Thursday, January 27, 2011

The Skeptic

I pride myself in my skepticism. There is no bit of understanding I will not reconsider if evidence arises that suggests I might be wrong. What I'm trying to avoid is the calcification of my head; i.e. the setting of an idea in proverbial stone, no matter what evidence there is that would suggest there is a healthier, more flexible, more honest way of thinking. This "calcification" is what we know as orthodoxy, whether that be religious, scientific, economic, political, etc. Stagnation of the brain, which is rarely terminal, but exceptionally difficult to undo once begun, especially the longer one has held fast to an orthodox belief.

About a week ago I was reading the comments to a post by John Michael Greer (http://www.archdruidreport.blogspot.com/). One of his fans offered him a You Tube link, for a presentation by a man named David Wilcock. The fan was offering it out of mockery, suggesting Greer might watch the piece if he needed a laugh. I followed the link, and what I saw, and my subsequent investigation, and by extension the work of Graham Hancock, there are three new ideas I have begun to entertain, that heretofore I would have thought implausible if not utterly ridiculous:

I. That life is not the exception in the universe, but the rule, that it arises virtually everywhere there is sufficient matter and heat.

II. That DNA responds to quantum wave mechanics, such that life, including the Earth, can be radically transformed in a relatively short period of time, by an influx of energy from the center of the galaxy.

III. That there was an advanced civilization on Earth prior to the melting of the glaciers, at the end of the last ice age.

Each one of these ideas is paradigm shifting. If I accept the first idea, I have to accept the idea that intelligent life is also the rule, and that it is probable that most of these civilizations are considerably more advanced than we are. If I accept the second idea, I must also acknowledge that the orthodox model of evolution, Darwinism, is in need of an upgrade. If I accept the third, and I allow that the pyramids are likely their work, that there are ruins of a similar sort all over the world, underwater, then I must call into question every premise about our evolution as a species, and as a civilization, ask why there is not a greater investigation into this, and allow that there is hope for living on this Earth in a way that is not so brutal, destructive and exploitative.

David Wilcock is a character, to be sure. Not only does he believe himself to be the reincarnated Edgar Cayce, when he gets to riffin' on the new world order, the Rothchilds and luciferianism, he loses me. I don't let this dissuade me from all his ideas. One product of our current political system is our descent into ideology. Once beholden to ideology, which is orthodoxy, if a man offers one idea contrary to that ideology, I throw out the man rather than the idea alone. Whatever Wilcock is, he's brilliant. I know of no man so revolutionary. That said, he is also a man, and quick to point out himself, he has plenty of flaws.

Which is part of the attraction. Because what he is saying, ultimately, is that we are in a time of radical transformation beyond anything we can conceive, that energies beyond conception are available to us. While many are raising the spectre of Apocalypse, David is suggesting instead the vision of a world of harmony and peace. That the first thing to do is to forgive oneself, to allow that I am in fact a divine being, then to forgive others, and open up. That we can envision peace or we can envision apocalypse, that we call to us the energy that we cultivate. That we are like conduits of the divine, if we allow it. That each of us is powerful beyond measure.

Whether any of these ideas are true, I'm not yet certain. They feel right, however, and that is enough for me to remain open. At the very least, I consider these ideas an invigorating infusion of energy, one I desperately needed, as I had begun to descend into a vision of another thousand years of exploitation and tyranny. I am tired of the deadening effect of existential randomness. I am tired of materialism. I am tired of hierarchy and the economics of tyranny. I want to believe we are not on the verge of a Great Contraction, but a Great Awakening. I want very much to believe in a Grand Renaissance. I want to imagine the galaxy as a living, sentient being, that we are the galaxy becoming conscious of itself, that we are on the verge of a biological upgrade, divinely inspired.

Whatever happens, it surely is a great gift to be alive in this Age.

***You can investigate these ideas for yourself on You Tube, and at http://www.divinecosmos.com/ ***

2 comments:

Wandering Sage said...

Nice post William. I have read all of Graham Hancock's books (though I didn't like his recent fiction novel) and he has discovered much that we have lost or forgotten over the millenia. There is a lot going on here on this planet that most people are not ready for.

Thanks for visiting my blog. Perhaps you would consider reviewing my book Zen Anti-Diet: Mindful Eating for Health, Vitality and Weight Loss on your blog.

in peace,
Aaron

William Hunter Duncan said...

Aaron,

I've little doubt it's a worthy read.

WHD