Sci-fi, Myth and Many Possible Worlds

Dr. No and other videos by MC via Flickr

Science fiction is still frowned on in some literary circles but that perception is quickly changing.

Back in high school, when writing about Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, I still bought into the notion that sci-fi is less worthy than the so-called classics.

Luckily I had an English teacher who saw things differently.

Mr. X, as I’ll call him, was a bit of an outsider with the rest of the English department. His eclectic  interests would have him critiquing the newspaper like a university professor might or, perhaps, telling us how to get a date with an absolute stranger.

I think the principal even had some auditor sit in his class to check him out. (This was the late 70s to early 80s and my memory is a bit fuzzy). I do know that he didn’t stay at that high school very long. But in retrospect, he proved to be far more influential than most other teachers.

One day Mr. X noticed that I had a copy of Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle, and I made some joke about ice-nine. We then got onto Frank Herbert’s Dune, which he handily summed up with a glint in his eye. The idea of spice mining and subterranean sand worms seemed to point to something important, something just beyond my adolescent awareness.  Later, I learned about Carl Jung’s collective unconscious, but that wasn’t until age 19, when the river of my teens began to flow into the numinous sea of adulthood.

Over the years, not all of my teachers were quite as open-minded as Mr X. Some have been quite hostile to sci-fi, as if pedantic NeoMarxism or, perhaps, esoteric Old Testament studies represented the ultimate in intellectual activity.

Ouch.

Sci-fi and I go back a long way. Childhood summers at Georgian Bay afforded endless hours to read, surrounded by the sights and sounds of nature. Austin Hall and Homer Eon Flint’s The Blind Spot, Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land and characters like Alfred Bester’s time-traveling Gully Foyle captured my imagination every bit as much as the natural beauty around me.

I still watch a little bit of sci-fi TV and movies. Admittedly, sci-fi characters can sometimes come off a bit thin. But any weak character development is usually counterbalanced by an exceedingly rich cosmology. Where else can you time travel, walk through walls, battle cybernetic stooges, talk to aliens, juggle parallel universes and throw lightning bolts from your fingertips?

In contrast, the cosmologies of many so-called literary classics pale in comparison. Mystique aside, Shakespeare’s Macbeth (“Fair is foul, and foul is fair”),† Dante’s Inferno (which sent several Popes to hell) and Spenser’s The Faerie Queene seem almost banal when compared to the far-flung worlds of sci-fi.

And more recent TV shows like the Reimagined Battlestar Galactica make it increasingly difficult to say that sci-fi lacks character development. BSG is almost entirely about character development, be it human or Cylon.

Historically, a great deal of ancient mythologies more closely resemble sci-fi than do the bulk of Middle Ages and Renaissance literature (with notable exceptions). The Hindu god Siva, for instance, emits a burning death ray from his third eye, not unlike the phaser beams of Star Trek. And classical Greek myths tell of equally formidable powers, where weapon and tool technologies like Thor’s hammer and Athena’s shield take center stage.

Granted, neoclassical artists recast ancient Greek, Roman, Hebraic and Christian themes. But I think it’s fair to say that, on the whole, they were more interested in creating detailed masterpieces instead of developing the ancient cosmologies that they drew upon.

Did ancient mythology serve a similar psychosocial need as today’s sci-fi? The scholar of religion and myth, Joseph Campbell, thought so. He notes that the box office smash Star Wars follows the mythic cycle of the hero. George Lucas (Star Wars‘ creator) actually consulted with Campbell to ensure that the movie would resonate with established mythic patterns.

However, there are obvious differences between the ancients and civilized mankind. This is especially so when we consider the social and political involvement of the average citizen. In ancient Rome, for example, not paying homage to a deity might cost you your life. And 21st century technologies combined with our increasingly sophisticated thoughts have taken today’s sci-fi narratives to a whole new level.

Sci-fi arguably has another advantage over other art forms. Its apparent distance from everyday life allows for meaningful political critiques. Here, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four and the hideous Borg collective of Star Trek come to mind.

For some, sci-fi might seem like so much fodder for the geek squad. But no matter how hard one tries to stick their head in the sand, movies like Star Trek, Avatar and Super 8 still gross more at the box office than other, so-called ‘cultured’ films.

So what, exactly, is this telling us?

—MC

——

† The Tempest, however, reveals that Shakespeare can, in fact, deal with extremely subtle fantasy. But this isn’t surprising, considering that most consider him the best writer, ever.

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Super 8… Stupor 8?

Super 8mm film cartridge film. Kodak Eastman via Wikipedia

Yes, I saw it. And although I’m glad I did, Super 8 turned out to be a bit boring and disappointing.

The young actors were good, sometimes great (except for one who really didn’t cut it). And come to think of it, most of the adult lead actors were above average too. But oh, what cinematic cliches and obvious lead-ins to the many impending disasters.

