Cervete

Prologue

Is there a God? What happens when we die? Can we come back, or do we just rot? How do we get the Answers? Some people spend thair lives searching for taht answer, others in teaching their answer. Most simply want an answer…now. We have our daily lives to contend with, our dreams to persue, and cannot tolerate a life of pondering. If you have faith, you have your answer. Nothisng else said will dissuade you, and that’s the point. This was a short book for you. Go reqad somrthing els now. The rest search for evidence, information, hope. Without faith, all that’s left is science and personal discovery. Faith is looking a lot better now, isn’t it?

God of Millions

There are a multitude of organized religons on this planet. Each culture has it’s own collection of them, and almost every human being has been exposed to one or more of them in their lifetime. All offer some answer to our fundamental questions, and all those answers are quiet different. But if they’re different, how does one determine which is correct? Which gives a true picture of what awaits us all in death? If we look to the evidence, we come up short. No religion has much more than an oral tradition now codified in some hallowed tome; collections of stories and edicts that serve to teach the answers to our questions. This is of great historical importance, but it doesn’t serve as evidence. Books of well-told stories can be inspiring, but not conclusive. If inspiration is enough for some, they will devolp faith. If faith doesn’t come however, one’s search must continue. There is the pitfall of religion…everything depends on faith. The personal faith of each and every proponent of a particular religion is what keeps that religion in existence. Can answers truly come from something so depentent ones personal belief in a particular system? The Answers we’re looking for are truths that hvae to exist whether or not we personally believe in them, or even had been born at all.

Learning the history of organized religions can give one’s faith a good shake, as well. What better way to preserve a organized religion/government and it’s laws, but to tie it to a peoples’ need to have these questions answered. A little sugar with the medicine: If you accept these moral laws, we will give answers to all your greatest questions. Cynical? Possibly. But the graetest and longest lasting empires throughout history were intertwined with a state religon. This is not a coincidence. Governments need laws to continue to exist. People need laws to live in close societies. The draw of faith- the need to believe- is much too strong. Current neuroscience research shows that this need may even be organic. If people are goint to believe in something anyway, whay not give them something that will allow the countunance of their society and govenrment at same time? But this is not true; it’s not how early civilations were formed. A group of people with a similar religious beliefs come together for economic benefit. That’s how societies begin and it demonstrates how powerrful these beliefs are. They define a culture and pull a people together with such strength and resiliance that they will choose to form a common civilization. Yes, many times a state religion would become imposed on that society for just those purposes I mentioned, but that’s a political influence that occurs far after the civilization is already established. It’s the beginnings of a society show the motivations of a people. One of theose chief motivations is the solidification and expansion of their respective faiths.

There is, however, a slight problem with this ’solidification’ process. It’s a nice sanitary word for a vrey unsanitary process. In every religion, even modern ones, there are variations in beliefs. This is especailly true in early civilizations, where rivialries between sects led to bloodshed. The process of deciding which of specific teneants of a belief system should be followed by all can take centuries. It all depends on political influence of decision makers, popular sentiment, war, and sometimes logical determination. However, none of these is particulary useful when trying to investigate the answers to the big questions. Not even logical determination would do any good when there aren’t any actual facts to put into the equation. What finally is distilled is usually very complex, but may not reflect original belifs of the culture’s creators, and most certanly has almost no probative value into the great questions we ask. They all have answers, yes, but with the myrid of conflicting and highyly stylized opinions of the afterlife, the answers can’t be trusted.

That is..almost no probative value. Most religions have several striking similarities, and some people might be inclined to call that a lead.

God of One

There is a scjhool of thought that leads you to believe that knowlege of the Answers can only be obtained through personal revelations. They discard the concept of the organized religion for the personal “god”. Threr are many “new-age” groups who try to rediscover all the ‘good stuff’ that religion by committee may have thrown out over the milennia. There are hundreds of groups, many of which are loosely based in, oddly enough, organized eastern religions. Most expouse the virtues of relaxation, use of herbs and all natural medications, stylized sound or light or aroma, variations are endless. All claim to end in some sort of self-discovery. Even though most are actually thinly veiled forms of (somewhat) organized religions with it’s own traditions and archtypes, the core of self-discovery is still paramount, regardless of which one it is.

