How have I been able to live so long outside Nature without
identifying myself with it? Everything lives, moves, everything
corresponds; the magnetic rays, emanating either from myself or
from others, cross the limitless chain of created things unimpeded;
it is a transparent network that covers the world, and its slender
threads communicate themselves by degrees to the planets and stars.
Captive now upon earth, I commune with the chorus of the stars who
share in my joys and sorrows.
Gerard De Nerval 1808-1855, French Novelist, Poet
If you've been reading these pages for any length of time, you've
likely noticed that the Thunderbolts team has never indulged in
"esoteric" speculations in their discussions of the Electric
Universe. Although the managers of this site have received countless
inquiries from readers who wonder, "What does all this MEAN?"
-- i.e. what are the philosophical ramifications, if any, of a cosmology
in which electricity, not gravity, dominates -- they (the site's editors)
have preferred a "just the facts, ma'am" approach, leaving the
inevitable discussions of philosophical quandaries for a later date.
This position is hard to argue with. After all, one of the Electric
Universe proponents' greatest beefs with mainstream astronomers and
astrophysicists is their willingness to invoke unseen, unproven,
"metaphysical mathematics" (dark matter, dark energy, black
holes, neutron stars, etc.) to try to account for unexpected observations
in space. EU, on the other hand, provides a model that relies only on
forces and phenomena that are actually observed in nature, and are
routinely replicated in the laboratory. And unlike a number of mainstream
physicists and mathematicians, EU proponents have never claimed to be on
the verge of a "theory of everything," nor have they claimed
that an electrical cosmology can ever provide insight into the Mind of
God.
Nevertheless, it's neither prudent nor even possible to completely
remove philosophy from scientific discussion. As Thunderbolts colleague
Michael Armstrong points out in his essay
"Can we Agree?",
“There is no such thing as a 'no belief-belief system'.”
Even scientists who regard themselves as wholly objective are unavoidably
operating under personal beliefs -- and many of these beliefs did not
necessarily arise from their own careful analysis and discernment, but
rather are the result of years of intensive indoctrination. Much of what
is taught as "fact" in officials textbooks is not fact at all
-- the accepted "facts" are a collection of beliefs
that masquerade as "facts," only because a majority of the
scientific hierarchy subscribe to them. Did the Universe begin 13.7 billion
years ago in a primordial explosion called the Big Bang? At this point in
history, most astronomers say "yes," but a consensus of belief
does not constitute a "fact."
Since we all have beliefs, the question must then be asked, What do we
WANT to believe? Of course, most people will say that they only want to
know the truth, but surely this is predicated on the tacit expectation
that the truth will be good for them personally. No one embraces a belief
that seems opposed to his own best interests. But from my own perspective,
official science has for centuries demanded that we do precisely that. If
there is a prevailing "paradigm" that guides the physical sciences,
it can be called
"materialism."
This is essentially the idea that the universe consists solely of irreducible
particles and empty space -- nothing is connected to anything else. From this
POV (Point Of View), a human being is a collection of particles that learned
to think and feel by accident due to a complex chain of chemical reactions.
"Consciousness" as such is limited to the body, and of course is
extinguished at the moment of death. Any talk of "extrasensory"
phenomena is pure and utter foolishness -- disconnected chemical blobs
(human beings) are mentally limited to the ivory towers of their brains,
with no real linkage to anyone or anything outside themselves.
It's not uncommon for
mainstream science
apologists to claim that they are more in touch with reality than those
who choose not to share their beliefs. If this rationalization were correct,
it would be impossible to argue with -- no one can defend denial in the face
of incontrovertible fact. But the materialistic paradigm only seems credible
if you've not paid the slightest attention to the
facts. For decades, credible scientific research has only confirmed what
countless human beings have always experienced for themselves -- psychic and
other so-called "paranormal" phenomena are not "spooky"
or "strange," but are a natural (albeit poorly understood) aspect
of human existence.
The evidence is overwhelming to anyone with the discernment to see. Recently
on this site, I've been presenting my video productions on topics ranging from
ESP to
synchronicity,
supported by evidence both anecdotal and experimental. A
recent very
popular item on these subjects is the video below -- an enumeration of strange 9/11
"synchronicities" that appeared in the popular culture prior to the event.
Taken alone, any one of these examples might be written off as mere coincidence.
But when seen together, and given their generally explicit linkage to the Sept.
11 events, one cannot help but wonder if human consciousness collectively
"twinged" in anticipation of the ensuing horror.
911 "Coincidences" or Synchronicities?
One respondent to this video referenced me to the research of
Dean Radin, author of The
Conscious Universe and Entangled Minds. Reportedly, a world-wide
network of random number generators spiked shortly before 9/11,
with continued anomalous "ripples" for days and weeks
afterwards. Roger Nelson, director of the Global Consciousness
Project,
writes of
these findings:
What shall we learn, and what should we do in the face of compelling
evidence that there may be such a thing as global consciousness? In
fact this is not a new question. The results from this scientific
study are an apparent manifestation of the ancient idea that we are
all interconnected, and that what we think and feel has effects on
others, everywhere in the world....It urges a new understanding that
we must learn to accept each other and help and support each other,
everywhere in the world, if we are to live in peace on this beautiful
earth.
