Back before the net, it was a lot harder to know what was fact and what was fiction.
For instance, if you went to a health food shop and they told you that the herb Echinacea helped your immune system, you would accept that as a fact.
You really didn’t have many ways to verify that it was true and really, if someone who was in the business of knowing such thing told you this, why would you doubt them? That was their job after all.
I did look up such things in herbal books that were in the metaphysical bookshops, however, they give the same information, so it appeared to validate what I was told.
Trouble is, many things are told to us based on vague or apocryphal information.
It took me years to realize that Echinacea did nothing for me, and it was the vitamin C in the complex that was actually helping and the claim that it helped ended up being based on very shaky evidence.
It does seem that once people believe something, they are very reluctant to change that belief, even in the face of new or overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
Long term readers of mine might know that I used to be an avid follower of Tuesday Lobsang Rampa. Many things felt right and made sense to me, and the rest I would just accept on faith. However, it was the rest that, while clearly wrong, seems to be ignored by his followers.
For instance, he made a lot of predictions about world events that should have occurred by now. From my observations, none of them have actually happened, but that doesn’t seem to bother his fan base, who just seems to completely ignore such things and never call them into question.
Any suggestions that he might be wrong are ignored or met with hostility.
This is generally typical of people who choose to believe in something but refuse to look at any inconsistencies critically.
The question is: Why?
When something is so clearly shown to be wrong, why aren’t people calling such thing into question? When something has inherent contradictions in the philosophy (and I’m looking at many cults, faiths and religions here) why do we resist looking at it or dismiss them as not important?
Just because some parts are wrong, it doesn’t mean it’s all wrong. And just because some parts are right, it doesn’t mean it’s all right.
We stymie our own growth and give our power away to others by refusing to think critically about everything.
You might say, I’m a researcher for the truth, and I use the word ‘truth’ very loosely here because the more I look, the more I see that there are no hard and fast rules, but there are come consistent universal laws that seem to apply to everything.
When I write about something, I write about my own observations and experiences. I’ve always done this, though I have been just as guilty of being dogmatic about a particular belief system, even if there were some blatant inconsistencies there.
Now, I know this type of talk might seem weird or even hypocritical coming from me, as I have written about belief systems, astral levels, alternative time-lines and many other unprovable subjects.
However, I do try and come from a place of observation and research and try to find other alternative explanations.
Next: Adapting to new evidence.
You have a highly intellectual and scientific mind, so it is only natural that you look for explanation and evidence to support claims. I think we all have our own set of “inner truths” and those look different for everyone. I choose to honor those that make sense to me or a lot of things “I just know” to be true. I don’t know how I know these things, or how they got there, but I do not need any “proof” because they are truths unique to my being. I don’t judge others for their beliefs but some of the stuff I read I am like, “You have got to be kidding me! What are you smoking?!?!” It is not my place to tell someone whether their experiences are real or not because to them, they may be very real. I know people think I am probably smoking something when I relay some of my para experiences 🙂
As it goes, so many things happen in my life that it would be too easy to turn everything into a paranormal event. I need to be objective, especially in the retelling of events. For instance, if a light blows while you’re doing something paranormal related, is it connected? If it’s the kind of light that blows regularly, then that needs to be noted. If it only occurs during the event, but not before or after, then you have a stronger case. Too many people take things in isolation and ignore or don’t mention other facts to strengthen their case.
I think you were meant to be a scientist! 😉 Who are you trying to prove things to? Skeptics or are you doubting yourself? I agree that the more so called evidence you have the more apt people will be to believe your story. In the end though, it is not about how many people believed you and your experiences but how you embraced your gift and used it to help others, and those others may very well be your worst skeptics.
Does this tie into your feelings of being “good enough” to charge people? Do you feel like you have to “prove” yourself so others will see value in your services? Your services will speak for themselves and those clients will refer you and validate you and so on. Let people believe and take what they may, you do not need to prove anything to anyone. Just my opinion, which I openly express BTW 😉
Excellent questions and what I’m working to do is bridge that gap between science and scepticism. I honestly do believe there are things that can be demonstrated that are currently in the realm of pseudo science, and I would like my legacy to be something that helped people understand what they are experiencing, and why.
I believe it all can be explained, and I believe it all can be verified. We may not have the right tools yet, but until we start focusing in that direction without bias, we won’t.
Science is fascinating because it actually does give hints as to what is happening. However, it’s also too easy to become too clinical, and dismiss anything that can’t be proven yet.
Well thank goodness for people like you that could possibly help bridge that gap because it is very much needed. Science was never my strong area, too much math and calculations!!!
Mhmmm…