Book Review: The Other Side of Truth by Paul Kimball

The Other Side of Truth:

The Paranormal, The Art of the Imagination, and the Human Condition

by Paul Kimball

Above all, this was a fun book to read. Paul is a good storyteller, and can flesh out his experiences and theories in a very entertaining way. This is not about hard science and proving the paranormal. This is about experiences, and the bigger picture. Throughout this book, you get to know Paul a bit. His personality shines through, and he is not shy with his opinions. The essence of the idea here is that the paranormal, in it's many facets, is a work of art of a higher intelligence. That may sound a bit odd, but as you read through, and Paul clarifies what he means by art, it makes more and more sense. In this sense, art is communication. Paul covers ghosts, UFO's, shadow people, synchronicity, alternate universes, the observer effect, reincarnation, and much more. It all kind of interweaves. 

Paul discusses his TV show, Ghost Cases, and suggests that ghosts are not what the general consensus believes. He has some pretty fascinating experiences, and you get to follow through his mindset and how it leads to this bigger idea. Throughout it all, you will also get a bit of more obscure history thrown in here and there. He covers an array of synchronicities that happened to him over a short period of time, and what it meant to him. Interpretation is key in the paranormal. And this is a fresh and thought proving way to view it. There is a chapter on time travel, for example, that serves as much as anything, as a thought experiment, and suggests some new ideas. 

Overall, if you are interested in the paranormal, and have a somewhat open mind, pick up this book. You will likely enjoy it. If nothing else, it may get you thinking about things in a different way.

Also check out my interview with Paul Kimball on Where Did the Road Go? from April 20, 2013...

A Point in the Center

A point in the center. They all are. There can be nothing else. Yet, there is no center. No space to center in. Yet, there it is. Tendrils move out in all directions, yet only one they pay attention to, and they forget the others, too much with just one, after all. So much coming into that non-centered point, too much, blinding, overwhelming. Wonderful in it's ineffability. But just that one tendril, can be nice. A vacation down the path. Sometimes, though, the path is long and hard, and they know this, but fatigue wears, and they forget. They forget the center that is not a center. They forget the non-space, and all they know is the tendril. This is fine. It really is. In the end, the only place to go is back to the center. Or better yet, off to make a new center. Like children spawned in some infinity, some star burning bright in the depths of space. The stars are alive. The universe is alive. Existence is. It is life. Consciousness. Centers. Tendrils of probability and time. Ever creating, ever expanding, yet all that is, is already. Yet, it can still be more. Fantastic vistas of ever moving, ever changing, ever evolving, ever growing points. Lights to light up the sky. Constellations to light the way.  Always more than before. Infinite space in the creative world. A mind forever voyaging, moving in all directions, exploring, learning. No beginning, no end. Simply there. A point. In the center. 

- Seriah

Book Review: Man-Made: The Chronicles Of Our Extraterrestrial Gods by Dr. Rita Louise

Man-Made: The Chronicles Of Our Extraterrestrial Gods by Rita Louise PhD and Wayne Laliberte, MS.

This is an interesting read. It is not bogged down by a ton of repetition or unnecessary details. In short, it is an easy read, with a lot of information packed in. What the authors attempt to do is break down our history as told in the common elements of our shared mythologies. Taking primarily from India, Egypt, Australia, and the Americas, they show a surprising amount of common elements, which makes one wonder just how that is possible since these cultures were supposed to have built up independently. Some of the similarities are rather startling, but others could be dismissed if it weren't for the sheer amount of them. 

Rita and Wayne put together a potential history of our far antiquity, and break it down to different worlds, leading up to the current one. For someone familiar with mythology and ancient astronaut theory, some of this material will be familiar, but they are able to dig up some novel pieces of information, and the overall theory is rather unique. It is also at odds with some accepted notions, and overall gives some good food for thought. 

It is not a scholarly work. There are no footnotes, and it is not written in a dry manner at all. It flows nicely, reads well, and keeps your interest. It's not likely to change your world, but it will entertain and perhaps create some more questions that would be fascinating to answer. If you are not familiar with the subject, this is a great start. If you are, you will still likely find it interesting, especially after it gets moving along.

