Over the last thirty odd years, since as early as I can remember even in childhood, I have noticed that a peculiar phenomenon exists within the consciousness of most people we share the world with, no matter their age, nationality, religion, class or financial situation. Even those considered “intelligent” doesn’t seem to prevent them from operating from this perspective most of the time, despite how limiting and potentially impeding it can be.
Simply put, what we find is that most people are either natural born skeptics regarding anything they believe “does not exist” or “isn’t real”, OR through the years they begin to develop this viewpoint… that one shouldn’t believe in ANYtning, no matter how plausible or enticing, that doesn’t already exist and have the recognition and agreement of “most people”. And when hey refer to “most people”, they’re referring to people like them, in their neck of the woods, in their country, who speak their language. (How many times have we traveled half way around the world to a “foreign” country and discovered something — be it an idea or a philosophy or a physical thing like a new food or a new style of music) — that we had absolutely no idea even existed? It happens, right? But we do find many people who simply don’t believe in things unless it’s what they consider “common knowledge”. Personally I’ve always found it strange. Even as a boy.
For the millions of people who have lived and died since the dawn of man all the way up until the 1500s it was common knowledge and accepted fact that the earth we lived on was flat; AND that the giant fiery sun in our solar system revolved around this flat earth. … That’s what made a year obviously and everyone knew it. No one even questioned it. But a few… And they weren’t treated too well for their questioning. So it’s no wonder that most people tend to stick with knowledge that’s been “approved” by the powers that be and society in general.
The only problem with the flat earth at the center of the universe ideas was that these heavily studied, long established facts simply weren’t true. It took thousands of years for the powers that be to acknowledge this. A knowledge of history reminds us that even after the controlling powers at the time began realizing that these ideas were utterly and completely wrong, they continued to proclaim that they were scientific fact and imprisoned anyone who dared to challenge them.
Humans are funny creatures. As mean, dimwitted and stubborn as they are fascinating and innovative. Of course “power” — maintaining it in the name of a giant all-seeing deity in the sky — was the primary motivating factor behind the above example. Though the world’s major religions will claim today that maintaining power had nothing to do with it and instead they were just trying to defend “the holy word of God” and his “Church”. Underneath it all was a major problem though. The so-called “Church” claimed that it got it’s information from the Big Man upstairs, that the so-called Pope had a direct connection with God Himself. And they’d been promoting these ideas for over a thousand years already. To admit that a mere human being could discover the true mechanisms of the solar system AND that it completely contradicted what the Church and God had been promoting had profound implications. It was no easy pill to swallow I’m sure.
That covers why the major powers of the world refused to accept reality; but what about the common everyday person on the street? What prevents them from dismissing potential realities that seem obvious but have just not been fully proven yet? It’s an interesting thing to ponder. Fear perhaps…
But let’s move on and let those sleeping dogs continue their slumber. For our point is not so much about the large institutions and controlling elite, but rather it’s more to do with everyday people and their unwillingness to believe in anything outside the ordinary unless its existence is formally announced to them as “official doctrine” by some alleged self professed authority, AND they feel a relative confidence that “everyone believes it now,” that they’re “not the only one”.
Therein may lie the root of the limitation: the need to fit in, to feel a part of something larger than oneself, to not feel different or, God forbid, “abnormal”. Which is too bad, because we can only imagine how much faster our evolution would move if as a whole we weren’t always being held back by this group of individuals who refuse to accept the reality of anything that hasn’t already collected dust in an old textbook or two for a few decades. It could also be fear of the unknown. Fear of the potential implications of one new reality or another not being as good for us as things are now. We can all relate to that feeling.. But do we let it cut us off from exploring or entertaining the possibility of new cutting edge ideas that at first glance seem radical if not crazy…?
Don’t get me wrong. I understand the temptation to be skeptical of claims that sound outlandish. Healthy skepticism is a powerful tool for self survival. But we aren’t speaking of healthy skepticism here. We’re speaking of those guilty of gross negligence in regards to branching out beyond their own indoctrination to study research explore and educate themselves on subjects that have popped up on their radar multiple times yet they still refuse to look into it, let alone consider the possibility of it being true.
Consider ideas such as dark matter. THIS is actually what led to this Diaries post. Dark Matter holds much more for some future potential major paradigm shifts in how we view and operate in the world than we are now giving it credit for. (Which if we have time, we can dig into a little deeper down below.) But when Vera Rubin first proposed the idea that empty space was NOT in fact empty at all, but rather could actually be filled with particles (matter) that we simply didn’t have the ability to see, it was almost immediately dismissed, scoffed at and poo-poo’d for decades by the world’s leading scientists as nothing more than science fiction. Until we discovered it that is.
Ramifications:
Or consider the idea of multiple parallel (or not parallel perhaps…) universes, what some are now calling “the multi-verse”. It’s not easy to guess that most people when asked about the possibility of such a thing would laugh at first and then claim that they find it hard to believe. There is also the idea, first proposed as a viable possibility by Super String theorists, that there may be many more dimensions in the known universe (at least 10 to 12 according to Super String Theory) besides the three that we all so casually accept as truth without a second thought because it’s what they teach us in school from the moment we sit down at those desks. Hell, even string theory — the idea that at the very core of all matter is actually vibrating energy — (for me personally a much more realistic possibility than what is currently believed) is having a tough time being accepted by the majority of the scientific community; and regular everyday non-scientists, most of them anyway, seem oblivious that the idea even exists.
