Arguelles is a painter, a poet, an art historian, an archeologist, the person who discovered the key to the Tzolkin - the Maya calendar. He is the author of such books as "Earth Ascending", "Surfers of the Zuvuya", "Arcturus Probe". He studied the history of art and philosophy at the University of Chicago, and obtained his PhD in 1969. Arguelles spent two years in Europe (he studied in Paris). He taught at Princeton, at the University of California in Davis and in San Francisco, at the Evergreen State College, Naropa Institute, at the University of Colorado in Denver. In the years 1977-1987 he was part of the staff at the Union Graduate School where he coordinated the Creative Arts program. In 1972 he became a student of the Tibetan Master of meditation Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, and with his help formulated the Dharma principle. Since 1983 he and his wife Lloydine have been actively involved in the international peace movement (Planet Art Network). He lives and works in Boulder, Colorado.