So what have I salvaged from my eight-year dalliance with the paranormal? Strip away the frauds, deconstruct the logical fallacies, filter out the obvious perceptive errors, trash the bogus scholarship, and what remains are the fundamental unknowns that have historically engaged the great philosophers: What is the nature of consciousness? To what extent does our consciousness perceive what is "real," and what part is "hallucination" or delusion? Is there a way to reference apparent hallucinations to theoretical "other" realities? Do we perceive only what we are trained to perceive, and if so, is there another reality behind our perception? Who, indeed, is the percipient? These are the fundamental questions that I instinctive ask when confronting the paranormal, but paranormalists not only do not ask them, they seemingly do not realize that they need to be answered, or at least acknowledged.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Sabbatical from the paranormal
I've stopped listening to paranormal radio. I've wiped my iPods clean, and now I listen to music shows downloaded from dar.fm. (For those curious, I download Bob Parlocha, Jazz On The Side, Rhythm Sweet And Hot, and Bluegrass Breakdown.) The reason was very simple: what is commonly labeled as "paranormal" is not the paranormal that I grew up reading. There's something distinctively negative and "off" about it. I'm not sure why that's so--but today's paranormal is too much Alex Jones and not enough Charles Fort. I'm actually careful about what I put into my ear (and mind), and I've just decided that it's not worth my time.
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Somehow, in my "searching", I have come across your blog. I wholeheartedly agree with what you are saying. I cannot understand why these important questions are not being asked; moreover, why are they not being asked by the "loudest" of the supposedly paranormal adherents? I, like yourself, have been on a many years quest or "seeking" into the paranormal and I, like yourself, have developed an angst against the so-called "paranormal investigators" of the day. I believe what most are investigating is how to keep their ratings up (radion show hosts and the like), how to fatten their bank accounts, etc,etc. If they actually sit down and listen, really focus on what they are touting and spouting, they would realize that they have swung so far away from the core of paranormal and are grasping and pulling in anything, again to support ratings, and that taken as a whole does not come close to making any sense. Get back to the basics is what I say and the basics start with, "What is consciousness?" There are great physicists and thinkers out their today but no one is listening. I could go on and on and on.....Oh Well. I am just glad there are others out there that are able to see through this.....I don't even know what to call it....Have a good day.
ReplyDeleteSomehow, during my "searching" I have come across your blog. Koodles to you! I am glad that I have run across someone else who wants to know why the important questions are not being acknowledged. In my opinion, radio stations that once were sincere about paranormal research, are now more concerned with keeping their ratings up, fattening their bank accounts, etc, etc. We need to get back to the basics of "What IS consciousness"
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