Book Review: Lightquest by Andrew Collins

LightQuest: Your Guide to Seeing and Interacting with UFOs, Mystery Lights and Plasma Intelligences by Andrew Collins

There are plenty of UFO books out there. More than you can probably count. Most of them do not offer anything new, if they offer anything at all. The majority of them are stuck in the extra-terrestrial paradigm. Through the years, there have been books in the field that stand out, notably the work of people like Jacques Vallee, John Keel, John Mack, Whitley Strieber, etc. The people who were willing to try and truly understand the phenomenon. 

I believe that Lightquest from Andrew Collins belongs on that list. Is it the definitive book that clearly explains everything? No. We may never have that. But this book, may very well be a step in the right direction. Expanding primarily on the work of another novel researcher, Paul Devereux, Andrew proposes that what we see as space ships, fairies, etc, are really plasma formations. This is not a new idea, although it is not a well known theory, where Collins differs, is he proposes a definite intelligence behind the phenomenon. He suggests a combination of altered states of consciousness, and what he calls a 'bubble reality' to explain what is happening to people who come in close contact with these plasma intelligences. He starts the book by debunking Roswell, the flagship of the ET Hypothesis. Following that, he explores areas that have earth lights, probable plasma formations, that show up regularly, such as Marfa, Texas. He then takes it deeper into UFO territory and explores encounters and how strange they really get. He deals with cutting edge science to try and understand what we may really be experiencing, rather than what it looks like on the surface. 

Like all of his books, he shares information you will not find anywhere else. He shares some personal accounts and some never before published accounts that support his theory. He even, at the end, takes a look at the Rendlesham case. 

All throughout, as he explores 'window areas', UFO hotspots, and why they may be such, he also gives you tips if you wish to visit them yourself, and where you are most likely to see something. Personally, I have been a fan of Andrew Collins for a long time now, and the majority of his books have had to do with archaeology and lost civilizations, but there are a few exceptions, like this. He has never disappointed me. He always has something worthwhile to share when he authors a book, and with the number he has out, that is quite impressive. This one is around 400 pages, detailed, well written, easy to read, and just packed with information. There is even a brief Q&A section at the end just to clarify some of the points in the book. 

If you are at all interested in the UFO Phenomenon, you owe it to yourself to read this book. Even if you disagree with his overall theory, I can almost guarantee you will get something out of it of value. 

You can find out more about Andrew Collins at his official website.

Book Review: The Newgrange Sirius Mystery by E.A.James Swagger

The Newgrange Sirius Mystery: Linking Passage Grave Cosmology with Dogon Symbology
by E.A.James Swagger

This is fascinating, well written, and thoroughly researched. What the Author suggests is that many, if not all, of the passage grave sites in the UK are aligned to various astronomical features. Mainstream archaeology only looks for solar alignments, but James shows that many of these sites are linked to lunar phenomenon, as well as constellations. In particular  he draws attention to the connections to the star Sirius.

He spends the first part of the book relating the alignments of the different sites, and showing how each is unique. In the second part of the book he discusses the artwork and it's connections to astronomical arrangements.  The third part, he explores the theories of others who have preceded him in this work. Finally, in the last part, he explores his own connections and what they may mean.

This is a short, fairly easy read, although a bit dry at the start, it is interesting all the way through. Despite being an easy read, it is not a work of speculation, it is based on research and fact, and is presented as such. Only at the very end does Mr. Swagger allow himself to speculate a bit, and even that seems rather reserved. An enjoyable and recommended read.

Book Review: Whitley Strieber "Communion" 1987

Communion: A True Story was one of the two books back in the late 80's that brought the face of the grey alien into popular culture. Strieber took a lot of heat for his story, from both sides of the tracks. Believers in the Extra-Terrestrial Hypothesis attacked him for claiming that he didn't believe that was necessarily the answer, and, of course, the closed minded skeptical community attacked him for suggesting that something like this may be real. 

For the record. I believe his story. I believe he is telling the truth as he knows it. I read this originally back when it came out, and felt that after 20 years, I should re-read it and see how I felt about it from my current perspective. My feelings haven't changed. This was an important book. It made people more comfortable about talking about their own experiences. Whitley approaches this with common sense and skepticism. He spends a lot of time trying to see if his experiences were somehow caused by hallucinations or medical issues, like temporal lobe epilepsy, which they were not. Even at this early point, though, he realizes that dealing with the UFO Phenomenon, literally challenges our view on what reality is. As I read this, I got the feeling of someone painting a painting, representing their normal life, while all the while another painting was being painted underneath, and only a crack reveals it's existence. And as that crack is widened, more of the painting underneath, this hidden world, comes into awareness. It was always there, and we have no idea how it got there without us knowing. It's disturbing. And enlightening. If you are interested in the paranormal and have never read this classic piece of work, you should. It is as valid today as when it was published. It is pure, straight to the point, and free of any kind of agenda. As Whitley takes your through his awaking into what happened to him, you can feel what an impact it had on him. As strange as it all may sound, I am sure it was 1000 times worse for him. 

