The Lake House

I just caught the ITLAD genre film 'The Lake House' on HBO. Although it doesn't speak directly to ITLAD, it does a very nice job with some of the related themes - especially that of time. It received only mixed reviews when released 2 years ago but I suspect many here would find it quite enjoyable.

“[The Lake House] was written by David Auburn, directed by Alejandro Agresti, and stars Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock as Alex Wyler and Kate Forster, respectively an architect living in 2004 and a doctor living in 2006. The two are introduced and share correspondence across the years by leaving letters in a mailbox at the lake house they've both lived in at separate points in time.” Wikipedia link

"The Gospel of the Second Coming" by Timothy Freke & Peter Gandy

Many years ago, when I had finished the first version of ITLAD I was not sure what I should do. I knew that one needed to secure the services of a literary agent but which one. I had heard that this was harder than getting a publishing deal so I was at a loss.

Whilst on holiday in Stoupa (a beautiful small resort on the Greek Peloponnese) I read an amazing book called The Jesus Mysteries by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy. I was really excited to discover that Freke & Gandy also discuss the Daemon and Eidolon as I had done in my book. On my return to the UK I checked out their website and fired an email of to Tim. I never expected a reply. What I received was that and more. Tim was so fascinated by my 'take' on this Gnostic belief that he suggested that I contact his literary agent. This I did and, as we like to say, the rest is history.

Tim and Peter have brought out another couple of books since Mysteries including the amazing Laughing Jesus. However it is their latest book - The Gospel of the Second Coming that is well worth reading. Not only that but it is rib achingly funny!

In this book may I draw particular attention to Chapter 10 (page 81) which has a most interesting discussion regarding the Daemon and the Eidolon.

If you are interested Tim and Peter have a website dealing with this classic book - check it out at

http://www.thesecondcoming.co.uk/

I know that Tim is aware of our little blog here ... and I will give him the "heads-up" that I have referenced his great book.

Opening paragraphs of original 2001 "Cheating THe Ferryman"

For one of those Gnostics
the visible universe was an illusion
or (more precisely) a sophism.
Mirrors and fatherhood are abominable
because they multiply and disseminate the universe.

Jorge Luis Borges
(from: Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius”).

In 1988 I purchased a book entitled “Labyrinths” written by the Argentinean poet and philosopher Jorge Luis Borges. I had come across one or two of his stories in anthologies of fantastic literature and his style and content so intrigued me that I wished to read more. I quickly discovered that although I enjoyed the strange worlds that he created I simply did not fully understand what he was about. At least once a year I took the book from my bookshelves and took a different story as a starting point. However in the way that certain books can, I found myself admiring the style rather than the content. In this way the book was to remain not fully read and not even vaguely understood, a silent testament to the success of ignorance over pretension.

Twelve years later I began research into the book you now have in your hands. Many dinner parties and frustrating pub discussions had lead me to believe that the only way that my curious cosmological theories could be understood would be if I wrote them down. For years I had watched as inquisitors, initially fascinated, became more and more puzzled by my esoteric ramblings. In a curious vindication of the overall theory I had come by my beliefs through introspection rather than research. Like Schliemann and Troy I knew that my intuitions were correct but I could back them up with no empirical evidence. However as I began my quest I discovered that every book I picked up at random from my personal library gave me the support I needed. I discovered that my ideas had not spontaneously occurred but had come together in a very deeply subliminal way. My ‘facts’ had been quietly marshalling themselves within my subconscious so that when I came to look for support my book collection became my personal Hill of Hissarlik. All the books that I had, as far as I could understand at the time, bought and read at random, showed a pattern. Gems of supportive information fell from the pages with no search needed from myself. “Cheating The Ferryman” was not being researched; it was being excavated. It lay just below the surface of my conscious mind waiting to be uncovered.

Joy within ITLADian theory

[Written in the interests of balance, and as a counter-contemplation to the excellent previous post by Hurlyburly]

How has Tony’s book and this blog brought Joy to your lives, or made you see things in a more positive light?

I’ll post my own thoughts in the comments to save blog space, and welcome ALL to share your stories and thoughts.

A Dark Philosopher
Karl L Le Marcs

Suicide within ITLADian theory

Well it's been over 4 years since i was studying one of the great founding fathers of Sociology, this of course being the wonderful Emile Durkheim who gave such a marvelous contribution to all of Sociological theory but in particular to the study of Suicide.

For all of you who perhaps aren't aware of his work, maybe this would be a good time for some Wikipedia!



So taking all of these things into account, what are the implications of this for Tony's theory? (excuse the fact that some of these questions are the same dressed differently! It's simply me trying to encourage lots of questioning in this area!)


Is Suicide a discourse for certain individuals or is it a Sin?(I don't necessarily mean in a religious context)

What would the Daemon's influence be in such an outcome? - Is it possible this decision could be encouraged? Surely there are recorded stories of voices persuading the individual to choose both paths, but not necessarily from the Daemon.

Would there still be a life review played back in real time?

Would an outcome of suicide indicate a weak Daemonic influence or merely a necessary chain of events?

If we are all making subtle changes each time striving for the perfect life/frequency is it likely that a particular individual committing suicide could ever be the desired ending (for them in their reality)?

Is Suicide an indication that an individual simply has a lot of growing and evolving to experience in order to achieve a healthier life path?


That should get the ball rolling!? You get the point right? Suicide, how does this change things at all?

IONS "Shift In Action"

On the 2nd of May 2008 I placed a blog entry onto the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) 'Shift In Action site. This has therefore been on the site nearly three weeks. This is one of a few I have placed on this site over the last couple of months. However this particular blog has proven amazingly popular. I have been watching with amazement as the number of 'reads' have became greater and greater. However in the last two days it has gone crazy. Now either there is something wrong with their counting system or my contribution has, within less than 20 days, been the most read blog entry in the history of this site (5,715 reads!). I have done a quick review back to the start of the site in February 2005 and I cannot find one contribution that has generated as much interest. It must be an error ... but if it is not this really shows how itlad and CTF are now starting to make a real impact!

Check this out on http://www.shiftinaction.com/declare?from=30

And maybe even give it a read to increase the numbers even more!

is there life after death

http://lifeafterdeath.info/Philosophical.htm

Where Is The Internet? (An Analogy)

[A continuation (and attempted clarification) of the original thought-process from my previous post The 'Sensation' Of Being Stared At and my “Collapsing The Consciousness Wave” theory within, incorporating ITLAD and CTF]

We all use it; we all think we know what it is; but where is the Internet?

This blog for instance: All of us merrily skip here to frolic in the cerebral carnival of consciousness, but where is it; where do we go to get here?

Now, consider Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity), which allows us to connect to the Internet wirelessly. The Internet is a waveform, all around us, and if we have a Laptop or a PC that is Wi-Fi enabled then our computer can collapse the waveform of the Internet and produce a particle of the Internet within our system.

Within this particle of the Internet that is your computer, you store memories (downloaded content), experiences (website history) and personality (bookmarks of favourite sites) which you can access and revisit every time you use it.

So, in effect, our computer collapses the waveform of the Internet and creates a particle of the Internet within it, which is then subjective and useable by us to store our memories, experiences and personality. Then, by using email and chat facilities, we can form Quantum Entanglements with other computers, other particles of the Internet, and these entanglements interact on the objective wave of the Internet, which is everywhere.

Therefore, I posit this as analogous to how Consciousness works within my theory:

"We are all of one consciousness," (the Internet wave)
"but experiencing itself subjectively," (Internet on our computers)
"as collapsed particles of consciousness," (our computer)
"from the objective consciousness field waveform." (the Internet)

Our Daemon in this example is therefore our Cache (that part of our computer that stores previous web-pages for faster access) so when we revisit sites we have prior knowledge of previous experiences.

