous peoples.

"It's always been there but we're unconscious of it," he asserts. And, he suggests, it could be crucial to the transformation the world needs and this is where psychedelics can play a role.

"I look at them as teaching plants, the ones used sacramentally by tribal people. And they seem to be plants that have a symbiotic relationship to human consciousness. They give us messages. They decondition us from our extensive certainty about how society has to be. And they give us visions of what transformations are possible.

"I don't think everybody needs psychedelics, but for some people they're a path. I think it's unfortunate they're illegal."

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Re: Cult figure on a psychedelic mission to unlock the mysteries of 2012. [Re: bugabuga420]
    #11529713 -

:goodmorning:


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Re: Cult figure on a psychedelic mission to unlock the mysteries of 2012. [Re: ShroomDoom]
    #11530212 -

I have a lot of respect for Pinchbeck- so I hope all this 2012 stuff isn't just bullshit.


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Re: Cult figure on a psychedelic mission to unlock the mysteries of 2012. [Re: Lancaster]
    #11530476 -

Spoken like a true shaman.  I have a lot of respect for that man.


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Perfect calm is the sensation of pure awareness.

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Re: Cult figure on a psychedelic mission to unlock the mysteries of 2012. [Re: Lancaster]
    #11530606 -

Lancaster said:
I have a lot of respect for Pinchbeck- so I hope all this 2012 stuff isn't just bullshit.



what if it is bullshit? has the 2012 movement done anything for you?


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I close my eyes and seize it
I clench my fists and beat it
I light my torch and burn it
I am the beast I worship....

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Re: Cult figure on a psychedelic mission to unlock the mysteries of 2012. [Re: Olympus Mons]
    #11530711 -

Olympus Mons said:
Lancaster said:
I have a lot of respect for Pinchbeck- so I hope all this 2012 stuff isn't just bullshit.



what if it is bullshit? has the 2012 movement done anything for you?



It's given me something to look forward to, I suppose. I haven't looked into it enough. I really enjoyed Breaking Open the Head, so I plan on reading The Return of Quetzalcoatl.


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Re: Cult figure on a psychedelic mission to unlock the mysteries of 2012. [Re: Lancaster]
    #11530753 -

Pinchbeck is a publicity hound that makes psychonauts look like psychonuts. Sure, he wrote some good stuff in the past. Big deal.

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Re: Cult figure on a psychedelic mission to unlock the mysteries of 2012. [Re: samspade]
    #11530815 -

samspade said:
Pinchbeck is a publicity hound that makes psychonauts look like psychonuts. Sure, he wrote some good stuff in the past. Big deal.



After actually reading some reviews of the book, this is starting to sound correct. The last thing we need is another Leary :facepalm:

We could use a few more Grofs though



:thumbup:


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Re: Cult figure on a psychedelic mission to unlock the mysteries of 2012. [Re: bugabuga420]
    #11530982 -

'Breaking Open the Head' was meh... it didn't lead to anything substantial. It was just some guy going and taking some entheogens here and there. I wouldn't throw my panties at him for it or anything.

'2012: The Return Of Quetzalcoatl' was written much better IMO but it was just a great book. Factual, well-researched and interesting yes but not deeply and profoundly life changing.

Pinchbeck is NOT the modern day Castaneda, God no.

Pinchbeck is DEFINITELY no new-generation McKenna... McKennna was lengths far beyond this guy even during his first quests.

Like Leary? Come on... that's seriously pushing it. I can't rarely see any connection between these two people except for the fact they both trip. Pinchbeck is simply a catalogger of his own mediocre experiences and collaborator of good ideas about prophecy and shamanism. He is no cult leader.

A media whore, yes. What author isn't though?

Quote:
a cult figure, author, shaman



Shaman? Seriously? Where was his multiple year apprenticeship? I don't discount this at all if the facts line up but I just have a hard time believing Danny P is, by true realistic terms, an actually indoctrinated shaman under any tradition.

