The Kerrang! Interview on YouTube

Thanks to Woodsprite for alerting me to the fact that the first part of my Kerrang! interview has been posted on YouTube. It can be found at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skLmKGqXWG0

I would also like to give my thanks to Nick and his team for doing such a fantastic job. The video has been enhanced superbly by some wonderful images and - and this really is fascinating, by the section from Linklater's movie "Waking Life" that was first noticed by HurlyBurly many months ago and was then subsequently posted on this site!

The radio interview was good but, of course, it had to be edited down to fit into Nick's schedule. It is clear that the whole interview will be placed on YouTube by those wonderful guys at Kerrang!

Thanks again Nick, and Alex and Amy!!!

KERRANG! Interview

The broadcast went out last night at around 23:20. It was interesting how a fairly laid back and somewhat flippant programme become very serious as soon as I came on! Indeed I was delighted as to how positive Nick was with regard to the theory. I felt that he had really grasped the finer points of CTF and Itlad.

I have yet to listen to the full podcast yet but from a swift scan it seems that there were quite a few calls later.

The podcast can be listened to at:

http://www.whatson.com/goto/?type=radio&station=kerrang&show=a_the_night_before___tuesday

I turn up at about one hour twenty minutes into the broadcast.

Happy Diwali!

HAPPY DIWALI EVERYONE......Diwali is the one of the most important festivals in India...it marks the triumph of good over evil..it is also called the festival of lights.....its a lovely time to be India.....

Central to Hindu philosophy is the assertion that there is something beyond the physical body and mind which is pure, infinite, and eternal, called the Atman. Just as we celebrate the birth of our physical being, Deepavali is the celebration of this Inner Light, in particular the knowing of which outshines all darkness (removes all obstacles and dispels all ignorance), awakening the individual to one's true nature, not as the body, but as the unchanging, infinite, immanent and transcendent reality. With the realization of the Atman comes universal compassion, love, and the awareness of the oneness of all things (higher knowledge). This brings Ananda (Inner Joy or Peace).
Diwali celebrates this through festive fireworks, lights, flowers, sharing of sweets, and worship. While the story behind Deepavali varies from region to region, the essence is the same - to rejoice in the Inner Light (Atman) or the underlying reality of all things (Brahman)

KERRANG! Interview now confirmed

I have now had confirmation that my KERRANG! Radio interview will be broadcast at 2200 (UK time) on Tuesday 28th October 2008.

The intention is to broadcast the interview and then open up the phone lines for discussion and debate. I am hoping that as many itladians as possible join in and make this one of the best shows that Nick Margerrison has ever broadcast.

For those of you in the UK tuning in is simple. If you have a digital television KERRANG! can be listened to through your digibox or digital TV. KERRANG! also broadcast on DAB. If you are working on your PC you can also log into their website (see link below)

Listen to Kerrang! Radio on DAB, Sky Channel 0183, Virigin Media, Freeview Channel 722, across the West Midlands on 105.2 FM & at

http://www.kerrangradio.co.uk/

Outside of the UK may be more difficult as KERRANG! are a music station and as such there maybe copywrite issues in your country. I suggest that you investigate what options you may have in this regard.

Nick suspected that the interview would be special so he requested that his assistant, Amy, video the whole interview for future placement on YouTube. I am not sure how often Nick requests such things but I am delighted that he considered my ideas to be worthy of such an honour

I would like to think Nick, Alex, and Amy for allowing me the opportunity to get Itladian philosophy to even more people.

Lets make the airwaves fizz guys........

Nick Bostrum - "Ancestor Simulations"

In 2003 Oxford University philosopher Nick Bostrom had an article published in the journal Philosophical Quarterly. In this article he suggested that at least one of these three propositions must be true:

i. We humans will become extinct before we can develop into a 'posthuman' stage of civilisation.

ii. Any posthuman civilisation will have access to computer power so vast that time travel will be routine using computer-generated simulations of the past. (Bostrom calls these ancestor simulations ).

iii. That we are all living in one of these ancestor simulations.

With the potential advances of computer power offered by quantum computing such simulations are entirely possible. Bostrom suggests that the computing power available in a few million years will be so advanced that the human beings simulated in these programmes will be conscious!

Of course this idea is not absolutely original - the 1999 movie The Thirteenth Floor suggested something very similar. However Dr. Bostrum attempts to explain how such a circumstance could come about and is a very well respected academic. I am delighted to see that such ideas are now taken seriously.

Of course this has elements of the "Brain In a Vat" thought experiment of Hilary Putnam as discussed in a previous posting of mine:

http://cheatingtheferryman.blogspot.com/2008/03/brain-in-vat.html

So could it be that the 'designers' of my Bohmian IMAX may, in fact, be future software engineers?

Some of you, Ed in particular, have long suggested that consciousness works like a computer programme so could it be that the living of our lives over and over again is taking place in some super version of the computer game The Sims?

My KERRANG interview will be broadcast next Tuesday evening (28th October) on the "Night Before" hosted by Nick Margerrison. Nick's show starts at 2200 (UK time). The original interview ran for around 40 minutes so it could be broadcast at any time between 2200 on the Tuesday and 0100 the following morning. If you wish to phone in the studio number is 00 44 845 688 1052 outside the UK and 0845 688 1052 within the UK. You can also text a message - text "K" then your message to 64100.
If you have a digibox or a digital television you can listen through your TV by tuning into KERRANG Radio. If you have a DAB radio the signal can be picked up at 105.2. I am also informed that the video of my interview with Nick will soon be posted on YouTube

Roman Dreams, did this person have a glimps of a past life?

Another little story here about an old workmate of mine named Emrys, he has long since passed away but he came to work one day and was telling his boss that he had had a dream that he had been a Roman Soldier he presumed in a past life and in battle he died in this dream by being struck with a spear in his chest.
What surprised him was that when he awoke there was quite a mark on his chest where he said the spear had struck him. He never ever knew how the mark on his chest was made in bed asleep.
He always talked of this story which no doubt puzzled him until he died in this life well into his eighties.

The National Lottery a missed opportunity

Many years ago when the lottery was first started I was very excited about the idea that 'with luck' perhaps there was a chance of winning the big one.
The wife and I bought 2 or 3 tickets and I had a strong feeling that we would win the jackpot or at least a lot of money.
That night I went into a dream that I could see the winning numbers being revealed but within that dream I began to panic that I would forget all of the numbers by the time I woke up and three of those numbers faded away quickly but I hung on to three numbers and on waking wrote them down immediately.
I used the three numbers and won £10. The question will always remain had I remembered the full set would I have won the jackpot?. I will never know and even if for some brain storming reason I remembered them now it would be useless and to know would be more depressing than not knowing. So I guess my Daemon who does know the answer will spare me that torture. Why did the Daemon if that's what it was let me see the numbers in the first place or did my Eidilon catch it off guard and it went into immediate shut down action but not quick enough to fade all three remaining numbers from my memory. To me this proves that the future and past and present are all the same thing, it is all ready there. The trick is to look into the future by tricking your Daemon but you may not like what you see, curiosity killed the cat remember.
I have tried to avoid delving into things too deeply.
Having said that you hear of people winning jackpots two consecutive weeks running. This is a very rare occurence but it has happened and there must be some reason why this occurs.Do they cheat the Daemon in some way? Is their a flaw in their brain that lets them see into the future even though they are unaware of it?

Regards, Rod..

The Art of Itladian Combat?

The latest edition of Fighting Spirit Magazine features an article by itladian philosopher and wrestling champion Alex Shane.

Alex has a regular section in this magazine called "Alex Shane's Guide to Pro Wrestling" In this Alex discusses his 'take' on the world of wrestling. For those of us that have never been involved in such things it makes a fascinating read.

In this article Alex also discusses his return to the ring for one last, high profile, matc before he heads off to India at the end of the year. This last ever match of "The Showstealer" will take place at Bromley Civic Hall on 26th October. Alex will fight the IPW:UK Heavyweight champion Martin Stone. (Discussion about this can be found at http://www.ipwuk.com/ ). This contains an eight minute video of Alex threatening Stone ... well I don't know about Stone but it scared the hell out of me!