(I’m keeping it general to avoid a spoiler).

I loved the TV show Alias. And the new Star Trek film wasn’t that bad either. But super-producer J. J. Abrams, IMHO, didn’t really come up with anything too memorable here.

The 70s scenes were unbelievable. Not good unbelievable. Just unbelievable. Sure they got the cars, clothes and hairstyles right. And that old electronic football game — I had one — looked and sounded just like the real thing. But the lingo was almost all 2011. (Also, Willow Tree figures were in the film, which weren’t around back then).

If you think I’m just being picky, well maybe I am. Or maybe this film is for the younger gen. To its credit, Super 8‘s special effects were impressive. And its treatment of young love was, well, adequate. But I found a complete lack of credibility in the plot line. I wasn’t expecting a comic book story. Had I known beforehand that all reasonable attempts to make this a convincing movie would be lacking, I might have enjoyed it more.

2½ stars outta 5.

—MC

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Review – Sunshine (DVD)

The other day I happened to notice Sunshine in the video section of the local library. I’d never heard of this film but being something of a sci-fi buff, was willing to give it a try.

Glad I did.

Blending the genres of action thriller and psychodrama, Sunshine boasts an international cast with recognizable influences from several sci-fi classics, such as Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris, and Douglas Trumbull’s Silent Running, to name a few.

Without this being a spoiler, let’s just say that a group of astronauts are sent on a follow-up mission in a spaceship, Icarus II, to save the Earth from its dying sun. The first Icarus mission failed. And the second team’s job is to seed the failing sun – our sun – with an atomic bomb that hopefully will jump start a new star within it.

Not being a physicist, I wondered about the math behind this. But that didn’t really matter. What makes this film well worth watching is its solid cast, whose characters are a bit different from the usual sci-fi template, but not too different.

In addition, Sunshine’s special effects are certainly up to scratch. No jerky starfields, overdone spacecraft shadows, or obvious cutouts here.

The paradoxical closeness and distance of Sunshine to so many other sci-fi films and TV shows makes it a bit elusive—but in a good way. Maybe dreamlike would be a better word. The sets and action scenes are familiar, but not quite like anything else we’ve seen.

All in all, an engaging, enchanting film. Possibly not a timeless classic. But sci-fi fans should definitely take a look at this unique mix of action and introspection.

–MC

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Review – The Alien Time Machine: Encounters From Another Dimension (DVD)

Title: The Alien Time Machine: Encounters From Another Dimension
Interviewer: Karen Frandsen
Director: Ian Pleasance
Genre: Documentary, UFOs, Aliens, Paranormal
Production Company: Reality Films by Eerie Investigations

Fasten your seatbelts. And get ready for a ride that might take you to the far reaches of ancient Egypt or even the constellation of Orion.

Sounds like the latest summer blockbuster? Well, not exactly. But The Alien Time Machine calls to mind H. G. Wells’ classic science fiction novel The Time Machine and, perhaps, the UK TV series, Dr. Who.

When The Alien Time Machine first arrived in the mail I chuckled a little. Not because I rule out the possibility of ETs and time travel–I certainly don’t. But more because anyone not inspired by New Age cosmologies or the imaginary universes of sci-fi would probably write this DVD off as far-fetched and flaky.

I mean, if I were to say there’s a UK author, a certain Terry Le Riche Walters, who doesn’t just believe in paranormal possibilities but claims he’s actually traveled through time and met ETs, what would most people think?

Concerning the idea of psychological time travel, however, open-minded, educated folks might stop to consider the possibility that during guided meditation we might get a glimpse of deep genetic memories or undergo an experience appearing to transcend space and time.

But The Alien Time Machine takes this one step further. It contains footage of an alleged, fully functional time machine situated in an elderly gentleman’s home in Bath during the late 1990s.

The scenes of the purported Bath Time Machine evoke memories of some kind of 1960s disco or British fantasy film. Jim Morrison or maybe Simon Templar would have loved this place. And the supposed machine, itself, generates some kind of mysterious slipstream, caught live on video. Believe in this segment of the film or not, it’s definitely an engaging moment in the history of documentary, docudrama or docufiction, whatever the case may be.

Also memorable is Le Riche Walters’ candid account of encountering human looking ETs and boarding some kind of alien craft, where he apparently underwent a high-tech operation that cured his back pain.

Interviewer Karen Frandsen skillfully teases out more intriguing stories and frank opinions from this most unusual or, more correctly, regular fellow who claims to possess a range of extraordinary abilities, from premonitions to reading others’ thoughts.

DVD extras include highlights from Gardiner’s World, an alternative TV show advocating global transformation through interviews with everyday people offering valuable insights that lie just beyond mainstream mores.

Altogether, The Alien Time Machine might seem weird or hokey to anybody unfamiliar with New Age thinking and the expansive worldviews of sci-fi. But this smart and seemingly unscripted DVD compels us to reevaluate current beliefs about reality, imagination and the possible.