Can I ask my fellow ITLADists -

Do you think my Internet/Wi-Fi/Computer analogy helps explain my “Collapsing The Consciousness Wave” theory in more accessible and personably understandable language?

A Dark Philosopher
Karl L Le Marcs

some more on osho!

Existence
You are not accidental. Existence needs you. Without you something will be missing in existence and nobody can replace it. Thats what gives you dignity, that the whole existence will miss you. The stars and sun and moon, the trees and birds and earth - everything in the universe will feel a small place is vacant which cannot be filled by anybody except you. This gives you a tremendous joy, a fulfillment that you are related to existence, and existence cares for you. Once you are clean and clear, you can see tremendous love falling on you from all dimensions.
By: Osho

Abundance
In the East people have condemned the body, condemned matter, called matter "illusory," maya - it does not really exist, it only appears to exist; it is made of the same stuff as dreams are made of. They denied the world, and that is the reason for the East remaining poor, sick, in starvation. Half of humanity has been accepting the inner world but denying the outer world. The other half of humanity has been accepting the material world and denying the inner world. Both are half, and no man who is half can be contented. You have to be whole: rich in the body, rich in science; rich in meditation, rich in consciousness. Only a whole person is a holy person, according to me. I want Zorba and Buddha to meet together. Zorba alone is hollow. His dance has not an eternal significance, it is momentary pleasure. Soon he will be tired of it. Unless you have inexhaustible sources, available to you from the cosmos itself...unless you become existential, you cannot become whole. This is my contribution to humanity: the whole person.
By: Osho

"And therefore, as a stranger, give it welcome" : A Peakian transformation of Hamlet

This post is far removed from scientific theorizing; it sprang from a tendency in me toward literary criticism, but it's subject is very much related to Tony's eidolon/daemon dyad, and hopefully can at least facilitate discussion.

It has been a source of my profound and overwhelming gratitude to Tony, that his eidolon/daemon dyad theory has - at least for me - cast a new light on all, illuminating in all directions: "everything is new, and yielding!". . .

I do not know if any fellow-bloggers are as fond of the play, Hamlet, as am I, but I have noticed as of late that it now seems brimming with eidolon/daemon references. Even the meeting with the ghost now strikes me as Hamlet in inner dialogue with his daemon. The brilliant and classic critiques and commentary by Earnest Jones and Theodore Reik were Oedipal in their focus and brought much insight and pleasure; however, viewing through Tony's lens has increased such, very much so, for me.
I have now found a pattern - a subtext - in the play, which had before escaped me, in which I see for the first time Hamlet struggling with a second self (i.e., daemonic influence, take over). Certain of his cryptic lines are now both more poignant and more revealing.

To list a few, in no particular oder (as they come from memory; I have written/presented on this play so often I feel that I can trust myself well in this regard) - The following are all from Hamlet's own mouth: [spoken by H. to the ghost] "I will follow thee, call thee Hamlet."; "Hamlet from himself be taken away"; "Hamlet does it not; Hamlet denies it"; "Hamlet [though he act]is yet of the faction wronged"; "I have that within which passeth show [surpasses his own appearance]; "shall I couple hell?" [join with an alien force]; "the body is with the king, but the king be not with the body" [i.e., the eidolon is with the daemon, yet the latter is detached and autonomous]; "he was my dying voice; the rest is silence"[of the daemon territory]. . .
There is as well visible to me for the first time a trajectory of progress, a sense not of Hamlet's madness - feigned or actual - but of a subordination to his higher self which he initially fights but finds increasingly seductive (" 'tis now the very witching time of night[daemon time]. . now I could do such bitter business as the day would quake to look upon[eidolon does not comprehend the daemon's quest]"). The dialectical process, initiated by the daemon, followed furtively by the eidolon, is revealed.
I cannot describe the way in which Tony's concept has altered this play - a life long treasure of my soul - to the point where I feel it has been rendered fully whole , at last: To my thinking, this is no small feat. The shadow of the Bard touched by Tony's concept: alchemy across the centuries! How odd, but somehow beautiful. How can I not be grateful for such transubstantiation? This is magic to a literary soul. That it was unintentional, unknown by the agent! All the more potent for its action at a distance (and spooky as well). In any case, such windfalls are few and far between.
Moreover, even Tony's theme which runs throughout ITLAD regarding TLE/schizophrenic onset is quite evident now: Hamlet speaks of "time" being somehow "set out of joint", and something has altered his thinking, "by my fare, I cannot reason"; he makes claims of perception and process both being "askew"; that he feels odd, a stranger in his own court and land, and "my imagination's all afoul." His odd comments to Horatio upon the castle platform (Horatio hears the bell strike quite loudly the hour; Hamlet's response: "Indeed, I heard it not" ) become clear: He has crossed the border, he is already, as Peake says, "falling out of time". Obviously all issues from the playwright himself, and Shakespeare at age 36 was clearly experiencing something uncanny and disturbing. A biographical study confirms this.
An interesting aside, perhaps also daemonic in its origin: Reik himself speaks of the age of about 36-38 (Ortega y Gasset places it at 26, but I think that is far from correct)as being one of profound import for the superior man, of a rising of "the man within the man"; Freud speaks of a second such movement, from about 50-53, with a point of extreme danger requiring survival at the age of 51-2 (my own husband fell just at this point). . . In any case, while I am fully aware that not all are obsessive Hamlet fans as I have been since age 28, I do think the parallels to be found within the play to Tony's dyad are profound; and hopefully this will counterbalance and compensate for the importunity of going on at such length regarding my literary passion (or perhaps not). But I will let is stand: Surely it is proper and fitting to express gratitude to Tony, for that which seems akin to the miraculous.

Glutamate - the REAL link between Autism, Epilepsy and Psychosis??

Hi.... having fought my way through the last 3 or 4 posts and their 100's of comments my brain needs to cool off a little and so I thought I'd bring things back down with a bump and create a heap of controversy (this blog doesn't have much of that does it, ha ha).

Hypothesis.... "Glutamate is the trigger for stereotypical autistic behaviour, seizures and also schizophrenia."

Some out there may already know this. Let me know if you do. No-one who talks to us about our son has ever accepted any of these links and they treat him for 3 separate conditions. So how have I been brought to this belief?

Well, it is really a combination of years of trying to understand my son's conditions and some fascinating observations of my son in the past 2 weeks. If we are right, or even on the right path, the effect could be shattering for him and maybe many others.

But without ITLAD and this blog I would have continued to miss the critical ingredient which is the power and enormity of the unconscious mind and the Daemon.

History....
We have known for 20 years that the chemical, MSG (Mono-Sodium Glutamate, E621), which is added as a flavouring in many many foods, causes our son to climb walls, babble, change personality, get angry and hyperactive. As a child, such behaviour was partially controlled by removing MSG from his diet. Nobody took us seriously that he had a condition or even that MSG could do this. They effectively patronised us. But we persisted. At 18 years old, after 14 years of trying, we eventually got someone to accept that he may have an Autistic Spectrum Disorder. But again, nobody cared to connect it to anything he ate or any predisposition to chemicals in the brain.

However, we started to read about it and there was a school of thought that Gluten may have a connection. Some reported success by cutting it out of the diet. But no-one could say why this worked, as Gluten was not really linked to brain issues per se, it just tended to be see as an issue to do with digestion and skin issues. And besides... nobody knows how the brain works, do they!? (But that still doesn't stop doctors from cramming drugs into us to help with problems of the head!)

