Daniel Pinchbeck
Encyclopedia
Daniel Pinchbeck is an author living in New York’s East Village, where he is editorial director of Reality Sandwich, a blog
website centered around New Age
philosophy
and activism
. He is the author of Breaking Open the Head: A Psychedelic Journey into the Heart of Contemporary Shamanism
and 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl. He is the son of painter Peter Pinchbeck and writer Joyce Johnson
.
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, prior to his interest in psychedelics, he was chosen by The New York Times Magazine as one of “Thirty Under Thirty” destined to change our culture through his work with Open City, a literary journal
.
In Breaking Open the Head, Pinchbeck explored shamanism
via ceremonies with tribal groups such as the Bwiti
of Gabon
, who eat iboga
, and the Secoya people
in the Ecuador
ean Amazon
, who take ayahuasca
in their ceremonies. He also attended the Burning Man
festival in Nevada
, and looked at use of psychedelic substances in a de-sacralized modern context. Philosophically influenced by the work of anthroposophist Rudolf Steiner
, through his direct experience and research Pinchbeck became convinced that shamanic and mystical views of reality
have validity, and that the modern world had forfeited an understanding of intuitive
aspects of being in its pursuit of rational materialism
.
Drawing heavily, and somewhat controversially, from material shared on the Breaking Open the Head forums, Pinchbeck's second volume 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, chronicles Mayan
and Hopi
prophecies, and follows Pinchbeck's travels and travails as he responds to leads, both physical and intellectual, he receives via this forum. Examining the nature of prophecy Pinchbeck investigates the New Age
hypothesis of Terence McKenna
that humanity is experiencing an accelerated process of global consciousness transformation, leading to a new understanding of time and space during this period. The book details the psi
or extra-sensory perception
research of Dean Radin
, the theories of Graham Hancock
, the phenomena of crop circles, and a visit to calendar reform advocate José Argüelles
. Pinchbeck concludes with an alleged direct reception of prophetic material
by the Aztec
snake god Quetzalcoatl, a claim which was enough to get the book dropped by its planned publisher, delaying its release for the greater part of a year. Pinchbeck alleges the voice of the Mesoamerican deity
Quetzalcoatl
began speaking to him during a 2004 trip to the Amazon in Brazil, though he has since become reticent over any further communications he may have received. At the time, he was traveling by boat on the Amazon between participation in ceremonies of the Santo Daime
, a Brazilian religion that uses the psychedelic brew ayahuasca
as its sacrament. Through its references to 2012 and the Maya calendar
in the context of New Age
beliefs, Pinchbeck's book has contributed to Mayanism
.
In March 2007, Pinchbeck launched a new Internet-based magazine, Reality Sandwich
, claiming to offer "a new paradigm
for a planetary culture." He is the executive producer of PostModernTimes, a series of web videos presented on the iClips Network, and co-founder of Evolver, an online social network.
Pinchbeck was featured in the 2006 film Entheogen: Awakening the Divine Within, a documentary about rediscovering an enchanted
cosmos in the modern world.
Pinchbeck was also featured in the film 2012: Science or Superstition, a documentary describing how much of what we are hearing is science and how much is superstition.
Furthermore he interviewed Alejandro Jodorowsky
for the German/French art television Arte
in a very personal discussion, spending a night together in France, continuing the interview in different locations like in a park and in a hotel.
Pinchbeck appears in the Reality Sandwich sponsored feature-length documentary film
2012: Time for Change
directed by Joao Amorim, which was released in October, 2010.
Pinchbeck appeared on The Joe Rogan
Experience on Sept 9th, 2011.
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
website centered around New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and activism
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
. He is the author of Breaking Open the Head: A Psychedelic Journey into the Heart of Contemporary Shamanism
Breaking Open the Head
Breaking Open the Head: A Psychedelic Journey into the Heart of Contemporary Shamanism is a book written by author and journalist Daniel Pinchbeck, founding editor of the literary journal Open City...
and 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl. He is the son of painter Peter Pinchbeck and writer Joyce Johnson
Joyce Johnson
Joyce Johnson is an American author of fiction and nonfiction who won a National Book Critics Circle Award for her memoir Minor Characters about her relationship with Jack Kerouac.-Personal life:...
.
Ideas
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 KerouacJack Kerouac
Jean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic...
as On the Road
On the Road
On the Road is a novel by American writer Jack Kerouac, written in April 1951, and published by Viking Press in 1957. It is a largely autobiographical work that was based on the spontaneous road trips of Kerouac and his friends across mid-century America. It is often considered a defining work of...
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
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
, The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine is a Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of The New York Times. It is host to feature articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors...
, The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
, and Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
. In 1994, prior to his interest in psychedelics, he was chosen by The New York Times Magazine as one of “Thirty Under Thirty” destined to change our culture through his work with Open City, a literary journal
Literary magazine
A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry and essays along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters...
