Dispelling Wetiko: Breaking the Curse of Evil

390 Pages·2013·1.97 MB·English

by  Paul Levy

“This book brilliantly exposes how the very roots of the madness that is threatening life on
earth are ultimately to be found within our own psyche. I love that Paul is taking seriously
the profound implications of what it means that all of us are living in a mass, shared dream.
His startlingly clear premise challenges me to reflect upon both the world and myself in
radically mind-altering ways. Something important is coming through his imagination-filled
musings; his visionary insight into the intrinsic genius of our species feels inspired by a truly
creative, compassionate, and enlivening spirit. I always look forward to reading Paul’s work;
it stimulates me to greater heights of lucidity, disturbs me enough to awaken me out of my
complacency, and encourages me to fly on the wings of the creative imagination. The world
would be a better place if everyone read this book. His vision is a royal gift for all of us. It
makes me want to sing. Bravo!”
—Sting
“Paul Levy has broadened his hard-won personal insights into a trenchant diagnosis of the
mass-mind psychosis afflicting our Western (and indeed now global) civilization. I honor
Paul’s courage and discernment in taking on this most elusive and treacherous of topics and
showing the steps one can take to move toward liberation. Dispelling Wetiko deserves to be
widely read and studied.”
—Ralph Metzner, PhD, professor emeritus at the California Institute of Integral
Studies and author of The Unfolding Self
“I very much recommend Paul Levy’s writings. Synthesizing a deep understanding of
Jungian psychology and spirituality, his work brilliantly illuminates the dreamlike nature of
reality.”
—Dr. Arny Mindell, founder of process-oriented psychology and author of The
Shaman’s Body
“The world is suffering from the globalization of selfishness, materialism, and militarism,
and Paul Levy, in his magnum opus, Dispelling Wetiko, identifies their roots in a cancer of the
soul.… An insightful and provocative manifesto on how to combat this global epidemic
before it is too late.”
—Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of Tikkun magazine, chair of the Interfaith
Network of Spiritual Progressives, and author of The Left Hand of God
“As a people, we seem to be seriously impaired. It is as if we have suffered a culture-wide
stroke that has damaged the higher centers that control our ability to reason and act in
rational ways. What will see us through? What will help us wake up from this slow suicide?
Paul Levy’s Dispelling Wetiko is a valuable step in the right direction. This desperately needed
book not only sounds an alarm, but also points to a solution.”
—Larry Dossey, MD, author of The One Mind and executive editor of Explore: The
Journal of Science and Healing
“In these dire straits, many extraordinary people—in all walks of life, speaking in different
tones and voices—envision the nondual experience of the nature of mind. Paul Levy is one of
them. [He] evokes a clear and scintillating vision, resolving much of the incongruity of our
existence.”
—Keith Dowman, author of Natural Perfection: Longchenpa’s Radical Dzogchen
“Paul Levy hits the archetypal nail on the head when he identifies debt pushers,
consumption pushers, and GOD (gold, oil, and drug) pushers as the cannibalistic offenders in
today’s society.… I can’t express how brilliant I find this book.”
—Iona Miller, coauthor of The Modern Alchemist: A Guide to Personal
Transformation
“This rich and fascinating book is full of original insights that challenge us to see the human
predicament in a new way.”
—Timothy Freke, author of The Jesus Mysteries and The Mystery Experience
“Paul Levy’s provocative and insightful book Dispelling Wetiko shines a light on the darkness
and exposes evil as an illusion—one that nonetheless impacts our reality. It is particularly
important in these evolutionary times that those who see themselves as ‘bringers of the light’
understand the heart of darkness as well.… Kudos to Paul Levy for taking on this topic.”
—Steve Bhaerman, coauthor of Spontaneous Evolution

