Manifestations of Divine Grace and Holy Spirit: Synopsis (abbrieviated) of 40 years spiritual and spiritual-psychic experiences

AS a point of order - I have done my due diligence - and compared to historically documnted cases of warnings or predctions of political events, my expericnes are exceptional - more consitnet and detaield by far than other historiclaly documented examples - including the Old Testament. Also I am the only one who can subpoena federal agents, beginning with FBI agent Michelle McElwee (email: mvmcelwee@fbi.gov), plus FBI special supervisory agent Velier (Toledo, Ohio), Secret Serice agent Woods , as well as former FBI profiler John Douglas. As a brief footnote, I woudl add that Secret Service Baltimore office said they didn't recognize that name - but I recognized his input in my Secret Service records I obtained through FOIPA.

For perspective: the US government does appear art times to be some kind of twilight zone at times. In my exchanges with FBI agent McElwee, I mentioned to her how - in 1988 - I obtained my notarized copy of the October 18, 1981 warning to the Toledo, Ohio with the FOIPA stamp on it - didn't make sense. I told her I had filed two FOIPA requests and gotten nothing from them - when I was sure the FBI would not have thrown away that unique and wild stream of consciousness. This was back in 1988. I had thrown away my copy of the notarized warning because I had such split feelings about it. That is why I needed a copy.

So, I called the FBI and asked them about it. The person on the phone told me to write the Cleveland FOIPA Office, whcih I did. They mailed me a copyu of my page long stream of consciousness. FBI agetn McElwee agreed with me - it didn't make a damn bit of sense to her either. In an offhand comment she referred to my "entertaining stories." I took that to mean she had no access to any documents. After 9/11 I sat down an thoguth over my situiiation. I came to the conclusion - rightly or wrongly - that - sicne the FBI had archived my copy of the "What a nightmare" warning then informaiton about that experience had been squashed. One of the issues I dwelt on was what happened in 1981 - after all the 1981 warning is very detaield, very clear combined with my breif conversation with the bToldeo Ohio FBI agent and often explicit. The cirumstances of my situation are bizarre. My father and myself both attended Philips Andover Academy (I was a lousy student) - as well as U.S. President George Herberet Walker Bush  and U.S. President George W. Bush.  

I have become rather cynical in my old age. Add in the factor that - at that time - besides George H W Bush being President Reagan's Vice President at the time, 

 

1. Dream - Perceptions: (1) a dream about Pakistan and nuclear war. (2) A hybrid dream + perception: precognitive "tag" of "incel" terrorist in Canada April, 2018. (3) Dream about Libya (2-26-2019), (4) Synchronicity with Strasburg, France attack - dream (9-19-20) (5) Dudayev Dream – Chechen leader’s assassination (6) Fredericksburg bomb killing civilian
2. Conscious perceptions (1) my recent 10-30-20 email to FBI agent McElwee warned of a "domestic terrorist" threat referring to a "bomb" as the weapon. which is related - of course - to the Nashville bombing on Christmas day 2020 (2) October 18, 1981 Detailed, specific, notarized warning to the FBI on of attack by notorious Weathermen terrorist group. Some [accurate] details are: group, fabricating bombs, money, women, 22 put together, New York, death, as well as the terrorist weathermen's manifesto. (3) A very brief (phoned in) warning to the FBI before the assassination attempt on president Reagan (4) I called the CIA before 9/11

Instincts, Alarm Calls, & Daryl Bem's Precognition Laboratory Experiments

Richard S. Broughton observes that "The tragic events of 9/11 brought a flurry of cases to the attention of parapsychology labs. The cases ranged from dramatic dreams of airplanes crashing or exploding to the more frequent examples of unusual departures from normal routines that ended up saving someone’s life."  (Encounters at the Frontiers of Time: Questions Raised by Anomalous Human Experiences Richard S. Broughton) It would be rather self-evident that visibility of the 9/11 event is a major factor. Historically - before 9/11  there were no historically documented instances of warnings or predictions of terrorism. Visibility plus modern social media woudl likely be factors.

That is consistent with my personal experinces as well. Political/historical "Visibility" in "consciousness" is clearly a factor in my experiences as well. The assassination attempt on President Reagan on March 30, 1981, Reagan by John Hinckley Jr. outside the Washington Hilton was highly "visible" in consciousness. The very detailed warning to the Toledo, Ohio FBI on October 18, 1981 centered on the Weathermen terrorist group whcih was a very well-known group that emerged out of the Vietnam War era - a splinter group of the SDS. The Weathermen terrorist group was especailly well-known in the FBI.

Instincts, Alarm Calls, and Daryl Bem's Successful Repeated Laboratory Experiments

My experiences as “alarm calls” are also consistent with Daryl Bem’s successful repeated experiments on precognition. In 2016, an article about a meta-analysis of Daryl Bem (et al) very successful precognitive experiments states that "When Bem’s own experiments are included, the complete database comprises 90 experiments from 33 different laboratories located in 14 different countries. A total of 12,406 individuals participated in these experiments." The article goes on to say that the results showed that the experimental design focused on sex [instinctual] was by far outperformed the other designs. (A Summary of “Feeling the Future: A Meta-analysis of 90 Experiments on the Anomalous Anticipation of Random Future Events by Bem, Tressoldi, Rabeyron & Dugga)

Lastly, (5) "To me much of humanity looks like an uncontrolled pack of lemmings on a suicide run old warning email to Agent McElwee 4-10-2020  Guardian: “US could have averted 40% of Covid deaths, says panel examining Trump's policies." Estimates go from 50,000-100,000 unnecessary Am deaths

Article in Guardian: “US could have averted 40% of Covid deaths, says panel examining Trump's policies. The Christian “No Mask Madness” without question produced a very large number of disproportionately high number of Americans who died of Corona Virus than most other European countries – by all accounts. A recent article stated that one hundred thousand Americans died of the corona virus that shouldn’t have compared to the Canadian death toll from corona virus. An important point of order would be that nearly all of my experiences would easily fit into a category parallel to the alarm calls of animals. As Jean MacPhail, a scholar, author of A Spiral Life and a former fellow in neuropathology at Harvard University, observed, ‘My experiences are very unique!’ – in part because they relate to events outside myself, as well as being consistent with reasonable interpretations, as well as being relatively well documented.

An important point of order would be that nearly all of my experiences would easily fit into a category parallel to the alarm calls of animals. As Jean MacPhail, a scholar, author of A Spiral Life and a former fellow in neuropathology at Harvard University, observed, ‘My experiences are very unique!’ – in part because they relate to events outside myself, as well as being consistent with reasonable interpretations, as well as being relatively well documented. I beleive it woudl be safe to say that because of my personal spiritual-psychic experiences, I knew what I was looking for.

The Reality of Materialist Ideology: All Spirituality is about Giant Cosmic Parrots 

Are Morals Superstitious Nonsense? Conversations on FB science groups

When you engage academics on spirituality you find out very quickly that materialism is NOT Science – not even remotely objective – many materialists are the most hateful people you can imagine when it come sot spirituality.  FB is different from LinkedIn but I have had difficulties with Linkedin as well. FB science, philosophy and psychology groups can only be described, in my view – when it comes to spirituality – especially transcendental spirituality as horrifically sick, ignorant and abusive. The classic comment I got was from a FB neuroscience group in which a “neuroscientist” member stated that ‘All spirituality is about “Giant Cosmic Parrots”’! - Literally, that is a quote! And THAT is what Universities are teaching – in part because they teach nothing. I have yet to meet an undergraduate college graduate who has had any education or training in “People” who have spiritual experiences. The Towson University chair of psychology chair sent me an email that stated unequivocally that not one professor had any interest whatsoever in spirituality in any shape fashion or form.   

In response to rather generic posts I get sick and abusive comments - like "mental illness", Santa clause. etc., etc. A good illustration would be a post about body-mind-spirit on an anthropology group. The essay quoted Dr Harold Koenig, a well-known medical researcher and described the early cultures of Hawaii and Polynesia and in early Native American culture. A comment by a member of the group asked, "When are you going to stop posting "woo?" [s**t] 

In a sense, I conducted a field research study on “FB science, psychology, and philosophy” groups. One post to philosophy and science FB groups posed this question - "Should a scientist review studies of peoples' spirituality before rendering judgment on spiritual people?" I listed five or six meta-analyses at the bottom. 

For example, Andrew Bolesworth stated unequivocally that he wasn’t going to even look at the studies because he already knew it was all about “magic and fairies.” Andrew Bolesworth "So, and this applies to Fairies also, until there is a reason to believe something exists, nobody wants to waste time looking for it, except those who believe on prejudice (prejudice being an exact synonym for Faith). He went on to say that “No one is an expert on something they can't demonstrate to be anything more than a concept.” Hmmm, - like "hope, true love, art, freedom" – huh. I was shocked by how often I encountered that particular response in FB science groups 

Since Bolesworth kept emphasizing “physical reality,” my answer to Bolesworth was “People are a physical reality.” You can study people day-in and day-out. You can’t measure love – but no one tells you love is superstitious nonsense. Einstein, Hume and other scientists emphasize that good and evil are beyond the scope of science. That the “ought” is distinct from the “Is” as Hume explained it. Yet, no one says morals are “superstitious nonsense.”

It is the Definist Fallacy – Maladaptive Stereotype that “All spirituality is unreal” that produces that reaction. What is scary is that these “materialist psychos” actually believe that their ignorance is fully backed by “science” – totally. 

A reason for the picture at the top: I sent an American "friend" this picture of Christmas dinner last December 2023 with Bla'an and T'boli students. She sent it back and replied "I hope you learned your lesson with these leeches" my sister laid on thick that "ALL filipinas are scammers," - ALL. In 2021 896 Filipinos filed complaints for being victims of hate crimes. America has a sick culture: Hatee crimes hit a new high in 2021 according to the Washing ton post; 396 school shootings (vs 2 in the pHilippines, for the record); an epidemic of assautls on teachers (a problem worldwide); as well as an exponwential increase in assaults on health care worker,...etc. Of course when you have a president and right wing Christian leaders - including some Catholic leaders literally modeling racist beleifs and anti-social behaviors - what would you expect.

I love the Blaan - T'boli students. The "girls" - students - treat me very well. They have good strong charactersistics: caring, responsible, honest, trsutworthy. Unfortuanately that is  in contrast to my family and especially "prodessionals" in Kaiser Permanente and Maryland.

The American Academics and "thrapists" and many college graduates in generla have demnonstratewd a serious materialist mindset

To be blunt, I have had spiritual-psychic experinces for experiences for forty years.For forty years, psychiatrists have treated me in the most horrific dehumanizing way possible. Dr Ray De Paulo - a Johns Hopkins psychiatrist and Catholic family friend - conveyed to me that "ALL transcendental spirituality is psychosis." - whcih is not only not true - but ignornat as s**t. Dr Philip Perez - a Washington D.C. had a similar message. My daughter told me she would not read my essays because she knew I am psychotic. 

I found out the hard way, that my mother went behind my back and told my psychiatrist a bunch of s**t. When I confronted Dr Schwartz he revoked his diagnosis of schizo-affective which he had made due to my mother's statements - though he revoked it because he said he hadn't seen it in the 12 years he had known me. Rather than try to figure out what was going on, although, my pivotal documented warning to the FBI happened way back in 1981, my mother went out of her way to - basically - lie to my doctor since she took something way out of context and relayed that misinformation.

In forty years my mothger never talked with me about my experienes - or asked any questions. As Dr Farra obsereves - materialists "prejudge" spirituality and spiritual people.  For perspective, on my situaiton relative to my mother, a study by J. E. Kennedy showed 45% of people who have intense experiences have an initial fear response. Dr Stacey Neal of Kaiser Permanente who was also trained at Johns Hopins told me she (and psychiatrists in general) had no education or trianing in "People" who have spiritual expericnes. Furthrermore, there is NOTHING in the DSM 5 about spirituality at all.

I try to explain that it is clear from my experience that Americans way to often have definite materialist mindset-bias. My older sister told me after reading an essay about my pivotal documented 1981 experience - in which I talked about a metaphor to the alarm calls of animals (for the record) - that she "knew" that I believe I have powers. That is because of the materialist academic maladaptive stereotype that "All spiritualtiy is unreal!"

That is the sum total of what response I got from my family. Not one read the critique of materialism endorsed by four prominent psychologists - didn't even read it and said all this s**t about me? Oh, but my bother in law when I tried to talk to him about my writing replied "what don't you write science fiction. To be honest way too many Amercians - including Amercian Chnristian leaders "worship the Materialist Satan" - in my view"

So, I like the Blaan because I can talk to them.  The majority of American women are arrogant ignorant and horrifically intolerant - materialist idiots. Psychiatrists literally have no education or training in people who have spiritual experiences - a bunch of sick ignorant whores. . 

Brain Josephson, the nobel prize quantum physicist stated materialists are emotional and irrational. Dr Stephen Farra says materialists prejudge you and they are close minded. Dr Paul Wong also says mainstream psychologists are very prejudiced. I feel it safe to say Americans are way too fond of academic materialism.    

 Reasonable Belief

 

1. Scientific Perspective

Stephen Hawking Time travel used to be thought of as just science fiction, but Einstein's general theory of relativity allows for the possibility that we could warp space-time so much that you could go off in a rocket and return before you set out.

 

“A century ago, Albert Einstein revolutionised our understanding of space, time, energy and matter. We are still finding awesome confirmations of his predictions, like the gravitational waves observed in 2016 by the LIGO experiment. When I think about ingenuity, Einstein springs to mind. Where did his ingenious ideas come from? A blend of qualities, perhaps: intuition, originality, brilliance. Einstein had the ability to look beyond the surface to reveal the underlying structure. He was undaunted by common sense, the idea that things must be the way they seemed. He had the courage to pursue ideas that seemed absurd to others. And this set him free to be ingenious, a genius of his time and every other.

 

A key element for Einstein was imagination. Many of his discoveries came from his ability to reimagine the universe through thought experiments. At the age of sixteen, when he visualised riding on a beam of light, he realised that from this vantage light would appear as a frozen wave. That image ultimately led to the theory of special relativity.

 

One hundred years later, physicists know far more about the universe than Einstein did. Now we have greater tools for discovery, such as particle accelerators, supercomputers, space telescopes and experiments such as the LIGO lab’s work on gravitational waves. Yet imagination remains our most powerful attribute. With it, we can roam anywhere in space and time. We can witness nature’s most exotic phenomena while driving in a car, snoozing in bed or pretending to listen to someone boring at a party.”

 

Quantum entanglement

 

Quantum entanglement is the reality that in an “entangled pair” of subatomic particles the spin of one subatomic particle will react directly and immediately - at speeds faster than the speed of light - to the spin of the other subatomic particle even though separated by arbitrarily large distances. A conclusion from experiments in quantum entanglement is that the reactions in a quantum entangled pair of particles occur at a speed faster than light – which to Einstein was impossible according to his own theory. In fact, Albert Einstein called quantum entanglement, "Spukhafte Fernwirkung" - which means, in German, "spooky action at a distance." To Einstein quantum entanglement was an impossibility – something which just couldn’t happen. Quantum entanglement was a complete and baffling mystery.

 

 The future caused the past. Professor Truscott

 

Professor Truscott concluded that the experiment showed that; “A future event causes the photon to decide its past.” (Experiment confirms quantum theory weirdness Science Daily, May 27, 2015 Australian National University)

 

Summary of Experiment: The bizarre nature of reality as laid out by quantum theory has survived another test, with scientists performing a famous experiment and proving that reality does not exist until it is measured. Physicists have conducted John Wheeler's delayed-choice thought experiment, which involves a moving object that is given the choice to act like a particle or a wave. The group reversed Wheeler's original experiment, and used helium atoms scattered by light.

 

If one chooses to believe that the atom really did take a particular path or paths then one has to accept that a future measurement is affecting the atom's past, said Truscott. .....So, what form it would take after passing through the first grate depended on whether the second grate was put in place afterward. Therefore, whether it continued as a particle or changed into a wave wasn't decided until a future event had already taken place. Time went backwards. Cause and effect appear to be reversed. The future caused the past. The arrow of time seemed to work in reverse.

 

1. Reasonable Beliefs: Categorizing unusual experiences as unusual.

What many people don't understand is that consistently studies show that somewhere between 1/3 to 1/2 of people have experiences - and as Park and Paloutzian observe, there is a "normalcy" to spiritual-psychic experiences. Furthermore people - at times - lose their common sense and often get lost in abstractions. Common sense would dictate that the brain processes unusual experiences as "unusual" - pretty amazing.... huh? When people get into abstractions, they often lose sight of common sense understanding and sound judgment.

 

Studies and experiments that have established that the "categorization" process is a very important process in the human mind and the categorization process is both well-known and well-proven in psychology. William James goes on to say that religious experiences and spiritual experiences create and generate a “sense of reality” (p.48) Jung said pretty much the exact same thing actually - that an individual’s experiences shape a person's reality.

 

The synthesis consensus of Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung, and William James simply put is that "spirit, spiritual processes, and religious beliefs create meaning, a sense of reality - and ultimately Reality, and Truth. In the anthology, Meaning in Positive and Existential Psychology (2014), Paul Wong, observes: “Frankl considers meaning seeking as stemming from one’s spiritual nature. William James emphasizes in his classic work, originally published in 1902, The Varieties of Religious Experiences: “They [spiritual experiences] determine our vital attitude [sense of reality] as decisively as the vital attitude of lovers is determined by the habitual sense,…” Jung observed, in the Collected Works (CW8: 648 -1968 revised) that “Life and spirit are two powers or necessities between which man is placed. Spirit gives meaning to his life, and the possibility of its greatest development.

Preamble - Academics are NOT objective or even remotely scientific when it comes to spirituality - or social consciousness for that matter

Yeah, Life does not get better than this!

 Academic harassment: Carole Cusack, a leading author and sociology professor from Australia, observed: "Defining everything you do as spam is simply unacceptable! I'm three-quarters Irish (the other grandparent was Cornish so I'm 100 % Celtic)." (I told her that it is a good thing I am Irish. It is said an Irishman is not happy unless he is fighting. So yeah, Life does not get any better than this)

 

Academic Harassment – It is not just me - Baruss and Mossbridge Transcendent Mind p. 25

 

First I shoudl say it is no9t just me Baruss and Mossbridge state that “As a result of studying anomalous phenomena or challenging materialism, scientists have been ridiculed for doing their work, been prohibited from supervising student theses, been unable to obtain funding from traditional funding sources, been unable to get papers published in mainstream journals, had their teaching censored, been barred from promotions and been threatened with removal from tenured positions. Students have reported being afraid to be associated with research into anomalous phenomena for fear of jeopardizing their careers. Other students have reported explicit reprisals for questioning materialism and so on. (Baruss, 2014b, P.L. Berger, 1970; H. L. Friedman & Krippner, 2010; Hess, 1992; Rossman & Utts, 2014; Sommer, 2014; cf. Chargaff, 1977; Jahn, 2001) Siler, Lee, & Bero, 2015) 

 

A list of essays blocked by FB - all of which were essays on spirituality to the best of my knowledge. – shows 18 essays blocked by FB (I documented that by sending emails to my Andover connections as well as FBI agent McElwee) from January 2019 to June 2020

 

 Additionally, essays – many of which are recommended by PhDs - have been removed as spam – here are 6 examples

 

1. an essay on the Cathars (French translation) was removed from 3 FB groups - including

2 French anthropology groups due to being against community standards.

 

1. My essay on "The Deeper Dimension of Pargament and Einstein" has been removed due to "abusive content (from several FB groups). Dr. Paul Wong stated that "The Deeper Dimension" essay is “publishable.”
2. My essay on “the matrix of meaning” has been deleted. Dr S Farra said the essay was well thought out and I also cited my sources.
3. Dr. Visuri praised my essay on emotions. That essay was removed by FB as abusive or against community standards.

 

 

Example of message received from FB - happens to be related to the “meaning matrix” essay: This post goes against our Community Spam Standards

 

Only the author of the post and people who manage The World of Psychology can see this post. We have these standards to prevent things like false advertising, fraud, and security breaches. If your content goes against our Community Standards again, your account may be restricted or disabled.

 

Plus a Catastrophic drop in the views of French FB groups

 

 I had a catastrophic failure on French FB group views - which went from 1,000 views/month to zero in the space of a few days. When I looked into the situation, I found specific problems

 

1. Something like 5 French scientific groups on FB had almost 31 of my essays pending - unpublished.
2. On top of that, two French anthropology groups on FB have totally disappeared from my FB account. Guy, a moderator of a group said that on his anthropology group my essays had disappeared and he had no idea why

 

Plus Cyber bullying - 1. Gaslighting – hacking of Saint Gregory of Nyssa.

This is a version on my computer that was hacked and slaughtered

 

“So, Gregory…. includes the entire Exodus story as an allegorical illustration of the soul's flight from wickedness (the land of Egypt) into fellowship and friendship with our loving God (liberation, the Promised Land ). The death of the firstborn fits directly into this allegorical framework. Egyptian children killed do not literally mean dead children; rather, they represent how we must destroy the roots of our evil deeds—“the first birth of evil”—before we can move on to virtuous liberation. So the story is absolutely true. It illustrates the reality of a struggle against wickedness that is integral to our quest to attain fellowship with God.

 

Getting hacked like this (actually cyberbullying) is like someone breaking into your house, sitting on your living room floor and leaving. This bold, underlined section is some kind of Christian right-wing extremist rant - sick garbage! I mean "dead children" or "first birth of evil?"

 

I quite frequently quote Saint Gregory of Nyssa. St Gregory is a kind of enigma. His writing ranges from a non-dualistic vision (Moses with the darkness of God descending upon him) to ecstatic Epiphany. One of my favorite quotes is "Concepts create idols; only wonder understands everything. People kill each other for idols. Wonder brings us to our knees!" - St Gregory of Nyssa!" - in my opinion this is not only true for political ideologies like communism or nationalism (i.e. Hitler Mussolini, or Trump or Putin to use contemporary nationalists) , as well as for religious ideologies such as ISIS, but it is very relevant for academic abstractions as well. Virgilio Enriquez and Christian psychologists talk about the unhealthy effects of extreme individualism derived from an academic abstraction.

 

Here is a real quote from St Gregory on Moses "This subtle phrase used by Gregory, "the perception of his presence" (j. 324) links the nearness of God and his remoteness - the uncreated Grace of God is perceived more by its effects than 'a vision pure and simple of being. .,.., To express this innate tension which structures it, Grégoire wrote an important treatise, The Life of Moses, in which this man of God, Moses is the figure of a soul returning to God (p.22-23 Gregory of Nyssa Song of Songs McCambley, 1987 Hellenic College press)

 

1. Here is a hack that I found particularly ignorant and offensive

Here is Rebecca's poem Epiphany - which is a beautiful and wonderful expression of her spirituality and personal spiritual experiences

 

The gift and the curse of this show

Color my world in shades of blue

I must believe or not believe

Stay blind or walk the path to you

And while I surrender to the mystery

All the feelings come too

I'm fractured by this weighted view

In my essay on "Divine Perception", I discovered that Rebecca's wonderful poem had been doctored. There were two lines that had been tampered with

"All feelings also come

I'm fractured by this weighted view"

 

Rebecca's poem has been tampered with and changed to

"All emotions also come

I am offended by this weighty sight”

 

Rebecca's poem - in my opinion was an absolutely exquisite expression of a person's feelings and intellect when challenged by unknown influences in human consciousness. Yet this sick hacker had to slaughter him

 

To me, it never seems to end.

 

 

Furthermore, I filed complaints with the US Department of Justice for harassment and discrimination - The U.S. Department of Justice has accepted my complaints # 83404-WLP, 83404; 95500, 91650, 91569, 90778 – They explained in detail how the Definist Fallacy causes serious misunderstandings and cause prejudices, misunderstandings, and outright ignorance at times.

 

The complaint was filed against Kaiser Permanente – who had basically told me – to take my beliefs and go screw myself. All “medical standards” require some +minimal respect for spiritual people” – not ignorant hatefulness. That was back in 2021, so it looks like no action will be taken - though the DOJ would never have accepted the complaints if they weren't valid questions.

Is Prophecy Dead

THE prophets dealt with man, not as an atom, but as a part of a social organism, a living member of a living body. To heal this body when diseased (Isa. I:6), to warn it against coming dissolution, and to bring it back to the paths which lead to perfection in God, was their great and only mission (Jer. 6: 6). Hence, they were always the more numerous when national death threatened. Just before the fall of Samaria and the fall of Jerusalem we find them working in the greatest number and with the greatest energy. (THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS AS SOCIAL REFORMERS. By REV.   GEO. STIBITZ,) 

 

Why is social consciousness important? Recently a number of major antisocial behaviors have emerged since roughly 2000.

1. There have been 396 school shootings in the USA.

2. CDC: Suicide rates increased approximately 36% between 2000–2021.

3. All time high in mass shootings 2023 - 559 Mass shootings in 2023 so far

4. according to the Washington Post, hate crimes are at an all-time high in 2021 with 896 Filipinos reporting themselves as victims of hate crimes.

5. Assaults on teachers have dramatically increased - not only in the US but worldwide.

6. Assaults on healthcare workers has increased exponentially - also a world-wide problem.

7. epidemic in narcissism in western countries (Twenge, etc).

8. “A series of uncoordinated mass stabbings, hammer attacks, and cleaver attacks in the People's Republic of China began in March 2010. The spate of attacks left at least 90 dead and some 473 injured.” (Wikipedia)

 

- This particular behavior is unheard of – unknown! Killing – murdering – with a knife is up close and personal – very different from killing forma distance with a gun. Killing a 5 or 6-year-old child with a knife is horrifically brutally violent. Any way you look at the situation – it is Abnormal – with a capital A.

 

Setting the Stage:  Bio of [documented] spiritual-psychic experiences

Preamble: A Brief Sketch of Spirituality

“Spirituality is a natural human predisposition!”….It is more primal than institutional religion and concerns a person’s sense of connectedness with self, others, and the world (or cosmos)!” - Kate Adams Bishop Grosseteste University College Lincoln & Brendan Hyde Australian Catholic University

 

“It [spirituality] is more primal than institutional religion” – that is Fact. Nicholas J Conrad, et all state that “Here we report the discovery of bone and ivory flutes from the early Aurignacian period of southwestern Germany. These finds demonstrate the presence of a well-established musical tradition at the time when modern humans colonized Europe, more than 35,000 calendar years ago. Other than the caves of the Swabian Jura, the earliest secure archaeological evidence for music comes from sites in France and Austria and post-date 30,000 years ago6–8 (New flutes document the earliest musical tradition in southwestern Germany Nicholas J Conard , Maria Malina, Susanne C Münzel) That is roughly about the same time cave paintings appeared in France and Spain. 

Music: A quintessential illustration of Spirituality and Evolutionary Adaptive trait

“Modern humans can be differentiated in the archaeological record from our predecessors and our sibling species (such as Neanderthals) by an immense leap in cognitive flexibility and by a capacity to enter into and sustain a wide range of social relationships and interactions (Mithen, 1996). It seems likely that proto-musical capacities and their cultural particularisations as musics were crucial factors in precipitating and sustaining the social and cognitive versatility that mark modern humans (Cross, 1999). In effect, musicality can be interpreted as complementing language in human evolution, filling in the 'gaps' in language function through its combination of embodiment, entrainment, and transposability of intentionality. (p. 5 – 6) (Music and evolution Ian Cross)

Music is a core human experience and generative processes reflect cognitive capabilities. Music is often functional because it is something that can promote human well-being by facilitating human contact, human meaning, and human imagination of possibilities, tying it to our social instincts. Music is a fundamental part of our evolution – and functional because it facilitates “human contact” and out “social self” (The evolution of music and human social capability Jay Schulkin, Greta B. Raglan Front Neurosci. 2014; 8: 292. Published online 2014 Sep 17. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2014.00292)

 

Genetics, Spiritual Symbolism and Energy: The Genetics of Spirituality

Tim Spector, in the article, What Twins Reveal About The Science Of Faith (Popular Science, August 8, 2013) states, “They [the researchers] estimated the heritability of spirituality to be around 40 to 50 percent, which is quite high considering how tricky it is to measure. Other U.S. studies using even more detailed questions in larger numbers have found similar or even stronger genetic influences. These studies demonstrate our variable but innate inherited sense of spirituality, which affects how we perceive the world, ourselves and the universe.

Sociological Evidence of Unconscious Symbolism – Fandom, Star Wars, Harry Potter and Carole Cusack

The contemporary-modern popularity of Star Wars and Harry Potter, and the numerous other imaginative fandoms, that provides massive data and evidence of the existence of unconscious spiritual symbolism. Rhiannon Grant in The Sacred in Fantastic Fandom, Grant observes in 2001, the British government ran a regular census, but they included a new question about religion. In response, almost 0.8 percent of the total population said they were a “Jedi” or Jedi knight!” (p. 38) Those results were repeated in Australia and New Zealand.

As Carole Cusack correctly observes “the imaginative exercise of realizing that world (of spirituality and supernatural force in Harry Potter and Star Wars) is extremely attractive……(p.27) In light of the "Fandom" sociological reality, spiritual symbols might best be understood in terms of psychologist Donald Kalsched’s observation that "Archetypal energy is rooted deep in the unconscious and it is ‘archaic’, primitive, and also ‘typical’. He goes on to say, "because they exist in raw, unmediated form they tend to be over-powering." Nancy Furlotti similarly states, " Affect emerges from archetypes, which are the a priori ordering principles of nature, the world, and the psyche. When an archetype is activated, energy is put in motion that does not adhere to the laws of causality, or time and space." (Tracing a Red Thread: Synchronicity and Jung’s Red Book:(2010), Psychological Perspectives, 53:4, 455-478) Beliefs and ideas are very real and incredibly powerful. From that perspective, the idea of "spirit" as energy and force is very real, especially in light of a social-collective consciousness.

The Idea-Archetype of spirit as life force

Another piece of sociological evidence that unconscious spiritual symbolism is minimally an unconscious symbolism reality would be the historical worldwide prevalence of the “spirit as life force” concept in worldwide and diverse cultures. In nearly all human cultures, the word "spirit" has linguistic roots in the word for "breath" throughout the early human cultures or ‘primitive-traditional’ tribes on every continent and throughout the world. This linguistic connection between the word for “spirit” and the word for “breath” appears in the languages of Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic, Chinese and Japanese, Hindu, ancient Germanic, Scandinavian, Baltic, Slavic, ancient Egyptian, many Native American languages, as well as the languages of many other early human cultures and tribes.

The idea-symbol – or archetype- of “Spirit” as “Life-Force” appears nearly universal among all the early human cultures in the world. The Chinese refer to “life-force” energy as Chi which symbolizes the vital life force energy of the Universe. Qi or chi is central to the Taoist worldview and practice or worship. The word qi means "breath," or "air" but symbolically and as an idea, qi is the "life-force" which animates the myriad forms and manifestations of the world. Furthermore, qi is the vibratory nature of phenomena taking place at the molecular, atomic and sub-atomic levels. Similarly, in Japan, "life-force' is named “ki,” and in Hinduism, life-force is “prana” or “shakti.” Ancient Egyptians called it “ka.” In some places of Africa, “life-force” is known as “ashe,” and in Hawaii it is known as “ha” or “mana.” The Buddhist understanding of "life-force" is understood as the "Life of the Universe" which is a physical reality that is considered to be "divine."

Background: Divine Inspiration and Spiritual-psychic Experiences 

A. Dreams which proved presient - mostly documented (via emails) (1) a dream centered on Pakistan and nuclear war. (2) A Hybrid Dream-Perception: Precognitive "Tag" (i.e., a central action with one or two details) of the "incel" terrorist in Canada in late April, 2018. (3) Dream about Libya (2-26-2019), (4) Synchronicity with Strasburg, France attack - dream (9-19-20) + undocumented (5) Dudayev (Chechen leader) Dream (6) Fredericksburg bomb (civilian)

B. Conscious Perceptions (1) my recent 10-30-20 email to FBI agent McElwee warned of a "domestic terrorist" threat referring to a "bomb" as the weapon - to the Nashville bombing on Christmas day 2020 (2) My very detailed, specific, and notarized warning to the FBI on October 18, 1981 of an impending attack by the then active Weathermen terrorist group. Some [accurate] details are: group, fabricating bombs, money, women, 22 put together, New York, death, as well as the terrorist weathermen's manifesto. (3) A phoned in warning to the FBI before the assassination attempt on president Reagan (4) I called the CIA before 9/11 (5) foresight of the fight in intelligence (and Congress) over the CIA whistleblower

Point of order: Jean MacPhail, author, scholar and expert on Vedanta Hinduism (who had her own experinces) observed, my expericnes are unique - in part because nearly all my perceptions are perceptions of political events outside myself. It woudl be self-evident that   the processing of social-political signals as well as the historical-political situation-circumstances are deeply involved. So, it woudl stand to reason that my strength is ideologies, norms, unconscious processes, stereotypes, mindsets, and - of course - Mannheim. An important point fo information woudl be that - in 1981 - when I produced the very detailed warning to the Toledo, Ohio FBI, I did not consciously believe in spirit, spirituality or psychic - at all. So, I can testify to the importance and influence of unconscious processes. Personally, my conclusion is that the "self" is likely a substantially unconscious construct.

The Prism Paradigm

spirituality has become entangled in abstractions

I believe it safe to say - from 40 years of experience -  that spirituality has become entangled in abstractions: powers, perfection, supernatural, unreal, limitless knowledge, crystal ball perceptions, etc. My own sister told me after reading an essay about my documented, detailed warning to the fBI in 1981 that she knows that I think that I have “powers.” A very pervasive maladaptive stereotype is that People who have spiritual – psychic experiences are automatically and necessarily “mentally ill”. There is no evidence for either of those rather sick maladaptive stereotypes. I have yet to meet an undergraduate college graduate who has any training or education in people who have spiritual experiences – yet they assume they know everything about spirituality – so yes, most college graduates seem to unconsciously assimilate a lot of academic (maladaptive) stereotypes.     

Dr Stephen Farra (Columbia International University) agreed with that – and went one better. Dr Farra stated “Good short paper - thoughtful and to the point: A lack of belief in "free will" (volitional life direction) routinely leads to a sense of meaninglessness. despair, and unethical personal behavior.  We are told we are all forced to this conclusion by "science" -- but this is junk science that does not understand the process of model creation and validation. Our paradigms are our way of addressing Reality, but they are Not Reality.  As Charles Peck, Jr. suggests, we are getting lost in our own abstractions!” So, a realistic model of spirituality is important – I believe the prism paradigm is such a model   

Energy originates in unconscious spiritual symbols and symbolism is the genesis of spirituality “as a natural predisposition.” As William James and modern neuroscience points out, people have different views because they filter or process data and information differently. Personality, upbringing, culture-environment- ethnicity, experiences are shaping factors. In the Prism Paradigm – Metaphor – the light of spirituality is comparable to the light going into a prism which gets separated (filtered) into different wavelengths.

The neuroscientists, Bernhard Hommel et al, begin their article “No one knows what attention is” with “It is argued that selectivity in processing has emerged through evolution as a design feature of a complex multi-channel sensorimotor system, which generates selective phenomena of “attention” as one of many by-products. How is this related to attention? A few sentences after that famous phrase we quoted above, James wrote that attention “implies a withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others.” interact with another stimulus is indeed accomplished, quite literally, within the approach circuit of the rostral tectum. And while these simple circuits for governing interactive behavior may seem far removed from the higher cognition of humans, they are indeed the precursors to the mechanisms that control what has been called “selective attention.”  (“No one knows what attention is” Bernhard Hommel & Craig S. Chapman & Paul Cisek & Heather F. Neyedli & Joo-Hyun Song & Timothy N. Welsh)  

Consistently, neuroscience articles emphasize that “attention” is a pivotal aspect in the orientation and ‘worldviews’ in human consciousness – as well as the fact that the parietal complex is also pivotal in attention. Of course. All neuroscience articles these days emphasize the interconnectedness of the numerous and diverse regions and processes of the human mind. My argument is that “directing attention” (Eric Klinger) is an important “function” of spirituality 

   

 The Prism Paradigm is a realistic and reasonable model - paradigm.

The idea is simple – unconsciously symbolic generated energy gets processed and filtered. Genetic evidence and sociological indicates that spiritual oriented symbolism is a very real “force” in the real world – very far from the fixation of many scientists with the supernatural as opposed to fruitfulness as Brian Josephson emphatically points out.

That is a critical problem - as the quantum physicist Brain Josephson points out. Brian D Josephson - the only Welshman to earn the Nobel peace prize & who also happens to believe that precognition and telepathy are hypothetical real possibilities - in his article, Religion in Genes (Nature, Vol 362, April 15, 1993) stated unequivocally that “With religion, focusing on the factuality or otherwise of religious belief similarly misses the point: the significant questions in this context relate to the functions and fruitfulness of religious beliefs.” “Dawkins criticizes religion on the grounds of apparent conflicts between religious beliefs and scientifically established facts.” That is, scientists are fixated on the "supernatural" which equates to unreal and superstitious nonsense.

It is a fact that the materialist bias in social sciences created a significant researcher bias - the fixated with the supernatural was so “strong” that a proper categorization pf types was not done: spirituality of compassion, music, art, poetry, t’nalak dream weaving, autistic spirituality, spiritual healing in grieving, medical meta-analyses, awe-wonder etc. In contrast to material ideology, The Prism Paradigm is a realistic and reasonable model - paradigm.

In contrast, from Park and Paloutzian’s Handbook: “there is a difference between studying experiences vs those who have them.” - Dr. Visuri

Review of the chapter "Mystical, Spiritual, and Religious Experiences” in Raymond F. Paloutzian & Crystal L. Park’s Handbook of The Psychology Of Religion And Spirituality (Guilford Press, 2013). A synopsis from the chapter of the phenomena covered is a short list of APA “anomalous experiences" – specifically "hallucinations, near death, past life, mystical, and paranormal experiences!" In that chapter there is nothing relevant about “people” who have experiences.

Overview the chapter, "Mystical, Spiritual, and Religious Experiences

1. "UFO's and Alien abductions"

2. "Psychedelics or Entheogens"

3. Near-Death Experience

4. Numinous and Mystical Experiences.

 

That “model” presents a very distorted picture or "model| of spirituality – miseducation, not education. And there is nothing about “People” in that chapter – nothing about “meaning” or “way of looking at things” or “sense of reality” (William James – The Variety of Religious Experience)  in spiritual experiences

 “Concepts create idols; only wonder comprehends anything. People kill one another over idols. Wonder makes us fall to our knees.” ― Saint Gregory Of Nyssa

Social science as ideologies - not science

Important point of order: Mannheim's argument was pretty common sense - that the economic political reality would shape social-religious worldviews - which is historically correct. Arthur Mullins describes-defines the Mannheim paradox: "Nevertheless, with these few exceptions, Mannheim holds that historical and political thought is determined by the socio-historical position of the thinker and the political aspirations and material ambitions of the group or of the groups to which it belongs. Such thinking is intrinsically value-laden, one-sided, distorted and therefore false. In short, all systems of historical-social-political thought are ideologies. (p. 143 Truth and Ideology: Reflections on Mannheim's Paradox by Willard A. Mullins, History and Theory, Vol. 18, No. 2 (May, 1979), pp. 141-154)

Christina Maimone observes: “Ideology is, as Mannheim uses the term, a mode of thinking that obscures the real condition of society from the group that holds the thought, thereby stabilizing the shared social reality of the mode of thinking. Groups are simply incapable of seeing particular facts that would undermine their worldview, that would show that their collective perception of the social situation is a misapplication of thought to experience. Ideology is most strongly associated with groups that occupy a dominant position in society. Their ideology serves to secure their place in the social order, although the development of their way of thinking has not been consciously controlled in this direction.

As long as one is aware of the relationships that determine meaning and shape how knowledge is situated within the structure of social thought, social science can be a meaningful enterprise that manages to produce knowledge about the absolute world through non-absolute perceptions.

"No one denies the possibility of empirical research nor maintains that facts do not exist [but] .... They exist for the mind always in an intellectual and social context." [Book by Karl Mannheim Ideology and Utopia p.102] What differentiates social knowledge from knowledge about the physical world is that the meanings given to knowledge and the ways in which social facts are understood in relation to each other are part of the thinker's social reality. . Facts about the physical world are not inevitably incorporated into the social reality of the thinker. (13) Knowledge about the social world, however, becomes part of and is interpreted according to the existing structure of my social reality, my mode of thought.

Christina Maimone, Political Science PhD Stanford (PS 311 – Week 8 Ideology and Utopia https://web.stanford.edu › maimone_wk8_p3) What Maimones, a political science PhD, says echoes somewhat what St Gregory fo Nyssa said a couple of millenia ago. 

 It is easy to prove psychiatry is not science. Dr Stacey Neal, a psychiatrist trained at Johns Hopkins, stated that she - and psychaitrists have no training or education in people who have spiritual experiences. The diagnostic manual has no information about that either. Spiritual beleifs have been a significant aspect of human consciousness and humantiy for tens of thousands of years. Osychiatry ecxclkudes spirtiuality - and so cannot be considered as science. The APA manual is not far from that as well.

J. E. Kennedy observes “Very little research has been aimed at investigating the overall effects of paranormal experiences.”  From my research I would have to agree with that statement 100%. In my research on people who have spiritual-psychic experiences, “people” are conspicuously absent. (An Exploratory Study of the Effects of Paranormal and Spiritual Experiences on Peoples' Lives and Well-Being J.E. Kennedy and H. Kanthamani [Original publication and copyright: The Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 1995, Volume 89, pp.249-265.])

Why is the Battle of Chosin Reservoir important? Patriotism and Esprit de Corps as a “psychology of groups” and a form of social consciousness.

Korean War Battle of Chosin Reservoir: The British casualties in one day in the battle of the Somme during WWI were 50,000 dead and wounded. 50,000 casualties in one day – patriotism & esprit de corps - is an incredibly solid proof that there is a "psychology of groups.” - a refutation pf the materialist dogma that “There is no psychology of groups” – Social psychology Allport 1927 – [still problematic today] 

Materialist Dogma: “There is no psychology of groups” (Allport 1927): “Psychologists who study groups approach the idea of a group as an entity only very gingerly. The field, or members of the field, apparently still feel the sting of Allport’s (1927) remonstration of those who were attracted to McDougall’s idea of “group mind.” (Hazel Markus, Shinobu Kitayama, Rachel Heiman, the authors of the chapter Culture and “Basic” Psychological Principles, of the Social Psychology Handbook of Basic Principles) There is no psychology of groups?? You can’t be serious? They need to get out of their "self-contained sandcastles as Muzafer Sherif termed them" adn go to a riocke consert - or a politcal protest - or better yet, sports teams - which all have their own colors and cheers. Talk about bulls**t. 

Extreme Individualism: As a point of order, I did recently ask Brian J McVeigh, an anthropologist, author and expert on Japanese culture, if the statement “There are no psychologies of groups” is an example of “extreme individualism” and he said “Yes.” David Hay actually coined the phrase “extreme individualism” and Virgilio Enriquez argue is unhealthy and destructive [and me]

Why is social consciousness important? Recently a number of major antisocial behaviors have emerged since roughly 2000. 

1. There have been 396 school shootings in the USA. 

2. CDC: Suicide rates increased approximately 36% between 2000–2021.

3. All time high in mass shootings 2023 - 559 Mass shootings in 2023 so far

4. according to the Washington Post, hate crimes are at an all-time high in 2021 with 896 Filipinos reporting themselves as victims of hate crimes. 

5. Assaults on teachers have dramatically increased - not only in the US but worldwide. 

6. Assaults on healthcare workers has increased exponentially - also a world-wide problem. 

7. epidemic in narcissism in western countries (Twenge, etc). 

8. “A series of uncoordinated mass stabbings, hammer attacks, and cleaver attacks in the People's Republic of China began in March 2010. The spate of attacks left at least 90 dead and some 473 injured.” (Wikipedia)

- This particular behavior is unheard of – unknown! Killing – murdering – with a knife is up close and personal – very different from killing forma distance with a gun. Killing a 5 or 6-year-old child with a knife is horrifically brutally violent. Any way you look at the situation – it is Abnormal – with a capital A.

First, I would point out that these antisocial behaviors can’t be understood without a viable concept of “social consciousness” – which at the moment does not exist. My argument is that it would be readily apparent that the materialist ideology which is embedded in academia - being a "purposeless" ideology taught at universities - would be a significant contributing cause of anti-social behaviors – especially in light of the “extreme individualism” -anti-social characteristic of materialist ideology. Even Brian McVeigh – not on board with David Hay, Virgilio Enriquez, or me(lol) with the belief extreme individualism is unhealthy – agrees that the statement “There is no psychology of groups” is an example of extreme individualism 

As a point of order I would highlight the fact that - in the USA the far-right Christian support of Trump - who is a racist inciting extremism - is also a contributing factor to the increase in hate crimes and the horrific number of school shootings in the USA by undermining peoples sense in justice and Christian values of “love”. In fact, there is a correlation between a higher rate of school shootings in the deep south (as reported by the Washington Post) - which is a hotbed of Trump Christians. – For what it is worth. In my view - it appears “to me” like the Trump Christian snake (Trump was put into power by the Antiscience movement in effect) is trying to eat the secularism snake – “to me for what it is worth”

“Secularism” (materialist ideology) meets the legal criteria for assault

Point of Order “Assault” - Karen Armstrong states that “The rational bias of our scientific modernity has resulted in a new and unskillful literalism. Protestants created the first fundamentalist movement at the time of World War I in order to protect Christianity, which, they felt, was imperiled by the new ideas and institutions. In some of the colonized countries, however, the process has been even more traumatic because it has been far too rapid. Secularization has often been experienced as an assault. It has also created a division between a Western- educated elite and the majority who feel bewildered by the new secular institutions. Thus, religion has become embattled and even militant. (The Role of Religion in Today’s conflict – paper presented June 2006 by Karen Armstrong) 

As a point of order. I would highlight he fact that when you take the definition of assault by Cornell legal institute – materialist ideology - currently taught in academia could be fit that definition

1. Geertz’s universally accepted definition of religion (according to Chernus) excludes “spirit”

2. Geertz’s definition of religion excludes “community

3. Social psychology excludes social consciousness – and thus community

4. Psychology excludes the concept of “spirit” Hull’s “Story of Psychology (700 plus page history of psychology) only refers to “spirit” only in context of ancient Greek philosophers – no social consciousness of course – and minimal references to collective consciousness – like two or three paragraphs. 

5. In spite of tens of thousands of years of spiritual and religious beliefs, countless religious schools of thought and millions and millions of temples and churches mainstream has no concept or idea of spiritual and religious beliefs as a drive or even important motivation (nor with people either).

6. In spite of the fact that research into music by neuroscientists which shows a consensus that musical spirituality has been an evolutionary adaptive trait in human evolution, no where else is that value in the social sciences to the best of my knowledge

7. The norm among mainstream social scientists is that spiritual-psychic experiences are “unreal” or superstitious nonsense. 