.
In Breaking Open the Head, Pinchbeck explored shamanism
Shamanism
Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...
via ceremonies with tribal groups such as the Bwiti
Bwiti
Bwiti is a West Central African spiritual practice by the forest-dwelling Babongo and Mitsogo people of Gabon, where it is counted as one of the three official religions, and the Fang people of Gabon and Cameroon...
of Gabon
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
, who eat iboga
Iboga
Tabernanthe iboga or Iboga is a perennial rainforest shrub and hallucinogen, native to western Central Africa. Iboga stimulates the central nervous system when taken in small doses and induces visions in larger doses. In parts of Africa where the plant grows the bark of the root is chewed for...
, and the Secoya people
Secoya people
The Secoya people are an indigenous ethnic group living in the Ecuadorian Amazon or The Oriente region of Ecuador , and in Peru . They speak the Secoya language, part of the Western Tucanoan group...
in the Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
ean Amazon
Amazon Basin
The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...
, who take ayahuasca
Ayahuasca
Ayahuasca is any of various psychoactive infusions or decoctions prepared from the Banisteriopsis spp. vine, usually mixed with the leaves of dimethyltryptamine-containing species of shrubs from the Psychotria genus...
in their ceremonies. He also attended the Burning Man
Burning Man
Burning Man is a week-long annual event held in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada, in the United States. The event starts on the Monday before the American Labor Day holiday, and ends on the holiday itself. It takes its name from the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy on Saturday evening...
festival in Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, and looked at use of psychedelic substances in a de-sacralized modern context. Philosophically influenced by the work of anthroposophist Rudolf Steiner
Rudolf Steiner
Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner was an Austrian philosopher, social reformer, architect, and esotericist. He gained initial recognition as a literary critic and cultural philosopher...
, through his direct experience and research Pinchbeck became convinced that shamanic and mystical views of reality
Reality
In philosophy, reality is the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or might be imagined. In a wider definition, reality includes everything that is and has been, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible...
have validity, and that the modern world had forfeited an understanding of intuitive
Intuition (knowledge)
Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without inference or the use of reason. "The word 'intuition' comes from the Latin word 'intueri', which is often roughly translated as meaning 'to look inside'’ or 'to contemplate'." Intuition provides us with beliefs that we cannot necessarily justify...
aspects of being in its pursuit of rational materialism
Materialism
In philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance...
.
Drawing heavily, and somewhat controversially, from material shared on the Breaking Open the Head forums, Pinchbeck's second volume 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, chronicles Mayan
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
and Hopi
Hopi
The Hopi are a federally recognized tribe of indigenous Native American people, who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi area according to the 2000 census has a population of 6,946 people. Their Hopi language is one of the 30 of the Uto-Aztecan language...
prophecies, and follows Pinchbeck's travels and travails as he responds to leads, both physical and intellectual, he receives via this forum. Examining the nature of prophecy Pinchbeck investigates the New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
hypothesis of Terence McKenna
Terence McKenna
Terence Kemp McKenna was an Irish-American philosopher, psychonaut, researcher, teacher, lecturer and writer on many subjects, such as human consciousness, language, psychedelic drugs, the evolution of civilizations, the origin and end of the universe, alchemy, and extraterrestrial beings.-Early...
that humanity is experiencing an accelerated process of global consciousness transformation, leading to a new understanding of time and space during this period. The book details the psi
Psi (parapsychology)
Psi is a term from parapsychology derived from the Greek, ψ psi, 23rd letter of the Greek alphabet; from the Greek ψυχή psyche, "mind, soul".-Etymology:...
or extra-sensory perception
Extra-sensory perception
Extrasensory perception involves reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses but sensed with the mind. The term was coined by Frederic Myers, and adopted by Duke University psychologist J. B. Rhine to denote psychic abilities such as telepathy, clairaudience, and...
research of Dean Radin
Dean Radin
Dean Radin is a researcher and author in the field of parapsychology. He has been Senior Scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences , in Petaluma, California, USA, since 2001, and is on the Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Psychology at Sonoma State University, on the Distinguished...
, the theories of Graham Hancock
Graham Hancock
Graham Hancock is a British writer and journalist. Hancock specialises in unconventional theories involving ancient civilizations, stone monuments or megaliths, altered states of consciousness, ancient myths and astronomical/astrological data from the past...
, the phenomena of crop circles, and a visit to calendar reform advocate José Argüelles
Jose Arguelles
Joseph Anthony Arguelles , better known as José Argüelles, was a world-renowned author, artist, visionary and educator. He was the founder of Planet Art Network and the Foundation for the Law of Time. He held a Ph.D...