Copyright © 2013 by Paul Levy. All rights reserved. No portion of this book, except for brief
review, may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the written
permission of the publisher. For information contact North Atlantic Books.
Quotes from Columbus and Other Cannibals, by Jack D. Forbes (New York: Seven Stories Press,
2008), are reprinted with permission from the publisher. Quotes from Collected Works of C. G.
Jung (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1977) are reprinted with permission from
Princeton University Press. Luke Brown’s illustration of a vampire squid (this page) is printed
with permission from the artist.
Published by
North Atlantic Books Cover art by Paul Levy
P.O. Box 12327
Berkeley, California 94712
Dispelling Wetiko: Breaking the Curse of Evil is sponsored by the Society for the Study of Native
Arts and Sciences, a nonprofit educational corporation whose goals are to develop an educational
and cross-cultural perspective linking various scientific, social, and artistic fields; to nurture a
holistic view of arts, sciences, humanities, and healing; and to publish and distribute literature on
the relationship of mind, body, and nature.
North Atlantic Books’ publications are available through most bookstores. For further
information, visit our website at www.northatlanticbooks.com or call 800-733-3000.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows: Levy, Paul, 1956–
Dispelling Wetiko : breaking the curse of evil / Paul Levy; foreword by Catherine Austin
Fitts.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ).
eISBN: 978-1-58394-566-7
1. Good and evil—Miscellanea. 2. Avarice. 3. Conspiracy theories. I. Title.
BF1999.L3415 2012
170—dc23
2012022871
2012022871
v3.1
I dedicate this book to the memory of American Indian scholar and activist Jack D. Forbes,
author of Columbus and Other Cannibals (a book flooding light on wetiko disease), who passed
away shortly before this publication saw the light of day. I’d like to think of this book as part of
his living legacy.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First off, I would like to thank all of my teachers, without whom I never
would have been able to find the words, not to mention the place in
myself, to write this book. I’d like to express my gratitude to the late
Venerable Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche, who showed me endless
kindness and compassion, and who served as a living example of what it
is to be a truly awake and loving human being.
I’d like to express untold appreciation for the late Angelo Ippolito, a
truly inspired artist who introduced me to the incredible healing and joy
that is the creative process of making art.
I would like to thank the wonderful Catherine Austin Fitts for our
many years of discussion about integrating spiritual and economic
phenomena.1
I can’t express appreciation enough for Red Spectral Skywalker, who
played a key, collaborative role in the creation of this book.
I also express my deep appreciation and gratitude to Larry Berry, who
was truly in service, always willing to help in whatever way he could,
always available for anything I asked to help make this work as good as
it could be.
I extend a big thank you to both John Hubbird and Ezra Sandzer-Bell
for all of their selfless editorial help and loving support.
I am unable to find the words to express my gratitude for the more
than thirty years of endless encouragement and support that I’ve
received from the beloved Rina Sircar.
Many thanks to the Don of Division Street for our many hours spent
creatively co-contemplating “the dreaming” together.
I’d like to thank all of my friends at Sound Grounds Café in Portland,
Oregon, which is where most of this book was written.
My heartfelt appreciation goes to Elisabeth Targ for her nonlocal and
multidimensional love and support.
Unending gratitude to all of my fellow co-dreamers in the Awakening
in the Dream community, without whose collaboration I would never
have been able to dream up this book into materialization in the first
place. Truly “conspiring to co-inspire” each other, these groups—circles
of people who are helping each other to wake up in the dream together
—are like a board of directors inside of my own psyche who keep me in
line and help me whenever I need it. This book is a true group effort,
something that would have been impossible for me to do on my own.
Finally, I offer an atemporal note of thanks to C. G. Jung, whose work
has served as a great inspiration in understanding my own internal
process; I don’t know if I would have made it to where I am today
without discovering his work.
CONTENTS
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Foreword, by Catherine Austin Fitts
Introduction: Close Encounters of the Wetiko Kind
Part One: Dreaming of Wetiko
1. The Greatest Epidemic Sickness Known to Humanity
Creating the Container
Which Name Shall We Use?
A Disease of Civilization
Art, the Daemonic, and Wetiko
2. Understanding Wetiko
What Is Wetiko?
The Reality of the Psyche
The Divine Creative Imagination
So Again, What Is Wetiko?
The Native American Myth of Wetiko
Judeo-Christian Roots of Wetiko
Gnosis of the Divine
Four-Valued Logic
3. Under a Collective Spell
Collective Psychosis
The War on Consciousness
The Spell of Wetiko