The Doors Of Perception

It is estimated that our Milky Way galaxy contains roughly 300 billion stars.  Further estimates are that the Universe contains roughly 170 billion galaxies, some with far more than a trillion stars in them.

Over the past two decades, a combination of techniques and studies have so far found 925 planets in 713 systems (presumably excluding ours) in a bubble centered on Earth roughly 300 light years in diameter.  Considering the Milky Way is 250,000 light years across, that's a tiny fraction of one galaxy out of 170 billion.  I won't post any links.  You can verify the numbers easily enough.

There are a lot of estimates out there, but the median guess is that there are a couple of billion Earth-like planets in the Milky Way alone, meaning roughly the same size, water/oxygen environment, Goldielocks Zone, etc.  Just 20 years ago, we could put any number here, but using statistical reasoning (take it for what you will), we now have a fairly reasonable assurance of some kind of validity.

A number of years ago, a fellow by the name of Drake came up with a back-of-the-envelope equation as a talking point for a symposium.  The idea was to somehow quantify the idea of possible life in the Universe.  Some of the variables were fairly well agreed upon, others were just plucked from the air, but no matter how you sliced it, you got a pretty big number for an answer.

This led to the Fermi Paradox.  You have probably heard of Enrico Fermi in high school physics, but you may not know his paradox:

• The Sun is a young star. There are billions of stars in the galaxy that are billions of years older;
•  Some of these stars likely have Earth-like planets[2] which, if the Earth is typical, may develop intelligent life;
•  Presumably some of these civilizations will develop interstellar travel, a technology Earth is investigating even now;
•  At any practical pace of interstellar travel, the galaxy can be completely colonized in a few tens of millions of years.

In other words, why aren't we up to our Blessed Assurances in extra-terrestrials?  Another question that arises is how likely is it that Earth is a colony of some other civilization?

Aye, there's the rub.

Without empirical data, i.e. some 'authority' offering us plebes indisputable 'proof' that we are not alone, then we cannot reasonably say without a doubt that we are not alone.  However, given the statistical estimates based on observation that fall out of the data we have, it is unreasonable to assume that we are alone.  We have found life in virtually every possible habitat on Earth, so why wouldn't life take to pretty much every habitat we observe in the Universe?

There is a growing minority that believes some combination of the following:

• the Universe is teeming with life;
• we are a legacy of some other civilization;
• we are being visited by other civilizations;
• we are actively engaged in contact with other civilizations.

The first premise I find hard to resist.  Everything we have observed about life on Earth argues that the Universe produces life as a normal function of its existence.  Given the umpteen trillion possibilities that we can reasonably assume to exist, we cannot possibly be the only result achieved.  Whether all results have the ability to recognize each other, much less contact each other, remains to be seen.  After all, we are still debating whether we are the only sentient beings on Earth.  India just recently declared dolphins non-human persons and chimpanzees can learn and manipulate human language.  We can't even agree on what constitutes intelligence.

The second point is a bit more contentious.  There is a growing body of evidence that human civilization is a legacy of some past advanced society.  Even if we dismiss myths such as Atlantis, there are still profound questions about the genesis of monolithic structures that predate anything approaching recorded history.  There are hundreds of submerged structures, roads and cities all over the planet that exhibit advanced architecture and are obviously part of some earlier time when the Earth's coastlines were radically different.

There is also the mystery of our DNA.  A large chunk of our genome is referred to as 'junk DNA', but a significant number of researchers question that designation.  Others speculate that it serves some as yet unknown purpose.  Still others say that it encodes data from a more ancient civilization waiting for us to discover how to read it.  Much of this involves belief, which still requires a leap of faith.  In other words, there is no surety, at least on the level of 'generally accepted' reality.

The third proposition is that we are being visited by other civilizations.  Here we step firmly into the UFO argument.  I think it is unreasonable to deny that there is a phenomenon called UFOs.  I personally have had three experiences with aerial events that I still cannot explain with 'normal' means.  There are also a great many respected and intelligent people who have witnessed these things, from astronauts to beat cops, and are presumably sober and professional in their descriptions.

Furthermore, the observed behavior of many UFO sightings show some kind of intelligent control, since they seem to do things and go places that exhibit premeditation and reaction to environmental conditions.  Whether they are man-made, powered by ETs, or just dolphin technology remains to be seen.  Too many of the reported sightings of beings inside the objects smack of religious delusions for my tastes.

I must conclude that they exist and that many of the phenomena exhibit intelligent control, but I reserve judgement on who or what that intelligence might be.

The final proposition is the most controversial: that some groups on Earth are not only in contact with, but are actively involved with extra-terrestrial societies.  It would seem that the former Canadian Defense Minister believes this to be true.  One assumes that he is a sober and reasonable man based on his title, but I also apply the "Weiner Filter" to any and all public officials.