Now if you can get hold of a copy of this magazine (which is stocked by all High Street multiples including W H Smiths) Alex's article can be found on pages 72 to 76 and a very interesting read it is to. However what may be of interest to itladians is a comment he makes on page 76. Here Alex writes:

"As always I would like to leave you with some of my philosophy. As I've started to get into more complex areas of wrestling in these articles, I would like to share some of the more complex areas of philosophy too. I have not got anywhere near close, in these articles, to the out-of-the-box thinking that I am currently exploring, such as questioning the very nature of reality.
I have regular meetings with Anthony Peake, who is the author of the best-selling book 'Is There Life After Death - The Extraordinary Science of What Happens When You Die", where we exchange theories on these subjects. If this stuff interests you then I highly recommend his book."

Thanks Alex. This really shows the power of ITLAD and how it is slowly creeping its way into the collective consciousness and Zeitgeist of the early 21st century... and how it is appearing in what would normally considered to be the most unlikely of places such as combat magazines.

Alex, may I personally wish you the best of luck for your bout on the 26th.

KERRANG Radio Interview

Last night I was interviewed by Nick Margerrison of Kerrang Radio. Although this will be my second interview with Nick and my third for KERRANG it is the first time that I have actually been interviewed in their studios in Birmingham.

Nick had already read two thirds of The Daemon so was in a position to ask some very interesting questions with regard to ITLAD and The Dyad. Indeed I was really flattered when he stated that he was a really big fan of my work. As you may be aware Nick was the guy who in July interviewed the astronaut and moon-walker Dr. Edgar Mitchell. On live radio Dr. Mitchell said to Nick that the USA government had been in regular contact with aliens for the last forty years. This brought about a flurry of media interest and Nick's interview was mentioned in many of the national newspapers. Indeed as you may be aware both Dr. Mitchell and I are members of The Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) - me as a run-of-the-mill member and he as the founder!

The interview was also filmed and Nick plans to place this on YouTube in due course.

The interview itself will appear in two weeks time ... possibly the 28th October. I will confirm this as soon as I hear from Nick's producer, Alex Baker.

This show will end with a phone-in with listeners adding their comments or observations. It would be great if some itladians involve themselves.

Thanks and Impressions

New Yorker finds no Cult of Ideology in Peakian group,  but much of charm and character
I hope my putting up a post will not be too much,  but I wanted to give my thanks and some impressions.  I have just gotten back from NY airport and it is late but wanted to get it out of the way.  I want to thank Martin Huxter and Anthony Peake and Karl LeMarcs most of all,  as well as all whom I had the high  honor of meeting.  It is bittersweet,  as one realizes that emails and internet  leave out so much that is essential,  and that the charmed circle in Liverpool is closed to some of us geographically,  and we fall further out of sync with the life of the Itladian community.  My time in London and Liverpool brought the painful awareness that living online is not a good thing.

I spent Friday night at the Park Plaza in London,  and met Martin there.  This was the beginning of a realization:  I had related to him online for so long as a sort of "lost boy".  So when he made his appearance,  it was a shock to see the person.   When he appeared in the hotel lobby,  I was startled by his height,  his build,  his beautiful jacket and shoes.  And moreso by his posh London accent.  He is self possessed and charming.  He can speak on many topics,  and with substance and ideological reference.    He is far more polished and impressive than I had thought him to be.  His manners were elegant in the posh bar,  and with the bartender,  and I was proud to be seen with him.  He is a young man who is integrated and lively.  He has impressive eyes,  and a coy giggle which was alarming in its power to charm.  His gait is confident and masculine.   He seemed for all the world an educated London aristocrat.  When I took his arm to stroll outside to smoke,  I thought of Morrisey's song,  "Hand in Glove",  with the line,  "just stay on my arm,  you little charmer."  For that is what he is.  And I had related to him all wrong in emails,  and felt a sense of shame for having underestimated him. And horror at the falseness of online relating.   The film critic ought to have been an actor.  To anyone who has read Martin's fine writing,  I highly recommend meeting him.   If ,  that is,  you can stand his youthful charm and intelligence:   Quite a heady brew. 
My next shock came with LeMarcs.  I know now that Tony's idea of time dilation is a reality:  time slowed and stopped and seemed to expand,  in my first moments of beholding  him.  I had actually wanted to be disappointed;   prayed,   in fact,  to be disenchanted,   but it was not to be.  There was the same electric charge in the air that had surrounded Barack Obama;  it was palpable.  His phycical bearing brought at once to mind what Nietzsche spoke of as  "that miracle,  when nature has placed the head of a genius on the body of a ruffian,  so that the result is a Nero,  a Caligula ,  to be worshipped. "  It is as if some transcendent being has descended into solid flesh,  without fully having the ability to grasp his condition.  His very footstep is solid and Nero-like.  He is a king,  and I  can say no more;  do no more,  except to phone my brilliant New York therapist,  who already has assured me that there is hope;  that he has  plans for  a cognitive method to "shake those Brits out of your life for good."  . . . Tony is all I knew him to be:  beautiful,  refined, intelligent  modest,  with a lovely voice.  I had long wondered how  a man with such impossibly gorgeous features could possibly find a  fit wife,  and the thought that she would be as beautiful as he had never occurred to me (  I don't know why,  but it hadn't).  She is a female Anthony Peake,  with her own beautiful eyes and gorgeous mouth to match her husband's.  It was beautiful to see them together.  Di and I agreed that Penny is a perect English rose.  . . Liverpool itself,  like a Britsh hetero brother of the gay and waywayd  American Provincetown:  such an aura of Ptown surrounded it at night;  the same mix of elegance and roughness and water and boats.  In itself,  like a dream,  and almost a portent. . . And such vivid impressions I had of Jo,  who was adorable,  and Di,  who seemed like my long-lost self,  and Dr. Alan Roberts ( I hope I have not got his name backwards)  and Groundhog,  and Rich,  and Dorje.  But I feel I cannot continue on.  The three I loved first and longest:  Tony,  Karl and Martin,  were human,  but splendidly human;  I found no flaw,  only charm ,  charm.  and more charm.  And something more. . . And as I said,  it is bittersweet,  as the realization hits,  that the online was always but a shadow's shadow,  and cannot continue on in the same way,  now that the reality has overtaken it.  I am reminded of the life I had before my husband died,  when people were solid and things were real;  and one must sigh and wonder how much one can invest further in that beautiful circle which is fast closing us out , -  we who live in the farthest reaches  -   with no intention or awareness  of having done so.    But again,  my deepest thanks to all. 

Inaurural meeting of the International Association of ITLAD

On Saturday afternoon, the Blue Bar at Albert Dock, Liverpool, saw the inaugural meeting of The International Association of ITLAD. In honour of our highly esteemed and well beloved Susan Marie, we congretated together to exchange conversation on things philosophical and quantum. There was also a fair sprinkling of the requisite nonsense talk and laughter!

I managed to obtain photographic evidence of the gathering which can be viewed on www.flickr.com/groups/itlad Enjoy!

Audio From Tony's Interview On City Talk Radio With Roy Basnett (Download)

Following on from the interest in my uploading of some of Tony's previous Radio Interviews I have taken the time to convert to MP3 and upload the latest one, broadcast last night on City Talk Radio for those who missed it or were unable to listen as it was broadcast.

See Previous BLOG post:

Announcement: New Radio Interview [By Tony]

Download Instructions:
(36MB, 54 Minutes)
When you click on the link below, you will be taken to a new page, at the bottom of which is the audio file (Anthony Peake - City Talk Radio). Simply enter the three letters shown in the box as directed and click DOWNLOAD. Under the FREE section you will have a few seconds to wait but when it says FREE DOWNLOAD, simply click it and you then have the option of simply opening the audio or saving it to your computer, so please click on Open or Save according to your wishes.

Hope you enjoy it.

> City Talk Radio - Broadcast October 10th 2008 <

A Dark Philosopher
Karl L Le Marcs

The Inaugural International ITLADic Gathering (and wine-infused toot talking)

The historic and beautiful Albert Dock in Liverpool, UK will be the venue for the Inaugural International ITLADic Gathering (IIIG) this Saturday 11th October, as Tony and I are delighted to welcome the enigma that is Susan Marie Kovalinsky to the UK from New Jersey, USA for the inevitable light drizzle and biting cold wind.