I do plan on reading, at very least, Transformation again as well, as I think that had even more of an impact on me than this did. Hopefully, I will also eventually have Whitley on my new radio show, Where Did the Road Go?, which, if you are reading this blog, you should really be checking out.

Book Review: Forgotten Civilization - The Role of Solar Outbursts in our Past and Future by Robert M. Schoch, Ph.D.

Forgotten Civilization: The Role of Solar Outbursts in Our Past and Future is the latest work by Robert Schoch. Schoch is famous for proving greater antiquity of the Sphinx back in the 90's, and although his conclusions are not accepted by mainstream archaeologists, he is supported by other geologists almost 100%. This book brings a lot of things together, for one he tells the story of his work on the Sphinx, and the backlash that his legitimate and proven conclusions caused for him. One of the arguments he heard against the greater age of the Sphinx (5000+ and probably over 10,000 years old) is that there are no advanced cultures at such an early date in our history who could have built such a structure. Well, enter Gobekli Tepe, a recently discovered site in Turkey, dated 10,000 to 12,000 years old, and the dating is undisputed by mainstream scientists. Schoch explores this very ancient site, and what it may ultimately mean. He also explores the deep mysteries of Easter Island and a possible deciphering of the Rongorongo script that has never been satisfactorily decoded. 

Then he changes gears and moves out to our Sun, and the way solar outbursts may have affected our past, and how they could affect our future. He lays out the evidence for a solar outburst so powerful that it may have ended the ice age, and the culture that may have thrived at that time. He expands on what we currently know, what damage smaller outbursts have done to our modern world, and what a bigger one is capable of. 

In the end, he explores the problems with modern science, and new research that may eventually overturn the dominant paradigm in many fields. He talks of the evidence of psychic abilities, the power of water, problems with current dating methods and their connections to solar cycles, and much more. It is a very enlightening read, even for someone up on the latest discoveries.

Robert writes in a very complete, and easy to read maner. I found that many times, what he was talking about would bring something to mind, and I would wonder if he is aware of it, often to find him addressing that very question in the following paragraphs. All of his sources are notated, and there is an extensive bibliography. The book itself seems to be a very interesting connection point of Robert's previous work, drawing together geology, archaeology, science, and very cutting edge ideas. Schoch's personality also comes through beautifully in his writing. It is very personal, while maintaining it's scientific integrity. 

If you are interested in our distant past, and whether an advanced civilization once existed that was wiped from our memory, then this is a must read. And it is something that should interest you, because if it happened to them, it could happen to us. As safe in our modern world as we may feel, the sun could tear it all away from us in an instant, and we would be back to the caves. Perhaps literally. Knowing what happened at the end of the last ice age may better allow us to prepare for our long term survival. 

New Radio Show...

Starting this Saturday, January 26, 2013, I will be hosting an hour long talk show on WVBR in Ithaca, NY. We will air from 11pm Eastern, and you can listen locally at 93.5 FM Ithaca, NY, and stream it live anywhere in the world from the webpage. We will also have a show archive up. The website is www.WhereDidtheRoadGo.com and there is a schedule of guests up on the page. Right now, that consists of Jim Elvidge on the nature of consciousness and the world as virtual reality, David Weatherly on The Black Eyed Children, Brien Foerster on ancient technology and elongated skulls, and Robert Schoch on his new book, Forgotten Civilization. 

More will be announced soon. Also, like us on Facebook and follow on Twitter!

Skeptics, Debunkers, and Perspective

Lots of people call themselves skeptics nowadays. It's what you are supposed to be if your views are to be respected. The problem is, most skeptics are not skeptics. Everyone, whether they are aware of it or not, are biased. Our experience, our learning, our belief, and our ego, all sets the vantage point from which we judge the validity of other ideas.

