Consciousness, Speculation and Seeing the Un-see-able.

More and more I suspect that consciousness is far more complex, rich, and all pervasive than we can even conceive of. My feelings currently, lead me to say that not only is consciousness a part of everything, but that it functions on more levels and connects in more ways than we can process. We see such a small sliver of our existence. We see a very limited view, and we see it through our little bubble of self-awareness and ego. That is how we interact with this wonderful world, though. We need that ego, that sense of identity here to have this experience. I do believe it is not unlike playing a computer game. Our higher self, or whatever you want to call it, is the player, outside the computer, and in order to access the game we need an interface, which is the computer, or our brain, that allows us to live in cyberspace. The closer to virtual reality we get, the more accurate this description may be. I am not saying I think we are living in the matrix or a computer simulation, although I by no means rule it out. I am just using it as an analogy. The character you play in the game has limited information compared to what you do. Maybe, if we could construct a game where the character learns and your part is to guide it to what it needs to know and learn in order to get where it needs to go, that may be the best analogy to who we are here. Some players are good, some are not. Some can communicate to their character in ways that make it very clear to it what way to go. Synchronicities, signs, omens. Other players are asleep at the wheel, or just really bad at getting through to their characters. They become the materialists. The closed minded. And maybe that is part of the game, variations are needed to progress the world.

I look at the research being done on children who can recall past lives, and it seems that many of them died violent deaths. The same is said of haunted locales. The ghosts are the ones who died a violent death. Is there something about dying suddenly or violently that loses an ending process the rest go through? If you die in your sleep, peacefully, is there a transition that takes us back to that higher self? Maybe when you die violently, you stick around, you want to play again, so you haunt if you were really attached here, or you just want to reset and try again. These are not beliefs on my part, just some idle speculation. Maybe the reason some children remember past lives is because they didn’t process things properly because of the way they died. I can hold a decent amount of doubt about hypnotically regressed past lives. Hypnosis is unreliable, and once you’ve lived more than a few years, you really don’t know what information you have been exposed to subconsciously. Our brains seem to work as a filter as much as anything else. Takes in 100%, shows you .0001%. Shows you what is important or what fits your belief system. It’s a tool; you have to train it otherwise by breaking patterns and habits. Then it shows you more. Then you start to see the shadows, not just the light. Children, though, there are some very good cases where there is no way the child could have reasonably known what they know, especially at such young ages. Even training from parents can’t explain it, if they were attempting a hoax. These kids seem to be recalling very specific, detailed information. They seem to show genuine emotion about the events they recall. And sometimes those past lives have been found and information verified. It takes one, just one, to be genuine. I think we have far more than that. Which then begs for an explanation. I honestly can think of only a few possibilities. One, and most likely, is that it was their past life. I think Occam’s Razor points there. It simply is what it seems to be. It may also be, that consciousness, working like an all-encompassing field, allows one to access it and focus in on one specific part. Maybe that is what happens, these kids, not yet trained in the ways of this world, focus in on a life, recorded in that field, and attach themselves to it. I think this is less likely, and I am hard pressed to come up with any other good possibilities. We can’t dismiss them, well you can, but that would not be intellectually honest. If even one is genuine, that is all you need. I think there are plenty of genuine cases. Maybe it’s that computer user communicating information about their past character In the game, intentionally or not.

I heard someone say on Coast to Coast a couple months ago, that consciousness is just in the brain, we know this, the science is finished on it. Really? Well, there is a headline, when exactly did science PROVE, beyond any doubt or further possible study, that consciousness is just in the brain? Right, never. I think the first key to knowing someone has an agenda or dogma present, has to be when one says, the science is finished. By its nature, that is never true. There is always more to learn. It’s been said many times in the past, Charles Fort used to make fun of that claim back in the early 1900’s when, I believe, The Royal Academy of Sciences said science was complete. I could be wrong about the institution, it’s been a while since I’ve read his books. They said this, while still saying that rocks couldn’t fall from the sky. I think that anytime someone says the science is complete, they automatically lose credibility. You hear it in debates about evolution, about global warming, about consciousness. I think that, if anything, cutting edge science is actually proving that consciousness is NOT just in the brain. Taking an honest look at scientific studies of PSI, they statistically prove that it exists. Debunkers, with no knowledge of statistics, and an agenda, claim they are unimpressive. They are not. They are solid science that consciousness can access data from outside in ways that are not understood. One of the most common points I hear made is this, if you get knocked out, you’re out. When you regain consciousness, you realize you didn’t continue to exist while knocked out. Well now, sounds reasonable. Proves nothing, especially when you realize that you have many dreams every night, yet remember very few, some remember none. Does that mean they were not there? No. If you character gets knocked out in the game, your higher consciousness is unaffected, your user is still there, but unable to influence the character in the game. The same with brain damage. This is also cited as proof that consciousness is in the brain and only in the brain. But again, if your computer has issues, or your game character has some damage, it doesn’t affect the user. Your higher self is still intact. In another way of looking at it, you drive your car. If the car blows a break line and you can’t stop it, does that prove that the driver is the car? It makes as much sense as saying that brain damage proves that consciousness is a side effect of the brain. Neither thing is proof. The brain is more likely an interface, not a generator of consciousness. It is the vehicle we use.