Your very own A Dark Philosopher *bows* will escort SMK to Blue Bar on Albert Dock where that amiable fellow Tony will join us for a couple of hours of verbal badinage, philosophical ponderances and gags of awful magnitude, before the doors are flung asunder and all manner of ITLADists descend on the venue to liven up proceedings somewhat.

Tony, SMK and I will be joined by Penny, Johar, Woodsprite, Ed, Aloha Gary, Baphomet (and Mrs Baphomet) or will it be Anubis65? Dr Alan Roberts, Rich, hopefully “Lady Jayne” and perhaps others who are not regular contributors to BLOG/FORUM but who are avid followers of our collective ramblings and thus know all of us by name and would like to meet us face-to-face.

(poor souls are in for a major shock)
*smile*

I know there are MANY who would love to be there with us (Jesamyn, Robin, RafromCa, Cam, Roshni to name but a few) and I do intend to see if there is a wi-fi signal in the area that would allow me to connect to SKYPE or other webcam services to broadcast some pictures, but knowing the area as I do, I suspect there is no signal. However, I’m sure there will be many photographs taken and much diving behind comfy sofas by yours truly to avoid them!

If any BLOG/FORUM members or even stray lurkers would like to pass on any comments then please do so either in the comments box or on private email to me and I will be delighted to relay them during the gathering.

A Dark Philosopher
Karl L Le Marcs

Announcement - New Radio Interview

Hi Folks,

My lecture at Widnes Library went very well last night. Thank you to all who attended, particularly "Lady Jayne" who made some fantastically supportive comments when describing how her temporal lobe epilepsy opens her senses up to the real world of the "Bohmian IMAX". Also thanks to Janette Fleming for making sure the event ran so smoothly. As usual we ran out of time but I think we gained some more itladians to join the ever-swelling figures.

In the audience was local radio presenter Roy Basnett of City Talk Radio. You may recall that I did an interview on this station during the summer. Anyway Roy was keen to understand more about CTF and ITLAD so I was wisked off to the City Talk Studios to record an interview.

Roy not only grasped the ideas but ran with them as well. I suspect we have our first itladian broadcaster. The interview ran for nearly an hour. It will be broadcast early friday morning (between 2:00 - 4:00 British time) on Roy's award winning show. But do not worry if you miss it because Roy intends to feature me (photo and all) on his part of the City Talk Website: http://www.citytalk.fm/sectional.asp?id=25007

For those of you in the USA and Canada the time will be much more civilised and you can listen in as it is broadcast via the web - http://www.whatson.com/citytalk/

As City Talk is a non-music station there are no international restrictions (unlike Kerrang).

I know it is a big ask but Roy does take phone calls so that people can comment on the show. If he received a call from The States or Canada that would really be exceptional. The number will be: 00 44 151 708 1059 .

LHC and ITLAD

Ok, after harassing Karl with some questions about the LHC, I would like to offer some new thoughts on Tony’s Bohmian IMAX Theory.

The purpose of the LHC is to project protons around the circuit at high speed until they crash into each other. When this occurs, scientists are hoping to discover all sorts of amazing stuff. The part that interests me is the measurement of the energy of the protons before and after collision. Now, a proton weighs slightly less than its constituent parts. Therefore, when they collide and explode, one would expect there to be slightly more energy after the collision than before.

However, if there is less energy, one can hypothesize that the expended energy, in the form of types of quarks, has been pushed into another dimension! I’ll leave the science of this to Karl to address!

This got me thinking about the dying body. What if, at the point of death, all the atoms in the human body start decaying and releasing their energy into the universe? Could some of this energy be pushed into another dimension? If so, all the information for that being will be encoded within each energy packet so that they can come together again, rather like some corals I’ve seen mangled in a blender; only to reattach itself to the right piece of coral it was part of before. So, these energy packets would then become part of a new Eidolon (merging with other Eidolonic energy), restarting its existence externally of the previous Eidolon (the original us). So, in effect, the body would die, but some of the energy within each atom of the body would continue in another dimension.

Also, if these energy packets contain the daemonic information from the original Eidolon, this too will become part of the new Eidolon in another dimension. This means that our daemon within our phaneron is quantum entangled with the daemon in the other dimension! This pertains not only to subjective daemonic evolution but objective daemonic evolution as well.

This doesn’t detract from Tony’s theory. We still experience the past life memory playback within our own phaneron. However, the energy that is released into another dimension isn’t enough to recreate a new eidolon that is ‘us’. It will reform with other particles of energy to create another Eidolon. This could explain past life regression tapping into different people as they do contain particles of us from another dimension. It can also explain why some people hear voices and experience neuro atypicality. Their doors of perception are so wide open in this phaneron; they are tapping into the particles of their energy that exist in another dimension.

In his famous study, Raymond Moody interviewed some 150 people who had either actually briefly died (according to Doctors) or had almost died. He concluded from this study that there are NINE experiences common to most people who have had a NDE:
1. Hearing sounds such as buzzing
2. A feeling of peace and painlessness
3. Having an out-of-body experience (OOBE)
4. A feeling of travelling through a tunnel
5. A feeling of rising such as into the heavens
6. Seeing people, often dead relatives
7. Meeting a spiritual being such as the Being of Light
8. Seeing a Past Life Review
9. Feeling a reluctance to return to life

Most of the above experiences can be explained as energy release from the dying atoms.

There was an experiment done to see if the human ‘spirit’ could be weighed. Dying people were weighed before and after death and it was noted that they weighed slightly less. Now, I know this experiment has been widely refuted but could it be viewed another way. Could the slight weight loss after death be attributed to the energy release from the atoms and could the body weigh less after death because the energy has been pushed into another dimension?

Daemon Photo for Anthony

As You might be able to guess, I've not contributed to this before and to be honest I'm a complete Luddite but it was lovely to meet Anthony at his lecture to the Liverpool Holistic Circle. I'm not a member of the group but was glad of the opportunity as the first book blew me away and I was eager for the second.

I'm an artist and have been working on a series of images over the last few years of ordinary people in everyday situations who are positioned in front of circular objects, circular architectural features or even road signs and the like which give the impression of halos. I've made two books of these saints in the last year and have managed to talk a few people I admire into joining in with the project. After growing up Catholic I couldn't resist the saint symbolism and have, I suppose been trying to show people's higher selves and using the cultural language I understood I was trying to democratise the status of saint.

Anthony was good enough to help me with this even though the only near by circle was the high up clock on the wall- (I was particularly entertained by the clock as Anthony's halo because I'd loved the discussion on time in the first book.) He had to stand on a chair to be in line with it but we both thought it was fun and he was very patient. Actually- it's not even apparent that it is a clock but that's ok. Normally I just present the actual snap-shot, (as If fleeting glimpses of perfection could just be captured that way) but I used my clumsy knowledge of Photoshop software for some reason to play with this so I include the original and the "Daemonic" version. Thanks Anthony...

The image to the left is called a "Thetan Cross". I came across this whilst doing some research on Scientology. Now I am sure that many of you itladians are aware that Scientology has some very itladian aspects ... the must intriguing being their concept known as the "Operating Thetan".

How a thetan is defined as the being that exists within the "meat body" as Scientologists term it. This is consciousness, the being that calls itself "I" or "Me". This is amazingly similar to the being I term the "Eidolon". Scientology teaches that by training and willpower a Thetan can evolve into an "Operating Thetan". This is, in effect, the Higher Self" or what we would term "The Daemon". But the Operating Thetan does not really have the full power of "The Daemon". However an OT can become "Clear" and when it does so it can manipulate the illusory universe its Thetan inhabits. This is, in my opinion, a fully aware "Daemon" to use itladian terminology.

Now what is weird is that the "Thetan Cross" looks disturbingly like the cross symbols that haunted my life a few months ago. I will be interested in your opinions on this. Check out the following earlier posts:

http://cheatingtheferryman.blogspot.com/2008/05/servants-of-light-sol.html

http://cheatingtheferryman.blogspot.com/2008/05/strange-events.html

Most odd eh ... or is this simply another case of Karl's "Kangaroo Effect"?