It would seem readily apparent that materialist ideology (secularism) fits the Cornell definition of assault. Karen Armstrong states that “Secularization has often been experienced as an assault.” The point is that it does meet the criteria of “assault” legally 

 

Introduction: Brief Overview of Modern Research into Social Perception – Consciousness

While I write quite a bit on transcendental spirituality such as the spirituality of grieving or autistic spirituality, I write more about social consciousness than anything else (I believe) - which is consistent with a major school of thought in Christian theology). I believe my first discussion on academia.edu on social consciousness was in 2018. As appoint of information “social consciousness is different from Durkheim’s collective consciousness and Jungian collective consciousness. “Social identity is a person’s sense of who they are based on their group membership(s).” while social consciousness is about relationships – and inter-relationships. 

Social Cognitive Theory falls short of social consciousness: While, “The unique feature of SCT is the emphasis on social influence and its emphasis on external and internal social reinforcement. SCT considers the unique way in which individuals acquire and maintain behavior, while also considering the social environment in which individuals perform the behavior. The theory takes into account a person's past experiences, which factor into whether behavioral action will occur…The theory does not focus on emotion or motivation, other than through reference to past experience. There is minimal attention on these factors.” (The Social Cognitive Theory - SPH - Boston University https://sphweb.bumc.bu.edu)

Modern Research: the dynamics and reality of “social perception-consciousness” 

The core or nucleus of new research in unconscious research and research into social perception might be best expressed when Bargh observes: “Within each of these is stored ingrained, implicit knowledge about appropriate values and behavior, likes and dislikes. Ways of Being.” (p.82) (John Bargh: “Before You Know It”) From a certain perspective the roles that people fulfill in their lives could be viewed as forms of social consciousness. For instance, there are the roles as parents, or roles as educators, and so on. 

Bargh sums up social perception-consciousness “The idea that social perception is a largely automated psychological phenomenon is now widely accepted. Perceptual interpretations of behavior, as well as assumptions about an individual's behavior based on identified group membership, become automated like any other representation if they are frequently and consistently made in the presence of the behavioral or group membership features.” (The Unconscious Mind John A. Bargh and Ezequiel Morsella) IN a parallel way, Jung spoke about archetypes and symbols in the unconscious.

Introduction – social consciousness

Social Consciousness is Not an Ontology 

In one of the two or three discussions I led in acadedmia.edu, there were five anthropologist professors were involved (who I individually messaged, but got no response – except one. That particular anthropologist had a theory that social consciousness is an “ontological reality” - the nature of being. The fact that the British casualties in one day in the battle of the Somme were 50,000 dead and wounded is a clear indicator that psychologies of groups and social consciousness is NOT “the nature of being” – but a very powerful force. 

Further confounding the issue, a French anthropologist - when I questioned him about social consciousness (which is different from Durkheim/Jungian collective consciousness) said he knew nothing about it but he was sure someone, somewhere had written about it – and told me I needed to research every essay ever written to find it. So, I googled social consciousness in Wikipedia. There were only three references – no social psychologists or anthropologists – the most salient reference being Karl Marx, the creator of Marxism. 

As a point of order, the Esprit de corps demonstrated at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir - and patriotism - also refute Dawkins False Premise: "[G]ene selfishness will usually give rise to selfishness in individual behaviour…. there are special circumstances in which a gene can achieve its own selfish goals best by fostering a limited form of altruism at the level of individual animals." Again 50,000 casualties in a single day is a clear indication that the premise that altruism can only be expressed in terms of a ”limited form” is false. 

[Materialism] has “severely restricted and limited in the analyses that can be performed.

The Scope of Inquiry of Materilist Methodology is "severely restricted and limited in the analyses that can be performed"

As Claudia Nielsen pointed out, the psychiatrist McGilChrist astutely observed that “The scope of inquiry and understanding of the Materialist Doctrine with its rigid adherence to the actually arbitrary principle of quantification and over-emphasis on physiological characteristics is severely restricted and limited in the analyses that can be performed.” 

An excellent example of this severely restricted protocol would be - as Kay Deux, a social psychologist points out the fixation of social psychology on laboratory experiments precludes "affective displays" and emotions. Kay Deaux, a prominent social psychologist, highlights the significance and importance of emotions especially in understanding many social, political or group related behaviors. Kay Deaux, emphasizes the fact that social psychology has historically had an “emphasis on experimenter-created social groups” which “precluded most affective displays.” Experiments conducted in a laboratory would necessarily have a contrived and arbitrary aspect to them – very limited - and in that environment, cognitive concepts, structures and paradigms tend to be nice, neat, and precise constructs that are measurable in some sense. 

Kay Deux goes on to emphasize that “In contrast, natural groups, whether family, fraternity, or nation, are often the arena for intense displays of emotion and strong affective ties.” (p. 794 Social Psychology Handbook of Basic Principles edited by E. Tory Higgins and Arie W. Kruglanski) That is, the Materialist Doctrine - Ideology excludes some facts, information and evidence due to the fixation on physiological quantification.

That same dogmatic thinking also severely restricted spirituality research. As J. E Kennedy points out, “virtually no research has been done in parapsychology on the effects of psychic experiences on peoples' lives and worldviews.” “Very little research has been aimed at investigating the overall effects of paranormal experiences.” - J. E. Kennedy (An Exploratory Study of the Effects of Paranormal and Spiritual Experiences on Peoples' Lives and Well-Being J.E. Kennedy and H. Kanthamani (Original publication and copyright: The Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 1995, Volume 89, pp.249-265.) 

Quick commentary by Jung

The critical notion is that of the individual as, in Jung’s words, “the one source of moral and spiritual progress for society”. Jung’s view of the primacy of the individual and the importance of the individuation process he puts succinctly when he says, “Resistance to the organized mass can be effected only by the man who is as well organized in his individuality as the mass itself ” (Jung CW Vol. 10 par. 540, italics Jung).

The Battle of Chosin Reservoir: Korean War USMC Archives (Quantico) 12-6-1950

Chesty Puller, Commander at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir 

"We're surrounded. Good, that simplifies the problem……we're not retreating, we're attacking in a different direction." 

Yep – my sentiments exactly - since I seem to be surrounded by materialists! It does simplify the situation! 

Chesty Puller - most decorated United States Marine Corps officer. In the Korean War, Puller was the commander of the 1st Marine Regiment and participated in the Inchon landing at Inchon on September 15, 1950. At the Battle of Chosin Reservoir he was awarded two medals for heroism – after which he was promoted to brigadier general 

Introduction

American military leaders, including General Douglas MacArthur, were caught off guard by the entrance of the People’s Republic of China, led by Mao Zedong, into the five-month-old Korean War. “At the beginning, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army pushed the 7th Army Infantry Division back, allowing the PVA to encircle the Marines on the mountain. The mentality of the Marines continues to inspire, more than 60 years later: "Never retreat, die where I stand or lay, but never retreat." Twelve thousand men of the First Marine Division, along with a few thousand Army soldiers, suddenly found themselves surrounded, outnumbered and at risk of annihilation at the Chosin Reservoir, high in the mountains of North Korea. 

The Battle of Chosin Reservoir is perhaps the hardest fought battle in American history was the Battle of Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War. “On 27 November 1950, the Chinese force surprised the US X Corps commanded by Major General Edward Almond at the Chosin Reservoir area. A brutal 17-day battle in freezing weather soon followed. Between 27 November and 13 December, 30,000 United Nations Command troops (later nicknamed "The Chosin Few") under the field command of Major General Oliver P. Smith were encircled and attacked by about 120,000 Chinese troops.” The Marines fought in rugged mountain terrain for 17 long days in the bitterest Korean winter cold in memory. Frostbite was a common problem. Marines who fought at the Chosin Reservoir Battle would say that the cold was so penetrating that it “would sink right to your bones."

Though surrounded and encircled and in spite of being attacked constantly, ceaselessly, and without pause the Marines and Army units managed to hold together and fight their way out of the Chinese encirclement to the embarkment point at Hungnam – in spite of the fact that the main road connecting the Chosin Reservoir and the city of Hungnam quality was poor, and at times it was only a one lane gravel trail. At the end, 836 Marines had died and roughly 10,000 marines had been wounded. The Army fared worse with 2,000 dead with 1,000 wounded. Reports indicated that the Chinese losses were catastrophic and that six complete Chinese divisions were totally destroyed. Some analysts estimate Chinese losses anywhere from 30,000 to 80,000 killed. 

The terrain was mountainous, but worst of all, it was cold. Freezing cold. By this time in the war, the winter had arrived in force, freezing over the landscape and creating many problems for troops, including disabling bouts of frostbite. The piercing cold was so unbearable, Marines at the reservoir said, "it would sink right to your bones." Even against overwhelming odds, Marines fought till their last breath. When the marine guard got to the extraction point, they sang the marine anthem. 

Obviously, there is an unspoken and nonverbal bond and attachment between people. This bond is the fundamental characteristic – or nucleus – of social consciousness. The other point here is that a “mode of thought is not a “philosophical discussion,” but a very active “force” that shapes peoples’ motivations, drives, and behaviors into a coherent worldview. As a point of information, I have seen a few “military war” documentaries which often highlight veterans who indicate that – in reality, when it came down to it - they were not fighting for apple pie, or mom and country, but they were fighting for their "buddies" and fellow soldiers. 

(Why the 'Frozen Chosin' is the defining battle of the modern Marine Corps https://www.wearethemighty.com/history/why-the-frozen-chosin-is-the-defining-battle-of-the-modern-marine-corps)

Social consciousness is social order 

(for better or worse – i.e the ingroup-outgroup syndrome is part of social consciousness)

 The way you look at things is the most powerful force in shaping your life. - Irish poet theologian John O’Donohue

There is a universal consensus among scientists, that human beings are - first and last - social animals. IT would stand to reason then that relationships - and social consciousness - would be pivotal in human consciousness – not to mention society. In today’s complex and sophisticated society human beings simply would not be able to function if human beings did not have some form of a minimally functional social consciousness. 

Hinduism, Confucianism and Filipino Kapwa-loob: Hinduism has had the pivotal concept of Dharma – that encapsulates both social order and roles – as well as cosmic order - for almost two thousand years. Confucianism had the central concept of self as others. The Filipino culture has the “Kapwa norm and value [shared identity – which has no equivalent in the English language]. Furthermore, there is the loob value-norm which both Reynaldo Ileto and Jeremiah Reyes describe as a norm conveying “relational will” and an innate equality of people. embedded in Filipino culture. 

Historical Social Consciousness

A. Confucianism 

“For the early Confucians there can be no me in isolation, to be considered abstractly: I am the totality of roles I live in relation to specific others. […] [T]he relations in which I stand to some people affect directly the relations in which I stand with others, to the extent that it would be misleading to say that I‚ play’ or‚ perform’ these roles; on the contrary, for Confucius, I am my roles. Taken collectively, they weave, for each of us, a unique pattern of personal identity, 5” (Marion Eggert’s quoting Henry Rosemont: 5 Rosemont 2016: 52 f.) 

B. Dharma – Concept of Social Consciousness: Dharma, a concept of Hinduism, dates back to between 500 B.C. and 500 A.D. “Dharma is a concept of social order and duty that sustains the whole universe. A person’s placement in a caste (varna) and birth group (jati) is one element of dharma. Jati is historically also used to determine social interactions and marriages, as dharma guides every aspect of daily life. The term dharma may be translated as “religion,” “law,” “order,” “duty” or “ethics.” It is far more encompassing than any of the particular activities that might be described as “religion.” Dharma is what centers, upholds, and makes meaningful all activities, not just those done at certain times and certain places 

Dharma is also social order. In India, this traditionally included one’s duty as part of a particular stratum of society, a caste (varna) or birth-group (jati). In Rig Veda X.90, a creation hymn,….. The hierarchy and stratification of society is thus written into the blueprint of the universe.” (https://pluralism.org/dharma-the-social-order The Pluralism Project by Harvard University

C. Kapwa-loob ethics, mindset (norms) & psychology- J Reyes and V Enriquez) 

Karina Lagdameo-Santillan did an excellent job explaining the reality of "social consciousness in terms of Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino branch of psychology), “Kapwa is a recognition of a shared identity, an inner self, shared with others. This Filipino linguistic unity of the self and the other is unique and unlike in most modern languages. Why? Because implied in such inclusiveness is the moral obligation to treat one another as equal fellow human beings. If we can do this – even starting in our own family or our circle of friends – we are on the way to practice peace. We are Kapwa People.” — Professor Virgilio Enriquez, founder of Sikolohiyang Pilipino.”

Cultural Illustrations of social consciousness

Ubuntu: In ancient African culture there is the widespread concept of Ubuntu. There is a Zulu proverb called Ubuntu that says: “I am a person through other people. My humanity is tied to yours.” Archbishop Desmond Tutu explained it this way: “One of the sayings in our country is Ubuntu — the essence of being human. Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can’t exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness … We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole world. When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity.”– which was advocated by Anglican bishop Tutu as an important prosocial value. Ubuntu is a Nguni Bantu term meaning "humanity". It is sometimes translated as "I am because we are” – remarkably similar to the Confucian value that “there can be no me in isolation… I am my roles” 

Biddhist Interbeing: Thich Nhat Hanh "all phenomena are interdependent…endlessly interwoven." This is the foundation of Nhat Hanh’s approach. He calls it the principle of "interbeing." "In Buddhism there is no such thing as an individual." There is no such thing as a separate object, event, or experience, because no any part of the world can exist apart from all others. Rather, everything that looks like a separate entity is actually dependent on, and therefore interwoven with, something else…. These elements are the influences from the other things with which it is interwoven. And those elements, too, are made up of other combinations. The world is an endless web of combinations.” (https://spot.colorado.edu/~chernus/NonviolenceBook/ThichNhatHanh.htm)

Celtic-Irish Soul Friend Irish poet theologian John O’Donohue: 

“According to Celtic tradition, the soul shines all around the body like a luminous cloud. When you are very open – appreciative and trusting – with another person, your two souls flow together. This deeply felt bond with another person means you have found an Anam Cara, or "soul friend." Your Anam Cara always beholds your light and beauty, and accepts you for who you truly are.” – John O’Donohue Anam Cara: Wisdom from the Celtic World.

Christian Community 

The ideal of the prophets is not a church or congregation of worshiping believers, but a community, society, or state of god like men and women living in love and truth together under the Messiah as king, who is filled with the spirit of God, exercising justice and judgment toward the poor and helpless (Isa. 9: I-7; I1: 1-5)…. Godliness is character, and character is not in things, but is the product of personal endeavor, however favorable the surroundings may be. Therefore, the prophets demanded of everybody an honest, energetic endeavor to realize the divine, ideal kingdom in this world……, They spurn a worship that shows no fruits in the social sphere…” THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS AS SOCIAL REFORMERS. By REV. GEO. STIBITZ, Philadelphia, Pa.

 Commentary & Reflections: 

For more perspective - I would highlight a comment from Moitreyee who happens to be an Indian poet, artist, and “story teller”. Moitreyee said "Charlie Peck yes the one thing that really strikes me in this write (this essay about social consciousness) is the mentioning of the fact that religion is a way of life, and is not something that has to be performed at certain times or in certain places. I believe in this and support this whole heartedly. My religion lives in my work.🌹. Thank you once again for sharing

“There is no psychology of groups” – Social psych Allport 1927 “Psychologists who study groups approach the idea of a group as an entity only very gingerly.”

 

Academic-Materialist Ideology & Close-Minded Dogma 

It is readily apparent from the pictures of protests and rock concerts, that contrary to current mainstream views in the social sciences (i.e. social psychology - Allport 1927) which currently holds that there are No “psychologies of groups” and No social consciousness – that indeed there are, in fact “psychologies of groups” and social consciousness. 

There are some truths which are “self-evident.” With even a tiny bit of common sense, it would only stand to reason that without social consciousness, society couldn’t possible exist to begin with. Without social consciousness people couldn’t possibly function in our incredibly sophisticated and very complex and complicated society. Here are the ongoing academic materialist arguments: 

1) “There is no psychology of groups” (Allport’s Taboo – 1927) 

2) human consciousness is restricted to the firing of neurons in the brain and so there cannot be any social consciousness. 

Extreme Individualism

As a point of order, I did recently ask Brian J McVeigh, an anthropologist, author and expert on Japanese culture, if the statement “There are no psychologies of groups” is an example of “extreme individualism” and he said “Yes.” David Hay actually coined the phrase “extreme individualism” and Virgilio Enriquez argue is unhealthy and destructive [and me]

Materialist Ideology: Doctrine and Dogma 

1) False Premise “There is no psychology of groups”

“Psychologists who study groups approach the idea of a group as an entity only very gingerly. The field, or members of the field, apparently still feel the sting of Allport’s (1927) remonstration of those who were attracted to McDougall’s idea of “group mind.” (Hazel Markus, Shinobu Kitayama, Rachel Heiman, the authors of the chapter Culture and “Basic” Psychological Principles, of the Social Psychology Handbook of Basic Principles)

Floyd Allport, in 1927 stated unequivocally that “Only within the individual can we find the behavior mechanisms and the consciousness which are fundamental in the interactions between people ………There is no psychology of groups which is not essentially and entirely a psychology of individuals.” 

2) False Premise: "materialist model” of consciousness as being solely and entirely a “byproduct of the neurology and biochemistry of the brain”

The materialist argument that there is no "psychology of groups" – incredibly – according to materialists (and widely accepted) is based on the principle that "neurons fire in the brain and so consciousness is restricted to the human brain" Mossbridge and Baruss, in their book Transcendent Mind, highlight and emphasize the limited and restricted understanding of the "materialist model” of consciousness as being solely and entirely a “byproduct of the neurology and biochemistry of the brain” (p. 24) I frequently encounter a version of that which states that “Because neurons fire in the brain, consciousness is restricted to within the human mind.” I encountered that argument in a Neil de Grasse Tyson science FB group - who used that to justify his argument that social consciousness does not exist. 

It does not follow from the fact that neurons fire in the brain that there is no social consciousness

Geertz’s “universal” Definition of Religion: No Community; No Spirit

Geertz's Universally Accepted Definition of Religion is missing two important aspects and characteristics "Spirit" and "Community"! Ironically, "The top word millennials used to describe their ideal environment for worship is "community," followed closely by "sanctuary." That means, then, that the absence of the concept of "community" in academic theories of religion is Not a trivial question! (Collective-consciousness as in Durkheim is not the same thing). As Buddha says, "We become what we believe" and I would add that - to a large degree -we believe what we are taught

 

Geertz's Definition of Religion: In his essay, Religion as a Cultural System: The Theory of Clifford Geertz, the prominent religious scholar Ira Chernus states: “One of the most influential figures in this social-scientific approach to religion is the anthropologist, Clifford Geertz. In an essay titled "Religion as a Cultural System" (1965) he [Geertz] spelled out a definition of religion that many others have borrowed, adapted, and employed in studying religion.” 

Chernus goes on to say that according to Geertz, religion is "(1) a system of symbols (2) which acts to establish powerful, pervasive and long-lasting moods and motivations in men (3) by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and (4) clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that (5) the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic."

Brian Hayden, the author of Shamans, Sorcerers, and Saints and anthropologist (whose book I happened to be reading at the time), "agreed" with my "assessment" of Geertz's definition of religion - in spite of the fact that in his book he cites Geertz's definition of religion and "agrees" with Geertz's definition of religion. Basically, Hayden said that "Yes, Geertz's definition of religion is flawed and off-track in leaving spirit out. Now, in light of the fact that much of his writing dealt with spiritual rituals, it would seem offhand that Geertz, of all people, would definitely not have left "spirit" out of a definition of religion.

Clifford Geertz’s definition of religion has effectively been THE Accepted Definition of Religion in the humanities! However, Geertz's definition is missing any concept or idea of "spirit." It appeared rather evident, in light of the fact that humans have believed in spirits and spirituality for tens of thousands of years that spirit or spirituality plays a prominent part in all religions, 

The conspicuous absence of both community and spirituality would seem substantial evidence that Mannheim was correct: Academic materialism is a mindset- a mode of thought! In fact - the most salient aspect of religions is that they are groups – or communities. Such a blatant disregard of such readily apparent and indisputably evident facts indicates some deep researcher biases.

Why is social consciousness important? A More Detailed Analysis 

“We become what we think” as Buddha said. The materialist ideology - with an inherent bias for extreme individualism and thsu an antisocial teaching - ideology - is unhealthy and destructive. 

 

Nine Major Anti-Social Behaviors recently emerged since roughly 2000

1. 389 school shootings in America - Washington Post Article: “More than 357,000 students have experienced gun violence at school since Columbine There have been 389 school shootings since 1999, according to Post data” – “There were more school shootings in 2022 — 46 — than in any year since at least 1999. Since the 1990’s there have been 288 school shootings in the USA – five times all of the school shootings in Europe combines. 

2. CDC: Suicide rates increased approximately 36% between 2000–2021. Suicide was responsible for 48,183 deaths in 2021, which is about one death every 11 minutes.3 The number of people who think about or attempt suicide is even higher. In 2021, an estimated 12.3 million American adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.5 million planned a suicide attempt, and 1.7 million attempted suicide. Suicide affects people of all ages. In 2021, suicide was among the top 9 leading causes of death for people ages 10-64. Suicide was the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-14 and 20-34.3

3. There has been a recent drastic increase in physical assaults on teachers in America – and worldwide i.e Teacher stabbed to death by pupil in France (BBC World News, France)According to a new survey from the American Psychological Association, one-third of teachers report that they experienced at least one incident of verbal harassment or threat of violence from students during the pandemic. (National Education Association, USA) 

Germany sees increase in attacks on teachers. (Deutsche Welle, Germany) Student Violence Against Teachers Has Become the Norm and That’s NOT Okay. (Bored Teachers, USA) School principals experience highest rate (75%) of violence and abuse in Australia. (ABC News) Surprising Israeli statistic emerged: the victims of student abuse – primarily veteran teachers – don't seek help. (Bar-Ilan University. Israel) New Zealand teachers want action as student assault rates on staff escalate. (Stuff, New Zealand) – (Violence Against Teachers: 17 Alarming Statistics and Headlines https://www.bite-pro.com/blog/post/violence-against-teachers-17-alarming-statistics-and-headlines )

During the 2020–21 school year, a higher percentage of elementary public-school teachers than of secondary public-school teachers reported being threatened with injury (8 vs. 4 percent) or being physically attacked (7 vs. 1 percent) by a student from their school. Teachers Threatened With Injury or Physically Attacked by Students (https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/a05/teacher-attacked-by-students)

4. The FBI reported a new high in hate crimes in the USA: Washington Post: UPDATE March 13, 2023 7:18 PM Masood Farivar US Hate Crimes Hit Record High: FBI Updated Report

The number of hate crimes in the United States jumped dramatically in 2021 to set a record high of nearly 11,000 incidents, the FBI said in a supplement to its annual hate crimes report. – with a huge increase in hate crimes reported by Asians including 896 Filipinos

5. Intentional killings of police have increased dramatically in the USA

Last year saw the highest number of law enforcement officers who were intentionally killed in the line of duty since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, an increase that comes as a rise in gun violence and homicides continues across the country.

According to preliminary year-end data provided to CNN by the FBI, 73 officers died in felonious killings in the line of duty in 2021. The year marks the highest total recorded by the agency since 1995, excluding the 9/11 attacks. (https://edition.cnn.com/2022/01/13/us/police-officers-line-of-duty-deaths/index.html)

6. Assaults on healthcare workers have had an exponential increase:

What’s behind an alarming rise in violent incidents in health care facilities “Government data shows that health care workers are five times as likely to experience workplace violence as other workers. They accounted for 73 percent of non-fatal injuries from violence in 2018, the most recent year for which numbers are available, and there are signs it's getting worse.”

7. Narcissism Epidemic: Since roughly 2000 there has been an epidemic of narcissism in western countries. Is modern life making us more narcissistic? And if so, why? We agree with Paris (2014, pp. 220 –226) that the answer to the first question is yes. In fact, as we demonstrate below, the case for

increasing narcissism is even stronger than presented in his article.

On the second question, we agree that expressive individualism

and lack of social support play key roles in this increase. However,

we question the idea that therapy is building narcissism.” (The narcissism epidemic: Living in the age of entitlement. APA Psych net)

8. All time high in mass shootings 2023 - 559 Mass shootings in 2023: “This is a list of mass shootings that took place in the United States in 2023. Mass shootings are incidents in which several people are victims of firearm-related violence, specifically for the purposes of this article, a total of four or more victims. As of November 30, a total of 660 people have been killed and 2,330 other people have been injured in 559 shootings. (Wikipedia)

9. Chinese Kindergarten Knife Slayings 

China kindergarten stabbing: Six dead in Lianjiang By Kelly Ng & Rupert Wingfield-Hayes BBC News The stabbings also fit in to a disturbingly familiar pattern. Firearms are banned in China but the country has seen a spate of knife attacks in recent years, although there was also one incident where the attacker used a chemical spray to injure a classroom of 50 children. The BBC has counted at least 17 knife attacks in schools, colleges and universities since 2010. Ten of those have happened between 2018 and 2023.

This particular behavior is unheard of – unknown! Killing – murdering – with a knife is up close and personal – very different from killing forma distance with a gun. Killing a 5 or 6-year-old child with a knife is horrifically brutally violent. Any way you look at the situation – it is Abnormal – with a capital A. 

The article highlights these two incidents: 

“In April 2021, two children died while 16 others were injured during a mass stabbing in Beiliu City, in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

In October 2018, 14 children were injured in a knife attack at a kindergarten in Chongqing, south-west China.”

Excerpt from Wikipedia 

A series of uncoordinated mass stabbings, hammer attacks, and cleaver attacks in the People's Republic of China began in March 2010. The spate of attacks left at least 90 dead and some 473 injured. As most cases had no known motive, analysts have blamed mental health problems caused by rapid social change for the rise in these kinds of mass murder and murder-suicide incidents. The state media has also been keeping news of these attacks quiet by deleting forum entries on the internet and releasing few facts on the incident for fear of copycat crimes and mass panic. (almost as bad as FB when it comes to spirituality – eh?)

The Dark Side of Psychology

Pivotal Behavioral Consequences Originating from the Concept and Academic Abstraction of Free Will – (excerpt from essay on Free Will)

Alfred Rupert Sheldrake (born in 1942) is an author, and scientist who worked as a biochemist at Cambridge University from 1967 to 1973. He is somewhat of a maverick. Sheldrake advocates the concept of morphic resonance, and argues that "memory is inherent in nature" and further that "natural systems... inherit a collective memory from all previous things of their kind." Further, he argues that morphic resonance explains the "telepathy-type interconnections between organisms." 

“The atheist [materialistic] ideology found a powerful ally in materialist science, which by the end of the nineteenth century, portrayed a purposeless, unconscious, mechanical universe where humans, like all life, had evolved without purpose or guidance. In this godless world [devoid of spirituality], humanity would take charge of it own evolution, bringing economic development, brotherhood, health, and prosperity to all mankind through progress.” (p.157) (Quotes from the Science and Spiritual Practices: Transformative Experiences and Their Effects on Our Bodies, Brains, and Health (2017) by Rupert Sheldrake)

Psychologies as Self-Fulfilling Prophecies 

It is true that the materialist ideology is purposeless. “We become what we think” – Buddha

 Self-fulfilling psychologies are realities - and should be considered in context of psychology theories – especially materialism and reductionism. Most everyone has heard of “positive thinking” and that positive thinking yields positive results. For instance, there have been over 300 studies of “hope” – the origin of positive thinking as it were – and the overwhelming conclusion was that “Hope” produces positive health benefits (duh). One study of students revealed that students who were told they are smart performed better. So, yes – “We become what we think!”

Excerpt from article “Impression Formation” C.N. Macrae, S. Quadflieg,

The term self-fulfilling prophecies refers to the observation that sometimes our beliefs about others can lead us to treat them in such a way that they subsequently become what we expect them to be. Originally, the effect was demonstrated in the classroom and called the ‘Pygmalion effect.’

Detrimental health effects of academic ideologies and abstractions – from research on Free Will 

Research by Kathleen Vohs and Jonathan Schooler showed that “It seems that when people stop believing they are free agents; they stop seeing themselves as blameworthy for their actions. Consequently, they act less responsibly and give in to their baser instincts. Vohs emphasized that this result is not limited to the contrived conditions of a lab experiment. “You see the same effects with people who naturally believe more or less in free will,” she said.

“Further studies by Baumeister and colleagues have linked a diminished belief in free will to stress, unhappiness, and a lesser commitment to relationships. They found that when subjects were induced to believe that “all human actions follow from prior events and ultimately can be understood in terms of the movement of molecules,” those subjects came away with a lower sense of life’s meaningfulness. Early this year, other researchers published a study showing that a weaker belief in free will correlates with poor academic performance……. 

The list goes on: Believing that free will is an illusion has been shown to make people less creative, more likely to conform, less willing to learn from their mistakes, and less grateful toward one another. In every regard, it seems, when we embrace determinism, we indulge our dark side.” (There’s No Such Thing as Free Will - But we’re better off believing in it anyway. Story by Stephen Cave Atlantic, JUNE 2016 ISSUE)

Also, from more general studies, there appears to be a correlation between “meaningless” and difficulties handling stress: “People perceive their life as meaningful when they find coherence in the environment. Given that meaning of life is tied to making sense of life events, people who lack meaning would be more threatened by stressful life events than those with a strong sense of meaning in life. 

Four studies demonstrated links between perceptions of life’s meaningfulness and perceived levels of stress. In Study 1, participants with lower levels of meaning in life reported greater stress than those who reported higher meaning in life. In Study 2 and Study 3, participants whose meaning in life had been threatened experienced greater stress than those whose meaning in life had been left intact. In Study 4, anticipation of future stress caused participants to rate themselves higher on the quest for meaning in life. These findings suggest that perceiving life as meaningful functions as a buffer against stressors.” Meaning in life and adjustment to daily stressors (Jina Park and Roy F. Baumeister Department of Psychology, Florida state university, Tallahassee, Fl, USA)

Extreme Individualism: David Hay and Virgilio Enriquez 

David Hay emphasizes that as a result of the Enlightenment movement’s emphasis on rational individualism – especially Hobbes “the cultural construction of an extreme individualism which is particularly evident in the Western world, there has been a `forgetting’ of relational consciousness/spirituality resulting in damaging effects to the texture of human community.” David Hay (Spirituality versus Individualism: Why we should nurture relational consciousness, International Journal of Children's Spirituality) 

K Lagdameo-Santillan observes that “According to Professor Enriquez, Kapwa is the “unity of the one-of-us-and-the-other” ……. He maintained that “Kapwa implied moral and normative aspects that obliged a person to treat one another as fellow human being and therefore as equal.” …….. But he also foresaw that this Filipino core value was threatened by spreading Western influences. “…once AKO (the I) starts thinking of himself as separate from KAPWA, the Filipino ‘self’ gets to be individuated as in the Western sense…” 

Professor Virgilio Enriquez, founder of Sikolohiyang Pilipino.

It would seem the recent research into the “epidemic” rise of the mental illness of narcissism (Twenge, etc.) may support David Hay’s argument. I might briefly mention that narcissism is complex and controversial. While social media such as FB clearly seems to play a role in the increase in narcissism, the cause of narcissism is a separate issue with one psychologist arguing narcissism is caused by anxiety. Ye, if materialism is an ideology then that would clearly also contribute to the narcissism problem. Aline Vater in his article “Narcissism in Western Culture” states that “Narcissism scores are higher in individualistic cultures compared with more collectivistic cultures.

Addendum I. Narcissism in Western Culture by Aline Vater

“Narcissism scores are higher in individualistic cultures compared with more collectivistic cultures. Germany was formerly divided into two different social systems, each with distinct economic, political and national cultures, and was reunified in 1989/90. Between 1949 and 1989/90, West Germany had an individualistic culture, whereas East Germany had a more collectivistic culture.”

In contrast, it is remarkable that – in light of the unique “kapwa (“self as others” cultural psychology” and the documented fact that the Philippines though politically a very violent country has a very low rate of shooting sprees. As Buddha said, “We become what we think!”

Point of order: I would highlight that - academics never really considered how the materialist quantification principle – a “Rigid adherence to arbitrary quantification” as McGilChrist put it – which most everyone assumes is science – could create a mode of thought or mindset much like communism or capitalism or any other mode of thought – which drastically alters one’s orientation and approach. – A case of Colossal Researcher Bias. 

Addendum: A Major Methodology Flaw 

- A narrative explanation of the Definist fallacy–Maladaptive Stereotype that “All spirituality is unreal” I include this because I feel the Definist Fallacy is A Major Methodology problem that cause widespread “crooked thinking – to use Supreme Court Justice Rehnquist’s terminology 

A short while ago I happened to be talking to a Filipina college graduate. I explained the materialist argument as explained by Miller & Thompson in the NIH article – that spirituality is unreal and nonexistent because you can’t measure it. I was a bit surprised when she emphatically agreed with the argument that spirituality is unreal and nonexistent because you can’t measure it. So, I asked her to consider the concept of “death” for a minute. Death is far beyond measurement or quantification – so then…, following the logic of the materialist argument then “Death would then be a figment of her imagination and “superstitious nonsense.” She did concede that a fallacy had indeed skewed her thinking – which is a major success for me. Bargh observes that most people just really don’t want to believe that any unconscious factors could influence their thinking - without their knowledge. 

 

The psychologists, William R. Miller and Carl E. Thoresen, state in their article, “Spirituality, religion and health: an emerging field of research”: “A philosophical basis for this perspective is materialism, the belief that there is nothing to study because spirituality is intangible and beyond the senses.” On source cited an example of a Definist fallacy would be the statement that the contender’s arguments are “crackpot theories” – leaving no room for intelligent discussion. A version of the materialist fallacy that I encounter often is that one need to “Prove God” before one can have valid spiritual beliefs. When I first encountered that argument (and it si not uncommon), I was like – “Prove God???Are you crazy?” 

Bargh emphasizes the pervasive influence of unconscious influences in many circumstances. Bargh unequivocally states: “Imagine for a moment that you are a psychology professor who does experiments on conscious awareness. You keep finding that your subtle manipulations of people’s judgments and even behavior are successful –causing your experimental participants to like someone or to dislike that same person, to feel happy or sad, to behave rudely or with infinite patience. However, none of your participants have a clue as to what caused them to feel or behave.” The Unbearable Automaticity of Being, John A Bargh & Tanya L. Chartrand - p. 462 July 1999 American Psychologist) 

My critique of materialism endorsed by four very prominent psychologists and medical researchers. 

The critique has had well over 10,000 views and zero criticisms (between academia.edu, LinkedIn and FB science groups (before I stopped posting on FB) _ so is “peer reviewed!” 

1. Dr. Paul Wong, Professor Emeritus of Trent University edited two large volumes of The Human Quest for Meaning 

2. Dr. Harold Koenig, a medical doctor-psychiatrist, a well published and very well-known author and researcher stated about this article: "Charlie – makes perfect sense to me, 

3. Dr. Stephen Farra: Columbia International University Emeritus "Definist Fallacy (leading to a closed Materialism) is spiritual poison, and has hurt us all

4. Stefan Schindler, an award-winning author, and retired psychology-philosophy professor 

The U.S. Department of Justice has accepted my complaint # 83404-WLP as well as 83404; 95500, 91650, 91569, 90778 – They explained in detail how the Definist Fallacy causes serious misunderstandings and cause prejudices, misunderstandings, and outright ignorance at times. The complaint was filed against Kaiser Permanente – who had basically told me – to take my beliefs and go screw myself. 

Assault by Kaiser Permanente 

Reply from Kaiser Permanente Sr Director Evans suspended my rights to KP services for abusive conduct. The top listed abusive message by Director Evans - literally: “December 8, 2022 I felt that the acceptance of the Definist fallacy and your refusal to acknowledge my rights and beliefs as extremely offensive” I even filed a complaint with the DOJ [which I sent them but they never read apparently] which was accepted. My position is endorsed by Dr. Koenig, Dr Wong, and Dr Farra, and Stefan Schindler" That is the whole story there – Materialists simply don’t care at all – the hypocrites – when it comes down to it – simply do not have any respect at all for spiritual people. 

There are some schools of thought – such as Existential – Positive Psychology – logotherapy and pastoral schools of thought as well as Jungian school of thought - which are receptive – but mainstream psychologists – for the larger part - are not objective even though they swear they are. As Viktor Frankl and Muzafer Sherif pointed out schools of thought and disciplines are separate and disconnected. Psychiatrists – as Dr Stacey Neal (Johns Hopkins – explained – have no education or training in people who have spiritual experiences. In my forty years of experience, I wodul say psychiatrists are no nothing close-minded bigots. 

As J. E Kennedy points out - “very little research has been done” on people who have spiritual-psychic experiences – which unfortunately is too true. I read an article which said new training for psychiatrists was being considered. I wondered – what exactly they use as a training manual?? I have not come across a decent training manual as yet. 

Our minds are finite, and yet even in these circumstances of finitude we are surrounded by possibilities that are infinite, and the purpose of life is to grasp as much as we can out of that infinitude. 

                                    - Alfred North Whitehead

I live in General Santos, Philippines and personally I view my Bla’an and T’boli Filipina connections as being far more intelligent than many [over]educated academics I have met - because they believe that dreams “can” be a source of divine inspiration – whereas psychiatrists generally view that literally as hallucinations and delusions. As Whitehead observes – it is about “possibilities and potential (and creativity)

 

I woudl re-empahsize my question about the dysfuntioanl overemphasis on quantification in materialist ideology – described by McGilChrist as a “rigid adherence to quantification” – which is appropriate to physics or chemistry got applied to human consciousness is mindboggling. Half of human consciousness is not quantifiable: hope, art, music, poetry, true love, awe-wonder, freedom, ideals, justice, - not to mention death. If materialsit quantification were striclty followed, human beinghs woudl be left with the intellience of a rat. Willaim James "practical use principle" - methodology- seems much more practical?? 

Footnote: Definition of Assault by Cornell legal institute 

Assault is generally defined as an intentional act that puts another person in reasonable apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact. No physical injury is required, but the actor must have intended to cause a harmful or offensive contact with the victim and the victim must have thereby been put in immediate apprehension of such a contact.

“Intention” in the context of assault, means that the act is not accidental, but motive is immaterial. It does not matter if the goal of the tortfeasor was merely to scare the victim or if the act was meant as a joke. The tortfeasor need not have intended for the contact to be harmful or offensive, only to have intended the actual contact.

“Reasonable apprehension” in the context of assault, refers to the victim’s reasonable belief that the act will lead to imminent harmful or offensive contact.

The victim does not need to prove fear, only that they were aware that such a contact might occur. If the victim and the tortfeasor do not know each other, then the legal standard is what an ordinary reasonable person under the same circumstances as the victim would have believed. If the victim and tortfeasor have special knowledge of each other, this special knowledge may be considered when determining whether the victim’s apprehension was reasonable.

Link to academia profile

https://independentscholar.academia.edu/CharlesPeckJr

St. Gregory of Nyssa states, “According to the true words of the Lord [Mt 5.8, the pure in heart will see God. They will receive as much as their minds can comprehend. However, the unbounded incomprehensible divinity remains beyond all understanding.” (SoS J.246 & M.941, p.161) 

Shortcomings of the psychology/psychiatric ideologies

Dr Neal, a psychaitrist trained at Johns Hopkins stated  that she had no training or education in peopel who had spirtual experiences. Teh psychaitric diagnostic manula has Nothing abotu spiritualtiy in it - except in a derogatory or degrading fashion. Is ascience of the mind - whcih is devoid totally of spiritualtiy - a "science" - f**k no.

Furthermore, the APA manual is almost as bad. As J. E. Kennedy observes, “Very little research has been aimed at investigating the overall effects of paranormal experiences.”   

(An Exploratory Study of the Effects of Paranormal and Spiritual Experiences on Peoples' Lives and Well-Being J.E. Kennedy and H. Kanthamani: Thee Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 1995, Volume 89, pp.249-265.) That is, "psychology" knows little ro nothing about "people" who have spiritual experiences - an unfortuante reality from my research and experience. Dr. Ingela Visuri, author of Sensory supernatural experiences in autism. Religion, Brain & Behavior, 10(2): 151-165., states that there is a distinct difference between studying people and studying experiences. 

I recently reviewed specifically the chapter "Mystical, Spiritual, and Religious Experiences” in Raymond F. Paloutzian & Crystal L. Park’s Handbook of The Psychology Of Religion And Spirituality (Guilford Press, 2013). A synopsis from the chapter of the phenomena covered is a short list of APA “anomalous experiences" – specifically "hallucinations, near death, past life, mystical, and paranormal experiences!" In that chapter there is nothing relevant about people who have experiences.

The Proof is in the pudding: Here is an overview of the different sections in the chapter, "Mystical, Spiritual, and Religious Experiences” What is disturbing – in my view – is the fact that6 in that chapter – people are absent - missing I found these sections which are titled:

Overview the chapter, "Mystical, Spiritual, and Religious Experiences”

1. "UFO's and Alien abductions"

2. "Psychedelics or Entheogens"

3. Near-Death Experience

4. Numinous and Mystical Experiences.

Aristotelian Scientific Method Applied to Spirituality –

Counterpoint to the materialist maxim that "All spirituality is unreal"

Aristotle described Scientific Method as

1.       Gather the Facts

2.      Categorize the Data

3.       Analyze the Information

4.      Draw Conclusions

A proper categorization has not been done – here is a preliminary sketch – in context of William James Principle of “Practical Use!” That is the focus is “real world” spirituality counterpoint to the materialist maxim that "All spirituality is unreal" - I write about artistic spirituality, the spirituality of music (surprisingly, the spirituality of grieving, and dreams of the deceased which as one psychologist observed are not "unusual" and some studies demonstrate facilitate healing, the spirituality of compassion. Recently I have also written about dreams as a source of [divine inspiration and the T’boli (and Bla'an) dream weaving - which is known world-wide for textile creativity. 

My Counterpoint to the materialist maxim “All spirituality is unreal” – spirituality with real world context (Muzafer Sherif) and Practical Use (William James) versus the materialist "rigid adherence to arbitrary quantification" (McGilChrist)

 

1. Spirituality of Compassion: The Oxford Handbook on Compassion: “Compassion for others and social support have survival value and health benefits…. (p. 171)

2. Musical Spirituality Shulkin and Raglan "Our evolution is tightly bound to music and to the body as an instrument (e.g., clapping). Music, amongst other things, helps to facilitate social cooperative and coordinated behaviors."

3. Prophecy, Poetry, & Spirituality - Creativity, Transcendence: "The prophet is a poet. His experience is one known to poets. What poets know as poetic inspiration; the prophets call divine revelation" - Heschel

4. Kapwa-loob pro-social norms/spirituality Kapwa & Relational Spirituality: K Lagdameo-Santillan “Kapwa is a recognition of a shared identity, an inner self, shared with others

5. Children’s Spirituality Donna Thomas: “anomalous experiences can catalyze self-

healing for children and young people.”

6. Artistic Spirituality: Robert K. Johnston - 20 percent of Americans turn to “media, arts and culture” as their primary means of spiritual experience and expression...."

7. Healing Spiritual-Psychic Experiences in Grieving “Conversely, experience has shown pastoral caregivers that individuals do seem to cope better if they can "actualize" their spiritual experiences in times of crisis.

8. T’boli Dream Weaving/T’nalak – Dreams as a source of divine inspiration – i.e. Be Lang Dulay, a national artist, popularized T’nalak weaving with her over 100 different T’nalak designs."

9. Arctic Hunter Gatherer beliefs in animal spirits as "Human relationships with the natural world..." in context of William James Practical Use Principle

10. Dr. Ingela Visuri: Spirituality and "The Case of High functioning Autism"

11. Medical studies-research & meta-analyses

Perceptions of threats to the group

First I should emphasize that consistently studies show that somewhere between 1/3 to 1/2 of people have experiences, of oen type or another. Also, Park and Paloutzian observe that there is a "normalcy" to spiritual-psychic experiences. Author and scholar Jean MacPhail observes - my experiences are unique - in part because my experiences are correlated with political events outside myself - as well as because my interpretations as perceptions of threats to the group are consistent and reasonable. On top of that a dozen are documented - mostly by emails. Furthermore, from my research, some of my experiences - compared to other historically documented warnings or predictions of political events, have much more detailed and more accurate details.

Point of Order:

As a footnote, I woudl add that from my micro-surveyt, my impression is that many of womenm's dreams focus of their families and of course their families would be their group.

Unusual Experiences are processed as "Unusual" by the Categorization process (shocking?)

Studies and experiments that have established that the "categorization" process is a very important process in the human mind and the categorization process is both well-known and well-proven in psychology. William James goes on to say that religious experiences and spiritual experiences create and generate a “sense of reality” (p.48) Jung said pretty much the exact same thing actually - that an individual’s experiences shape a person's reality.

Synthesis Consensus of Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung and William James

Three characteristics

1.           "spirit, spiritual processes, and religious beliefs create meaning, a sense of reality - and ultimately Reality, and Truth.

2.           Tolerance: That different experiences create different worldviews and understandings

3.           Spiritual symbolism generates emotional energy 

The synthesis consensus of Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung, and William James simply put is that "spirit, spiritual processes, and religious beliefs create meaning, a sense of reality - and ultimately Reality, and Truth. In the anthology, Meaning in Positive and Existential Psychology (2014), Paul Wong, observes: “Frankl considers meaning seeking as stemming from one’s spiritual nature. William James emphasizes in his classic work, originally published in 1902, The Varieties of Religious Experiences: “They [spiritual experiences] determine our vital attitude [sense of reality] as decisively as the vital attitude of lovers is determined by the habitual sense,…” Jung observed, in the Collected Works (CW8: 648 -1968 revised) that “Life and spirit are two powers or necessities between which man is placed. Spirit gives meaning to his life, and the possibility of its greatest development.

    This besotted humdrum age of spiritual blindness!

Preamble

A Prophetic Perspective from the 1927 Steppenwolf Novel "A world that is strange and incomprehensible to him....in this besotted humdrum age of spiritual blindness" - Steppenwolf (Hermann Hesse) As the theologian Heschel observed, "The prophet is a poet. His experience is one known to poets. What poets know as poetic inspiration, the prophets call divine revelation Psychologically considered, prophetic inspiration is not materially different from furor poeticus of the master-poet or artist. The inspiration of the artist is what is meant by the hand of the Lord which rests upon the prophet.” (p.468-469) 

"Ah, but it is hard to find this track of the divine in the midst of this life that we lead, in this besotted humdrum age of spiritual blindness, its politics, its men! .... And in fact, if the world is right, if this music of cafes, these mass enjoyments and these Americanised men who are pleased with so little are right, then I am wrong. I am crazy. I am in truth the Steppenwolf that I often call myself; that beast astray who finds neither home nor joy nor nourishment in a world that is strange and incomprehensible to him." (p. 48-49)

"Secularization has often been experienced as an assault....[people] feel bewildered by the new secular institutions." Karen Armstrong

 As Karen armstorng observed, "Secularization has often been experienced as an assault.... [producing a large number of people] who feel bewildered by the new secular institutions. Thus, religion has become embattled and even militant." In that sense thyen, "Spiritual blindness" is very prophetic of the "secularization - materialist ideology" that took hold beginning in the 16th and 17th centuries. and which the materialsit quantification principle of materialsim became dominant.