Great author, great literature... I ENJOYED Breaking Open The Head very much. 2012 was one of my favorite books that year. I just don't think he's anything close to those who many claim he is "replacing"


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:peace:    :peace:

  Earth's Essence

Edited by CosmicLion (11/26/09 10:52 AM)

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Re: Cult figure on a psychedelic mission to unlock the mysteries of 2012. [Re: Lancaster]
    #11531034 -

Quote:
They decondition us from our extensive certainty about how society has to be.



Yes.

Quote:
And they give us visions of what transformations are possible.



No.

We have only been shown vague themes of indefinite change.

That's what makes it hypnotic.

Quote:
Liminality (from the Latin word līmen, meaning "a threshold") The liminal state is characterized by ambiguity, openness, and indeterminacy.One's sense of identity dissolves to some extent, bringing about disorientation. Liminality is a period of transition where normal limits to thought, self-understanding, and behavior are relaxed - a situation which can lead to new perspectives.

People, places, or things may not complete a transition, or a transition between two states may not be fully possible. Those who remain in a state between two other states may become permanently liminal.



Lancaster said:
It's given me something to look forward to, I suppose.



Respectfully, where would you be, between 2012 and the next big thing?

There are so many news stories which hold the fascination of a captive audience, and then...? The suspense is mounting, mounting...

CosmicLion said:
Shaman? Seriously? Where was his multiple year apprenticeship? I don't discount this at all if the facts line up but I just have a hard time believing Danny P is, by true realistic terms, an actually indoctrinated shaman under any tradition.




Who was the first to discover those traditions?

And, what specific facts are there to line up?

How does an open-ended, "transformative journey" resolve an "existential crisis" in any way?


Edited by durian_2008 (11/26/09 11:17 AM)

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Re: Cult figure on a psychedelic mission to unlock the mysteries of 2012. [Re: durian_2008]
    #11531070 -

durian_2008 said:
CosmicLion said:
Shaman? Seriously? Where was his multiple year apprenticeship? I don't discount this at all if the facts line up but I just have a hard time believing Danny P is, by true realistic terms, an actually indoctrinated shaman under any tradition.




Who was the first to discover those traditions?



Not Danny.

Even if so, that makes him an anthropologist not instantly a master shaman.

To call someone a shaman because they have taken DPT, Iboga and DMT a couple of times is a far stretch from the work any kind of shaman would do.

He may be involved in shamanic practice but nothing points that Daniel is any way equipped with the spiritual capacity to truly navigate shamanic reality.

If you can't navigate the realm of the shaman, you aren't one, you are just someone visiting. There is a difference between going on journey's and practicing shamanism. To claim oneself as shaman asserts a certain level of power and authority over shamanic realms and it doesn't seem like Daniel is on that path.


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:peace:    :peace:

  Earth's Essence

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Re: Cult figure on a psychedelic mission to unlock the mysteries of 2012. [Re: CosmicLion]
    #11531086 -

CosmicLion said:
'2012: The Return Of Quetzalcoatl' was written much better IMO but it was just a great book. Factual, well-researched and interesting yes but not deeply and profoundly life changing.

Pinchbeck is NOT the modern day Castaneda, God no.

Pinchbeck is DEFINITELY no new-generation McKenna... McKennna was lengths far beyond this guy even during his first quests.

Like Leary? Come on... that's seriously pushing it. I can't rarely see any connection between these two people except for the fact they both trip. Pinchbeck is simply a catalogger of his own mediocre experiences and collaborator of good ideas about prophecy and shamanism. He is no cult leader.

A media whore, yes. What author isn't though?




Stanislav Grof isn't, like I stated above. There is a small group of scientists and intellectuals who quietly publish well written books on psychedelics regularly. Pinchbeck himself talks about this in Breaking Open the Head. Instead of acting inflammatory, and attempting to start a revolution as Leary did, scientists like Grof work within the system to steadily uncover how psychedelics work. I'm afraid that Pinchbeck is just trying something similar: attempting to become a psychedelic avatar- an ego-fueled celebrity.

