I actually thought this was a bit of a weakness of the book, as I have personally read much of that material previously and found myself skimming past it. Is it possible to cure drug addicts with another drug? I enjoy books that suggest other authors for me to check out and point back to an author's reading experience and journey as a learner and this book was not short on those suggestions. In general, I got the feeling he wrote this to enhance his hip, New York bachelor, image. Breaking Open the Head is brave participatory journalism at its best, a vivid account of psychic and intellectual experiences that opened doors in the wall of Western rationalism and completed Daniel Pinchbeck’s personal transformation from a jaded Manhattan journalist to shamanic initiate and grateful citizen of the cosmos. "Plants are revered because of their potential to awaken the mind to other levels of awareness and to act as gateways to other dimensions - bringing about a holographic vision of the universe." How could it be when none of the major religions of the world are shamanic in the classic sense? The participants were myself and Carlos, a young Mexican of Spanish descent from Mexico City who looked like a club kid but was a student of alternative heal- … The author also makes haphazard claims. While the book starts off with a rational Pinchbeck, one can already tell his rationality is more of a misplaced materialism. Breaking Open the Head: A Psychedelic Journey into the Heart of Contemporary Shamanism - Ebook written by Daniel Pinchbeck. Buy Breaking Open the Head by Pinchbeck, Daniel online on Amazon.ae at best prices. Now you know.". I came across this randomly in a bookstore and was intrigued, partly by the hallucinatory cover. Exceptionally enjoyable and informative!! He takes you through Gabon, where he participates in a thirty hour Ibogaine initiation. In general, I got the feeling he wrote this to enhance his hip, New York bachelor, image. Engaging writing, paradigm engendering conclusion, Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2012. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published This page works best with JavaScript. This is a serious and illuminating journey.’ Paul Theroux Pinchbeck was lucky enough to be able to go to shamanic retreats and that sort of thing through his work but the majority of people don't have that luxury. Along with other books by different authors, named in this book.<----A great source for exploring new authors and ideas, many references! Now you know. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. I would love to chat it up with the author. I also like how the book is broken down into paired chapters. Breaking Open the Head: A Psychedelic Journey into the Heart of Contemporary Shamanism (English Edition) eBook: Pinchbeck, Daniel: Amazon.com.mx: Tienda Kindle I enjoyed this perspective on modern/ancient psychedelic experiences. The ending is too perfect, I can't spoil it. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in, Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2017. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. An average/down to earth man, with THE american name, Pinchbeck, takes you on a journey of unimaginable delight and excitement. Personal and endearingly unpretentious, he doles out enlightenment in tasty and entertaining doses. This is an excellent book about altered consciousness. Eat Your Neighbors You're Next ℗ 2011 Eat Your Neighbors Released on: 2011-01-01 Auto-generated by YouTube. Not since “The Doors of Perception” has one book so accurately and beautifully described the transformative nature of … Perhaps it was symptomatic of an inherited respect for Daniel Pinchbeck’s writing, which I’d acquired unwittingly from a close and trusted friend. As a person who had previously only taken psychedelics for fun, Pinchbeck's book really made me reconsider the possibilities of these drugs and what other realities could be out there. It's a fun book. Breaking Open The Head. This darkly fantastical... To see what your friends thought of this book, Breaking Open the Head: A Psychedelic Journey Into the Heart of Contemporary Shamanism. Don't get discouraged by the overdone literary analysis at the beginning (or just beyond the beginning) of the book; there's some good stuff in there but if that's not your thing just keep going and he gets back on his psychedelic journey where he accesses parallel dimensions and his ethical reflections on human life on this planet. At times his tone seems like it pushing too hard to open one's mind to a psychadelic journey, but in the end, most people that open and read a book on contemporary shamanism are probably already open to it. The blending of other culture's spiritual perspectives within the world of mind altering substances is an interesting study in the strange stance that our society takes on drug use as well as other perspectives that are possible to hold. Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2005. How can one enter the sprite world? It reminded me that this life is an adventure, and that every step counts. If there's nothing beyond the material world then all mystery dissolves and what's left is a cold, empty universe where we live and die meaninglessly. Breaking Open the Head By Daniel Pinchbeck. In fact, the title of the book refers to a tribe members initiation in Gabon through Ibogaine. He's just that good at getting it all down on paper. Prime members enjoy FREE Delivery and exclusive access to music, movies, TV shows, original audio series, and Kindle books. by Crown Publishing Group (NY), Breaking Open the Head: A Psychedelic Journey into the Heart of Contemporary Shamanism. Post McKenna & Leary, as time ticked through the millennium a new psychedelic writer began to emerge onto the scene – Daniel Pinchbeck. One of the best things about the book in my opinion is how he quotes and recalls documented trips and psychedelic experiences of well known people I had no idea dabbled in hallucinogens. As a person who had previously only taken psychedelics for fun, Pinchbeck's book really made me reconsider the possibilities of these drugs and what other realities could be out there. But the best part of this book is the message that really gets driven home to the heart of who we are, the potential of what. Breaking Open the Head by Daniel Pinchbeck, 9780767907439, available at Book Depository with free delivery worldwide. Don't get discouraged by the overdone literary analysis at the beginning (or just beyond the beginning) of the book; there's some good stuff in there but if that's not your thing just keep going and he gets back on his psychedelic journey where he accesses parallel dimensions and his ethical reflections on human life on this planet. It's a fun book. Towards the end, the book takes a rather bizarre turn but until then it's a good read. His arrogance and unskeptical embrace of any and all spiritual practices got tiring, though. The title is a bit misleading because its not just about getting to the heart of contemporary shamanism. In Breaking Open the Head, Daniel Pinchbeck sets out to explore the spiritual world by traveling to Africa to discover the world of shamans. It’s clear that when he wrote this book he could not see the true value of psychedelics, I don’t know if he still does. I also love how the chapters are relatively short, making it well-organized. Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2010. Breaking Open the Head by Daniel Pinchbeck, 9780007149612, available at Book Depository with free delivery worldwide. He advocates for respecting psychedelics while casually ingesting, snorting, etc like it’s no big deal.The hypocrisy of the book is mind bending. Find album reviews, stream songs, credits and award information for Break Open the Head - Suit of Lights on AllMusic - 2016 Three and a half stars if read as a confession by an aging horndog and failed artiste attempting to found a dope/occult cult in order to slake his need for hippie poon. The traveling hippie lost in the world looking for a culture to appropriate in order to satisfy a spiritual void. I LOVE this book! I've always had a fascination with altered consciousness, particularly with a more spiritual slant to it, as though the hallucinations represent a different world altogether. Tagged: breaking open the head . August 12th 2003 7,466 Views . Buy Breaking Open the Head: A Psychedelic Journey Into the Heart of Contemporary Shamanism by Pinchbeck, Professor Daniel online on Amazon.ae at best prices. Pinchbeck was a founder of the 1990s literary m. Author Daniel Pinchbeck has deep personal roots in the New York counterculture of the 1950s and 1960s. I enjoy books that suggest other authors for me to check out and point back to an author's reading experience and journey as a learner and this book was not short on those suggestions. I enjoyed some of the commentary on his ventures into shamanic rituals and mind altering substances. However, he fails to realize that he is part of the very culture he resents. Honest to goodness great book. In 1994, he was chosen by The New York Times Magazine as one of Thirty Under Thirty destined to change our culture. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Although I found the author's stories of psychedelic usage to be the most interesting part of the book the historical, botanical and psychological topics covered balanced the overall worth of the book. On the one hand, I tell the story of the encounters between the modern consciousness of the West and these visionary sacraments – by thinkers and self-proclaimed avatars such as Antonin Artaud, Walter Benjamin, Allen Ginsberg, and Terence McKenna. The author has a frank honesty about the rationale for his drug use and seeks out spiritual experiences throughout this novel for his own personal fulfillment. DOWNLOAD OPTIONS download 1 file . I did however feel the book had a feel to it which revolved around a purely disconnected perspective. Too many people approach drug use, getting drunk and getting "high," casually. Phenomenal whirlwind of mind altering history, experiences, citations, magic, occult mysteries, and personal stories that made me re-think the nature of reality. You can still see all customer reviews for the product. It's a complicated topic and he deserves some credit for addressing its intrigue. Trust me, with as the low price of this book, it will feed your hunger for questioning, and fuel your engine for discovery. He goes on to project some semblance of humility with anecdotes from friends and disdain for the capitalists mindset. Pinchbeck is the type of person that gives psychedelics a bad image. This book was largely the author's personal experiences with psychedelics and his own theories drawn from those. There was a patient anticipation in wanting to read it. Welcome back. Refresh and try again. . This is the first book I've finished in years, (Before College I wasn't much of a reader). Read this book using Google Play Books app on your PC, android, iOS devices. This is it. But now after this book, my interest in Shamanism and the ways of the Indigionous tribes of Peru, Boliva, and the Amazon have springboarded into something I never imagined I'd be reaching toward. 