Toward 2012: Perspectives on the Next Age
Starred Review.  In his introduction to this wide-ranging collection, author and "psychonaut" Pinchbeck (2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl) reaffirms his hypothesis that, based on Mayan predictions, "December 12, 2012 may usher in a new world age" necessitating a "rapid evolution of collective intelligence" in order to avoid cataclysm. A year ago, Pinchbeck and collaborator Jordan (an "online pioneer") launched the web journal Reality Sandwich to bring together the diverse range of voices exploring "current processes of spirtual and material transformation... usually outside the mainstream." This anthology culls 36 wide-ranging essays from the site covering everything from metaphics to geopolitics in sections on Community, Art, Sex and the Shamanic. Alberto Villodo describes the healing practices of "jaguar medicine"; John Major Jenkins looks at how hallucinogens explain Mayan astronomical discoveries; ST Frequency dresses down "pseudo-shaman" Carlos Castaneda, whose drug tourism threatens indigenous Mexican cultures. Closer to home, a writer who goes by Homegrown Evolution gives tips on how to grow guerilla gardens on vacant lots, and Ken Jordan writes an  appreciation of Abbie Hoffman, the '60s activist who brought the NYSE to a halt by showering money on the "suits." Not every essay will connect, but anyone interested in the future or the fringe should find some thought-provoking reading among them.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.