–MC

FBI investigates time, mind warp in new TV series ‘Flash Forward’

Time on my hands by Temari

By Steve Hammons
May 13, 2009

A new TV series at ABC will explore human consciousness, weird physics and the mysteries of time.

“Flash Forward” is based on a 1999 novel by respected Canadian science fiction writer Robert J. Sawyer.

Sawyer’s novel and the TV series seem to explore fascinating topics that are actually being investigated by serious scientists and researchers.

The series begins on a seemingly average day when every human in the world has a blackout of some kind mixed with altered consciousness for two minutes and 17 seconds.

As a result, there is widespread loss of life, injury and damage.

In addition, during this strange event everyone seems to have had individual visions of their lives on a specific day several months into the future.

It turns out that some physicists were conducting experiments that warped time and human consciousness.

An FBI agent, played by Joseph Fiennes, is one of the people we see having the blackout-premonition flash. Later, he and other FBI agents investigate the phenomena.

FACT-BASED FICTION

Is it just a far-fetched sci-fi plot or is there a basis in current knowledge about a scenario like this?

Extrasensory perception (ESP), anomalous cognition, remote viewing and other phenomena associated with human perception and awareness have been investigated by credible scientists and found to be something other than science fiction.

The physics of time also seems to be a topic that is much more mysterious and uncertain than we generally believe.

When we combine some of the current investigations into unusual human consciousness and research about the nature of time, it becomes evident that “Flash Forward” is not so far-fetched after all.

Elements of U.S. intelligence community and military conducted decades of research and operational activities in Project STARGATE using unusual human consciousness approaches.

In these activities, certain personnel were able to use a specific technique called remote viewing to perceive people, places and things at a distance using only their consciousness.

These kinds of perceptions reportedly were not limited to the here and now, but could reach out into the past and future.

Another aspect of “Flash Forward” that has a basis in theories from psychology and physics is the idea that a common field or common consciousness, at some level, connects us all.

REAL MYSTERIES

There seems to be very rich material for this new series, based on real developments in scientific discovery.

In addition, there appears to be widespread recognition among the public, both nationally and internationally, that things like premonitions, the human sixth sense, anomalous cognition and ESP are actually real phenomena, although we don’t quite understand them completely.

This would seem to help provide a solid audience for “Flash Forward,” if the writers and actors can convey these concepts in ways that take viewers into a real investigation, like the one FBI agent Fiennes and his fellow actors portray.

When the first episode airs this fall, viewers will have a chance to explore and ponder these kinds of unusual aspects of human consciousness, time and the nature of reality.

In published reports, ABC’s Suzanne Patmore-Gibbs, executive vice-president of drama development, described the pilot episode this way: “Our FBI agent, played by Joseph Fiennes, appears to be in an FBI chase. You think he has a car crash. He has a flash of all sorts of things and he wakes up on the freeway and subsequently discovers that everybody else in the world has had a blackout that lasted the same amount of time. This resulted in a lot of devastation across the world.”

“Everybody talks about their flash and they realize they were all dreaming of the same day – which is a day in the future. You can identify with the different people and have that sense of global import – we’re all in it together …”

Yep, we probably are in it together. But what are we in? What is the true nature of human consciousness, time and the realities around us and within us? These remain evolving and emerging mysteries.

Other “Flash Forward” cast members include Sonya Walger, John Cho, Jack Davenport, Brian O’Byrne, Courtney B. Vance, Christine Woods, Zachary Knighton and Peyton List.

The show’s executive producers and writers are David Goyer and Brannon Braga.

ABC Studios has ordered 13 episodes. The series was developed at HBO, but after vigorous bidding with a competitor, ABC obtained the show.

Steve Hammons writes on many topics. For more information, visit these websites: Joint Recon Study Group, Transcendent TV & Media and American Chronicle.

Hindus urge Cameron to handle upcoming Hollywood film “Avatar” “with sensitivity”

Special to Earthpages.org
Expressing concern at the much-anticipated Hollywood movie “Avatar”, Hindus have urged its director James Cameron to be careful when handling Hindu concepts and terminology.

Acclaimed Hindu and Indo-American statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that “avatar” was one of the central themes of Hinduism and insensitive handling of faith traditions sometimes results in pillaging serious spiritual doctrines and revered symbols and hurting the devotees.

With seasoned and skillful Cameron at the helm, we did not expect any problem, Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, said and added that they were just asking for more sensitivity towards faith traditions. If Cameron needed any expertise on Hinduism related issues, he or other Hindu scholars would gladly provide the resources, Zed added.

Rajan Zed explains that “Avatar”, a Sanskrit term, means descent or incarnation. Hinduism is shaped by its traditional belief in the incarnation of Vishnu (the Preserver in Hindu trinity) into ten forms to establish dharma (divine law), which include Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parasurama, Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Kalki (believed to come at the end of present Kaliyuga). Hindus believe that without such intervention, the entire created universe would have gone into decline. Many devotees also regard their respective Gurus as incarnations of the Divine.

