Edwin Steinbrecher, 71; Meditation Guru Founded N.M. Group

Edwin C. Steinbrecher, 71, guru of a meditation technique combining astrology, tarot and Jungian psychology, which he described in half a dozen editions of his book, “The Inner Guide to Meditation: A Spiritual Technology for the 21st Century,” died Sunday in Los Angeles of emphysema.

A native of Chicago, Steinbrecher served in the Navy in the late 1950s and later earned a bachelor of fine arts degree at UCLA.

After mastering astrology and similar fields, he founded an organization called the D.O.M.E. Inner Guide Meditation Center in Santa Fe, N.M., on April 5, 1973. The initials of the center, which moved to Los Angeles in 1984, stand for a Latin phrase about gods bringing forth, and at the same time devouring, the world.

Espousing healthful living--including vegetarianism, meditation and abstinence from smoking--Steinbrecher wrote his book in 1975. He recently completed work on what he called “the seventh and last edition.” The book has had steady sales at such specialty bookstores as the Bodhi Tree in West Hollywood.

Steinbrecher was also co-author of “Gay Soul” and “Exploring Consciousness in the Horoscope.” Until his health began to fail, he had lectured and taught meditation classes at D.O.M.E.