A Warning!

The ex-British heavyweight wrestling champion Alex Shane is probably the biggest Itladian at present. To appreciate just how powerful Alex is check out his latest entry on YouTube:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=tIG9n5JeFWY

So don't upset me or I will send Alex round!!!

In all seriousness guys, it looks like Alex will be fighting for the last time late in October. He and I met up in London last month and we discussed where his life will now take him after this event. Alex is simply amazing company and his ideas and theories are absolutely mind-blowing .... and they add yet another viewpoint on the Bohmian IMAX and the nature of reality.

Evidence for this can be seen in the articles that Alex writes for wrestling magazines. However his world-view is considerably more esoteric than one would normally expect for such magazines. Check out:

http://www.fightingspiritmagazine.co.uk/article.asp?IntID=81

I will be meeting with Alex next Thursday (9th of October) and we will be joined by fellow itladians, and members of this blog, Hurly Burly, Jake Horsley and possibly A Dark Philosopher. I will, of course, update you with any advances in this interesting collaboration.

The Daemon is Launched!

Last week, amidst great celebration (and a get together in the Three Stags afterwards), Tony's long awaited book "The Daemon" was launched. I managed to capture the event in photos, including the elusive Dark Philosopher.

Can this be evidence of Daemonic Communication?

In my new book I discuss in some detail the channels of communication between the Daemon and the Eidolon. These can be a voice in the head, dreams, hunches, and sometimes, via physical movement not initiated by the Eidolon. However communication between the Daemon and the outside world is somewhat less common. Indeed it is reasonable to conclude that as the speech areas of the brain are located in the dominant hemisphere (Broca’s Area) then vocal communication may be virtually impossible for a daemon. However it has been suggested that under certain conditions a daemon may appropriate the verbal centres of the dominant hemisphere and vocalize its thoughts and opinions to the outside world. Occasionally this has occurred during deep hypnosis sessions. At other times unusual neurotransmitter activity seems to also facilitate Daemonic manipulation across the corpus callosum and into Broca’s Area.

However I have recently come across evidence that the Daemon may have another way of communicating – this is a phenomenon known as “Reverse Speech”.

This was first suggested by an Australian named David John Oates. Oates claims that humans exhibit "bi-level" communication, that is to say forwards and backwards simultaneously. He argues that clear understandable reverse speech is occurring in bursts every 6 to 10 seconds continually during our forward communication.

Oates began his research in 1984, intrigued with the occurrence of backwards masking in rock and roll records. Backwards masking is a recording technique for purposely embedding backwards messages into music. While searching for these intended messages Oates says he stumbled onto his discovery of many messages, unintentionally embedded in the words of the music. He then quickly began studying all kinds of recorded speech looking for backwards messages. One of his earliest discoveries was in the famous recording of Neil Armstrong's "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Oates reverses this statement for the audience using computer software to reveal that this sentence played backwards says "man will space walk."

Excited by this discovery Oates next turned to the famous live recording of the television announcer commentary while witnessing the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Forwards the announcer says "There has been a shooting." Backwards the statement appears to say "he's shot bad, stop, look up." Such examples, says Oates demonstrate "congruent" reverse speech communication. More intriguing, however, are Oates' examples of incongruent communication. In his lectures Oates regularly plays a recording of a Patsy Ramsey being interviewed about the death of her daughter, Jon Benet. In the interview Ramsey says forwards "at least two people on the face of this earth know who did this, the killer and someone they may have confided in." Played backwards you can hear the statement "I'm that person."

Another example is ex- President Clinton's famous denial speech. Forwards, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman." Backwards, "I hate to say yes."

Now in ITLAD I argue that even in very young babies the Daemon is fully aware of who it is and where it has come from – it simply cannot communicate these facts. In a startling itladian example Oates cites examples of some reverse speech research he did with his twin girls. Starting at birth Oates was able to begin documenting reverse speech single words sentences at 4 months of age. What seemed like gibberish “baby talk” (or “egocentric speech” as the Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky termed it) when played in reverse yields the surprisingly clear impression of the baby saying "hello." At 7 months of age he began documenting two word sentences in reverse speech. In one astounding recording he held a small recorder up to the baby's face and the baby made common baby gibberish sound. Yet in reverse one can hear the baby say "what's that?" At 13 months of age Oates recorded the gibberish of his daughter as she reached for a cup. Reversed it yielded the sentence "David, help me." (These can be listened to at

http://www.reversespeech.com/Children_Reversals.htm

Lots of other examples can be found at:

http://www.reversespeech.com/Simple_Examples.htm

In my opinion David's work is potentially very interesting and worth investigating further.

ANNOUNCEMENT - KERRANG INTERVIEW

Folks,

Just to let you know that the Kerrang Interview tonight has been postponed. It seems that they are very interested in the book and would prefer to have read the book before they interview me. Indeed they wish me to go to their studios in Birmingham rather than on the telephone. This is a very positive development but unfortunately a little late for me to get the message out to all of you. If you see this can you please let any other itladians know about this delay.

I will be agreeing a date with them in the next few days and I will post it on here.

Cheers

Tony

Creating reality

Another interesting speculation brought up the "Quantum Enigma" (see previous post) has to do with creating a new reality.

The quandary is that if all reality is created by our observation, then does not "looking back 'now' give reality to what happened 'then'?" (John Wheeler, in the 1970s). So, it takes observation to bring reality to the Big Bang but whatever is doing the observation must have been created after the Big Bang---a rather self-referential bit of logic.

[quoting from the book now because it's so much easier than trying to summarize a summary ...]

"Accepting the boggle, we might ask: Though we could only create a universe in which we could exist, is the one we did create the only one we could have created? With a different observation, or different postulate, would the universe be different? It has been wildly speculated that postulating a theory that is not in conflict with any previous observation actually creates a new reality.

"For example, Hendrick Casimir, motivated by the discovery of the positron after its seemingly unlikely prediction, mused: 'Sometimes it almost appears that the theories are not a description of a nearly inaccessible reality, but that so-called reality is a result of the theory.' Casimir may also have been motivated by his own prediction, later confirmed, that the vacuum energy in space would case macroscopic metal plates to attract each other.

"If there's anything to Casimir's speculation, might Einstein's original suggestion of a cosmological constant have caused the acceleration of the universe? (Such a speculation can't be proven wrong.) Though taking such ideas literally surely seems ridiculous, we see how outrageously the quantum enigma has allowed us to speculate."

NOTE: The comment about Einstein and his cosmological constant refers to Einstein's initial theory of general relativity containing a constant, a fudge-factor more or less, that adds a repulsive force to keep the universe stable. But in 1929, Hubble announced that the universe is not stable but expanding and, therefore, Einstein's fudge-factor was not needed. Einstein called it the "greatest blunder of my carerr." He realized that had he believed his original theory, he would have predicted an expanding universe decades before it would be discovered. But the story continues because the effect of dark matter (no, not the "dark matter" of our Dark Philosopher's brain---although that is a force to be reckoned with and, perhaps, should be included in the equations) is a repulsive force not accounted for in the equations. Thus, Einstein's cosmological constant is back in the equations.

"Quantum Enigma: Physics Encounters Consciousness"

The main fodder for my recent post on consciousness was a book I just finished (see post title) by Bruce Rosenblum and Fred Kuttner. It is a very easy introduction to some quantum physics ideas including the "enigma" of superposition and the role of consciousness in the collapse of the wavefunction. It deals mostly with the Copenhagen Interpretation but mentions Everett's Many Worlds and several others. It's all non-technical and a pretty easy read.

Something perhaps interesting to Karl (in the unlikely event that he isn't already aware of them) are two quantum theories of consciousness. A very bare-bones outline is given and I don't quite get them but

1) Roger Penrose and Stuart Hameroff: This theory is based on quantum gravity and "proposes a physical proess beyond present quantum theory that rapidly collapses macroscopic superpositions to actualities. ... This process collapses, or 'reduces,' the wavefunction objectively, for everybody, even without an observer. Penrose calls this process 'objective reduction,' abbreviated OR. Penrose and Hammeroff clain that superposition states and long-range coherence might exist within a brain even though it is in physical contact with the environment, and that spontaneous ORs could regulate synaptic/neural functions. Penrose speculates that OR occurs spontaneously whenever two space-time geometries, and therefore gravitational effects, differ significantly. ... Such ORs would constitute 'occaisons of experience.' If entangled with an object external to the observer, the OR would collapse the wavefunction of the observed object, and everything entangled with it."