In chapter four of ancient Hindu scripture Bhagavad-Gita (Song of the Lord), Lord Krishna explains the reasons for God’s descent: “Whenever dharma declines and the purpose of life is forgotten, I manifest myself on earth”. Hinduism is the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about one billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought and it should not be taken lightly, Rajan Zed points out.

Budgeted up to $300 million, futuristic “Avatar”, an upcoming digital 3-D science fiction feature film currently under production, is directed and written by Canada born three Oscars winning 54-years old James Francis Cameron of highest-grossing and 11 Oscars carrying “Titanic” fame. In it, a band of humans, two centuries in the future, are pitted in a heroic battle against a distant planet’s indigenous population. It is due to be released in France and Belgium on December 16 and USA on December 18 next.

Cast includes Australia born Sam Worthington (Somersault), Oscar nominated Sigourney Weaver (Aliens), Michelle Rodriguez (Girlfight), Zoe Saldana (Guess Who), Giovanni Ribisi (The Gift), Stephen Lang (Gods and Generals), etc. To be shot in Hawaii, California, and New Zealand; produced by Cameron and Jon Landau under Lightstorm Entertainment; and released by 20th Century Fox; it is Cameron’s first work as director since Titanic (1997). Music in the film is provided by James Horner and editing by John Refoua and Stephen Rivkin. It is claimed to offer a groundbreaking mix of live-action dramatic performances and computer-generated effects. Cameron described it as “adventure with an environmental conscience”.

Original ‘Day the Earth Stood Still’ was UFO acclimation?

Gort by riddle, CCL

By Steve Hammons

The original 1951 movie The Day the Earth Stood Still was part of a public acclimation program about UFOs and extraterrestrial visitation, with involvement by the U.S. Air Force, according to an alleged transcript of a 1981 intelligence briefing to former President Ronald Reagan.

The transcript, reportedly provided by current and former members of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) through an intermediary, was posted on the internet Oct. 30, 2007.

Reagan allegedly received the briefing at Camp David, Maryland, between Friday and Sunday, March 6 and 8, 1981. Other top advisors to Reagan were also said to be present.

It was claimed in the 2007 internet posting that the briefing was presented by a CIA contract employee who worked within a group of “caretakers” who reportedly safeguard records and resources about the issue of extraterrestrial visitation to, and activities on Earth.

The transcript includes discussion of U.S. Government efforts to both deceive and inform the public about UFOs and extraterrestrial visitation.

Subsequently, Reagan mentions stories from his days as a Hollywood actor.

“I always knew there was some form of cooperation between our government and the motion picture industry. I heard rumors over the years … even during my acting days.”

The CIA “caretaker” explains further to Reagan.

“Well, Mr. President, the first cooperative venture was the movie, The Day the Earth Stood Still. That was a cooperative venture with the United States Air Force and the movie industry.”

HOLLYWOOD AND UFOS

This account is not the first such report of U.S. Government relationships with Hollywood about the topic of UFOs.

Many credible reports allege that Walt Disney was approached in 1957 by the Air Force to produce a documentary film that would inform and educate the public about extraterrestrial visitation to Earth. However, after work on the project was begun, the Air Force reportedly cancelled it.

The 1977 Steven Spielberg movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind was also reported to have had technical advisors who had specific knowledge of the UFO situation.

Early in the film, the police chase involving several officers in pursuit of UFOs in Ohio is reportedly based on a real incident.

It has also been claimed that the special 12-person team that mysteriously appears in several scenes, including the climax involving the departure of the extraterrestrial spaceship, is based on a real classified mission.

In fact, in the alleged briefing to Reagan, the president follows up on the briefer’s reference to The Day the Earth Stood Still.

“That movie, Close Encounters, was that one of them?” asks Reagan.

“Yes, Mr. President, we provided the basic subject matter for that movie,” the briefer answers.

Reagan: “Was it based on a real incident?”

In the alleged transcript, the “caretaker” briefing the president answers with an overview U.S. Government activities following the “Roswell incident” and in the following years. The explanation is an answer in the affirmative to Reagan’s question.

Reagan: “OK, this is just amazing! I can see, about that movie. The movie was based on a real event. I saw that movie. Twelve men left, along with Richard Dreyfuss.”

Then-CIA director William Casey tells Reagan, “Mr. President, yes, the movie was similar to the real event, at least the last part of the movie.”

FACT AND FICTION

Creative works such as films, TV, books, articles and other media are often presented as non-fiction or fiction. However, the lines between these two categories are often blurry.

Documentary or non-fiction works might sometimes have inaccuracies or misrepresentations, both precise and more subtle.