. Pinchbeck concludes with an alleged direct reception of prophetic material
Prophecy
Prophecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...
by the Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
snake god Quetzalcoatl, a claim which was enough to get the book dropped by its planned publisher, delaying its release for the greater part of a year. Pinchbeck alleges the voice of the Mesoamerican deity
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl is a Mesoamerican deity whose name comes from the Nahuatl language and has the meaning of "feathered serpent". The worship of a feathered serpent deity is first documented in Teotihuacan in the first century BCE or first century CE...
began speaking to him during a 2004 trip to the Amazon in Brazil, though he has since become reticent over any further communications he may have received. At the time, he was traveling by boat on the Amazon between participation in ceremonies of the Santo Daime
Santo Daime
Santo Daime is a syncretic spiritual practice founded in the 1930s in the Brazilian Amazonian state of Acre by Raimundo Irineu Serra, known as Mestre Irineu...
, a Brazilian religion that uses the psychedelic brew ayahuasca
Ayahuasca
Ayahuasca is any of various psychoactive infusions or decoctions prepared from the Banisteriopsis spp. vine, usually mixed with the leaves of dimethyltryptamine-containing species of shrubs from the Psychotria genus...
as its sacrament. Through its references to 2012 and the Maya calendar
Maya calendar
The Maya calendar is a system of calendars and almanacs used in the Maya civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and in many modern Maya communities in highland Guatemala. and in Chiapas....
in the context of New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
beliefs, Pinchbeck's book has contributed to Mayanism
Mayanism
Mayanism is a non-codified eclectic collection of New Age beliefs, influenced in part by Pre-Columbian Maya mythology and some folk beliefs of the modern Maya peoples...
.
In March 2007, Pinchbeck launched a new Internet-based magazine, Reality Sandwich
Reality Sandwich
Reality Sandwich is a web magazine published by Evolver LLC, a privately held company. The site is intent, as its tag line expresses it, on "evolving consciousness bite by bite"...
, claiming to offer "a new paradigm
Paradigm
The word paradigm has been used in science to describe distinct concepts. It comes from Greek "παράδειγμα" , "pattern, example, sample" from the verb "παραδείκνυμι" , "exhibit, represent, expose" and that from "παρά" , "beside, beyond" + "δείκνυμι" , "to show, to point out".The original Greek...
for a planetary culture." He is the executive producer of PostModernTimes, a series of web videos presented on the iClips Network, and co-founder of Evolver, an online social network.
Appearances and Interviews
On December 14, 2006, Pinchbeck appeared on the television program The Colbert Report to discuss his book 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl.Pinchbeck was featured in the 2006 film Entheogen: Awakening the Divine Within, a documentary about rediscovering an enchanted
Disenchantment
Disenchantment is a term in the social sciences used to describe the cultural rationalization and devaluation of mysticism apparent in modern society...
cosmos in the modern world.
Pinchbeck was also featured in the film 2012: Science or Superstition, a documentary describing how much of what we are hearing is science and how much is superstition.
Furthermore he interviewed Alejandro Jodorowsky
Alejandro Jodorowsky
Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky, known as Alejandro Jodorowsky, is a Chilean filmmaker, playwright, actor, author, comic book writer and spiritual guru...
for the German/French art television Arte
Arte
Arte is a Franco-German TV network. It is a European culture channel and aims to promote quality programming especially in areas of culture and the arts...
in a very personal discussion, spending a night together in France, continuing the interview in different locations like in a park and in a hotel.
Pinchbeck appears in the Reality Sandwich sponsored feature-length documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
2012: Time for Change
2012: Time for Change
2012: Time for Change is a 2010 feature-length documentary film based in part on the books of Daniel Pinchbeck, directed by João Amorim, and premiered on April 9, 2010 at the Lumiere Theater in San Francisco...
directed by Joao Amorim, which was released in October, 2010.
Pinchbeck appeared on The Joe Rogan
Joe Rogan
Joseph James "Joe" Rogan is an American comedian, video blogger, actor, writer, podcaster, and martial artist. He is best known for his work on NewsRadio, his work as color commentator for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and his hosting work on Fear Factor.-Acting:In 1994, Rogan co-starred on...
Experience on Sept 9th, 2011.
Books and Publications
- 2002 - Daniel Pinchbeck, Breaking Open the Head: A Psychedelic Journey into the Heart of Contemporary Shamanism, Broadway Books, trade paperback, 322 pages, ISBN 0-7679-0742-6
- 2006 - Daniel Pinchbeck, 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, Tarcher, hardcover, ISBN 1-58542-483-8
- 2009 - Daniel Pinchbeck and Ken Jordan, editors, Toward 2012: Perspectives on the Next Age, Tarcher, paperback, ISBN 978-1-58542-700-0
External links
- Reality Sandwich - A website Pinchbeck jointly owns, moderates and writes for.