The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy defines skepticism beautifully here; "Philosophical views are typically classed as skeptical when they involve advancing some degree of doubt regarding claims that are elsewhere taken for granted."  If we go back to the origins of the word, we go back to the ancient Greeks and a school of thought that nothing can really be known for sure, only questioned. Your typical. modern skeptic does not fit these definitions. Instead, they are often out to simply support the mainstream and accepted view of things, and debunk anything that questions it. These people are debunkers. They have a set agenda. They have already made up their minds, despite their claims to the contrary. When Graham Hancock asked Richard Dawkins if he would ever try something like Ayahuasca, he expressed interest, but in the end, said he would write off whatever he experienced as just another fascinating aspect of brain function. A true skeptic could not say that. A true skeptic would go into such an experience with as open a mind as possible, and examine all the possibilities of what they may be experiencing. 



The other thing I find interesting about this clip, is Dawkins talking about the other experiment that he was a part of, and how he experienced nothing. I know other people that have very materialistic views of reality who have also told me they have never experienced anything even vaguely paranormal. This is a factor, of course, in our views of these things. If you have never had such an experience, then you may logically conclude other people are misinterpreting theirs. I suspect, however, that our individual brains have a lot to do with it. Perhaps, some people's brain's can tune to slightly different areas of reality, and some can't. Just like some can hear slight variations in sound where most people here an unchanging note. These things, however, influence what we think of as real. You cannot, however, claim to truly be a skeptic when you go into a situation knowing what you will think of it at the end. A true skeptic doesn't make pre-judgements. 

I watched an Episode of a show called American Unearthed the other night. It focused on the discovery of a grave of a potentially 10-foot tall giant in Michigan. The host, who believes that the Kensington Stone is genuine, is looking for further proof of Nordic occupation of North America. Thus, he kept calling this a Nordic Giant. Last I knew, though, Nordic people did not generally grow to be 10 feet tall. Not only that, but there have been giants found all over North and Central America, which makes it unlikely they have any direct connection to Vikings. However, his perspective was shaded by what he was looking for, and it narrowed his possibilities. He at some points talks to another archaeologist who claims the Kensington Stone is a fake. When he disagrees and asks why he thinks it's a fake, said scientist states that since we know the Vikings weren't here, the stone must be a fake. This, of course, is not a skeptical approach, but really one that is somewhat dogmatic. He is a believer in what he has been taught, thus everything that falls outside that, is false. 

It takes a lot for someone to break these types of biases. Their existence does not call for grand conspiracies or anything of the sort. It comes from human nature. We know what we have learned and experienced, and this creates our beliefs, and our ego protects them. We don't want to be wrong. When we touch on paranormal subjects, it may also be that the ideas frighten people, and thus enforce the bias of disbelief. When we look at the possibility of an advanced civilization existing in pre-history, that, too, can be frightening to some. If such a civilization existed, and was wiped out almost completely, which calls for some sort of cataclysm, then that suggests the same could happen to us! We want to feel safe, in control. We like to believe that the world as it is today, will always be like this, more or less, with any changes coming slowly and gradually. 

Science, unfortunately, tends to follow dogmatic patterns, especially in certain disciplines. Defending those patterns starts looking like defending religious beliefs after a point. You are not allowed to question the Big Bang Theory, for example. Not only is ego and bias tied up in such things, but a lot of money. Research money that will stop coming if said theory were too thoroughly questioned and couldn't hold up. The scientific method, which is an excellent tool, gets misused, not necessarily intentionally, but misused none-the-less. Robert Schoch, as a accredited Geologist, definitively showing that the weathering on the Sphinx was caused by water erosion, specifically, rain erosion, pushed the date of it's origin WAY back beyond what Egyptologists were claiming. But they aren't geologists. They made assumptions based on, well, very little really, and the origin date of the Sphinx became dogma. When Schoch came along, he caused some big problems for them. Twenty years later, Egyptologists still have not altered their official dating of the Sphinx, facts be damned. Science should always follow facts, as best it can, and that is a clear example of where it does not. In 50 years Schoch should be thought of as a man who rewrote history, but now, now he is ignored by mainstream archaeology, and not because he is wrong, or doesn't have the facts on his side, but because they don't like what it means. It means they were wrong. It means that there was a culture advanced enough to build such a monument that they know nothing at all about. It means all their history of Egypt is missing something critical. So then, if something so major could slip by them, it follows to ask, what else are they wrong about? A true skeptic would say plenty. 