Karen Armstrong states that “The rational bias of our scientific modernity has resulted in a new and unskillful literalism. Protestants created the first fundamentalist movement at the time of World War I in order to protect Christianity, which, they felt, was imperiled by the new ideas and institutions. In some of the colonized countries, however, the process has been even more traumatic because it has been far too rapid. Secularization has often been experienced as an assault. It has also created a division between a Western- educated elite and the majority who feel bewildered by the new secular institutions. Thus, religion has become embattled and even militant.

 "Materialism has destabilized society!" - FBI agent Michelle McElwee

 In my conversations with FBI agent McElwee - which began in December,2018 after I discovered a screenshots file had been inserted onto my computer - revealed by emails from two U.S. Senators with images attached - which brought the screenshot images up. Agent McElwee stated "Materialism has destabilized society!" After the U.S. Department of Justice accepted my complaints against Kaiser Permanente, FBI Agent McElwee stopped returning my phone calls. Of course, what FBI agent McElwee said dovetails into the position of Karen Armstrong, a well-known scholar of religious studies. Of course, Agent McElwee uses the term "materialism" which is much more current in academic circles.

The Antiscience Movement

The antiscience movement would be a clear indication that Karen Armstrong's assessement is correct. Article from the Scientific American The Antiscience Movement Is Escalating, Going Global and Killing Thousands: Rejection of mainstream science and medicine has become a key feature of the political right in the U.S. and increasingly around the world BY PETER J. HOTEZ MARCH 29, 2021  Peter Hotez observes: Antiscience has emerged as a dominant and highly lethal force, and one that threatens global security, as much as do terrorism and nuclear proliferation. Antiscience is the rejection of mainstream scientific views and methods Now antiscience is causing mass deaths once again in this COVID-19 pandemic. Beginning in the spring of 2020, the Trump White House launched a coordinated disinformation campaign that dismissed the severity of the epidemic in the United States, attributed COVID deaths to other causes,......

The Differernce between the author Peter Hotez and myself is that I said the same thing about Trump's no mask madness in April 2020 - while he waited until March 2021.

 

50,000 excessive & unnecessary American deaths: "To me much of humanity looks like an uncontrolled pack of lemmings on a suicide run An old warning email to Agent McElwee 4-10-2020 Article frpm the Guardian: “US could have averted 40% of Covid deaths, says panel examining Trump's policies." Estimates by analysts vary from 50,000-100,000 unnecessary American deaths

Article in Guardian: “US could have averted 40% of Covid deaths, says panel examining Trump's policies. The Christian “No Mask Madness” without question produced a very large number of disproportionately high number of Americans who died of Corona Virus than most other European countries – by all accounts. A recent article stated that one hundred thousand Americans died of the corona virus that shouldn’t have compared to the Canadian death toll from corona virus. 

An important point of order would be that nearly all of my experiences would easily fit into a category parallel to the alarm calls of animals. As Jean MacPhail, a scholar, author of A Spiral Life and a former fellow in neuropathology at Harvard University, observed, ‘My experiences are very unique!’ – in part because they relate to events outside myself, as well as being consistent with reasonable interpretations, as well as being relatively well documented.

Reflections

So, yes.....The Steppenwolf novel appears strangely prophetic of the contemporary world situation with the secularization - spiritual and religious division. "I am in truth the Steppenwolf that I often call myself; that beast astray who finds neither home nor joy nor nourishment in a world that is strange and incomprehensible to him." A fair number of my connections view this world as not only "incomprehensibele" but hostile and alienating as well.

Introduction:

A Very Real Assault: A Major Methodology Flaw: An Academic Maladaptive Stereotype

I have a critique specifically explaining and documenting a major Methodology problem - endorsed by 4 prominent psychologists including world famous medical researcher Dr. Harold Koenig. The U.S. Department of Justice recognizes the validity of the question in accepting my complaints I filed with them. On top of that I have well over 10,000 views and zero criticisms on academia.edu and FB (before I stopped posting on FB) - so it has been peer reviewed and should be accepted as established fact.

Death is Superstitious Nonsense: A Narrative Explanation

Not long ago, in General Santos, Philippines, I happened to be talking to a Filipina college graduate at a street restaurant. I explained to her that the materialist argument as explained by Miller & Thompson in their NIH article – that spirituality is unreal and nonexistent because you can’t measure it - according to the materialist logic. I was a bit surprised when she emphatically agreed with the argument that spirituality is unreal and nonexistent because you can’t measure it.

So, I did ask her to consider - just for a moment - the concept of “death.” Death, of course is far beyond measurement or quantification – unless you are like Heracles and can cross the the Greek Mythological river of death, Styx, separating earth from the underworld like Heracles and return unscathed! I went on to add, "So then, following the logic of the materialist argument that woudl mean that “Death is Superstitiosu nonsense, and nonexistent!"

She, paused for amoment, then she did concede that a fallacy had indeed skewed her thinking – which was a huge major success for me. Bargh observes that most people just really never ever want to believe that any unconscious factors could influence their thinking - without their knowledge - Not a thoguth they wodul like to entertain thoguh it happens in real life all the time.

 

The Definist Fallacy - Maladaptive Stereotype that "All Spirituality is unreal!"

The psychologists, William R. Miller and Carl E. Thoresen, state in their article, “Spirituality, religion and health: an emerging field of research”: “A philosophical basis for this perspective is materialism, the belief that there is nothing to study because spirituality is intangible and beyond the senses.” On source cited an example of a Definist fallacy would be the statement that the contenders arguments are “crackpot theories” – leaving no room for intelligent discussion.

A version of the materialist fallacy that I encounter fairly often is that one need to “Prove God” before one can have valid spiritual beliefs. When I first encountered that argument (and it si not uncommon) , I was like – “Prove God???..Are you crazy?” As St Gregory of Nyssa, St augistine, and Dionysius all agree - God is beyond comprehension. St Gregory of Nyssa observed: “We know in part and we prophesy in part’ [1 Cor 13.9]; “If any man thinks he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know” [1 Cor 8.2]; (p. 204)

Unconscious Processes 11 million bits of data per second

The unconscious processing abilities of the human brain are estimated at roughly 11 million pieces of information per second. Compare that to the estimate for conscious processing: about 40 pieces per second. Our conscious processing capacity isn’t insignificant, but clearly it’s just a retention pond compared to the ocean of the unconscious. And more and more research is uncovering abilities of the unconscious that defy reason. (From: Forbes: Your Brain Sees Even When You Don’t June 24, 2013)

The consensus of unconscious researchers from diverse disciplines is that the unconscious is the work horse of the human mind. “Based on the accumulated evidence, the authors conclude that these various non-conscious mental systems shoulder the lion's share of the self-regulatory burden, thereby keeping the individual grounded in their current environment.” (Bargh) 

Subtle Unconscious Influences

Bargh emphasizes just how the pervasive and powerful some unconscious influences and motivations can be! Bargh points out: “Imagine for a moment that you are a psychology professor who does experiments on conscious awareness. You keep finding that your subtle manipulations of people’s judgments and even behavior are successful –causing your experimental participants to like someone or to dislike that same person, to feel happy or sad, to behave rudely or with infinite patience. However, none of your participants have a clue as to what caused them to feel or behave.”   The Unbearable Automaticity of Being, John A Bargh & Tanya L. Chartrand - p. 462 July 1999 American Psychologist) Academic values, norms and stereotypes would neceessarily be very salitent and influential - though to my knowledge I am the first to focus on academic stereotypes. 

Priming

One specific example that Bargh highlights is that, "If you are reminded of your group status before performing a test or task, and the cultural stereotype says that your group is not very good at it, your performance will be affected. You will consciously or unconsciously, “buy in” to that stereotype." (John Bargh Before You Know It p.83) It would only stand to reason that materialist academic stereotypes such as “quantification equating to science” (which is not true) and that would affect one’s views of the world and life. The "All spirituality is unreal" maladaptive stereotype is really a subset of the "Quatification equates to science" maladaptive stereotype. 

  As Claudia Nielsen emphasized, the psychiatrist McGilChrist astutely observed that “The scope of inquiry and understanding of the Materialist Doctrine with its rigid adherence to the actually arbitrary principle of quantification and over-emphasis on physiological characteristics is severely restricted and limited in the analyses that can be performed.” 

Critique of materialism endorsed by four very prominent psychologists/medical researchers.

The critique has had well over 10,000 views and zero criticisms (between academia.edu, linkedin and FB science groups (before I stopped posting on FB)_ so is peer reviewed

1.       Dr. Paul Wong, Professor Emeritus of Trent University edited two large volumes of The Human Quest for Meaning

2.      Dr. Harold Koenig, a medical doctor-psychiatrist, a well published and very well-known author and researcher stated about this article: "Charlie – makes perfect sense to me,

3.      Dr. Stephen Farra: Columbia International University Emeritus "Definist Fallacy (leading to a closed Materialism) is spiritual poison, and has hurt us all

4.      Stefan Schindler, an award-winning author, and retired psychology-philosophy professor

Department of Justice: Complaints Against Dr Stacey Neal and Kaiser Permanente 

The U.S. Department of Justice accepted my complaint # 83404-WLP as well as 83404; 95500, 91650, 91569, 90778 – They explained in detail how the Definist Fallacy causes serious misunderstandings and cause prejudices, misunderstandings, and outright ignorance at times. The complaint was filed against Kaiser Permanente – who had basically told me – to take my beliefs and go screw myself. 

 

 

 Assault

Reply from Kaiser Permanente Sr Director Evans suspended my rights to KP services for abusive conduct. The top listed abusive message by Director Evans - literally: “December 8, 2022 I felt that the acceptance of the Definist fallacy and your refusal to acknowledge my rights and beliefs as extremely offensive” I even filed a complaint with the DOJ [which I sent them but they never read apparently] which was accepted. My position is endorsed by Dr. Koenig, Dr Wong, and Dr Farra."

"Assault is generally defined as an intentional act that puts another person in reasonable apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact. No physical injury is required, but the actor must have intended to cause a harmful or offensive contact with the victim and the victim must have thereby been put in immediate apprehension of such a contact. (LII Legal Information Institute - Cornell Law School https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/assault

It would appear readily apparent that Kaiser Permanente is deliberately and intentionally putting down and repressing a valid and important question. As such that would easily meet the definition for assault as defined above – which would appear readily apparent to meet the criteria of assault meets the criteria of assault

 

 

"This besotted humdrum age of spiritual blindness!"

In the epic novel, Steppenwolf, written by Hermann Hesse and first published in 1927, it would appear that some of the writing in the novel could, in truth, be considered properly prophetic - especially in regard to some of the psychological and spiritual aspects of our contemporary society and culture. Steppenwolf, the character and the central individual in the novel, decries the empty essence and of his society, when he proclaims, "Ah, but it is hard to find this track of the divine in the midst of this life that we lead, in this besotted humdrum age of spiritual blindness, its politics, its men! .... And in fact, if the world is right, if this music of cafes, these mass enjoyments and these Americanised men who are pleased with so little are right, then I am wrong. I am crazy. I am in truth the Steppenwolf that I often call myself; that beast astray who finds neither home nor joy nor nourishment in a world that is strange and incomprehensible to him." (p. 48-49)

Addendum I: Critique of Academic Materialism with thousands of views and Zero Criticisms

Death is superstitious nonsense (Not Me as Bargh says)

A.   A Narrative Explanation of the Definist fallacy – “All spirituality is unreal” maladaptive stereotype

A short while ago I happened to be talking to a Filipina college graduate. I explained the materialist argument as explained by Miller & Thompson in the NIH article – that spirituality is unreal and nonexistent because you can’t measure it. I was a bit surprised when she emphatically agreed with the argument that spirituality is unreal and nonexistent because you can’t measure it. So, I asked her to consider the concept of “death” for a minute. Death is far beyond measurement or quantification – so then,…,…following the logic of the materialist argument then “Death would then be a figment of her imagination and “superstitious nonsense.” She did concede that a fallacy had indeed skewed her thinking – which is a major success for me. Bargh observes that most people just really don’t want to believe that any unconscious factors could influence their thinking - without their knowledge. 

The psychologists, William R. Miller and Carl E. Thoresen, state in their article, “Spirituality, religion and health: an emerging field of research”: “A philosophical basis for this perspective is materialism, the belief that there is nothing to study because spirituality is intangible and beyond the senses.” On source cited an example of a Definist fallacy would be the statement that the contenders arguments are “crackpot theories” – leaving no room for intelligent discussion. I would briefly question that how a methodology – described by McGilChrist as a “rigid adherence to quantification” – which is appropriate to physics or chemistry got applied to human consciousness is mindboggling. Half of human conscious is not quantifiable: hope, art, music, poetry, true love, awe-wonder, freedom, ideals, justice, - not to mention death. A version of the materialist fallacy that I encounter often is that one need to “Prove God” before one can have valid spiritual beliefs. When I first encountered that argument (and it si not uncommon) , I was like – “Prove God???..Are you crazy?”

Bargh emphasizes the pervasive influence of unconscious influences in many circumstances. Bargh unequivocally states: “Imagine for a moment that you are a psychology professor who does experiments on conscious awareness. You keep finding that your subtle manipulations of people’s judgments and even behavior are successful –causing your experimental participants to like someone or to dislike that same person, to feel happy or sad, to behave rudely or with infinite patience. However, none of your participants have a clue as to what caused them to feel or behave.”   The Unbearable Automaticity of Being, John A Bargh & Tanya L. Chartrand - p. 462 July 1999 American Psychologist)

As an example of unconscious factors and influences Bargh observes, “Yet the recent advances in child social psychology, such as David Kelly’s pioneering study of the facial preferences of young infants, are starting to paint a much more pessimistic picture: that these in-group/out-group preferences may be forming much earlier in life, well before a child starts school.” (p. 69 John Bargh Before You Know It)  Of course I am the first to analyze academic norms and stereotypes 

B.   My critique of materialism endorsed by four very prominent psychologists and medical researchers.

The critique has had well over 10,000 views and zero criticisms (between academia.edu, linkedin and FB science groups (before I stopped posting on FB)_ so is peer reviewed

1.     Dr. Paul Wong, Professor Emeritus of Trent University edited two large volumes of The Human Quest for Meaning

2.     Dr. Harold Koenig, a medical doctor-psychiatrist, a well published and very well-known author and researcher stated about this article: "Charlie – makes perfect sense to me,

3.     Dr. Stephen Farra: Columbia International University Emeritus "Definist Fallacy (leading to a closed Materialism) is spiritual poison, and has hurt us all

4.     Stefan Schindler, an award-winning author, and retired psychology-philosophy professor

The U.S. Department of Justice has accepted my complaint # 83404-WLP as well as 83404; 95500, 91650, 91569, 90778 – They explained in detail how the Definist Fallacy causes serious misunderstandings and cause prejudices, misunderstandings, and outright ignorance at times. The complaint was filed against Kaiser Permanente – who had basically told me – to take my beliefs and go screw myself.

Addendum II. “There is no psychology of groups” 

“There is no psychology of groups”???? – You can’t be serious!

Floyd Allport, in 1927 stated unequivocally that

“Only within the individual can we find the behavior mechanisms and the consciousness which are fundamental in the interactions between people ………There is no psychology of groups which is not essentially and entirely a psychology of individuals.”

Hazel Markus, Shinobu Kitayama, Rachel Heiman, the authors of the chapter Culture and “Basic” Psychological Principles, of the Social Psychology Handbook of Basic Principles, state rather boldly – and unequivocally - that currently, “Psychologists who study groups approach the idea of a group as an entity only very gingerly. The field, or members of the field, apparently still feel the sting of Allport’s (1927) remonstration of those who were attracted to McDougall’s idea of “group mind.”

Addendum III“Limited Analyses”

As Claudia Nielsen pointed out, the psychiatrist McGilChrist observes that “The scope of inquiry and understanding of the Materialist Doctrine with its rigid adherence to the actually arbitrary principle of quantification and over-emphasis on physiological characteristics is severely restricted and limited in the analyses that can be performed.”

Rupert Sheldrake, author and scientists, observes “The atheist [materialist] ideology found a powerful ally in materialist science, which by the end of the nineteenth century, portrayed a purposeless, unconscious, mechanical universe where humans, like all life, had evolved without purpose or guidance. In this godless world [devoid of spirituality], humanity would take charge of it own evolution, bringing economic development, brotherhood, health, and prosperity to all mankind through progress.” (p.157)

Strict quantification is the ultimate “filter” or – prison - which limits both perception and awareness. As author and scholar MacGilChrist observes, academic materialism possesses a "rigid adherence to arbitrary quantification." It appears that the stereotype that "quantification unequivocally equates to science" is widespread. That is patently false. Materialist strict quantification excludes art, music, hope, dreaming, dancing, creativity, poetry, true love, idealism, freedom, as well as justice and even imagination.

“Quantification” as a principle and approach is perfectly fine for physics – or chemistry – but for human co0nsciousness? Half of human consciousness is not quantifiable - human consciousness involves art, creativity, freedom, love, idealism, as well as dreams and even. Centuries ago Hume observed that there is a distinct difference between the “ought and the “is.” Einstein similarly stated that right and wrong are beyond the scope of science. You know, If the strict rules of academic materialism and a rigid adherence to quantification were followed, human beings would be left with the intelligence of a rat.

 

Reflections The way you look at things is the most powerful force in shaping your life. - Irish poet-theologian O’Donohue

Many spiritual leaders have said that when you break spirituality down to its fundamentals it is at its essence an awareness, and orientation and a drive. It is sometimes as simple as Aristotle's statement that "Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all."

Attention: Modern science has demonstrated that "attention - which some neuroscientists refer to as "attention-intention-motivation since all the regions of the brain are so interconnected is absolutely pivotal in the awareness and outlook of the mind (Klinger, No one knows what attention is Bernhard Hommel & Craig S. Chapman & Paul Cisek3 & Heather F. Neyedli & Joo-Hyun Song & Timothy N. Welsh). Or as Christ - in a rather common-sense and wisdom approach said "Seek and ye shall find! Or conversely, if all you seek is quantifiable information - that is likely all you will find.

The neuroscientists, Bernhard Hommel et al observe “A few sentences after that famous phrase we quoted above in which William James wrote that attention “implies a withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others.” interact with another stimulus is indeed accomplished, quite literally, within the approach circuit of the rostral tectum. And while these simple circuits for governing interactive behavior may seem far removed from the higher cognition of humans, they are indeed the precursors to the mechanisms that control what has been called “selective attention.”

It is argued that selectivity in processing has emerged through evolution as a design feature of a complex multi-channel sensorimotor system, which generates selective phenomena of “attention” as one of many by-products.  (“No one knows what attention is” Bernhard Hommel & Craig S. Chapman & Paul Cisek & Heather F. Neyedli & Joo-Hyun Song & Timothy N. Welsh)

 

 

Here is a link to the full mini-essay on my profile on academia.edu

https://independentscholar.academia.edu/CharlesPeckJr

Critique of academic materialist ideology with thousands of views and zero criticisms 

Death IS Superstitious Nonsense:

A.   A narrative explanation & discussion with a Filipina college graduate of The Definist Fallacy - Maladaptive Stereotype

A short while ago I happened to be talking to a Filipina college graduate. I explained the materialist argument as explained by Miller & Thompson in the NIH article – that spirituality is unreal and nonexistent because you can’t measure it. I was a bit surprised when she emphatically agreed with the argument that spirituality is unreal and nonexistent because you can’t measure it. So, I asked her to consider the concept of “death” for a minute. Death is far beyond measurement or quantification – so then, following the logic of the materialist argument then “Death would then be a figment of her imagination and “superstitious nonsense.” She did concede that a fallacy had indeed skewed her thinking – which is a major success for me. Bargh observes that most people just really don’t want to believe that any unconscious factors could influence their thinking - without their knowledge. 

The psychologists, William R. Miller and Carl E. Thoresen, state in their article, “Spirituality, religion and health: an emerging field of research”: “A philosophical basis for this perspective is materialism, the belief that there is nothing to study because spirituality is intangible and beyond the senses.” On source cited an example of a Definist fallacy would be the statement that the contenders’ arguments are “crackpot theories” – leaving no room for intelligent discussion. A version of the materialist fallacy that I encounter often is that one need to “Prove God” before one can have valid spiritual beliefs. When I first encountered that argument (and it si not uncommon), I was like – “Prove God??? Are you crazy?”

B. Endorsed critique by four prominent psychologists:

I have a critique of materialism which to a large degree focused on the Definist Fallacy – maladaptive stereotype which is endorsed by four very prominent psychologists and medical researchers. For the record that critique has had well over 10,000 views between academia.edu, LinkedIn and FB science groups (before I stopped posting on FB)

1.        Dr. Paul Wong, Professor Emeritus of Trent University edited two large volumes of The Human Quest for Meaning (which I personally found extremely helpful) and authored over 300 publications on topics stated about this essay, "Your letter to a congressman needs to be published somewhere.!"

2.        Dr. Harold Koenig, a medical doctor-psychiatrist, a well published and very well-known author and researcher stated about this article: "Charlie – makes perfect sense to me, and very nice letter right on target! HK Director, Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences Associate Professor of Medicine Duke University Medical Center.

3.        Dr. Stephen Farra: Columbia International University Emeritus, a Christian psychologist and director of the Psychology Program at Columbia International University i, stated unequivocally that the "Definist Fallacy (leading to a closed Materialism) is spiritual poison, and has hurt us all

4.        Stefan Schindler, an award-winning author, and retired psychology-philosophy professor responded to my question: "Would you say the argument about the "methodological flaw" is correct" by stating, "Yes, correct!"

Plus, I filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Justice (because of harassment and degrading treatment by Kaiser Permanente). The DOJ accepted my complaints # 83404-WLP; 83404; 95500, 91650, 91569, 90778. The complaints explained in detail how the Definist Fallacy – maladaptive stereotype causes serious misunderstandings and cause prejudices, misunderstandings, and outright ignorance at times. The complaint was filed against Kaiser Permanente – who had basically told me – to take my beliefs and go screw myself. I filed 5 or internal complaints with KP stating how offensive I find their acceptance and approval of a fallacy which is a destructive maladaptive stereotype if there ever was one.

 I filed the complaints because I felt their treatment of my spirituality and specifically the response to my query about the Definist fallacy was horrifically degrading

C.  Bargh – Pervasive Unconscious Mental categories

Bargh emphasizes the pervasive influence of unconscious influences in many circumstances. Bargh unequivocally states: “Imagine for a moment that you are a psychology professor who does experiments on conscious awareness. You keep finding that your subtle manipulations of people’s judgments and even behavior are successful –causing your experimental participants to like someone or to dislike that same person, to feel happy or sad, to behave rudely or with infinite patience. However, none of your participants have a clue as to what caused them to feel or behave.”   The Unbearable Automaticity of Being, John A Bargh & Tanya L. Chartrand - p. 462 July 1999 American Psychologist)

As an example of unconscious factors and influences Bargh observes, “Yet the recent advances in child social psychology, such as David Kelly’s pioneering study of the facial preferences of young infants, are starting to paint a much more pessimistic picture: that these in-group/out-group preferences may be forming much earlier in life, well before a child starts school.” (p. 69 John Bargh Before You Know It) Of course I am the first to analyze academic norms and stereotypes.

 

 For perspective - The Divine: a source of inspiration and motivation

Jean MacPhail observes that my personal spiritual-psychic experiences are “unique” in part because many of the experiences are documented (by email) and are correlated with events outside myself – besides have reasonable and consistent interpretations. My testimony would be my spiritual experiences have been a powerful source of inspiration and motivation for me – as well as a source of fruitfulness.

From my mini-study I conclude that there are a couple “universals” among people who have spiritual experiences: 1. People view their experiences and spirituality as a motivation 2. People say their experiences – spirituality help them make sense of the world. – which of course confirms what Viktor Frankl, William James, and Carl Jung conclude long ago., - Not to mention Christ – John 5:6 Spirit is Truth; worship in spirit and truth – John 4;23-24; The comforter, Spirit of Truth; guidance (Luke) 

D.    Unhealthy and destructive consequences of a maladaptive stereotype

From personal experience, the stereotype that transcendental spiritual experiences are automatically and necessarily “mental illness” is very widespread. That is also false – big time. There is no facts or evidence to support that false premise – zero, none, nada, zero.

In general, these type of unconscious influences - being outside ordinary awareness – or control are generally ignored or dismissed out of mind. However, it would stand to reason that unconscious academic- scientific stereotypes would be exceptionally effective in skewing thought processes.

I have encountered a number of American college graduates – particularly in FB philosophy and science groups – who stated unequivocally that they would NOT read any research or studies on the health benefits to spirituality. These college graduates were absolutely convinced that spirituality is totally “unreal.” When I pointed out that you can measure people all day – and night long, that particular replied spiritual people have no physical reality.

That maladaptive stereotype that all spirituality is unreal is so pervasive I have encountered many tell me that there is a separate “spiritual dimension” completely disconnected from the real world – parallel to the dualism of the Cathar sect from the 11th and 12th centuries One Cristian woman who had psychological training said that “Spirituality is outside psychology” – that is a classic materialist argument. – and the origins of “literalism” which as Karen Armstrong resulted from the “secularism” (materialism) which also produced extremist reactions as well. Materialism and literalism emerged very roughly the same time. The French philosopher Rene Guenon argues materialism first emerged with Descartes. 

E.     Complaint to Office of Inspector General: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services regarding Kaiser Permanente: I complained to member services and this was the response I got:

The issue: Kaiser Permanente Sr Director Evans suspended my rights to KP services to abuse. The top listed abusive message - literally: “December 8, 2022 I felt that the acceptance of the Definist fallacy and your refusal to acknowledge my rights and beliefs as extremely offensive” I even filed a complaint with the DOJ [which I sent them but they never read apparently] which was accepted. My position is endorsed by Dr. Koenig, Dr Wong, and Dr Farra."

the letter from Director Evans demonstrates my contention - that KP and "psychiatry" were deliberately and intentionally sabotaging the integrity of my identity and my beliefs. I have forty years of dealings with clinical psychology and psychiatry – during which I was intentionally conditioned and ostracized by “professionals.”

I always brought up my “unique” and often documented spiritual – psychic experiences which have reasonable and consistent interpretations – and during 40 years no one said a single word. THAT is deliberate and intentional conditioning.

In relation to KP, how could – or why would - a medical-scientific organization possibly approve and condone a fallacy?? The only conclusion one can draw is the psychiatrists, member services, and board doctors at KP could only be viewed as some kind of fanatical indoctrinated materialists. What other reason could there be? I mean - KP is degrading my beliefs - big time – when it is obviously a valid question – endorsed by 4 prominent psychologists, “recognized” by the Department of Justice, and rather a self-evident truth scientifically??? That is freaking absurd.

Personal perspective – Stories and narratives often have intrinsic value 

In spite of the endorsed essay and analysis – my two oldest children have not sent me a Christmas card or Father’s Day card in three years. They have become convinced – due largely to the “psychiatric toxic” environment in Maryland My (now-ex) Lutheran wife went to the Baltimore County commissioner and told him I was psycho so the police came out with a paddy wagon and two police cars – took me into custody – put me in handcuffs – and transported me to a psychiatric hospital. The staff looked at my website and released me 15 or twenty minutes later. Of course, it might have helped that I have a copy of Van Hollen’s letter to me expressing interest in studies of spiritual experiences. The worst of it is my family (including my mother) started deliberately – and viciously attacking and vilifying me for my PTSD – which I have been diagnosed with by Dr Neal and Dr Schwartz. It is clear – to me – that KP personnel were deliberately antagonizing me – in my view.

 

A Christian psychologist told me to avoid my family. It is not safe for me as a spiritual person in Maryland. I explained my situation to a couple Filipina here about PTSD episodes – being your body kicked into full adrenalin alert and how like many people with PTSD like me yell – and yes – I cuss sometimes. A couple asked why they have never seen me yell. I responded very truthfully that Filipinas don’t say a lot of really ignorant and stupid things. My sister told me that I think I have "powers". I was being told my PTSD is psychotic rage. My brother in law told me I should write "science fiction" (rather than critiques of materialism endorsed by 4 prominent psychologists)

Another example would be that KP personnel very clearly - deliberately and intentionally - refused to answer my several inquiries about the Definist fallacy intentionally as a put down. All they had to say was – “I can understand how you look at things. It has gotten so bad even talking to psychiatrists can trigger PTSD.

Filipinos have a strong sense of family. Many express surprise that I am here alone - with no family relations. When I mentioned the fact that a Christian psychologist told me to avoid my family, they were shocked that a Christian psychologist would ever say that. It is a sad situation.

 Link to academia.edu profile

https://independentscholar.academia.edu/CharlesPeckJr

 

     "a world that is strange and incomprehensible to him.....in this besotted humdrum age of spiritual blindness" - Steppenwolf (Hermann Hesse)

"Ah, but it is hard to find this track of the divine in the midst of this life that we lead, in this besotted humdrum age of spiritual blindness, its politics, its men! .... And in fact, if the world is right, if this music of cafes, these mass enjoyments and these Americanised men who are pleased with so little are right, then I am wrong. I am crazy. I am in truth the Steppenwolf that I often call myself; that beast astray who finds neither home nor joy nor nourishment in a world that is strange and incomprehensible to him." (p. 48-49)

"Secularization has often been experienced as an assault....[producing a large number of people] who feel bewildered by the new secular institutions. Thus, religion has become embattled and even militant."

Karen Armstrong states that “The rational bias of our scientific modernity has resulted in a new and unskillful literalism. Protestants created the first fundamentalist movement at the time of World War I in order to protect Christianity, which, they felt, was imperiled by the new ideas and institutions. In some of the colonized countries, however, the process has been even more traumatic because it has been far too rapid. Secularization has often been experienced as an assault. It has also created a division between a Western- educated elite and the majority who feel bewildered by the new secular institutions. Thus, religion has become embattled and even militant. 

  "Materialism has destabilized society!" - FBI agent Michelle McElwee

 

The Steppenwolf novel appears strangely prophetic of the contemporary situation with the secularization - spiritual and religious division.  "I am in truth the Steppenwolf that I often call myself; that beast astray who finds neither home nor joy nor nourishment in a world that is strange and incomprehensible to him." In my conversations with FBI agent McElwee - whcih began after I discovered a screenshots file had been inserted onto my computere in December - revealed by emails from two U.S. Senators with images attached which brought the screenshot images up - Agent McElwee stated "Materialism has destabilized society!" After the U.S. Department of Justice accepted my complaints against Kaiser Permanente, FBI Agent McElwee stopped returning my phone calls. Of course, what FBI agent McElwee said dovetails into the position of Karen Armstrong, a well-known scholar of religious studies. Of course Agent McElwee uses the term "materialsim" which is much more current in academic circles.

Assault: A Major Methodology Problem- Academic Maladaptive Stereotupe

I have a critique specifically expalining and documenting a major Methodology problem endorsed by 4 prominent psychologists including world famous medical researcher Dr. Harold Koenig. The U.S. Department of Justice recognizes the validity of the question in accepting my complaints I filed with them. On top of that I have well over 10,000 views and zero criticisms on academia.edu and FB (before I stopped posting on FB) - so it has been peer reviewed and should be accepted as established fact. 

Reply from Kaiser Permanente Sr Director Evans suspended my rights to KP services for abusive conduct. The top listed abusive message by Director Evans - literally: “December 8, 2022 I felt that the acceptance of the Definist fallacy and your refusal to acknowledge my rights and beliefs as extremely offensive” I even filed a complaint with the DOJ [which I sent them but they never read apparently] which was accepted. My position is endorsed by Dr. Koenig, Dr Wong, and Dr Farra."

Death is Supersitious Nonsense

An [abbrieviated] expalanation of the Definsit Fallacu - maladaptive stereotype 

- narrative explanation as a  discussion with a Filipina college graduate of The Definist Fallacy - Maladaptive Stereotype

A short while ago I happened to be talking to a Filipina college graduate. I explained the materialist argument as explained by Miller & Thompson in the NIH article – that spirituality is unreal and nonexistent because you can’t measure it. I was a bit surprised when she emphatically agreed with the argument that spirituality is unreal and nonexistent because you can’t measure it. So, I asked her to consider the concept of “death” for a minute. Death is far beyond measurement or quantification – so then, following the logic of the materialist argument then “Death would then be a figment of her imagination and “superstitious nonsense.” She did concede that a fallacy had indeed skewed her thinking – which is a major success for me. Bargh observes that most people just really don’t want to believe that any unconscious factors could influence their thinking - without their knowledge. 

 

The psychologists, William R. Miller and Carl E. Thoresen, state in their article, “Spirituality, religion and health: an emerging field of research”: “A philosophical basis for this perspective is materialism, the belief that there is nothing to study because spirituality is intangible and beyond the senses.” On source cited an example of a Definist fallacy would be the statement that the contenders’ arguments are “crackpot theories” – leaving no room for intelligent discussion. A version of the materialist fallacy that I encounter often is that one is supposed to “Prove God” before one can have valid spiritual beliefs. When I first encountered that argument (and it is not uncommon), I was like – “Prove God??? Are you crazy?”

Assault

"Assault is generally defined as an intentional act that puts another person in reasonable apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact. No physical injury is required, but the actor must have intended to cause a harmful or offensive contact with the victim and the victim must have thereby been put in immediate apprehension of such a contact. (LII Legal Information Institute - Cornell Law School https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/assault

It would appear readily apparent that Kaiser Permanente is deliberately and intentionally putting down and repressing a valid and important question. As such that would easily meet the definiton for assault as defined above.

The Wall Poem - 1970 high school yearbook poem

Seeing nothing,

he searched for Godot,

found Steppenwolf,

and touched feet with the wall

Commentary & Reflections on the Wall

Jungian psychology holds that in the Unconscious and Collective Unconscious there are archetypes which are according to Jung "predispositions" in the unconscious of a person's mind. Archetypes would likely act similarly to having “scripts” or pre-programmed plans within consciousness. In looking back at the Seeing Nothing poem, the poem would appear a bit prophetic of some future events and situations that were to happen to me later in my life - so perhaps there were some predispositions and archetypal scripts at work in my mind which made things turn out the way they did. Also, the line about “Steppenwolf,” which reflects a Steppenwolf-split personality between a higher ‘divine’ personality and a lower ‘animal’ persona, would seem to express a conflict that happened within me, but also in society in general. In the wider ‘society’ there has been a definite decline in religious affiliation but also a decline in belief and even acceptance of spirituality.

Waiting for Godot

In the Waiting for Godot play, the author, Samuel Beckett, has the two main characters, Vladimir and Estragon, waiting around - seemingly aimlessly - for the arrival of a person named Godot. Godot never arrives! Similar to the characters of Beckett’s play, in my own life, in high school and college and later, I searched for an unknown something or somebody – waiting for that mystery-answer to life to appear. But, of course, that never happened since, in all reality, at the time, I really didn’t have the faintest idea what I was looking for. So, in my own life, my life at the time was metaphorically a mirror reflection of Beckett’s play, Waiting for Godot. From 1970 to 1981, I searched for Godot, when, in 1981 I had my precognitive “What a nightmare” spiritual-psychic experience – which started me on an entirely different journey and quest.

Also, in regard to “Waiting for Godot, I had some awareness in high school of the play, but I definitely had not heard that it had been suggested by Deirdre Blair that due to the common references to “feet” in the play that it might be an unconscious play on the slang term for boot, "godillot or godasse." In my short poem, of course, the concluding line was “and touched feet with the wall.”

Finding Steppenwolf

There is much in Steppenwolf that not only appears to  to profoundly reflect some very salient characteristics of our contemporary society and culture, as wellmirror some aspects of my personal life, but also seems. Steppenwolf, the character and person, decries the the hollow essence and well-being of his society, when Steppenwolf proclaims,

in this besotted humdrum age of spiritual blindness

"Ah, but it is hard to find this track of the divine in the midst of this life that we lead, in this besotted humdrum age of spiritual blindness, its politics, its men! .... And in fact, if the world is right, if this music of cafes, these mass enjoyments and these Americanised men who are pleased with so little are right, then I am wrong. I am crazy. I am in truth the Steppenwolf that I often call myself; that beast astray who finds neither home nor joy nor nourishment in a world that is strange and incomprehensible to him." (p. 48-49)

"Spiritual blindness" rings especially true in today's world where much of orthodox or mainstream psychology views spirit and spirituality as illusion or even mental illness.

Due to the fact that, in my upbringing, I had no awareness or education in spirituality or psychic and consciously thought them superstitious nonsense at the time, there was an intense emotional and spiritual fight going on.

Essentially, then, in part due to the lack of any central purpose or meaning, for all practical purposes there were two personalities battling it out. One personality was a “rationalist” or materialist personality that regarded spirit and spirituality as superstitious nonsense. And in conflict with that materialist personality, there was a “spiritual” personality that believed in “Sprit” and a more pervasive “Spirit”, as in a universal intelligence to the universe, or God, as it were. It definitely wasn’t as if the spiritual experience had sprinkled some “fairy dust” on me. There were a lot of emotions, a lot of unknowns, and a lot of fears. It was a pretty gritty fight, in all truth.

So, the reference to Steppenwolf, who in the novel by Herman Hesse, had a split personality between an “animal” personality and a “human” and “higher spiritual” personality was definitely a prophetic observation. One analyst noted that Hesse felt there was an obsession with the “suffering and despair” of Steppenwolf eliminating the human potential for “transcendence and healing.”

Also, it is unclear whether the climatic murder of Hermine by Steppenwolf actually occurred or whether that was in truth just another illusion and hallucination of the “Magic Theater.” Some believe that Hesse tries to juxtapose the physical causal reality with a higher “metaphysical” Truth. In any case, in my life the struggle between what is real and what is illusion was a fairly constant struggle. The bottom line for me was that the two somewhat conflicting -philosophies-ideologies became entangled and it took me something like twenty to thirty years to sort things out. So, for me the reference to Steppenwolf represents a bizarre synchronicity and an incredibly eerily very prophetic.

Bokononism and ‘Feet Touching the Wall’

From Cat’s Cradle, written, by Kurt Vonnegut, Bokononism is a fictitious religion whose foundation is the principle of “foma.” In essence, foma, are held to be harmless untruths. The sacred Books of Bokonon, begin with this admonition: "Don't be a fool! Close this book at once! It is nothing but foma! All of the true things that I am about to tell you are shameless lies." The most sacred Truth of the Bokonon religion is to "Live by the foma that make you brave and kind and healthy and happy." So, the Truth of the religion is that if you believe in their lives you will have peace of mind, be righteous, and live the good life. Boko-Maru, the pinnacle of Bokononist worship, is the ultimate intimate act of prolonged touch and contact between the four naked soles of the feet of two persons. Of course, many people these days see God and religion as a “delusion” and “untruth.” I can’t help but comment that without “Spirit, Truth, and Compassion” religion is really just a farce.

Lastly, the poem, at the end, refers to “the wall” and it seems a little curious and a bit of synchronicity that I began writing and connecting with people just as Trump with his “Wall” came onto the stage. Though, “the wall” could represent the barrier I run up against frequently when I try to connect with people about spirituality and especially “transcendental” spirituality.

Our minds are finite, and yet even in these circumstances of finitude we are surrounded by possibilities that are infinite, and the purpose of life is to grasp as much as we can out of that infinitude. Alfred North Whitehead

 “There is no matter as such. All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particle of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together. We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent mind. This mind is the matrix of all matter.”  (Max Planck, a German quantum physicist whose discovery of energy quanta won him the Nobel Prize in 1918)

The Absolute Truth [God, Transcendental Intelligence] is Beyond Comprehension

St. Gregory of Nyssa states, “According to the true words of the Lord [Mt 5.8, the pure in heart will see God. They will receive as much as their minds can comprehend. However, the unbounded incomprehensible divinity remains beyond all understanding.” (SoS J.246 & M.941, p.161)

The early Christian mystic Dionysius the Areopagite mirrored St Gregory of Nyssa, when he states, “I said in my Theological Representations that one can neither discuss not understand the One, The Super unknowable, the Transcendent, Goodness itself….”!

A Forty Year Synopsis–Bio of spiritual-psychic experiences and insights

"How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup."

A university professor went to visit a famous Zen master. While the master quietly served tea, the professor talked about Zen. The master poured the visitor's cup to the brim, and then kept pouring. The professor watched the overflowing cup until he could no longer restrain himself. "It's full! No more will go in!" the professor blurted. "This is you," the master replied, "How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup."

“Concepts create idols; only wonder comprehends anything. People kill one another over idols. Wonder makes us fall to our knees.” ― Saint Gregory Of Nyssa

I believe it safe to say that - from 40 years of experience - it is clear that spirituality has become entangled in abstractions: powers, perfection, supernatural, unreal, limitless knowledge, crystal ball perceptions, etc. College education conveys “filters” – ways of sorting information than “knowledge” per se – and when it comes to spirituality there is no formal education on spirituality – so yes, most college graduates unconsciously assimilate a lot of academic stereotypes – and so need to empty their cup.   

Dr Stephen Farra agreed with that – and went one better. Dr Farra stated “Our models are out reality. But our models are not reality. That coincides with the immortal philosopher Kant who argue we do not perceive the real world – but “representations” of the real world. Similarly, Bargh - from unconscious research - emphasizes mental categories and norms/stereotypes. Jung emphasizes symbols – which he argues are outside cognitive appraisals. The bottom line is that “models” - and how we envision the world - are not just pivotal and important questions-issues – but vital. 

The Absolute Truth [God, Transcendental Intelligence] is Beyond Comprehension

St. Gregory of Nyssa states, “According to the true words of the Lord [Mt 5.8, the pure in heart will see God. They will receive as much as their minds can comprehend. However, the unbounded incomprehensible divinity remains beyond all understanding.” (SoS J.246 & M.941, p.161)

The early Christian mystic Dionysius the Areopagite mirrored St Gregory of Nyssa, when he states, “I said in my Theological Representations that one can neither discuss not understand the One, The Super unknowable, the Transcendent, Goodness itself….”!

Overview: 40 years of spiritual-psychic experiences

1. America March 2017: Might Makes Right Warning Letters to Embassies of Allies

        & Revelation of Trump’s Abuse of Allies’ Leaders – July 2022

“Justice is nothing but the advantage of the stronger” - Thrasymachus

In letters that I mailed to the embassies of our allies in Mid-March 2017, I stated: "I read an article which said that Trump’s envoy to the United Nations was going to “take names” and dictate terms to the nations of the world. That is an utter disgrace. When it comes down to it, at times, Americans can be downright arrogant. Some Americans think they have all the power and all the answers. The truth of it is Americans don’t even have the right question. History repeats itself and has definite cycles. I believe America is in the cycle of might-makes-right. After the Athenians defeated the Persians they rose to the undisputed and unchallenged leadership of the Greek world. They used their power to bully and dictate terms to their allies. The Athenians ended up massacring all the inhabitants of Lesbos on the argument that might-makes-right. Their policies ended up backfiring."

Intelligence Revelation in 2020 “Trump accused of 'near-sadistic' Angela Merkel….

Intelligence Leaks July 30, 2020: The title of an article in the Indy 100, Independent, stated that “Trump accused of 'near-sadistic' bullying of Angela Merkel for 'vicious attacks' in private phone call” The article went on to say How Bernstein of CNN observed that Although Trump "regularly bullied and disparaged" other leaders like Emmanuel Macron, Justin Trudeau and Scott Morrison, his most "vicious attacks" were reserved for women, the report claims. Bernstein quoted one of his sources as calling Trump's phone calls with Merkel and May "near-sadistic". Some of the things he said to Angela Merkel are just unbelievable: he called her 'stupid,' and accused her of being in the pocket of the Russians. He's toughest with those he looks at as weaklings and weakest with the ones he ought to be tough with.

The intelligence leak from foreign intelligence sources led to further revelations such as how Trump called May a “fool” on a phone call which was later verified by former National Security advisor Bolton in his book. Bolton went on to say how he, former Secretary of State Tillerson, former Defense Secretary General Mattis, as well as another former top national security advisor all agreed that Trump is “delusional” – off his rocker in common parlance. So, it turned out I was dead-on target and incredibly accurate in my warning and assessment - and then some in my letters to allies. A critical point – in my view – is that in my letters – to the best of my recollection – I did not even refer to Trump.

In an article on June 3 2020 in the Atlantic by Jeffrey Goldberg, “James Mattis Denounces President Trump, Describes Him as a Threat to the Constitution”

Perspective: "James Mattis, the esteemed Marine general who resigned as secretary of defense in December 2018 to protest Donald Trump’s Syria policy, has, ever since, kept studiously silent about Trump’s performance as president. But he has now broken his silence, writing an extraordinary broadside in which he denounces the president for dividing the nation, and accuses him of ordering the U.S. military to violate the constitutional rights of American citizens."

“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us,” Mattis writes. “We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children.”

2. Truncated sum of 40 years of personal spiritual-psychic experiences:

A. Here are six dream, most documented by emials - all with consistent and reasonable interpretations that I list here:

(1) a dream centered on Pakistan and nuclear war.

(2) A Hybrid Dream-Perception: Precognitive "Tag" (i.e., a central action with one or two details) of the "incel" terrorist in Canada in late April, 2018.

(3) Dream about Libya (2-26-2019),

(4) Synchronicity with Strasburg, France attack - dream (9-19-20) + undocumented

(5) Dudayev (Chechen leader) Dream

(6) Fredericksburg bomb (civilian)

B. Highlights from forty years of conscious perceptions

(1) my recent 10-30-20 email to FBI agent McElwee warned of a "domestic terrorist" threat referring to a "bomb" as the weapon. which is related - of course - to the Nashville bombing on Christmas day 2020

(2) My very detailed, specific, and notarized warning to the FBI on October 18, 1981 of an impending attack by the then active Weathermen terrorist group. Some [accurate] details are: group, fabricating bombs, money, women, 22 put together, New York, death, as well as the terrorist weathermen's manifesto.

(3) A very brief (phoned in) warning to the FBI before the assassination attempt on president Reagan

(4) I called the CIA before 9/11

(5)  miscellaneous: foresight of the fight in intelligence over the CIA whistleblower

Text sent 9-7-2019 to my old counselor: "Images - contrails high in the air. High stakes fight" Later I sent an email specifically about something being up with CIA/Intelligence interesting to the FBI (which appears accurate). An article on a "high stakes" intelligence fight between an intelligence head of Trump and Schumer (head of the Senate Intelligence Committee) - quoting Schumer has said has never happened in history before (with Trump, not all that surprising). I thought it was interesting It was in fact about a CIA officer - who never testified actually. 

C. Reflections: An important point of order would be that nearly all of my experiences would easily fit into a category parallel to the alarm calls of animals. As Jean MacPhail, a scholar, author of A Spiral Life and a former fellow in neuropathology at Harvard University, observed, ‘My experiences are very unique!’ – in part because they relate to events outside myself, as well as being consistent with reasonable interpretations, as well as being - relatively speaking - well documented.