Anyway, at 20, he had 2 big seizures for the first time, a month apart. Medics quickly treated it as epilepsy and gave him anti-seizure drugs. 3 months later, we saw the start of serious psychotic episodes of anger, paranoia, anxiety and hallucinations. Nobody knew what it was or why. No-one accepted any link to the seizures or the drugs. We could not find anyone who would even consider the possibility.

18 months ago, the psychosis was present every day, many times a day and unpredictably severe. It was a terrifying time for the family. For months, we refused to medicate, but we gave in eventually as it was becoming dangerous for him and for us. For 12 months he has been on anti-seizure and anti-psychosis drugs. The seizures seemed to be in control but the psychosis would still rear its head every few days without any obvious trigger. The Psychiatrist was surprised but agreed not to further increase the dose.

NOW HERE IS THE DISCOVERY..........
2 weeks ago, he had his first grand mal for over 2 years (See my earlier post on this). No-one can tell us why this would happen after so long. We just get sympathy and the medics wanting to increase his dose (over my dead body). Last week, he started having daily episodes of 'Mr Hyde' behaviour again. All the old hallucinations coming back and the anger etc.

We looked for what had changed in the last couple of weeks.

Just one thing came to mind.... Weetabix... he had started to eat Weetabix, by the bucket load. That's when it came to me... the old wives' tale that a Gluten free diet sometimes helped Autistic people. But is there a connection?

Well, guess what... Wheat Gluten is the modern source for producing MSG!!

NOW THE HYPOTHESIS....

1. The link to seizures and psychosis.
If some reports are true that, at the times when Glutamate 'floods' the brain, one has vivid hallucinations of one's past life, then perhaps what Glutamate is doing is 'opening the doors' of the unconscious mind and allowing it to leak into the conscious field. For some who are more predisposed, this 'leakage' is probably more of a tidal wave that overwhelms the brain and can, at worst, trigger a major seizure. At the least, it could trigger illusions, visions and voices composed in any combination from the past. It would not be unreasonable to expect such a sufferer to become very frightened, even angry or aggressive and certainly could appear psychotic if still awake! (And a thought on why people get the shakes during a seizure.... perhaps it is because the daemon/unconscious mind finds itself 'in charge' while the eidolon is out for the count... and it is nor very practiced at mundane tasks like managing a human body!)

2. Now the link to Autism
Many of you will have a view that someone with autism has difficulty relating to the 'real world' and will often hide away from it and avoid contact with people. If they are living in their 'right brain', it is no surprise - what goes on in the real world would be far from what goes on in the unconscious mind.

Conclusion

I must research more into the chemicals that could trigger the 'letting in' of the unconscious mind. It may not just be glutamate. Indeed, there is no obvious reason why it has to be the same for everyone. However, I am tempted to believe that the treatment for all 3 conditions may be the same and quite different from the traditional, subjective medications which are accepted by many as really quite hit and miss. The suppression of Dopamine may well be the right treatement for some conditions, but is this deliberate 'flattening of the personality' right for those with Autism? Perhaps all they need is an acceptance that the human mind is made up of 2 minds, one of which is connected to the universe, the other is connected to this human world and when one gets into the other at the wring time, the only possible result can be chaos..

Sorry for keeping you all up late... But I'd be really intersted to hear what yuo all think...is there merit in this? Is it total rubbish? Do you know of anyone who is doing related research?

Cheers
Ed

PS - If controlling the amount of Glutamate in one's head can help manage the overactive 'positive' side of someone's character, then maybe we should recommend daily Weetabix as a cure for people who need a bit more personality in their lives!

Some Quotes From Osho....

“Everybody is going to pass through the gates someday. If you can remember that you are only pure consciousness – not the body, not the mind, not the heart, not your money, not your prestige, not your power, not your house, but pure consciousness – then you can pass through the barrier of death unscratched... Death has power over you only if you are attached. Freedom from attachment makes you capable of entering into the universal light and becoming one with it, and that is the greatest blessing, the ultimate ecstasy beyond which nothing exists. You have come home.”-OSHO

Death is not the end of life; in fact, it is a completion of one life, the crescendo of one life, the climax, the finale.And once you know your life and its process, then you understand what death is. – Osho

“Life and death are one...in reality there is no such thing as death – life is eternal.”

Virgin Life - Deja Vu

Oh goodie it's another Virgin life post! Was just wondering if there has been any research into Virgin Lifers that do claim to have Deja vu and other Daemon based phenomenon? Is that a complete contradiction because if it is i think it's a dangerous problem. I agree with a fair majority of Tony's theory but have several issues with this Virgin Life concept that i probably couldn't do justice by attempting to explain.

Surely it can't be as simple as if you claim to have had Deja Vu than you are not a Virgin Lifer!

Simple CTF Question

Are the subsequent lives in ITLAD theory experienced in the same flesh and blood manner as the virgin life or are they played out only within our consciousness, like in a dream. From my understanding I would say the latter; however I suspect the panel would say this is incorrect.

Crystal (Eye) Ball – ‘See’ The Future ?

[Warning: Don't stare at the image too long as you will start to bend your own perception and most likely feel somewhat unwell]

.

Unfortunately, (or not, depending on your perspective), I don’t have time to compose a full post on this very interesting development in ongoing research into perception, and my many previous posts and comments regarding the temporal time delay between empirical experience and what is presented to active consciousness (Daemon to Eidolon communication), so I shall give you a link to an online report published today and an optical illusion to illustrate the findings.

“Catching a football; manoeuvring through a room full of people; jumping out of the way when a golfer yells “fore”. Most would agree these seemingly simple actions require us to perceive and quickly respond to a situation. Assistant Professor of Cognitive Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Mark Changizi argues they require something more — our ability to foresee the future.”

Crystal (Eye) Ball: Visual System Equipped With 'Future Seeing Powers'
Link to online report - "Perceiving The Present"

A Dark Philosopher
Karl L Le Marcs

The Electric Universe

A few months back I stumbled upon the works of David Talbott, an American comparative mythologist and author. Talbott contends the universe operates more by the forces of electricity than the “gravity-driven universe of prior theory.” And though much of Talbott’s Velikovsky inspired work is controversial at best, it did introduce me to the more solid (though obscure) science of plasma cosmology.

I won’t attempt to delve too deeply into this fascinating subject for fear of not doing it justice. What I will say is it completely changed my way of thinking. If you are unfamiliar with plasma cosmology I highly recommend you take the time to do some research. It sets forth the canvas from which many of the ideas discussed on this blog spring forth. A great primer on this subject can be found at the below listed web site:

"Mainstream science, for the most part, looks on the universe as electrically neutral and purely mechanical; a place where the weak force of gravity holds fort. Plasma Cosmology, by contrast, acknowledges the electrodynamic nature of the universe. Gravity and inertia are NOT the only forces at work."

http://www.plasmacosmology.net/

Electromagnetic Waves of Memory

To my knowledge the precise mechanics of memory storage has yet to be discovered, though conventional thinking places it in quasi digital format somewhere within the brain (much like the hard drive on your computer). I would argue this would be an inefficient method of data storage and prefer to take an analog approach in terms of waveform modulation and resonant oscillators.

I propose that memory is actually stored as a modulated electromagnetic wave similar to the radio signal received by your car radio. If we look at the brain as a memory converter rather than storage device then we begin to build the foundations of an extremely efficient analog computer.

I believe each one of us oscillates at a distinct central frequency determined at conception. This frequency becomes the carrier which we use to store our memories. When neurons fire in the brain a modulated electromagnetic wave (at our personal carrier frequency) is generated and propagated into the atmosphere. Individual neurons would act as bandwidth filters, each one tuned to a distinct frequency.