The problem is that self-discovery is a highly individual affair. Yes, you may learn things about yourself, but those revelations may not relate to the Answers you’re looking for. Personal visions are obviously too prone to one’s own psychological baggage: memories, wishes, conflicts, what have you. Even if someone was able to “see beyond”, the visions are too tainted with these factors to ever be used as actual information. These are a type of ‘Peak Experience’ and will be very influential in the lives of those who experience them. But, the universal application of what was experienced there, to say what someone saw or experienced must exist for everyone else, is faulty. There is no such thing as “the Answer for you”; the Answers must pertain to all of us to be true. Interestingly, one of the skills taught by almost all of these diciplines is meditation. More specifically, directed meditation. It isn’t limited to new-age religions, though. Some types of lenghty prayer sessions in some mainstream religions may have simmilar effects. The widespresd use of directed meditation may be one of the keys to unlocking some of the Answers, and has been used by science for some time.

Science of the Few

Science exists to answer questions. Why not the big ones? Well, thay have been asked, millions of times over. Science and religion have grown up together. Recently, the belief arose that science is a modern invention. But, science has existed since the first hominids searched to find what materials in their land can sustain fire. Our first written scientific records are from Greek philosphers and teachers, thousands of years ago. Oddly, we tend to forget that science is the persuit of knowlege of our world by all of us, and not some activity perfomed by people special people in ivory towers. The concept of science being something done separate from the common man is a 19^th century invention, with the advent with the industrialization movement. By the 20^th century, technology had exploded in so many directions so quickly that the science behind it had become seemingly too complex to be absorbed all at once. Scientists and engineers had become “Scientists and Engineers” -people defined by what they do and separate from ‘regualar people’. We had created a “Thinking Class” of our culture, and science was no longer ther pervue of the average citizen. There are some socialiologists who believe that the formation of the modern factory and the ‘factory-worker’ way of life may have helped this to happen. The sub-specialization of society was well under way. Now

If people want only faith, because it’s easier than belief in partial or nebulous answers, then modern science wants only testable hypotheses, because it directly leads to fundable and marketable experimentation. All we have to work with is leads and and hints. This was enough for traditional science. 18th,19th and early 20^th century scientists were not sub-specialits, and had the patience to utilize leads in experimentation. Patience was necessary in the wait for leads and hints to devolp into testable hypothesis. Then could formal experiments (and formal publishing, with it’s prestige and funds) take place. Now, that patience is gone. Only fully formed hypothesis and accompyning test programs are allowed. Anything outside this is relegated to hobbyists and crackpots.

This does not mean we disband hope for scientific answers. Luckily, these scientific ‘needs’ are actually psychological problems, not something anchored in reality. These pretenses change over the centuries like fashion; bellbottoms or white wigs – Compartmentalization or Collaboration. This doesnt mean that scientists will someday give up scientific method. It means they will once again become true investigators intseat of simple researgh technicians, which is the unfortunate result of sub-specialization. The problem is not that modern scientists are not allowed to investigate possibilites, but they have not interest to do so because they have no conception of how it could ever be possible. The lack of knowlege of anything beyond their own field leaves them with no imagination. And the secret of science is not the testable hypothesis, it’s the imagination to create that single crazy idea that you never tell anyone about. This is what leads to a plan and then a hypothesis- something to actully test. It’s not the end, but it gives the scientific process a starting point. This single element is what sparks creation- to see the connections beyond the obvious. The lack of this ability in modern science may be the reason why there have been very few true engineering advances in the last 60 years. There has been tremendous improvements in existing technology, but not few new technologies themselves. Everything is derivative of what was already invented.