From von Danekin to Linda Mouton Howe to Richard Hoagland, lots of people speculate on this particular idea, and (in the case of Hoagland) present a lot of evidence worth pursuing, to boot.  Yes, the evidence warrants further investigation, but it is a bit premature to dive head-first into the "contact" camp without some evidence that meets 'reasonable doubt' tests.

What we can reasonably conclude is that there is a large and growing body of evidence that the Universe is full of life and likely other civilizations.  We can also see plenty of evidence throughout the solar system that appears to be manufactured architecture, even massive spacecraft, that deserve much greater investigation, and not just swept off the table as 'tricks of light and shadow'.  Far too much of it cannot be explained by generally accepted phenomena and methods.

There is a huge body of research on ancient myths and legends across hundreds of human societies that show remarkable similarities despite the common belief that far-flung humans had no contact in ancient times.  Wallace Thornhill, Joseph Campbell and Joseph Farrell have, among many others, presented compelling arguments linking ancient myths to real phenomena.

What it comes down to is that we must approach these ideas with open minds.  That doesn't mean unqualified acceptance, as is expected with religious beliefs, but sober and thoughtful consideration of the facts, and support of those efforts that seek to prove or disprove the conclusions.

Among those who believe that ancient human societies had no contact with each other, they posit that the distances and natural barriers between societies was greater than the technology of the time could overcome.  Thus, they were unable to exchange ideas across great distances, such as the Pacific Ocean.

In the same way, those who argue that Earth cannot be in contact with other civilizations because of the vast distances and natural barriers that exist between star systems.  Cosmological Pacific Oceans, if you will.

Yet, there are petroglyphs in California that bear ancient Chinese symbols.  There are ancient Chinese records that show drawings of prickly pear cacti.  There are Egyptian mummies that test positive for cocaine, and pyramids in Central and South America.  There are symbols, such as the swastika, that span ages and continents.  Obviously, there is an error somewhere in our currently 'accepted' history.  It is thus reasonable to assume that if there are other civilizations, that we could have had contact at any point in our history, and the knowledge has been lost, hidden or suppressed for whatever reasons, and certainly undiscovered.

And that is the point.  Clear thinking means that we may come to conclusions based on the evidence at hand.  In fact, we must make conclusions in order to function with any amount of effectiveness.  However, we must be open to new evidence, even if it contradicts what we have already concluded, no matter how seemingly fantastic it is compared to what we previously believed.  All knowledge is open to new evidence, otherwise there is no use to calling ourselves 'thinking' beings.

Nor can we even call ourselves alive.

As J.B.S. Haldane famously said, "Now my own suspicion is that the Universe is not only queerer than we suppose, it is queerer than we can suppose."

My Mouth's Watering!

Holy Cow

We frequently hear folks say, “You have to have an open mind.”

There’s a lot of talk about open minds and opening your mind, but few people seem to want or try to explain just what an open mind is.  Perhaps it is because they don’t really understand it themselves.  It is not easy to have an open mind.  It is the very nature of our upbringing that closes our minds, and we must make a conscious effort to pry open the boundaries that have been artificially placed on our thinking.

It begins with the most basic sensory input.  You are hungry, so you eat.  Certain feelings, sounds, smells, and sights become associated with specific automatic responses.  When it’s dark, you automatically think you can’t see, so you are not open to the possibility that you may be able to see with other means.  People who become blind late in life describe how their other senses take over and become enhanced.  That’s not strictly true.  They’ve always been there, we just haven’t paid attention to them.

If you are raised to believe that the sky is green, then you will resist, possibly violently, anyone who tells you differently.  You are quite sure the sky is green because it has been green all your life.  Now this other guy is telling you, “No, it’s blue.  Everyone knows its blue.”  Your mind automatically shuts out the new information and you actively try to distance yourself from anyone who tells you the sky is blue.

These automatic responses are not necessarily bad.  Certainly, when you are hungry, your mind begins to envision foods that would satisfy the craving.  What foods you imagine are strictly cultural, of course.  

A Texan might picture a thick T-bone steak, medium rare, flame grilled and served with a baked potato all the way.  A Texan can hardly imagine a decent meal that doesn’t include a healthy serving of beef.  

An Hindu Indian will starve to death surrounded by cattle, and never have a single thought that they are looking at food.  An Indonesian, on the other hand, will immediately picture rice.  Whatever else goes with it is not nearly as important as the rice itself.  In fact, Indonesians have a difficult time imagining how anyone can be satisfied by a meal that doesn’t include a good-sized portion of rice.

It’s all in our conditioning and training.  We associate good feelings and experiences with certain sensory input, and when we receive that input, our minds and bodies respond accordingly.  

To me, the smell of cooking bacon is the very essence of a hearty breakfast, but I daresay my Muslim friends here would be appalled.  Training and conditioning.