Let’s take it a step further. When we look at paranormal phenomena, let’s say UFO’s, we see that they somewhat conform to our expectations. Kenneth Arnold saw flying V shaped craft. Boomerang like. The press called them Flying Saucers. Later, actual saucers were seen. Does that mean these sightings were false, or, are people seeing something that has no definitive form to us? We put it on the phenomena. Monster sightings may be more of the same. Something is there, and until it has a form, descriptions may vary, but the more that see it, the more it defines itself, using our conscious expectations. People are certainly seeing something in the skies, on the ground, and elsewhere, that defy easy explanation. Sure, there are misidentifications, and hoaxes, and such, but there are simply too many strange encounters by reputable people, sometimes with a level of evidence as well, to dismiss them all. And what about that evidence? It never lives up to what it is expected to be. That pancake from the flying saucer? All normal ingredients, although rather unpleasant to taste for some reason. A hoaxer would have tried to make it exotic, not simple and bad tasting. These things may be an intrusion into our reality of something that needs our conscious expectations to give it form that we can interact with. We may see a flying saucer or bigfoot, but what is really there is much stranger to us, so much so we can’t see it’s actual form with our limited senses and perception.

To take this even further, all of reality may function like this. In the last few decades the idea that if you want something enough you can cause it to happen with a sort of magical wish fulfillment is likely complete nonsense, but on a deeper level, we may draw to us what we need. As individuals, families, towns, etc. Consciousness may bring out that which needs to happen, which may occasionally be what we want to happen. It’s kind of like saying, if you want your wish to come true, make the right wish. Our users, out there beyond the game, may be able to control the environment we are in. And maybe there are users above them, and they are consciousness of the group, the family, town, planet, etc. Go deep enough, and maybe you can interact with them, make some requests, have a subtle amount of influence. Work some Magick. Isn’t that what most Magick and ritual is all about in the end? Affecting the unseen. Tweaking the hidden structure. Accessing the deep consciousness that pervades everything. It’s rich and complex, and we can’t understand it. Our brains are very limited devices. Eventually we’ll get an upgrade. Maybe as a reward for a certain level of success here. World peace, for real, and everyone get booted up level and we have all new challenges. Doesn’t look very hopeful right now if that is the case. I think it’s important to watch for those hints from our Higher Selves. I find life gets much easier the more you can see. Is that an illusion? I doubt it, but even if it is, the result is positive, so why change it? There’s no real way to know. If it works for you, use it! It’s a matter of faith. Not religious faith, not belief in a deity or dogma, but faith that if you listen, the universe will guide you. Subtly but effectively. We are made of consciousness. It’s in everything, everywhere. This can’t be proven, but to some of us, it is very hard to not see.

DVD Review: The Life After Death Project

The Life After Death Project by Paul Davids

This is a fascinating, and ultimately, compelling piece of work. I've seen mixed reviews of it, and with most things like this, I went in skeptical. By about halfway through, however, I was starting to soften up on the whole thing, and by the end, I think what Paul Davids has here, is rather significant. At the heart of this, is the life and death of Forrest J Ackerman, a huge name in Sci-Fi circles. Ackerman was an Atheist, but said if there was something more beyond death, he would try and communicate back. Forest is not the first to make such claims, Harry Houdini being the most famous, but in that case, the relevant attempt at contact seemed to be primarily a séances at the anniversary of his death. This happened far more spontaneously.

One of the things that has been coming up more and more in this type of research is the role of synchronicity. For those that are not familiar, a synchronicity is a meaningful coincidence. A lot, but by no means all, of the evidence here are synchronicities. To some, that is reason to dismiss this. I think, though, that maybe this is just how it works. Not in some grandiose fashion, with a spectral form screaming out your name, but in the subtle workings of reality. Coincidences happen. But the sheer number of coincidences that would need to be accommodated here to dismiss it is absurd. And these synchronicities revolve around many people, not just Paul Davids.

Beyond that, you have mediums, who communicate very accurate information about Forest without knowing anything at all. You have a fascinating scientific experiment involving light photons and chemical analysis on a mysterious block of ink, which is really where the whole story starts.