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 Johnsons bestselling book, Minor Characters: A Beat Memoir). While I have no experience whatsoever with hallucinogens, I have had similar experiences, albeit not quite as intense as he describes, as a practicing mystic. ‘I much admire “Breaking Open the Head” for being the account of an authentic quest for enlightenment in jungles, up rivers, in deserts, and hardest of all to access, the human mind and heart via the one of the oldest thoroughfares on earth, mind-expanding drugs. If you haven't read it in other books, though, it would serve as a good overview and he references some interesting books that I was not that familiar with. Alright, I’ve gotta call it quits on this one. But the best part of this book is the message that really gets driven home to the heart of who we are, the potential of what we have yet to learn about ourselves, something humankind has barely scratched the surface of-- which he saves for the few chapters toward the end. Just awful! 7 Favorites . Breaking Open The Head is a three piece rock band from Denton, TX we play psychedelic rock and progressive pop music. If you've ever read or even heard about Don Juan, this book is 100 times better. Encontre diversos livros escritos por Pinchbeck, Daniel com ótimos preços. Daniel Pinchbeck's writing and stories illustrate and emphasize this reality very clearly. This is much more than a cultural history of psychedelics. Interesting trip that leads the reader down a fascinating path of contemplation. The book started off well and I was interested in the subject matter that I didn't know anything about when I started reading. With a supreme command of the English language, Pinchbeck accounts the history of his and many great minds of the "Beat" generation while venturing into unfamiliar cultures, ritualistic initiations, and transcendent states of being and alteration through a number of organic substances and synthetic, Since November of 2007 to present day August 27, 2009 I have read an estimated 160 books. He has an engaging journalistic style. It's an intriguing, educating and inspiring read. He makes comparisons between cultures that highlight a few similarities and brush a myriad of differences under the rug. Broadway $24.95 (336p) ISBN 978-0-7679-0742-2 But I believe the book started as a series of articles, so perhaps there is where the didactic tone comes from. Daniel Pinchbeck's "Breaking Open the Head" is a rare find, not only in the "genre" but in all of contemporary literature: a truly sophisticated yet very readable, beautifully wrought, intellectual treatise on a complex and deeply important subject. Also, don't forget he's been accused of being a sexual predator. Review: Breaking Open the Head by Daniel Pinchbeck | Books | The Guardian Still anybody’s uead, I think. He talks about his apartment, his father, his upbringing, his affluence and education and I feel the disconnection from this and the actual subject could have been more pronounced. It's well written in readable journalistic prose. Don't get me wrong, it's a good book and Daniels use of language and context often appeals and leaves you wanting more, however, there is alot more I'd personally expect from a book of this nature. And that's why Jews claim God's official name is Yahuha and Muslims claim God's official name is Allah. Daniel Pinchbeck is a voice that speaks to me more than any I've encountered along my self-developmental path. This book seemed to me to be the evolution of perspective that one might have on drug. They imagine God as an object, a person, and not as a quality. Author Daniel Pinchbeck has deep personal roots in the New York counterculture of the 1950s and 1960s. A Review of 'Breaking Open the Head', by Mark Pesce. How could it be whe. Free delivery on qualified orders. I appreciate books that change the way I think to a degree, and this book did in the fact that I do look at plant life differently. And goes through a Psylocybin and Yage initiation explaining his experiences thouroughly just to name a few. It's an intriguing, educating and inspiring read. It is an argument for 21st century spirituality, which Pinchbeck claims is necessary to regain different levels of consciousness lost to the Western world. I love a book that makes me look at the world and my own way of thinking differently and this one definitely did that for me. He also described an experience with DPT, which was enough to convince me not to ever try that drug. 1971 - 2000 / Psychedelic Book Review. 1 talking about this. This is a MUST READ!!!! Towards the end, the book takes a rather bizarre turn but until then it's a good read. Since November of 2007 to present day August 27, 2009 I have read an estimated 160 books. Pinchbeck,s ego just screams out from almost every page. After reading it I was impressed by Daniels knowledge about psychedelics, clearly a subject he has frequented from a young age and his indoctrination into intellectual studies has no doubt enhanced his awareness of the subjects mentioned in the book. BREAKING OPEN THE HEAD. A plant from equatorial Africa the archaic birthplace of humanity that cured addiction the modern scourge of African Americans in the inner cities of the United States by sending addicts on a long psychedelic trip a voyage into an archaic spiritual di- mension whose existence is dismissed by modern “rationality”. 235 likes. “In shamanic cultures, sychronicities are recognized as signs that you are on the right path.”, “The plants that produce visions can function- for those of us who have inherited the New World Order of barren materialism, cut off from our spiritual heritage by a spiteful culture that gives us nothing but ashes- as the talismans of recognition that awaken our minds to reality.”, August / September 2012 - Breaking Open the Head, Melissa Albert Recommends YA Tales Where the Real World Gets Real Magical. 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