2) Henry Stapp: This theory "takes off from von Neumann's formulation of the Copenhagen interpretation. Von Neumannm ... showed that in viewing a microscopic object in a superposition state, the entire measurement system---from, say, the Geiger counter, to the human eye looking at it, to the thus entangled synapses inthe observer's brain---must, strictly speaking, be considered part of a grand superposition state. Only a consciousmess, something beyond Schrodinger equation evolution, can collapse a wavefunction. Stapp postulates two realities, a physical and a mental. The physical includes the brain, perhaps in a particular superposition state. The mental reality includes consciousness, thoughts, and, in particular, intentions. The mental can intentionally act on the physical brain to choose a particular superposition state, which then collapses to a particular situation. Consciousness does not itself 'reach out' to the external world in this theory, but this mental choice itself nevertheless determines, in part, the character of the physcial world external to the body. The final random aspect of the choise is then made by Nature."

Consciousness VS Collapse

I've been thinking recently about quantum mechanics and consciousness. Not as in depth as our FDP (i.e., Friendly Dark Philosopher -- time to update the IGTA, i.e., the ITLADian Glossary of Terms and Acronyms) Don't you just LOVE recursive acronyms? But I digress.

A parallel with some Jungian ideas struck me this morning. Don't know if it means anything or leads anywhere but I thought I'd throw out some vague ideas that are floating around in my head.

The main idea is Jung's "tension of the opposites" and how Edinger says that it is this tension of the opposites that actually creates consciousness. Edinger, in "The Creation of Consciousness," writes:

"[I]n the process of creating consciousness we shall at first be thrown back and forth between opposing moods and attitudes. Each time the ego identifies with one side of a pair of opposites the unconscious will confront one with its contrary. Gradually, the individual becomes able to experience opposite viewpoints simultaneously. With this capacity, alchemically speaking, the Philosophers' Stone is born, i.e., consciousness is created."

What struck me is the parallel between experiencing "opposite viewpoints simultaneously" and the superposition of quantum states. For Jung and Edinger, the goal is NOT to collapse the opposites to one or the other opposing viewpoint but to maintain a both/and reality.

As I said, I'm not sure if that means anything but it is interesting. This is all very unfleshed out but I was trying to imagine what it would mean to experience the tension of the opposites when it comes to quantum states.

Could it result in our being able to "see" several Multiple Worlds (MW) at the same time? Since each MW corresponds to one or another reality, holding a both/and view would let us experience several simultaneously.

And what is the application to our FDP's CtCw theory? What would it mean for the goal to be to NOT collapse the wave but keep it in its superposition?

Well, that's all I have for now. What do you all think?

Kerrang Interview - Final Details

Just a reminder that I will be interviewed on Kerrang Radio on Monday 22nd September at 1800 (UK time). I will be talking about my new book. I am told that I will be on for about twenty minutes.

Listen to Kerrang! Radio on DAB, Sky Channel 0183, Virigin Media, Freeview Channel 722,across the West Midlands on 105.2FM & at http://www.kerrangradio.co.uk/)

There may also be a "listen again" facility on the website should you miss this.

A Parable!

Once upon a time there was a poor but honest man. He lived in a small town and his small house overlooked the town's railway station. He had heard stories that once in every lifetime the "Gravy Train" stops at the station and for the price of ticket passengers were allowed to board it and by taken off on a journey to fame and fortune. Every day he would get up and think to himself "this will be the day when the Gravy Train will come and it will take me away from this little town forever".

But every day it didn't come. But he was an optimistic little chap and he continued to believe that one day his time would come.

Then one crisp and sunny autumnal morning it happened. He woke up and as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes he heard a loud whistle. He ran over to his window, thrust the curtains aside to see a gleaming train standing at the station platform, magnificant plumes of steam wafting over the small town and obscuring the little, huddled houses. "The Gravy Train!" he cried to himself as he quckly dressed himself. "Today is my day!"

He ran into the street and over to the station. In front of him he saw The Great & The Good of the small town dressed in their best finery. The doctors, the university professors and the teachers all climbing onto the Gravy Train. He thought to himself "These people already have all they need... why are they being allowed on the train?" He ran forward to the gate. As he tried to get through a big, bewhiskered ticket collecter barred his way. "Where do you think you are going sir?" the inspector asked. "I want to get on the train ... it is my big opportunity, my once in a lifetime chance, please let me past" the little man replied, adjusting is badly knotted tie and feeling somewhat under dressed for the occasion.

But the ticket inspector was adamant. "You have no ticket, you are not authorised to travel". "But how can I get a ticket? ... nobody told me that the train was arriving" the little man exclaimed, trying vainly to hold back his tears of frustration. The ticket inspector, moved by the tears, smiled at the little man but still clearly had no intention of letting him past.

"Look, the tickets were distributed weeks ago. The train company only want The Great & The Good on the Gravy Train. It is not for people like you. You would never have been told in advance nor be allowed to buy a ticket".

The little man, tears in his eyes, turned away. as he walked back to his tiny house he heard the sounds of laughter and merriment as the Gravy Train drew out of the station. He walked across the dusty road, his one big chance denied him because he didn't have a ticket ... a ticket he could never buy because as he now knew, He wasn't, and never could be, one of the Great & Good because they kept things to themselves and for themselves.

And then it then began to rain .....


Firstly I would really like to thank all of you who sent in emails to the BBC yesterday. I was amazed by the response and I am sure that the BBC were impressed by both the numbers and the geographical spread of these communications. However it seems that we were simply too late.

I managed to get through to BBC Radio 2 lunchtime. I had been tipped off by Dr. Alan Roberts that NDE was again being discussed. I phoned up and managed to get through to the studio of the Jeremy Vine Show. The guy on the phone was understanding but explained to me that the show was about to come to an end and I was simply too late. All very sad and not a little frustrating. This is not the first time this has happened.

This time last year my local radio station (BBC Radio Merseyside) had a whole feature on Deja Vu. Now I had been interviewed by the same station only a couple of months before and I had discussed how crucial to my theory was the deja phenonomenon. However rather than deciding to get a local 'expert' on the subject into discuss it BBC Radio Merseyside contacted Dr. Chris Moulin of Leeds University. Now in my opinion Chris is doing some fascinating work at Leeds (and references me on his website) but he is hardly "local" - and after all what is local radio for? Again I received lots of phone calls informing me that this was taking place so I phoned up the station. Similar to yesterday I was told that it was too late to have me on the show, even via the phone.

Both yesterday and after the Radio Merseyside 'incident' I was told that that was the end of their discussions on NDE (and Deja Vu) and they had no intention of airing the subject any more. Just like the reviewing editor of Fortean Times informed me when I begged her to at least consider reviewing ITLAD - that "We have done NDE to death in recent months and are not interested in your book or its conclusions" - it seems that I am always too late - just like the little man in my story. It seems that it is impossible to be invited onto these shows because "The Great & The Good" are always called to give their opinions ... not uppity little scousers with intellectual ideas above their station!

But we pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down, and start again!

Article: "The Metaphysics Of Near-Death Experience

On Sunday a small group of Itladians attended a meeting of the Manchester branch of the Scientific & Medical Network (SMN). These were Di (Woodsprite), Dr. Alan Roberts, Hephzi Yohannan and Keith Robbins. Indeed the excellent afternoon presentation was made by another Itladian, and member of this blog, Joanne (Persephone). Unfortunately Karl (A Dark Philosopher)would have been at the meeting but for a kindly errand of mercy that he had to make to a friend in need.

As you all may be aware I am a full member of the SMN and I have now done five presentations to various SMN groups across the UK and one in Switzerland (where I finally met fellow SMN member and Blog/Forum member Dr. Art Funkhouser)with more planned for the future.