D. Instincts, Alarm Calls, and Daryl Bem's Successful Repeated Laboratorty Experiments

My experiences as “alarm calls” are also consistent with Daryl Bem’s successful repeated experiments on precognition. In 2016, an article about a meta-analysis of Daryl Bem (et al) very successful precognitive experiments states that "When Bem’s own experiments are included, the complete database comprises 90 experiments from 33 different laboratories located in 14 different countries. A total of 12,406 individuals participated in these experiments." The article goes on to say that the results showed that the experimental design focused on sex [instinctual] was by far outperformed the other designs. (A Summary of “Feeling the Future: A Meta-analysis of 90 Experiments on the Anomalous Anticipation of Random Future Events by Bem, Tressoldi, Rabeyron & Dugga)

E. Quantum Entanglement was "Spukhafte Fernwirkung" to Einstein - which means, in German, "spooky action at a distance."

Quantum entanglement is the reality in physics that - in an “entangled pair” of subatomic particles the spin of one subatomic particle will react directly and immediately (at speeds faster than the speed of light) to the spin of the other subatomic particle even though separated by arbitrarily large distances. A conclusion from experiments in quantum entanglement is that the reactions in a quantum entangled pair of particles occur at a speed faster than light – which to Einstein was impossible according to his own theory. In fact, Albert Einstein called quantum entanglement, "Spukhafte Fernwirkung" - which means, in German, "spooky action at a distance." To Einstein quantum entanglement was an impossibility – something which just couldn’t happen. Quantum entanglement was a complete and baffling mystery.

"Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real."

 Niels Bohr was a Danish physicist who was a pioneer in quantum physics stated that "If quantum mechanics hasn’t profoundly shocked you, you haven’t understood it yet.

Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real. " That necessitates a re-evaluation of our understanding of the world and universe.

Schrödinger’s Cat Thought experiment: an important Technical point 

Schrödinger’s Cat is a famous thought experiment that illustrates a paradox of quantum superposition. Schrödinger’s Cat, as a thought experiment, states that if you seal a cat in a box with something that can eventually kill it, you won’t know if the cat is alive or dead until you open the box. So, until you open the box and observe the cat, the cat is simultaneously dead and alive. (What Is Schrödinger’s Cat? - https://builtin.com/software-engineering-perspectives/schrodingers-cat)

The Schrödinger’s Cat thought experiment is used to argue that quantum physics is not applicable to human beings. However, the human brain actually generates an electric field and electrons which are transmitted by neurons can be influenced by quantum particles and particles as large as molecules are known to be engaged in quantum entanglement. I should emphasize that these are all abstractions - hypothetical concepts. "The experiment as described is a purely theoretical one, and the machine proposed is not known to have been constructed. However, successful experiments involving similar principles, e.g. superpositions of relatively large (by the standards of quantum physics) objects have been performed. These experiments do not show that a cat-sized object can be superposed...." (Wikipedia)

The Mustard Seed Epiphany - "What a nightmare" 1981 documented & very detailed warning to the FBI of impending Weathermen terrorist attack

Miracles: a matter of perspective

Background: I walked into an FBI office on October 18, 1981 - with no real prior experience and not a stitch of documentation to support my beliefs. For the record I had never heard of the Weathermen. My entire knowledge of the Students for Democracy organization - of which the Weathermen was a splinter group - is the fact that a friend of mine - back in the 1960's told me his brother was a member of the SDS.

Miracles are a matter of perspective. I walked into the Toledo, Ohio with a wild - and even wacky - stream of consciousness that at first glance [second glance as well] appears like the utter ravings of a madman. It was a full page stream of consciousness (unheard of)It was a full page uninhibited stream of consciousness which included a number of wild metaphor and symbolism: "I spit in Satan's face"; "monkey screams"; "snake hiss" "Fight hard, Die well" as well as "exorcism", and angels.  So, in a sense, the miracle - for me - was that I walked into an FBI office with what appeared to be the "insane ravings of an utter madman"............ and walked out without the FBI throwing a net over me and hauling me off to the nearest asylum. Of course, it does help that - to my knowledge, there are no federal laws actually prohibiting insanity - so, "being insane is perfectly legal." 

I walked into the FBI officein Toledo, Ohio, sat down with an FBI agent briefly. I pointed out three lines to the FBI agent in the tiny cubicle in the Toledo, Ohio office - there are only a like three straight forward line in the entire stream of consciousness.

When I got to the line of "New York" or "Miami," I asked the FBI agent who was seated across from me in one of the cubicles at the Toledo, I asked which he thought it would be - instantaneously the FBI agent retorted angrily, "How the Hell would I know! It is your dream!" The FBI agent clearly didn't believe in psychic - but he played the role of an FBI agent and asked several questions - like about the timing. I told him that my birthday came to mind - October 23 - which turned out to be just a couple days off. Quite a lot - like telephone telepathy seems to work via the process of association ("birthday" was produced by association with my own framework of reference."

Anyway, even though I consciously did not believe in psychic, spirt, prophecy or anything remotely spiritual at the time, there I was - sitting down and pointing out the only three lines in the "What a nightmare" that made any sense, to the FBI agent. I went over it calmly with the FBI agent - walking out without them throwing a net over you - and then it turns out to be the longest written-documented warning-prediction in history (written documents are like hens’ teeth - Nostradamus only had 4-line quatrains) stream of consciousness, and the only one at the time (prior to 9/11) about terrorism. For the record, in documented history, there are only 7 or 8 documented warnings about assassination.

Analysis

Comparatively speaking - as I mentioned before - the "Mustard Seed-What a nightmare" spiritual-psychic experience, which happened on October 18, 1981 is an exceptionally detailed spiritual precognitive warning. Some of the details in the precognitive stream of consciousness which turned out to be accurate are:

1.           group,

2.            fabricating bombs,

3.           money,

4.           woman,

5.           22 were assembled,

6.           New York,

7.           death, as well as the

8.           weathermen terrorist manifesto.

Two days after I talked to the FBI agent, Katherine Boudin, a former leader of the notorious Weathermen terrorist group (now called Weather Underground), was arrested after a shootout with the Nyack, New York police force which had 22 officers. The shootout resulted after a chase which started with the botched robbery of a Brink’s armored truck. Bomb making materials and plans were found in the terrorists’ apartment. “Fabricating bombs” was an incredibly precise description since none had been made but it looked like they were working on them. The New York Times quoted the Weathermen manifesto: “We are the incubation of your mothers’ worst nightmares.” The “What a nightmare” warning stated “Time is at hand! Time is at hand, and Angels said. “Fight Hard, Die Well! A prophet spoke.” It could be argued that the “Time is at hand” stated twice symbolizes the two policeman who were killed, while the prophet’s statement symbolizes the one Brink’s guard who was killed.

Besides these explicit details, as with much of historical prophecies, there appears to be some symbolic and metaphorical synchronicities in the "Mustard Seed" precognitive stream of consciousness. The statements, “Time is at hand! Time is at hand, Angels said.” - and - “Fight Hard, Die Well! A prophet spoke!” match the deaths of the two policemen ("Time is at hand" - twice by an angel) and the death of one Brink's guard (“Fight Hard, Die Well” a prophet spoke). Of course, angels could be said to outrank prophets same as policemen outrank Armored car guards. That kind of precise detail of identifying - albeit metaphorically - specific people or types of people who would be prominent in the event is quite literally "unheard of" in the long centuries of documented historical precognitive warnings-predictions. 

Mustard Seed – A Divine Inspiration

Besides referring to angels, prophets, nuns, at the end I concluded with a statement about the "Mustard Seed." What makes my "What a nightmare" most intriguing - in my view - is that, the last line included the "Mustard Seed" [Parable] as well as “Christ was almost there” The mustard seed symbolism is widespread among religions. Besides, Christianity, Mohammed speaks about the Mustard Seed – also in terms of faith. Chandogya Upanishad of Hinduism refers to the mustard seed, and furthermore there are Hindu folklore stories-parables about the Banyan seed.

 In the Gospel of Matthew, the parable of the Mustard Seed says, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field; which indeed is smaller than all seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches." (Matthew 13:31–32) I must confess, I have never been able to completely grasp and fully comprehend the Mustard Seed Parable. I'm not sure exactly how Christ meant the Mustard Seed Parable and the concept of Kingdom of Heaven - as a state of mind, as a spiritual truth, or as a transcendental reality - or all three.

This passage may be right on target, as it were: Mark 4:26-29 And He was saying, "The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows--how, he himself does not know. "The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head." Perhaps the Holy spirit because it is transcendental is, by metaphor, out of sight and below ground, but when meaning and creativity flower then the human fruit is produced. In light of the rather exceptional transcendental aspect and spiritual essence of the "What a nightmare" - or Mustard Seed - transcendental spiritual experience, my sense of it would be that the transcendental spiritual aspect might give the Mustard Seed Parable Archetype, a certain collective spiritual Truth or energy.

Mustard Seed

The Prophet Muhammed (Allaaahu ‘alaihi wasaliam) said: “on the Day of Resurrection I will intercede and say, ‘o my Lord! Admit into Paradise (even) those who have faith equal toa mustard seed in their hearts.’” Sahih Al-Buhari Volume 9, Hadith 600

As Salaamu Alaikum!

Mustard seed (2) Khardal (خردل ) means mustard. Its seed has been mentioned twice in the Quran:

1. And We shall set up balances of justice on the Day of Resurrection, then none will be dealt with unjustly in anything. And if there be the weight of a mustard seed, we will bring it. And Sufficient are We as Reckoners. [21:47]

2. O my son! If it be (anything) equal to the weight of a grain of mustard seed, and though it be in a rock, or in the heavens or in the earth, Allah will bring it forth. Verily, Allah is Subtle (in bringing out that grain), Well-Aware (of its place). [31:16]

The Divine Inspiration of the Mustard Seed Parable seems manifest in context of the Synthesis Consensus of Viktor Frankl, William James and Carl Jung

There is a consensus among the three great scholars William James, Viktor Frankl, and Carl Jung on three points

1.      Spiritual experiences – spiritual processes and spirit – create a “sense of reality” - meaning and purpose

2.      Different experiences create different worldviews

3.      Spiritual symbolism and abstractions generate emotional energy

When I brought up the “Synthesis Consensus” of Frankl, James, and Jung to Dr Paul Wong, He replied I should call it the “New Integrative Approach.” And it is “new” I have not come across the “synthesis consensus” in all of my research and it was definitely absent in the five psychology of religion books I had.

 The Mustard Seed Parable dovetails perfectly with the Synthesis-Consensus of Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung, William James, and Emile Durkheim that states unequivocally that "spirit" [spiritual processes] create meaning and a ”sense of reality” (W James) - and relative to the parable are "metaphorically" mustard seeds that create growth - and produce a wonderful Mustard Seed Plant – belief system. In my view that makes it a “divine” insight – from my perspective. My guiding lights now are “spirit and truth” (John 4: 23-24) and fruitfulness.     

Carl Jung: "Spirit gives meaning to his [man's] life" - Carl Jung, a psychoanalyst and contemporary of Sigmund Freud, couldn't have been clearer or more succinct when he made that simple but profound statement. (CW8:643) Jung observed, in the Collected Works (CW8: 648 -1968 revised) that “Life and spirit are two powers or necessities between which man is placed. Spirit gives meaning to his life, and the possibility of its greatest development. But life is essential to spirit, since its truth is nothing if it cannot live.” This is consistent with Jung’s strongly expressed belief that experiences are a primary influence on a person’s beliefs. In a remarkably parallel viewpoint William Gould observes that Viktor Frankl, who also believed human beings have "spirit," argued that "Meaning analysis is based on three essential premises: the freedom of will; the will to meaning, and the meaning of life." (p.42 Frankl: Life...) Here again “Spirit” appears to be moderated or influenced by both “life” and “will” – so the over simplistic statement that “spirit creates meaning and a sense of reality has several other significant forces influencing it. 

Viktor Frankl: Paul Wong elaborates on Viktor Frankl's views regarding the nature and characteristics of spiritual or noetic (from nous)processes in the mind "in the following quotation: "The noetic (spiritual, specifically human) dimension contains such qualities as our will to meaning [Frankl's central concept of the human being's primary drive] our goal orientation, ideas and ideals, creativity, imagination, faith, love that goes beyond the physical, a conscience beyond the superego, self-transcendence, commitments, responsibility, a sense of humor, and the freedom of choice making. The human dimension is the medicine chest of the logotherapist. Patients are made aware that they have these rich resources of health within." (Fabry 1994 pp.18-19) (p.156) Also, Paul Wong notes that, like many other modern-day existentialist and positive psychologists, “Park (2007) regards religion and spirituality as meaning systems.” (p. 156) One could infer then that like Frankl, Park would agree that spiritual processes would be involved in meaning creation.

William James: “They [abstractions (symbols) and spiritual emotions-experiences] determine our vital attitude as decisively as the vital attitude of lovers is determined by the habitual sense, …… They are convincing to those who have them as any direct sensible experiences can be, and they are, as a rule, much more convincing than results established by mere logic are……if you do have them, and have them at all strongly, the probability is that you cannot help regarding them as genuine perceptions of truth, as revelations of a kind of reality [my underlining] which no adverse argument, however unanswerable by you in words, can expel from your belief" is what William James emphasizes in his classic work, originally published in 1902, The Varieties of Religious Experiences. (P.47) William James goes on to say that religious experiences and spiritual experiences create and generate a “sense of reality” (p.48)

II. Reasonable Beliefs: Categorizing unusual experiences as unusual. 

1. What many people don't understand is that consistently studies show that somewhere between 1/3 to 1/2 of people have experiences - and as Park and Paloutzian observe, there is a "normalcy" to spiritual-psychic experiences. Furthermore people - at times - lose their common sense and often get lost in abstractions. Common sense would dictate that the brain processes unusual experiences as "unusual" - pretty amazing.... huh? When people get into abstractions, they often lose sight of common sense understanding and sound judgment.
2. Studies and experiments that have established that the "categorization" process is a very important process in the human mind and the categorization process is both well-known and well-proven in psychology. William James goes on to say that religious experiences and spiritual experiences create and generate a “sense of reality” (p.48) Jung said pretty much the exact same thing actually - that an individual’s experiences shape a person's reality.
3. Recap of the synthesis consensus of Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung, and William James has three characteristics

            a. "spirit, spiritual processes, and religious beliefs create meaning, a sense of reality                - and ultimately Reality, and Truth.

            b. Tolerance: That different experiences create different worldviews and                                          understandings

            c. Spiritual symbolism generates emotional energy 

In the anthology, Meaning in Positive and Existential Psychology (2014), Paul Wong, observes: “Frankl considers meaning seeking as stemming from one’s spiritual nature. William James emphasizes in his classic work, originally published in 1902, The Varieties of Religious Experiences: “They [spiritual experiences] determine our vital attitude [sense of reality] as decisively as the vital attitude of lovers is determined by the habitual sense,” Jung observed, in the Collected Works (CW8: 648 -1968 revised) that “Life and spirit are two powers or necessities between which man is placed. Spirit gives meaning to his life, and the possibility of its greatest development.

2.     "To me much of humanity looks like an uncontrolled pack of lemmings on a suicide run"   50,000 excessive & unnecessary American deaths

An old warning email to Agent McElwee 4-10-2020 "To me much of humanity looks like an uncontrolled pack of lemmings on a suicide run." Guardian: “US could have averted 40% of Covid deaths, says panel examining Trump's policies." Estimates go from 50,000-100,000 unnecessary American deaths

"To me much of humanity looks like an uncontrolled pack of lemmings on a suicide run. I tell you this Materialism Doctrine is utterly insane". (Karen Armstrong basically says that “secularism” (materialism) is the underlying cause for the creation of literalism and the militant Christian mobilization.

Article in Guardian: “US could have averted 40% of Covid deaths, says panel examining Trump's policies. The Christian “No Mask Madness” without question produced a very large number of disproportionately high number of Americans who died of Corona Virus than most other European countries – by all accounts. A recent article stated that one hundred thousand Americans died of the corona virus that shouldn’t have compared to the Canadian death toll from corona virus. 

Point of Order: I should re-emphasize that an important point of order would be that nearly all of my experiences would easily fit into a category parallel to the alarm calls of animals. As Jean MacPhail, a scholar, author of A Spiral Life and a former fellow in neuropathology at Harvard University, observed, ‘My experiences are very unique!’ – in part because they relate to events outside myself, as well as being consistent with reasonable interpretations, as well as being relatively well documented.

3. A Dark Place.

My cousin died on Pan Am 103. I don't talk about it much,

Pan Am Flight 103 (PA103/PAA103) was a regularly scheduled Pan Am transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Detroit via a stopover in London and another in New York City. The transatlantic leg of the route was operated by Clipper Maid of the Seas, a Boeing 747 registered N739PA. Shortly after 19:00 on 21 December 1988, while the aircraft was in flight over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, it was destroyed by a bomb that had been planted on board, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew in what became known as the Lockerbie bombing. Large sections of the aircraft crashed in a residential street in Lockerbie, killing 11 residents. With a total of 270 fatalities, it is the deadliest terrorist attack in the history of the United Kingdom, as well as its deadliest aviation disaster ever.” Wikipedia

Memories resurface from time to time - very fragmented – mostly it is all kind of foggy, to be honest. Of one thing I am sure - that I did in fact call Secret Service intelligence before it happened. But it is like having a piece of a broken glass - you know there was - in reality - a glass - but exactly what the glass is or was – I don’t know.

10-6-20 Email sent to FBI agent McElwee – Pan Am 103 – for the record

For some reason I remembered it yesterday. Out of curiosity I googled Pan Am 103 and found an article dated October 6, 2020 Syracuse University’s 2020-21 News: “Remembrance and Lockerbie Scholars are currently hosting the first Remembrance activity of this academic year.”

The article stated: “Thirty-five empty chairs have been placed in the area stretching from the Place of Remembrance to the Hall of Languages. The seats are arranged in the formation of the seats on Pan Am Flight 103 that the 35 Syracuse University students they represent were sitting in for 38 minutes, up until the exact time the Pan Am 103 bombing occurred on Dec. 21, 1988, over Lockerbie, Scotland.

Of course, when I sent that email to FBI agent McElwee I had no idea that this remembrance took place. It was a synchronicity that clearly wasn’t random.

Reflections

For perspective, I should mention first that - as Jean MacPhail, author and scholar, observes, my experiences are unique in part because my experiences are correlated with political events outside myself - as well as because my interpretations as perceptions of threats to the group are consistent - and reasonable. On top of that a dozen are documented - mostly by emails. I would add, from my research, my experiences are literally unique in that as far as detail - compared to historically documented warnings - or predictions of political events (including the Old Testament as well as Nostradamus, Jeane Dixon, and even Edgar Cayce) there is nothing even remotely comparable as far as detail or consistency. In fact

Reasonable Belief

II. Reasonable Beliefs: Categorizing unusual experiences as unusual. 

What many people don't understand is that consistently studies show that somewhere between 1/3 to 1/2 of people have experiences - and as Park and Paloutzian observe, there is a "normalcy" to spiritual-psychic experiences. Furthermore people - at times - lose their common sense and often get lost in abstractions. Common sense would dictate that the brain processes unusual experiences as "unusual" - pretty amazing.... huh? When people get into abstractions, they often lose sight of common sense understanding and sound judgment.

Studies and experiments that have established that the "categorization" process is a very important process in the human mind and the categorization process is both well-known and well-proven in psychology. William James goes on to say that religious experiences and spiritual experiences create and generate a “sense of reality” (p.48) Jung said pretty much the exact same thing actually - that an individual’s experiences shape a person's reality.

The synthesis consensus of Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung, and William James simply put is that "spirit, spiritual processes, and religious beliefs create meaning, a sense of reality - and ultimately Reality, and Truth. In the anthology, Meaning in Positive and Existential Psychology (2014), Paul Wong, observes: “Frankl considers meaning seeking as stemming from one’s spiritual nature. William James emphasizes in his classic work, originally published in 1902, The Varieties of Religious Experiences: “They [spiritual experiences] determine our vital attitude [sense of reality] as decisively as the vital attitude of lovers is determined by the habitual sense,…” Jung observed, in the Collected Works (CW8: 648 -1968 revised) that “Life and spirit are two powers or necessities between which man is placed. Spirit gives meaning to his life, and the possibility of its greatest development.

Reflections and Perspective: Lessons Learned - Here are a few important principles I learned from early relatively well documented spiritual-psychic with consistently reasonable interpretations my experiences in 1981. In my view my personal experiences primarily served as a function to trigger a quest and questioning to be honest.

1.           As J. E. Kennedy explains, studies show roughly 45% of people have an initial fear reaction. Such was mine. Like many I found my experience frightening – primarily because it was an unknown and my “mind had no way” to organize the experience. Doubts and fears fed a cycle of doubts and anxieties. One night I went two steps over the line – but realized it.

My epiphany was that the Absolute Truth [God] is beyond comprehension. That is an important factor in assessing prophecy. Reducing the divine to the existence as a prediction is not only unrealistic but degrading to God and the divine as well. 

2.           Early on I also grappled with the question as to the purpose of prophecy. I had been told that I should write down predictions. That was a Big Deal in 1981 – and it is a question brought up in the first line of my notarized warning to the FBI on October 18,1981. The question I asked is – does making predictions to make predictions make any sense biologically, psychologically, or even spiritually? The conclusion I came to is that purpose and motivation is pivotal. 

That is, "purpose" is pivotal to prophecy - and spirituality – especially in light of "Spirit is Truth" (John 5:6)

The importance of motivation is very consistent with the spiritual beliefs of people I have engaged. When "spiritual people" are questioned – in many, spiritual beliefs are not just a motivation but a very profound source of inspiration. Historically, after tens of thousands of years of spiritual and religious beliefs – though incredibly it is not in academia – spirituality and religiosity would clearly be a powerful drive and motivation. 

3. I have thought intensely about spirituality and transcendental spiritual experiences. As St Gregory of Nyssa pointed out only the “pure of heart” ‘see’ God. In my view it is clear there is spirit within and transcendental spirit. And without spirit within there can’t be any real connection with transcendental spirit. A proper analogy would be to the spiritual experience being the flower and the meaning, purpose, and creativity that are produced being the fruit. 

4. Spiritual flowers; There are all sorts of spiritual flowers – compassion – or artistic – being two of the most notable types. Transcendental spirituality is not a prerequisite of “being divine” as it were. That being said I would argue fruitfulness is a prerequisite.

 Abraham Heschel (1907 – 1972), a “leading” Jewish philosopher and theologian: In Heschel’s book The Prophets, Heschel quotes N. K. Chadwick: Everywhere the gift of prophecy is inseparable from divine inspiration. Everywhere this inspiration carries with it knowledge – whether of the past, in the form of history and genealogy; of the hidden present in the form of scientific information; and of the future in the form of prophetic utterance in the narrower sense…..Invariably we find that……….his [the poet’s] mood is exalted and remote from his normal existence…..”     (P. 482 – 483) Relative to that question, Heschel observed that “raptis mentis” [divine rapture] is common both to poets and prophets. Essentially, Heschel identifies creativity – and fruitfulness as a fundamental aspect of the divine. 

               Scientific Perspective 

For perspective, R C Henry, a renowned professor of physics and astronomy, in a 2005 essay concludes, "A fundamental conclusion of the new physics also acknowledges that the observer creates the reality. As observers, we are personally involved with the creation of our own reality. Physicists are being forced to admit that the universe is a “mental” construction." Eugene Wigner, a theoretical physicist and mathematician, stated unequivocally stated that “It was not possible to formulate the laws of quantum mechanics in a fully consistent way without reference to consciousness.” In a sense, since the most essential characteristic of human consciousness would be “intelligence” it would stand to reason that viewing the universe and the world as embodying intelligence would only be natural (and healthy).

Stephen Hawking Time travel used to be thought of as just science fiction, but Einstein's general theory of relativity allows for the possibility that we could warp space-time so much that you could go off in a rocket and return before you set out.

“A century ago, Albert Einstein revolutionised our understanding of space, time, energy and matter. We are still finding awesome confirmations of his predictions, like the gravitational waves observed in 2016 by the LIGO experiment. When I think about ingenuity, Einstein springs to mind. Where did his ingenious ideas come from? A blend of qualities, perhaps: intuition, originality, brilliance. Einstein had the ability to look beyond the surface to reveal the underlying structure. He was undaunted by common sense, the idea that things must be the way they seemed. He had the courage to pursue ideas that seemed absurd to others. And this set him free to be ingenious, a genius of his time and every other.

A key element for Einstein was imagination. Many of his discoveries came from his ability to reimagine the universe through thought experiments. At the age of sixteen, when he visualised riding on a beam of light, he realised that from this vantage light would appear as a frozen wave. That image ultimately led to the theory of special relativity.

One hundred years later, physicists know far more about the universe than Einstein did. Now we have greater tools for discovery, such as particle accelerators, supercomputers, space telescopes and experiments such as the LIGO lab’s work on gravitational waves. Yet imagination remains our most powerful attribute. With it, we can roam anywhere in space and time. We can witness nature’s most exotic phenomena while driving in a car, snoozing in bed or pretending to listen to someone boring at a party.”

Quantum entanglement

Quantum entanglement is the reality that in an “entangled pair” of subatomic particles the spin of one subatomic particle will react directly and immediately - at speeds faster than the speed of light - to the spin of the other subatomic particle even though separated by arbitrarily large distances. A conclusion from experiments in quantum entanglement is that the reactions in a quantum entangled pair of particles occur at a speed faster than light – which to Einstein was impossible according to his own theory. In fact, Albert Einstein called quantum entanglement, "Spukhafte Fernwirkung" - which means, in German, "spooky action at a distance." To Einstein quantum entanglement was an impossibility – something which just couldn’t happen. Quantum entanglement was a complete and baffling mystery.

 The future caused the past. Professor Truscott

Professor Truscott concluded that the experiment showed that; “A future event causes the photon to decide its past.” (Experiment confirms quantum theory weirdness Science Daily, May 27, 2015 Australian National University)

Summary of Experiment: The bizarre nature of reality as laid out by quantum theory has survived another test, with scientists performing a famous experiment and proving that reality does not exist until it is measured. Physicists have conducted John Wheeler's delayed-choice thought experiment, which involves a moving object that is given the choice to act like a particle or a wave. The group reversed Wheeler's original experiment, and used helium atoms scattered by light.

If one chooses to believe that the atom really did take a particular path or paths then one has to accept that a future measurement is affecting the atom's past, said Truscott. .....So, what form it would take after passing through the first grate depended on whether the second grate was put in place afterward. Therefore, whether it continued as a particle or changed into a wave wasn't decided until a future event had already taken place. Time went backwards. Cause and effect appear to be reversed. The future caused the past. The arrow of time seemed to work in reverse.

What is Kapwa-loob?

Kapwa & Relational Spirituality: shared identity, an inner self, shared with others….unity of the self and the other Kapwa-loob are two unique aspects to culture in the Philippines. As K Lagdameo-Santillan observes, in her article, Roots of Filipino Humanism observes that “Kapwa is a recognition of a shared identity, an inner self, shared with others. This Filipino linguistic unity of the self and the other is unique and unlike in most modern languages.”

In the Filipino social sciences, loob has nonetheless been explored in numerous ways such as being a “cave” of Filipino thought, an emotive state, a true self, a center of personality, a world of being, and a core indigenous value (Pe-Pua, 2017). However, in recent ethical philosophy, loob is sometimes used in contexts where it can aptly be translated as “relational will” since it is a will directed towards others (Reyes, 2015).

Reynaldo Ileto (1979), viewed loob as an inner self wherein one realizes equality with others. Theologian Jose De Mesa (1984) understood loob as the center of one’s personality but also the world of being itself. Most prolifically, psychologist Virgilio Enriquez (1992) enumerated many manifestations of loob as central to the Filipino value system. Filipino values are linked by a socio-personal value called kagandahang-loob” (“beauty-of-will”) that may be viewed as a “shared humanity” or “shared inner nobility” with others.” The idea of “many manifestations of will is consistent with neuroscience studies of morals, music, and so on – which emphasize the interconnectedness of the diverse regions of the brain. (Loob and Meaningfulness: A Filipino Theory of Meaning in Life Jairus Diesta Espiritu and Marielle Antoinette Hermoso Zosa)

Some modern research confirms William James “Sense of Reality” argument. David Hay's "survey" demonstrated that "Though many of these [spiritual] experiences were very brief, they often had a dramatic effect on mood-state and well-being, and people remembered them for the rest of their lives." (Fraser Watts, p. 58-59)

 Studies on categorization process relevant to spirituality since unusual experiences would likely be categorized as unusual – are left out as well. I have a letter from U.S. Senator Van Hollen expressing interest in studies of spirituality. When I approached Towson University chair of psychology, I was sent an email by the chair, stating that not a single professor is interested in spirituality in any shape fashion or form. 

 

The Unique Story of Jean MacPhail: A Childhood Foresight and Making Sense of the World 

Jean MacPhail, a former fellow in neuropathology at Harvard University, author of A Spiral Life (good book), as well as a contemplative Vedanta nun, also lectures and writes articles essays. When Jean was a very young child of only five years old her world was shattered by a traumatic life-altering experience. Her mother walked out one day in a ‘fey” mood not to eb seen alive again. Jean – later – a age 14, wrote down in a poem her vision of her mother’s death at age 5 – which she found out was accurate much later at age 22 – yet went on to synthesize her emotions and broken life into a quintessential poem of meaning creation or re-creation and psychological-spiritual synthesis. When I first read her poem, I didn’t fully realize what was going on and glossed over it. Jean’s poem - at the really tender age of 14 years old was a remarkable synthesis of vision and “putting her house in order.” 

When Jean was a very young child of only five years old her world was shattered by a traumatic life-altering experience. As Jean relates from her memories what happened she says, “What I know for certain is that one day in December my mother brought in the mail and sat down at the table to read it. After reading one of the letters, she began to sob convulsively and without stopping. She laid her head down at the table and just spilled her soul into a huge ocean of pain and misery. This was utterly devastating to me, for Scots are people do not show their emotions overtly. Of course, I had known for some time that she was in great pain, but I has never seen her cry like this. There was absolutely nothing I could do: I had no idea what the matter was, I was so unused to scenes like this – and I was only five years old.

After this episode, she was what can only be called fey. It was as if she was under a spell, not living in contact with this world, listening to some call that was leading her to her doom. She took care of me, but she was not with me. I felt a heavy, heavy load on my soul, not knowing what was happening and fearing the worst. A few days later about four o’clock in the evening she started to put on her coat. It was nearly dark, for Scottish winter evenings draw in very early, and it was pouring rain. “Where are you going Mummy?’ I said. “I am going out.” “But it is pouring with rain. You can’t go out in this rain!” She said nothing, but started to button her coat. “Let me come with you!” She looked at me for a while, her eyes not seeing me. “I’ll be back in a wee while. Wait for me.”

That was the last time – at the tender age of five years old - Jean saw her mother alive. Then at age 14 - and it wasn't until 23 that Jean finally worked up the courage to confront the medical examiner -Jean wrote out a poem-vision of her mother's death - which, in retrospect, was also clearly a spiritual epiphany - a synthesis of emotions and realities in forging a new life with both grace and wisdom uncanny for a fourteen-year-old. 

A fourteen-year old’s poem

On the mountain, shadows

Pass and re-pass, over blue rocks

And black,

Where lies a broken temple

Silvered by the weak moon.

A wreath of curling locks

And an arm stretched out,

Cold, cold and heavy,

Soaked with the dews of night,

Devoid of life and sadness.

No trace of joy, yes, it is there ---

Silent, still, true bliss and happiness.

Fleeting wings bring the sighs

Of a child;

Teardrops fall as drops of gentle rain

On eyelids of white as marble.

A light of dim and yellow

Glows in the town.

The eye of love and a heart cries

In the still, warm night.

At age 23, Jean finally mustered enough courage to seek about and face the truth. Jean asked the medical examiner “How exactly did she die?” The medical examiner replied “She seems just to have kept walking in the hills in the rain until she collapsed and died of the cold. She was found in a burn.” (Scottish word for a kind of watercourse.) In her book, The spiral Life, Jean goes on to say, exactly how I had seen it: Even as I lay under the gas mantle, I had been aware of her struggling along in the rain and stumbling on the rough terrain. And I had seen her lying dead in the burn, with water pulling her hair this way and that.” (p. 216)

It should be noted that any objective analysis would be forced to acknowledge the details of Jean’s poem at 14 years old: “Where lies a broken temple, Silvered by the weak moon., A wreath of curling locks, And an arm stretched out, Cold, cold and heavy, Soaked with the dews of night” matches a woman found dead in a burn)

So, what is important, in my view, is that in that poem Jean transcended the “broken temple” “devoid of life and sadness; No trace of joy” and concluded the poem with this

Fleeting wings bring the sighs

Of a child;

Teardrops fall as drops of gentle rain

On eyelids of white as marble.

A light of dim and yellow

Glows in the town.

The eye of love and a heart cries

In the still, warm night.

So, yes, Jean forged a new life with both grace and wisdom uncanny for a fourteen-year-old. It was a very touching and compassionate resolution and synthesis – as well as realistic. Jean’s realistic and touching resolution was “Fleeting wings (perhaps of angels) which is a realization that as a child she could have done nothing to help her mother – yet she was sad “Teardrops fall as gentle rains” and she transcended the tragic situation with “The eye of love and a heart cries out.” Jean’s poem – for a fourteen-year-old has to be one of the most incredible poems I have ever personally seen.

 

Science without meaning

Albert Einstein observed that "It would be possible to describe everything scientifically, but it would make no sense; it would be without meaning, as if you described a Beethoven symphony as a variation of wave pressure.

 

A Deeper Knowledge:

Heschel refers to a “deeper knowledge” and observes that “what is we cannot say.” Heschel states about the ineffable aspect of consciousness which is beyond conscious expression: “Essential to human thought is not only the technique of symbolization but also the awareness of the ineffable. In every mind there is an enormous store of not-knowing, of being puzzled, of wonder of radical amazement.” (Quest p.139) 

 “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.” Albert Einstein

Preamble & Perspective

Bargh - Unconscious Processes & Natural Contextual Tuning to the Environment,

This perspective is necessary for evaluating Michael Reed, the American nemesis of ten commandment monuments – in my view. Another aspect helpful in understanding Michael Reed would be as John Bargh, unconscious researcher, in many different ways explains that human consciousness and especially the unconscious is intimately interconnected with the environment in myriad ways. “Further supporting this notion of natural contextual tuning of one’s behavior to the present environment, cognitive research indicates that action-related objects activate multiple action plans in parallel and that action production is driven by some form of selective disinhibition. For example, findings suggest that ambient stimuli (e.g., hammers) automatically set us to physically interact with the world (e.g., perform a power grip, Tucker & Ellis, 2001).”

Some Personal Perspective - Synchronicity

June 2017 Michael Reed: No Ten Commandments Monument Is Safe from the Wrath of Michael Reed Michael Reed: "I’m the rider on the first white horse in Revelations The article also highlights that “In 2014, he destroyed a Ten Commandments statue in Oklahoma.

 

Synchronicity with Reed -synopsis (40 years) spiritual-psychic – precognitive experiences. The Might makes right letter to the embassies of the allies was in February 20176, remarkably synchronized with Reed’s White Rider action. Also, back in 2015 while Obama was still in office, I did start to send letters out – specifically to the then Attorney General  Eric Holder – I delivered my story and documentation 

Preamble: Reasonable Beliefs: Categorizing unusual experiences as unusual. 
What many people don't understand is that consistently studies show that somewhere between 1/3 to 1/2 of people have experiences - and as Park and Paloutzian observe, there is a "normalcy" to spiritual-psychic experiences. Furthermore people - at times - lose their common sense and often get lost in abstractions. Common sense would dictate that the brain processes unusual experiences as "unusual" - pretty amazing.... huh? When people get into abstractions, they often lose sight of common sense understanding and sound judgment.

 
Studies and experiments that have established that the "categorization" process is a very important process in the human mind and the categorization process is both well-known and well-proven in psychology. William James goes on to say that religious experiences and spiritual experiences create and generate a “sense of reality” (p.48) Jung said pretty much the exact same thing actually - that an individual’s experiences shape a person's reality.
The synthesis consensus of Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung, and William James simply put is that "spirit, spiritual processes, and religious beliefs create meaning, a sense of reality - and ultimately Reality, and Truth.

In the anthology, Meaning in Positive and Existential Psychology (2014), Paul Wong, observes: “Frankl considers meaning seeking as stemming from one’s spiritual nature. William James emphasizes in his classic work, originally published in 1902, The Varieties of Religious Experiences: “They [spiritual experiences] determine our vital attitude [sense of reality] as decisively as the vital attitude of lovers is determined by the habitual sense,…” Jung observed, in the Collected Works (CW8: 648 -1968 revised) that “Life and spirit are two powers or necessities between which man is placed. Spirit gives meaning to his life, and the possibility of its greatest development."

synopsis of 40 years spiritual-psychic, precognitive experiences & Historical-Political situational Sense

America 2017 The Might Makes Right Madness: Warning Letters to Embassies of Allies

“Justice is nothing but the advantage of the stronger” - Thrasymachus

March 2017 & Revelation of Trump’s Abuse of Allies’ Leaders – July 2022

In letters that I mailed to the embassies of our allies (Canadian, British, German, French) in Mid-March 2017, I stated: "I read an article which said that Trump’s envoy to the United Nations was going to “take names” and dictate terms to the nations of the world. That is an utter disgrace. When it comes down to it, at times, Americans can be downright arrogant. Some Americans think they have all the power and all the answers. The truth of it is Americans don’t even have the right question. History repeats itself and has definite cycles. I believe America is in the cycle of might-makes-right. After the Athenians defeated the Persians they rose to the undisputed and unchallenged leadership of the Greek world. They used their power to bully and dictate terms to their allies. The Athenians ended up massacring all the inhabitants of Lesbos on the argument that might-makes-right. Their policies ended up backfiring."

Intelligence Revelation in 2020 “Trump accused of 'near-sadistic' Angela Merkel….
Intelligence Leaks July 30, 2020: The title of an article in the Indy 100, Independent, stated that “Trump accused of 'near-sadistic' bullying of Angela Merkel for 'vicious attacks' in private phone call” The article went on to say How Bernstein of CNN observed that Although Trump "regularly bullied and disparaged" other leaders like Emmanuel Macron, Justin Trudeau and Scott Morrison, his most "vicious attacks" were reserved for women, the report claims. Bernstein quoted one of his sources as calling Trump's phone calls with Merkel and May "near-sadistic". Some of the things he said to Angela Merkel are just unbelievable: he called her 'stupid,' and accused her of being in the pocket of the Russians. He's toughest with those he looks at as weaklings and weakest with the ones he ought to be tough with.

The intelligence leak from foreign intelligence sources led to further revelations such as how Trump called May a “fool” on a phone call which was later verified by former National Security advisor Bolton in his book. Bolton went on to say how he, former Secretary of State Tillerson, former Defense Secretary General Mattis, as well as another former top national security advisor all agreed that Trump is “delusional” – off his rocker in common parlance. So, it turned out I was dead-on target and incredibly accurate in my warning and assessment - and then some in my letters to allies. A critical point – in my view – is that in my letters – to the best of my recollection – I did not even refer to Trump.

2. Dreams: I have four documented dreams and two undocumented dreams - all with consistent and reasonable interpretations that I list here: (1) a dream about Pakistan and nuclear war. (2) A Hybrid Dream-Perception: Precognitive "Tag" (a tag would be a central action plus one or two details) of the "incel" terrorist in Canada in late April, 2018. (3) Dream about Libya (2-26-2019), (4) Synchronicity with Strasburg, France attack - dream (9-19-20) + undocumented (5) Dudayev Dream (6) Fredericksburg

3. Conscious Experiences  Highlights waking perceptions (1) my recent 10-30-20 email to FBI agent McElwee warned of a "domestic terrorist" threat referring to a "bomb" as the weapon. which is related - of course - to the Nashville bombing on Christmas day 2020 (2) the very detailed, specific, and notarized warning to the FBI on October 18, 1981 of an impending attack by the then active Weathermen terrorist group. Some [accurate] details are: group, fabricating bombs, money, women, 22 put together, New York, death, as well as the terrorist weathermen's manifesto. (3) A very brief (phoned in) warning to the FBI before the assassination attempt on president Reagan (4) I called the CIA before 9/11

4. 50,000 excessive & unnecessary American deaths "To me much of humanity looks like an uncontrolled pack of lemmings on a suicide run
old warning email to Agent McElwee 4-10-2020 "To me much of humanity looks like an uncontrolled pack of lemmings on a suicide run." Guardian: “US could have averted 40% of Covid deaths, says panel examining Trump's policies." Estimates go from 50,000-100,000 unnecessary Am deaths
"To me much of humanity looks like an uncontrolled pack of lemmings on a suicide run. I tell you this Materialism Doctrine is utterly insane". (Karen Armstrong basically says that “secularism” (materialism) is the underlying cause for the creation of literalism and the militant Christian mobilization.

Article in Guardian: “US could have averted 40% of Covid deaths, says panel examining Trump's policies. The Christian “No Mask Madness” without question produced a very large number of disproportionately high number of Americans who died of Corona Virus than most other European countries – by all accounts. A recent article stated that one hundred thousand Americans died of the corona virus that shouldn’t have compared to the Canadian death toll from corona virus. 

An important point of order would be that nearly all of my experiences would easily fit into a category parallel to the alarm calls of animals. As Jean MacPhail, a scholar, author of A Spiral Life and a former fellow in neuropathology at Harvard University, observed, ‘My experiences are very unique!’ – in part because they relate to events outside myself, as well as being consistent with reasonable interpretations, as well as being relatively well documented.

Reflections
For perspective, I should mention first that - as Jean MacPhail, author and scholar, observes, my experiences are unique in part because my experiences are correlated with political events outside myself - as well as because my interpretations as perceptions of threats to the group are consistent - and reasonable. On top of that a dozen are documented - mostly by emails. I would add, from my research, my experiences are literally unique in that as far as detail - compared to historically documented warnings - or predictions of political events (including the Old Testament as well as Nostradamus, Jeane Dixon, and even Edgar Cayce) there is nothing even remotely comparable as far as detail or consistency. In fact
Reasonable Belief

NOT ME: Death is Superstitious Nonsense

The psychologists, William R. Miller and Carl E. Thoresen, state in their article, “Spirituality, religion and health: an emerging field of research”: “A philosophical basis for this perspective is materialism, the belief that there is nothing to study because spirituality is intangible and beyond the senses.” I would briefly mention that how a methodology – described by McGilChrist as a “rigid adherence to quantification” – which is appropriate to physics or chemistry got applied to human consciousness is mindboggling. Half of human conscious is not quantifiable: hope, true love, awe-wonder, freedom, ideals, justice, - not mention death. A version I encounter often is that one need to “Prove God” before one can have valid spiritual beliefs.

Relative to unconscious factors and influences Bargh observes, “Yet the recent advances in child social psychology, such as David Kelly’s pioneering study of the facial preferences of young infants, are starting to paint a much more pessimistic picture: that these in-group/out-group preferences may be forming much earlier in life, well before a child starts school.” (p. 69 John Bargh Before You Know It)   Bargh highlights the unconscious aspect of the human mind “Imagine for a moment that you are a psychology professor who does experiments on conscious awareness. You keep finding that your subtle manipulations of people’s judgments and even behavior are successful –causing your experimental participants to like someone or to dislike that same person, to feel happy or sad, to behave rudely or with infinite patience. However, none of your participants have a clue as to what caused them to feel or behave.”   The Unbearable Automaticity of Being, John A Bargh & Tanya L. Chartrand - p. 462 July 1999 American Psychologist) 

Maladaptive stereotype: Death is superstitious nonsense

A short while ago I happened to be talking to a Filipina college graduate. I explained the materialist argument as explained by Miller & Thompson in the NIH article – that spirituality is unreal and nonexistent because you can’t measure it. She said emphatically agreed that that is true. So, I asked her to think about “death” for a minute. Death is far beyond measurement or quantification – so then,…,…following the logic of the materialist argument then “Death would then be a figment of her imagination and “superstitious nonsense.” She did concede that a fallacy had indeed skewed her thinking – which is a major success for me. Bargh states people just really don’t want to believe that any unconscious factors could influence their thinking without their knowledge. 

Dr Stephen Farra, wrote me "Charles, I strongly agree that the Definist Fallacy (leading to a closed Materialism) is spiritual poison, and has hurt us all! Frankl writes about how a closed Naturalism leads to a suffocating Reductionism, which leads to a mental and emotional Nihilism and the kind of Moral Corruption he experienced in Auschwitz and Dachau……”

That is true. I have encountered a number of American college graduates – particularly in FB philosophy and science groups – who stated unequivocally that they would NOT read any research or studies on the health benefits to spirituality. They were absolutely convinced that spirituality is totally “unreal.” When I pointed out that you can measure people all day – and night long, that particular replied spiritual people have no physical reality. That maladaptive stereotype that6 all spirituality is unreal is so pervasive I have encountered many tell me that there is a separate “spiritual dimension” completely disconnected from the real world – parallel to the dualism of the Cathar sect from the 11th and 12th centuries One Christian woman who had psychological training said that “Spirituality is outside psychology” – that is a classic materialist argument. – and the origins of “literalism” which as Karen Armstrong resulted from the “secularism” (materialism) which also produced extremist reactions as well. Materialism and literalism emerged very roughly the same time. The French philosopher Rene Guenon argues materialism first emerged with Descartes. 

 

Studies consistently reveal somewhere from 1/3 to half of people have spiritual experiences and also that many people are literally afraid to talk about them. Jean MacPhail, author and scholar, observes my experiences are unique - in part because they relate to events outside myself and partly because the interpretations are reasonable and show consistency as perceptions of threats. This dovetails into Daryl Bem’s successful precognition experiments which emphasize instincts: “the complete database comprises 90 experiments from 33 different laboratories located in 14 different countries. A total of 12,406 individuals participated…”

Synthesis-Consensus of William James, Viktor Frankl, & Carl Jung is a life & death question. First spirituality - particularly spiritual experiences - shape peoples’ "sense of reality” Secondly, different experiences (+ culture, upbringing) create diverse worldviews - particularly in spiritual experiences

In contrast, strict materialists view "all spirituality as unreal” - which is intolerant! For example, in one FB neuroscience group a “scientist” stated that all spirituality is about “giant cosmic parrots!” In my experience, a large number of academics have that view. 

Brian Josephson, Nobel prize Welsh physicist, observes that too many scientists are fixated with the "supernatural = unreal' - rather than focus on "fruitfulness," real-world spiritual productivity-creativity, or way of life. 

An excellent illustration of fruitfulness is the spirituality of music. There are a large number of studies on the role and nature of music, J Schulkin and G Raglan observe, “Music is a fundamental part of our evolution – and functional because it facilitates “human contact” and out “social self!” 

Also, there is the spirituality of t'nalak “dream weaving” (as well as dream music) by the T'boli (and Bla’an) indigenous tribes in the Philippines. The T’boli are well-known for creativity and beauty in the t'nalak “dream weaving!” (& dream music) Then of course, there is artistic spirituality, the spirituality of compassion, love of nature, awe-wonder experiences. 

D. Death IS A Figment of Your Imagination 

As William R. Miller and Carl E. Thoresen, observe “A philosophical basis for this perspective is materialism, the belief that there is nothing to study because spirituality is intangible and beyond the senses.” However, if you apply that argument to the concept of “death” which is fare beyond being “quantifiable”, then, Death is a figment of your imagination!" This critique has had over 5,000 views on academia.edu with zero criticisms.

