2012 : The Return of Quetzalcoatl by Daniel Pinchbeck (2007, Paperback)

Description: Rare book The acclaimed metaphysical epic that binds together the cosmological phenomena of our time, ranging from crop circles to quantum theory to the resurgence of psychedelic drugs, to support the contention of the Mayan calendar that the year 2012 portends a global shift-in consciousness, culture, and way of living-of unprecedented consequence. The Classical Maya developed a highly sophisticated civilization in the Yucatan and Guatemala that vanished 1,000 years ago. They were extraordinary architects and astronomers, and developed methods of timekeeping that are far more precise than our Western calendar system. Although we destroyed most of their scrolls, our archaeologists have discovered that the Maya looked toward the year 2012 – specifically the date December 21, 2012 – as the end of a "Great Cycle" of 5,125 years on their Long Count calendar. According to the Mayan creation myth, the Popol Vuh, such cycles end with the destruction of the old way of life and the inception of a new world. Many scholars agree that the Classic Maya pointed to this time, around the year 2012, as the juncture between one world age and the next. As we approach the threshold, it becomes more and more difficult to escape the feeling that the Maya had mysterious foreknowledge about our time. We are currently in the throes of an ecological crisis, brought about by human activity, which threatens us with disaster if we do not immediately change our ways. Basic resources such as fuel, water, and food are becoming scarce around the world. Many scientists have predicted cataclysm due to climate change and pollution that could lead to the extinction of the human species in a short span of time. On the other hand, we are also experiencing a massive leap in human consciousness. Our world is now meshed together through communications technology and social networks that act as a "global brain." We can transmit new ideas and transformative practices instantly across the world. In my book, 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, I proposed that what happens in "2012" depends on what humanity decides to make of it. We might see global famines and wars and increasing misery, or we might decide to institute a new planetary culture based on empathy, alternative economic systems, sustainable design, and an equitable sharing of wealth. According to the prophecies held by the Maya and other indigenous cultures, we may integrate modern scientific knowledge with Eastern spiritual wisdom and indigenous shamanism, leading to a new understanding of the physical and psychic cosmos. Rather than "doomsday," 2012 could be a time of positive transformation and the opening to a new way of life. Review "Pinchbeck's exotic epic is a paradigm-buster capable of forcing the most cynical reader outside her comfort zone." "Pinchbeck ... has created a scene around him that is perhaps the youngest and most vibrant of the current psychedelic establishment." "Daniel Pinchbeck has done a lot of psychedelics, and he's here again to tell us about those trips and the resulting dreams, daemons, and synchronicities, as well as the forthcoming 'global decimation' that might be avoided if people began 'confronting their habitual mechanisms of avoidance and denial, overcoming their fear and conditioned cynicism.'" "Daniel Pinchbeck ... is rapidly becoming our generation's foremost proponent of controlled psychedelic experimentation." "It's a ride worth taking, partly for the wild entertainment value but also because the book is a document with genuine sociopolitical relevance.... 2012 is more interesting than the typical doom-laden environmental policy document because Pinchbeck delivers his eco-political message in the form of a syncretic mad masterpiece." "In 2012, his part memoir, part anthropological journey through many things spiritual, metaphysical, and just plain eerie, Pinchbeck illuminates not the world's end but the many ways in which our social structures are disintegrating.... Into 2012 Pinchbeck fits Jung, crop circles, Martin Heidegger's critique of technology, the ecological theories of Rudolf Steiner, the parables of Christ, Jared Diamond's Collapse, and even the confessions of Whitley Strieber.... I am by nature suspicious of such books, but 2012 was for me both a relief and a box of treasures." About the Author Author Daniel Pinchbeck has deep personal roots in the New York counterculture of the 1950s and 1960s. His father was an abstract painter, and his mother, Joyce Johnson, was a member of the Beat Generation and dated Jack Kerouac as On the Road hit the bestseller lists in 1957 (chronicled in Johnson’s bestselling book, Minor Characters: A Beat Memoir). Pinchbeck was a founder of the 1990s literary magazine Open City with fellow writers Thomas Beller and Robert Bingham. He has written for many publications, including Esquire, The New York Times Magazine, The Village Voice, and Rolling Stone. In 1994, he was chosen by The New York Times Magazine as one of “Thirty Under Thirty” destined to change our culture. Pinchbeck lives in New York’s East Village, where he is editorial directory of Reality Sandwich (www.realitysandwich.com). He writes a column, Prophet Motive, for Conscious Enlightment publishing (www.cemagazines.com), which appears in Conscious Choice (Chicago), Conscious Choice (Seattle), Whole Life Times (LA), and Common Ground (SF).

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