Indeed this is the reason for this posting. At Sunday's meeting was a guy by the name of David Lawton. I recognised the name because David has written a fascinating article on the Near-Death Experience. This was published in the last edition of the SMN Journal.

David and I have both been invited to do presentations at the next Manchester SMN Meeting on 7th February 2009. The overall impression I have is that David himself, and some of the other SMN members, consider that our relative positions vis-a-vis the NDE phenomenon are at opposite ends of a spectrum. Indeed I was given the distinct feeling that the 7th February meeting has the potential to be slightly confrontational. I find this curious because I really enjoyed David's paper and saw some interesting parallels with regard to itlad ... particularly David's very philosophical approach to the phenomenon.

I would like you guys opinion with regard to David's paper. Do you feel that one viewpoint negates the other?

The article can be downloaded in a pdf format from:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/mrgc8c3zhpu/ntwrk97.pdf

(simply copy and paste the above link into your address bar or web search engine).

I look forward to your opinions (Susan Marie particularly).

KERRANG Interview

The producer of the programme has informed me that I will get twenty minutes this time. This is great news ... the Daemon-Eidolon Dyad introduced on prime-time, national radio!!!!

For those outside the UK this can be listened to on-line at http://kerrangradio.co.uk.

Another KERRANG Interview

Interest in the launch of my next book, The Daemon - A Guide To Your Extraordinary Secret Self is really starting to pick up. I have two interviews planned for USA-based radio stations and my local newspaper (The Wirral Globe) will be interviewing me next week.

I am also delighted to announce that I have been invited back for a third time to KERRANG Radio. As you may be aware KERRANG had quite a coup on July 23rd when the American astronaut, and 6th man to walk on the Moon, Edgar Mitchell was interviewed by the guy who interviewed me (Nick Magerrisson). This made headlines across the world when out of the blue Dr. Mitchell stated that the Rosewell crash was real and that aliens have contacted humans several times and that this truth has been hidden for over 60 years. (Indeed the producer of the Magerrison Show (Alex) has kindly sent me Dr. Mitchell's agent's email address and I have sent him details of our little bit of hyperspace here. Lets keep our fingers crossed!!!).

Anyway the interview is scheduled for Monday 22nd September at 1800 UK time.

I have no idea how long I will be on but seeing as this is prime time I imagine I will have ten minutes maximum. If you can listen in please do so.

Leven Na Leven Na Leven - Een Wetenschappelijke Verkenning

I am pleased to announce that the Dutch language edition of ITLAD has now been published in The Netherlands. It is interesting that my Dutch publisher (Ankh-Hermes) have decided against using the misleading "Is There Life After Death" title and have gone for a far more accurate "Life After Life After Life".

Having worked for many years for the British 'wing' of the Dutch national airline KLM I have a particular liking for The Netherlands and Dutch people in general. I spent many happy times in Amsterdam and a small town called Nordwijk on the coast.

Indeed one of the first organisations to show interest in my work was the Ouspensky Society and I visited their offices once in Amsterdam. My contact at the time was a lady called Pauline Tiben. If she is by chance keeping up to date with how my writing developed it would be great to hear from you, Pauline.

Another Dutch member of this Blog is the Dutch NDE writer Titus Rivas. Again it would be great to hear from him.

More on Glutamate and its role in CTF

In 1990 Dr. Karl Jansen of the Maudsley Hospital in London wrote the following:

“Near-death experiences (NDE's) can be reproduced by ketamine via blockade of receptors in the brain (the N-methyl-D-aspartate, NMDA receptors) for the neurotransmitter glutamate. Conditions which precipitate NDE's (hypoxia, ischaemia, hypoglycaemia, temporal lobe epilepsy etc.) have been shown to release a flood of glutamate, over activating NMDA receptors resulting in neuro ('excito') toxicity. Ketamine prevents this neurotoxicity. There are substances in the brain which bind to the same receptor site as ketamine. Conditions which trigger a glutamate flood may also trigger a flood of neuroprotective agents which bind to NMDA receptors to protect cells, leading to an altered state of consciousness like that produced by ketamine.”

Clearly Jansen considers that glutamate is responsible for the classic Near-Death Experience. In this quotation he also acknowledges that glutamate is also responsible for many elements of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). In order for my "Scale of Transcendence" ( "SOT"- soon to be introduced to an unsuspecting world with the release of my latest book) to be credible I have to show that autism, migraine, bi-polar disorder, TLE and schizophrenia are also glutamate-induced. I have recently come across some interesting support for SOT. Examples as follows:

Autism
"The largest search for autism genes to date, funded in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has implicated components of the brain's glutamate chemical messenger system and a previously overlooked site on chromosome 11. Based on 1,168 families with at least two affected members, the genome scan adds to evidence that tiny, rare variations in genes may heighten risk for autism spectrum disorders (ASD).The study is the first to emerge from the Autism Genome Project (AGP) Consortium, a public-private collaboration involving more than 120 scientists and 50 institutions in l9 countries. Their report is published online in the February 18, 2007 issue of Nature Genetics." - Quoted from Physorg.com, February 2007.

Migraine
“Migraine pain-relay centers, including the trigeminal ganglion, trigeminal nucleus caudalis, and thalamus, contain glutamate-positive neurons, and glutamate activates the trigeminal nucleus caudalis. Glutamate is implicated in cortical spreading depression, trigeminovascular activation, and central sensitization. Glutamate receptor-subtype antagonists are effective in preclinical models of migraine, and in the clinic.“ - Quoted from PMID: 12858134 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE. June 2003]

Temporal Lobe Epilepsy
"Elevated levels of extracellular glutamate in hyperexcitable areas of the brain, up-regulation of glutamate receptors, and loss of the glutamate-metabolizing enzyme, glutamine synthetase (GS), have all been reported in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE). Moreover, it appears that glial cells, particularly the astrocyte, may play a key role in the glutamate overflow in MTLE. Proliferation of astrocytes is a hallmark of the epileptogenic focus in MTLE." - "Brain" - 2008 Apr;131(Pt 4):938-44. Epub 2008 Mar 1. Quoted from a paper by M Sillanpää and D Schmidt, Department of Public Health, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.

B-Polar Disorder
"Disturbances of gamma-aminobutyric acid interneurons in the cerebral cortex contribute to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The activity of these neurons is, in turn, modulated by glutamatergic inputs furnished by pyramidal neurons." From a paper 'Acute mania is accompanied by elevated glutamate/glutamine levels within the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex' by Michael N, Erfurth A, Ohrmann P, Gossling M, Arolt V, Heindel W, Pfleiderer B. (Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2003 Apr 9).

Clearly glutamate is the linking factor between each element of the SOT. As such I argue that it is reasonable to conclude that it has to be of some significance that glutamate is also a major contributor to the classic NDE .... an experience that may await us all in the final moments of our life.

Obviously I am keen to hear from anybody who has an opionion on this, but any comments from neurologists with regard to this observation will be most welcome. Am I right to make such a link or am I wrong to draw such conclusions?

An experiment

I have this idea for an experiment and I'd like your help. I'm not sure what will come of it but it's an interesting idea for me. Here are the constraints:

1) Please provide your answers as a comment
2) Please do NOT read others' answers before answering
3) Please do not read ahead but do things in the order requested

I do not want to give any details about what I hope to accomplish as that would, perhaps, bias your answers. I will compile the results and try to draw some conclusions and report back as another blog post. So, the more participants, the better will be the statistical analysis. Hopefully, the results will be meaningful in the context of Anthony's theories but you never know!

So ...

the experiment begins ...

NOW!





First, close your eyes and imagine descending a ladder. There are ten rungs on the ladder. Count down from 10 to 1 and then to 0 as your feet touch the ground. When you've done that, continue reading ...





Now, think about what you "saw" as you descended the ladder and answer question #1. Did you see:

a) your hands on the ladder rungs as "you" descended the ladder?
b) yourself descending the ladder as if "you" were an observer watching yourself descend the ladder?
c) yourself watching yourself descending the ladder as if "you" were an observer watching an observer watch yourself descend the ladder?
d) some further recursion on that theme?

Answer that question and then continue reading ...





