tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495739005063980827.post6793337203953360029..comments2011-08-01T08:16:57.779-07:00Comments on Authors of the Impossible: ABC's "The Outsiders"Scott H. Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02461414612032273021noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495739005063980827.post-44324002986389118942009-09-12T20:21:09.471-07:002009-09-12T20:21:09.471-07:00“. . .a belief in non-physical beings is the most ...“. . .a belief in non-physical beings is the most common feature of religions; it may indeed be universal. In fact, . . the idea of non-physical beings has been taken for the very definition of religion itself.” —Steven Mithven (The Prehistory of the Mind)<br /><br />I missed the TV program. But as a clinician who has worked with close encounter "experiencers" for 15 years, I can confidently say that the EITHER / OR framework is too narrow. But adding a mystical framework is just an extension of one end of the continuum--still tending towards a "projection of the human mind." That, I dispute. <br /><br />I would far rather extend the continuum in the other direction. Expand your sense of time & space beyond the materialist end-of-the-continuum. Paraphrasing Nithyananda, east Indian sage, who said, when asked about aliens (several years ago): "Yes, they are real, I have been with them. But they cannot live here [on Earth]; this space is too dense." <br /><br />Nithyananda also said that what most people experience is mere "hallucination," probably meaning "projection." To some extent that is true. But Nithyananda agreed that these are real Beings. Just as the Tibetans believe Nature Spirits--channeled by their Oracles--are real. Just as real as you and I, that is, independently existing (as much as anything can be). In fact, I'd say that so-called aliens are even MORE REAL than you or I. That is, these Beings are definitely more conscious. Beyond the egoic level--who you and I are--is a complete fiction.<br /><br />In summary, one need not be a reductionist materialist in order to believe that these Beings are "real." The human mind does not produce them, even though the we do interpret their actions within our conceptual frameworks. But linear time & Newtonian space do not define time and space either. Ironic that only mathematicians and physicists take multi-dimensional realities seriously.<br /><br />Re: Tibetan Nature Spirits, see David Cherniak's documentary "Oracle," which includes the Dalai Lama. http://AllinOneFilms.com<br /> <br />Background: A decade ago, David Cherniak led a "secret" expedition with John Mack (Harvard psychiatrist who worked w/alien abductees) to meet with the Dalai Lama to inquire into the Tibetans' familiarity with these Beings. The response of the Tibetans was in keeping with my view that these Beings offer much more than a mere glimpse into the nature of human mind and consciousness.DrJanethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06642522244576266258noreply@blogger.com