? reality
“Why is it that the mind of man is trying so very hard just at present to see into the future? Is it that we fear that we don’t have one?
“As the zodiac moves from Pisces to Aquarius, other stellar calendars, among them the Mayan and Hopi, predict that there will be a massive and fundamental change-the end of this age-between 2005 and 2012.
“Even mathematics may predict great change. At the present rate of increase, by 2010 human knowledge could conceivably be doubling every day. It has been speculated that, in 2012, knowledge will reach the infinite. Modern statistics and ancient calendrical science, it seems, coincide.”
Whitley Strieber, from The Secret School: Preparation for Contact, p. 209
“The first question I would be asked was always, “What is a myth?” That is a fine beginning for an intelligent conversation. In one city, however, I walked into a broadcasting station for a live half-hour program where the interviewer was a young, smart-looking man who immediately warned me, ‘I’m tough, I put it right to you. I’ve studied law.”
“The red light went on and he began argumentatively, ‘The word “myth,” means “a lie.” Myth is a lie.’
“So I replied with my definition of myth. ‘No, myth is not a lie. A whole mythology is an organization of symbolic images and narratives, metaphorical of the possibilities of human experience and the fulfillment of a given culture at a given time.’
“‘It’s a lie,’ he countered.
“‘It’s a metaphor.’
“‘It’s a lie.’
“This went on for about twenty minutes. Around four or five minutes before the end of the program, I realized that this interviewer did not really know what a metaphor was. I decided to treat him as he was treating me.
“‘No,’ I said, ‘I tell you it’s metaphorical. You give me an example of a metaphor.’
“He replied, ‘You give me an example.’
“I resisted, ‘No, I’m asking the question this time.’ I had not taught school for thirty years for nothing. ‘And I want you to give me an example of a metaphor.’
“The interviewer was utterly baffled and even went so far as to say, ‘Let’s get in touch with a school teacher.’ Finally, with something like a minute and a half to go, he rose to the occasion and said, ‘I’ll try. My friend John runs very fast. People say he runs like a deer. There’s a metaphor.’
“As the last seconds of the interview ticked off, I replied, ‘That is not the metaphor. The metaphor is: John is a deer.’
“He shot back, ‘That’s a lie.’
“‘No,’ I said, ‘That is a metaphor.’
“And the show ended. What does that incident suggest about our common understanding of metaphor?
“It made me reflect that half the people in the world think that metaphors of their religious traditions, for example, are facts. And the other half contends that they are not facts at all. As a result we have people who consider themselves believers they accept metaphors as facts, and we have others who classify themselves as atheists because they think religious metaphors are lies.”
Joseph Campbell, from Thou Art That, p. 1-2
“Current theories about the formation of the ultimate sociopath-a serial killer or a cannibalistic serial killer-state that, while environment and childhood trauma may have some sort of triggering effect (only in some cases), that many of these perpetrators are simply 'wired incorrectly.' Their brains, their emotions, and their cold cunning are not human, are not even mammalian. They appear more or less normal on the outside, but inwardly they are essentially the same, in terms of compassion and other human emotions, not to mention predatory instincts, as a komodo dragon. According to the leading expert of serial killers (and the coiner of the phrase), FBI Investigator Robert Ressler, childhood environment and abuse and resultant sexual dysfunction play a part in the development of human monsters, and this may be true in many instances. Yet he also states,
“‘Maybe bad genetics is somehow triggered by a bad family environment. I don’t know. Nobody knows. We haven’t been able to deal with pure evil scientifically.’
“Many scientists, however, believe that the genetic connection-whether a malfunction or other inexplicable difference-is the most likely explanation for such aberrant and violent individuals. The question remains: Where do such genetic predispositions or anomalies ultimately originate?
“Could it be that, due to a contaminated heredity, the worst among us are not really completely of us? Do monsters who are not completely human, in spite of outward appearances, walk abroad in the surface world? This isn't a view that would be readily accepted by 'modern science,' but the circumstantial evidence would indicate that this might be the case. One fact that indicates a strong possibility of cross-specie contamination, is that, as a species, only human beings have over four thousand known genetic defects, while our nearest chromosonal relatives (according to evolutionary science), the great apes, have almost none.
“Various mythical and folk traditions around the world make it quite clear that 'demons,' ogres, monsters, and so forth have always been with us in human guise. Did the various ancient traditions know more about the truth than modern humanity, science, and law-enforcement would care to admit? Entertaining such a radically non-politically-correct view is to invite scorn and ridicule, but requires both courage, and the serious contemplation of facts and circumstantial evidence which history and folklore provide us."