Question #2: If you think about the same scenario, can you easily alternate between 2 or more options in question #1? Is there one particular option that is "most comfortable" and easiest for you to picture?





Question #3: Answer the following question with a single noun:

"I AM A(N) ________"





Thank you for your participation and I will report back when I've compiled, analyzed, graphed, computed, regressed, curve fitted, contemplated, and coerced the data into something worth reporting :-)

Soren Kierkegaard and his "Secret Thorn": TLE and the daemon

Kierkegaard's Epilepsy:  The Intriguing Secret of the Machinery ( essay by H LB Hansen)   

Temporal Lobe Epilepsy and the Peakian Daemon in the Philosophizing of Soren Kierkegaard 

Since first finding Anthony Peake's online essay,  Cheating the Ferryman:  A New Paradigm of Existence?  I have held the view that his concept of binary mind and its dyad of eidolon/daemon lends much support to the philosophizing of Kierkegaard.  Having been an avid reader of K,  I had begun to suspect  -  after reading Tony's sections on the link of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy to daemonic interference  -  that Kierkegaard may have been epileptic.  Now, after having researched some of Kierkegaard's assertions about his "ailment" and some works which have made allusions or reference to it,  the  reading of this Hansen essay has decided the case in my own mind.

In February 1846,  Kierkegaard made a visit to his physician,  after having suffered for some time from strange "fits",  "going rigid",  fainting spells  and"swoons" in which he was "caught up to the sublime" .  Now,  after meeting with his physician, in his journals Kierkegaard begins to speak of "the idea of marriage and an heir being closed to me:,  of a "secret wound",  a "disharmony between between mind and flesh" which makes him kin to the Apostle Paul  -  who also suffered "fits"  -  and a "thorn in the flesh"  which sets him apart from others.

In Tony's Scale of Transcendence,  and in his theorizing about TLE and those afflicted with it,  and the connection to daemonic interference,  new light is shed on some of Kierkegaard's own philosophizing and into his basic assertions.  Running through the passages of Concluding Unscientific Postscript, Fear and Trembling,  Either/Or, Christian Edifying Discourses, and the pages of his own journals,   are allusions,  and with often odd phraseology, to a mind daemonically guided and enraptured.  His insistence upon the "man proceeding from the inward mind",  of the individual's duty and pressing need to fight against organized society;  his emphasis on the "one who sees the truth alone, against the crowd",  and his odd notion of sharing "a love secret with God"  all become clearer in the light of the Peakian dyad.  How strongly the daemon shines forth in the existential and suggestive passages of all of Kierkegaard's works. That he was often in the grips of his strange "fits" which made time seem "eternal"  and his surroundings "strangely removed and colored" becomes understandable when one imagines his epilepsy granting him,  as Tony explains aptly in ITLAD,  access to that secret self which made all of religion,  politics and culture seem urgently in need of reparation to this sole thinker of inward realms.    Once again,  the accidental finding of an essay which has great meaning to me and expands my understanding of all I have read, and thought,  and will think again;  issues from and leads again into the thinking of Anthony Peake.  

A Moment in the Heraclitean Flux. . .

Barack Obama,   as seen through the eyes of this philosopher. . .   I emailed Tony this morning,  just a bit about what is was like to be in the pressroom when Obama entered.  He has asked me to post it here,  and on the forum,  just for the common interest,  so here goes.  It is excerpted from an email to Karl L Le Marcs:

"Obama Press Conference:  Hectic,  packed and brief.  I had to stand to the side,  with the cameramen.  Thrilling,  eerie,  and uncanny,  when he entered from the other side,  and to see the dark eyes roaming sullenly and arrogantly over the press corps,  yet twinkling now and again as his soft gaze would light on you.  The very air in the room tingled with his electric charismatic presence.  I had to leave Tony's book [ITLAD] with Security,  and one of the guards, looking at my press pass,  which hung round my neck,  snapped at me,  "Why are you giving Senator Obama a book with this title?  It's a jinx,  and bad luck, he'll get shot at . . . "  and as I walked away,  I looked back,  and saw them looking down at the book on the table , then back at me .  Most unnerving.  "

I did tell Tony  also that during the start of the  convention , 4 men were arrested in Denver,  and taken into FBI custody;   police confiscated  rifles and a rifle-telescopic lens attachment.  One of the men stated that  the four were in Denver with the idea of finding a high vantage point from which to shoot Obama at the outdoor speech at Invesco and Mile High,  so there must have been some real worry and a certain paranoia there,  at the least.   

The Daemon in Antiquity

Ab antiquo,  Ab aeterno " From the ancient, from eternity"

It is interesting that the daimon or daemon which appears in classical Greek philosophy and mythology bears those  traits which can be understood now,  in the 21st century,  within the framework of the Peakian dyad and Imax.  And yet the latter  in no way alters the timeless quality of the ancient reflections;  rather,  it adds the dimensions of technology and quantum scientific theory :  Thus is the daemon expanded.  It fills history.   Meade has written an excellent essay called On the Daemon;  it appears in the online journal of Philosophy and Theology,  Theandros.  Some of what is found therein:


Plotinus in the Ennead 3.4 speaks of the daimon in terms of the principle of Unity:  the soul of man is a miscrocosm,  and thus does the daemon partake of all the powers in the cosmos,  or at least has access to them.  Plato's Pheado 107d and the Timeaus 90a speak of the daemon as being that which,  at the moment of death,  leads the man to the gathering of dead souls.  It is spoken of as a guardian,  a higher self,  and partaking in the transcendent qualities of the soul.  

The daimon of Socrates was seen as the indwelling spirit of genius which guided him. 


A wonderful essay appears online,  by a professor of philosophy,  Rick  ( I will have to check his surname!)  entitled,  On Daemons and the Heraclitean Flux.  The author is of course referring to that greatest of all Pre-Socratics,  Heraclitus,  and his idea of the transitory and fluctuating nature of the world of appearances.  Within this essay,  he weaves the theme of fatherlessness in his boyhood, and in our culture.  As  I read him,   I am brought at once back to my student days,  steeped in early Greek thinking;  yet also to 2007,  and the finding of an essay called Cheating the Ferryman  by Anthony Peake.  The philosophical /Heraclitean essay ends with the assertion,  Sol fide?  Nope:  Sol Immanuel.  God with us!    And to me,  this is what makes Peakian theory so beautiful:  spirituality is no longer at war with science,  nor is it given over to rank new age drek:  but it is indwelling,  within the dyad,  as was the daemon of Socratis.  Sol Immanuel!    I think that there is much that is philosophical which may yet be tapped into,  in terms of further lectures and writings by Tony  ( which is why I have saved many essays,  along with commentary by yours truly,  for future use-lol!);    and it is always a thrill for me  -  when reading some of these  wonderful essays,  and the quotes of the best sages of antiquity  -  to see traces of the ideas of Anthony Peake,  sofly glowing from them.   

Time Anomaly

I am currently reading 'Suddenly Psychic' by Maureen Caudill. This is her account of her experiences following her work with The Monroe Institute. She was trained in mathematics and physics, and worked for many years in the field of artificial intelligence and neural nets. Probably about as analytical as you can get.
The Monroe Institute is based upon the pioneering work of Robert Monroe in altered states of consciousness, using binaural beat sound signals to induce various frequencies in the brain. It has a long and respected record in this area.
Anyway, I am relating this story, which is not unique, but really does shatter common sense conceptions of time. The author's experiences in fact totally shattered and reformulated her world view.
Basically, Maureen Caudill was given an exercise involving a form of remote viewing. She was given a name, time and place relating to a particular woman. She deduced through her psychic skills that this was a woman suffering from breast cancer, at a date 8 months previously. She employed a visualisation technique given by The Monroe Institute, involving sending an image of a golden dolphin to provide healing energy. As an innovation, she left the dolphin with the patient.
The patient was apparently found to be aware of this activity. This in itself violates the consensus world view. But she claimed to have an intuitive awareness of the imaginary dolphin from 8 months ago - at the time her details were documented by the Monroe Institute!
One is free to believe that all this is fabrication or imagination of course, but I for one find that the writer seems sincere and reliable, and I am willing to accept her testimony. The book is published by Hamptons Road, 2006, and is full of interesting material on science and consciousness.