Problems in Sciences 

1. a Geertz's universally (Ira Chernus) accepted five part definition of religion has no "community" or social consciousness ref "Materialism as Ideology: There is no psychology of groups" https://doi.org/10.17613/s0f5-1540

b false premise: It does not follow from the materialist argument that neurons fire in the brain that there is no social consciousness 

2. After tens of thousands of years of spiritual and religious beliefs Social Sciences have no viable concept of spiritual - religious beliefs as a motivation or drive -.ref: Evolutionary Adaptive Traits: “religions, spirituality are... meaning systems.. https://doi.org/10.17613/7tv5-zq88

3.J. E Kennedy states "very little research" has been done about people. An overview of Park and Paloutzian's Handbook-reference manual. It was mostly twilight-zone spirituality  Dr Neal states she has no education in People who have experiences. DSM has NOTHING about spirituality 

Excerpt from (2018) critique of academic materialism endorsed by Dr Harold Koenig (medical researcher Duke U), Dr. Paul Wong (psychologist Emeritus and author/editor of anthology,) Dr Stephen Farra (psychologist Emeritus), & Stefan Schindler (award winning religious scholar. As a point of information, I had over 5,000 views on  academia.edu with zero criticisms - plus a few thousand on FB. The critique focused on the materialist Definist Fallacy which creates the (widespread) maladaptive stereotype 'All spirituality is unreal!' - because spirituality is beyond measurement and un-quantifiable. If you follow that line of argument then, also, it would follow that

Death is a figment of the imagination and “superstitious nonsense!" (because it also is un-quantifiable)

As, the psychologists, William R. Miller and Carl E. Thoresen, unequivocally state in their article, Spirituality, religion and health: an emerging field of research, that “A philosophical basis for this perspective is materialism, the belief that there is nothing to study because spirituality is intangible and beyond the senses.” That is a fallacy – specifically the Definist fallacy – using a “loaded term” which makes meaningful dialogue impossible.

Other serious methodological Flaws
1. false premise - no social consciousness: "There is no psychology of groups" - Allport 1927 [believe it or not] - Geertz’s universally accepted definition of religion (as Ira Chernus observes) has no concept of community or social consciousness [or no concept of "spirit" for that matter]

 
2. As Dr Neal stated she has no training in PEOPLE who have experiences. DSM has nothing about spirituality at all. J E Kennedy states "very little research" has been done on 'people.' My analysis of Park and Paloutzian's Handbook confirms that fact shows a fixation with abstractions and analyses of experiences - no information or facts about people! 

3. Selfish Gene Theory (Dawkins) “Limited form of altruism” Vs. Genetic Compassion & the Battle of the Somme: "a gene can achieve its own selfish goals best by fostering a limited form of altruism at the level of individual animals." 

In truth, Academic materialism is founded on a number of false premises, fallacies, & maladaptive stereotypes. is NOT Science - it is a cult! Plus, the materialist mindset has created a severe researcher bias - as in the flaws, etc. above.

Point of order: I filed complaints with the DOJ against Kaiser Permanente with the DOJ. The U.S. Department of Justice accepted my complaints # 83404-WLP, 83404; 95500, 91650, 91569, 90778. What I found especially offensive (which I communicated in 5 internal complaints) is that they accepted and condoned a virulently anti-spiritual fallacy-maladaptive stereotype that "all spirituality is unreal. The KP doctors Dr Davis, Dr Neal, the board of doctors, as well as member services blew it off completely and utterly. Since 2020 I no response which in itself is ignorant and abusive. Dr De Paulo (JHU), Dr P Perez (effectively) explicitly conveyed that "all transcendental spirituality is psychosis. For the record, mood disorder has been my diagnosis since 2000 - (including Dr. Neal.

Excerpt form my profile on academia.edu

A New Spirituality - as intelligence, problem solving, & making sense of the world w/ motivation, meaning-synthesis, w. relational-connectivity & community, social consciousness - Emmons, Easterling, K Adams, B Hyde, J Parker, J MacPhail, Hay, D. Thomas, + Dr Koenig (medical research meta-analyses), K. Pargament, Dr. P Wong, Dr. S Farra, S Schindler & Dr I Visuri - not in mainstream psychology

The synthesis of Frankl,, Jung, and William James that spiritual experiences can create a sense of reality & meaning which also emphasizes that different experiences create different viewpoints.

Highlights of 40 years of personal spiritual-psychic experiences - 6 documented dreams + 6 'waking' experiences - comparatively unprecedented & exceptional. J MacPhail,. author-scholar, observes my experiences are unique - in part because they are correlated with political events & have consistent interpretations as perceptions of threats to groups - like animal alarm calls.- as reactions to stimulus vs “crystal ball": perception - dovetails w/ D Bem's repeated precognition (90) experiments w/ 12,000 subjects & highlight instincts

The 1981 notarized warning to the FBI of a Weathermen terrorist attack (Brink's case) is very detailed (group with money, fabricates bombs woman, New York, identify “nightmare" from their manifest0.. Most recent, a 10-30-20 email to FBI agent McElwee I warned of a "domestic terrorist" bomb threat (Nashville bombing).

What got me visibility were my 2017 letters to the embassies of America’s allies and in February-March, 2017 In the letter to the Canadian embassy I stated: "I read an article which said that Trump’s envoy to the United Nations was going to “take names” and dictate terms to the nations of the world. That is an utter disgrace - Americans can be downright arrogant. Some Americans think they have all the power and all the answers. The truth of it is they don't even have the right question"

 An article in the Indy 100, Independent (July 30, 2020), stated “Trump accused of 'near-sadistic' bullying of Angela Merkel for 'vicious attacks' in private phone call” Like many Americans I find the politicization of Christ and Trump’s Racism offensive. An essay that lists documented problems is "Question of academic freedom”

Excerpt from (2018) critique of academic materialism (see Dr S Farra's essay) endorsed by Dr Harold Koenig (medical researcher Duke U), Dr. Paul Wong (psychologist Emeritus and author/editor of anthology,) Dr Stephen Farra (psychologist Emeritus), & Stefan Schindler (award winning religious scholar. As a point of information, I had over 5,000 views on academia.edu with zero criticisms - plus a few thousand on FB. 

The critique focused on the materialist Definist Fallacy which creates the (widespread) maladaptive stereotype 'All spirituality is unreal!' - because spirituality is beyond measurement and un-quantifiable. William R. Miller and Carl E. Thoresen, observe that “A philosophical basis for this perspective is materialism, the belief that there is nothing to study because spirituality is intangible and beyond the senses.” So, if you apply that to death which is not quantifiable, then. Death as well as spirituality is a figment of your imagination and “superstitious nonsense!"

Other serious shortcomings

1. false premise - "There is no psychology of groups (Allport) - Geertz’s definition of religion has no concept of community or spirit 

2. Dr Neal stated she has no education or training in people who have experiences. DSM has nothing about spirituality. J. E Kennedy states "very little research" has been done about people. My analysis of Park and Paloutzian's Handbook confirms that.- focused entirely on abstractions and analyses of experiences - no people 

Academic materialism is a system is founded on a number of false premises, fallacies, & maladaptive stereotypes - which makes it a cult (Rev13:12). The Materialist Mindset (Mannheim) creates a researcher bias. 

I filed complaints with the DOJ against Kaiser Permanente  The U.S. Department of Justice has accepted my complaints # 83404-WLP, 83404; 95500, 91650, 91569, 90778 much of the dispute centered on the Definist fallacy and my endorsed critique of materialism. Basically they accepted and condoned a virulently anti-spiritual fallacy and stereotype. KP board of doctors, Dr Davis, Dr Neal & member services blew it off. Dr De Paulo & Dr. P Perez (effectively) referred to my beliefs. Dr De Paulo conveyed that all transcendental spirituality is psychosis - including autistic spirituality, dreams of deceased ("not uncommon") & grieving Mood disorder has been my official diagnosis since 2000) 

My social security address is 700 Port St Easton, MD - In May 2023 KP cut all my medical Medicare benefits because I don't have a Maryland address.- In my view retaliation for complaints I filed & reply by DOJ complaint on this: DOJ 293169-VXT from the Special Litigation Section DOJ is reviewing   

“Sooner or later man will have to return to himself, even if from the stars. All this that is happening now is an extreme form of escapism, because it is easier to reach Mars than to find oneself. If man doesn’t find himself, then he faces the greatest of dangers: his own annihilation. - Carl Jung

“The atheist ideology found a powerful ally in materialist science, which by the end of the nineteenth century, portrayed a purposeless, unconscious, mechanical universe where humans, like all life, had evolved without purpose or guidance. In this godless world [devoid of spirituality], humanity would take charge of it own evolution, bringing economic development, brotherhood, health, and prosperity to all mankind through progress.” (p.157) “Atheism is a purifying fire. It burns up religious hypocrisy, corruption, laziness, and pretention. But its scorched earth policy may leave many people spiritually hungry, thirsty, and isolated. (p.164)” Alfred Rupert Sheldrake (born in 1942) is an author, and scientist who worked as a biochemist at Cambridge University from 1967 to 1973.

K Lagdameo-Santillan emphatically states that: “According to Professor Enriquez, Kapwa is the “unity of the one-of-us-and-the-other”……. He maintained that “Kapwa implied moral and normative aspects that obliged a person to treat one another as fellow human being and therefore as equal.”…….. But he also foresaw that this Filipino core value was threatened by spreading Western influences. “…once AKO (the I) starts thinking of himself as separate from KAPWA, the Filipino ‘self’ gets to be individuated as in the Western sense…” Professor Virgilio Enriquez, founder of Sikolohiyang Pilipino. 

David Hay emphasizes that “As a result of the cultural construction of an extreme individualism which is particularly evident in the Western world, there has been a `forgetting’ of relational consciousness/spirituality [i.e. kapwa] resulting in damaging effects to the texture of human community.” Hays quotes C.B. MacPherson, [who] charges Hobbes with creating the doctrine on which bourgeois liberal society still operates, or as he calls it `the theory of possessive individualism’ (Macpherson, 1962) That is still academic induced materialist-political norms and ideology which are still ongoing.

What David Hays talks about is actually a classic illustration of Mannheim's Paradox. Karl Mannheim (1893 – 1947), a founding sociologist is perhaps best known for his book Ideology and Utopia, as well as for articulating the Mannheim Paradox. Mannheim argued that essentially ideologies and the values built into those ideologies underlie social norms and beliefs. Furthermore, that these ideologies have a profound effect on philosophical, artistic, humanitarian expressions and theories. The Mannheim Paradox stated that the ideological views of the political scientist or sociologist will skew the views and understandings of other ideologies to the point that objective analysis would be impossible. In this particular situation, the political rational individualism which produced the revolutionary democratic and clerical reforms during the Age of Enlightenment got transplanted from the political environment into the social environment - with dire consequences.   

In the article “Does a narcissism epidemic exist in modern western societies? Comparing narcissism and self-esteem in East and West Germany.” The authors Aline Vater, Steffen Moritz, and Stefan Roepke observe that studies consistently show that “Narcissism scores are higher in individualistic cultures compared with more collectivistic cultures.” The study did reveal that West Germans (with a more prominent western-materialist culture vs the communist collective culture) had higher scores for the mental illness of narcissism. The authors observe that “The development of personality traits is closely related to the cultural environment …. Individualistic cultures encourage a stronger focus on the self, whereas collectivistic cultures emphasize the importance of social values. Narcissism contains a strong focus on the self, accompanied by a high need for admiration, and grandiose fantasies….” It would seem an inevitable conclusion that the "academic materialist" ideology in western society – which has no scientific basis (as Dr Farra point out) - is generating a lot of mentally ill people. 

 

“Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.”      - Voltaire

Excerpt from a critique of materialism - endorsed by four prominent psychologists (originally 2018) - should shed light on the situation

Preface - Endorsements & Qualifications: 

1. Dr. Paul Wong: prominent author, researcher, and theorist, as well as existential-positive psychologist stated about this essay, "Your letter to a congressman needs to be published somewhere.!" 

2. Dr. Harold Koenig, a medical doctor-psychiatrist and a well published author and researcher stated about this article: "Charlie – makes perfect sense to me, and very nice letter right on target! HK

3. Stefan Schindler, an award-winning author, and retired psychology-philosophy professor responded to my question: "Would you say the argument about the "methodological flaw" is correct" by stating, "Yes, correct!" And a Maryland University Psychology Professor stated "getting the message out"

4. Dr. Stephen Farra: Recently - International University Emeritus, Psychology, who stated unequivocally that the "Definist Fallacy (leading to a closed Materialism) is spiritual poison, and has hurt us all!" As a point of information, Dr. Paul Wong confirmed specifically that the Definist Fallacy is in fact a Fallacy! 

Why is the Definist Fallacy-maladaptive stereotype important: Giant Cosmic Parrots: Academic Ignorant abusive comments 

 First, I would state that FB is different from LinkedIn. FB science, philosophy and psychology groups can only be described, in my view, as horrifically sick, ignorant and abusive. In response to rather generic posts I get sick and abusive comments - like "mental illness", Santa clause. etc., etc. A good illustration would be a post about body-mind-spirit on an anthropology group. The essay quoted Dr Harold Koenig, a well-known medical researcher and described the early cultures of Hawaii and Polynesia and in early Native American culture. A comment by a member of the group asked, "When are you going to stop posting "woo?" [s**t]

   

These academic materialists actually believe their stupid ignorance is scientific

What makes these comments by college graduates including neuroscientists frightening is that the "educated" people making these comments actually believe that their intolerant, ignorant, and abusive statements are fully backed and supported by "Science"! How could they believe that? To paraphrase John Bargh, the scholar and researcher of the unconscious, "Stereotypes rule and cognitive processes drool"! That is the Definist Fallacy is a widespread "assumption" in academia - and that generates the maladaptive stereotype that "All spirituality is unreal" - and therefore unscientific - which is false. That is facilitated by the fixation with the supernatural by scientists (as observed by Brian Josephson) which has successfully "pegged" all spirtuality as "supernatural" and therefore unnatural and unreal.   

   

1. The most obnoxious comment was by a neuroscientist who stated on my post which was fairly generic post about spirituality and didn't even mention spiritual-psychic experiences: “please keep the religious drivel to religious channels, this is science and science by its very nature only deals with the material - what can be observed and measured. It serves no practical use of time to hypothesize whether giant cosmic parrots travelling from higher dimensions are responsible for anything because unless one flies into our view there’s no way to prove it.” Two other neuroscientists posted similar comments on that post.

2. This comment reveals the incredible arrogance of much of academia today. Esther is the administrator for a "neuroscience" FB group, and she sent me a message stating, “Esther ************ Charles Peck Jr "there are theorists from years ago who were not as scientific as more modern theorists. That is because we follow the scientific method and therefore our theories are raised from scientific deduction through the empirical method. Our practices today are not just cooked up in simple observations or hearsay. Practices and approaches are not philosophies but scientifically repeatable theories and laws (not just hunches and hypothesis). As for the notion that spirituality is “nonsense,”

3. . Towbridge on a FB Neuroscience group. Spirits don't exist. Promoting spirituality is promoting falsehoods. Accepting falsehoods leads to poor decisions. So, if people biologically tend to have "spiritual" explanations, we should merely do everything possible to overcome that tendency, not excuse it because it's "natural". This was a response to a post about the spirituality of autism. What makes that comment particularly ignorant is that the spirituality is literally hardwired into their brains. There were three other really stupid comments by neuroscientists on the same post. I did have 13 likes on the post. While when it comes to human consciousness nothing is black and white, from research and experience, I believe it would be safe to say that probably half of academic social scientists believe that “There is no spirituality” – which is flagrantly and blatantly so far removed from anything scientific as to be sickening.   

4. David – a comment on my Different Functions of Religion Essay on academia.edu stated, “"Spirit" refers to some kind of disembodied personhood, or else it refers to something that already has a name. Compassion, full of wonder, awed, etc. have nothing to do with "spirit." "Spirit" as a sloppy synonym for such purely human, purely natural emotions should not exist in a scientific discourse about society or humanity”

5. I did my own field - mini-study of academic prejudices. I posted an essay on philosophy - science group. This was the core part of the essay

 A Short List of Meta-Analyses of Studies into How Spirituality Affects Health

In a section titled Evaluating The Spiritual Pathways, Kenneth Pargament asks: How well does it work? Literally hundreds of research studies have addressed this question. The vast majority of the research on the efficacy of spiritual pathways has focused on their psychological, social and physical effects. In perhaps the most comprehensive review of this literature, Harold Koenig, Michael McCullough, and David Larson (2001) concluded that, in the majority of studies, measures of religious and spiritual beliefs, practices, relationships, and experiences are correlated with:

 

Well-Being, happiness and life satisfaction

Hope and optimism

Purpose and meaning in life

Higher self esteem

Greater social support and less loneliness

Lower rates of depression Lower rates of suicide

Less anxiety

Less psychosis

Lower rates of alcohol and drug use

Less delinquency and criminal activity

Greater marital stability and satisfaction

The question I asked was: Shouldn't scientists reviews studies of spirituality before rendering judgment? I was shocked when the answer I got from perhaps a dozen members was "No, they should not read studies of spirituality!"    

The answer I got was is that spirituality is "unreal" I pointed out to one member that spiritual people are people - and real people can be studied from dawn to dusk. The member responded - "Spiritual people have no physical reality!"  

Conclusions: When you talk to these people what is horrifically shocking is these college graduates actually believe what they are saying is fully backed by “SCIENCE” It is clear that that belief is generated by the stereotype that “All spirituality is unreal because you can’t quantify it – which is a fallacy. To paraphrase Bargh (perhaps a bit over-simplistic) – “Stereotypes rule and reason drools” The “All spirituality is unreal” maladaptive stereotypes is pervasive. I have encountered for example a Christian woman trained in psychology who told me that spirituality is outside psychology – a classic materialist argument.

For perspective Medical Guidelines for dealing with spirituality

Here are the Mayo Clinic guidelines for medical professionals to deal with spirituality: “Studies have shown that addressing the spiritual needs of the patient may enhance recovery from illness. Discerning, acknowledging, and supporting the spiritual needs of patients can be done in a straightforward and noncontroversial manner. Furthermore, many sources of spiritual care (eg, chaplains) are available to clinicians to address the spiritual needs of patients. Mayo Clin Proc. 2001;76:1225-1235 The medical guidelines all say the same thing – basically – that spiritual beliefs should be treated with respect.

II. Death is a Figment of Your Imagination

When an Academic Abstraction is More Important than a Human Being

The psychologists, William R. Miller and Carl E. Thoresen, unequivocally state in their article, Spirituality, religion and health: an emerging field of research, that “A philosophical basis for this perspective is materialism, the belief that there is nothing to study because spirituality is intangible and beyond the senses.” That is a fallacy – specifically the Definist fallacy – using a “loaded term” which makes meaningful dialogue impossible. 

The classic argument is that because you can't measure spirit or God, therefore all spirituality is unreal and so all spiritual and religious are fantasy and superstitious nonsense. Death of course is not quantifiable - so by the same argument "Death would be a figment of your imagination and superstitious nonsense. The materialist argument has no merit. My argument is that "Spiritual people are people!"  I feel sure that argument will stand the test of time!     

Definition of Definist Fallacy. 

One definition of the Definist Fallacy explains it as defining a term used in an argument in a biased manner (e.g., using "loaded terms") One example cited is "Before we argue about the truth of creationism, let’s define evolution as, “Faith in a crackpot theory that is impossible to prove with certainty.” In a nutshell using a Definist Fallacy creates a situation in which any true or honest dialogue is impossible. 

The methodological question posed by "Academic Materialist Doctrine" in their maxim that one need to “Prove God” before one can have valid spiritual beliefs is currently an ongoing problem and an extremely salient question - as an article recently published on the Pubmed site on the NIH website clearly demonstrates. The psychologists, William R. Miller and Carl E. Thoresen, unequivocally state in their article, Spirituality, religion and health: an emerging field of research, that “A philosophical basis for this perspective is materialism, the belief that there is nothing to study because spirituality is intangible and beyond the senses.” 

Time after time, I was told I can’t talk about spirt or spirituality until I prove the existence of “spirit” or “God!” Due to my personal spiritual-psychic experiences, when I came across that, my reaction was: "You can't be serious! Prove God? That is a preposterous idea and a really stupid question - to be blunt!" 

As a point of order, this question has nothing at all to do with "God"! And it has Nothing to do with beliefs, either. The question is solely and entirely about scientific methodology. The question is about how a blatant Fallacy like that could exist in "science" - especially since that maladaptive norm as Bargh would say, conveys the message that spiritual beliefs are inherently worthless!

Supreme Court Justice Rehnquist and the Academic Definist Fallacy

Excerpts from the article: Logical Fallacies and the Supreme Court: A Critical Analysis of Justice Rehnquist's Decisions in Criminal Procedure Cases University of Colorado Law Review, Vol. 59, p. 741, 1988; University of Memphis Legal Studies Research Paper No. 41 104 Pages Posted: 2 Jul 2010 Last revised: 15 Oct 2012 Andrew Jay McClurg University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law Date Written: July 2, 2010

Abstract: Using former U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist’s opinions in criminal procedures cases as a contextual showcase, the author explores the nature and extent to which even U.S. Supreme Court justices, members of the world’s most powerful tribunal, resort to regularly employing rhetorical tricks and otherwise logically fallacious reasoning in their opinion-writing.

A logical fallacy is a type of incorrect argument, and the study of fallacies is a sub-species of logic. A fallacious argument is one that appears to be correct and which may be very persuasive, but which proves on closer examination to be logically invalid. Examples range from the familiar (e.g., begging the question, straw man arguments) to the esoteric (e.g., ignoratio elenchi, undistributed middle term).

This article, which has been assigned as required reading at national judicial conferences, examines more than twenty categories of both formal and informal logical fallacies and applies them to Justice Rehnquist’s criminal procedure opinions as concrete examples of how “crooked thinking” permeates persuasive writing even at its highest level of sophistication

I must say in forty years I have never encountered a psychologist or psychiatrist who made even the slightest effort to follow those guidelines. – None, Zilch, Zip, Zero! Btu Dr Neal and Kaiser Permanente were THE worst - by far. Effectively they told me that I could take my beliefs and go f**k myself. Not even “I can understand how you feel” Nada! 

So, I filed a complaint against Dr. Neal and Kaiser Permanente with the Department of Justice. Surprisingly, the U.S. Department of Justice has accepted my complaint # 83404-WLP and launched an investigation. The DOJ also accepted complaint #'s 83404; 95500, 91650, 91569, 90778 – They explained in detail how the Definist Fallacy causes serious misunderstandings and cause prejudice and outright ignorance at times. My sense of it is that the DOJ accepted my complaints more because Rehnquist has made fallacies a legal issue in and of themselves. 

Reflections 

 Definist Fallacy is Spiritual Poison - Dr Stephen Farra Columbia International University Emeritus, Psychology [Also, Dr. Paul Wong sent me an email stating the "Prove God Norm-Fallacy" is wrong as well! 

"Charles, I strongly agree that the Definist Fallacy (leading to a closed Materialism) is spiritual poison, and has hurt us all! Frankl writes about how a closed Naturalism leads to a suffocating Reductionism, which leads to a mental and emotional Nihilism and the kind of Moral Corruption he experienced in Auschwitz and Dachau. We have bodies and brains, but within those bodies and brains, we develop transcendent Souls, and self-transcendent Spirits. We potentially have great freedom and flexibility. On all this, I think we agree."

I would say materialists have proved Dr Farra right in spades - "Don't you have a church to go to?? Spirituality has no place in science!"

Talk about prejudice:  "Don't you have a church to go to?? Spirituality has no place in science!" come from? In a Religion FB group a member stated bluntly: "Don't you have a church to go to?? Spirituality has no place in science at all!" What that individual was saying is that my spiritual beliefs are so worthless - such superstitious nonsense - they are not even worthy of scientific inquiry. How did this come about? First, for the record, I need to state categorically that this question has absolutely Nothing to do with belief - it is a question of true or false and right or wrong - simple as that. 

A brief outline of my complaints filed against Kaiser Permanente.
The U.S. Department of Justice has accepted my complaint # 83404-WLP as well as 83404; 95500, 91650, 91569, 90778 – They explained in detail how the Definist Fallacy causes serious misunderstandings and cause prejudices, misunderstandings, and outright ignorance at times. The complaint was filed against Kaiser Permanente – who had basically told me – to take my beliefs and go screw myself. I filed 5 or internal complaints with KP stating how offensive I find their acceptance and approval of a fallacy which is a destructive maladaptive stereotype if there ever was one. 

An article recently published on the Pubmed site on the NIH website clearly demonstrates the prevalence and academic reality of the Definist Fallacy. The psychologists, William R. Miller and Carl E. Thoresen, unequivocally state in their article, Spirituality, religion and health: an emerging field of research, that “A philosophical basis for this perspective is materialism, the belief that there is nothing to study because spirituality is intangible and beyond the senses.” Another form of that argument I often come across is that you have to prove God or Spirit before your spiritual or religious beliefs are valid.

It is such a prevalent maladaptive stereotype that in talking with a “Christian” woman who had psychological training she told me that spirituality is not part of psychology – that spirituality is unreal. The spirituality of compassion has been – is – and will continue to be very real. For perspective if you envision the spirituality of compassion as a phenomenon similar to autism then you only need 1.5% of the population to have the spirituality of compassion to be a true phenomenon. The materialist argument is an abstraction. Yet, when – one member in a philosophy and science group told me spiritual experiences are unreal, I asked him – “What about spiritual people? They are real!” – his response was that “spiritual people have no physical reality!” -= literally! And the materialist argument is only an abstraction. So, I personally don’t put a lot of faith in abstractions, or concepts.

Email I received from the DOJ.

DOJ Email "Dear Charles Peck Jr, You contacted the Department of Justice on July 1, 2021. Your report number is 83404-WLP. The Civil Rights Division relies on information from community members to identify potential civil rights violations. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement agencies are investigating for the Division. Therefore, you can contact your local FBI office or visit………

Definition of Definist Fallacy.

One definition of the Definist Fallacy explains it as defining a term used in an argument in a biased manner (e.g., using "loaded terms") One example cited is "Before we argue about the truth of creationism, let’s define evolution as, “Faith in a crackpot theory that is impossible to prove with certainty.” In a nutshell using a Definist Fallacy creates a situation in which any true or honest dialogue is impossible.

There is good news and bad news. - thought I would start with the bad news.

I am on a tourist visa in the Philippines. Kaiser Permanente my medical organization refused service because my address is not in Maryland - no medical advice at all, no questions on prescriptions which they prescribed - no access to medical tests - no nothing. I mean Nothing! Three different resources within Kaiser Permanente sent Dr. Amy Elizabeth Bernardino, DO (at Annapolis KP office) messages explaining I was in distress due to a lack of my ulceritis colitis medicine which I couldn't find in General Santos. She failed to return the call. - a hypocrite if there ever was one. Yet according to social security and the IRS my official address is my mothers house in Easton Maryland. I did have messages sent on the KP message system (also from Dr Sloane - who also said in spite of a 2016 colonoscopy she, as my gastrointestinal doctor was not treating me for ulceritis colitis) stating exactly that - that there will be no communication at all because my address is not in Maryland.  The bottom line is I am cut off completely from any medical advice or care of any kind.

Carole, an academic connection (well published sociology professor) said she hopes I have a good attorney. Susan a friend of mine and community legislator said - "Pray for them, they are lost." When I told Jen a (really good commercial) painter friend-connection that an attorney intake administrator said her law firm might be able to help me., she replied, "Well good for you!  I hope she hits them hard."

Preamble:  These are the Mayo clinic guidelines

Studies have shown that addressing the spiritual needs of the patient may enhance recovery from illness. Discerning, acknowledging, and supporting the spiritual needs of patients can be done in a straightforward and noncontroversial manner. Furthermore, many sources of spiritual care (eg, chaplains) are available to clinicians to address the spiritual needs of patients. Mayo Clin Proc. 2001; 76:1225-1235

The role of spirituality in health care

Christina M. Puchalski, MD, MS1

Spiritual or compassionate care involves serving the whole person—the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual. Such service is inherently a spiritual activity. As these patients deal with issues of transcendence, they need someone to be present with them and support them in this process. We need to advocate for systems of care in which that can happen [i.e. death]. Patients who are spiritual may utilize their beliefs in coping with illness, pain, and life stresses. Some studies indicate that those who are spiritual tend to have a more positive outlook and a better quality of life [i.e. cancer]... One study showed that spiritual well-being was related to the ability to enjoy life even in the midst of symptoms, including pain [Roy Baumeister notes that studies show "meaning" can reduce pain]. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, The American College of Physicians, The John Templeton Foundation, and the AAMC all advocate spirituality as a very salient factor in health and positive thinking. The AAMC's definition of spirituality is a broad one:

Spirituality is recognized as a factor that contributes to health in many persons. The concept of spirituality is found in all cultures and societies. It is expressed in an individual's search for ultimate meaning through participation in religion and/or belief in God, family, naturalism, rationalism, humanism, and the arts. All of these factors can influence how patients and health care professionals perceive health and illness and how they interact with one another (30).

This is what the guidelines are - in my forty years of experience these are empty promises and worthless window dressing.

Setting the Stage

 

The highlights of my 40 years of [unprecedented & exceptional] spiritual-psychic experiences are 6 documented dreams + 6 'waking' experiences. Jean MacPhail,. author & scholar, observes my experiences are unique - in part because they are correlated with political events & have consistent interpretations as perceptions of threats to groups - like animal alarm calls. These experiences are clearly reactions to stimulus vs “crystal ball": perception & dovetail w/ D Bem's successful repeated precognition experiments - 90 experiments w/ 12,000 + subjects) highlighting instincts

The 1981 notarized warning to the FBI of the imminent Weathermen terrorist attack (Brink's case) is very detailed (group with money, fabricates bombs woman, New York, identify “nightmare" from their manifest0.. Most recently, my 10-30-20 email to FBI agent McElwee warned of a "domestic terrorist" bomb threat = Nashville bombing. For the record, God did state "Academic Materialism is stupid as s**t" Being Irish I replied, "God - Don't take this the wrong way, but I already figured that out!"

What got me visibility were my letters to the embassies of America’s allies and in February-March, 2017 In the letter to the Canadian embassy I stated: "I read an article which said that Trump’s envoy to the United Nations was going to “take names” and dictate terms to the nations of the world. That is an utter disgrace - Americans can be downright arrogant. Some Americans think they have all the power and all the answers. The truth of it is they don't even have the right question" An article in the Indy 100, Independent (July 30, 2020), stated “Trump accused of 'near-sadistic' bullying of Angela Merkel for 'vicious attacks' in private phone call”

Prejudices among "professionals"

In spite of the fact that I have a dozen or so documented experiences all with reasonable interpretations, in spite of the fact that Jean MacPhail - author and scholar - observes my experiences are unique; in spite of the fact that Dr. Paul Wong acknowledges the reality of my experiences and says in the end they will play out in my benefit (I am not holding my breath); in spite of the fact that Dr Stephen Farra, a psychologist Emeritus, thinks my analyses are well thought out; in spite of the fact that there is a consensus between William James, Carl Jung, and Viktor Frankl that different experiences create different worldviews; in spite of the fact that the well-known categorization indicates that unusual experiences would be categorized  as unusual; in spite of the fact that modern research into physics indicates that "time travel" is theoretically possible (Hawkings),

I have had several American psychiatrists who have told me my experiences and beliefs (in the Holy Spirit) are psychosis - especially Dr Ray De Paulo at Johns Hopkins University as well as Dr. Philip Perez but to include (via their actions as opposed to verbal statements) Dr. Stacey Neal and Dr Davis at Kaiser Permanente.  Dr Ray De Paulo, a prominent psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins (1st in psychiatry - eh) - conveyed - deliberately - that "All Transcendental spirituality is psychosis" I emailed him several times objecting but got no response.

How bad did it get?

Imagine you have an established track record of giving (precognitive warnings) and realizing that thousands of Americans are going to die. You call the FBI and CIA, and warn them best you can (I did call the Central Intelligence Agency – as well as the FBI Washington D.C. headquarters). Then you watch on TV as thousands of Americans die. I was at work when it started. My boss pulled in a TV to watch. I walked out – couldn’t watch

Then - when I go public with my story - my (no ex) Lutheran wife starts attacking my be1iefs. The more I criticized psychology the more my ex attacked. I do have PTSD (according to NIH published article and a report by Dr Neal)  Finally one day, while I was in the middle of a PTSD episode my ex literally got in my face and tells you that you are a failure because I called the CIA.  Even though, I was in the middle of a PTSD episode. Even so, I was the one that retreated to the bedroom. My ex followed me into the bedroom and knocked the phone out of my hand. My ex bragged constantly about how she had native American ancestry. My son's DNA Personally, I think my Lutheran (now ex) wife never believed a word I said and was just using me as a meal ticket in retrospect.

In the last three years I have not received a Christmas card or father’s day card from my two oldest children. In spite of consistent diagnoses as mood disorder (including Dr Neal) since roughly 2000, my daughter and others started saying my documented experiences and beliefs are psychosis.  It is a fact that these professionals condone – and encourage – the degradation and vilification of my spiritual and religious beliefs.  I don't expect a medal but the vilification of and degradation of that experience  clearly shows how sick and ignorant psychology and psychiatry are when it specifically comes to transcendental spirituality. Dr Neal stated that at Johns Hopkins she (nor any psychiatrists from my research) had any training in people. There is nothing in the psychiatric diagnostic manual at all about spirituality - not the spirituality of grieving, not the spirituality of children (i.e. children do have parents die), the spirituality of autistics - no nothing. 

The KP situation is infuriating because the doctors have clearly demonstrated no concern - zero - for serious methodology flaws and destructive fallacies and maladaptive stereotypes. In my view it is clear KP and Johns Hopkins are anti-spiritual - simple as that - with forethought and malice in my view.

Research for perspective

The tragic events of 9/11 brought a flurry of cases to the attention of parapsychology labs. The cases ranged from dramatic dreams of airplanes crashing or exploding to the more frequent examples of unusual departures from normal routines that ended up saving someone’s life.  Encounters at the Frontiers of Time: Questions Raised by Anomalous Human Experiences Richard S. Broughton

I am very cynical of "professionals" and academics, to be honest. I think the recent refusal to serve me is retaliation for complaints filed with the DOJ against Kaiser Permanente for abuse. My testimony is that the psychiatrists I have encountered from  Johns Hopkins and Kaiser Permanente are downright ignorant and actually hateful about spirituality - vicious in my view. Excerpt from a critique of materialism - endorsed by four prominent psychologists (originally 2018) - a bit long

The Good News!

I. New Psychology of Spirituality - as intelligence, problem solving, relational-connectivity, community and social consciousness w/ perspective - spirituality as synthesis, way of life, motivation, meaning, & making sense of the world, + structure: Emmons, Easterling, K Adams, B Hyde, J Parker, J MacPhail, Hay, D. Thomas, + Dr Koenig (medial research meta-analyses), K. Pargament, Dr. P Wong, Dr. S Farra, S Schindler & Dr I Visuri (autistic spirituality)

                NOT in DSM or APA manuals

II.  Overview of Spirituality

Adams and Hyde observe that “Spirituality is a natural human predisposition …. and concerns a person’s sense of connectedness with self, others, and the world (or cosmos). For some people, connectedness with a Transcendent dimension is a part of spirituality …. that spirituality involves a deep-down awareness of one’s relationship with one’s self, and with everything that is other than one’s self…. spirituality as a type of intelligence…. One hallmark feature of intelligence concerns the ability to solve problems.

III.   New Integrative Approach: Synthesis-Consensus of Frankl, Jung, and W. James: Spiritual Experiences Generate Meaning & a Sense of Reality

These perspectives of grief psychologists are consistent with the of Synthesis Consensus of Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung and William James - or the "New Integrative Approach" as Dr. Paul Wong termed it. Dr. Paul Wong elaborates on Viktor Frankl's views: "The noetic (spiritual, specifically human) dimension contains such qualities as our will to meaning [Frankl's central concept of the human being's primary drive] our goal orientation, ideas and ideals, creativity, imagination, faith, love that goes beyond the physical, a conscience beyond the superego, self-transcendence, commitments, responsibility, a sense of humor, and the freedom of choice making."

William James framework for spiritual experiences is perhaps most relevant to grieving for two reasons. First William James emphasizes “They [abstractions (symbols) and spiritual emotions-experiences] determine our vital attitude as decisively as the vital attitude of lovers is determined by the habitual sense,……if you do have them, and have them at all strongly, the probability is that you cannot help regarding them as genuine perceptions of truth, as revelations of a kind of reality [my underlining] which no adverse argument, however unanswerable by you in words, can expel from your belief" (P.47) William James goes on to say that religious experiences and spiritual experiences create and generate a “sense of reality” (p.48) So, in light of the fact that spiritual experiences are often involve highly charged emotions and also tend to shape a sense of reality, as well as the fact that grief is primarily about attachment and emotions it would make sense that spiritual experiences in the grieving processes could reshape and facilitate resolving the grieving  (William James' classic work, originally published in 1902, The Varieties of Religious Experiences.)

IV     Spiritual Intelligence - A view that dovetails into the New Integrative Approach: Kate Adams, Lincoln Brendan Hyde

SPIRITUALITY, SPIRITUAL INTELLIGENCE, AND DREAMS

Spirituality is a natural human predisposition (e.g., Hay & Nye, 2006; O’Murchu, 1997, 2000). It is more primal than institutional religion (James, 1901/ 1977; Maslow, 1970; Tacey, 2000) and concerns a person’s sense of connectedness with self, others, and the world (or cosmos). For some people, connectedness with a Transcendent dimension is a part of spirituality (Bosacki, 2001; Elton-Chalcraft, 2002; Fisher, 1999; Hyde, 2004; Tacey, 2003). Hay and Nye (2006) argue that spirituality involves a deep-down awareness of one’s relationship with one’s self, and with everything that is other than one’s self.

It is possible to conceive of spirituality as a type of intelligence (Emmons, 1999, 2000; Hyde, 2003, 2004; Kwilecki, 2000; Zohar & Marshall, 2000). One hallmark feature of intelligence concerns the ability to solve problems (Ruzgis & Grigorenko, 1994; Walters & Gardner, 1986). Zohar and Marshall (2000) define spiritual intelligence as the mental aptitude used by human beings to address and find solutions to problems of meaning and value in life. In drawing on discourse arising from theories of motivation and personality, Emmons (1999) further suggests that people are able to use spiritual resources to solve problems: The adaptive processing of spiritual information is a part of intelligence, and individual differences in the skills with which such processing occurs constitute core features of personality. Spirituality can serve as a source of information to individuals, and, as a function of interests and aptitudes, individuals become more or less skilled at processing this information (p. 163). (Children’s Grief Dreams and the Theory of Spiritual Intelligence: Kate Adams Bishop Grosseteste University College Lincoln Brendan Hyde Australian Catholic University)

                                                                                                             

Jeremiah the Prophet (reworked) - Prophecy as Force, "Community" and "social consciousness" + New three stage Paradigm for Prophecy w/ Different Perspective Plus prophecy as social consciousness in light of Barton

The ideal of the prophets is not a church or congregation of worshiping believers, but a community, society, or state of god like men and women living in love and truth together under the Messiah as king, who is filled with the spirit of God, exercising justice and judgment toward the poor and helpless (Isa. 9: I-7; I1: 1-5)

Preamble: social consciousness perspective on spirituality

American Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” As a point of order I would highlight that these assumptions are not strictly quantifiable in the sense of materialist methodology – and further that much of human consciousness is beyond strict materialist methodology

In that light I would emphasize that it would seem a self-evident truth that “society” could not possibly even exist at all without “social consciousness!” However, when I asked a psychology student if she had ever heard of “social consciousness”, she replied, “No!” Geertz’s “universally accepted” (according to Chernus) five-part definition of religion does not include either community or “spirit” for that matter. Yet, any objective or reasonable assessment of religion would highlight the characteristic of religions as groups, or communities as being incredibly salient characteristics. It would also appear an inescapable conclusion that the “teachings” of religions would dorm – being norms – a social consciousness. In |Social psychology the “norm” since Allport in 1927 is that “There is no psychology of groups!”

As a point of order, I should not have essays posts removed – or just not posted at all – on FB simply because I bring up social consciousness - or spirituality – which are not only valid questions – but excellent questions – which has been happening – a lot on psychology anthropology and even Jungian FB groups. Many of my essays are recommended by PhD’s such as Dr S Farra and Dr. P Wong, or “highlighted” by Dr. I Visuri. In my view that is unprofessional, prejudicial, and discriminatory harassment 

Preface: Definition of prophecy by Mirriam-Webster

1: an inspired utterance of a prophet

2: the function or vocation of a prophet (specifically : the inspired declaration of divine will and purpose)

3: a prediction of something to come

 

(4.) To this prophecy as social justice needs to be added – being a common and very relevant theme of Christian leaders and theologians

 

 

THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS AS SOCIAL REFORMERS. By REV. GEO. STIBITZ, Philadelphia, Pa.

p.26

The true prophets exposed the false (Isa. 9: I5), and showed them to be self-indulgent, cowardly, venal, crying a false peace (Isa. 56: I -2; Mic. 3:5, II); but to the true prophets alone remained the thankless task of telling an unpleasant truth to a people that loved to have its ears tickled (Mic. 3:8-I I).

As for the virtues demanded, the opposite of the foregoing sins is not only in every case implied, but manifoldly expressed. Without going into detail, it is sufficient to call attention to the fundamental virtues of justice, mercy, and humility demanded by Micah (6:8): "What does the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God ?" and by Amos (5:24): "Let judgment roll down as waters and righteousness as a mighty stream."

 

The ideal of the prophets is not a church or congregation of worshiping believers, but a community, society, or state of god like men and women living in love and truth together under the Messiah as king, who is filled with the spirit of God, exercising justice and judgment toward the poor and helpless (Isa. 9: I-7; I1: 1-5). Universal peace shall reign supreme (Isa. II:6-o1), every vile person shall be known by his right name (Isa. 32:5; and cf. 26: I-Io; chaps. 56-66). As to the home of this ideal kingdom of the prophets (and may we say of the Bible as a whole?), it is a land. It is this earth, and that not so radically different from what it now physically is as we sometimes think. Remove sin and its wide spread consequences, and who knows how far even this material world would be changed for the better? (Cf. Isa. I I: I-IO; Rom. 8: 8-25; Rev. 21:1-5.)

 

p.27

Godliness is character, and character is not in things, but is the product of personal endeavor, however favorable the surroundings may be. Therefore the prophets demanded of everybody an honest, energetic endeavor to realize the divine, ideal kingdom in this world……,They spurn a worship that shows no fruits in the social sphere, but insist on genuine Jehovah religion as the only root and cause of such fruits…..If now we ask what remedy the prophets suggest for social evils, we find the answer to be a true and living faith in God which works by love toward one's fellow-man.” That would – on the face of it appear to advocate a type of social consciousness

 

p.28

We have then here writers as early as eight hundred to a thousand years before Christ unanimously demanding as the purifying and plastic power of society the true and unselfish devotion of man to the supreme God, first; and, second, to his fellow-man…..

 

Prophecy as Social Justice: “Social Justice and the Prophets” by Walter J. Houston

Excerpt from Walter Houston’s article which focuses on social justice as a vital aspect of prophecy

“Let justice roll down like waters!” (Amos 5:24). Magnificent words, but what do they mean? What the prophet Amos means by them you can work out from the injustices that he attacks. The people he denounces take their own cut from the hard work of poor people (Amos 5:11), treat them with contempt, and take bribes. When they sell wheat, they rig the scales and the currency (Amos 8:5). It is always poor people who are their victims. These ruthless exploiters are nameless, but they plainly have wealth and power. Their home is Samaria, the capital of the eighth-century B.C.E. kingdom of Israel (Amos 3:9, Amos 4:1, Amos 6:1). Amos shows God demanding justice from them rather than worship: “I hate, I despise your festivals…But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream” (Amos 5:21-24).

Walter J. Houston, "Social Justice and the Prophets", n.p. [cited 20 Apr 2022]. Online: https://www.bibleodyssey.org:443/en/passages/related-articles/social-justice-and-the-prophets

 

The question that I raise here is this: Is viewing prophecy as prediction gutting a pivotal characteristic of prophecy as promoting social justice and influencing social consciousness and culture. That is, which do you think would be more important to God: The accuracy of prediction or social justice? I mean if God wanted to make predictions God could have hired a stenographer.  

It would seem readily apparent that “community” and “social consciousness” are pivotal to prophecy   

 

Setting the Stage: Personal Background-bio of Spiritual Experiences:

My personal – and often documented – spiritual-psychic experiences are a tremendous asset in assessing the reality of “prophecy!” – in my view!

Abbreviated-synopsis of 40 years of spiritual-psychic experiences

A. I have four documented dreams and two undocumented dreams - all with consistent and reasonable interpretations that I list here: (1) a dream about Pakistan and nuclear war. (2) A Hybrid Dream-Perception: Precognitive "Tag" (a tag would be a central action plus one or two details) of the "incel" terrorist in Canada in late April, 2018. (3) Dream about Libya (2-26-2019), (4) Synchronicity with Strasburg, France attack - dream (9-19-20) + undocumented (5) Dudayev Dream (6) Fredericksburg

 

 

 

B. Highlights from forty years: waking perceptions (1) my recent 10-30-20 email to FBI agent McElwee warned of a "domestic terrorist" threat referring to a "bomb" as the weapon. which is related - of course - to the Nashville bombing on Christmas day 2020 (2) My very detailed, specific, and notarized warning to the FBI on October 18, 1981 of an impending attack by the then active Weathermen terrorist group. Some [accurate] details are: group, fabricating bombs, money, women, 22 put together, New York, death, as well as the terrorist weathermen's manifesto. (3) A very brief (phoned in) warning to the FBI before the assassination attempt on president Reagan (4) I called the CIA before 9/11

An important point of order would be that nearly all of my experiences would easily fit into a category parallel to the alarm calls of animals. As Jean MacPhail, a scholar, author of A Spiral Life and a former fellow in neuropathology at Harvard University, observed, ‘My experiences are very unique!’ – in part because they relate to events outside myself, as well as being consistent with reasonable interpretations, as well as being relatively well documented. 

Precognitive Dream about 'Pakistan and 'Nuclear War'

New “news” about that old "precognitive" dream about nuclear war and India – while not as detailed as the 1981 notarized warning to the FBI about the Weatherman terrorist “attack” brings to light important questions and issues about spiritual-psychic experiences

Precognitive Dream about 'Pakistan and 'Nuclear War' 1-18-2019 deserves some special attention: In the past few months for some reason, I have had several dreams about foreign countries which seemed a bit precognitive. In a rather strange dream from the night of 1-18-2019 to 1-20-2019 (which I emailed to k.... on 1-22) I had a somewhat vivid dream about Pakistan in which 'nuclear war was an aspect. Of course, spiritual experiences and especially dreams have a definite symbolic aspect and ordinarily cannot be taken literally. What made the dream rather strange was a kind of "dualistic" or "split world" characteristic to the dream since, in the dream, I was in the U.S. with my son, yet, seemingly simultaneously in Pakistan at the same time.