Further out, there are phenomenon like ESP, the ability to feel or read the thoughts and feelings of others, telekinesis, being able to see into the future or past — what some of us call “finely honed intuition”, astral travel, time travel with consciousness in order to overcome the limitations presently being created by our having physical bodies that could never withstand actual physical time travel…the list goes on and on. How often in our day to day life have we encountered someone or a group of someones who when bringing up any of these ideas immediately turn to sarcasm or making jokes or poking fun without even for a moment contemplating the ideas or studying themselves? It’s as if they’re waiting for it to be broadcast on the nightly news or CNN in order to even ponder the possibilities.
Just Because We Don’t Know it Exists Does Not Mean It Doesn’t Exist
This is what I found myself thinking about while studying some of the latest science on dark matter last night. I still remember learning about it decades ago, and frankly to me, based on the reasons for it being hypothesized, the problems it was meant to solve, and some of the readings future scientists were getting while studying the theory themselves, it seemed a rather sane logical elegant and brilliant solution. But as many know, we were in the minority if we felt this way. Now of course it’s quickly becoming a “thing”. Accepted.
Last night I asked myself, “Why is it that I am so naturally inclined to step out, explore and even entertain the possibility of these more esoteric, unproven ideas? Compared to others who lean more logical, science-based and pragmatic. Then it hit me. I’d been doing it all my life.
The method is simple. In order to break free from this commonly held limiting belief that “it doesn’t exist unless I can see it” is to simply spend a few minutes reflecting on history, either the BIG history of the universe, or even just the shorter history of humankind, focusing your attention especially on major transformative events (the advent of the first wheel as a tool, or the mastering of creating controlled fires rather than just always being victims of them). Then spend some time reflecting on the myriad profound moments of discovery and innovation — such as the invention of flying machines, or the immensely powerful energy of fossil fuels such oil, or the discovery of how to harness and use electricity…). All things that until their discovery or invention had always been dismissed as fantasy, pipe dreams or the ramblings of mad men. These past events offer proof that just about anything is possible if we set our hearts and minds to it, no matter how outlandish it may seem in “the present”, for there’s one thing we know for sure, we aren’t going to stay in the present for very long. The implications created by contemplating things from this angle can be quite profound if one allows their imagination to run free. Given enough time, theoretically speaking, one could posit that nothing in the world is “impossible”.
Now take a moment and consider the world of today and all the many things that we in the modern world accept as realities to the point of taking them for granted. Consider jumbo jets in the thousands flying above our heads no strings attached transporting tens of thousands of people from one point on the map to another. You can guarantee that if you showed this reality to someone, anyone, living 200 years ago they would surely think that either you or they were insane and you’d be lucky if they didn’t immediately think you were “practicing witchcraft or the work of the devil”.
And let’s face it, jumbo jets and being able to fly is just one of countless examples of the new realities we’ve created or discovered throughout our evolution. The point — and the real power — is that even a few minutes of contemplation on where we’ve been and where we are now reveals thousands of “things” that were once considered not to exist or impossible, and yet now are as common as a box of tissue. So to me it’s always seemed quite odd when I encounter someone who just flat out refuses to even accept the possibility of something that is not as yet considered thoroughly proven to be true.
A question arises… So just when DO most people start believing things exist that they once thought impossible? Is it when they see it with their own eyes? Or when they hear other people casually talking about it or announcing it on the nightly news? Most of the time, by the stage that a new reality reaches this point of broad impact and acceptance in the mainstream it has already been in existence or been known for a few years. At least. One would think this is an experience most people would want to avoid, always being the last to know about the latest and greatest; operating from archaic knowledge and thus making important life decisions from there, or even worse, always being that person who insists on arguing that something is not real true or possible when others already have experienced it and know it to be true. These are those “I’m not saying I don’t believe that YOU BELIEVE you had that experience….” You’ve heard the rest of that sentence before I’m sure. No need to repeat it.
Besides the awkward social ramifications of walking around with that kind of “I’ll believe it when I see it” mindset, there’re even more important considerations. Specifically in regards to service to our fellow man. I’ve always referred to it through this quote, “If you’re not on the way, then you’re in the way.” Simply put, for every person who is unable or unwilling to believe in things as of yet considered unproven impossible supernatural paranormal or pure fantasy, that’s one less person helping others on our journey to make “that” (whatever that happens to be) a reality. And all that does is limit manpower, potential resources and perhaps most importantly the creative force of mass consciousness when united behind one goal or mission. For every person who remains stubbornly persistent that some incredible sounding potential reality doesn’t exist or will never exist, general progress slows down and is limited. And that affects everyone.
One Final Note
For other purposes I often practice a similar exercise as the one above, but it’s inverse. Put as simply as possible, I take a specific moment in time when I know I have free time avail and for anywhere from ten minutes to a few days, I attempt to envision and ponder the discoveries, innovations and inventions of the future. Going out at least twenty-five to fifty years I believe is the minimum needed. Going out further just requires more imagination and vision. Of course this requires more imagination than memory or thought, (though remembering and thinking both help the eneavor as conscoiusness weaves in and out of all three spontaneously depending on what it’s going after in each moment). One cool thing you may notice once in a while is that you will jump from imagination right up into intuition. It’s subtle at first. But you’ll get this visceral feeling of excitement and/or perhaps a mental “ah hah!” as you recognize that you are no longer imagining something from the future, but you’re most likely either seeing it (intuition) OR perhaps even inventing it (but in that future time period). I take notes whenever I chance upon something we could use here-now. But in general It’s a beneficial and fascinating way to stay connected with a much larger section of the timeline itself AND has the potential to yield some brilliant discoveries.
– Posted by The Ambassador using BlogPress on an iPhone