A Foray into Will vs Consciousness: Some Remarks

Peakian Dyad may be viewed as Will rather than Consciousness:  Reflections after reading Woodsprite's Critique of Dark Knight. . .


Kant tells us that "the world is empirically real but transcendentally ideal",  and in terms of the dyad,  one could say that this describes the eidolon and the daemon.   I have often thought that  -  philosophically speaking  -  the distinction between will and consciousness is an extremely important one when viewing the daemon (as Tony has conceived it).

A text which I have been reading lately  -  by Chris Hedges,  author of American Facists,  and now a polemical speaker against both fundamentalist Christians and atheists in America  -  points out the contrast most aptly.  In the model which Hedges uses  -  and he draws on Schopenhauer,  Nietzsche,  and Samuel Beckett to make his point  -  will is the ground of life,  and not consciousness.  This leads to a very important and telling conclusion:  Memory   is not what we conceive it to be in the rational mind,  not at all.   For concsiousness is a surface and a pretense;  thus does memory in its authentic state arise from willing alone.  Schopenhauer  -  and Nietzsche after him  -  has said that our true self is "  a secret self,  which knows only willing."  Memory in this sense works secretly,  and comes and goes unbidden by our rational constructs.   It is "not consciouss recollection of life"  says Hedges.  It is rather,  "wisdom".  Hedges asserts that knowledge is the domain of science,  but wisdom belongs to "real memory".

I had often thought,  after "meeting" Tony through email,  that it would be a profound debate,  to question him on whether he believed his "daemon" conception is conscioussness or will.   This feeling of mine increased several-fold when it became clear to me some months ago that Tony had a philosophical partner at his side  ( Le Marcs).   That this question is one in  which the entire debate between science and spirituality hangs,  to my thinking flags it as material for public discourse.

  Memory and will lie in the substrata of life,  and contain secret quasi-alchemical powers,  which consciousness  -  "the parasite of will",  says Schopenhauer  -  misunderstands.    Now that Woodsprite (Di)  has posted on the forum her beautifully written and reasoned critique of Dark Knight,  I think that this debate can extend beyond Tony himself,  and his Philosopher;  it can be taken up on forum,  whether under the categories of philosophy,  consciousenss,  or even  -  if we want to stick with Di's example  -  Itladian film.  For Di has said that she cannot conceive of the character of the Joker as being daemonic,  in the Peakian sense,  for 2 reasons:  1.  He does not recollect Batman's life  2.  He is not the upholder and moral guide of Batman.  These assertions are indeed true,  when viewed through the lens of consciousenss.  However,  when viewed through willing,  I argue that Joker may be seen as both containing true memory and as being an upholder of a kind of morality  ( Nietzschean morality).  And anyone who attended the Democratic National Convention in Denver this week would be hard-pressed to say that Barack Obama does not seem an incarnate example of Schopenhauer's "Will and its Representation"!   In any case,  at some point this discussion ought to be taken up on forum.  I would be interested in hearing others' thoughts on this matter. 

The Daemon - Official Book Launch

It has now been confirmed that "The Daemon, A Guide To Your Extraordinary Secret Self" will be launched upon an unsuspecting (or very "suspecting" if you are a blog or FORUM regular)on Wednesdya 24th September at 1830. Full details can be found at:

http://linghams.co.uk/display.php?id=47

This will be a very informal affair with drinks and nibbles.I will do a short and very generalistic talk followed by a question and answer session.

Tickets can be bought in advance from Linghams (tel:0151 342 7290)and can be collected on the night.

Daemonic Evolution and Neuro Atypicality: A Theory

This synopsis was posted a few weeks ago but then mysteriously disappeared!! I have reposted it here and on the forum and look forward to feedback from my fellow ITLADIAN's both old and new! (Thank you to those that posted the first time round, I would appreciate it if you would comment again)

This is a synopsis of a piece I have written theorizing the evolution of the daemon and how neuro atypicality may serve a very real purpose in such an evolutionary cycle.

Karl has theorized that there has to be a Virgin Life when it all begins and an Ultimate Life when we lose sentience and return to the objective consciousness field. By applying Cantor’s rule, eventually our particle of consciousness cannot be divided any further and we lose sentience.

What I suggest is that we don’t just suddenly reach our Ultimate Life and become daemonically fused. The daemon evolves gradually and as it does, eidolonic influence diminishes until the sentient being is functioning primarily as a daemonic individual.

The Quantum Zeno Effect suggests that constant self-observation of the brain/mind tends to sustain certain brain states more than others. A daemonic individual will therefore, naturally, have greater effect on the more eidolonic individual. The daemonic individual exists in a different conscious state of perception than others.

The daemon cannot exist independently of the eidolon. I suggest that fusion of the dyad doesn’t take place in the Ultimate Life. Experiences of the eidolon grow the daemon. The eidolon is an absolute necessity for the daemon to flourish.

Now imagine a Virgin eidolon born with the doors of perception wide open. It would know something was wrong but would not be able to make sense of it. This, surely, would cause neuro atypicalities such as schizophrenia and Bipolar disorder. If the Virgin Life is the start point, the baptism of fire, once within the Bohmian IMAX, the daemon comes into play. This traumatic start point will lead the strongest of daemons

Karl has kindly given me permission to use him and his neuro atypicality as an example to help support the theory I have posited.

Karl’s Virgin /Ultimate Life state has oft been debated on blog. There is something on an unconscious level that affects individuals that come into contact with him.

Could it be that he is a very evolved, daemonically living individual?

If this is the case, then his amazing memory would not be unusual. Karl has much more access to the playback and therefore exhibits much higher levels of recall.

I posit that as evolution continues the corpus callosum diminishes and the eidolon has less and less access to the daemon. The individual is living daemonically, is reaching full potential and the eidolon is losing sentience.

This may explain why Karl also has strange effects on people. They have reported being unable to have déjà vu experiences around him and personally, I have noticed that my daemonic activity is much reduced around him. If we go back to the Quantum Zeno affect this would make sense. As a daemonic individual Karl in functioning ahead of others. He is the primary observer in any interaction and if we apply the MMI, Karl will always be the one to cause decoherence in any interaction. This would preclude anyone else having a déjà vu and reduce their daemonic activity as well.

It also explains why Karl doesn’t have precognition and déjà vu himself. The corpus collosum is much reduced; the eidolon has very little access to the daemon so nudges and hints like precognition and déjà vu are just not necessary.

If we look at Karl’s neuro atypicality we can also see the functioning of a primarily daemonic individual.

Simply put Bipolar disorder manifests as extremes of mood. I have observed that Karl has overcome the debilitating symptoms of this condition through self awareness and wisdom to help him grow.

If we look at some of these symptoms we can see clearly the eidolon/daemon balance

Daemon – Hypergraphia hyperlexia, intelligence, memory recall, thinking ahead, constant brain/mind self observation.

Eidolon – Low energy, sometimes low mood, chronic fatigue.

In conclusion I suggest:

The dyad of eidolon and daemon always exists as the eidolon is the experiencer to enable the daemon to grow.

• Fusion of daemon/eidolon therefore does not occur. I suggest that as the daemon grows in awareness the eidolon’s sentience diminishes. The corpus callosum link also diminishes as this process evolves.
• Over time, the percentage balance increases in favour of the daemon. That is the primary goal from the start.
• Neuro atypicality can now be seen to serve a purpose. We may not be able to see it in this present moment but if we look at the big picture of many, many reruns within the Bohmian IMAX past life memory playback, it makes sense. The individual who starts from a position of having too much perception will eventually have the strongest daemonic existence.
• The eidolon begins learning with unconscious/incompetent (doesn’t known and doesn’t know it doesn’t knows). Then moves to conscious/incompetent (doesn’t knows but is aware of it). Then conscious/competent (learning is taking place but conscious effort required to understand). Finally, unconscious/competent (integrated learning that requires no conscious effort). At this point the individual is primarily daemonic in existence.
• In coming into contact with these highly evolved daemonic individuals the lives of others will be affected, enabling them to further their own evolution. This, again, suggests evolutionary synergy. It is not an individual goal but also has bearing on the potential of others.