You can’t take dreams literally of course, and as you know, no nuclear war occurred. Furthermore, the Indian leader, Modi’s nationalism became more aggressive and India annexed Kashmir a semiautonomous region with large numbers of Muslims, then later removed citizenships from large number of Muslims. The bottom line is that the dream could fit into the category of a perception of a “threat to the group.”

Recently I came across this update posted today “Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has claimed that he was awakened to speak to his then Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj who told him that Pakistan was preparing for a nuclear attack in the wake of the Balakot surgical strike in February 2019 [Indian airstrike on a Pakistani target in retaliation for a Islamic Jihad attack on Hindus in India] and India is preparing its own escalatory response. "How Close...": Ex US Secretary Of State On India-Pak Nuke Threat After Balakot. In his book "Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love", Mike Pompeo says the incident took place when he was in Hanoi for the US-North Korea Summit on February 27-28, 2019 NDTV 1-24-23

Of course, dreams cannot be taken literally and it needs to be emphasized that – in all “truth” psychic capability is really "perception" and not "Absolute Truth." I can honestly say I have – in forty years never perceived the absolute truth as it were. In fact, the experiences I have had seem clearly to reflect the “visibility” factor as it were. 9/11 was the most striking event as far as perception goes. in history as it were – and there were a large number of people who had documented premonitions. My most detailed were the most perceptible as well.

NDTV

Home India News "Was Too Close": US Ex Top Official Claims On India-Pak Nuclear War Threat "Was Too Close": US Ex Top Official Claims on India-Pak Nuclear War Threat

In his book "Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love", Mike Pompeo says the incident took place when he was in Hanoi for the US-North Korea Summit on February 27-28, 201

Reasonable Beliefs: Would the human brain process unusual experiences as unusual.  

What many people don't understand is that consistently studies show that somewhere between 1/3 to 1/2 of people have experiences - and as Park and Paloutzian observe, there is a "normalcy" to spiritual-psychic experiences. Furthermore people - at times - lose their common sense and often get lost in abstractions. Common sense would dictate that the brain processes unusual experiences as "unusual" - pretty amazing.... huh? When people get into abstractions, they often lose sight of common sense understanding and sound judgment.

Studies and experiments that have established that the "categorization" process is a very important process in the human mind and the categorization process is both well-known and well-proven in psychology. William James goes on to say that religious experiences and spiritual experiences create and generate a “sense of reality” (p.48) Jung said pretty much the exact same thing actually - that an individual’s experiences shape a person's reality.

The synthesis consensus of Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung, and William James simply put is that "spirit, spiritual processes, and religious beliefs create meaning, a sense of reality - and ultimately Reality, and Truth. In the anthology, Meaning in Positive and Existential Psychology (2014), Paul Wong, observes: “Frankl considers meaning seeking as stemming from one’s spiritual nature. William James emphasizes in his classic work, originally published in 1902, The Varieties of Religious Experiences: “They [spiritual experiences] determine our vital attitude [sense of reality] as decisively as the vital attitude of lovers is determined by the habitual sense,…” Jung observed, in the Collected Works (CW8: 648 -1968 revised) that “Life and spirit are two powers or necessities between which man is placed. Spirit gives meaning to his life, and the possibility of its greatest development.

There are two very important principles I learned early on from my experiences in 1981.

1.      As J. E. Kennedy explains, studies show roughly 45% of people have an initial fear reaction. Such was mine. Like many I found my experience frightening – primarily because it was an unknown and my “mind had no way” to organize the experience. Doubts and fears fed a cycle of doubts and anxieties. One night I went two steps over the line – but realized it.

My epiphany was that the Absolute Truth [God] is beyond comprehension. That is an important factor in assessing prophecy. Reducing the divine to the existence as a prediction is not only unrealistic but degrading to God and the divine as well. 

 

2.      Early on I also grappled with the question as to the purpose of prophecy. I had been told that I should write down predictions. That was a Big Deal in 1981 – and it is a question brought up in the first line of my notarized warning to the FBI on October 18,1981. The question I asked is – does making predictions to make predictions make any sense biologically, psychologically, or even spiritually? The conclusion I came to is that purpose and motivation is pivotal. 

That is, "purpose" is pivotal to prophecy - and spirituality – especially in light of "Spirit is Truth" (John 5:6)

Historical Intuition

What actually got me visibility were my letters to the embassies of America’s allies and in February-March, 2017 In the letter to the Canadian embassy I stated: "I read an article which said that Trump’s envoy to the United Nations was going to “take names” and dictate terms to the nations of the world. That is an utter disgrace - Americans can be downright arrogant. Some Americans think they have all the power and all the answers. The truth of it is they don't even have the right question"

An article in the Indy 100, Independent (July 30, 2020), stated “Trump accused of 'near-sadistic' bullying of Angela Merkel for 'vicious attacks' in private phone call”

This would seem especially relevant in helping to shed light on Jeremiah’s historical insight in the Potter’s House Prophecy

 

New Paradigm for Prophecy: Prophet Jeremiah & his Seventy Year Exile Prophecy

Does God Put Prophets on the World "Solely and Entirely" to Make Predictions?

Prophecy - Introduction

While I am not a religious scholar, the only writing about the function of prophecy as a topic in and of itself would be Spinoza’s argument that prophets like Moses are “Exemplars,” which are defined as “a person or thing serving as a typical example or excellent model.” My argument is that prophecy is both a message and a narrative or story. Further it would seem rather evident that between the message and the narrative prophecies shape human consciousness which in turn shapes the future as it were since how we think and act would largely determine the future. Of course, in any good story a hero or exemplar is essential.

The Prophet Jeremiah

 The Prophet Jeremiah (“Jeremiah” means Yahweh establishes) lived in Judah, the southern kingdom of Judah roughly from 627-586 B.C. Jeremiah dates the beginning of his ministry (627 B.C.) when he had his vision of the almond branch and the tipping cauldron which conveyed the message of a threat from the “foe from the north!” An interesting comment about Jeremiah’s first prophecy would be that there is a play of words of the Hebrew word for almond which has its roots in the Hebrew word for “watching” and Jeremiah’s comment that God was “watching.” Another important nuance of the first prophecy is that Jeremiah speaks about God asking Jeremiah what he saw – which has an entirely different meaning from a ‘prophet coming down from the mountain and making “proclamations or pronouncements.” Jeremiah is often called the Weeping Prophet because he lived through witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.

    Jeremiah The Fighter

Because Jeremiah’s message was so critical of the Jewish people and his country of Judah, Jeremiah aroused some bitter resentment and animosity against him, and there was even a plot to kill him – in which even his family appeared to have a role. “His unpopularity grew, and brought upon him jeering, ostracism, and cursing (15:10-11, 17; 17:15; 20:7).” (p. 101 book of jer) Often, Jeremiah cried out for justice against these people who were hurting him and hindering his mission. In the end, he was very bitter, and after the widespread destruction of Judah (confirmed by archaeologists), he was taken forcibly to Egypt to escape the wrath of the Jewish “Super-Patriots” who wanted revenge for Jeremiah having spoken out against the Jewish leaders.

Without question, the Prophet Jeremiah is that he was a fighter. In a public “prophetic display” Jeremiah broke a pottery vessel at Jerusalem’s gate of shards to symbolize how the Jewish people would be broken by God the same as Jeremiah broke the pottery vessel. In another public “prophetic display” Jeremiah revealed his prophecies condemning Jewish practices of worshipping idols in his “Temple Sermon.” For prophesying, Jeremiah was publicly humiliated by the head priest, put on public trial after his Temple Sermon, and just before the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians, thrown into a pit in a dungeon and left to die. It is crucial to understand the prophecy of Jeremiah that Jeremiah’s “message” changed (which also changed the “narrative”) from one of Jews incurring God’s wrath because of their faithlessness in turning away from the Ways of God and worshiping idols, to a message of reconciliation and hope. Here is Jeremiah 32:36-37: 36 "You are saying about this city, 'By the sword, famine and plague it will be handed over to the king of Babylon'; but this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 37 I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety.

   The Prophecy of the Seventy Year Exile

It should be noted that the first Babylonian attack and deportation happened in 597 B.C. In an effort to convince the people of Judah that Babylon was now their new master, they began a process of forcing key residents into exile, as early as 605 B.C. More deportations took place in later years, culminating with the wholesale destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 586 B.C. Jeremiah spoke twice about the length of time the deported Jews would remain in exile. The first reference is in Jeremiah 25:11 which appears to be a part of a summary (Jeremiah 25:1-14) Jeremiah 25:13 reads: “And this whole land shall be a desolation and a waste, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.” As I mentioned before, archaeologists’ excavations have demonstrated that during that particular historical period, numerous cities in Judah were in fact destroyed and there was widespread destruction. The Jewish captivity ended in 539 BC, when Cyrus, a leader of Persians and Medes, conquered Babylon and brought an end to its empire. Cyrus then gave the captive Jews the freedom to return to their homeland.

John A. Thompson, the Australian Old Testament scholar and biblical archaeologist, observed in his voluminous book about Jeremiah, that different scholars calculate the number of years of the historical exile in different ways. For instance, one method of calculation takes the number of years in between the fall of the Assyrian capital in 612 B. C. to the fall of Babylon in 539 B. C. which comes to seventy-three. That is really close to the seventy years as prophesied by Jeremiah – though as Thompson points out, not “exact.” (p.514)

However, on the face of it, the Exile itself should be the gauge since Jeremiah is addressing the Jews in his prophecy and so any analysis should be directed at the situation of the Jews and not the Assyrians or Babylonians. For the Jews, the exile went from the first defeat of Judah with the capture of Jerusalem and the deportation of a substantial number of important Jewish leaders and artisans in 597 B. C. to the edict liberating the Jews issued by Cyrus in 538 - which gives one a sum of 59 years.

To understand the message and the narrative of Jeremiah’s prophecy it is crucial to grasp that at the beginning of the Exile, the “false prophets” were prophesying that the exiled Jews that their redemption was around the corner, and that very soon they would be returning home. I’m sure, since Jeremiah would have known they were dead wrong would have incensed Jeremiah – especially since it would produce bad fruit as it were. That would appear to be really bad psychology – telling people something will happen soon and then that not happening could be pretty destructive to the morale of the people. So, Jeremiah took a stance and made a stand and prophesied that the Jews would return to their homeland in seventy years. Jeremiah’s message to the Exiled Jews was, essentially to ‘settle down in that redemption would be long in coming – but that redemption – and reconciliation would indeed take place.’

The Potter's House: Jeremiah’s Potter’s House Prophecy

Historical Situation Sense, & Shaping Social-Collective Consciousness 

 

 Jeremiah talks about the compulsion and coercion he felt that compelled him to speak and act: “If I say, “I will not mention him (God), or speak any more in his name, there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.” (Jeremiah 20:9) In Jeremiah’s prophecy deep seated emotions were involved and presumably social instincts as well. In spite of persecution, Jeremiah persists in his behaviors. Yet, Jeremiah seems to believe that God would not put him through what he went through, and questions why he is, in fact, being subjected to persecution. Jeremiah complains that God has deceived him and because of that “I am in derision daily, everyone mocketh me” (Jeremiah 20: 7)

Jeremiah: “18 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. 5 Then the word of the Lord came to me. 6 He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. 7 If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. 9 And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, 10 and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.”

What Jeremiah presents here is a vision of powerful forces (God) which will change and shape the Jewish people and faith. From a certain perspective, as I will show later, Jeremiah’s Potter’s House Prophecy – this vision of huge forces (God) that would affect and shape the Jewish nation turned out to be one of his more fruitful prophecies. For perspective I would highlight the fact that, If one steps back and looks at prophecy in a larger sense, especially in terms of historical cycles and purposes, in general, it appears that – from a distance - what prophecy has often “historically” achieved and accomplished is to produce significant influences on peoples’ world views and in Judaism and Christianity shaped the social and spiritual consciousness of many religious people. That is, prophecy shapes human consciousness. I would argue that an analogy could be made between a horse drawing a cart with goods in it and prophecy. There are three parts or aspects that are addressed – the horse-energizer, the cart or the narrative, and the goods or the message or Word of God.

Prophecy as Social Consciousness

George Barton, PhD: “Disaster and sorrow compel either a soul or a nation to seek anew the foundations of life. Times of sorrow are accordingly times of religious growth. The Babylonian exile was no exception. Indeed, the influence of this exile upon the religion of Israel was enormous. This was in part due to the fact that the exile was the external event necessary to crystallize the results of prophetic influences which had been at work for a long time, but it was also in part due to the deepening and clarifying of religious perception which disaster and sorrow bring.”

“The influence of the Babylonian exile is discernible in three great realms of life: (I) in the apprehension of religious truth; (2) in the outward organization of the religious life; and (3) in the standards of public morals. We shall endeavor briefly to treat each of these points, but before doing so a few words are necessary with reference to the nature of the exile it." (INFLUENCE OF THE BABYLONIAN EXILE ON THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL, PROFESSOR GEORGE A. BARTON, PH.D.) So, here Barton, who echoes a number of scholars clearly, and clearly states that Jeremiah's prophecy - combined with the suffering and pain of the Exile, did beneficially change the theology and worldview of Judaism. A very salient point

From Jeremiah’s description of the drive – and compulsion - that drove him to speak the Word of God, it would seem readily apparent that deep seated emotions and powerful spiritual instincts were at work. So, one could conclude that foresight, and prophecy, to some extent could be viewed in terms of a group related instinct, and the Word of God seems to be an expression of a social instinct as well since it promotes the concepts of justice, the needs of the oppressed and weak, as well as righteousness. Jeremiah is the perfect illustration of how prophecy changed human consciousness.

   Conclusions about Jeremiah

I must say, in my view, Jeremiah did Exactly what he was supposed to do. He provided leadership and guidance. And provided a framework of what would occur in the future. To quibble over the fact that Jeremiah didn’t get the precise number of years down on the Exile would be, in my mind like criticizing Jeremiah for having his shoes untied. To my knowledge no one has ever predicted the exact date of an event, except perhaps for the assassination of Caesar, about which there is some historical debate. As the Biblical scholar, Thompson observed, “if we regard it [the number seventy] as a symbol for “many” (Judg. 1:7; 8:14; 1 Sam. 6:19; 2 Sam. 24:15; Ps. 90:10; etc.), it will serve the purpose which Jeremiah probably intended.” (p.514) 58 years translates to me as a "long time" and Jeremiah was correct - it was a long time. What impresses me was that Jeremiah not only knew that the Exile wouldn't end anytime soon but he stood up and "challenged" the false prophets. My argument is that prophecy is a narrative and that in this particular prophecy, Jeremiah created a narrative that, in the end, worked very well in shaping consciousness and the future. In my view Jeremiah got the job done – very well actually.

 

 New Analogy & Model: Horse Drawing a Cart with Goods in it!

If one steps back and looks at prophecy in a larger sense – especially in terms of historical cycles and purposes, it seems clear that, in the end, what prophecy has often historically accomplished is to produce significant influences on the way people look at the world and clearly affected the social and spiritual consciousness of many religious people. That is, prophecy shapes human consciousness. I would argue that an analogy could be made between a horse drawing a cart with goods in it and prophecy. There are three parts or aspects that are addressed – the horse-energizer, the cart or the narrative, and the goods or the message or Word of God. 

In this analogy, the horse would be the prophecy-prediction which energizes the prophecy. Donald Kalsched, a Jungian scholar, observation about archetypes, which in a general way are viewed as attitudinal or behavioral predispositions in the unconscious of the human mind, that "Archetypal energy is rooted deep in the unconscious and it is ‘archaic’, primitive, and also ‘typical’. Archetypal energies and affects are not easily assimilated by the conscious mind. They can be luminous or dark, angelic or demonic, but because they exist in raw, unmediated form they tend to be over-powering." Nancy Furlotti echoes that statement when she says, " Affect emerges from archetypes, which are the a priori ordering principles of nature, the world, and the psyche. When an archetype is activated, energy is put in motion that does not adhere to the laws of causality, or time and space." (Tracing a Red Thread: Synchronicity and Jung’s Red Book:(2010), Psychological Perspectives, 53:4, 455-478) Beliefs and ideas are very real and incredibly powerful and as both James and Jung observe, religious symbolism is often supercharged by emotional energy. The idea of spirit and prophecy as energy and force is very real, especially in light of a collective consciousness.

The second aspect or characteristic of prophecy would be the narrative of the prophet which served as the cart to carry the goods – or message of the prophecy. Every book of prophecy and every prophet tells a story and presents a narrative. As one psychologist observed, narratives are the oldest the oldest and most ancient form of knowledge, dating back without question to millions for years ago when the human species first discovered fire and gathered around, which of course led to storytelling. Narrative psychology only first emerged in the 1970’s one concept which the narrative psychologist Dan P. McAdams, developed is the idea of narratives employed as life story models which shaped identity and developed personality into sophisticated structures. The story of the prophet’s life and endeavors, in this case, served as narratives or stories which served to shape spiritual and religious thinking as well as put form to cultural conflicts. Like myths the prophetic narratives served as a vehicle to convey spiritual realities and truths – which of course were the “goods” carried by the cart. 

Addendum Excerpt from essay: Mannheim & Materialism as Ideology vs Social Consciousness – 

For nearly one hundred years, materialists have argued that 1) “There is no psychology of groups” (Allport’s Taboo – 1927) or 2) human consciousness is restricted to the firing of neurons in the brain and so there cannot be any social consciousness. That is an absurd argument.

It does not follow from the fact that neurons fire in the brain that there is no social consciousness!

Link to mini-essay/profile with over 80,000 views https://independentscholar.academia.edu/CharlesPeckJr

 

A picture is worth a thousand words & the pictures blatantly contrast with the Psychology Maxim, “There is no Psychology of Groups!”

 

 Contrast the pictures above - of crowds gathered for rock concerts, protests, and folkdances with the prevalent academic norm and abstraction that “There is no psychology of the group” (i.e., Allport’s taboo 1927). Even a precursory glance at those pictures clearly and vividly conveys the reality that – actually – yes, there are psychologies of groups (more than one probably

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” - Albert Einstein

That is very true - with 366 school shooting since Colombine "we" need to "rethink our thinking" - that would include mainstream psychology. Mainstream psychology has not factored in that materialism - especially academic materialism is a mindset and ideology (Mannheim)

Spirituality as synthesis and creativity: spirituality is what people make of it, often due to circumstances, experience and genetic predisposition - thoughts & ideas on diverse questions

If you go to the page on the left and click on "Questions, Thoughts & Ideas on Truth, Life-Force, Spirit & Unconscious Symbolism - thoughts and ideas on diverse questions" that will bring up a list of essays to choose from .

                             Setting the stage

Abbreviated synopsis of 40 years of spiritual-psychic experiences:

A. I have four documented dreams and two undocumented dreams - all with consistent and reasonable interpretations that I list here: (1) a dream centered on Pakistan and nuclear war. (2) A Hybrid Dream-Perception: Precognitive "Tag" (i.e., a central action with one or two details) of the "incel" terrorist in Canada in late April, 2018. (3) Dream about Libya (2-26-2019), (4) Synchronicity with Strasburg, France attack - dream (9-19-20) + undocumented (5) Dudayev Dream (6) Fredericksburg bomb (civilian)

B. Highlights from forty years of waking experiences (1)  email to FBI agent McElwee on 10-30-20 warned of a "domestic terrorist" threat - specifically a "bomb" which relates to the Nashville bombing on Christmas day 2020 (2) A detailed and notarized warning to the FBI on October 18, 1981 of an impending attack by the Weathermen terrorist group: group,  fabricating bombs, money, women, 22 were assembled, New York, death, as well as the terrorist weathermen's manifesto. (3) A (phoned in) warning to the FBI before the assassination attempt on president Reagan (4) I called the CIA before 9/11 & warned them of 9/11. Nearly all of my experiences would easily fit into a category parallel to the alarm calls of animals. 

    The Absolute Truth [God, Transcendental Intelligence]

                       is Beyond Comprehension

St. Gregory of Nyssa states, “According to the true words of the Lord [Mt 5.8, the pure in heart will see God. They will receive as much as their minds can comprehend. However, the unbounded incomprehensible divinity remains beyond all understanding.” (SoS J.246 & M.941, p.161)

The early Christian mystic Dionysius the Areopagite mirrored St Gregory of Nyssa, when he states, “I said in my Theological Representations that one can neither discuss not understand the One, The Super unknowable, the Transcendent, Goodness itself….”! 

Up close and personal:

There is more chaff than wheat when it comes spirituality - more [maladaptive] stereotypes than facts or evidence. Many seem to have a stereotype of spiritual enlightenment in terms of people running off to the airport signing, dancing, and chanting Hari Krisna (which today isn't all that bad of an idea). J. E. Kennedy points out that “45% of people in one particular study reported an initial reaction of fear to their spiritual-psychic experiences.” Fear of the unknown is a well known factor in the human mind. 

It is generally understood that people have the "standard model of physics" as a template in their minds. In retrospect it is clear that the experience was frightening because it was an unknown. I thought over my experience – which was a very detailed and (notarized)  precognitive warning - very intensely. I tell you doubts and guilts can eat you alive if you let them. I looked at the experience from every possible angle you could consider – and some angles many people likely couldn’t imagine. It was a wild ride!

As J.E. Kennedy observes, large numbers of people have an initial fear reaction. The more intense the experiences is the more the experiences seems to activate anxieties and fear. Here is Flynn's story - in brief. “I am 55 years old with 5 children 8 grand daughters and have been through an immense amount of pain and trauma in my life more than most yet I still love all. I found it difficult to handle my main experience and struggled for a long time, but finally once I got a 'structure' worked out I keep my balance pretty well.”

My mother was murdered when I was 9 so I believe that has a significant bearing on things yet she also taught me how to strengthen my mind using cards and guessing what they were from a very early age and she was an extreme humanist feminist kind person…….. I have had several instances in my life of it [spiritual-psychic experiences] - from my mother’s murder to girlfriend leaving me to accidents going to happen to asking god creator for direction and sign and getting it immediately; none of it make too much sense to me and I don’t understand why it happens to me so frequently!” 

I had one really really bad night in Ann Arbor – mentally I was without doubt two steps over the line – and fortunately realized it - though it was a bit delayed reaction. My epiphany was that I realized that my detailed experience – which I could not ignore because it was written, documented – is beyond my comprehension – simple as that. I realized that s long as I live I would never ever “comprehend” that experience - the experience was acausal and so incomprehensible to the human mind. It hit me with such force, to this day I unequivocally equate knowing God with - not madness - but insanity.   So, to this day it is welded into my consciousness that the absolute truth, and transcendental Intelligence [ God] are beyond words and beyond comprehension!

In my view what made it worse – in my case - is that at that time I had no upbringing in spirituality or religiosity. And believe it or not at the time I wrote out a very detailed precognitive warning to the FBI, notarized it, and went over it briefly with an FBI agent on October 18, 1981, consciously – at that moment, I was an atheist and furthermore, consciously I felt all spirituality was superstitious nonsense.

Brief Synopsis & Bio: 40 years of "Spiritual Experiences "

   "How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup."

A university professor went to visit a famous Zen master. While the master quietly served tea, the professor talked about Zen. The master poured the visitor's cup to the brim, and then kept pouring. The professor watched the overflowing cup until he could no longer restrain himself. "It's full! No more will go in!" the professor blurted. "This is you," the master replied, "How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup."

It would be possible to describe everything scientifically, but it would make no sense; it would be without meaning, as if you described a Beethoven symphony as a variation of wave pressure!  ― Albert Einstein

In America 110 million Americans have spiritual or spiritual-psychic experiences - minimally

First, I would point out that in contrast to mainstream psychology's norms, A recent review of "numerous" studies of people who have spiritual or spiritual-psychic experiences by Park and Paloutzian reveal that somewhere between one third to one half of people have spiritual or spiritual-psychic experiences - of every type and variety imaginable - though hardly any talk about them. Park and Paloutzian go on to say that the studies definitely "establish the normalcy of such reports and that social scientists have until recently ignored a common-phenomena." (p. 67)

Most have never heard that transcendental spiritual experiences can have positive benefits - so this worth covering briefly:  Actualizing spiritual experiences - including dreams or visions of the deceased -can have a healing aspect

Essay-Blog: “Pastoral caregivers” [find] that individuals do seem to cope better if they can "actualize" their spiritual experiences.” L. W. Easterling, et al, & “can be adaptive”- Julia Parker + Jean MacPhail's childhood epiphany

A substantial amount of interest in spiritual experiences recently appears to be from a re-emergence of interest from the (unofficial) pastoral school of thought in psychology.

1, “Experience has shown pastoral caregivers that individuals do seem to cope better if they can "actualize" their spiritual experiences in times of crisis.”(Spiritual Experience, Church Attendance, and Bereavement,” by Larry W. Easterling, Th. D, Louis A. Gamino, Ph.D., Kenneth W. Sewell, Ph.D., Linda S. Stirman, B.S.N)

2. From another study, Julie Parker concludes that "The findings of this study support the emerging model of grief that posits that maintaining continuing bonds with the deceased can be adaptive. They also support the assertion that spiritual and/or religious belief systems are associated with adaptive outcomes of grief."

3. Gabriella Kilianova highlights the views of a Catholic priest in Slovakia. The priest “assumed that such dreams help people deal with the loss of their loved ones.” That does appear to be part of pastoral folklore as it were

4. Then there is the article:  “Children’s Grief Dreams and the Theory of Spiritual Intelligence” by Kate Adams Bishop Grosseteste University College Lincoln Brendan Hyde Australian Catholic University.

“Dreams of the deceased, and those that are related to death in other ways, are thus not uncommon during childhood ..... studies have shown that some children reflect on their dreams and find meaning in them, with some of these dreams making a spiritual impact!”

5. Article: The Impact of Dreams of the Deceased on Bereavement: A Survey of Hospice Caregivers

Scott T. Wright, BA, Christopher W. Kerr, MD, PhD ckerr@palliativecare.org, […], and Debra L. Luczkiewicz, MD+3View all authors and affiliations Volume 31, Issue 2 “Most participants [58% of 278 participants] reported that their dreams were either pleasant or both pleasant and disturbing, and few reported purely disturbing dreams."

An Overview of Spirituality

Kate Adams and Brenden Hyde observe: “Spirituality is a natural human predisposition …. and concerns a person’s sense of connectedness with self, others, and the world (or cosmos). For some people, connectedness with a Transcendent dimension is a part of spirituality …. that spirituality involves a deep-down awareness of one’s relationship with one’s self, and with everything that is other than one’s self…. spirituality as a type of intelligence…. One hallmark feature of intelligence concerns the ability to solve problems.“ (Children’s Grief Dreams and the Theory of Spiritual Intelligence” by Kate Adams Bishop Grosseteste University College Lincoln Brendan Hyde Australian Catholic University.)

My Personal Experiences: List of Precognitive Dreams & Experiences: Highlights: 40 years of spiritual-psychic experiences

I list six dreams – four of them documented – all which have “reasonable interpretations” which are consistent as well.  As Jean MacPhail, author and scholar notes, my spiritual-psychic experiences are unique – in part because the experiences are correlated with political events outside myself and as such easier to analyze, in part because many are documented and in part because they are very consistent. Nearly all of my experiences could best be described as expressions of perceptions of threats to the group - parallel to animal alarm calls. When I spoke with Daryl Bem (psychologist & researcher into precognitive phenomenon), he stated unequivocally that both he and Dean Radin (another psi researcher) believe that much of psychic experiences have an instinctual characteristic. I believe a good deal of the Old Testament prophecy could be understood as having an aspect in expressing perceptions of threats to the group.

Evidence: of precognitive capability: In 2016, an article about a meta-analysis of Daryl Bem (et al) very successful precognitive experiments states that "When Bem’s own experiments are included, the complete database comprises 90 experiments from 33 different laboratories located in 14 different countries. A total of 12,406 individuals participated in these experiments." The article goes on to say that the results showed that the experimental design focused on sex [instinctual] was by far outperformed the other designs. (A Summary of “Feeling the Future: A Meta-analysis of 90 Experiments on the Anomalous Anticipation of Random Future Events by Bem, Tressoldi, Rabeyron & Dugga)

For perspective - beginning with intuitive perceptions - telltales & red lights

After My computer got hacked and I sent copies of a file inserted on my computer to FBI agent McElwee, since I do actually try to stay on the “good side” of the CIA – assuming of course they do actually have a good side – I did send the CIA an email about Turkey. I mentioned I had seen a TV video about Turkey having taken over a church-museum and turning it into a mosque. The video highlights the interview of a civic activist who fought Turkish president Erdogan’s repressive legislation and restrictions of freedom. The activist said - rather emotionally - that basically “freedom was gone” – that freedom no longer existed in turkey no more. My read was that Turkey I entering a new more aggressive stage in its nationalism. Not long after Erdogan further restricted peoples’ use of the internet and social media. Furthermore it “appears” that the escalating conflict between Turkey and Greece over fishing rights has largely been initiated by Turkey. Now there is this situation with Armenia. While I didn’t even hint about the Armenian problem, I do think I had the escalation of nationalism correct.

Speaking of telltales: the Chinese knife attacks I find very "alarming" for some reason. It could be that shooting people can be dome at a distance while knife attacks are very up-close and personal. Killing children with a knife violates human natural law big time. And the attacks have been consistent - year after year since 2010

Also, for perspective in China there appeared rather suddenly in 2010 knife attacks in China. An article states, "Three people were killed and six others wounded in a knife attack Wednesday at a kindergarten in southeast China's Jiangxi province. A "gangster wearing a cap and mask" stormed the private kindergarten in Anfu county at about 10:00 am local time (0200 GMT), police said in a statement published on China's Twitter-like Weibo. The 48-year-old suspect is still at large, they added. Around 100 children and adults have been killed and hundreds injured over the past decade in apparently uncoordinated, "lone wolf" attacks in which the motive was unclear and the overwhelmingly male assailants were either killed, ended their lives or were put on trial and executed. (3 killed, 6 wounded in stabbing rampage at kindergarten in China; suspect at large AUGUST 3, 2022 / 7:59 AM / CBS/AFP)

On top of that there is widespread agreement among psychologists that since 2000

1. there has been an “epidemic” in narcissism as well as

2. a dramatic 25% increase in suicide in the US since roughly 2000 as well.

There are a lot of red lights these days –

the Christian no mask madness which by all analysis cost over 50,000 un-necessary and excessive deaths of Americans. Historically I know of no historical precedent for the Christian no mask madness.

Recently the unarmed black man who was beaten to death by black officers is another telltale.

Preamble: Aspects and factors in spiritual-psychic experiences

1.  First, in my experience - there is no crystal ball to make predictions. My experiences are the product to a large degree of perception of largely unconscious social-political stimuli combined at times with so9em  transcendental spiritual insights. In my situation, most perceptions seem to result result from a political-historical situational-intuition. A good analogy for might be to a fighter jet in which the main engine does the bulk of the work and the precognition afterburner lights up every once in a while. 

2.      “Visibility” is clearly a factor.  Dean Radin observed there were over a dozen documented cases of precognition of 9/11. The same is true for me. The most detailed were the most visible – like 9/11 or the assassination attempt on Reagan.

In contrast, there were no details on the Canadian incel dream. A lone “incel” terrorist used a vehicle to run over pedestrians on a bike trail. In that case there was nothing to perceive really. Visibility – politically and historically is a factor not only in my perceptions but in others as well. That would clearly indicate that “psychic is primarily (by far perception) Powers as most people understand that is simply out of the question – though in light of quantum entanglement and such, influence could not be ruled out.

3.      Synthesis of senses:

A. In the 1981 “What nightmare – Mustard Seed” warning to the FBI there were clearly a synthesis of processes: an explicit statement (a group with money fabricates a bomb); metaphorical and symbolism (snake hiss, etc to symbolize the classic socialist work by Upton Sinclair The Jungle) or Prophet and angels to symbolize the guard and police that would die); poetic; spiritual symbolism in the Mustard Seed.

B. In a review recently I realized most of my perceptions tended to be of alienated people – two French terrorists, Hinckley, likely Boudin as well (a leader in the weathermen), the Nashville bomber……… That would be a clear indication that telepathy was involved – and my experiences are syntheses of sense.

    4.   Lastly nearly all my perceptions could be described in terms of perception of threats to the group.

   

Abbreviated abstract-synopsis of 40 years of spiritual-psychic experiences:

A. I have four documented dreams and two undocumented dreams - all with consistent and reasonable interpretations that I list here: (1) a dream about Pakistan and nuclear war. (2) A Hybrid Dream-Perception: Precognitive "Tag" (a tag would be a central action plus one or two details) of the "incel" terrorist in Canada in late April, 2018. (3) Dream about Libya (2-26-2019), (4) Synchronicity with Strasburg, France attack - dream (9-19-20) + undocumented (5) Dudayev Dream (6) Fredericksburg

B. Highlights from forty years: waking perceptions (1) my recent 10-30-20 email to FBI agent McElwee warned of a "domestic terrorist" threat referring to a "bomb" as the weapon. which is related - of course - to the Nashville bombing on Christmas day 2020 (2) My very detailed, specific, and notarized warning to the FBI on October 18, 1981 of an impending attack by the then active Weathermen terrorist group. Some [accurate] details are: group, fabricating bombs, money, women, 22 put together, New York, death, as well as the terrorist weathermen's manifesto. (3) A very brief (phoned in) warning to the FBI before the assassination attempt on president Reagan (4) I called the CIA before 9/11 -Nearly all of my experiences would easily fit into a category parallel to the alarm calls of animals. 

 

Precognitive Dream about 'Pakistan and 'Nuclear War' New “news” on an old "precognitive" dream about nuclear war and India

Precognitive Dream about 'Pakistan and 'Nuclear War' 1-18-2019 deserves some special attention: In the past few months for some reason, I have had several dreams about foreign countries which seemed a bit precognitive. In a rather strange dream from the night of 1-18-2019 to 1-20-2019 (which I emailed to k.... on 1-22) I had a somewhat vivid dream about Pakistan in which 'nuclear war was an aspect. Of course, spiritual experiences and especially dreams have a definite symbolic aspect and ordinarily cannot be taken literally. What made the dream rather strange was a kind of "dualistic" or "split world" characteristic to the dream since, in the dream, I was in the U.S. with my son, yet, seemingly simultaneously in Pakistan at the same time.

You can’t take dreams literally of course, and as you know, no nuclear war occurred. Furthermore, the Indian leader, Modi’s nationalism became more aggressive and India annexed Kashmir a semiautonomous region with large numbers of Muslims, then later removed citizenships from large number of Muslims. The bottom line is that the dream could fit into the category of a perception of a “threat to the group.”

Recently I came across this update posted today “Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has claimed that he was awakened to speak to his then Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj who told him that Pakistan was preparing for a nuclear attack in the wake of the Balakot surgical strike in February 2019 [Indian airstrike on a Pakistani target in retaliation for a Islamic Jihad attack on Hindus in India] and India is preparing its own escalatory response. "How Close...": Ex US Secretary Of State On India-Pak Nuke Threat After Balakot. In his book "Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love", Mike Pompeo says the incident took place when he was in Hanoi for the US-North Korea Summit on February 27-28, 2019 NDTV 1-24-23

Of course, dreams cannot be taken literally and it needs to be emphasized that – in all “truth” psychic capability is really "perception" and not "Absolute Truth." I can honestly say I have – in forty years never perceived the absolute truth as it were. In fact, the experiences I have had seem clearly to reflect the “visibility” factor as it were. 9/11 was the most striking event as far as perception goes. in history as it were – and there were a large number of people who had documented premonitions. My most detailed were the most perceptible as well.

NDTV

Home India News "Was Too Close": US Ex Top Official Claims On India-Pak Nuclear War Threat "Was Too Close": US Ex Top Official Claims on India-Pak Nuclear War Threat

In his book "Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love", Mike Pompeo says the incident took place when he was in Hanoi for the US-North Korea Summit on February 27-28, 201

Highlights of Waking perceptions

my recent 10-30-21 email to FBI agent McElwee warned of a "domestic terrorist" threat referring to a "bomb" as the weapon. which is related - of course - to the Nashville bombing on Christmas day 2020

My very detailed, specific, and notarized warning to the FBI on October 18, 1981 of an impending attack by the then active Weathermen terrorist group. Some [accurate] details are: group, homemade bombs, money, women, 22 put together, New York, death, as well as the terrorist weathermen's manifesto. For the record - besides being notarized the document has a FOIPA stamp on it.

My (very brief) warning to the FBI before the assassination attempt on president Reagan

I called the CIA before 9/11\ plus called the DC FBI headquarters and filed a complaint in Richmond district court which - coincidentally brought the question of 911 calls to the fore (compared to 9/11 - thought process association, so to speak)

Lastly, I would highlight the fact that the pivotal October 18, 1981 notarized warning (with a FOIPA stamp) to the FBI about the impending attack by the weathermen terrorist group is very detailed with some unique characteristics of being the only one about terrorism (until 9/11), with a definite place as well as timing (verbally). Historically, it is literally unprecedented compared to other "historically documented illustrations." In fact, the line “22 are assembled” which is a synchronicity with the fact that there was a shootout with the Nyack, New York police force which as the New York Tiem reported had 22 members – which is clear evidence of precognition since when I wrote it neither the police nor the terrorists knew there would be a shootout in Nyack, New York.

Points of Order:

1, I should emphasize that in 40 years of “therapy” by psychiatrists and psychologists on the question of my spiritual – psychic experiences – which as Jean MacPhail, author and scholar, observed are unique in part because many are documented and detailed but also because the interpretations are consistent and reasonable - I did not have an intelligent conversation with any of them about my experiences. In fact, whenever I brought up my documented 1981 experience which is very detailed, not one of my therapists said a single word. Forty years of conditioning – gaslighting actually since my perception is they were doing it deliberately and that is gaslighting. Nicol mentioned form her research there are some open-minded European psychiatrists, But, then added that she hadn’t found any open-minded American psychiatrists.

 

While there are a large number of studies of dreams and visions of the deceased and a study by an Australian Catholic University by two researchers there who said that dreams of the deceased are not uncommon as well as indicating – like several other grief psychologists – that “actualizing experiences can help people cope with grief” – two studies by psychiatrists labeled dreams of the deceased as “hallucinations and delusions.” As a point of information, Dr. Stacey Neal told me she had no training or education in people who have spiritual or spiritual – psychic experiences) it is obscene for them to label it “delusions.” The very worse Psychiatrist I encountered was Dr Ray DePaulo – a prominent psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins who conveyed to me that “All transcendental spirituality is psychosis” It is especially sickening because he is a Catholic friend of the family. I sent numerous emails to De Paulo objecting to that “psychosis” designation. Being a good Catholic friend of the family, he never replied (that is sarcasm in case you missed that). Of course, when American Catholic leaders raise money  for Trump who is a pathological liar, raving racist, and quite frankly stupid as s**t you really can’t expect a whole lot. The Politicization of Jesus Christ is a pervasive and controversial topic today and tons of articles on google can be found.

2, Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real.”

a) Quantum Physics has changed "our" understanding of physics - and reality - though much of social sciences are behind the learning curve: Niels Bohr was a Nobel prize-winning Danish physicist, stated unequivocally that “If quantum mechanics hasn’t profoundly shocked you, you haven’t understood it yet. Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real.”

b) Quantum Experiment Reveals “A future event causes the photon to decide its past.” - Professor Truscott the bizarre nature of reality as laid out by quantum theory has survived another test, with scientists performing a famous experiment and proving that reality does not exist until it is measured.

A lot of people have the "crystal ball" stereotype of precognition - that psychics look into crystal balls - essentially - and make predictions. Factually and historically, that is nonsense. It is closer to the alarm calls of animals than to crystal ball predictions.

People have been having spiritual experiences for tens of thousands of years and consistently studies reveal that today somewhere between 1/3 to 1/2 of people have experiences of one sort or another - which as Park and Paloutzian show have a "normalcy" in 1902 William James demonstrated that spiritual experiences create a sense of reality - which is supported by the views of Viktor Frankl and Carl Jung who both emphasized that different experiences create different world views.

 Highlights from forty years of spiritual/psychic experiences & dreams!

Documented Dreams - Documented by emails

Dream about Libya (2-26-2019), and while the dream was not directly connected to any international events. seeming to be generally about "intelligence:" Similar to the timing of the dream about Pakistan-India, about a month later an article appeared: US troops temporarily leave Libya as security deteriorates Haley Britzky April 07, 2019 "The U.S. forces in Libya are temporarily leaving as the security situation on the ground has grown "increasingly complex and unpredictable." It turned out they pulled out permanently – and the situation deteriorated afterward.

Synchronicity with Strasburg, France attack - dream 9-(19-20)-18 Dream: On Sep 10, 2018, at 6:55 AM my dream contained several pivotal symbols and 'information.' The dream clearly spoke about an "Islamic secret society" as opposed to ISIS. It turned out from a NY Times article on 12-12-2018 stated "The gunman killed at least two people and wounded 12 in the Tuesday night shooting spree at the famous Christmas market in Strasbourg, a city of more than a quarter-million in France’s northeast border with Germany. …… the gunman was first seen shortly before 8 p.m. on the Rue des Orfèvres, in the heart of the Christmas market. He then moved through several streets, attacking with a handgun and a knife as he went." I have never heard of a terrorist carrying a knife. In my view, it is significant that the dream highlighted and emphasized "a very large knife." In any case it is said that "consistency" is a key to science - and in my view there is a consistency.

A Hybrid Dream-Perception: Precognitive "Tag" (a tag I describe as a central action plus one or two details) of the "incel" terrorist in Canada in late April, 2018. In an email to a friend, I relayed a dream at 2AM which involved Canada and the CIA and Canada. The email (dated April 18, 2018) said "just thinking - 2AM .... woke from a really strange dream - the Holy Spirit was like split up into different pieces and people were trying to understand that." Earlier woke up from a dream about: Canada and the CIA (personally, I connect the CIA with terrorism).” Roughly a week later on an article stated: “The police have identified Alek Minassian, 25, as the suspect accused of killing 10 people and injured 15 with a rented van on Monday (April 24) in Toronto. Minassian appeared to identify as an "incel," or "involuntary celibate," Again there is consistency in this being a perception of a threat to the group.

Undocumented Dreams

When I lived in Fredericksburg prior to 9/11, I had a dream in which there were apartment style buildings which were built in the architectural style of the Southwest region in the United States in a dream! At the very end of the dream there was a bag which was left beside a car which “felt [heavy] like money” - but was not. Believing it to be a precognitive dream I faxed it to the Fredericksburg FBI where I was living at the time. About a week later a woman was killed by a bomb when she picked up a bag by her car. This happened in a city that was located to the southwest of Fredericksburg. I figure that would also be a tag in that it had the central action of a “bag beside a car” and the dream also talked about a “devastating explosion” but it is lacking a bit in specifics of who was involved.

Dudayev Dream: In a rather vivid dream. Before the Chechen leader, Dudayev, was killed, I had a dream about Russia. In the dream, I was in a bombed-out city of “rubble” near some mountains. I was in a room with two men. There was a stack of eight sided coins and six-sided dice. Next in the dream, there was a runway for a plane. The dream abruptly ended at a field. About a week later Dudayev was killed by a Russian warplane at a village. About a week later, on April 21,1996, Dudayev was killed by two laser-guided missiles that zoned in on his satellite phone signal, after his location was detected by a Russian reconnaissance aircraft. He was killed in the village of Gekhi-Chu. There were six specific pieces of information in the dream that matched.

Overview: All of these dreams - all with reasonable interpretations - could easily be viewed and understood as “perceptions of threats” to the group parallel to animal alarm calls and responses to real stimuli.

Highlights of Waking perceptions

my recent 10-30-21 email to FBI agent McElwee warning about a “domestic terrorist” threat specifying a “bomb” as the weapon. which correlates - of course - to the Nashville bombing Christmas day 2020

My very detailed, specific, and notarized warning to the FBI on October 18, 1981 about the impending attack by the then active Weathermen terrorist group. Some [accurate] details are: group, fabricating bombs, money, woman, 22 were assembled, New York, death, as well as the weathermen terrorist manifesto. For the record - besides being notarized the document does have a FOIPA stamp on it.

My (very short) warning to the FBI prior to the assassination attempt of president Reagan

I did call the CIA prior to 9/11\ plus called the DC FBI headquarters and filed a complaint in Richmond district court which - by coincidence brought the question of 911 calls to the fore (as opposed to 9/11 - association thought process, as it were)

Mid-March 2017 Might Makes Right Letters to the Allies

In retrospect, what got me visibility though was my letter to the embassies of America’s allies and in February-March, 2017 In letters that I mailed to the embassies of our allies in Mid-March 2017 on the letter mailed to the Canadian embassy (each was different) I stated: "I read an article which said that Trump’s envoy to the United Nations was going to “take names” and dictate terms to the nations of the world. That is an utter disgrace. When it comes down to it, at times, Americans can be downright arrogant. Some Americans think they have all the power and all the answers. The truth of it is Americans don’t even have the right question. History repeats itself and has definite cycles. I believe America is in the cycle of might-makes-right. After the Athenians defeated the Persians, they rose to the undisputed and unchallenged leadership of the Greek world. They used their power to bully and dictate terms to their allies. The Athenians ended up massacring all the inhabitants of Lesbos on the argument that might-makes-right. Their policies ended up backfiring."

 Intelligence Leak – 2020 Revelation “Trump accused of 'near-sadistic'… Merkel…

Intelligence Leaks July 30, 2020: The title of an article in the Indy 100, Independent, stated that “Trump accused of 'near-sadistic' bullying of Angela Merkel for 'vicious attacks' in private phone call” The article went on to say How Bernstein of CNN observed that Although Trump "regularly bullied and disparaged" other leaders like Emmanuel Macron, Justin Trudeau and Scott Morrison, his most "vicious attacks" were reserved for women, the report claims. Bernstein quoted one of his sources as calling Trump's phone calls with Merkel and May "near-sadistic". Some of the things he said to Angela Merkel are just unbelievable: he called her 'stupid,' and accused her of being in the pocket of the Russians. He's toughest with those he looks at as weaklings and weakest with the ones he ought to be tough with.

The intelligence leak from foreign intelligence sources led to further revelations such as how Trump called May a “fool” on a phone call which was later verified by former National Security advisor Bolton in his book. Bolton went on to say how he, former Secretary of State Tillerson, former Defense Secretary General Mattis, as well as another former top national security advisor all agreed that Trump is “delusional” – off his rocker in common parlance. Although it wasn't until July 2020, a foreign intelligence leak revealed how Trump had viciously and sadistically vilified the leaders of our allies, it shows just how right I was in my warning. Political-historical cycles are real forces. When you look at Jeremiah, in my view, Jeremiah appears - especially in his 70-year prophecy to have a good political-historical sense.

“Justice is nothing but the advantage of the stronger”

                                                                                        - Thrasymachus (c. 459 – c. 400 BC)

“I’m not an impartial juror. This is a political process,”

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on the fake news impeachment trial

Senator McConnell at the impeachment trial actually made no bones about how he viewed the impeachment trial as being totally and completely about power - having nothing to do with right or wrong - or even true or false. Before the Impeachment Trial even began, he made it perfectly clear he was going to ram an acquittal verdict down the throats of the Democrats - regardless of right or wrong, justice, truth - or anything "good or decent" in politics for that matter. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) stated outright that no one should "expect him to handle President Trump’s impeachment trial as an impartial juror: “I’m not an impartial juror. This is a political process,” McConnell told reporters Tuesday while fielding questions about the upcoming trial. I tell you my letter to the Canadian embassy in mid-march 2017 hit the nail on the head.

