I read this book about 9 months ago. It turned into a labor of love, since I found his style to be somewhat rambling and rambling does not give itself easily to keeping a reader's attention. I really had to stick with it to get to and through the last page. Oddly, though, I found his conclusions and inferences to be comforting (at least, as I interpret them). A big deal with the Mayan calendar is that it ends abruptly in late 2012...hence the name of the book. "The Return of Quetzalcoatl" that's supposed to happen at that time has always been looked upon as a turbulent end of days type of thing. That's not the comforting part, of course, but it led my mind to consider that maybe that isn't what's going to happen, at all. Maybe the Mayan calendar is some like the Golden Retriever Calender that I get from my son Randy every year for Xmas. Maybe it just ends, and then the Mayan who had it at that time was supposed to go get a new one....just like I do...except a Mayan calendar is much better set up and lasts a whole bunch longer than my Golden Retriever one ever could.
I enjoyed Pinchbeck's variety of encounters, and how he describes his broadening vision of what it's (life) all about and how metaphysically we are moving right along toward the edge of the page. But then again, I'm betting there won't be any major paper cuts when we get there. One can hope.

I mean, what's there to say? This is the craziest, strangest, and perhaps most astonishing book I've read. Though many reviews were harsh, choosing to focus on the narrator's narcissism or delusion, I chose to look at it another way. Is he crazy? perhaps. Does he do enough drugs to kill a horse? yep. Does he jump in hyperspeed from alien abduction to fairie kingdoms below the earth to the Mayan calendar to ecological conservation? indeed. Was it endlessly fascinating and thought provoking? YES.

I think a lot of the negative reviews reflect a need for linear narration, something that those of us who read a lot of esoteric/ occult works do not necessarily expect. I liken it to the vegetarian that writes a scathing review of a steakhouse b/c they don't have any solid vegetarian dishes. My reaction? Don't go to a steakhouse.

Similarly, if you want hard-hitting scientific journals steeped in proof and rational thought, don't read esoteric works about the coming of a new world paradigm as predicted by the Maya- you're just going to walk away disappointed. Me, on the other hand? I'll enjoy my big, juicy steak;)

I am currently reading this book by Daniel Pinchbeck it is a weird book that provides information one New Age facts and UFO's which I find fascinating, but the book kind of comes off dry and weird in which the author claims he his receiving messages from Alien beings and how the world will end on December 23, 2012. If it's true if that the Aztec God returns to our world according to the Aztec and Maya calendars which I think is a load of hype just like Y2K.

That day will just be another day.

I hope...

haven't finished the book yet, Its funny I into all this New Age stuff, but somewhere along the way the book kind of lost me with the author's loopyness hopefully if I'm in the mood I'll finish reading sometime

Such a wealth of information. If you can deal with Pinchbeck leaping around (sometimes erratically) between topics, it has a lot to offer. One of my favorite theories involves the greys, the aliens and flying saucer abductions in pop culture being a collective unconscious reaction to our divine repression. The evidence that crop circles are real is awesome. And mental institutions have, historically, had periods of mania every 13 years due to the effect of solar flares acting up on schedule. The information in this book is so worth it. I gave this book to my mom.

I never thought I'd read this book years back, because I thought it'd be a bit too new agey for me. Either I'm getting more new agey or reading Pinchbeck's breaking open the head I realized that his scattered philosophical musings and meshing together of all sorts of edge like topics is very entertaining.
I especially liked his critique of burning man culture and he's gotten me interested in reading more on crop circles. I think he could have elaborated on the alien phenomena more, a book like Alien Agenda could have been a good reference source. And I know he probably didn't want to go into the territory: but 9/11 was a hoax and a psychological attack on our minds via corporatism.
I wonder what type of book he will write after december 21st 2012.

This book is really interesting, but in the end I didn't want to devote the time to finish it. I read half of it over a year ago, picked it back and backtracked a few chapters to refresh my memory and then still dropped it again 3/4 of the way through. The author seems to take himself very seriously which got on my nerves, and I don't buy into a lot of his theories. But it is interesting to read about his ideas, his experience with using psychadelics and to see how he brings together information from different traditions & fields of study. It's worth taking a look at.