Hopefully that's not the case, though. I might actually read the book now that you mentioned it was enjoyable.


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Re: Cult figure on a psychedelic mission to unlock the mysteries of 2012. [Re: Lancaster]
    #11531115 -

Lancaster said:
I'm afraid that Pinchbeck is just trying something similar: attempting to become a psychedelic avatar- an ego-fueled celebrity.




It seriously disturbs me to think that Daniel might be walking around out there with his head high really thinking he is an equal to McKenna or Leary.

:facepalm:


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:peace:    :peace:

  Earth's Essence

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Re: Cult figure on a psychedelic mission to unlock the mysteries of 2012. [Re: CosmicLion]
    #11531134 -

CosmicLion said:
Shaman? Seriously? Where was his multiple year apprenticeship? I don't discount this at all if the facts line up but I just have a hard time believing Danny P is, by true realistic terms, an actually indoctrinated shaman under any tradition.




durian_2008 said:
Who was the first to discover those traditions?



CosmicLion said:
Not Danny.

Even if so, that makes him an anthropologist not instantly a master shaman.

To call someone a shaman because they have taken DPT, Iboga and DMT a couple of times is a far stretch from the work any kind of shaman would do.

He may be involved in shamanic practice but nothing points that Daniel is any way equipped with the spiritual capacity to truly navigate shamanic reality.

If you can't navigate the realm of the shaman, you aren't one, you are just someone visiting. There is a difference between going on journey's and practicing shamanism. To claim oneself as shaman asserts a certain level of power and authority over shamanic realms and it doesn't seem like Daniel is on that path.



The path, as I see it, involves a problem and a solution.

Regardless of his methods, Daniel Pinchbeck does not find resolution for us in any way.

Worse yet, his attention-getting keeps a captive audience on the hook without offering anything specific in return. IMHO, Pinchbeck is a problem.

Sorry.

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Re: Cult figure on a psychedelic mission to unlock the mysteries of 2012. [Re: CosmicLion]
    #11531179 -

durian_2008 said:
Who was the first to discover those traditions?



I would also like to know where they are, right now.

IMHO, these people couldn't solve their own problems, much less mine.

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Re: Cult figure on a psychedelic mission to unlock the mysteries of 2012. [Re: durian_2008]
    #11531205 -

2012 isn't even the end of the Mayan calender. :rolleyes:


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I'm Just Making This All Up.
Grains In Glass Jars With Professional Filters FTW.
Coir Monotubs FTW.
Sterile Technique FTW.
Fan dry, Desiccant storage FTW.
Ralphster's Spores FTW.

Mushroom Cloud - Dirtball

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Re: Cult figure on a psychedelic mission to unlock the mysteries of 2012. [Re: bugabuga420]
    #11531272 -

bugabuga420 said:
And, he adds, let's not ignore crop circles and UFOs.



right... good place to stop reading


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The creation takes hand of the chisel...

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Re: Cult figure on a psychedelic mission to unlock the mysteries of 2012. [Re: AngryPhil]
    #11531366 -

AngryPhil said:
bugabuga420 said:
And, he adds, let's not ignore crop circles and UFOs.



right... good place to stop reading



Exactly. Psychedelics have a bad enough reputation as it is without being associated with that kind of nonsense.

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Re: Cult figure on a psychedelic mission to unlock the mysteries of 2012. [Re: bugabuga420]
    #11531899 -

Quote:
"My feeling of 2012 is that we don't know what it's going to be.



One usually tries to avoid statements like these, when you're shooting to be seen with some legitimacy... :lol:


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"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over.  The others - the living - are those who pushed their control as far as they felt they could handle it, and then pulled back, or slowed down, or did whatever they had to when it came time to choose between Now and Later"

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Re: Cult figure on a psychedelic mission to unlock the mysteries of 2012. [Re: Dutchie3k]
    #11533091 -

All these mysteries will be revealed in 2 years


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:ganja: "Let's get together and feel alright" :ganja:                  :cubie: :mushroom2::tripping:

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