The might makes right historical-political cycle is still running its course. The problem is that the extremist right wing “Christian” persecution and discrimination of minorities by “Christian leaders” is still ongoing and seems to be getting worse in a way. Voting: Laws making it more difficult to vote, and in several cases increasing the opportunity for Republican partisans to exert more influence over election administration and vote tabulation, have been probably the most visible component of the red state push. In 2021, 19 states – including Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Montana and Texas – passed a total of 34 laws restricting access to voting, according to tabulations by the Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU Law School. The center counts 250 bills to further restrict voting access that have been introduced this year or carried over from last year’s session and another 41 that could erode the integrity of election administration. Meanwhile, the new voter identification requirements in Texas have resulted in the rejection of so many mail ballots that local Democratic officials in Harris County have asked the US Justice Department to intervene.

Reflections and commentary

It would seem apparent that the might makes right letters to the embassies are one of the best illustrations of a spiritual-psychological read, as it were. In a letter to the Canadian embassy in 2018 I stated that: "Personally, I view the current politics as sort of like a political (with strong religious undercurrents) type of an almost influenza which will unfortunately run its course. A recent Pew Research study showed that Americans are more divided now than even during the height of the Vietnam War. Personally, I am sick to death of the politics." A recent study-poll revealed that 78% of Republicans want to see Trump re-elected.

A point of order: The influenza metaphor in August 2018 turned out to be an excellent forecast of the political course of events - but technically true as well. Prior to the last election which Trump lost studies revealed that in countries which were hardest hit by the corona virus Trump lost the most support among Republicans.

An Epithet by former Secretary of Defense James Mattis

In an article on June 3 2020 in the Atlantic by Jeffrey Goldberg, “James Mattis Denounces President Trump, Describes Him as a Threat to the Constitution”

James Mattis, the esteemed Marine general who resigned as secretary of defense in December 2018 to protest Donald Trump’s Syria policy, has, ever since, kept studiously silent about Trump’s performance as president. But he has now broken his silence, writing an extraordinary broadside in which he denounces the president for dividing the nation, and accuses him of ordering the U.S. military to violate the constitutional rights of American citizens.

“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us,” Mattis writes. “We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children.”

 

My story really started, in October 18, 1981 with a – comparatively – very detailed and exceptionally accurate compared to other historical documents. Some [accurate] details are: group, fabricating bombs, money, woman, 22 were assembled, New York, death, as well as the weathermen terrorist manifesto There were a couple of very important – critical actually - lessons I learned right at the start.

1.      Between madness and insight: J. E. Kennedy points out 45% of people in one particular study reported an initial reaction of fear to their spiritual-psychic experiences. Categorization is well-known and well-proven process in the human mind. In my experience it si clear that the experience which is unexplainable under the normal standard model of physics everybody has embedded through real world experience in their mind was the cause of fear.  I thought it over very intensely – I mean intensely! In my view what made it worse is that I had no upbringing in spirituality or religiosity – believe it or not – consciously I was an atheist and consciously – at the time – I felt all spirituality was superstitious nonsense.

Needless to say, I had a few rough days, but one night in Ann Arbor – mentally I was definitely two steps over the line – and fortunately realized it. I realized that my detailed experience – which I could not ignore because it was written, documented, with a FOIPA stamp on it – is beyond my comprehension – that I would never ever “comprehend” that experience. So, the fact that the absolute truth, and transcendental Intelligence [ God] are beyond words and beyond comprehension is welded into my consciousness. I personally feel it is rather presumptuous to talk about God.

Long before any of modern day scientists and psychologists, St Gregory of Nyssa, an early Christian mystic (roughly 335 – 395 AD), and the early Christian mystic Dionysius the Areopagite (c. late 5th to early 6th century), as well as St. Augustine all stated unequivocally that God - and "Absolute Truth" are beyond words and beyond comprehension.

St. Gregory of Nyssa states, “According to the true words of the Lord [Mt 5.8, the pure in heart will see God. They will receive as much as their minds can comprehend. However, the unbounded incomprehensible divinity remains beyond all understanding.” (SoS J.246 & M.941, p.161) The early Christian mystic Dionysius the Areopagite mirrored St Gregory of Nyssa, when he states, “I said in my Theological Representations that one can neither discuss not understand the One, The Super unknowable, the Transcendent, Goodness itself….”!

1. my recent 10-30-21 email to FBI agent McElwee warning about a “domestic terrorist” threat specifying a “bomb” as the weapon. which correlates - of course - to the Nashville bombing Christmas day 2020

2. My very detailed, specific, and notarized warning to the FBI on October 18, 1981 about the impending attack by the then active Weathermen terrorist group. Some [accurate] details are: group, fabricating bombs, money, woman, 22 were assembled, New York, death, as well as the weathermen terrorist manifesto. For the record - besides being notarized the document does have a FOIPA stamp on it.

3. My (very short) warning to the FBI prior to the assassination attempt of president Reagan

4. My call to the CIA prior to 9/11.

New Paradigm-Approach to Meaning and Spirituality

Holistic Synthesis & Baumeister’s Paradigm: Unconscious Spiritual Symbolism, William James Filter, and “New Integrative Approach” as Synthesis-Consensus of Frank, Jung, and James

 

                “Each of us carries a unique spark of the divine,

               and each of us is also an inseparable part of the web of life.” - Viktor Frankl

 

 

"[O]ur perceptions of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty, which only in their most primitive forms are accessible to our minds---it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute true religiosity!" This profound observation by Albert Einstein shows how deeply embedded in human consciousness spiritually oriented emotions and spirituality actually are.

Introduction

Albert Einstein, near the beginning of his career, in a short article titled, The World As I See It (included in Living Philosophies (1931)), eloquently illustrated the spiritual ‘essence of being,’ as it were, when he stated unequivocally, “The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. Whoever does not know it and can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead, and his eyes are dimmed. It was the experience of mystery---even if mixed with fear---that engendered religion. A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, our perceptions of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty, which only in their most primitive forms are accessible to our minds---it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute true religiosity; it is in this sense, and this alone, I am a deeply religious man.” (p.11 Ideas) Awe and wonder about life, the universe, and ‘Creation’ are powerful feelings and emotions prevalent throughout humanity which frequently tend to engender spiritual feelings.

At one time or another, nearly everyone experiences spiritually oriented feelings and emotions. In fact, the Japanese language even has a specific word for the very natural and powerful emotions of awe and wonder, which Einstein so eloquently described: "Yugen!" Yugen is defined as an awareness of life or the universe that triggers or elicits emotional or spiritual responses too deep and too powerful for words, or alternatively, the core ability of a person to truly appreciate and comprehend art and beauty, and highlighting the Yugen perspective as the ability and potential to “evoke” an awareness as opposed to explicitly stating or explaining an idea or concept. 

Carl Sagan, in his book, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, argues Einstein's case for spirituality and spiritual beliefs in even stronger terms than Einstein used. Carl Sagan stated “Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality.” The wonder and awe at the perception of the radiant beauty of life, the universe, and 'creation' - the transcendent “mystery” - as Einstein so fondly spoke of it, lies beyond our ordinary 'primitive' human consciousness.

Baumeister's Paradigm & Holistic Synthesis

Baumeister pointed out that - technically - there is No Ultimate Meaning of Life - that a person's meaning of life is made up of myriad smaller meanings - the meanings of parents, siblings, children, academics and school, religious beliefs, spirituality, government, police, and so on. Neuroscientists stress that same principle - that the brain is so intricate and so interconnected that a lot of different factors go into "morals" for instance. In general, my understanding of meaning is consistent with meaning as expressed by Viktor Frankl, William James, and Carl Jung. Generally, people don’t make up meaning - but uncover and discover meaning. Meaning is embedded in our DNA and the unique circumstances of our experiences, our culture and historical environment, circumstances and – of course – our lives. In a sense life is a story of discovery and development of our meanings, perspective, purposes, and destiny. As such meaning would be a holistic synthesis.

Why is Baumeister’s Paradigm important? Because if you don’t have the proper model, misunderstandings can easily result. The life of Lev Tolstoy, the famous novelist and author of War and Peace seemed to parallel the spiritual crises of the characters in his novel. After he reached a pinnacle in his career after writing War and Peace, Tolstoy had a major spiritual crisis. He became pretty despondent and depressed. Driven to understand the meaning of life, he diligently studied philosophy and the humanities. In his fervor Tolstoy decided that no emotions had any real merit for application to the “Ultimate Meaning of Life.” Of course, today “emotions” psychologists and neuro-scientists will tell you emotions are pivotal in motivations. Of course centuries earlier both St Gregory of Nyssa and St Augustine pointed out that Absolute Truth {God] is beyond human comprehension. Because Tolstoy could not find any absolute meaning or purpose of the universe, he concluded – like many still do today that there is no meaning to life – and the only way to live life is through faith. So, having the proper tool for analysis is important. I encounter college graduates today who tell me there is no “meaning” to life because they cannot perceive the ultimate purpose of the universe. That is Tolstoy’s fallacy – to think his life is intimately intertwined with the ultimate purpose of the universe.  

Funk and Gazzanigna observe that: “Morality is a set of complex emotional and cognitive processes that is reflected across many brain domains. Some of them are recurrently found to be indispensable in order to emit a moral judgment, but none of them is uniquely related to morality…………Some of the emotions processed are more central to morality than others, but all emotions contribute to moral judgment given specific contextual situations. Brain Architecture of human morality, Funk and Gazzanigna Current opinion in Neurobiology 2009 19:678-681)

The Holistic Synthesis of Spiritualities

Of course, the same is true for spirituality - especially with religious people - there would be the spirituality of compassion ("love one another"), the spirituality of righteousness and morals (which is distinct from righteousness in my view), artistic spirituality. the spirituality of marital fidelity, the spirituality of religious rituals, the spirituality of the sacred, music, dancing, and so on. Abraham Heschel (1907 – 1972), a “leading” Jewish philosopher and theologian, in his book The Prophets, Heschel quotes N. K. Chadwick when he says: “Everywhere the gift of prophecy is inseparable from divine inspiration. Everywhere this inspiration carries with it knowledge – whether of the past, in the form of history and genealogy; of the hidden present in the form of scientific information; and of the future in the form of prophetic utterance in the narrower sense…..Invariably we find that……….his [the poet’s] mood is exalted and remote from his normal existence…..”     (P. 482 – 483) Heschel goes on to say, “The prophet is like a poet who is frequently overcome by a raptus mentis [raptus conveys seized, captured, trance-like state, and ecstasy and mentis conveys standing outside oneself or departure of the mind].

In fact, Catherine Hall, in her article, ‘Reading and [w]rocking’: Morality and musical creativity in the Harry Potter fandom, observes, “Wizard rock, often stylized in written form as ‘wrock’, creatively engages with and augments the content world of Harry Potter through musically and lyrically diverse performances. Fan studies centred on Harry Potter have often discussed the application of fictional heroism to real-world issues, and wizard rock musicians are frequently cited as fandom activists. However, there is little analysis of the music, lyrics and performances of wizard rock as it relates to the moral messages of the series……… wizard rock community’s application of fictional heroism through music, lyrics and performance encourages fellow Harry Potter fans to embrace heroic qualities in the real world.” (CATHERINE HALL Florida State University ‘Reading and [w]rocking’: Morality and musical creativity in the Harry Potter fandom; Journal of Fandom Studies Volume 4 Number 2 © 2016 Intellect Ltd Article. English language. doi: 10.1386/jfs.4.2.193_)

The bottom line is that the Holistic Synthesis Paradigm, I believe is the proper “model” or framework for understanding spirituality.

Real Energy: Unconscious Symbolism – minimally – contains psychological emotional energy

YouGov's latest research shows that nearly two thirds of Americans (62%) say that they like Star Wars. Men (73%) are more likely than women (51%), however, to say that they like Star Wars. Women (39%) are also nearly twice as likely as men (23%) to say that they have never watched a Star Wars movie. Logo

69% of Americans have, however, watched a Star Wars film. When you first saw a Star Wars film depends a lot on how old you are, as younger Americans are unsurprisingly a lot more likely to have first seen the movies when they were kids. Overall, however, 35% of Americans first saw a Star Wars when they were a child and 34% first saw a Star Wars when they were already an adult. (Star Wars more popular with men than women, You Gov, Peter Moore) It is interesting that polls indicate that North America has the largest fan base proportionately with over 1 in 3 internet users identifying themselves as Star Wars fans. Wikipedia states the fact that “A real-life religion based on Star Wars called Jediism follows a modified version of the Jedi Code, and they believe in the concept of The Force as an energy field of all living things, which "surrounds us... penetrates us" and "binds the galaxy together", as is depicted within Star Wars movies, although without the fictional elements such as telekinesis

So, it would seem an inevitable conclusion that in light of the widespread popularity of Star Wars and Harry Potter that this could not happen without spiritual and spirit as life force symbols and symbolism in the unconscious. What people consciously believe is a matter Free Will – as well as circumstance, upbringing, personality and experiences. As Bargh observes what people consciously believe and how the unconscious processes information are two different questions. That being said, - to say that spiritual symbols do not exist and are not influential at all would be utter foolishness. 

Carole Cusack, co-editor of the anthology, The Sacred in Fantastic Fandom, observes ion the coauthored Introduction, Cusack argues that in their contextualization of these works as sources of scripture, containing sacred truths and moral imperatives, this development indicates a “radical democratization of the sacred,” both by wresting the traditional art of hermeneutics form scholiasts and theologians and handing it to the lay-reader, and by substituting young adult novels for the Bible or a similarly ancient and revered text.” (p. 7) I personally found Cusack’s comment about the “radical democratization of the sacred,” fascinating. If one accepts the archetypal collective unconscious as a given (which Fandom substantiates) – and a reality – then the question of the spiritual and religious leaders having lost control of “spirit” – and the Holy spirit - is a question with a number of possibilities and potential.

Genetics of Spiritual and Religious Beliefs & Genetic Unconscious Spiritual Processes

It would stand to reason, then, that spirituality, and the brain's spiritual-religious processes, would have been deeply engaged in creating - and establishing - the social ideals of religion and society. I would mention briefly, now, that religious beliefs and beliefs in spirit and spirituality have been around in human society and human consciousness for tens of thousands of years. Spiritual beliefs may date - at least - as far back as 100,000 years ago which dates the earliest known "grave goods" found in a human burial in a cave in Israel. Many scientists believe that the consciousness of death was the genesis of religious beliefs since the mysterious and frightening disappearance of consciousness when a person died required some kind of explanation or way to grasp this traumatic event. Studies of twins and adopted children have demonstrated that some traits of personality are inherited. Likewise, some studies show that "religiosity" is genetic to some extent as well. It would only stand to reason, then, that the human mind would have 'factory installed software,' as one neuroscientist put it, connected with spiritual symbolism and abstract-thought as well as meaning creation, and ideals.

Tim Spector, in the article, What Twins Reveal About The Science Of Faith (Popular Science, August 8, 2013) states, “They [the researchers] estimated the heritability of spirituality to be around 40 to 50 percent, which is quite high considering how tricky it is to measure. Other U.S. studies using even more detailed questions in larger numbers have found similar or even stronger genetic influences. These studies demonstrate our variable but innate inherited sense of spirituality, which affects how we perceive the world, ourselves and the universe. This is independent of our formal religious beliefs and practices and, strangely, largely independent of family influence.” Complementing this is the research of Koenig et al. (2005) who report that the contribution of genes to variation in religiosity (called heritability) increases from 12% to 44% and the contribution of shared (family) effects decreases from 56% to 18% between adolescence and adulthood.”

Building Blocks: Setting the Stage: Basics of Unconscious Processes

Brief overview of some principles involved in unconscious processes. Unconscious “mental categories” – paralleled perhaps by unconscious archetypal symbolism structure – is a pivotal characteristic of the unconscious which filters information – creating mindsets. As Bargh observes there is a consensus that the unconscious is the work horse of the human mind.

1.           Three major forms of automatic self-regulation are identified: an automatic effect of perception on action, automatic goal pursuit, and a continual automatic evaluation of one's experience. From the accumulating evidence, the authors conclude that these various nonconscious mental systems perform the lion's share of the self-regulatory burden, beneficently keeping the individual grounded in his or her current environment. (Bargh, the New Unconscious)

2.           Genes primarily drive our behavior through motivations (Tomasello et al., 2005). The active goal or motive is the local agent by which the genetic influence from the distant past finds expression. Evolution works through motives and strategies—the desired end states that we seek from whatever starting point in history and geographical location the cards of fate have dealt us (Tomasello et al., 2005). The Unconscious Mind

3.           Evolution (as well as early learning and culture) influences our preferences and, through them, our tendencies to approach or avoid aspects of our environment. We are predisposed to prefer certain objects and aspects of our environment over others. We are often guided by our feelings, intuitions, and gut reactions, which prioritize the things that are important to do or attend to (Damasio, 1996; Schwarz & Clore, 1996). (Bargh)

John Bargh on Filtering Processes of the Human Mind

Attention “implies a withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others.” William James

John Bargh, a research and psychologist of the unconscious, observes, “When I was about twelve years old, we had a big family reunion and I decided to bring a tape recorder so we’d have a recording of our grandparents and uncles and aunts and cousins for posterity. I come from a large extended family so it was a really noisy room. During the gathering, our grandma sat on the couch and told some great stories in the middle of all other conversations. We listened and enjoyed all of them, and a few days after the reunion, we went back to listen to it again. What a disappointment! Just noise, noise, noise, a million people talking at once and no way to pick out her voice from the other people talking, even though we heard her so clearly at the time. We quickly figured out that we hadn’t noticed the background noise because we had been so captivated by our grandmother’s stories. We’d filtered out what everyone else was saying. The actual, physical sounds in that room at the time, without the mind’s built-in filters, were there on the tape recording.” From my forty years of experience with psychiatrists and psychologists I can tell you flat out they never heard a single word I said. In fact, in forty years whenever I told my “What a nightmare – Mustard seed story” which is documented (notarized with a FOIPA stamp) not one said a single word – nothing – which si conditioning. They block – or filter - it out. The psychologists and psychiatrists I encountered were simply not objective – at all! (p. 111 Before you know it)

Attention, Intention, Motivation, Drive, and Spirituality

For perspective, it would be helpful to step back and take a quick look at the underlying fundamentals involved in religious and spiritual beliefs. Clifford Geertz ’s reputation as a brilliant anthropologist is well deserved. He takes complex conceptual frameworks and expresses them in easily understood comprehensive statements. A pivotal argument in his writing is that symbolism and meaning are both essential and critical for both culture and religion. As Ira Chernus emphasized Geertz’s five-part definition of religion published in the mid 1960’ has become universally accepted in the social sciences. The pivotal concept of religion as a 'realistic' "system of symbols" in which emotions and "long lasting moods and motivations" play a pivotal role is central.

“The view of man as a symbolizing, conceptualizing, meaning-seeking animal, which has become increasingly popular both in the social sciences and in philosophy over the past several years, opens up a whole new approach not only to the analysis of religion as such, but to the understanding of the relations between religion and values. The drive to make sense out of experience, to give it form and order, is evidently as real and pressing as the more familiar biological needs. And, this being so, it seems unnecessary to continue to interpret symbolic activities --- religion, art, ideology – as nothing but thinly disguised expressions of something other than what they seem to be: attempts to provide orientation to an organism which cannot live in a world it is unable to understand.” (p.140) Geertz never explains why he used the word “orientation” as a pivotal concept in his description of religious beliefs. However, several spiritual leaders advocate the idea that there is a spiritual substrate as it were which is simply an awareness or orientation of the world and the All.

 William James in the chapter Perception of Reality in his iconic treatise Principles of Psychology “makes the still startling assertion that “Will and Belief….are two names for one and the same phenomenon.” Even more fundamental and challenging is the formula he put in the note, saying “belief and attention are the same fact.”” (P. 46 Heart of William James) That is very similar to Viktor Frankl’s “Will to meaning – where motivation, drive and meaning are intimately intertwined The contemporary psychologist, Eric Klinger, whose expertise is in personality psychology and motivation theory, focuses on the influences of motivation and emotion on cognition. Klinger suggests a “primary function of several emotions is to direct attention to concern-related stimuli. (p.42)

Neuroscience and Attention

Neuroscientists also focus on attention – especially in the parietal complex and emphasize the intimate interconnections between attention-Intention and motivation. I feel it important to comment that this simple and basic function of emotions explains a pivotal function of the spiritual beliefs in animal spirits during the hunter-gatherer stage – to direct attention to animals being that at that stage animals were the source of the human species sustenance at that time [an argument I haven’t yet found in google-scholar search of anthropology and sociology]!

So, it would seem an inescapable conclusion, then, that a primary function of the spiritual beliefs in animal spirits would be to "direct attention" as Eric Klinger argues and William James observed over one hundred years earlier that "attention" and belief are intricately interconnected and - again - a major reason for the spiritual beliefs in animal spirits is to assure energy and attention is directed and focused on an activity which is prerequisite of survival - which most biologists would likely agree to be a "fruitful" pursuit." Of course, I would be remiss if I failed to point out that the fruitful and down to earth goal of survival would hardly be said to be an entirely "supernatural" endeavor - though - again, very productive, creative, and - at least in my view - fruitful. I must confess though that staying alive does appear a rather worthwhile endeavor in my view (though I could possibly be highly opinionated, by some standards). Spirituality has been intimately connected with survival until materialism came along and became dominant after the Age of Reason. The problem is not with spirit7ality – the problem is with materialism. 

Neuroscience, Filters, and Attention 

It is argued that selectivity in processing has emerged through evolution as a design feature of a complex multi-channel sensorimotor system, which generates selective phenomena of “attention” as one of many by-products.  The present paper reaffirms and expands this position by placing particular and new emphasis on the interconnected and integrative nature of the human sensorimotor information processing systems. This emphasis on integrated sensoricognitive-motor processes takes inspiration from the synthetic approach to understanding “cognition” (Hommel & Colzato, 2015) and a proposed phylogenetic refinement of the scientific approach to understanding behavior (Cisek, 2019 [this issue]). (p. 2288)

As an alternative to the analytic approach, we provide a brief review of the phylogenetic evolution of the human brain (for an expanded account, see Cisek, 2019 [this issue]) and show how selective attention emerged as just one necessary consequence of the challenges facing animals behaving in the natural world. (p.2289)

How is this related to attention? A few sentences after that famous phrase we quoted above, James wrote that attention “implies a withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others.” interact with another stimulus is indeed accomplished, quite literally, within the approach circuit of the rostral tectum. And while these simple circuits for governing interactive behavior may seem far removed from the higher cognition of humans, they are indeed the precursors to the mechanisms that control what has been called “selective attention.” The tectum is homologous to the human superior colliculus, which, as discussed earlier, is strongly implicated in both orienting gaze through eye and head movements and in controlling covert attention when gaze is stationary (Basso & May, 2017).

Summary and Conclusions

We thus conclude that selectivity emerged through evolution as a design feature to enable efficient goal-directed action. Such selectivity became necessary as the action repertoire of the given line of organisms that led to humans increased. This means that selectivity is an emerging property arising from myriad underlying processes, and the simple fact that humans (and other species showing selective attention) evolved the way they did, with selective attention being one of many byproducts, next to “selective intention” and “selective decision making.” Here, we have primarily emphasized selection mechanisms in the superior colliculus and parietal cortex, but similar arguments can be made for other selection mechanisms in other brain regions. P. 2298

                                              The Synthesis-Consensus of Jung, Frankl, and James:

                               "Spirit" [spiritual processes] Creates Meaning and a Sense of Reality

It appears readily apparent from my research that the three "best" theories that properly addressed the "spiritual" aspect of spiritual and religious beliefs were developed by Carl Jung, Viktor Frankl, and William James. What makes that remarkable is that Jung, Frankl, and James each had their own spiritual experience. It was well known that Carl Jung had a “spiritual guide” who he referred to as Philemon who was a source of inspiration and creativity for him. As Tom Butler-Bowdon observed about William James, “Inserted into the text of The Varieties of Religious Experience is the mention of a man who managed to save himself from insanity by anchoring his mind to powerful statements from the Bible. It so happens that this person, referred to as a 'French correspondent', was the author himself.” Viktor Frankl, as a prisoner of a Nazi concentration camp told a tale of how one time when he and fellow prisoners were on a forced work party on a very bitterly cold evening, Frankl felt a euphoric state of universal love overwhelm him.

It seems by implication that their experiences helped them understand some of the basic principles about spirituality. Carl Jung’s seems, apparently, to have realized that “spirit” [spiritual processes] are autonomous unconscious processes with a capability to over-ride the ego similar to how the conscience can over-ride the ego. As Butler-Bowden observed, “James' conclusion was that a state of faith could transform a life utterly, even though what is believed strictly speaking may not exist. Religion can genuinely heal a person, integrating what before was fragmented.” That is James argued that spiritual and religious experiences can create a sense of reality.

Carl Jung: "Spirit gives meaning to his [man's] life" - Carl Jung, a psychoanalyst and contemporary of Sigmund Freud, couldn't have been clearer or more succinct when he made that simple but profound statement. (CW8:643) Jung observed, in the Collected Works (CW8: 648 -1968 revised) that “Life and spirit are two powers or necessities between which man is placed. Spirit gives meaning to his life, and the possibility of its greatest development. But life is essential to spirit, since its truth is nothing if it cannot live.” This is consistent with Jung’s strongly expressed belief that experiences are a primary influence on a person’s beliefs. In a remarkably parallel viewpoint William Gould observes that Viktor Frankl, who also believed human beings have "spirit," argued that "Meaning analysis is based on three essential premises: the freedom of will; the will to meaning, and the meaning of life." (p.42 Frankl: Life...) Here again “Spirit” appears to be moderated or influenced by both “life” and “will” – so the over-simplistic statement that “spirit creates meaning and a sense of reality has several other significant forces influencing it.

Viktor Frankl: Paul Wong elaborates on Viktor Frankl's views regarding the nature and characteristics of spiritual or noetic (from nous)processes in the mind "in the following quotation: "The noetic (spiritual, specifically human) dimension contains such qualities as our will to meaning [Frankl's central concept of the human being's primary drive] our goal orientation, ideas and ideals, creativity, imagination, faith, love that goes beyond the physical, a conscience beyond the superego, self-transcendence, commitments, responsibility, a sense of humor, and the freedom of choice making. The human dimension is the medicine chest of the logotherapist. Patients are made aware that they have these rich resources of health within." (Fabry 1994 pp.18-19) (p.156) Also, Paul Wong notes that, like many other modern day existentialist and positive psychologists, “Park (2007) regards religion and spirituality as meaning systems.” (p. 156) One could infer then that like Frankl, Park would agree that spiritual processes would be involved in meaning creation.

William James: “They [abstractions (symbols) and spiritual emotions-experiences] determine our vital attitude as decisively as the vital attitude of lovers is determined by the habitual sense, …… They are convincing to those who have them as any direct sensible experiences can be, and they are, as a rule, much more convincing than results established by mere logic are……if you do have them, and have them at all strongly, the probability is that you cannot help regarding them as genuine perceptions of truth, as revelations of a kind of reality [my underlining] which no adverse argument, however unanswerable by you in words, can expel from your belief" is what William James emphasizes in his classic work, originally published in 1902, The Varieties of Religious Experiences. (P.47) William James goes on to say that religious experiences and spiritual experiences create and generate a “sense of reality” (p.48)

Reflections: "Spirit" and spiritual beliefs are prevalent in every major religion, in one form or another, but especially in the Gospel of John, spirit and truth and the inter-connection is frequently highlighted. Jesus Christ stated unequivocally that "Spirit is Truth" (John 5:6) - which is remarkably parallel to Jung's observations about spirit, truth, and life.

Summary: Holistic Synthesis resulting form Filtering processes of Unconscious symbolism

1.      Harry Potter and Star Wars Fandom Studies: Fandom studies clearly indicate the existence of unconscious spiritually oriented symbolism.

2.      Unconscious Spiritual Symbolism: Spiritual symbolism tends to be emotionally charged at times

3.      Unconscious Potential: That could be understood as an Unconscious potential – similar to the “seed” parable which often symbolizes the potential creation of life. 

4.      Filter: Which people filter information differently which could explain why Fraser Watts, in Psychology, Religion, and Spirituality, did highlight the fact that in one survey 24% of the people in the survey who responded that they did have spiritual or transcendental spiritual experiences turned out to be atheists. Since atheists as well as religious and spiritual people have spiritual experiences that would seem a clear indication that "unconscious" spiritual processes are at work. I have come across some information that indicates that the “materialist” mindset is also genetic to an extent. And there are studies as J. E. Kennedy points out that indicate that NF personalities have a predisposition for seeing visions of deceased people. 

Highlights: 40 years of spiritual and psychic-spiritual experiences

I have about six documented dreams - with reasonable interpretations that could also be considered "threat perceptions" to the group alongside animal alarm calls. Highlights of my awakened psychic-spiritual experiences would be:

1. My recent 10/30/21 email to FBI Agent McElwee warning of a “domestic terrorism” threat specifying a “bomb” as a weapon. which corresponds - of course - to the Nashville bombing on Christmas Day 2020

2. My very detailed, specific and notarized warning to the FBI on October 18, 1981 about the impending attack by the then active Weathermen terrorist group. Some [accurate] details are: group, bomb-making, money, wife, 22 were assembled, New York, death, as well as the meteorologists' terrorist manifesto. Strong that it receives - in addition to being notarized, the document bears a FOIPA stamp.

3. My (very brief) warning to the FBI before the assassination attempt on President Reagan

4. My call to the CIA before 9/11.

I should mention briefly that – personally - I believe my spiritual – psychic experiences are expressions of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore the “proof” is in my fruitfulness. My writing about social consciousness which links it scientifically to the abundant evidence from research into social perception and unconscious research, is a new approach. Furthermore, I outline kapwa-loob (self as others) and Enriquez’ Filipino psychology, as well as Ununtu (self as others) (i.e. Anglican bishop Desmond Tutu), and Anam Cara (i.e Irish poet-theologian John O’Donohue), as well as Confucianism (also self as others) and the similar concept of  Dharma in Hinduism. In my research, other Irish Catholic leaders support the idea of relatedness and Anam Cara in articles I have seen. Also in my research some Filipino Catholic leaders support the Filipino idea of “self-as-others” which form my research is relatively sophisticated involving Kapwa and loob and several other ideas and words. The problem is that materialist social sciences have no ideal or concept even remotely similar. 

 

On top of that I identify the primary materialist argument on social consciousness that human consciousness is restricted to the firing of neurons in the brain (or alternatively Allport’s there is no psychology of groups as a false premise or fallacy. It does not follow from the fact that neurons fire in the brain that there is no Social Consciousness. Furthermore, I highlight the studies that indicate that the materialist cult of extreme individualism (David Hay) has given rise to an epidemic of the mental illness of narcissism.     

Spirit, Spirituality, Creativity, and Making Sense of the World

“Spirit, to me, is literally; everything. It is the universe beyond our very small, limited existence as human in a physical world. This encompasses your view too, of Spirit being a creative force. It is THE creative force since it is everything. So, when we as humans, create or connect or dream or heal...we tap into Spirit.”  - Angel  (counselor of old  - 2018) What is interesting is that contemporary sociological evidence provides substantial support for the correlation between spirituality, creativity, idealism and Making Sense of the World

My Worldview (for the record) My personal guiding lights are "spirit and truth" as in John 4:23-24. That is a very broad and inclusive principle, which spiritual people from other religious backgrounds generally don't object to - especially in that spirit as life-force is an almost universal symbol - concept in early human cultures throughout the world. Spirit and truth as I understand it also embraces the spirituality of Einstein - as well as atheists and artists and creative people in general- who profoundly proclaimed in his eloquent statement that “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.” Einstein identifies spirituality in that context as a powerful motivation and drive to grasp and comprehend the truth and reality of the universe. Einstein also stated that "He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed." Lastly I would add that spirt and truth would seem well "grounded" in that much of human endeavor centers on "truth" in one form or another and spirituality would embrace much of the innumerable intangible and unquantifiable aspects of human consciousness such as art, hope, ideals, true love, creativity and so on. 

"‘Reading and [w]rocking’: Morality and musical creativity in the Harry Potter fandom," Catherine Hall

Catherine Hall begins her article by stating: "Wizard rock, often stylized in written form as ‘wrock’, creatively engages with and augments the content world of Harry Potter through musically and lyrically diverse performances. Fan studies centred on Harry Potter have often discussed the application of fictional heroism to real-world issues, and wizard rock musicians are frequently cited as fandom activists. However, there is little analysis of the music, lyrics and performances of wizard rock as it relates to the moral messages of the series. Focusing on the work of the first wizard rock band, Harry and the Potters, I unite ethnographic fieldwork with historical research and the study of myth to place wizard rock within a narrative of musical activism, fan creativity and morality in music. Similar to their heroes in the books, these musicians imbue their music and their self images with the series’ morals, historical tropes and archetypes. They make this morality tangible by donating proceeds of compilation albums or music subscription series sales to nonprofit organizations, and by weaving these messages into their music. I argue that the wizard rock community’s application of fictional heroism through music, lyrics and performance encourages fellow Harry Potter fans to embrace heroic qualities in the real world."

A Pivotal Piece of the Puzzle for Understanding Spirituality (as opposed to proving) 

A Contemporary Sociological Proof of Unconscious Spiritual symbols and Symbolism due to the Immense and Unprecedented Massive Popularity and Public Displays of Star Wars and Harry Potter Fandom – so it is blatantly self-evident that the Jung-Bargh Unconscious Spiritual Symbolism is a Reality – in particular Jungian Archetypal Theory. The Scale of Fandom: Star Wars and Harry Potter: Star Wars: 125,844,257 Americans described themselves as either “avid” or “casual” fans of Star Wars. Out of an adult population of 209,128,094. Harry Potter: According to Pottermore, more than 500 million Harry Potter books have been sold worldwide. That means one in 15 people in the world owns at least one Harry Potter book

Evidence of a genetic predisposition for the idea or symbolism of “spirit” is easy to find and plentiful in abundance. For instance, “May the Force be with you!” has become a cultural Icon. In the article The Fandom Menace, Tom Morris observes that “With a total value of over $68 billion, “Star Wars” is the fifth-highest grossing media franchise of all time.” Morris goes on to say that “At the beginning of 2017, Star Wars fans accounted for over 1 in 3 internet users. But into the second half of 2019, this figure has fallen to just over 1 in 4.” What is fascinating is that “Star Wars has the rare advantage of being a popular franchise, with cross-generational appeal” in that, roughly between 23 to 26% of internet users from generation Z, generation X, Millennials, and Boomers. Another intriguing fact is that “2 in 3 Star Wars fans agree the internet makes them feel closer to people.” (The Fandom Menace: Profiling Star Wars’ Influential Fanbase Tom Morris Tom’s an Insights Analyst & Writer at GWI).  The “Jedi” are a real organized religion in some countries. Throughout the world many people answer census questions and list their religion as "Jedi knights" with surprisingly high responses in England, Australia and New Zealand. So, yes, large numbers of people who believe in a Life-Force that "surrounds us... penetrates us" and "binds the galaxy together" – to quote Obi Wan Kenobi.

That is consistent with the the Synthesis Consensus of Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung and William James - or the "New Integrative Approach" as Dr. Paul Wong termed it. Dr. Paul Wong elaborates on Viktor Frankl's views regarding the nature and characteristics of spiritual or noetic (from nous) processes in the mind: "The noetic (spiritual, specifically human) dimension contains such qualities as our will to meaning [Frankl's central concept of the human being's primary drive] our goal orientation, ideas and ideals, creativity, imagination, faith, love that goes beyond the physical, a conscience beyond the superego, self-transcendence, commitments, responsibility, a sense of humor, and the freedom of choice making.

Carl Jung: "Spirit gives meaning to his [man's] life" - Carl Jung, a psychoanalyst and contemporary of Sigmund Freud, couldn't have been clearer or more succinct when he made that simple but profound statement. (CW8:643) Jung observed, in the Collected Works (CW8: 648 -1968 revised) that “Life and spirit are two powers or necessities between which man is placed. Spirit gives meaning to his life, and the possibility of its greatest development. But life is essential to spirit, since its truth is nothing if it cannot live.”

William James: “They [abstractions (symbols) and spiritual emotions-experiences] determine our vital attitude as decisively as the vital attitude of lovers is determined by the habitual sense, …… They are convincing to those who have them as any direct sensible experiences can be, and they are, as a rule, much more convincing than results established by mere logic are……if you do have them, and have them at all strongly, the probability is that you cannot help regarding them as genuine perceptions of truth, as revelations of a kind of reality [my underlining] which no adverse argument, however unanswerable by you in words, can expel from your belief" is what William James emphasizes in his classic work, originally published in 1902, The Varieties of Religious Experiences. (P.47) William James goes on to say that religious experiences and spiritual experiences create and generate a “sense of reality” (p.48)

I would add that this view is also consistent with Christ's teachings on the Holy Spirit - which could be generally said to focus on: spirit and truth, spirit of truth (especially in John), life, guidance, as well as fruitfulness. My personal guiding lights are "spirit and truth" as in John 4:23-24. That is a very broad and inclusive principle, which spiritual people from other religious backgrounds generally don't object to - especially in that spirit as life-force is an almost universal symbol - concept in early human cultures throughout the world. Lastly I would add that spirt and truth would seem well "grounded" in that much of human endeavor centers on "truth" in one form or another and spirituality would embrace much of the innumerable intangible and unquantifiable aspects of human consciousness such as art, hope, ideals, true love, creativity and so on.     

The Origins of "spirit" in human consciousness.

For early humans the sudden disappearance of “life’ – the sudden cessation and absence of an unseen mysterious energy and vitality must have activated and inspired human consciousness to create symbols necessary to grasp, cope, and understand this very disquieting and emotionally traumatic event. As Carl Jung noted, there is a linguistic connection between the words for spirit which has roots in the word for "breath!"  The Hebrew word “ruach” – the word connected to the idea-symbol of “spirit” translates alternately as “wind,” “breathe,” or “spirit.” In Arabic, there are two words for the words: spirit, soul or self - namely, ruH (spirit, soul) & nafs (spirit, soul, self). Both of these Arabic words are also connected to the ideas of breath or wind (e.g. ruH is connected to riH (wind) and nafs to nafas [breath]). In modern English, the word "spirit" stems from the Latin word, spiritus, and conveys the meaning of "spirit, soul, courage, or vigor." However, the Latin "spiritus" originates in the Proto Indo European peis or speis, meaning “to blow.” As language evolved, it descended into Latin as the verb spirare, “to breathe." The Latin word anima, "soul," which is derived from the Indo-European root meaning "to breathe."

On the other side of the world, the Hindu word prana in Sanskrit, refers to “breath,” "life force," or "vital principle" and is viewed as a cosmic energy.  The ancient Egyptians believed that a human soul was made up of five parts in which “Ka” was the vital essence. Ka was breathed into a human being at the instant of birth and it was “Ka” that actually gave the person life. Likewise, in Scandinavian, Baltic, and Slavic languages, the words for "breath" are intimately connected to concepts of "the spirit.” For instance, in the ancient Germanic literary work, ond is the gift of the widely revered god of ancient Germanic mythology, Odin, who is often portrayed as a one-eyed and long-bearded spear wielding god famous for his valorous deeds which date back to the original creation. Ond, which is the metaphoric gift of spirit, also translates literally as “breath,” whose metaphoric meaning, as in so many languages, is “spirit” or “soul”.

 

It is true that this is the day and age of science and free will, and people can and have the right to think and make decisions. That being said it is crystal clear that with recent research into the unconscious, and in light of tens of thousands of years of spiritual and religious beliefs that there is without doubt a large number of symbols and symbolism in the human unconscious associated or directly connected with spirituality in one form or another. So, in a sense, the right question to ask is not what spirituality is, but what people make of it. Looking at the current world situation - especially in light of Christian support for Trump who, besides being a pathological lair, is a flagrant racist, the question of how people view God would seem very salient. As St. Augustine, St Gregory of Nyssa, and many other Christian leaders emphasize - God is beyond words and beyond comprehension anyway.  

The Genetics of Spiritual Beliefs: Tim Spector, in the article, What Twins Reveal About The Science Of Faith (Popular Science, August 8, 2013) states, “They [the researchers] estimated the heritability of spirituality to be around 40 to 50 percent, which is quite high considering how tricky it is to measure. Other U.S. studies using even more detailed questions in larger numbers have found similar or even stronger genetic influences. These studies demonstrate our variable but innate inherited sense of spirituality, which affects how we perceive the world, ourselves and the universe. This is independent of our formal religious beliefs and practices and, strangely, largely independent of family influence.”

The Genetics of Evolution: "Genes primarily drive our behavior through motivations (Tomasello et al., 2005) is a pivotal conclusion drawn by the authors, John A. Bargh and Ezequiel Morsella, in the article, "The Unconscious Mind!"  Nancy Furlotti brilliantly summarizes the views of Carl Jung, and William James in observing that, "Affect emerges from archetypes, which are the a priori ordering principles of nature, the world, and the psyche.” That statement would be largely a self-evident “truth” as it were since in order to function “efficiently” or “effectively” in any reasonable way, these “a priori ordering principles of nature, the world, and the psyche” would necessarily be a prerequisite reality in the human mind. 

John A. Bargh and Ezequiel Morsella go on to say, “The active goal or motive is the local agent by which the genetic influence from the distant past finds expression. Evolution works through motives and strategies—the desired end states that we seek from whatever starting point in history and geographical location the cards of fate have dealt us (Tomasello et al., 2005).” The authors break down motivations in by stating that "There are a multitude of behavioral impulses generated at any given time derived from our evolved motives and preferences, cultural norms and values, past experiences in similar situations, and from what other people are currently doing in that same situation. Furthermore, the authors suggest that much of perception and motivation is very subtle and processed largely unconsciously: “These impulses have afforded us unconsciously operating motives, preferences and associated approach and avoidance behavioral tendencies, as well as mimicry and other behavior priming effects triggered by the mere perception of others’ behavior." (Perspectives On Psychological Science Volume 3—Number 1 73 Copyright r 2008 Association for Psychological Science)

So, after tens of thousands of years of spiritual ands religious beliefs, it would be safe to assume that "we" all have "roughly" - very roughly - the same "unconscious structure of symbolism" associated with spirituality - it is more so that people filter information and symbolism very differently.  As Jean MacPhail, a scholar of religious studies and author  observed, the relatively well documented spiritual-psychic experiences, I have had personally, are unique - in part because they relate to political events outside my self, there is consistency of my experiences as "perceptions of threats to the group" - parallel to the alarm calls of animals as well as all having reasonable interpretations. The bottom line is that the only difference between me and others is primarily because I filter information differently - and as Jung, James, and Frankl all point out "different experiences create different worldviews!" Some seem to like my writing because I do express a different - ands interesting - perspective. Teh "categorization process" is well known and well proved and it would stand to reason that unusual experiences would be processed and categorized by the brain - as "unusual!"   

Baumeister's Paradigm: As Baumeister points out, "THE Meaning of Life" does not really exist but rather the meaning of life is really a conglomeration of diverse needs, drives, and relationships. A person's meaning of life consists of the relationships with parents, siblings, friends, teachers, education, academia, church, spiritual and religious beliefs, law and order, morality, and so on. 

The neuroscientists, Funk and Gazzanigna observe that: “Moral neuroscience is an intricate and expanding field. This review summarizes the main scientific findings obtained to date. Morality is a set of complex emotional and cognitive processes that is reflected across many brain domains. Some of them are recurrently found to be indispensable in order to emit a moral judgment, but none of them is uniquely related to morality…………Some of the emotions processed are more central to morality than others, but all emotions contribute to moral judgment given specific contextual situations. (Brain Architecture of human morality, Funk and Gazzaniga)…….The neural circuits of brain regions implicated in morality overlap with those that regulate other behavioral processes, suggesting that there is probably no undiscovered neural substrate that uniquely supports moral cognition.” Brain Architecture of human morality, Funk and Gazzanigna Current opinion in Neurobiology 2009 19:678-681) I would add that if one overviews early human societies, spiritual and religious beliefs clearly overlap morality.

   

 Preamble: "Life is partnership of God and man; God is not detached from or indifferent to our joys and griefs. Authentic vital needs of man's body and soul are a divine concern. That is why human life is holy" [everyone has some sort of transcendent "thread" that gives continuity to life and consciousness] Abraham Joshua Heschel, theologian (Between God and man, edited by Fritz A Rothschild Free Press Paper backs published by Simon and Shuster, 1959  p.140) 

"Although motivational factors are thought to be pivotal for psi phenomena, very little research has been aimed at investigating the overall effects of paranormal experiences." - Kennedy and Kanthamani

Article: An Exploratory Study of the Effects of Paranormal and Spiritual Experiences on Peoples' Lives and Well-Being J.E. Kennedy and H. Kanthamani (Original publication and copyright: The Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 1995, Volume 89, pp.249-265.

Excerpt: "Data from a convenience sample of 120 people actively interested in parapsychology who reported having had at least one paranormal and/or transcendent experience showed that these experiences increased their interest and beliefs in spiritual matters and increased their sense of well-being. More specifically, the majority of respondents indicated that the experiences resulted in increased belief in life after death, belief that their lives are guided or watched over by a higher force or being, interest in spiritual or religious matters, sense of connection to others, happiness, well-being, confidence, optimism about the future, and meaning in life. They also indicated decreases in fear of death, depression or anxiety, isolation and loneliness, and worry and fears about the future.

A large majority of respondents indicated that these effects resulted from a combination of more than one paranormal and/or transcendent experience. The magnitude of changes in well-being and spirituality were positively associated with the number of anomalous experiences. Measures of current well-being and current importance of spirituality were positively associated with reported changes in well-being and spirituality resulting from anomalous experiences.

Although 45% of the respondents indicated that a paranormal experience had made them very afraid, this fear appeared to be temporary or mixed with positive feeling because only 9% indicated that their experiences have been scary with no positive value. Further research should investigate the extent to which the findings for this selected sample apply to other populations and the extent to which motivations relating to spirituality direct or underlie the occurrence of paranormal phenomena, including in experimental settings. Recent research suggests that a world view that is open to aspects of life beyond the physical.

Recent research suggests that a world view that is open to aspects of life beyond the physical materialistic realm can be conducive to health and well-being (Borysenko, 1993; Gartner, Larson, & Allen, 1991; Koenig, 1990; Larson, et al., 1992; Ornish, 1990). Interest in this research on mind body medicine and the link between spirituality and health is rapidly growing. [p. 249-250]

Although one might expect that psychic experiences would promote this type of worldview, virtually no research has been done in parapsychology on the effects of psychic experiences on peoples' lives and worldviews. Several studies have found that near-death experiences induce positive changes or transformation in many people (Gallup with Proctor, 1982; Greyson & Stevenson, 1980; Ring, 1980; 1984), but this investigation generally has not been extended to other types of paranormal experiences

Information on the effects of psi experiences also may provide insights into motivational factors that are widely presumed by parapsychologists to guide or underlie psi phenomena. Although motivational factors are thought to be pivotal for psi phenomena (Broughton, 1988; Stanford, 1974a, 1974b; Weiner and Geller, 1984), very little research has been aimed at investigating the overall effects of paranormal experiences."