As we stroll thru life the inputs from our five senses are converted to an electromagnetic wave by their respective neurons and create a complex modulated analog signal. This signal becomes the film of our Bohemian IMAX and records everything we ever experience. Along with sensory input, we can also record our thoughts, emotions and certain other indiscernible inputs. And by its very nature this signal carries a built in time stamp for later memory retrieval.

Certainly the electromagnetic carrier wave we produce would not be lost. Because our bodies are a mass of electrical currents it stands to reason we carry with us our own magnetic field. This field would create a resonant oscillator at our own personal frequency. This oscillator would act as the bucket in which we stored our ‘memory waves.’ The model for this concept can be seen in Earth’s own Schumann resonances and the transmission of VLF radio signals around the globe.

The method of memory retrieval would be quite simple really. Suppose we encounter a red hot burner on the stove. We throw this visual image into our electromagnetic memory bank… and then we listen. Basic wave theory states if the signal comes back amplified then it had to be added to an existing waveform (a memory). If it is returned dampened then it has not found a match is only recorded. Once a past memory is found we can demodulate all the additional information stored on the carrier wave. There we might find heat, pain, certain smells and emotions. We now have a complete recollection of a certain image, one which has been reinforced (amplified) by our new current view.

So that’s my electronics technician view of the mind. I’m sure it’s not exact but I think it sets up a nice direction going forward. For me it helps explain certain other phenomenon such as ESP and telepathy. It seems if we were able to tune ourselves to someone else’s frequency then we could easily demodulate their thoughts (quite common among long time couples, which I feel is a direct result of entrainment). It also helps explain the Akashic record and our access to it. Our thoughts are not just our own but are also modulated with the Earth’s own resonant frequency. Not only do I have access to my own personal memories but also to all the memories of those who have come before.

Dr. Alan Roberts on Deja Vu

Dr. Alan Roberts has placed a series of his lectures on YouTube. Dr. Roberts is involved with an organisation called ISHVAL - the Institute For The Study Of Hierological Values). ISHVAL was founded in 1966 by the philosopher Eugene Halliday. This organisation continues to keep alive the life-work of this fascinating thinker.

A few weeks ago Alan did a presentation in which he examines Halliday's philosophy on deja vu in the light of my theories. This is a fascinating lecture and I suggest that if you have the time please do check it out. It can be found at http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=oybtRqwcr5M.

I am deeply honoured that others are now applying itladian philosophy to their own ideas on the nature of reality. Indeed to have my ideas discussed in the same lecture as Eugene Halliday's is honour indeed.

Thank you Alan.

Response to posting "Slow Death Experience"

Thanks RAC for a very interesting posting with regard to what is experienced by the conscious mind in the last few seconds of life. In response to this I would like to post an unpublished section of the original version of ITLAD when it was still plain old Cheating The Ferryman. In this I wrote the following:

'Bhagawhandi was dying. That was obvious to all who knew her. The doctors had diagnosed a malignant brain tumour, an astrocytoma, which was impossible to remove. She was only nineteen years old. What surprised everybody was how remarkably cheerful she was, accepting totally that she had but a short time to live. The tumour was growing larger day by day and was inching forward towards her temporal lobe. Up until this stage she had suffered the occasional seizures but nothing particularly debilitating. However as soon as pressure was placed upon her temporal lobe her seizures became more frequent – and stranger.

In the early stages of her illness the seizures had been grand mal convulsions but her new ones were altogether of a different nature. She would not lose consciousness, but would drift into an epileptic – like dream-state, similar to that described by Hughlings Jackson. She began to experience the classic ‘reminiscence’ as described in chapter 4.

However this dream-state soon developed into something far stronger. Bhagawhandi began to have very realistic hallucinations about being back in India, and not just India but the India of her childhood. In these semi-waking states she actually found herself back on the dusty streets of her old village, interacting with people and circumstances long disappeared in the mists of time. She would find herself listening to a speech being made in the village square. On one occasion she was in a church, in another in a graveyard. She claimed that she was actually re-living these memories as actual events.

As Bhagawhandi’s present life began to ebb away she began to live more and more in her new world created from her own past. The visions ceased being occasional and began to take up most of her waking hours. She lay, her young face rapt in attention to a world inside her own mind, with a faint, mysterious smile on her face. What was happening had a profound effect upon the nursing staff around her. All accepted that something very strange, but very wonderful was taking place. Nobody disturbed her allowing her her dreams.

The psychiatrist responsible for her was also fascinated. He felt awkward but was keen to know exactly what was taking place. He asked her quietly “Bhagawhandi, what is happening?”

“I am dying”, she answered, “I am going home. I am going back where I came from-you might call it my return.”

During the next week she disappeared totally into the world of her memories. She ceased responding to all external stimuli but lay with the same faint smile on her face. Three days later she quietly slipped away, returning permanently to her own past. And in this way she died, as the psychiatrist poetically described it “or should we say, arrived, having completed her passage to India”.

At first sight this case, so described in Oliver Sacks’ wonderful book The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat, seems to have many similarities with the discoveries of Wilder Penfield described in an earlier chapter. Indeed Sacks and his associates came to the same initial conclusion. However on reflection this was seen as a far more complex phenomenon. The Penfield memories were very similar to tape recordings in that if interrupted they would, if started again, go through the memorised event again. For Bhagawhandi the hallucinations were much wider in terms of their structure. To extend the analogy of videotape it seems that Penfield’s patients accessed their memories via a videocassette recording. The recall was presented in a rigidly linear format with no options on random access. Bhagawhandi’s memories on the other hand seemed to be recorded upon a format such as a DVD. Not only was random access available but also differing viewpoints and sound effects could be selected. This three-dimensional memory recall is exactly how Karl Pribram believes memory, and perception to work. Sacks’ tragic young patient was re-accessing her memories as recorded in the holographic-like processes suggested by Pribram and Bohm.

Could it be that what was taking place in the mind of the young Indian girl is an actual normal part of the death process? Could this be the explanation why the brain seems to record every event of a person’s life…to begin a ‘sensearound’ re-run of the whole show as we approach the final curtain?'

Is it possible that this, together with the sensing of the presence of the "Being of Light" (hence the eyes of the dying person following something else in the room that is invisible to the observers as pointed out by ROBIN) in its role as a calming influence?

Of course I suggest that the "Being of Light" is simply the Daemon projecting itself, as an hallucination, into the visual field of the dying Eidolon.

For any of you interested I am having my webmaster re-design my website. This will include an additional page were prevously unavailable itladian material will be available for purchase. One of these will be a pdf of the whole original, unedited, unexpurgated, 'hard-science' version of ITLAD of which the above is a section.

A Thought About The Virgin Life

Want to throw something I've been mulling over all day into this fine mix of minds!

Q. Could there be only ONE virgin life from which every eventuality stems from?

One particle of consciousness on the objective consciousness field from which bursts forth every conceivable outcome at the point of death? The Bohmian IMAX is therefore not a return but a continuation? It also seems more ‘efficient’, there isn’t trillions of VL’s creating numerous returns but one VL creating all the eventualities? If it all comes back to one VL, then precog, déjà vu etc stems from the same trunk from which all the branches grow? This also puts me in mind of the Big Bang Theory.

Slow Death Experience

When my Father was dying of cancer, Hope Hospice left a pamphlet informing the reader of what to expect as the end drew near. Reading this pamphlet I found myself fascinated by how the human body prepares itself for death. More interesting however was how the psyche prepared for this “final” transition.

The pamphlet stated that many people will talk about a pending journey; an experience my Father had right before he left us. I wasn’t there for the final days but my Mother said he spoke of packing his belongings and going to the train station for his departure. There were also other strange conversations with “imaginary” people and odd tales he would relate back in his final hours.