Fictional works can contain much truth and be a representation of real events, with some details changed.

There can be many kinds of blending of fact and fiction.

Based on current public knowledge, it is unclear if the original The Day the Earth Stood Still was, in fact, partially based on real events or that the Air Force was involved in the movie’s content.

Likewise, the 2008 version starring Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly may or may not include elements based on input from insiders who may know more about the topics in the film.

The alleged 1981 briefing to Ronald Reagan that included references to the movie and to Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind may or may not be real. Or, the briefing could also be a blend of fact and fiction.

In fact, the series of UFO-related information releases of which the Reagan UFO briefing was a part have been considered by some observers to possibly contain certain facts and truths wrapped in inaccurate information.

The blending of truth and deception is a method often used in disinformation, psychological operations and similar types of intelligence activities involving public perception management. So, it is possible that some accounts, reports, information releases, rumors and tales about the UFO situation could contain truths buried within creative and fictional contexts.

Our understanding of, and adjustment to surprising situations regarding these kinds of unusual topics seemingly could be helped by movies, TV shows, books and other works that address these subjects in useful ways.

They can open our minds to possibilities and possible realities.

NOTE TO READERS: For more information on the alleged briefing to President Reagan, see the Nov. 2, 2007, article “Alleged briefing to President Reagan on UFOs posted online.”

Review – Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)

Repo: The Genetic opera - original photo by Victor de la Fuente

Repo! The Genetic Opera draws on films like Blade Runner, Rocky Horror Picture Show and Phantom of the Paradise but carves out – no pun intended – its own unique, freakish landscape.

Basically we have a creepy, ethically infected future where a corporate giant, GenCo, does organ transplants for a price. Customers unable to pay the full markup go on an installment plan. And if they miss a payment, enter the Repo Man–a legal assassin who repossesses unpaid organs.

The Repo Man isn’t a nice guy. He doesn’t even use anesthetic. He rips out guts in public or private.

But the film isn’t quite that simple. As dark, bloody and grotesque as it is, Repo! touches on several intelligent themes that demand attention in the 21st century.

The top Repo Man, expertly played by Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Anthony Stewart Head, is sort of a Jekyll and Hyde character. To his sheltered 17 year old daughter, Shilo, he’s a kind dad and family doctor. But donning his Repo headgear, he secretly transforms into a Nazi-like maniac.

To make matters worse, Shilo gets suspicious. She begins to see more to life than what dad tells her. But as a seemingly respectable doctor, the Repo Dad medicates her well and tells her she’s just “imagining things.”

The plot gets increasingly complicated and cartoon panels flesh out the main characters to help keep things clear.

Repo Promoting in downtown Berkeley by shellEProductions

Building steadily to the grand finale of the Genetic Opera, here operagoers watch on-stage gore as Shilo chooses between killing her dad – she now knows everything – or the madman behind GeneCo, Rotti Largo, who first sent the Repo Man down the path of destruction.

Meanwhile, the film audience watches the watchers and the operatic gore (some of the Toronto audience got up and danced) which gives this movie a kind of triangular feel, something which I imagine postmodern intellectuals would discuss for hours.

Musically the film is fabulous. The score swings from Pavarotti-like arias to strains reminiscent of Jesus Christ Superstar, driven by throbbing Alice In Chains style guitars. Better yet, the lyrics are well enunciated, so one doesn’t have to try to guess what’s happening.

The bottom line?

Chances are you’ll either despise or enjoy this film. Whatever the case may be, Repo! is an important social commentary just as Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange was once deemed edgy and monstrous but also respected by mature moviegoers.

Repo! is a cult classic with something to say.

–MC

Cast:

• Alexa Vega as Shilo Wallace
• Anthony Stewart Head as Nathan Wallace…He doubles as the head Repo Man.
• Sarah Brightman as Blind Mag
• Paris Hilton as Amber Sweet
• Ogre as Pavi Largo
• Terrance Zdunich as GraveRobber
• Bill Moseley as Luigi Largo
• Paul Sorvino as Rotti Largo
• Sarah Power (Nancy Long, singing) as Dead Marni
• Jake Reardon (Poe, singing) as Single Mother
• Darren Smith as Band Leader
• J. Larose as Vanity & Vein news reporter

Condensed from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repo!_The_Genetic_Opera

Elements of prophecy – reflections on the interior life

a prophet

Originally uploaded by mararie

Steven Spielberg’s science fiction film Minority Report (2002) contains an interesting idea.

Three clairvoyants called PreCogs (i.e. precognitives) spend their lives floating in a pool of water, wired up to a kind of amplifier in a state of deep meditation.

The PreCogs’ job is to predict murders that could happen in the future.

Tom Cruise, a good and honest cop, relies on the PreCogs’ leads to arrest would-be criminals just before they’re about to commit a homicide.