Then there is a second DVD, which talks to various people about life after death, not directly related to Forest for the most part, although there are some updates. All in all, if you are looking for some mind blowing, in your face proof of life after death, you will not find that here. If, however, you look at this with an open mind, and with no preconceptions, there does seem to be something significant here.  Maybe we have been looking at the Life after Death issue in the wrong way. Maybe it’s the subtle flux’s that we should be paying attention to. In the end, I suppose, it’s personal. The people who these events happened to, know they happened. They present their stories and evidence clearly and concisely. A hardcore materialist will just chock it all up to coincidence or deception, but that is not an honest view of this. An honest view says something odd is happening to these people, and it may very well be explained by Forest J Ackerman communicating with them in his own way.

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. 

Full Interview with Walter Cruttenden on September 30, 2012

Full interview conducted by Seriah Azkath on The Last Exit for the Lost. Walter is a part of the Binary Research Institute. This is the whole interview, including music. We talked to him about Binary Star theory, his book (Lost Star of Myth and Time), cycle of the ages, ancient technology, Sirius, Lost Civilizations, and a bunch of other intriguing subjects.. I highly recommend checking out his site at www.binaryresearchinstitute.org. As well you can check out loststarbook.com and cpakonline.com.

You can listen to just the audio HERE. Or watch on YouTube below.

Book Review: DMT - The Spirit Molecule by Rick Strassman, M.D.

DMT: The Spirit Molecule: A Doctor's Revolutionary Research into the Biology of Near-Death and Mystical Experiences by Rick Strassman M.D.

There are people who feel that science and the paranormal cannot co-exist, usually forgetting that many things were paranormal until explained by science. In today's world, talk of things like Alien Abductions and Near Death Experiences often get one ridiculed by people who are more, scientific. In DMT, The Spirit Molecule, Dr. Strassman proceeds in a completely scientific manor to investigate the effects of DMT on various volunteers. The results though, may help to identify certain mechanisms that may be involved in such ridiculed events such as Alien Abductions. Make no mistake, this is not a New Age book. Dr. Strassman is an accredited and peer reviewed scientist, who did not set out to deal with the subjects that he eventually did. Like any good scientist, he followed the data. It led him to very surprising places.

DMT Experiences, although often unique, also have certain common qualities to them. One of them is meeting ‘beings’, and experiencing some of what happens in an Alien Abduction. Dr. Strassman, as much as he seems to have resisted it, eventually had to admit that the experiences did not bear the markings of being just an hallucination. The fact that DMT occurs naturally in the body, being secreted by the Pineal Gland, makes it even more interesting. The book itself is very well, written, very scientific, and quite enjoyable. Just reading about all the hoops he had to jump through to get to do the research in the first place is amazing.

It has made me wonder about paranormal experiences in new ways. For example, anyone who studies UFO’s seriously will point out that DMT can’t explain multiple witness sightings, radar tracking, and physical traces. But what if we are dealing with two different things. What if the only connection between the odd lights in the sky and the alien abduction scenario is that whatever causes the ‘physical’ UFO, sets off a release of DMT in the observer, who then has an internal experience? I think this could be a potential breakthrough in the study of UFO’s. It doesn’t explain what causes the lights, but if whatever does, affects people in the right way, it may lead to an encounter that is not ‘of’ those lights. Like a heavy wind blowing open a door you didn’t know was there. The wind and the room beyond may not be directly related, but one unlocked the other. It could also be that the beings that are contacted via DMT are also trying to come here, and they do so in what appear to us as UFO’s (and possibly other unexplained phenomena).

I have never been sure what to make of implants in UFO abduction cases, but people in DMT studies receive implants. There is no physical implant in these people, but plenty of abductees have claimed to have found physical implants right where they say they were implanted. Some of these implants, when removed, seem to be, at the very least, odd. Now, as I said, I am not sure what to make of this. There isn’t enough conclusive evidence one way or another, but I would say that Dr. Strassman’s research into DMT may be a very important clue in understanding the UFO Phenomenon, as well as consciousness and the human condition in general.

If any of this even vaguely interests you, I highly recommend picking up a copy of this book. You can look at it as DMT causing hallucinations or as DMT tapping into another realm, either way, the book is very interesting and opens up all new avenues of questions. Personally, I believe that it retunes us to another world. How much so probably depends on the situation and amount of DMT received, either naturally or by design. Dr. Strassman uses the analogy of the brain as a television, tuned by default to ‘channel normal’. DMT tunes it to other wavelengths.

I would like to thank Dr. Rick Strassman for the courage to see this study through and the strength it took him to actually get to do it. If you read this, you will understand what I mean. His research may have broken new ground in various fields, but only time will tell.