Wm. Michael Mott, from “Demonseed: Changelings, Halflings, And Human Monsters,” part 4. THE BEAST WITHIN, par. 20-24
“As the zodiac moves from Pisces to Aquarius, other stellar calendars, among them the Mayan and Hopi, predict that there will be a massive and fundamental change-the end of this age-between 2005 and 2012.
“Even mathematics may predict great change. At the present rate of increase, by 2010 human knowledge could conceivably be doubling every day. It has been speculated that, in 2012, knowledge will reach the infinite. Modern statistics and ancient calendrical science, it seems, coincide.”
Whitley Strieber, from The Secret School: Preparation for Contact, p. 209
“The first question I would be asked was always, “What is a myth?” That is a fine beginning for an intelligent conversation. In one city, however, I walked into a broadcasting station for a live half-hour program where the interviewer was a young, smart-looking man who immediately warned me, ‘I’m tough, I put it right to you. I’ve studied law.”
“The red light went on and he began argumentatively, ‘The word “myth,” means “a lie.” Myth is a lie.’
“So I replied with my definition of myth. ‘No, myth is not a lie. A whole mythology is an organization of symbolic images and narratives, metaphorical of the possibilities of human experience and the fulfillment of a given culture at a given time.’
“‘It’s a lie,’ he countered.
“‘It’s a metaphor.’
“‘It’s a lie.’
“This went on for about twenty minutes. Around four or five minutes before the end of the program, I realized that this interviewer did not really know what a metaphor was. I decided to treat him as he was treating me.
“‘No,’ I said, ‘I tell you it’s metaphorical. You give me an example of a metaphor.’
“He replied, ‘You give me an example.’
“I resisted, ‘No, I’m asking the question this time.’ I had not taught school for thirty years for nothing. ‘And I want you to give me an example of a metaphor.’
“The interviewer was utterly baffled and even went so far as to say, ‘Let’s get in touch with a school teacher.’ Finally, with something like a minute and a half to go, he rose to the occasion and said, ‘I’ll try. My friend John runs very fast. People say he runs like a deer. There’s a metaphor.’
“As the last seconds of the interview ticked off, I replied, ‘That is not the metaphor. The metaphor is: John is a deer.’
“He shot back, ‘That’s a lie.’
“‘No,’ I said, ‘That is a metaphor.’
“And the show ended. What does that incident suggest about our common understanding of metaphor?
“It made me reflect that half the people in the world think that metaphors of their religious traditions, for example, are facts. And the other half contends that they are not facts at all. As a result we have people who consider themselves believers they accept metaphors as facts, and we have others who classify themselves as atheists because they think religious metaphors are lies.”
Joseph Campbell, from Thou Art That, p. 1-2
“Current theories about the formation of the ultimate sociopath-a serial killer or a cannibalistic serial killer-state that, while environment and childhood trauma may have some sort of triggering effect (only in some cases), that many of these perpetrators are simply 'wired incorrectly.' Their brains, their emotions, and their cold cunning are not human, are not even mammalian. They appear more or less normal on the outside, but inwardly they are essentially the same, in terms of compassion and other human emotions, not to mention predatory instincts, as a komodo dragon. According to the leading expert of serial killers (and the coiner of the phrase), FBI Investigator Robert Ressler, childhood environment and abuse and resultant sexual dysfunction play a part in the development of human monsters, and this may be true in many instances. Yet he also states,
“‘Maybe bad genetics is somehow triggered by a bad family environment. I don’t know. Nobody knows. We haven’t been able to deal with pure evil scientifically.’
“Many scientists, however, believe that the genetic connection-whether a malfunction or other inexplicable difference-is the most likely explanation for such aberrant and violent individuals. The question remains: Where do such genetic predispositions or anomalies ultimately originate?
“Could it be that, due to a contaminated heredity, the worst among us are not really completely of us? Do monsters who are not completely human, in spite of outward appearances, walk abroad in the surface world? This isn't a view that would be readily accepted by 'modern science,' but the circumstantial evidence would indicate that this might be the case. One fact that indicates a strong possibility of cross-specie contamination, is that, as a species, only human beings have over four thousand known genetic defects, while our nearest chromosonal relatives (according to evolutionary science), the great apes, have almost none.
“Various mythical and folk traditions around the world make it quite clear that 'demons,' ogres, monsters, and so forth have always been with us in human guise. Did the various ancient traditions know more about the truth than modern humanity, science, and law-enforcement would care to admit? Entertaining such a radically non-politically-correct view is to invite scorn and ridicule, but requires both courage, and the serious contemplation of facts and circumstantial evidence which history and folklore provide us."
Wm. Michael Mott, from “Demonseed: Changelings, Halflings, And Human Monsters,” part 4. THE BEAST WITHIN, par. 20-24