What I learned from all of this is how much dying is as important and as beautiful a part of our life as the living is. Life has created a well defined reaction mechanism to the termination of our time on Earth; a process I feel could not have possibly been influence by natural selection.

My question to the blog is what kind of experiences (if any) have you had relating to this phenomenon? I also wonder how it all fits in with the primary topic of CTF. What do you feel are the mechanisms and forces at play here as it relates to ITLAD?

What once seemed just a wall, is now a door...

Harking back to today's conservatory meeting with Tony, and the astonishing music track incident to which he refers in the previous post, I want to mention some other thoughts the warm afternoon helped inspire.

As we marvelled at the growing interest around the globe, I commented how Tony's book seems to be opening up a whole new pespective on 'what' and 'who' we are, creating a novel entry point or doorway (Kaballah?? - re: the book on your table today, Tony), through which we can try to find answers to the nature of our existence. Tony's conclusions in his book may be right or may be wrong, but it seems now, to me, to have become somewhat of a detail, because 'pre-ITLAD', my theories (and academic interest) about myself and those around me were limited to films and what I read in 'The Secret'. How far I have journeyed in such a short time... and such a long way to go!

Thanks Tony... the real purpose of your work may still be a mystery to you and others, but I now know that it is a key part of imminent changes in collective consciousness. Your role is clear... you must continue to explore, facilitate and write. You must follow where your subconscience leads you and not worry that the mission may still be unclear. All will surely be revealed in due course.

Ed

Weirdly Symbolic Synchronicity

Ed "ItsCoolToCare" has just left. He popped over to see me to discuss the implications of his son's Daemonic Encounter mentioned in his posting of the 13th May:

p://cheatingtheferryman.blogspot.com/2008/05/post-seizure-event.html)

We were sitting in the conservatory soaking in the beautiful late spring sunshine and I had my ARCHOS mp3 machine playing in the background. Now you will recall my story with regard to the random play element of this machine and how it saved my life on the motorway. (as described:

http://cheatingtheferryman.blogspot.com/2008/02/reposting-personal-evidence-for-ctf.html).

Now this is a newer version of the same machine but it works in the same way. I had it on random play - a reminder, nearly 16,000 mp3's on this machine so a 1 in 16,000 chance of any one track being randomly selected.

Ed and I start discussing the nature of reality and how it can be seen as analogous to a super-sophisticated computer simulation/game (I was making particular reference to the observations made by Alex Shane last week in The Bridge Inn). As we started discussing this a new track was selected on the ARCHOS. It was track 4 of Sigur Rós ' album () (that is not a misprint by the way. That is the title of the album - and the tracks have no names either). Unofficially this track is called "Njósnavélin"which means "Spy Machine" in Icelandic

A split second before it began playing I absolutely knew what the next track would be ... and I knew why.

This particular track is the one that is played as the soundtrack of the final sequence of Vanilla Sky (when the Tom Cruise character David Aames realises that he is living in an illusion and chooses to jump off the top of a skyscraper).

The symbolism was not lost in me. Here was yet again a message to show me that this is my self-created phaneron - and just like what happens with David Aames it uses imagery from my own memory databanks to populate my world and give subtle nudges as to the real nature of reality.

Now what is really weird is that I have blogged many times before about this particular scene in that movie (e.g. http://cheatingtheferryman.blogspot.com/2008/03/waking-life-vanilla-sky.html) but not only that - in that blog I also placed a link to the actual sequence with the Sigur Rós song playing in the background.

And what does ( ) mean? Could it be a symbol of my oft used quotation of Emile Goncourt that life is "a nothing between two epileptic seizures"!

This is all Maya!!!!

The "Inner Self Helper" - aka "The Daemon"?

When I completed the writing the first version of ITLAD back in 2000 I contacted Near-Death researcher Dr. Phyllis Atwater. Much to my surprise and delight Phyllis suggested that I send her a full copy of the book.

A few weeks later I received an email from Phyllis praising the book, saying that my theory and writing style reminded her of Dr.Melvin Morse, a founding father of NDE research. However she suggested that I had written it for myself rather than for a potential audience. She suggested that I go away and “re-write it for your readers”. I subsequently took this advice and the rest is, as they say, history.

However it is rather ironic that in the subsequent versions of ITLAD, and indeed the published version that you all know and love, the sections on Dr. Atwater’s research never made it through the process. However this does not mean that her work was invalid with regard to CTF – on the contrary. I was reading through the original version today and I came across the following section that is hugely supportive of my now, much refined, Daemon-Eidolon Dyad.

‘Dr. Atwater, stimulated by experiences of her own, has spent many years researching the theory of reincarnation and practiced as a professional hypnotherapist for six years. During this time she specialised in past life regressions as described earlier. However encounters with our ‘hidden entity’ contributed to her decision to close her practice.

After facilitating many past-life recollections she came to the conclusion that the significance of these memories was not what they literally described but what they said about the individual experiencer. As she writes “Regression sessions serve only one purpose, I came to realise, and that is to assist the client in gaining detachment and perspective.” However this was only a contributory factor because:

“Then I happened upon the human soul. It was most unusual how that occurred. The soul just ‘popped in’ and took over a session one day, surprising me and changing all the ‘rules’ I thought had applied to hypnosis.”

In my terminology the Daemon is simply the higher self, the all knowing, and immortal element of human consciousness. As such Dr Atwater choice of the term ‘soul’ is totally equivalent. For her this being exists outside of not only normal perception but also is in no way related to ‘personalities’ encountered in past-life recalls:

“After this first encounter I discovered that the soul, anyone’s soul, is unlike any individual or personality type supposed incarnation. It is unique unto itself. I came to recognise the soul as an objective and loving source of limitless knowledge. The room temperature would feel warmer when it emerged during a session and the client would seem to glow. Advice would be given either for the prostrate client, for me, or another not present. The soul never limited itself or played favourites. Sometimes discourses would issue forth on life and its purpose- gentle, effective discourses that seemed somehow awesome and sacred.”

Indeed as she rightly points out psychiatry now has a term for this personality behind the personalities. Known by the name of the ‘Inner Self Helper’ or ISH this being has the interests of its host personality as a priority and in this capacity assists and guides the therapist to rid its ‘lower self’ of multiple personalities. As Dr Atwater perceptively says “The ISH seemed to be the central organising core of the individual’s essence.’

I am now keen to discuss this ISH with my new friends, the Australian psychiatrists, and the rest of you on this Blogsite. Is this “Inner Self Helper” something that you have experienced?

(The two quotations are taken from P.M.H. Atwater – Beyond The Light (Thorson – 1994). Pages 117 & 118).

If you are interested in Dr. Atwater and her work check out her website at

http://www.cinemind.com/atwater/

Radiology Picture of the Day

Very interesting...

Radiology Picture of the Day

The brain section is fascinating!

Of course, the image provided here is a tribute to Tony...

Regeneration

Read this about 2 weeks ago and forgot to post it, really interesting stuff

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7354458.stm

SKYPE Conferencing

I am keen to use as many tools of communication as possible. As such it would be very useful to use SKYPE as an alternative method. I am simply amazed as to how effective this is - and its totally free! The full software can be downloaded onto your PC via http://www.skype.com/intl/en-gb/

I note that it has conference facilities as well as a method by which groups can be set up. As we are so geographically spread this seems a really good tool.

I have now set myself up with a webcam and microphone. I was in contact yesterday with fellow writer Bill Murtha who is around 300 miles from my home here on Wirral. It was amazing not just chatting but seeing each other as well - and all for free!!!