The thing is, it's ok. We will never know everything. We can only grow and learn, and to keep our minds as open as possible, and as skeptical as possible, always questioning, because it makes life a whole lot more interesting. Some strong Gamma and X Rays from a particular point in space no more prove the existence of Black Holes than a disembodied voice on a digital recorder proves that we survive death. Both are possible explanations, but they are not proof of anything. Maybe that voice is a ghost, someone who died, trying to communicate with us, and maybe those peculiarly strong rays are from a Black Hole. And maybe not. Plasma creates those types of emissions, rapidly spinning. That doesn't mean a Black Hole is there. And maybe that voice is some kind of interference, or even something from somewhere else entirely masquerading as one of our dead. Only by questioning our base assumptions, and every new fact, and questioning again and again, will we make real progress. We will always have our own personal bias. The best we can do, is to question it. Be a skeptic. A real skeptic. Question everything. Never accept anything as unquestionable... because that is where Dogma starts, and progress stops.

Worlds in Collision and The Velikovsky Heresies

Many years ago I picked up a couple of beat up copies of books by Immanuel Velikovsky at a used book store. I knew the name, but not much else. I figured maybe one day I would read them. Over the last year or so, I have become very interested in The Electric Universe theory and thunderbolts.info has become a favorite site of mine. They often mention Velikovsky, enough so that I finally sat down and read "Worlds in Collision". 

The main gist of Velikovsky's theory is that Venus started life as a comet, and within historical times. It was ejected from Jupiter around 1600 B.C. when a larger mass collided with the gas giant, and it had close encounters with both Earth and Mars before settling into it's current location. Velikovsky was a Russian born psychoanalyst, and a friend and contemporary of Einstein. When this book was published in 1950 it ignited a huge controversy. First of all, he was writing outside of his field. Second, he was contradicting accepted science at the time. Third, he was using ancient texts to support his theory, especially the Bible. None of this sat well with the scientific establishment of the time. It got worse, when various predictions he made, Venus would be hot, not cold as mainstream science believed, for example, turned out to be correct. In fact, the majority of what Velikovsky predicted seems to have been accurate. The attacks on him are astonishing, and have been covered in many other books. Carl Sagan made a special point of trying to take down Velikovsky, and many feel that he was successful. However a clear, unbiased look at what Sagan did, reveals that he actually failed to disprove Immanuel's theory, and that it was more of a hit job than anything else. Back to the book. It is a fascinating read. It was a best seller when it came out, and has held it's own for a long time after. It is well written, and detailed. And, yes, he does take passages from the bible to support his theory. However, he finds equating passages from other parts of the world to substantiate this. If one text says the sun stood still in the sky, he looks for, and finds, other texts from the same time period, from other parts of the world, that say the same thing. He shows that Venus is not mentioned by any cultures prior to a certain point, approximately 1600 B.C. He shows that it flew erratically around the heavens, and was a fearsome thing in the sky. He shows that it had a comet's tail, and was often referred to as comet's were. It is a stunning piece of work. I was pretty blown away when I got done. This book, however, was published in 1950. What I wanted to know was, has anything in our current understanding of science and history been found that soundly defeats Velikovsky's work? It seemed like a massive undertaking. Enter Laird Scranton...


Just about the time I was asking these questions, Laird Scranton published The Velikovsky Heresies, and hey, guess what, it is a book that answers that very question about how the theory has held up. From interviews I have heard with Laird, he went into this book with no bias one way or another. He did the research, took the main parts of Velikovsky's theory and searched to find out whether they stand or fall. For the most part, the theory has been more vindicated than debunked. Of course, when dealing with events of the distant past, it is hard to ever know for certain, but Laird, step by step, takes apart Velikovsky's theory and shows the current science that seems to support it (for example, we now know that Venus seems to still have the remnants of what seems to be a comet's tail!). It is a brilliant piece of work by it's own right, and my only complaint would be that I managed to read through it in about a day. There is a lot packed into the 130+ pages that make up this book, however. No theory is ever completely right, and of course that very much applies to Velikovsky, but Laird shows how much of the theory has held up over the 62 years since it was first published. It is impressive. You can easily read Laird's book without ever reading World's in Collision. I would, however, recommend reading both to get a more complete understanding of a theory that one day may completely change the way we look at our own solar system and planetary origins.