In other words, this material is not important because it's titillating
or "weird"; I believe that Mr. Nelson is correct, that the
undeniable existence of psychic phenomena carries wonderful, extraordinary
implications for the human race. It's well-known that the practical
applications of psychic abilities are far-reaching and have been explored
in depth by the U.S. and foreign militaries
(remote viewing), and
increasingly by law enforcement. In fact, in recent years, there's been
an explosion of
"psychic
detective" cable TV programs, leading predictably to a
backlash of rhetoric by
many self-described "skeptics." It's startling that these purported
"skeptics" do not hesitate to dismiss the testimony of dozens of
seasoned police investigators, many of whom insist that psychics have not
only aided in their investigations, but are responsible for having
solved murders.
Consider the case of Oregon psychic
Laurie McQuary, and her
involvement in a 1986
murder
investigation by the Lake Oswego Police
Department. In the Sue Kovach book Hidden Files - Law Enforcement's
True Case Stories of the Unexplained and Paranormal (Contemporary
Books, 1998), lead Detective Robert W. Lee wrote of this case:
... I had a missing person's case that became a homicide real quick.
Alexis Sara Burke had disappeared after having an argument with her
husband, John. ... We interviewed friends and relatives and did lots
of exhaustive searches, but I had few solid clues and I sure had a
lot of unanswered questions ... Laurie told me 30 things about my case:
who, what, when, where, how come, who knew about it, a description of
the car used to transport the body ... Laurie said that John had killed
his wife, that he strangled her. She also said a whole circle of people
around John and his younger brother, Daniel, knew all about it. ... John
Burke ... was charged with murder. ... It turned out that 28
of the 30 things that Laurie had said during our initial conversation
were absolutely right on the money.
[emphasis added]
It is increasingly evident not only that consciousness is not limited
locally to the brain, not only is it capable of instantaneous communication
with every other mind, it is also capable of affecting physical reality in
ways we can barely imagine. Consider the research of quantum physicist
John Hagelin, Ph.D.,
who co-authored a study in Washington D.C., which showed a direct correlation
between a group's practice of transcendental meditation, and a reduction of
crime in their area.
We must also consider the tangible physical affects that our minds have
on our own bodies such affects are far from merely "theoretical"
or "anecdotal." For instance, it is well-documented that hypnotic
suggestion alone can lead directly to the formation of visible burn-blisters
on human flesh.
(See Handbook of
Hypnotic Suggestions and Metaphors by D. Corydon Hammond.)
That a human being can mentally burn his own flesh should surprise no one.
According to at least one controlled study in the 1960's, the human body
produces "electromagnetic radiation phenomena" when consciousness
is “in a state of intensed [sic] psychosensory excitation.”
(See More US Government
Psychic Warfare).
At a more profound level, cellular biologist
Dr. Bruce Lipton argues in his
book The Biology of Belief that “our beliefs, true or
false, positive or negative, affect genetic activity and actually alter
our genetic code.” Rather than viewing man as a helpless victim
of his inherited genetic structure, Lipton has raised the possibility that
“genes do not in fact control our behavior, instead, genes are
turned on and off by influences outside the cell.” At a public
presentation in Phoenix, AZ, Dr. Lipton and author Gregg Braden presented
a "rare video" of "a baseball-sized tumor" visible on
a sonogram shrinking and disappearing as practitioners of a form of Qigong
chanted a simple phrase. While in the short-term it may not be possible to
know with certainty if such demonstrations are valid, in the long-term, if
the evidence holds up to scrutiny, science has no choice but to take proper
notice.
In Braden's book
The Divine Matrix, he
cites experimental research that, if ever fully understood, could profoundly
transform every aspect of human life. Braden writes:
In a 1993 study reported in the journal Advances, the Army performed
experiments to determine precisely whether the emotion/DNA connection
continues following a separation, and if so, at what distances? The
researchers started by collecting a swab of tissue and DNA from the
inside of a volunteer's mouth. This sample was isolated and taken to
another room in the same building, where they began to investigate a
phenomenon that modern science says shouldn't exist. In a specially
designed chamber, the DNA was measured electrically to see if it
responded to the emotions of the person it came from, the donor who
was in another room several hundred feet away....
When the donor experienced emotional 'peaks' and 'dips,' his cells and
DNA showed a powerful electrical response at the same instant in time.
Although distances measured in hundreds of feet separated the donor and
the samples, the DNA acted as if it was still physically connected to
his body. The question is 'Why?'
All of the above evidence speaks for a universe in which life is connected
by invisible forces. It seems strange that so many 'science apologists'
express contempt for a POV that views life as less limited, more meaningful,
and with far more potential for beauty and greatness. And no "wishful
thinking" is required to accept this POV. Not only do all of the facts
speak for a more holistic reality, this is the only reality that any sane
person can prefer.
How does all of this relate to our exploration of the Electric Universe?
This question is best answered by Wallace Thornhill in his (increasingly
prescient) essay,
2008 --
Year of the Electric Universe:
A real cosmology must reunite the sciences, humanities and the
arts. It cannot be limited to astronomy. It must give real meaning to Life.
It is becoming clear to more and more scholars and the questioning public
from around the world that the Electric Universe offers such a broad vista
of future science. It is time to get started in 2008. We have no time to lose.
Disclaimer - The opinions expressed in the Thunderblog are those of the authors of
the material, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Thunderbolts Project.
The linking to material off-site in no way endorses such material and the Thunderbolts
Project has no control of nor takes any responsibility for any content on linked sites.