I am very aware of security on this. As this is a public blog I do not wish us to post our individual SKYPE addresses. As such what I suggest is that we swop them via personal emails. In this way these stay within the group.

If you are willing to swop SKYPE details with me please do so via my blog email address of

cheattheferryman@aol.com

Indeed I will be avaialable for a chat for the next hour or so (1600 UK time on 13th May)

money v/s relationships!!!!!!

I grew up with my parents telling me that money is NOT important but relationships are!.....and i lived and learnt that my parents were right...i understood that life is so beautiful.....every moment is a gift....
i lost my mom and my father remarried.......its now been 19 years....now my father feels that money is the most important thing in this world(maybe life gave him a raw deal. he is 68 years old now..)...but my question is...
Does a human being`s perception become sharper as he ages?
doesn`t life teach you to be sublime?

God's Timeshare

Imagine you could live your life then, after death, your soul could hop in a Tardis and go back in time to be reborn as someone else - a completely different set of memories, feelings, desires, aspirations, and temperament (for all we'd like to believe these things are unique to each of us, there is ample evidence that they can be changed by physical injury suggesting a physical basis for these things). You might even return as a person you knew in you previous life.

You would simply be someone else, wouldn't you? Now imagine that has happened as many times as there are people. That would allow for the existence of just one consciousness. We may all be timeshares on God's mainframe. We might even be God slummin' it!

This does not necessarily cut across CTF - if this happens then we do return as ourselves eventually, and quite probably with the Daemon unique to us. But don't take too much notice of me - I spend too much time writing multi-tasking software so my perspective is suspect!

Post Seizure event

Hi
For those who live with a seizure/epilepsy condition, you will know that it is common to fall into a deep sleep immediately following a Tonic Clonic fit. My daughter used to do this every time. She would sleep for a good hour or so.

My 23 year old son, who has also had grand mals, is a bit more special in that his day to day life seems to be spent, some would say, in his 'right brain' and he quite visibly shares his day to day life with his daemon. This manifests a bit like a kind of Jekyll and Hyde - mostly he is gentle and kind and polite but sometimes, for no obvious reason, he will be Hyde... an angry, aggressive and distracted individual from another world, talking at people who we do not see. (Add to this the autism condition.)

Well, what is this leading to, I hear you ask? The connection is that he had a grand mal seizure last week.. his first for nearly 3 years. Yes, you probably understand our initial emotion of great disappointment that this should happen when we were becoming optimistic of reducing his medication.

Once his shaking stopped, his body reacted the way we are used to... he clearly wanted to fall into a deep sleep... BUT.. he did not. Something in him fought it off. So we then witnessed behaviour that I believe few will have seen. It was astonishing - so much so that once he was sitting down, safely, we started filming him so that we could share it with his psychologist.

I'm sorry that I cannot show his movie to the world, but I can tell you that for a good hour we watched a person whose left, 'dominant' brain seemed to have switched off, but whose body was being driven by something else. His language seemed like English but he had a lot of new words and concepts, and 'Hyde' was very prominent. And as he started to 'come out of it', the extreme personality gave way to a lot of fast 'switching', mumbling and confusion.

I have yet to decide for myself if what we saw was anything unusual, maybe connected to Eidolons and Daemons - or was it just a well documented, normal (as opposed to paranormal) response? Ed

Parallel Worlds

Hi,
Anyone happen to watch the BBC programme about the many TV shows and films that have portayed parallel worlds? They moved on from talking about Star Trek and Dr Who into films that are based around quantum physics, such as Sliding Doors and the notion of multiple worlds.
As I watched it I was thinking to myself how the producers of the show might have further benefited from having read ITLAD or maybe even just joining in the BLOG - which gets far more profound than they were able to manage.
Nevertheless, a good show, I thought. (Actually, it's just another fine example of how clever i am at creating my own illusions.)

trust!

ive always wondered about trust and how much is too much.....!
there are some people with whom u can trust your life with.....( hopefully your life is precious to u!)
for me building trust is of utmost importance....i think its trust that takes a relationship forward.....without trust in your self and the other im sure the relationship will surely fail...
but,can we measure trust?

RANZCP Conference, Melbourne

Slowly but surely CTF and ITLAD are becoming more and more known and, even better, accepted by a wider audience. I have received an email from two psychiatrists based in Australia - Dr Mahendra Perera and Dr Gayan Padmasekera. Both have read the book and are both fascinated and intrigued by its implications. However they have now given me the ultimate recognition by asking for my active involvement in the writing of a clinical handbook on Near-Death Experience. It is their intention to write a primer on the NDE phenomenon for clinicians in medical and health environments. They not only request that I write a chapter but also that I become a member of the editorial team of the book. I am very honoured.

Indeed both Mahendra and Gayan will be presenting a symposium on NDE at the forthcoming RANZCP (The Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychaitrists) and plan to discuss the implications of itlad and CTF with the delegates. Honour indeed.

To check this out please follow this hyperlink:

http://www.ranzcp2008.com.au/programandspeakers.php

What is rather frustrating about this is that as far as I am aware ITLAD is yet to be published in Australia. However it is available in New Zealand.

Flower and Tree of Life

Here is a fascinating website that illustrates that the "Flower of Life" image is common to most cultures and religions. Since you have been talking about the tree of life I thought you might be interested in this: http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_sage1.htm.

Hyperthymesty (3)

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4817549&affil=koco

Jill Price aka "A.J." talks.

A follow up on Tony's posts of April 1st.

Date for your Diary

I know its a long time in the future but I will be interviewed again by Robert Larson at KUCI Radio located at The University of California site in Irvine. This broadcasts on 88.9 within Orange County or can be listened to streaming online at http://www.kuci.org/.

Robert's show is called "Out The Rabbit Hole" and is broadcast Fridays, 5-6 pm Pacific Time. This show is well worth catching whoever is on it.

For those of you in the UK I will be interviewed at the ungodly hour of 1:00 am on Saturday 18th October 2008. I will be on-line for one hour. For those of you in the USA this will be Friday 17th at a much more respectable time. I will be discusssing my new book, The Daemon.

I will be placing details of this on my website and on my 'public events' list on this one.

Robert is also active on blogger - his bit can be found at http://outtherabbithole.blogspot.com/.

Karl The Virgin Lifer

Hi Everyone,

(Karl, Hope you don't mind me using you as the subject of my post - you're the only Virgin I know! X)

If Karl is a VL, then how can we have met him before in our previous runs?

Does this mean we are on a slightly different path from the last one we took if we are indeed meeting him for the first time, this time round?

If this is so , is it a Grand Plan and what is that plan do you think?

Alex Shane - the latest Itladian

On Tuesday 19th of May I met up with a guy called Alex Spilling at The Bridge Inn in Port Sunlight. Alex was up in Liverpool on business and was keen to meet up with me. Alex has read ITLAD and he is a massive fan. In fact at 6 foot 5 inches he probably is literally the book's biggest fan!

But what makes Alex unusual is his alter ego. Alex is also Alex "The Showstealer" Shane - probably the most successful British wrestler of the last ten years. Still only 28 he has been twice FWA and WAW British Heavyweight Champion. As well as being a presenter on Talksport TV Alex now earns is living as a wrestling promoter. To check out the sheer power and presence of the man I suggest you check out his promo video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS2KQyPnT3U&feature=related

The song is also written and performed by Alex - bit scary eh?!!!

However he has another side to his personality - a quietly spoken, intelligent and extremely reflective man who has some fascinating, and totally itladian ideas and theories. He kept both myself and my friend Richard enthralled for nearly two hours with regard to his philosophy about the nature of reality. (After Karl and Ed's visit a few weeks ago the poor Bridge Inn in Port Sunlight is now getting used to itladian visitations!)