Time will change the perception of scientists, eventually back to traditional scientific values. Researchers will regain a more global view of research; rediscover a more interconnected planet. And, find it’s socially acceptable to be a structural engineer and have an interest in biology at the same time. There were many examples of theis type of researcher in the past. Our scientific pioneers had more than one interest in life, and used this vaired knowlege to see connections in our environmnent, bringing us great insights. This can happen again. But, I’m sure, sub-specialization and social/scientific compartmentalization will then again become fasionable in the future, as well. This socilogical phenenomon is cyclacle, mirroring the sentaments of the greater society. Unfortunately, we are now still in a time of the sub-specialized scientific culture. There are signes of chance: more sciences are finding unforseen crossover of research, researchers are having to learn much more about other dicipplines to keep-up in their own fields. We are seeing more hard-science degrees offered are sub-SUB-specialized in these new hybrid fields. When this progresses long enough, the massive collection of possible degree possibilities will reach a tipping point, where the degree program concept will be no longer economically feasible. At that point, the sub-specialization model will be disbanded, and education will fall back generalized instruction, and a more g;lobal outlook. On-the job training will again finish the instruction of new researchers, as the specific research project demands. These new researchers will have a more eclectic toolbag of knowlege to draw from, and make the new connections.

But, that is the future. Who will give us Answers now?

Science of the Fewer

I’ve been hinting a a scientific dicipline that collects information relating to our great questions for several chapters, now. For over 100 years, parapsychology has investigated the claims of the ‘paranormal.’ Case studies of hauntings, psychics, UFO’s, clairvoyants, telepaths, telekinetics, survival beyond death, studies focused on various psychic abilities in the general public; the field is a mishmash of phenomilogical research that spans the range of human (and other’s) potentialitties. Essentially, these are fields that no other science wishes to claim. On the surface, it’s divided into 2 distinct sections: Case studies and laborary science. The case investigations include everything from ghost hunters, criminologists, to ‘ufologists’- a little bit of everything. The laborytory research is the more traditional form of investigative sciense. It includes phychological studies laboraties performed at universities and foundations across the globe, including Duke, Princeton, and Edinburough (to name some of the more famous). Even though at it’s core is a normal research science, many scientists keep the data found, as well as it’s researchers, at arm’s length. As a matter of fact, when respected researchers in other related sciences delve into research crosses both fields, their research is generally relegated to publication in Parapsychological journals rather then the publications of their own fields. There still exists a certain amount of primal fear from some people regarding what has been found. It’s acceptable for TV stories to be filled with these phenomena, but the possibility of it’s actual exitence is more a cause of fear than entertainemnt. Research funding is based just as much on marketing than it is in the efficacy and need of the research that a scientist is applying for. The common knowlege that a resercher is partial to parapsychiological research has the tendancy to dry-up traditional funding sources rather quickly, even when his or her current project has absolutly nothing to do with psychics. This is why most researchers, belivers or wotherwiose, tehd to shy away from comment either way. A subject best to be avoided when trolling for research funding.

The segregation surrounding the field comes not only from the fear surrounding it, baut also from it’s inherant unremarkabiility. Yes, there is statisticalyy significant evidence that seeing the future, with reletive accuracy, is possible some of the time for some people. Yes, statisticalyy significant evidence that some people can see remote locations or read other’s minds under very specific conditions, some of the time. Hauntings appear to be a very real possibility. Spoon-bending- not so much. The research resolved these questions some time ago. What’s unremarkable about this is that, as humans in a human society, we have be inundated with stories of these abilities, religious origin and otherwise, since the beginning of humanity. Scientific confirmation doesn’t do anything more for us than going to the emergency room with a splinter our collective finger, and having the doctor tell us we have a splinter in our finger. We didn’t really learn anything. Parapsychology cannot tell us who in the population is most likely to have these abilities, what actually causes these phenomena, or even how it works from a the perspective of low-energy physics or neurobiology (neuro-sub-atomic, -ology?). There are no meaty results for other sciences to sink their teeth into. Everything is in terms of the tools of psychology. This is obvious because it is from psychilogical analysis that parapsychology was born. But, it leaves the reasearch nowhere to go. After one establishes that these phenomena anre not a psychological ‘condition’, the other sciences must take over. But take over with what? The evidence collected only answers the question of “If?” Scientists are just like us, we need to know ‘How?”.