"Concepts create idols; only wonder comprehends anything. People kill one another over idols. Wonder makes us fall to our knees!"    - St Gregory of Nyssa

Methodology: Commentary and Reflections

I have found the following statement by  J.E. Kennedy and H. Kanthamani very true.  Although motivational factors are thought to be pivotal for psi phenomena, very little research has been aimed at investigating the overall effects of paranormal experiences." In my view studies about "people" who have spiritual or spiritual-psychic experiences" are like hen's teeth. A brief example would be a study of spiritual-psychic experiences in Iceland in which there was a high percentage of people who reported visions or dreams of the deceased. However the circumstances - such as "grieving" were left out.

Many respected social psychologists, including Muzafer Sherif, Edgar Schein, and Leon Festinger, relied on qualitative data from real-world contexts to ground theory building. (p. 51) As Adler and Adler (1994, p. 40) suggest, Quantitative observations, conducted in situations deliberately designed to ensure standardization and control, differ markedly from observations framed by the qualitative paradigm. Qualitative observation is fundamentally naturalistic in essence; it occurs in the natural context of occurrence, among the actors who would naturally be participating in the interaction, and follows the natural stream of everyday life. As such, it enjoys the advantage of drawing the observer into the phenomenological complexity of the world, where

connections, correlations, and causes can be witnessed as and how they unfold. (p.54) (Ethnography and Experiment in Social Psychological Theory Building: Tactics for Integrating Qualitative Field Data with Quantitative Lab Data, Gary Alan Fine and Kimberly D. Elsbach;  Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 36, 51–76 (2000) Article ID jesp.1999.1394 )

Muzafer Sherif, besides critiquing the need for "real world context," also was ultra-critical of the fact that as Viktor Frankl observed - the disciplines of science and schools of thought are separate and disconnected. Except Sherif referred to the schools of thought as “self-contained castles” who "write Social Psychology textbooks, but exclude positions which disagree with their own rather than educate students of a shared paradigm (such paradigms don’t exist, sheriff argues)." (wikipedia)

J.E . Kennedy observes: "very little research has been aimed at investigating the overall effects of paranormal experiences." I have found that to be very true in my research, and I strongly advocate hat understanding people is critical in spirituality.

Dr. Visuri (author of article on autistic spirituality & my favorite Swedish scholar)  suggested that perhaps I would find information about "people who have spiritual or spiritual-psychic experiences." in Park and Paloutzian's Handbook of The Psychology of Religion  and Spirituality (over 600 pages long) In talking with "professionals" most appear to assume if they needed to know something they would have been taught. When it comes to spirituality that simply is not true. 

I had been through the Handbook before but said I would re-review it - in particular the chapter "Mystical, Spiritual, and Religious Experiences.  In the introduction it said: “Psychologists of religion have avoided the study of paranormal experiences, tending to classify as neither religious nor spiritual. Earlier investigators labeled paranormal experiences as anomalous, attributing them to simply extraneous ("magical") thinking (Zusne & Jones)   ……[because they are magical] List of APA anomalous experiences" "hallucinations, near death, past life, mystical, and paranormal experiences"   

 

The subchapters are: 1. "UFO's and Alien abductions"  2. "Psychedelics or Entheogens" 3. Near-Death Experience 4. Numinous And Mystical Experiences. (which is mostly analysis of experiences with next to nothing on people) The conclusion says it all: "If we have reviewed experiences often ignored in mainstream psychology, it documents that the field of psychology of religion has a tumultuous history." (p. 435) Of course, I am like - what about the spirituality of grieving, children's spirituality, spirituality of recovering addicts, the spirituality of autistics and so on? 

My argument is that you can't possibly understand spirituality until you understand people who have spiritual experiences. I hold that to be a self-evident truth. 

Visuri, I. (2019). Sensory supernatural experiences in autism. Religion, Brain & Behavior, 10(2): 151-165.

Handbook of The Psychology Of Religion And Spirituality Edited by  Raymond F. Paloutzian & Crystal L. Park (Guilford Press, 2013)

"Concepts create idols; only wonder comprehends anything. People kill one another over idols. Wonder makes us fall to our knees!"    - St Gregory of Nyssa

Abstractions, concepts and ideologies create idols and people kill one another over idols. Communism and capitalism would be two prime examples. Then there are the very powerful primal forces, as Geertz points out, of religious, ethnic, nationalistic ideologies which are driven by powerful emotions generated by group related instincts so easily triggered via the ingroup-outgroup syndrome - which historically has generated countless atrocities and genocides in history in certain outgroup conflict situations.

That being said, it is clear that concepts in academia can become idols which are embraced far out of context with their true worth and meaning. Here are some examples

1. Dawkins Selfish Gene theory which states that

 Dawkins claims that "gene selfishness will usually give rise to selfishness in individual behaviour. However, as we shall see, there are special circumstances in which a gene can achieve its own selfish goals best by fostering a limited form of altruism at the level of individual animals." (wikipedia)

a. That is blatantly and obviously false “The Battle of the Somme was a battle of the First World War in which 57,470 suffered by the British were the worst in the history of the British Army.

b. Compassion for others and social support have survival value and health benefits….(p. 171) The powerful consequences of the presence or absence of others are seen as shaping forces in the evolution. Social interactions and within species interdependence are universal components of life on earth. Even bacteria are more reproductively successful in the presence of others of their own species. (p. 174, Oxford Handbook of Compassion Science – edited by Emma M. Seppala, Emiliana Simon-Thomas, Stephanie L. Brown, Monica C Worline, C. Daryl Cameron, James R. Dory) 

2. Materialist Dogma: human consciousness is confined to the firing of neurons

a. The materialist paradigm for human consciousness is that human consciousness is confined to the firing of neurons in the brain. Mossbridge and Baruss emphasize that the materialist view is that consciousness is a “byproduct of the neurology and biochemistry of the brain” (p. 24) 

b. Hazel Markus, Shinobu Kitayama, Rachel Heiman of the Social Psychology Handbook of Basic Principles, state rather boldly – and unequivocally - that “Psychologists [today] who study groups approach the idea of a group as an entity only very gingerly." Allport’s Taboo: Floyd Allport, in 1927 stated unequivocally that “There is no psychology of groups which is not essentially and entirely a psychology of individuals.”

1. There is a consensus among scientists that people are primarily social animals. Social consciousness has been around since the 3rd century A.D. minimally in the form of the concept of Dharma in Hinduism. Similarly “Confucianism is often characterized as a system of social and ethical philosophy rather than a religion. In fact, Confucianism built on an ancient religious foundation to establish the social values, institutions, and transcendent ideals of traditional Chinese society. It was what sociologist Robert Bellah called a "civil religion,"
2. Modern Scientific Evidence

Bargh summarizes the concept of social perception by stating that “The idea that social perception is a largely automated psychological phenomenon is now widely accepted. Many years of research have demonstrated the variety of ways in which behaviors are encoded spontaneously……….and how stereotypes of social groups become activated automatically on the mere perception of the distinguishing features of a group member” (The Unconscious Mind John A. Bargh and Ezequiel Morsella)

Bargh observes that: “Within each of these is stored ingrained, implicit knowledge about appropriate values and behavior, likes and dislikes. Ways of Being.” (p.82) (John Bargh: “Before You Know It”) In fact from a certain perspective the roles that people fulfill in their lives could be viewed as forms of social consciousness.

With materialists the concept that consciousness is confined to the firing of neurons became an idol. and it became a maladaptive stereotype. I got thrown lout of a Neil De Grasse Tyson FBN science group because of that ridiculous idea - obviously and blatantly flawed and worn many times over. In my view the widely recognized rise and increase in narcissism is clearly a product of this entirely an unconscious  maladaptive stereotype in the Bargh-ian model which as so widely accepted among academics. 

                                                                                                                           

Reasonable Belief: Holy Spirit as Reasonable Belief

In light of consistent and reasonable interpretations of numerous experiences - many of them documented - combined with the consensus of William James, Viktor Frankl, and Carl Jung that spiritual experiences create a "sense of reality " in James Words and also that different experiences create different worldviews and perspectives - as well as Park and Paloutzian's declaration that - from their review of numerous studies which show somewhere between one third to one half of people have experiences there would seem to be a "normalcy" to the minimally 110 million Americans who studies consistently show have spiritual experiences of one kind or another. So, my beliefs in the holy Spirit is a reasonable belief!     

Jean MacPhail, author of Spiral Life, scholar, as well as a former fellow at Harvard Neuropathology, observes that my personal spiritual-psychic experiences are "unique" - in part because the precognitive experiences relate to political events outside myself, as well as the fact that a number of them (over a dozen) are documented (mostly via emails). On top of that, the interpretations of my experiences are very consistent - as well as all are very reasonable interpretations. The consistency is due to almost all being "perceptions of threats to the group" parallel to animal alarm calls.

For perspective, I would highlight the fact that one aspect of old testament prophecy is - in part - perceptions of foreign (and internal) threats to the group (i.e. Jeremiah's curse of Babylon - throwing a written curse into the river by Babylon) . Briefly I would mention that Dr. P. Wong acknowledges the reality of my experiences and thinks in the end (after a lot of grief) they will play in my favor. I write a lot about the psychological processes involved in meaning, belongingness, spiritual drive...... and so on - which play into spiritual and religious processes - and Dr. Stephen Farra recommends several of my essays dealing with spiritual and religious worldview. Having spiritual experiences are a tremendous asset in writing about spiritual and religious beliefs. Being a smart ass I would point out that Dr. Wong was exactly correct about getting grief about my experiences, but I am - at the moment - a bit pessimistic about seeing any benefits.

Einstein's Spukhafte Fernwirkingen - Niels Bohr & A New Dimension for Science

“If quantum mechanics hasn’t profoundly shocked you, you haven’t understood it yet. Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real.” - Niels Bohr 

In a letter to Max Born on 3 March 1947 to describe the strange effects of quantum mechanics, where two particles may interact instantaneously over a distance, Albert Einstein referred to quantum physics effects such as quantum entanglement as spukhafte Fernwirkungen, which means “spooky actions at a distance” 

The question of Quantum entanglement is a core issue which divides classical and quantum physics. A bit oversimplified the spin of one subatomic particle is directly connected with the spin of another subatomic particle even though separated by large distances and interactions occur at speeds faster than the speed of light. A conclusion from the experiments on quantum entanglement is that quantum entanglement is in reality a “quantum state” that cannot be reduced or factored into the product of if its constituent states of its local individual particles but remain independent as an inseparable whole. In sum, in quantum entanglement, one constituent or individual particle cannot be fully described without considering the other(s). 

 Bem's Successful Precognition Experiments  and Mossbridge's Meta-analysis of Presentiment Experiments

 Daryl Bem’s Successful-Repeated Precognition Experiments!

The parapsychologist, Daryl Bem, through successfully repeated experiments demonstrated that precognition experiments do, in fact, produce consistently successful results. "When Bem’s own experiments are included, the complete database comprises 90 experiments from 33 different laboratories located in 14 different countries. A total of 12,406 individuals participated in these experiments" On top of that  the results showed that the experimental design that focused on sex [instinctual] was by far outperformed the other designs. (A Summary of “Feeling the Future: A Meta-analysis of 90 Experiments on the Anomalous Anticipation of Random Future Events by Bem, Tressoldi, Rabeyron & Duggan). 

Julia Mossbridge's Meta-Analysis of Presentiment Experiments

 From my understanding it seems "presentiment" was discovered by accident. Psychologists who were testing peoples’ physiological responses to graphic and frightening pictures noticed that there appeared to be a small but consistent physiological response BEFORE the actual display of the pictures as well. What I find especially interesting, is that some evidence for presentiment has been discovered in some experiments with animals such as hamsters.

Mossbridge located 49 ‘successful’ experiments - but with her strict standards she was forced to eliminate 23 experiments, which left her with 26 experiments. The results of the meta-analysis produced an effect size of .21 (both fixed and random effects), which is rated “small” on the Cohen scale. Considering it is about "psychic" it is surprising, in a way, any consistent results show. Mossbridge and colleagues conclude: “The remarkably significant and homogenous results of this meta-analysis suggest that the unexplained anticipatory effect is relatively consistent, if small in size.” (p. 12 predictive). 

As it is Said, Attitude is Everything! 

Mainstream psychologists used to - and often still do - say that experiences such as mine simply are not physically possible according to the standard model of physics. Well, that is no longer true. Some argue that in light of the Schrödinger's cat  paradigm human beings are far outside the subatomic level at which quantum physics works. But the electric currents that run through the human brain are within the quantum physics dimension. Quantum entanglement is known to effect particles even as large as molecules. 

 

Perspective

SPIRITUALITY, SPIRITUAL INTELLIGENCE, AND DREAMS Spirituality is a natural human predisposition (e.g., Hay & Nye, 2006; O’Murchu, 1997, 2000). It is more primal than institutional religion (James, 1901/ 1977; Maslow, 1970; Tacey, 2000) and concerns a person’s sense of connectedness with self, others, and the world (or cosmos). For some people, connectedness with a Transcendent dimension is a part of spirituality (Bosacki, 2001; Elton-Chalcraft, 2002; Fisher, 1999; Hyde, 2004; Tacey, 2003). Hay and Nye (2006) argue that spirituality involves a deep down awareness of one’s relationship with one’s self, and with everything that is other than one’s self. The following section synthesizes the theory of spiritual intelligence with theoretical approaches used in dream research, particularly those pertaining to dreams that have a spiritual impact upon the dreamer, and dreams related to death and grieving. Spiritual Intelligence and Problem Solving It is possible to conceive of spirituality as a type of intelligence (Emmons, 1999, 2000; Hyde, 2003, 2004; Kwilecki, 2000; Zohar & Marshall, 2000).

One hallmark feature of intelligence concerns the ability to solve problems (Ruzgis & Grigorenko, 1994; Walters & Gardner, 1986). Zohar and Marshall (2000) define spiritual intelligence as the mental aptitude used by human beings to address and find solutions to problems of meaning and value in life. In drawing on discourse arising from theories of motivation and personality, Emmons (1999) further suggests that people are able to use spiritual resources to solve problems: The adaptive processing of spiritual information is a part of intelligence, and individual differences in the skills with which such processing occurs constitute core features of Children’s Grief Dreams and Spiritual Intelligence 59 personality. Spirituality can serve as a source of information to individuals, and, as a function of interests and aptitudes, individuals become more or less skilled at processing this information (p. 163). James (1901/1977

Children’s Grief Dreams and the Theory of Spiritual Intelligence Kate Adams Bishop Grosseteste University College Lincoln Brendan Hyde Australian Catholic University

                                                                           

"The inspiration of the artist is what is meant by the hand of the Lord which rests upon the prophet.” - Heschel

 

Since, counseling with Angel and discussing the myriad maze of questions regarding spirituality with Angel in 2018 , my thinking has developed a bit. One important addition, in my view, would be the "spirituality" aspect of social consciousness. That is, while spirituality is a multi-faceted diamond the relationship(s) aspect of spirituality - in my view - is important!

“7.3 Relational Consciousness: In various parts of each interview the children expressed a level of consciousness relative to other passages and this appeared in how the children saw themselves in relation to others and self expressed through questions about connectedness and God and their environment in questions about transcendence.”

Relative to children’s spiritual or spiritual-psychic experiences, Donna Thomas observes that “Children and young people commonly have ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ anomalous experiences that are silenced, ignored or medicalized by ‘adults-in-authority.’ Whether ‘positive’ or ‘negative’, anomalous experiences can catalyze self-healing for children and young people. Through children achieving greater self-awareness and a sense of intra-connectedness between self, others and the world.” 

New Integrative Approach  - The Synthesis-Consensus of William James, Viktor Frankl, and Carl Jung

"The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding!" - Leonard Da Vinci

Dr. Paul Wong, Professor Emeritus of Trent University and Trinity Western University, and the founding President of INPM, - after I approached him with a brief summary of my Synthesis Consensus of Viktor Frankl, William James, and Carl Jung, looked it over and made some thoughtful comments. Paul Wong observed “Your approach is new in the sense of a broad-minded integrative approach, breaking down the artificial traditional divide between science and religious, or scientific psychology versus humanistic or psychoanalytic psychology.” He went on to suggest that “A new integrative approach" would be suitable." 

The Synthesis Consensus

William James:

“They [abstractions (symbols) and spiritual emotions-experiences] determine our vital attitude as decisively as the vital attitude of lovers is determined by the habitual sense, …… They are convincing to those who have them as any direct sensible experiences can be, and they are, as a rule, much more convincing than results established by mere logic are……if you do have them, and have them at all strongly, the probability is that you cannot help regarding them as genuine perceptions of truth, as revelations of a kind of reality [my underlining] which no adverse argument, however unanswerable by you in words, can expel from your belief" is what William James emphasizes in his classic work, originally published in 1902, The Varieties of Religious Experiences. (P.47) William James goes on to say that religious experiences and spiritual experiences create and generate a “sense of reality” (p.48)

Viktor Frankl:

Paul Wong elaborates on Viktor Frankl's views regarding the nature and characteristics of spiritual or noetic (from nous)processes in the mind "in the following quotation: "The noetic (spiritual, specifically human) dimension contains such qualities as our will to meaning [Frankl's central concept of the human being's primary drive] our goal orientation, ideas and ideals, creativity, imagination, faith, love that goes beyond the physical, a conscience beyond the superego, self-transcendence, commitments, responsibility, a sense of humor, and the freedom of choice making. The human dimension is the medicine chest of the logotherapist. Patients are made aware that they have these rich resources of health within." (Fabry 1994 pp.18-19) (p.156) Also, Paul Wong notes that, like many other modern day existentialist and positive psychologists, “Park (2007) regards religion and spirituality as meaning systems.” (p. 156) One could infer then that like Frankl, Park would agree that spiritual processes would be involved in meaning creation.

Carl Jung:

"Spirit gives meaning to his [man's] life" - Carl Jung, a psychoanalyst and contemporary of Sigmund Freud, couldn't have been clearer or more succinct when he made that simple but profound statement. (CW8:643) Jung observed, in the Collected Works (CW8: 648 -1968 revised) that “Life and spirit are two powers or necessities between which man is placed. Spirit gives meaning to his life, and the possibility of its greatest development. But life is essential to spirit, since its truth is nothing if it cannot live.” This is consistent with Jung’s strongly expressed belief that experiences are a primary influence on a person’s beliefs. In a remarkably parallel viewpoint William Gould observes that Viktor Frankl, who also believed human beings have "spirit," argued that "Meaning analysis is based on three essential premises: the freedom of will; the will to meaning, and the meaning of life." (p.42 Frankl: Life...) Here again “Spirit” appears to be moderated or influenced by both “life” and “will” – so the over-simplistic statement that “spirit creates meaning and a sense of reality has several other significant forces influencing it. 

Spirit and Truth in the Gospels

Truth, guidance, and life are major themes of Jesus Christ when he speaks about the Holy Spirit. Perhaps I should begin with John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. That is, being born of the Holy Spirit makes us spiritual beings.  For instance, Christ says that the "Holy Spirit ... shall teach you all things" (John 14:26). That is mirrored in Luke 12: 12 For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” In gospel of John, the Holy Spirit is referred to as the “Spirit of Truth” three times (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13), plus there is “Spirit is truth” in John 5:6. On occasion the Holy Spirit is referred to as the comforter (John 14:16-17). In Luke, 2:27 it says Simeon was guided by the Holy Spirit (Luke 2:.27). My personal guiding lights would be John 4:23-24 23

Spirit and Truth are my personal guiding lights. That is a very inclusive and embracing "principle" as it were, and I find I can speak with many Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists and so on - usually without problem.  Jesus Christ states in John 23-24 "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” The belief in “Spirit and truth” is inclusive enough that it includes Einstein’s yugen as well as most other “spirituality” (as opposed to religious beliefs) of most other religious beliefs. As Edgar Cayce the documented healer and spiritual leader observed, “It is not by chance that ye are in a material or earthly consciousness in the present... all activities of the mind, of the body, must be based upon SPIRITUAL things (#EdgarCayce reading 1754-1).

Studies of the effects and circumstances of people who have spiritual or spiritual-psychic experiences. IN a rare study J.E. Kennedy and H Kanthamani state. "Data from a convenience sample of 120 people actively interested in parapsychology who reported having had at least one paranormal and/or transcendent experience showed that these experiences increased their interest and beliefs in spiritual matters and increased their sense of well-being. More specifically, the majority of respondents indicated that the experiences resulted in increased belief in life after death, belief that their lives are guided or watched over by a higher force or being, interest in spiritual or religious matters, sense of connection to others, happiness, well-being, confidence, optimism about the future, and meaning in life. They also indicated decreases in fear of death, depression or anxiety, isolation and loneliness, and worry and fears about the future. A large majority of respondents indicated that these effects resulted from a combination of more than one paranormal and/or transcendent experience. The magnitude of changes in well-being and spirituality were positively associated with the number of anomalous experiences. Measures of current well-being and current importance of spirituality were positively associated with reported changes in well-being and spirituality resulting from anomalous experiences. Although 45% of the respondents indicated that a paranormal experience had made them very afraid, this fear appeared to be temporary or mixed with positive feeling because only 9% indicated that their experiences have been scary with no positive value. An Exploratory Study of the Effects of Paranormal and Spiritual Experiences on Peoples' Lives and Well-Being, J.E. Kennedy and H. Kanthamani (Original publication and copyright: The Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 1995, Volume 89, pp.249-265.)

Commentary: Dr. Neal trained at Johns Hopkins stated when it specifically comes to spiritual-psychic experiences (or spirituality in general for that matter) she had no education or training. In discussions - when challenged most clinical psychologists indicate they "have it covered." When I request them to cite sources, I never get an answer. My question would be - how could they have the proper training when the proper research and assessment have not been done. This si specifically about spiritual-psychic experiences  as opposed to religiosity or spirituality.

A recent review of "numerous" studies of people who have spiritual or spiritual-psychic experiences by Park and Paloutzian reveal that somewhere between one third to one half of people have spiritual-psychic experiences - of every type and variety imaginable - though hardly any talk about them. Study after study clearly indicate that – in this open-minded society based on Judeo-Christian beliefs which “value” spirituality – people who have spiritual experiences literally fear retaliation if they speak openly about their spiritual or spiritual-psychic experiences [for good reason I must add]. Park and Paloutzian go on to say that the studies definitely "establish the normalcy of such reports and that social scientists have until recently ignored a common-phenomena." (p. 67) 

     

"Concepts create idols; only wonder comprehends anything. People kill one another over idols. Wonder makes us fall to our knees!"     - St Gregory of Nyssa

It would be possible to describe everything scientifically, but it would make no sense; it would be without meaning, as if you described a Beethoven symphony as a variation of wave pressure!"  ― Albert Einstein

 “It is only a narrow passage of truth (no matter whether scientific or metaphysical truth) that passes between the Scylla of a blue fog of mysticism and the Charybdis of a sterile rationalism. This will always be full of pitfalls and one can fall down on both sides!” - Quantum physicist - Wolfgang Pauli

 

Setting the Stage

Preface Perspective

Science and psi - perspective

The psychologists, Dean Radin and Daryl Bem, both argue vigorously that instinctual processes are involved with many spiritual-psychic experiences. Daryl Bem's precognition experiments have been performed a large number of times resulting in repeated successful precognition experiments, even though the experiments had different designs. Of the various designs, Daryl Bem's experimental design which focused on precognition of sexual stimuli, by far, outperformed all other experimental designs. An article summarizing a Meta-analysis of Bem's widely reproduced experiments stated that "The complete database comprises 90 experiments conducted between 2001 and 2013. These originated in 33 different laboratories located in 14 countries and involved 12,406 participants." (1.) And went on to say, that by far Daryl Bem's best performing design was 'the precognitive detection of erotic stimuli' (1.)

 

Pauli's synopsis of the materialist - spirituality dilemma is right on the money. And it si true you can't truly engage in spirituality or mysticism without getting into blue fog to some extent. Fortunately for me I like the color blue. That being said, my theory about spiritual people is that they are "people!" After forty years it is pretty clear to me that the biggest problem with spirituality is that spirituality got entangled in a lot of abstractions - many of them actually unsubstantiated maladaptive stereotypes devoid of truth or real meaning.

So, first I would point out that in contrast to mainstream psychology's norms, A recent review of "numerous" studies of people who have spiritual or spiritual-psychic experiences by Park and Paloutzian reveal that somewhere between one third to one half of people have spiritual or spiritual-psychic experiences - of every type and variety imaginable - though hardly any talk about them. Park and Paloutzian go on to say that the studies definitely "establish the normalcy of such reports and that social scientists have until recently ignored a common-phenomena." (p. 67)

 Brief Synopsis - Bio of 40 years of "Spiritual Experiences "

Lastly I would highlight the fact that the pivotal October 18, 1981 notarized warning (with a FOIPA stamp) to the FBI about the impending attack by the weathermen terrorist group is very detailed with some unique characteristics of being the only one about terrorism (until 9/11), with a definite place as well as timing (verbally). Historically, it is literally unprecedented compared to other "historically documented illustrations." 

 Highlights: 40 years of spiritual and spiritual-psychic experiences

I have roughly six documented dreams - with reasonable interpretations that could also be viewed as “perceptions of threats” to the group parallel to animal alarm calls. The highlights of my waking spiritual-psychic experiences would be:

1. my recent 10-30-21 email to FBI agent McElwee warning about a “domestic terrorist” threat specifying a “bomb” as the weapon. which correlates - of course - to the Nashville bombing Christmas day 2020

2. My very detailed, specific, and notarized warning to the FBI on October 18, 1981 about the impending attack by the then active Weathermen terrorist group. Some [accurate] details are: group, fabricating bombs, money, woman, 22 were assembled, New York, death, as well as the weathermen terrorist manifesto. Fort he recxord - besides being notarized the document does have a FOIPA stamp on it.

3. My (very short) warning to the FBI prior to the assassination attempt of president Reagan

4. My call to the CIA prior to 9/11.

Points of Order:

1. Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real.”

a) Quantum Physics has changed "our" understanding of physics - and reality - though much of social sciences are behind the learning curve: Niels Bohr was a Nobel prize-winning Danish physicist, stated unequivocally that “If quantum mechanics hasn’t profoundly shocked you, you haven’t understood it yet. Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real.”

b) Quantum Experiment Reveals “A future event causes the photon to decide its past.” - Professor Truscott The bizarre nature of reality as laid out by quantum theory has survived another test, with scientists performing a famous experiment and proving that reality does not exist until it is measured.

2. A lot of people have the "crystal ball" stereotype of precognition - that psychics look into crystal balls - essentially - and make predictions. Factually and historically that is nonsense. It is closer to the alarm calls of animals than to crystal ball predictions.

3. People have been having spiritual experiences for tens of thousands of years and consistently studies reveal that today some where between 1/3 to 1/2 of people have experiences of one sort or another - which as Park and Paloutzian show have a "normalcy" in 1902 William James demonstrated that spiritual experiences create a sense of reality - which is supported by the views of Viktor Frankl and Carl Jung who both emphasized that different experiences create different world views. 

  Highlights from forty years of spiritual/psychic experiences & dreams!

Documented Dreams - Documented by emails

1. Pakistan-India Dream: For instance, the documented precognitive dream from 1-18-2019 which (partly) took place in Pakistan and centered on the issue of Nuclear War has a very reasonable interpretation of having come true in the sense that On 2-28-2019, an article appeared: "Opinion: India, Pakistan, and the remote but real threat of nuclear war." It needs to be emphasized that - historically - "psychic" is really "perception" and not "Truth".

2. Dream about Libya (2-26-2019), and while the dream was not directly connected to any international events. seeming to be generally about "intelligence:" Similar to the timing of the dream about Pakistan-India, about a month later an article appeared: US troops temporarily leave Libya as security deteriorates Haley Britzky April 07, 2019 "The U.S. forces in Libya are temporarily leaving as the security situation on the ground has grown "increasingly complex and unpredictable." It turned out they pulled out permanently – and the situation deteriorated afterward. 

3.  Synchronicity with Strasburg, France attack - dream 9-(19-20)-18Dream: On Sep 10, 2018, at 6:55 AM my dream contained several pivotal symbols and 'information.' The dream clearly spoke about an "Islamic secret society" as opposed to ISIS. It turned out from a NY Times article on 12-12-2018 stated "The gunman killed at least two people and wounded 12 in the Tuesday night shooting spree at the famous Christmas market in Strasbourg, a city of more than a quarter-million in France’s northeast border with Germany. …… the gunman was first seen shortly before 8 p.m. on the Rue des Orfèvres, in the heart of the Christmas market. He then moved through several streets, attacking with a handgun and a knife as he went." I have never heard of a terrorist carrying a knife. In my view, it is significant that the dream highlighted and emphasized "a very large knife." In any case it is said that "consistency" is a key to science - and in my view there is a consistency.

4. A Hybrid Dream-Perception: Precognitive "Tag" (a tag I describe as a central action plus one or two details) of the "incel" terrorist in Canada in late April, 2018. In an email to a friend, I relayed a dream at 2AM which involved Canada and the CIA and Canada. The email (dated April 18, 2018) said "just thinking - 2AM .... woke from a really strange dream - the Holy Spirit was like split up into different pieces and people were trying to understand that." Earlier woke up from a dream about: Canada and the CIA (personally, I connect the CIA with terrorism).” Roughly a week later on an article stated: “The police have identified Alek Minassian, 25, as the suspect accused of killing 10 people and injured 15 with a rented van on Monday (April 24) in Toronto. Minassian appeared to identify as an "incel," or "involuntary celibate," Again there is consistency in this being a perception of a threat to the group.

Undocumented Dreams

5. When I lived in Fredericksburg prior to 9/11, I had a dream in which there were apartment style buildings which were built in the architectural style of the Southwest region in the United States in a dream! At the very end of the dream there was a bag which was left beside a car which “felt [heavy] like money” - but was not. Believing it to be a precognitive dream I faxed it to the Fredericksburg FBI where I was living at the time. About a week later a woman was killed by a bomb when she picked up a bag by her car. This happened in a city that was located to the southwest of Fredericksburg. I figure that would also be a tag in that it had the central action of a “bag beside a car” and the dream also talked about a “devastating explosion” but it is lacking a bit in specifics of who was involved.

6.  Dudayev Dream: In a rather vivid dream. Before the Chechen leader, Dudayev, was killed, I had a dream about Russia. In the dream, I was in a bombed out city of “rubble” near some mountains. I was in a room with two men. There was a stack of eight sided coins and six sided dice. Next in the dream, there was a runway for a plane. The dream abruptly ended at a field. About a week later Dudayev was killed by a Russian warplane at a village. About a week later, on April 21,1996, Dudayev was killed by two laser-guided missiles that zoned in on his satellite phone signal, after his location was detected by a Russian reconnaissance aircraft. He was killed in the village of Gekhi-Chu. There were six specific pieces of information in the dream that matched.

Overview: All of these dreams - all with reasonable interpretations -  could easily be viewed and understood as “perceptions of threats” to the group parallel to animal alarm calls and responses to real stimuli.

Highlights of Waking perceptions

1. my recent 10-30-21 email to FBI agent McElwee warning about a “domestic terrorist” threat specifying a “bomb” as the weapon. which correlates - of course - to the Nashville bombing Christmas day 2020

2. My very detailed, specific, and notarized warning to the FBI on October 18, 1981 about the impending attack by the then active Weathermen terrorist group. Some [accurate] details are: group, fabricating bombs, money, woman, 22 were assembled, New York, death, as well as the weathermen terrorist manifesto. Fort he recxord - besides being notarized the document does have a FOIPA stamp on it.

3. My (very short) warning to the FBI prior to the assassination attempt of president Reagan

4. I did call the CIA prior to 9/11\ plus called the DC FBI headquarters and filed a complaint in Richmond district court which - by coincidence brought the question of 911 calls to the fore (as opposed to 9/11 - association thought process, as it were) 

Mid-March 2017 Might Makes Right Letters to the Allies

In retrospect, what got me visibility though was my letter to the embassies of America’s allies and in February-March, 2017 In letters that I mailed to the embassies of our allies in Mid-March 2017 on the latter mailed to the Canadian embassy (each was different) I stated: "I read an article which said that Trump’s envoy to the United Nations was going to “take names” and dictate terms to the nations of the world. That is an utter disgrace. When it comes down to it, at times, Americans can be downright arrogant. Some Americans think they have all the power and all the answers. The truth of it is Americans don’t even have the right question. History repeats itself and has definite cycles. I believe America is in the cycle of might-makes-right. After the Athenians defeated the Persians, they rose to the undisputed and unchallenged leadership of the Greek world. They used their power to bully and dictate terms to their allies. The Athenians ended up massacring all the inhabitants of Lesbos on the argument that might-makes-right. Their policies ended up backfiring."

 Intelligence Leak – 2020 Revelation “Trump accused of 'near-sadistic'… Merkel…

Intelligence Leaks July 30, 2020: The title of an article in the Indy 100, Independent, stated that “Trump accused of 'near-sadistic' bullying of Angela Merkel for 'vicious attacks' in private phone call” The article went on to say How Bernstein of CNN observed that Although Trump "regularly bullied and disparaged" other leaders like Emmanuel Macron, Justin Trudeau and Scott Morrison, his most "vicious attacks" were reserved for women, the report claims. Bernstein quoted one of his sources as calling Trump's phone calls with Merkel and May "near-sadistic". Some of the things he said to Angela Merkel are just unbelievable: he called her 'stupid,' and accused her of being in the pocket of the Russians. He's toughest with those he looks at as weaklings and weakest with the ones he ought to be tough with.

The intelligence leak from foreign intelligence sources led to further revelations such as how Trump called May a “fool” on a phone call which was later verified by former National Security advisor Bolton in his book. Bolton went on to say how he, former Secretary of State Tillerson, former Defense Secretary General Mattis, as well as another former top national security advisor all agreed that Trump is “delusional” – off his rocker in common parlance. Although it wasn't until July 2020, a foreign intelligence leak revealed how Trump had viciously and sadistically vilified the leaders of our allies, It shows just how right I was in my warning. Political-historical cycles are real forces. When you look at Jeremiah, in my view, Jeremiah appears - especially in his 70-year prophecy to have a good political-historical sense. 

“Justice is nothing but the advantage of the stronger”

                                                                                         - Thrasymachus (c. 459 – c. 400 BC) 

“I’m not an impartial juror. This is a political process,”

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on the fake news impeachment trial

 

Senator McConnell at the impeachment trial actually made no bones about how he viewed the impeachment trial as being totally and completely about power - having nothing to do with right or wrong - or even true or false. Before the Impeachment Trial even began, he made it perfectly clear he was going to ram an acquittal verdict down the throats of the Democrats - regardless of right or wrong, justice, truth - or anything "good or decent" in politics for that matter. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) stated outright that no one should "expect him to handle President Trump’s impeachment trial as an impartial juror: “I’m not an impartial juror. This is a political process,” McConnell told reporters Tuesday while fielding questions about the upcoming trial. I tell you my letter to the Canadian embassy in mid march 2017 hit the nail on the head.

The might makes right historical-political cycle is still running its course. The problem is that the extremist right wing “Christian” persecution and discrimination of minorities by “Christian leaders” is still ongoing and seems to be getting worse in a way. Voting: Laws making it more difficult to vote, and in several cases increasing the opportunity for Republican partisans to exert more influence over election administration and vote tabulation, have been probably the most visible component of the red state push. In 2021, 19 states – including Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Montana and Texas – passed a total of 34 laws restricting access to voting, according to tabulations by the Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU Law School. The center counts 250 bills to further restrict voting access that have been introduced this year or carried over from last year’s session and another 41 that could erode the integrity of election administration. Meanwhile, the new voter identification requirements in Texas have resulted in the rejection of so many mail ballots that local Democratic officials in Harris County have asked the US Justice Department to intervene.

Reflections and commentary

It would seem apparent that the might makes right letters to the embassies are one of the best illustrations of a spiritual-psychological read, as it were. In a letter to the Canadian embassy in 2018 I stated that: "Personally, I view the current politics as sort of like a political (with strong religious undercurrents) type of an almost influenza which will unfortunately run its course. A recent Pew Research study showed that Americans are more divided now than even during the height of the Vietnam War. Personally, I am sick to death of the politics." A recent study-poll revealed that 78% of Republicans want to see Trump re-elected.

A point of order: The influenza metaphor in August 2018 turned out to be an excellent forecast of the political course of events - but technically true as well. Prior to the last election which Trump lost studies revealed that in countries which were hardest hit by the corona virus Trump lost the most support among Republicans.

An Epithet by former Secretary of Defense James Mattis

In an article on June 3 2020 in the Atlantic By Jeffrey Goldberg, “James Mattis Denounces President Trump, Describes Him as a Threat to the Constitution”

James Mattis, the esteemed Marine general who resigned as secretary of defense in December 2018 to protest Donald Trump’s Syria policy, has, ever since, kept studiously silent about Trump’s performance as president. But he has now broken his silence, writing an extraordinary broadside in which he denounces the president for dividing the nation, and accuses him of ordering the U.S. military to violate the constitutional rights of American citizens.

“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us,” Mattis writes. “We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children.”

Link to some documentation of experiences (if you have time): Brief Overview of some Precognitive Dreams

https://www.spirittruthandmeaning.com/insights-from-38-years-precognitive-dreams

Excerpt from the essay on Jeremiah:

"[T]he unbounded, incomprehensible divinity remains beyond all comprehension."

St. Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335 – c. 395), an early Christian mystic who is venerated as a saint in Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, Lutheranism, and Anglicanism, emphasizes that God is beyond words and beyond comprehension. In the book, Life of Moses, St. Gregory emphatically points out that “…every concept formed by our understanding which attempts to attain and to them in the divine nature serves only to make an idol of God, not to make God known”. ~ from “The Life of Moses”.

I learned that in a very "up-close and personal way. Like many people who have experiences I found my experiences somewhat disconcerting (as J. E Kennedy points out) - so, of course, my thought processes went into high gear trying to figure out exactly what was going on. I just about drove my self crazy (literally) - until one day I crossed over the line from sanity to insanity, realized that my experience - being acausal - is beyond comprehension - and consequently put the brakes on the cognitive processes which were driving me crazy.

For me that as an epiphany that I took to heart. I realized the Absolute Truth (and God) are beyond comprehension. That is one of the best lessons I ever had - a lesson drilled into me how little I know. Needless to say I started asking questions - and I can state categorically that in forty years it is a fact that you can ask a whole lot of questions. As Bob Dylan observed in his song I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now. Furthermore, because of my spiritual experiences I knew pretty well what to look for which was an invaluable asset in my research. 

The "Crystal Ball Maladaptive Stereotype" - my 2nd Epiphany

Having spiritual experiences - which as Jean MacPhail notes are unique - does give me an advantage from a certain perspective. In my heart I realized that when I get to the pearly gates - assuming I get that far, St Peter will Not Ask - "How accurate were you predictions" - that will never happen. In fact why the experiences were happening was The Big Deal back in 1981. Here is the first line of my notarized and very detailed What a nightmare warning and Mustard Seed Epiphany: "Prediction has nothing to do with nothing, I pray this is wrong."

First, I should emphasize that in my forty years of experience, my experiences are “perceptions" and reactions to stimuli as opposed to powers – or making "crystal ball" predictions. I should emphatically state that making predictions to make predictions - crystal ball maladaptive stereotype - historically does not work. Comparing apples to apples Nostradamus, Jeane Dixon, and even Edgar Cayce (when it came to earth changes or political events) had a very high rate of failures.

Early on I sat down and thought about "prophecy" and realized that God would not put prophets on earth (as many crooked thinking Christian leaders believe in contrast to most Christian theologians who mostly emphasize prophecy as social justice, etc) solely and entirely to make predictions. My understanding of prophecy and spirituality is that purpose is vital and critical! 

Does God Put Prophets on the World "Solely and Entirely" to Make Predictions? Prophecy - Introduction

While I am not a religious scholar, the only writing about the function of prophecy as a topic in and of itself would be Spinoza’s argument that prophets like Moses are “Exemplars,” which are defined as “a person or thing serving as a typical example or excellent model.” My argument is that prophecy is both a message and a narrative or story. Further it would seem rather evident that between the message and the narrative prophecies shape human consciousness which in turn shapes the future as it were since how we think and act would largely determine the future.

The Prophet Jeremiah

 The Prophet Jeremiah (“Jeremiah” means Yahweh establishes) lived in Judah, the southern kingdom of Judah roughly from 627-586 B.C. Jeremiah dates the beginning of his ministry (627 B.C.) when he had his vision of the almond branch and the tipping cauldron which conveyed the message of a threat from the “foe from the north!” An interesting comment about Jeremiah’s first prophecy would be that there is a play of words of the Hebrew word for almond which has its roots in the Hebrew word for “watching” and Jeremiah’s comment that God was “watching.” Another important nuance of the first prophecy is that Jeremiah speaks about God asking Jeremiah what he saw – which has an entirely different meaning from a ‘prophet coming down from the mountain and making “proclamations or pronouncements.” Jeremiah is often called the Weeping Prophet because he lived through witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.

 
Perspective:

Irish poet-theologian John O’Donohue emphasized that “Beauty isn’t all about just nice loveliness, like. Beauty is about more rounded, substantial becoming. So, I think beauty, in that sense, is about an emerging fullness, a greater sense of grace and elegance, a deeper sense of depth, and also a kind of homecoming for the enriched memory of your unfolding life."

Irish poet-theologian John O'Donohue's profound observation makes for a wonderful synopsis of spirit, truth and meaning - parallel to the "deeper dimension of Kenneth Pargament, Einstein and Dr. P Wong. In a sense, this spirituality is something you "get" - it is an intrinsic essence of human consciousness.

 My personal guiding lights in life are "spirit and truth" from John 4:23-24. When you look at what Jesus Christ actually did say in the gospels, Christ focused quite a bit on truth and guidance, as well as life – and no hint or innuendo about any twilight zone mysticism or supernatural powers. Spirituality is a multifaceted diamond - as it were - with a myriad of aspects including spirituality as oneness, connectivity, love, creativity, making sense of the world, guidance, and truth.

To my knowledge that direction to worship God in "spirit and truth" is the only explicit direction in the gospels as to how to worship - and there is no hint or commandment to worship God as a God of miracles. A metaphor I believe is appropriate would be to compare miracles to the flower of the fruit and fruitfulness is what justifies spirituality (not miracles).The view of the Holy Spirit in terms of a “rigid adherence” to miracles is a very tunnel vision understanding of the Holy Spirit.

That is a critical point in todays' world where many equate spirituality with the supernatural. When I bring up transcendental spiritual experiences or spiritual-psychic experiences, quite often people talk about ghosts or UFO's and aliens - far from "fruitfulness or creativity.     
Of all people, I know that miracles can happen and can be a physical reality. In the past 40 years I have had a number of spiritual-psychic experiences - which as Jean MacPhail, scholar and author notes - are unique. My pivotal - notarized and very detailed - precognitive warning to the FBI occurred on October 18, 1981 about the impending Weathermen terrorist attack.

Like many people who have experiences I found the experience disconcerting (as J. E Kennedy points out) - so, of course, my thought processes went into high gear trying to figure out exactly what was going on. I just about drove my self crazy (literally) - until one day I crossed over the line from sanity to insanity, realized that my experience - being acausal - is beyond comprehension - and consequently put the brakes on the cognitive processes which were driving me crazy.

For me that as an epiphany that I took to heart. I realized the Absolute Truth (and God) are beyond comprehension. That is one of the best lessons I ever had - a lesson drilled into me how little I know. Needless to say I started asking questions - and I can state categorically that in 40 years you can ask a whole lot of questions. As Bob Dylan observed in his song I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now. Furthermore, because of my spiritual experiences I knew pretty well what to look for which was an invaluable asset in my research. 

I would emphasize that Voltaire's statement about questions is "right on" -  since, in my view, scientific theories - at the moment are just either well framed or poorly framed questions. You will never - ever hear me say I have The Answer because I know absolute Truth is beyond human comprehension. 

I must - unfortunately - emphasize is that what I personally encounter most frequently are what could only be termed maladaptive stereotypes. College graduates I have encountered generally appear to have little or no education in spirituality - even psychology students. One student of psychology I spoke with had not heard of William James 1902 epic work "The varieties of Religious Experience" in which he demonstrated that spiritual experiences shape a person sense of reality - supported by Viktor Frankl's and Carl Jung's views that different experiences create different world views (duh). Modern research - as in the - now - well proved process of categorization in the human mind!  

In forty years I have encountered a number of maladaptive stereotypes - "powers" for example. When people start talking about powers I am usually thinking - You know, if I had any powers you would be toast! My own sister actually told me that 'I think I have powers' Then there is the maladaptive stereotype - by believers and nonbelievers alike - that somehow psychics must be perfect. By far the most prevalent maladaptive stereotype is that all spirituality is unreal!" - which is false bigtime.

There is nothing wrong with the spirituality of compassion such as care-givers-volunteers. Volunteering in America, estimates there are 77.4 million volunteers in America working an estimated 6.9 billion hours. Historically there are people who dedicate there entire lives  to helping and caring for others. Take Dr. Sweitzer - or Mother Teresa who cared for the poor and helpless and founded an entire network of charity hospitals. Compassion is a powerful drive and in the United States the group, The maladaptive stereotype that spirituality is unreal is very prevalent and very powerful. I had a "Christian" woman with training as a psychologist tell me that "spirituality is outside psychology - which is the classic materialist argument  that "All spirituality is unreal!" The meta-analyses of health benefits of spirituality by Dr Koenig and numerous other scholars prove otherwise. It is sop pervasive I had a Jungian analyst tell me that the spirituality of compassion is a "matter of opinion" - which really means "unscientific or unreal."  That is false. If you use the same standards applied to autism which are believed to be 1.5% of the population then certainly in the U.S. it would seem a foregone conclusion one could find 1.5% of the population who truly possess the spirituality of compassion. 

For perspective, Dr. Ray De Paulo, a prominent Catholic psychiatrist (family friend too) from Johns Hopkins University conveyed to me that "All transcendental spirituality is psychosis." As a point of information I would point out that a Catholic woman from the Philippines agreed that my question here is very relevant. Dr. Stacey Neal, also, a graduate of Johns Hopkins University, told me she had no experience, education or training in people who have spiritual - psychic experiences. I have confirmed that from other sources, as well.

From my research, it appears readily apparent that the psychiatric diagnostic manual (DSM) excludes a number of different types of spirituality: 1. Dreams of the deceased (which are "not uncommon" in children as one researcher put it - and documented since prior to 750 B.C in Egypt )  2. Studies of the spirituality of grieving or further that serval studies indicate that spiritual-psychic experiences while grieving can help facilitate the grieving process (which is consistent with William James demonstration that spiritual experiences shape a sense of reality) 3. Children’s spirituality 4. The spirituality of some recovering addicts, 5. Not to mention the spirituality of art, music, or dancing.