“My intellectual drive for understanding was cover for my spiritual development.”

Evolver: An Interview With Daniel Pinchbeck, Part 1 » Pop Occulture:

"...I am not sure I would say that I don’t believe anything. I think, like Jung, I feel comfortable saying I believe only what I know. At this point in time, most people are trapped in dualisms, paranoias, and sensationalism when it comes to considering the occult or esoteric aspects of reality. Either the “aliens” or “demons” or “angels” are literally real, or they are phantasmal aspects of our own mind. It is harder to accept the possibility that these phenomena are truly daimonic, truly in-between or outside the definitions we might like to create for them. In fact, they may even take a special pleasure in subverting our categories and upsetting our assumptions. It may be the case that we can only explore or discover what is happening on these other levels of being if we begin from a much subtler level of understanding.

...My personal hypothesis is that our consciousness is co-creating reality, therefore we want to be increasingly careful about the kind of thoughts we are allowing to absorb our awareness. If we spend too much time worrying about surveillance and Grey Alien predation and the HAARP Project, it is like we are attracting negative energy and negative vibrations towards us. We are substantiating that kind of material. I don’t mean that one should become polyannaish – one should stay grounded, but one should realize that one is better off practicing an inner ecology on the level of thought, or you will end up in a frothing state of apocalyptic terror, which is what much of our culture seems to be trying to induce.

...The fact is that the areas of mysticism, shamanism, the occult, etcetera, are available to intelligent questioning. It is not a question of “turning off your mind” to enter these areas. In fact, I found that it required the deepest level of intellectual engagement to clarify my own understanding of what is happening on these levels, and how you can integrate it with the modern, scientific view. For me, it is not a question of rejecting science for shamanism, but of integrating these approaches to reality.

I am thinking lately that the distinction between shamanism and sorcery is that sorcery utilizes language to control and dominate reality, to limit human potential... while shamanism provides the liberating act of breaking up certainties and returning reality to the status of mysterious perhapsness and infinite possibility.

...I see sorcery as more oriented towards personal power than fufilling a collective responsibility for a tribe or a community.

...I think we have to realize that the world is literally melting down right now – along with the great extinction crisis and accelerated climate change, we are in a period of vast cultural extinction, with half of the world’s 6,000 languages on the verge of disappearing. Let’s take stock of the urgency of the situation, and measure our actions according to reality rather than some nonexistent ideal of purity. I actually always feel incredibly comfortable whenever I am in the indigenous world – I feel like I understand their way of looking at reality, and have no conflict with their value system, intentions, or priorities. Frankly, I generally feel far more confused, nonplussed, and depressed sitting at a table of upper middle class white people, who will exert enormous amounts of energy talking about stupid gossip or idiotic vacations or dumb junk they have purchased, rather than examining things that are actually important – like the fact their opulent lifestyle and refusal to take responsibility for their thoughts and actions is condemning an entire planet to death.

I believe that the Santo Daime is a true prophetic vehicle, aiding in the return of the Christ consciousness to the Earth – not as an individual being, as Fundamentalists imagine, but as a compassionate and heart-centered level of consciousness, destined to put our world back together by teaching us how to put the greater good ahead of our individualistic and ego-centric aims. My hypothesis is that this second coming of Christ represents an aspect of the fulfillment of the prophecies and the Mayan Calendar, bringing a deeper level of heart and consciousness to the earth. I recommend you go down to the Amazon and try it for yourself, and then we will talk. While stating this, I am not claiming that the Daime is the “one true way” or anything of the sort. You could be a Buddhist and a Daimiesta, or many combinations of mystical paths, without violating any precept of the Daime.

My tip is that people have to learn to discriminate for themselves and take responsibility for their own minds. That is the key to life on earth. Also, you have to have experiences for yourself rather than accepting second-hand knowledge because it is more convenient or comforting.

...What is lacking in the “New Age” or “New Edge” spiritual culture is any sense of the significance of sacrifice, for which Christ’s life provides a model. Doing yoga, eating delicious raw food, hanging Tibetan prayer flags – that is all very nice, providing a great lifestyle, but it has little to do with pursuing a true spiritual path, in my opinion. The meaning of Christ’s life is missed by Christianity: He did not “save our souls” through the crucifixion. He provided a model for how we should act, if we would like to save our own souls. And that activity is one of conscious sacrifice – not stupidly throwing one’s self on a machine gun, but figuring out how to utilize your psychic energy and your particular position for the best possible outcome. The way to bring “Heaven down to Earth” is to match your actions with your intentions."