Alex is very keen to bring is promotional skills to marketing ITLAD and CTF and get the theory across to a wider audience. He has access to TV studios in London and he and I are considering a joint video programme. All very exciting.

Alex will be joining us all on this blogsite as soon as he has the time. Believe me his ideas will really blow you away .......

A virtual home for us?

The potential for using Second Life as a means to spread CTF to masses is enormous. Many universities and institutions are represented there. I've met several educators and intellectuals from around the world. Recently I was made aware of a new project under development. I think it would make a wonderful home base for ITLADians in SL. For your consideration:

"Port Spinoza"

Port Spinoza will be a sim community (several islands) based on Amsterdam and Leiden during the age of enlightenment (17 and 18th Century). The community will be named after Baruch Spinoza, a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese Jewish origin. Spinoza is considered one of the great rationalists of 17th century philosophy.

The goal of the project is to create a Second Life community with an "intellectual buzz" and engaging cafe life, and a place where arts and crafts and intellectual achievement is valued above power and wealth.

Tony, I gave Daemon a landmark to the architect's office where you can see a mock-up of the community. I've sent a message to one of the developers and hope to have more details by tomorrow.

Flanagan's Apple Meeting Friday 23rd May 2008

A small group of Itladian philosophers will be meeting tomorrow at around 1400 (UK time) in the real world 'version' of Flanagan's Apple in Liverpool, England. So far we have Gary, Karl, Richard, Alan and myself involved.

Whilst discussing the finer points of itlad and CTF (and probably imbuing small quantities of ale) we will attempt to log-on Second Life. I intend to bring my laptop with me and I know that Karl will have his. We will then have our avatars meet in the SL version of Flanagan's Apple. In this way we will play with reality and virtual reality in a way that itladians the world over will appreciate. Should any of you folks out there in cyberspace wish to join in please feel free to do so.

This is a dummy-run for a more planned attempt for the future but I am sure it will still be great fun.

Quantum Physics Experiments

Check out the May/June 2008 issue of SEED magazine. There is an article titled The Reality Tests which has a pretty good, but very brief, overview of quantum theory and mentions Bohm and several others. The kicker is that a group in Vienna has actually experimentally proven that we create the world just by looking at it. While the experiments were not described in detail, they confirmed that photons' "polarizations didn't exist before being measured."

The group then talked about real-world objects and concluded (from some experiments not described at all in the article):

... it does not matter how many particles are around, or how large an object is, quantum mechanics always holds true. The reason we see our world as we do us because of what we use to observe it. The human body is a just barely adequate measuring device. Quantum mechanics does not always wash itself out [i.e. the large number of particles "are in constant interaction and their environment serves to 'decohere' the quantum world -- eliminate superpositions -- to create the classical one we observer"], but to observe its effects for larger and larger objects we would need more and more accurate measurement devices. We just do not have the sensitivity to observe the quantum effects around us. In essence we do create the classical world we perceive ...

Not much detail in the article but very interesting nonetheless.

Spooky Avatar At A Distance Version 2

Jon: The image of Airey Luftig is even more strange. This snap was taken in 1980. In those days I had a rather more dangerous image than the 1977 version, or indeed how I am now. Note the "Johnny Depp" like ear ring. I really was "mad, bad and dangerous to know" .

My nickname in those days was "Zorba" (as in "Zorba The Peake" - get it?). This was a reflection (I assume anyway as it was not a nickname I gave myself) on my somewhat mediterranean features and the fact that I was (and still am) an absolute Grecophile.

Who would have assumed this from the gentle, white haired mild individual you all know now!

Spooky Avatar at a Distance

Here's one for your interest folks, I made this avatar for second life about a month ago. Sometime later, I got on the blog and saw Tony's 70s era photo. Is that too strange or what?

Cheers,

Jon in Alaska

How Many Minds?

I admit there are subjects in ITLAD that I have yet to wrap my mind around. The one I have most difficulty with is Everett’s Many Worlds Interpretation (MWI) of quantum mechanics. So as not to misrepresent my position, this is entirely a layman’s opinion. I am not a physicist, mathematician or member of any other uber geek profession. What I mostly am is confused.

My biggest problem with MWI is the philosophical questions it poses. There seems to be no rhyme or reason in a MWI existence. I like to believe everything in nature has a purpose. This purpose provides the testing ground in the evolutionary process. The norm is for the weak to perish and the strong to survive. In a MWI existence everything survives. Rather than growing a stronger reality, MWI accommodates the inferior position.

I also have a difficult time wrapping my mind around the infinite multiplication of matter. The examples usually given in MWI revolve around splitting Universes at some semi-major event in our personal existence. But how do we determine what that event threshold is? Why wouldn’t the infinite potential possibilities of every particle have this same power to create? And then there's the question of time. How often should we make these splits? Is it once every second? Or do these splits occur in infinite divisions thereof?

I know that just because I don’t comprehend these things doesn’t make them false. Still, I also believe the basic premise of ITLAD is not dependant on classic MWI. Maybe that’s part of the evolution of ITLAD theory; it continually splits and evolves into multiple, but separate, versions of itself. Here in my version only a single world exists – everything else exists only as potential.

New Kid in Town

Hello friends. I am very excited to be the latest member of this amazing blog. I’ve been enjoying this group’s work for a couple of months now and recently found the courage to comment on one of Tony’s posts. As luck would have it, that single comment generated an invitation to join. Now I find myself standing among giants…an incredible honor indeed. As part of this inaugural post, here is my original comment:

"That such a diverse group of believers sees a certain truth in your words is a credit to your work. I think in shows you have touched on the common thread that runs through most all belief systems. And though I don't necessarily agree with all of your theory, I feel your work is one of the most important of the new century. What you have done, more than just promote a theory, is force people to think. Due to its mind bending properties I have affectionately labeled your book as LSD for the New Age. I can't wait for the next one."

Sincerely,
Robert

Strange experiences in fiction

I remember reading a science fiction novel some years ago (I think that it was 'Dreamside' by Graham Joyce) in which a group of participants in an experimental dream project start to experience a terrifying regression in which they apparently awaken from a dream, only to discover that they have awoken into another dream. The process continues, and the implication is that one could be trapped in this. I have never come across any references to this in reality, and would be interested if anyone has ever had a similar experience, or knows of any research into it. I have had the occasional lucid dream, but I tend to wake up fairly quickly once I realise that I am dreaming.
Whilst discussing science fiction, I will mention my own love of novels based upon alternative versions of ourselves interacting and entering one another's worlds, either through psychic interaction or physically. John Wyndham wrote a short story on this theme back in the 1950s, where I think a machine provided the means of transfer. Someone was paid a visit by a parallel self to advise him to marry an ex-girlfriend who was his wife in the parallel world.
There are two wonderful more recent novels on this theme, using the Many Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Theory as the explanation. These are 'Infinity's Web' by Sheila Finch, and 'Lost Futures' by Lisa Tuttle'. Ian Watson has also written novels touching on these themes.
Finally, an interesting description of an experience from the autobiography of a mystical writer called Elisabeth Haitch. She was (I think) Hungarian, and must have written her book ('Initiation') around the 1970s. She is describing events in the first half of the 20th Century. She apparently started to relive memories of a past life in Ancient Egypt, when she was initiated. There are similarities to the writings of Joan Grant. I found references to her book on the Internet - mostly criticisms that what she describes is unlike what we know of Ancient Egypt. But the idea that interested me, and which touches on the nature of time, involves her description of her initiation. She describes tests, in which she experienced situations that could be failed in some way. I think that the tests involved the traditional elements. They were experienced in a dream like state of trance. But if you 'failed' the test (were ruled by one's passions, for instance), you would live the experience out in historical time, thousands of years later.