2012 is really about exploring things beyond 2012. It's a book that is a valid read today, and probably will be in 2017 or 2020. Rebirth. Love. Universal Fabric of Being(s).

2022 UPDATE:
Having rediscovered this book and its interwoven powerful philosophies my bookshelf, I would like to elucidate further some wonderful observances, especially those found toward the back of the book.

On page 260 “God was shorthand for the cosmological system that causes us to evolve. Galactic ordering directorate.”

Further quotes of note include:
“Love and devotion or vibrational frequencies that maintain reality. Love can only be given in freedom: therefore, to be human is to be free.”

“Consciousness is technology – the only technology that exists. Everything in this universe is conscious at its own level, and in the process of transformation to higher or lower states.”

“Our failure to confront and articulate difficult issues around sexuality and romantic, love reverberates across our social and political world.”

#god #polyamory #feminine #masculine #love #memoir

I realize I'm being very scathing, but the title needs to be reworked to differentiate a scientific/historical (in reverse) study from this book. Short of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, this is the most painful book I've ever tried to read. The book is about one of the author's many many many drug fueled excursions, and consists of him unabashedly talking about his accomplishments. I thoroughly read the first 25-30pages, then read every 5 pages, then every 20, then started skimming.

Conclusion: If you have a serious interest in a potential Singularity, than look elsewhere; Even if you're the type that's interested in reading about journeying through hallucinogens.

This was my initial read concerning the Mayan Calendar and End Times. As such, I found it to be informative but a rather cumbersome read. The author commands an extensive vocabulary and can tend to get academic with it. Personally, I felt the book would "roam" a bit giving me difficulty in connecting some of his thoughts. His side tracks into his personal life added nothing to the content and did little to enhance the author's credibility.

Overall, I appreciated the book for the information it provided. And found it interesting enough to continue my exploration of the subject.

Pinchbeck is one of those scholars who, without losing sight of his end-goal, manages to take himself and his reader on a macro-tour of alternate universes simply by virtue of mind that rejects no thing. Though I'll admit I found his character less than appealing, I admire his ability to cohesively cross disciplines and present already-stigmatized information in such a manner that it becomes new, more urgent, and that it may manifest an amount of hope for a future that differs in some way, any way, all ways from the interminable stagnancy I sometimes think we face.

P.S. I need to reread my underlinings before this review can be legitimized. Do not undertake 2012 without pen in hand. If you can, I suggest reading it somewhere high, with a view of rolling grassland and dense pine forest. Oh, and have beside you a partner who has already read it, whom you can remind of details and whom you can fight with as though he himself were Daniel Pinchbeck (for those special sub-misogynistic parts of the story.)

Um... Wow. Wow?

How do you give a review to a book which pieces together-in journalistic form-something with this brevity? If there were four and a half stars, he would have them.

He is, and will become more so, a literary juggernaut, teaching with a kind hand, a cool wit, and a soul that serves his mother (who was a lover of Kerouac's), himself, and mankind.

I can barely believe my review. It's metaphysics, but either way, he pairs thoughts, quotes and feelings together like a master.

It is enlightening, and truly, humbling.

Pinchbeck is a master writer. He tackles the subject of 2012 with gusto from a personal perspective, in other words, by way of his personal investigations into the 2012 prophesies. I like this approach because it lets us get to know him to some extent and thus feel for any bias or slant. He draws on many sources, probing and asking questions, not willing to take anything for granted; but being open minded about possibilities. Remaining true to this strategy requires extensive details, which makes the reading slow down - I couldn't skip ahead and hope to pick up the thread because it made no sense without following the thread. So the book is packed full.

I started the book not knowing that I was hoping for a solid conclusion about 2012. Now that I'm 2/3rd finished I realize I wanted that, and I'll not get it. But what keeps me going is a fascination with 'his' journey: how does he stop?

He stops where many of us are stopped: knowing we cannot continue on the planet the way we are; that our civilization is off the rails and a correction will hurt. Perhaps 2012 marks the beginning of an undeniable hurt.