Drunvalo Melchizedek

Melchizedek was born (1941-01-18) January 18, 1941 in Alameda, California as Bernard Donald Perona[8][9] to Charles Perona and Minnie Ashton.[10] He changed his name legally in 1991,[8] although claims that the persona of Melchizedek arrived in 1972.[11]

Melchizedek has attended the University of California Berkeley, acquiring a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. In addition, he has claimed to have studied physics and mathematics,[12] even though there is no evidence of that and he holds no credentials in any of those fields. He is however a lifelong researcher, he lived among shamans and indigenous peoples. Drunvalo deeply researched ancient history and culture.

Melchizedek lives in Sedona, Arizona, with his wife, Claudette (née Koleta), married 1994.[12][13]

Melchizedek's claims are broad and varied, but some aspects of it are more prominent. Common elements involve Hindu meditation,[14] Christianity and other Abrahamic religions[15] and offshoots, particularly Kabbalah.[16]

Boxing Pythagoras, a critical metaphysics blog, dismisses Drunvalo's notions of "sacred geometry", pointing out that there is nothing geometrical about it:[14]

Drunvalo Melchizedek's "sacred geometry" is not geometry. There is a great deal more to geometry than just drawing some pretty shapes and patterns. Things like the Flower of Life are absolutely aesthetically pleasing, but they are next to useless in terms of mathematics. Nor will it appear in any modern geometry textbook, because– despite how pretty it looks– the Flower of Life is mathematically boring. There are far more useful constructions to be made with a straightedge and compass.

Boxing Pythagoras also calls out Melchizedek's use of math:[20] "For a book which is purported to be focused primarily on geometry, I found surprisingly little mathematical information." Boxing Pythagoras points out errors in Melchizedek's definition of transcendental number, sine wave, and golden spiral, and calls out the use of various geometrical tautologies as meaningful and a number of unsubstantiated number theories.

Dan Winter's website, now owned by competing spiritualist Stan Tenen due to a legal settlement,[21] hosts a collection of correspondence detailing a dispute between Melchizedek, Tenen, and Winter about plagiarizing each other's works.[4] Tenen suggested Winter had plagiarized him, and Melchizedek asserted that a drawing in Winter's book was in fact his own. Tenen, however, asserts that both Melchizedek and Winter were working together and both continuing to plagiarize Tenen.

When Mr. Winter says he was "very careful not to show any alphabet letter forms," [referring to the plagiarized work] he is lying by leaving the misimpression that he did not show my sculpture(s). Mr. Winter did show my copyright sculpture(s). The alphabet, and/or letters, are not the issue, and Mr. Winter later admitted this overly clever self-serving misdirection in his second "confession".

Like other New Age and other spiritual mystics in the early 2010s, Melchizedek has been criticized for his adoption and promotion of the 2012 phenomenon. According to Melchizedek, the Earth's kundalini was scheduled to shift for the first time in 13,000 years, which would have occurred in 2012.[22] Competing spiritualist Jeremy Puma likewise criticizes Melchizedek's 2012 predictions.[23]

New Age follower-turned-critic Christopher Zzenn Loren attacks Melchizedek for his use of what Loren calls "hypnotic suggestion" and "confusing language" to influence the viewer. "He makes excuses for incorrect information and blames it on being human." In his personal interactions with Melchizedek while being a follower, Zzenn Loren believes Melchizedek made claims about his abilities, but then carefully avoided demonstrating them for him:[24]

He told me he was teaching people to materialize thoughts into matter right in the palm of their hands. I decided to say "interesting, I would love to see this. Can you show me?" As I stood there looking at his hands he backed out of demonstrating it by talking more ABOUT how its done. I figured if you can really do this then why not in the canned goods section of Safeway since God is everywhere.

Buffalo Calf Woman, follower of another spiritualist, David Running Eagle, attacks Melchizedek as "fraudulent", and disregards him as an adherent to the Order Of Melchizedek due to his commercialism and profit:[25]

Drunvalo is not Melchizedek. If he were, money would not play such a part of his life, even including his email down below asking for money to talk to the people. Really so unbecoming. Melchizedek are available for the people. He is only available if you give him money. He is money monger.

Similarly, the Manataka American Indian Council asserts that Melchizedek, in his associations with Adam DeArmon and his Institute for Cultural Awareness,[25] commits cultural appropriation of Native American spirituality, with no authentic tie to such cultures, and exploits them for profit under the auspices of fundraising:[26]

[An] associate of DeArmon... Melchizedek says on his website that "Every penny you gave to the ICA, either for tickets or donations, went to the elders in the form of airline tickets, bussing, shelter, food etc,...." ... Even though many invited speakers drove to the event, let's pretend that 100 airline tickets were purchased at an extremely high cost.... That leaves over a million dollars to feed and house the speakers. Eye-witnesses say that invited elders were begging participants to buy them blankets because they were cold from staying in make-shift [sic] quarters and many complained to participants that they were hungry.

The Tool song "Forty Six & 2" refers to Melchizedek's claim that once all humanity has restored their merkaba, the human race will evolve into a higher stage, in which the human race will acquire two additional chromosomes.[27][28]

Willow Smith's extended play release 3 explores mystical concepts inspired by Melchizedek.[29][30]

Brent Bolthouse lists Drunvalo's work among his workspace accoutrements.[31]

Merkabah Gallery in Manguinhos, Brazil, is named from Melchizedek's claims.[32]

• The Ancient Secret of the Flower of Life. Vol. 1. Light Technology Publishing. 1999-04-01. ISBN 1891824171.
• The Ancient Secret of the Flower of Life. Vol. 2. Light Technology Publishing. 2000-05-01. ISBN 189182421X.
• Living in the Heart: How to Enter into the Sacred Space within the Heart. Light Technology Publishing. 2003-11-01. ISBN 1891824430.
• Serpent of Light: Beyond 2012. Weiser Books. 2008-01-01. ISBN 9781578634019.
• The Mayan Ouroboros: The Cosmic Cycles Come Full Circle. Weiser Books. 2012-11-21. ISBN 9781578635337.
• Journeys into the Heart. BalboaPress. 2017-02-22. ISBN 9781504374989. With Daniel Mitel.

• Mer-Ka-Ba Meditation (CD). KNB Enterprises. 2000. 48 minutes in. ASIN B001350EF2.