The film puts an interesting twist on the idea of precognition, mostly because in today’s society people with such gifts are often treated with suspicion and even disrespect.

But the PreCogs’ abilities are esteemed and they enjoy a kind of eerie reverence.

In my journey on and offline, many complex, fascinating – and even a few disturbed – seekers have crossed my path.

Some say that spirit beings or God appears or speaks to them. Others claim to see objects, places and souls through astral travel. Several believe they can read minds. And some say have had a vision of Christ or the Holy Trinity.

And like the PreCogs, others claim to foresee the future.

I studied these topics in school. It’s one thing to read about them, another to actually interact with people claiming to possess so-called paranormal gifts and abilities.

Believers in God would probably say that I’m providentially hooked up with the right people at the right time to continue to learn and grow.¹

Dealing with alleged psychics and mind-readers can be rewarding but also challenging. If psi abilities are real, to my mind there’s no guarantee they’ll be used in a sane or ethical manner. For instance, those who haven’t dealt with personal pain could take a compensatory turn to self-aggrandizement–and that kind of self-delusion could lead even the best down a very dark lane to nowhere.²

One might regard visionary and prophetic claims as a sure sign of mental instability, perhaps even insanity. But in my adult years I don’t dismiss this end of the human spectrum without careful investigation and, perhaps more importantly, recognizing the limits of conceptual understanding.

While a graduate student I became acquainted with some of the homeless in the cold streets of Ottawa, Canada. Before graduate school, I did volunteer work in a psychiatric ward in Peterborough, Canada.

All the while I’ve tried to talk to people as people, rather than as sterile objects scoped out by the clinical gaze of 21st century medicine.

Nor have I fallen into the common practice of scapegoating those who happen to be different. Scapegoating is an age-old practice alive and well today, one perpetuated by ignorance, cowardice and a brutish mentality.

But some folks do take wrong turns in the spiritual life, and some might even be continually deceived. Interior perception is an exacting process and it seems not everyone can do it very well.

Leading writers on mysticism such as Evelyn Underhill say that the sincere mystic must be humble and painstakingly analytical to avoid deception, either by the imagination or by negative spiritual influences.

When it comes to prophets, it seems most speak in such roundabout terms that their predictions could mean a thousand different things to a thousand different people. And when flat wrong, the hokey prophet tends to fudge it.

False prophecies once brazenly proclaimed as fact are quickly swept under the rug or perhaps recast as “symbolic” predictions.

Philosophers of reasoning call this an ad hoc hypothesis or possibly an instance of ex post facto [after the fact] reasoning. Rather than openly admitting mistakes as an emotionally mature psi researcher would, sham mystics usually do their best to cover it all up. Sometimes intelligently, but it’s still a cover-up, still a deception.

Genuine forms of prophecy involve a supernatural source of revealed or infused information. But this information likely passes through and is reinterpreted by the recipient’s personality.

In some instances, arguably not all, the degree of prophetic accuracy is directly proportional to the spiritual purity of (a) the recipient’s personality and (b) the information source. In other words, a message may be subject to personal interpretation, gross distortion, or worse, distorted to begin with.

But it’s not quite that simple.

If God is all-powerful, weak and tawdry personalities could be chosen for genuine prophecy, even for a short while, like a temporary override or “download” from above.

To draw an analogy, a hostile spy uses the internet illicitly but once in a while visits life affirming web sites. Recall from the Biblical tradition that the young David slew Goliath in the name of the Lord, later to become an adulterous King. David wasn’t a prophet, per se, but he’s a good example of God doing miraculous things through a weak personality.

An integrated model of prophecy sees the prophetic content and the personality of the prophet as two items in dynamic relationship where two events happen as they should.

According to this schema, God knows in advance how a prophet will interpret a given revelation; therefore God tailors the style and content of that revelation to fit with the prophet’s psychological makeup. The final result is a message appropriate for a given culture at a specific historical time and place.

Most Muslims, for instance, believe that Muhammed is God’s perfect messenger. The Koran says that Moses and later Jesus were prophets right for their time, but a much-needed update was provided in the person and teachings of Muhammed.

Meanwhile Jews tend to see Jesus as a very wise man–nothing less, nothing more. And Hindus tend to see Christ as another avatar or messenger who is special but not unique.

Often glossed over by well-meaning seekers and dignitaries, these three interpretations differ from the Christian tenet that Jesus is not just another prophet, messenger or nice guy but the long-awaited messiah and savior.

Some get upset over this kind of statement, probably because of Christian abuses throughout history, and perhaps in some cases because people are angry at a significant other or event and transfer that unresolved anger onto Christianity as a whole.

But facts are facts. Different faith groups see Jesus differently. And politically correct or not to say so, non-Christian religions often directly or subtly challenge the Christian belief that Jesus is the unique incarnation of God and man.