CONFESSION!

Ive to confess that I hate to receive gifts......Ive become cynical about receiving gifts....Ive become distrustful of people who give me something/or offer to do some favour for me..

I wonder why? I wonder what has made me so silly?

what is it that I really fear?

I feel so obliged to do/give more and even out the favour.......

sometimes I give away gifts(that Ive received) to other people....I feel so terrible....afterwards..

many a times, the gift....gets damaged...some how..and I don't use it then....I wonder why this happens.....is it an unconscious effort to not use the gift..... ?

I feel happy to use things that Ive bought with my hard earned cash.... and let me tell u, I love to give gifts...

why am I not a good receiver?

A near miss

My daughter and I nearly had an accident this morning. A teenage boy in a huge pickup truck decided to change lanes without glancing over to see that we were in the lane beside him. As I replay the event in my head I can not pinpoint when I responded. By the time I perceived the impending doom, my reflexes had me steering away from him. In fact, what brought my attention to the situation was hearing my own car horn blast as my hand was pressed hard on it.

Daemonic guidance?
Precognition?

I don't have any recollection of the event prior to the horn blast.

why?

I love to travel, and ive managed to travel to many places in my country(alone as well as with family and friends) and my country is vast!( India) but as soon i reach the destination i feel this great pull /frustration....i feel i must go back..i feel i should not stay .... i feel lost.....i have this great sense of worthlessness ..i feel as if i dont belong ...i cant understand why this happens every single time......the rest, the solace,the excitement that i seek happens only during the journey......but as soon the destination nears i feel sick......i cant enjoy, i cant relax.....any ideas?

Continuing on a Buddhist Theme

Last year a Buddhist monk travelled from Australia to meet me.

In a letter to me he explained that he had found a copy of a paper I had published in the Journal of Near-Death Studies lying on the floor of a hut in his monastery in Western Australia (The Bodhinyana Monastery in Serpentine, WA).

He knew as soon as he picked it up that it was of great importance. As with many Buddhist monks Ekaggata is a very well read individual with a great interest in particle physics and neurology. However he was particularly fascinated by my Daemon-Eidolon Dyad and my new approach to the concept of The Eternal Return (Reccurance). (for those interested a free copy of this paper is available for download from the 'Contact' page of my website -

http://www.anthonypeake.com/

In June last year I met him in a wondeful monastery deep in the English countryside.The Forest Hermitage (วัดป่าสันติธรรม) is a branch of Wat Nong Pah Pong (วัดหนองป่าพง), the late Luang Por Chah's principal monastery in N. E. Thailand.

(website: http://www.foresthermitage.org.uk/).

Indeed that very day was, by tradition, both the Buddha's birthday and also the celebration of his day of enlightenment under the Bohdi Tree. This coincidence was not lost on me - my Daemon had ensured that my first ever visit to a Buddhist monastery was to be on such an auspicious and significant day.

I sat with Ekaggata Bikkhu in a tiny spartan hut in the grounds. He explained to me that in his opinion my writing was of profound importance and that I should focus all my attention on getting it better known. Indeed he amazed my by commenting that my theory was, in many ways, pure Buddhism. He added that he was delighted that somebody with absolutely no knowledge of Buddhist scripture could have come to such "enlightened" conclusions.

These revelations made me slightly scared and filled me with trepidation. This had never been my intention when I started out on my quest but there was, as far as Ekaggata was concerned, an underlying reason for my writing. I simply wanted to write a book for my own enjoyment. I never expected it to be published nor anybody else to be really interested in my ideas. But now, with book sales in excess of 30,000, and the events described in my last post, I just sit back and wonder what this is all really about.

Ekeggata and I are still in snail-mail contact and he continues to urge me to follow my 'inner guide'. He has sent me many books and articles and I am finding revelations, both external and internal, on a daily basis.

I find this all very strange and not a little awe-inspiring. Ekaggata is not alone in contacting me. Two years ago I was an arch rationalist and materialist and now as well as Buddhist monks, Sufi Shayaks, mediums,Gnostics,Hindu Mystics and even Occult adepts (for example The Servants of the Light - SOL) have contacted me - all of whom seem to see something of profound importance in me and my writings. Not the route I expected - but I guess this is something my Daemon has always known!

(The photo heading this post was taken on that day in Warwickshre. Ekaggata is the monk on the extreme right).

Strange Events

Something very strange happened a few days ago. Those of you who know me are aware that although I am very interested in psychic phenomenon I consider myself a strong rationalist. In other words I seek out proof before simply accepting the claims of others. Over the last year I have travelled the UK doing talks and lectures and I have met many fascinating people - many of whom have rather shaken my cosy, rationalistic, world view. However the last few days have been of earthquake proportions. For the first time in my life I experienced a precognition that I know was true - because it happened to me.

I had met Aloha Gary (esteemed member of this blog) for coffee in Chester. Afterwards we nipped back to his house to pick up some paperwork when I noticed that he had a very peculiar object called a Shambhala Maitreya Solar Cross (image top right). I recognised it because a few weeks before another member of this blog (Ed aka Itscooltocare) had shown me an identical version of this fascinating artifact.

Gary suggested that I hold it, close my eyes and concentrate. I did so and immediately I perceived a detailed hypnogogic image in the centre of my visual field. Now I have experienced hypnogogic imagery for years but without exceptions the images are usually located in my periphery vision. I have to 'turn' my minds-eye to my extreme left (always left, interestingly enough) to 'see' them. As soon as this takes place they disappear. Over the years I have realised that the best way to view them is by 'looking' straight ahead and trying catch what is being presented via my periphery 'vision'. In this way I can hold them for much longer.

But this one was different. It was absolutely vivid, rock solid and detailed. It was a metallic blue star-like image with eight points. What I particularly noticed was that the lower point (at 6 o'clock) was longer than the other seven. I thought this a little strange. It was in plain view for a good 30 seconds then faded. I was stunned.

On opening my eyes I described in some detail to Gary exactly what I had seen. As I recall I think I even drew it for him.

Now I have been suffering from a particularly painful case of adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder) - an old sports injury that has come back to haunt me - the pain had become so extreme that I needed more prescription pain killers. The next day after I met with Gary I made an appointment with my doctor and went up to the local surgery. As I checked in at the reception desk my eye caught a display. It was a box selling charity lapel pins. I couldn't believe it. The pin was exactly, and I mean exactly, what I had seen in my hypnogogic the day before. The picture at the top of this post is of the pin in question. Right colour, correct number of points and even the correct 6 o'clock point being longer. I was so stunned I commented upon it to the receptionist. "Oh", she replied "they were only brought in about an hour ago!"

The lapel pin is to celebrate the 25 year anniversary of St John's Hospice, a care home for the terminally ill, here on Wirral.

I have no idea what this means. Was it some form of 'future memory'? But if so why that particular object?

Applying Itlad to this I can only assume that it was some form of Daemonic message. Could it be that the Solar Cross can, in some way, open up the Eidolon-Daemon communication channels?

I guess only time will clear up this little mystery.

Addition: If you look at the image of my signature on the right (white box with the name 'Anthony Peake' in script you will notice a peculiar cross-like logo to the right. This is my 'symbol' and has been for nearly forty years. Old school and university friends will immediately recognise this. Over the years I have marked my books, albums etc with it. It is so long ago now that I have no idea why I started doing this. looking at my hypnogogic 'star' and my logo I can see a distinct similarity. Odder and odder!