If one simply reads a list of parapsychological research fields, but didn’t know how they were related, they might assume that sub-atomic physicts and cognitive neuroscientists were at the forefront of these investigations. The ability to glean information of the future, see the dead, and much more, hint to a type of energy physicists would kill themselves to study. The fact that this energy is created, attenuated, or whatever, by a biological system- the human brain- should have neurologists jumpng up and down. But these fields have been reletivly silent on the subject. Parapsychology has taken the lead in these studies. Oddly, though, parapsychology has contributed more to the field of statistical analysis then to either of those diciplines. There is a reason for this, and it actually has little to do with the scientists’ belief or disbelief in the results. It’s actually a matter of technology. Emotional questionallres, endless task repitition, analysis, re-analsis, meta-analysis’; piles of statistcs from thoushands of experiments that seem to never end. Parapsychology’s only friend appears to be mathmatics. If it ’s one thing mathmeticians enjoy, it’s a good problem, and digging through all these numbers and finding better ways to express them has contrubuted much to the field of statistical analysis. New and refined techniques born from parapsychological research are used in almost every science today. But that’s not why this science is persuied. Something this potentially important cannot be left to contributing tricks for advanced number-crunching.

Parapsychology has reached an impasse. We must come to terms with the fact that psychic phenomena are not just psychical, they’re physical. They exist in this universe, and leave observable evidence. We, as living organisms, create these events. That means, there is an anatomical relationship to what is happening here. We need to move past the needs of skeptics to have parapsychology continuously devote resources towards studies proving it’s existence, and now devote resources towards anatomical and energetic explorations. Unfortunately, the technology to do this seems just beyond our reach, and there is little more we can do with the tools available to us. After a hundred years of investigating psychic phenomena from a psychological point of view, our new discoveries seem few and far between. We observe psychic ability, catalog it, determine and teach methods of it’s development, but we cannot delve into it’s function or basis without a great leap forwards in both cognitive neuroscience and particle physics. Even now, with the greats developments in these fields happening on an monthly basis, the tools needed are still an order of magnitude above what we have now. We have hints at the possibilities with current imaging and sensory systems, but we can get no truly meaningful information. It is as if we can document the ravages of some strange disease, but have not yet invented a microscope to see it. For now, we are forced to rely on the tools of psychology and psychiatry, which are of dubious value to begin with, when compared to the physical sciences at large.

What will this mean for Parapsychology’s future? A scientific discipline cannot exist without things to investigate. At best, we may see this field become so well-understood, that it can actually become a tool of engineering. At worst, when all the parapsychological libraries have finally used their dwindling financial support and the public loses interest in the science, it becomes forgotten; a historical footnote. Unless physics catches-up to the needs of parapsychologists quickly, we are in jeopardy of having this science lost to the annals of history. What can be done? Science cannot be pushed, so we must wait. We must continue to support research and library foundations, so this valuable data can be maintained until the day the fundamental research can begin again.

But, ranting atop a soapbox about the inadquacies of technology doesnt’t answer our questions (except perhaps, questions on one’s own mental stability). Mainstream science maybe unwilling, parapsychology may be unable, releigion contradictory, and personal experience unreliable. Now what? If you can’t choose one source, choose them all.

The Single Crazy Idea

The last hundred years of parapsychology haven’t been for naught, though. There have been discoveries, as well as incredible hints of what our Answers may be. But this science cannot give us a complete picture with the tools it has. Religous traditions and peak experiences, though myred with political influence, artistic impressionism, and emotional filters, can be distilled into into some interintins commonalities. A pile of hints, yes… but great hints.

Many ethnographers, socialiologists, and professors of religious studies have ammessesd great tomes on parallels of religiout tradiotion throughout history.