Further to Christianity, another issue arises concerning prophecy. For believers, Jesus’ accurate predictions were often misunderstood and mocked. But for Christians the greater meaning of the message more than compensates for any initial misunderstanding. For Christians, Jesus’ prophecy is about the triumph of good over evil.

Consider the following:

Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19)

Later, Christian theologians would say the ‘temple’ is God’s own body. Three days after Jesus’ crucifixion (i.e. the destruction of the temple), he rises again (i.e. the rebuilding of the temple).³

While the meaning of this particular prophecy isn’t clear at the outset, believers say it is couched in symbolic terms for soteriological purposes.

The Jesus of scripture doesn’t use his gifts to maintain a comfortable lifestyle, nor does he try to conscript workers for overt sociopolitical activism (at that time Judea was under military occupation by the Romans). His mission is about leading souls to their rightful place in everlasting heaven.

Not just a good man or another avatar, Jesus, so Christians believe, is perfect and unique. As God’s only son and as part of the Holy Trinity, he is both fully human and fully divine.

Christians, on the other hand, are imperfect. Thus for sincere Christians the issue of prophecy occurring after the time of Jesus becomes problematic because imperfect believers can be easily deceived.

In Catholicism, personal revelations among common folk are called private revelations. Private revelations occurring after the time of Christ are said to add nothing to the Christian faith as defined by the Catholic Church.

But revelations declared authentic may contain personal, inspirational or cultural value.

Throughout the ages, there have been so-called “private” revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith. It is not their role to improve or complete Christ’s definitive revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history. Guided by the magisterium of the Church, the sensus fidelium knows how to discern and welcome in these revelations whatever constitutes an authentic call of Christ or his saints to the Church. Christian faith cannot accept “revelations” that claim to surpass or correct the revelation of which Christ is the fulfillment, as is the case in certain non-Christian religions and also in certain recent sects which base themselves on such “revelations”⁴

Of course, many question the teaching authority of a body of individuals who’ve proved to be susceptible to temptation and prone to human error just like everybody else.

Viewed historically, it the Catholic Church has made gruesome mistakes, only to apologize hundreds of years later. Joan of Arc, for instance, was terrorized, brutalized and burned alive at the stake in 1431 as a heretic. In 1920, almost 500 years later, Joan was canonized.

Could a more subtle kind of persecution occur if a sincere saint were alive today?

The Church will find itself attacked by waves of a secret sect,
and corrupted priests will scandalize the Church

- Sr. Marianne de Jesus Torres (17^th century)

This prophecy of St. Marianne de Jesus Torres has proved to be at least partially true.⁵ And it might point to one of the reasons why so many intelligent and caring people are asking tough questions about not only Catholic, but most forms of organized religion in the 21^st century.⁶

Notes

1. It’s always been my hope that others will gain something positive from these interactions.

2. Many saints lament that vanity and jealousy figure in the spiritual life. Apparently the more we open to spiritual realities, the more we become vulnerable to temptation and deception. Because evil is about destroying souls, the saints say that it uses every trick in the book to trap souls in astral realms or worse, hell itself. As the Book of Genesis suggests, the serpent is the subtlest of all creatures in the garden of Eden.

3. (a) Related passages:

“We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.’ ” (Mark 14:58)

“for we have heard him say that this Nazarene, Jesus, will destroy this place and alter the customs which Moses handed down to us.” (Acts 6:14)

“You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross” (Matthew 27:40).Those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads, and saying, “Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, (Mark 15:29).

Source: New American Standard Bible.

(b) This is not the place to outline theological debates about the apparent harmony or, on the other hand, contradictions of the Christian Bible. Much has been written both for and against the many slight and significant discrepancies which, depending on one’s theological position, do or do not occur.

(c) Various issues arise when we consider that some of the early Christians mistakenly believed that Jesus would return within their generation (see, for instance, Matthew 10:22-23; 16: 27-28; 24: 30-34, 1 Peter 4:7, 1 Corinthians 7:29-31, Hebrews 1:1-2). The following questions have been asked: With regard to Matthew, were Jesus’ words meant to be taken literally? Was Jesus, himself, mistaken? What did Jesus really say (if anything) before this gospel was written? Did Jesus convey these words through the vehicle of the gospel writer? Concerning Matthew and the remaining passages, did powerful spiritual experiences eclipse the gospel writers’ better judgment? On this point, human beings often make interpretive mistakes when confronted with overwhelming experiences. Did the early Christians literally interpret revelations which later took on theological meanings?

4. Catechism of the Catholic Church, par. 67. Catholic theology has looked at the problem of prophecy in its own unique way. St. Thomas Aquinas is often cited in Catholic discourse about prophecy. But we should recall that Aquinas apparently said that his voluminous writings seemed like a “house of straw” after he had a direct encounter with God toward the end of his life.

5. While some try to downplay pedophilia among the priesthood and subsequent cover-ups, there really is no way to put a good face on this perverse and shameful phenomenon.

