DrTodd
11-05-2006, 10:47 AM
From my blog (www.drtoddlandman.blogspot.com)
Pinchbeck, D. (2006) 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, New York: Penguin.
Just finished reading Daniel Pinchbeck's new book 2012, which uses Mayan cyclical calendars to warn the world of an emerging shift in global consciousness. The warning comes from his own drug induced visions of the Mayan demigod Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent.
The book partly explores deeper metaphysical questions concerning the modern world's separation of mind and body (aprés Descartes), the possibility of psychic phenomena, and various attempts to provide solutions to the global crisis in collective consciousness; and it partly provides a narco-tourist's view on where to find the best mind altering drugs and indigenous and/or New Age belief systems. The narrative drifts in an out of first person experiences, academic style summary of arguments, and philosphical argumentation that ends up asking us to take his 'fable' seriously if we are to save the world from calamity in 2012, as predicted by the Maya.
The book requires a large amount of suspension of belief and the reader learns a tremendous amount about scientific efforts to establish proof for psychic phenomena. I particularly liked the discussion of the Global Consciousness Project, which examines the data output from multiple random event generators and correlates the patterns in the data with significant global events (e.g. 9-11). The bibliography also provides a nice source of futher reading for those who are interested in these topics. The best one for me is Dean Radin's (1997) The Conscious Universe.
I guess I found the drug stories amusing and entertaining, but one wonders how much validity can be given to drug induced 'visions' as a basis for serious philosophising about the human condition. Moreover, the author's personal circumstances have allowed him to drop everything at short notice and travel to Gabon, Hawaii, the Amazon, and Glastonbury to chase his next paranormal experience.
I would recommend anyone interested in the meaning of life, the universe, and anything that really matters to have a go at this book and let it stimulate your thinking about your own location in the cosmos.
Pinchbeck, D. (2006) 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, New York: Penguin.
Just finished reading Daniel Pinchbeck's new book 2012, which uses Mayan cyclical calendars to warn the world of an emerging shift in global consciousness. The warning comes from his own drug induced visions of the Mayan demigod Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent.
The book partly explores deeper metaphysical questions concerning the modern world's separation of mind and body (aprés Descartes), the possibility of psychic phenomena, and various attempts to provide solutions to the global crisis in collective consciousness; and it partly provides a narco-tourist's view on where to find the best mind altering drugs and indigenous and/or New Age belief systems. The narrative drifts in an out of first person experiences, academic style summary of arguments, and philosphical argumentation that ends up asking us to take his 'fable' seriously if we are to save the world from calamity in 2012, as predicted by the Maya.
The book requires a large amount of suspension of belief and the reader learns a tremendous amount about scientific efforts to establish proof for psychic phenomena. I particularly liked the discussion of the Global Consciousness Project, which examines the data output from multiple random event generators and correlates the patterns in the data with significant global events (e.g. 9-11). The bibliography also provides a nice source of futher reading for those who are interested in these topics. The best one for me is Dean Radin's (1997) The Conscious Universe.
I guess I found the drug stories amusing and entertaining, but one wonders how much validity can be given to drug induced 'visions' as a basis for serious philosophising about the human condition. Moreover, the author's personal circumstances have allowed him to drop everything at short notice and travel to Gabon, Hawaii, the Amazon, and Glastonbury to chase his next paranormal experience.
I would recommend anyone interested in the meaning of life, the universe, and anything that really matters to have a go at this book and let it stimulate your thinking about your own location in the cosmos.