A sense of atonement..whether it’s for the evil of your acts, or the evils in your soul.

Instant tranferrability of information, regardless of location

Tibetian book of the dead

Adaptability of the soul

We exist on a great planet surrounded by a field of energy, uneven and changing. Sound familiar? Late 19^th-century philosphers believed that spirits existed in “ether” (not the anesthetic chemical that gives you a horrible headache). Sprits consisted of, and existed in, the Ether. On some level, it’s entrely possible they weren’t too far off. Although, they also believed the ether could actually leave residuues in our plane of existence. And, that this residue looked suspiciously like wet cheescloth and sheep intestines. Nervertheless, the idea gave birth tho the spirtualist movement and lasted into the early 1920’s. If you like a more modern reference, you can choose to call it the collective unconscious, if you wish. It is, in fact, unconscious (mostly). Consciousness is an artifact of life- a chemical abborhation. What conscious thought exists in the Field is directly related to the local sum of energies in the field. The less energy, the less active thought. The more energy, the greater the potential of actual thought; the ability not only to sense changes in the environment, but also to adapt to them. Well discuss this later. What creates this energy? Unfortunately, there’s absolutely no leads here. Yes, the living brain produces almost electricity to light a lightbulb, but lightbulbs are actually very inefficient. It’s totally possible that our neural netwirks have the ability to generate energies beyond simple electric potentials.I have some guesses, based on personal experiences and those of others, however. It’s possable theis power is a combination of the energies of the thought from living things and the residual consciousness or ‘life-force’ of the dead. And, I assume that the length of time one had been dead is directly related to tthe amount of energy they personally posess. It’s possible that a recently deseased releative may retain so much conscious energy that they don’t even initally perceive a change in thier state of being. As time passes, the energy fades. The person experiences less and less conscious thought- perceives less and less of the living world. They eventually fade into a level of energy that blends into the greater Field; and unconscoius mixture of memories, emotions, and energies of all our collective ancestors.

Imagine, upom death, you may see friends and family members (ones who have most recently passed), and experience someting more. Religion describes it as God. Those who have gone through near-death experiences call it “the light”. It’s possible that these accounts are the best estimates of the physical effects of the Field while still alive. You, as recently deceased, still hold much of the conscious energy of life. You feel the Field, but are still separate from it. You may be abloe to direct your own actions, observe family menmers across the world, etc. If you happen to be powerful enough, you may be able to haunt that nasty next door neighbor of yours for a while, the one that didn’t return the hedge clippers. As time passes, your initial energy fades. You become less and less you, less and less conscious of yourself, and more a part of the Field/The Light/God/Ether, whatever. All that is left are thta random mix of unconscious memories and background noise that is the Field. If thoughts of the living are a part of this dynamic, then the only times you may exist as partially whole again is when remembered by those still alive. So, in that way, it could be possible to actually ‘recreate’ a loved one by simply thinking about them. The act of remembering helps to coalesce the aspects of the dead’s personality and memories from the Field.

Poltergeists?

If one of the hallmarks of a lifeform is adaptability, then to be dead is to have lost this adaptability. Case studies of hauntings give portraits of deceased as performing the same activities that they knew in life: children playing with playmates no longer with them, servants opening doors that were removed long ago, etc. Not only can these spirits not adapt to the changes in the environment, they probably can hardley perceive them. So, what is a poltergeist? Looking-up the textbook definition won’t help. This species of haunting throws a big monkey wrench into this whole throry of death. These hauntings follow the living, sometimes violently. We’re talking about a level of energy that’s almost inconceivable. Imagine a spirit, somehow able to not only retain conscoius thought, but able to perceive changes in the environment and influence objects in it. A spirit would need all three of these attrubutes to push someone down a flght of stairs, which has been reported. How could this come to be? What is the chronological process from death to haunting to poltergeist? If the highest point of one’s spiritual power is immediately after death, that would have to be the time when oune would make the transition to active ppoltergeist. But, I can’t imagine that one dies and decides immediately to terrorize the neighborhood, like I would. If this were true, our culture would be drasticallly different. We would not be debating the exitence of the soul because we would have been living with the reality of angry sprits throughout human history. We would have devolped real safeguards against the dead in our tribal times that we would sill use in our cultures now; Not just ceremonies and incantations, but actual tried and tested techniques to prevent or cure the problem. It would be a scientific fact- an expectation. But, because this ability does not exist in us, that prevelance-of-beleif and pervasive phenomonological experience does not exist in our culture (Or, maybe it does, but we all die happy). We have to conclude that these poltergeists are not born, but devolp. Almost sounds like…adapt.