As I said, these responses are not intrinsically bad, but there are two key problems with them.  One is that they close our minds to new possibilities, experiences and learning.  The other is that they can be turned against us, and used to control us by external means.

Not long after I arrived in Indonesia, I was treated to a completely new experience.  Some friends next door had prepared a special meal that was a cultural favorite.  It happened to be dog.  Of course, I ate it, but it was interesting that I had to battle my body’s automatic revulsion, which was based solely on my cultural programming.  In fact, the food was very good and quite spicy, which I love.  But my mind kept rejecting the experience because I was trained that dogs are pets, not food.  I was finally able to uninstall the automatic response by examining it and controlling my unconscious reaction.  It took an effort, but was not impossible.

In the same way, we must first make ourselves aware of our automated responses to input.  That involves not only knowing when it happens, but exploring when and why that response was programmed.  At that point, we can begin to uninstall the reaction and start to learn and grow.

The second problem is the use of our automated responses against us.  

All our lives, we are shown flags and logos and symbols of power, and those items are carefully associated with natural responses to protect and defend our homes.

By carefully manipulating how and where those symbols are shown, we are trained with Pavlovian responses to have certain reactions to certain stimuli.  

For instance, the World Trade Center was a symbol of American power and wealth.  It was used in media all the time, in certain contexts, to install particular subconscious responses of pride and nationalism.  After they were destroyed, there was a famous photo that made the rounds of firefighterz standing on a pile of rubble with the US flag amidst the destruction.  

Gut Reaction

There is not one American who didn’t have some visceral reaction.  The majority were angered and dismayed.  They wanted revenge, even though the symbols being used had nothing to do with their daily lives, and in fact most Americans were not the least bit personally affected by the event.  After all, the targets were the banksters and the military/industrial complex, both anathema to true American values.

As a consequence of the emotional manipulation, people are completely close-minded to any information that challenges their pre-installed reactions, and thus their beliefs.  They find it impossible to even entertain over-whelming evidence that the money in their pockets and the nationalistic emotions installed since their youth could possibly be used as weapons against them.

Most will react angrily, even violently, to any suggestion that the official story is anything less than the unvarnished truth.  Their mental conditioning actively filters any information that contradicts the programming they have received.  These folks will not analyze their feelings and reactions, instead they will fight anything that goes against them.

Just watch commercials.  Those are the easiest codes to see.

Look at the woman who comes in the door with a bag that have a loaf of bread and celery leaves sticking out of the top.  Where has she been?  What lifestyle does she have, based on the setting of her house?  Is she wearing a wedding ring?

Look at the ones with a man and women discussing a topic.  Are they wearing wedding rings?  What are the settings and implied social status of the people in the scene?  What is the color and quality of the lighting?  Is it made to look natural or artificial?  Carefully look at all the objects in the background.  They are all placed there on purpose to tell you something, whether you are aware of it or not.  

Nothing in TeeVee commercials is accidental.  You are being subtly programmed and manipulated.

One very popular technique is called the ‘opinion leader.’  This is when the advertisement uses symbols to tell us that one of the people in the scene is superior and more knowledgeable: a white frock and stethoscope…an older person and a younger one…framing that puts one person above (superior) to the other.  Through the subtle use of camera angles, lighting, costumes, and other cues, we subconsciously respond to those people as ‘opinion leaders,’ so whatever they tell us gets past certain blocks and filters in our minds.  

The relationship of a parent and child, a very strong stimulus-response in every human being, is used to control our thinking.  When we are small, we must look up to adults, so by placing the camera below eye-level of the character, we subconsciously respond as if we are children.

The way people are conditioned and respond to stimuli are well understood.  It has been intensely studied for several centuries.  Psychology, behavioral sciences and sociology have categorized and classified the way most of us respond to a given set of stimuli.

There are dozens of famous experiments, and many more classified ones, that have reduced the process of programming himans down to 'point and click' simplicity.

Madison Ave. has made an art out it.  Why, people didn't have body odor until after WWII, when advertisers convinced us that we smell.  In fact, think about how many products you use in your daily life that are really worthless.  They serve no real purpose except to separate us from our money by manipulating our desires.

Pavlov's Dog

The one experiment that is so famous, it has become an adjective, is Pavlov's dog.  Pavlov put a tube in a dog's mouth and quantified how much saliva the dog released when exposed to certain stimuli.  Then he trained the dogs that food was available when they hear a certain bell.  After a short time, the dogs would salivate just from hearing the bell, with no food anywhere near them, or even within smell range.

How often are your fears and insecurities preyed upon by corporations and government to elicit certain feelings nad reactions from you, without you even knowing it's being done?  How many Amber Alerts and 'terrorist attacks' and 'bin Ladens' will it take before you open your mind.

See...that's the thing.  An open mind doesn't mean you are suseptible to suggestion.  Just the opposite.  It means you have turned off the automated part of your psyche and freed yourself from the manipulation of those who would own you.