The Cassiopaean Experiment
Introduction:
Open Your I and Seek
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Why we are here? Why are
some people great while others are not? Why is it
so that some people succeed with little effort, Why do
some start with good intentions, Is the truth really "Out There"? If so, is it possible to discover some part of it? Human beings are generally so overwhelmed by their everyday lives that they forget the most important thing about life itself: death. None of us are going to get out of here alive. But nobody really likes to talk - or even think - about that single fact that all life holds in common: We are all going to die. And then, what? There are many answers to that question depending on who you ask. But are they the "truth?" There are many who suggest that such questions are not even important. Certain "Scientific philosophies" refer to the "accidental mechanicalness" of the universe and teach us that the only meaning to life is no meaning at all. "Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow you may die" and then -- oblivion. When you ask the question: what happens when we die? you also may find yourself confronting the issue of why are we here? Why does anything exist at all? In asking this question, we confront a strange condition of our reality - the vast chasm between the methods and conclusions of science and religion. A scientist and a priest will both agree on the definition of a crystal of sodium chloride, but they may not agree at all on theological definitions. When we consider religion, our approach may be naïve or critical. The word "naïve" comes from the Latin nativus, meaning that to be naïve is to be in a more or less "natural" state in our attitudes toward the questions of life. Naïve religious experience could be likened to the natural awe and wonder at the vastness of the heavens or the marvelous frail delicacy of a flower; the overpowering mystery felt in the presence of thunder and lightening and tempestuous winds. Those who observe the seasons of growth and decay, birth and death, may intuit the idea of a controlling order to all life. The glory of a sunset or the majesty of mountains or the intensely personal hush of a sun-dappled forest may impress human beings with the powerful sensation that they are NOT alone in a sense that goes beyond physical organs. All of these things - and more besides - can awaken the sense of mystery within us. And careful observation will leave one with the overwhelming sense that there in an "invisible reality" that is behind or over all the visible life in our world. It is in this state of innocence that we are conditioned - programmed, even - by the "traditions" of our religions. As a consequence of this "programming," most ordinary human beings simply follow the conventional observances: their religions are made for them by others, communicated to them by their traditions, conformed to by imitation, and retained by habit. You could say that they have a "second-hand religious life." Everywhere, and in all ages, human beings have had their experiences named and clothed by traditions and concepts, that "explain" the mysteries that confront them. The question is: are those traditions and teachings "true?" When we search for the original sources which were the pattern makers for all this mass of suggested feeling and imitated conduct, we find - at the root - individuals for whom religion exists as an "acute fever," rather than a "dull habit" to be endured once a week to ensure "salvation." The problem is, religious "geniuses" - prophets - are very often people of what we might define as a sort of "exalted emotional sensibility." Generally, they live unhappy lives, are plagued by melancholy, are liable to obsessions and fixed ideas, and frequently they are individuals who spontaneously fall into trances, hear voices, see visions and essentially, behaved in ways that modern psychiatry would consider pathological. Nowadays, of course, there are many individuals who approach very close to the border of pathology, promote ideas, beliefs, and a great deal of nonsense, and quite rightly are labeled as "cultic." What a lot of people never stop to think about is that our "standard religions" are most assuredly as "cultic" as any modern group that makes claims to inside information delivered from aliens or other communicants from assorted different realities. "Prophecy," in its orginal sense, meant "inspired utterance." That is to say, a human being claims to speak with more than mortal knowledge or insight about "other worlds," or the "unseen realities." This, of course, raises the question as to WHO is inspiring the "utterances." And that question is NOT an unimportant one. It is, in fact, CRUCIAL. It seems that all "primitive" or preliterate cultures had some form of codified communication between spirits and the living. This phenomenon seems to be universal in the ancient world, and only came under condemnation with the inception of monotheism around 1000 BC. When Yahweh spoke through his channels, the activity was "divine inspiration." When anybody else did it, it was necromancy or demonic possession, or even just out and out deception. This was because, obviously, since Jehovah/Yahweh was the only god, those other "gods" did not exist, therefore, anyone who claimed to be channeling them was lying. Of course that begs the question as to why people were put to death for lying about communicating with gods that were claimed not to exist? And, if they did actually exist, and were actually communicating, as Yahweh was purported to be doing also, then what status does that suggest about Yahweh, since he was the one who claimed to be the only god and that this was true simply because Jehovah/Yahweh said so via channeling? Most curious. Machiavelli observed that religion and its teachings of uncritical faith, hope, charity, love, humility and patience under suffering were factors that render men weak and cause them to care less about worldly and political things, and thus they will turn political power over to wicked men who are not influenced by such ideals (though they may easily pretend to be). Of course, the real trick is to convince people that the "afterlife" is the only thing worth thinking about, and it is to this end that the monotheistic religions have been formulated. It is also to this end that many of the New Age beliefs and "formulations" of the "subjective truths" seem to have been engineered. All you have to do is have faith or meditate so as to feel "love" for everything and everybody. Nothing is said about the day by day struggle, and the necessity for action that could contribute to different, positive outcome in the present, objective reality in which we live and move and have our being. This brings us back to the problem we face in our reality: that the science of "living beings" has not proceeded apace with the sciences dealing with the physical objects in our reality. The "hard sciences" are generally based on concepts which can be expressed concisely and elegantly in mathematics. They have exerted all their efforts to construct a physical universe of magnificent calculations and hypotheses. This mathematical universe is often unspeakably abstract, composed of symbols that express a physical reality beyond the realm of common thought. And yet, if you ask any of them "why?" you probably won't get an answer. Science is supposed to tell us what and how and where and, sometimes, even when - but they don't have much to say about who and how. From such things as rocks, metals, liquids, stars and atoms, certain qualities can be extracted. The observation, description and classification of objects, the relations between variable quantities, can give us the power to predict future events and often to determine at will their occurrence. In studying the constitution and properties of matter, humanity has gained mastery of almost everything which exists in our reality - except ourselves. If we are all going to die, and that is a given fact of our existence - something that is common to all - why hasn't science exerted every effort within its purview to discover the reasons for - and the END of - our existence?
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