How about this…if the Field is a source of energy, wouldn’t it be possible for something to learn how to use it? If the Field is a source of energy, wouldn’t it be possible for something to learn how to use it? Especailly something existing in the Field? Apparently, it is. Remenber, these hauntings have a cause. This means that someone has caused it- someone hwho has passed over. They devolped the ability to see and interact with our plane, and do so in destructive behaviors. They actively choose targets, and intend them harm. This is a conscious act, something supposedly impossible for the long-since dead. The energy to to this has to come from somewhere, and the user must have learned how to use it for it’s purposes. This suggests to possibility of some form of conscoious “life,” some form of survival, in the Field.

I’ve heard psychics and ’sensitives’ talk of these destructive hauntings a being caused by evil demon spirits that never had human form. Even though this is an interesting interpetation, and it make me wonder what they ’saw” to come to this conclusion, it’s still a religious interpetation. There are, and have been, people of such hatred and evil that is is easier for us to label them as monsters. Crimioligists have rescors spanning history of such people and criminal psychiologists are exposed to this drecrepitude of the soul throughout their careers. But these criminal are not demons, they are not monsters. They are just people, like us. Their problems are with their brains, not demons. If one can wrap their heads around that concept, it isn’t hard to believe that a soul so twisted in life could continue to be marred in death. But the system behind this type of transfer is highly suspect. How much biological influence can be transferred to a personality no longer encumbered by that biological damage? If a damaged body is no longer there to affect a personality, how is it possible for that personality to still ‘act’ damaged? Is it then possible to damage a soul? Does this malovelance even begin in life, or does it devolp on the other side? Unfortunately, the poltergeist issue brings-up more questions then any possible answers it can give us. I’m not going to specualte on these Answers, because there’s no point. I can only hope the answers are simpler than the questions.

And then there are those who have experienced the horror of battling enemies that have no form, but harbor the ability to harm nonetheless. Those who have lived through an attack call it the devil. If we are skeptical, we catalog these stories as fantasy and schizophrenia. But when we believe, we call it Poltergeist. We’ve all heard the stories; common throughout our culture and others. But how can this energetic, passionate, and dangerous exist take in this system of the afterlife?

I see it beginning, not spontaneously, but as a seed. Some pain, some hate, an energy that does not completely pass over. It straddles both worlds, unsure of where to go. Again, I’m not implying totally conscious thought, but something akin to a semiconscious dream. A nightmare mixture of it’s past, images of the life beyond, and shadows of the world of the living. And slowly, like the tropical storm that grows into a hurricane, it pulls more hatred to it.

Some who die find themselves confronted by this thing. It draws scores of the willing, whose hatred and passion have allotted them the gift of sharing a common nightmare. There may be no great kingdom for good and bad in the afterlife, but this is as close to a vision of Hell as I can imagine. But once we get past the horror of the concept, the very existence of this phenomena suggests a much closer energetic relationship between our world, and the realm of the dead. For the dead to so significantly effect the living hints at an interchangeability between worlds that is both disturbing and fascinating.

Heavy Dead

Weak Force, Strong Ofrce, Magnetic Force, Gravity.