6. Jeffrey Mishlove reviewed Speilberg’s Minority Report from a different angle. The review is informative and has some good links.

Copyright © Michael W. Clark All rights reserved.

Deep DNA memory theories: Can we remember our ancestors’ lives?

DNA originally uploaded by gravitywave at Flickr

By Steve Hammons

Research into the nature of DNA has revealed that this material within each cell of our bodies has important implications for who each one of us is, on many levels.

In addition to determining our physical characteristics, our vulnerabilities to certain diseases, and maybe even our personality, is it possible that the DNA helix holds some of the important memories of our ancestors?

Theories that suggest that we can tap into the deep nature of DNA to uncover ancient memories are not new. In the 1960s, some psychological researchers claimed that there may be keys that unlock our DNA, revealing experiences of generations of our relatives who lived long before our present time.

In the 1988 movie ALTERED STATES starring William Hurt, the main character, a research scientist (Hurt) dives deep into his consciousness and genetic roots. In the film, he not only relives ancient experiences of his ancestors, he actually changes on the biological level.

This film was reportedly based on the real-life research of prominent psychologists and medical researchers of the 1960s and ‘70s who used isolation tanks and pharmacological triggers to access deep DNA memories and experiences, which they claimed were real.

These ideas are similar in a way to the concepts of past lives and reincarnation. However, this DNA-related line of thinking focuses on the previous lives within us that are based on genetic memories, encoded on the DNA helix within us.

BLUEPRINT, MEMORY BANK, INNER SPACE

The DNA within all living things is the blueprint for what each organism becomes, subject to the environmental influences that can also have significant effects.

For humans, recent discoveries about DNA are rapidly changing our views about the importance of this material. DNA may affect us much more significantly than we imagined. And, it may hold keys to further discoveries.

It has long been known that our physical appearance is determined by the combination of DNA from our mother and father. Now, researchers are confirming that certain diseases and disorders have direct links to our DNA. Our health may be programmed to some degree by our genetic history.

Our IQ and aptitudes, musical skills, athletic ability, even our psychological and emotional traits may be significantly affected by the DNA within us.

It has been demonstrated that experiences necessary for survival of a species are learned and that this knowledge is passed on to subsequent generations. In some cases this is mostly likely at least partially through DNA and the unconscious “instinct” that results. Even tiny and simple organisms learn crucial survival skills and pass these on.

For humans, with our relatively complex brain, feelings and memories, what other kinds of experiences might be saved in our DNA over the many thousands of years when our ancestors were born, lived and died? And, can they be accessed by us here and now?

OUR ANCESTORS WITHIN US

Because learning about situations that are necessary for survival of a species are probably saved as a kind of unconscious genetic memory, those fundamental human experiences could be deep down in our DNA somewhere.

Let’s say you have always had a significant fear of bears since you were a child. Even Smokey the Bear and other friendly Hollywood bears could not convince you to regard bears with anything but anxiety and fearful feelings.

Maybe it is possible that deep, deep within your DNA memory banks, your great-great-great-great-grandmother or great-great-great-great-grandfather had a very bad experience with a bear two hundred years ago. Maybe they saw someone be killed by a bear. Maybe they had to climb a tree to save themselves from being eaten by a bear.

Would a life-changing experience like this, resulting in knowledge very useful for survival, possibly be encoded in the DNA and passed on to future generations and you?

If there were a way to go deep down into your mind and consciousness, and into your genetic history, maybe through some kind of altered state like a dream or through some kind of trigger, could you recall and experience that event?

Could you relive and re-experience in some way great-great-great-great grandma’s or grandpa’s harrowing and hair-raising close encounter with a hungry bear two hundred years ago?

What about some similar “peak experience” or life-changing event of an ancient relative five hundred years ago? What about five thousand years ago? After all, we know that at least some part of that history is inside all of us, right in the DNA in every cell of our body, right now.

WHAT WE KNOW AND DON’T KNOW

Scientific researchers are gradually uncovering the secrets of our DNA. They have identified the functions of and relationships between some of this material. Many genes remain a mystery and their purpose is unknown.

Sometimes, these mystery genes are called “junk DNA.” According to some researchers, this may be an inaccurate label. Because the purpose and nature of this DNA material is not understood, it certainly does not mean it is useless junk.

As is often the case in scientific discovery, the more we know, the more we realize how little we know. Each question answered can raise many new questions.

For some, our human overconfidence and even arrogance can sometimes trick us into believing that we know all of the answers.

However, in the field of genetics research, there seems to be so much that is not known, that for an open-minded person, these kinds of theories about deep DNA memories cannot be ruled-out.

To conduct our own personal research and to find out for ourselves, maybe all we need to do is listen to our inner DNA.

Listen to the voices, feelings, sights and experiences of our ancestors. Their lives, joys and fears are within us. In that way, they are with us always.

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