…I’m not saying souls are magnetic. Modern ghost hunters would already have discovered this. Magnetic readings around ghost phenomena are, at best, inconsistent. And, we would have already put the discovery to good use; the best way to end a haunting in someone’s home would have been to simply turn on the refrigerator. The magnetic fields put out by the compressor motors those older Fridgeraire’s would have been enough to scare-away even the worst poltergeist…

When discussing the phenomena of poltergeists, I mentioned that these phenomena can actually interact with the living, sometimes violantly. This goes far beyond the model of the Field as simply being an unconscious repository of psychic energy and memories. Does this mean that the enegy of the field can be modified for use beyond it’s own exisence? In fact, this suggests that the Field can be used as a psychic battery, providing a source of energy to influence our plane when someone discovers how. By someone, I’m referring to the deceased. Admittedly though, I understand that any imaginitive engineer reading this may not resist ruminating upon the phrase “source of energy.” With any great advance in technology, there is also the posibility of it’s exploitation. I know that physics will finally breaks the barriers making it possible to study psychic phenomena. The possibility of those discoveries leading not only to an analysis and understanding of the Field and psychic phenomena in general, but also to it’s exploitation, is unnerving. Personally, the idea of having my grandfathers ghost being forced to power someone’s garage lights is a bit disgusting to me.

Epilogue

To the religious, these ideas are heresy. That’s given. However, that cannot be a road block to understanding the truth, whatever it is. Every religion other than one’s own is heresy. Heresy is nothing more than someone else not liking the words coming out of your mouth, and worry about offending someone isn’t one of the steps of the scientific method. This discussion is about scientific inquirery, not faith. These philosphical icons have been at odds throughout recorded history, and I don’t see that changing in the future. In our own recent history, the fundemental debate between religious beliefs and pure science has been at the forefront of our media. There are scientific and political leaders who, in an attempt to diffuse this perceived time-bomb, have thied to instill in us the idea scientific researchers csan be people of faith, and these two sides don’t conflict; They strengthen eachother. But, we see time and time again the incidents of scientific researchers injecting religious fundamentalism into the scientific discussions which influence our laws, as well as the scientific information which the public may have access. Some religiois leaders use pseudo-scientific claims to bolster their own religion’s teachings, making it even more difficult for belivers to separate the two. It is suspect that faith and science can work together, whether in one person or an entire planet. Someday, we may have to terms with the fact that some religious doctorine can bend no more to accomodate new scientific reverlations, and we must choose between them.

Dogmatic scientific purists would see a discussion like this as unnecessary. Because no testable hypothesis are put foreward, the discussion and the science itself are useless. I am not concerned with this view, because, like all dogma, it evolves as the culture evolves. I have been privlidged to find that in western cultures (outside the U.S.), there is no inbred fear of science and mathematics. The concept of science as something that is part of everyday life, is not intimidating to people. They are more likely to embrage larger models of scientific inquirery, and unterstand intransically thsat the scientific method does not require a huge university laboratory and a white coat. As the education system in the U.S. improves, these ideas will spread here as well.

Those who have evperienced the ‘paranormal’ for themselves may see this attempt at clarity as impossible. How could one scientifically explain something so profound and personal? These abilities and answers are most assuradely profound. But, just because something inspires awe in us, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be persued scientifically. And, if some of these ideas are true, we’re going to find that death may not be a personal matter at all, but a vaery public affair. The level of interconnectedness between people, living and dead, implied in this Field theory, will totally alter our view of what constitutes ‘me’ and everyone else.

Yes, all these ideas constitute nothing more than an educated guess. But, an educated guess is always better then random speculation. I still envy those who have faith in their religion, regardless of it’s validity. Their only fight is to keep their faith. There are no extra ‘Answers’ to worry about. And, it seems to be a healthier life. With science, there is always an excessive amount of hand-wringing, fighting over possible theories, an endless crap shoot. Science books must purchasedd by high schools every few years bucause their information is always wrong and outdated. I don’t remember there being that many versions of the Torah, and it’s been around for quite some time. Religion offers stability. With science, your always playing the odds, and that’s not good enough when your betting your afterlife. But, if the dice are in your hand, these conclusions might just be the best wager you can get, for now.