Studying Psi Phenomena in the Current Political Climate

Opinion 20

Content License for this Opinion: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International

Also at academia.edu/127698925/Studying_Psi_Phenomena_in_the_Current_Political_Climate

Brief

My assumption in writing this opinion is that our ability to study consciousness and Psi phenomena is not guaranteed. We should be mindful that there have been times in our history that doing so was considered demon worship or being controlled by demons. Of course, such suppression of free thinking occurred mainly when the state had a state religion.

Five major influences are identified that are shaping the emerging social order. Especially two of them, unregulated Capitalism and an emerging state religion, are likely to benefit from the suppression of free thought.

The Christian Nationalist point of view appears to be that such abilities as mediumship and Psi functioning are evidence of association with demon. We should be reminded of witch hunts of old and the gullibility of subservient citizens.

An analytical approach to consciousness and Psi researchers, including human potential (aka personal improvement) and paranormal phenomena fosters critical thinking. This can translate into a relative immunity to propaganda and conspiracy thinking.

How the way we think affects what we think is explored with emphasis on the difference between belief and discernment. I argue that changing a people’s worldview is possible by showing them the value of questioning the implications of their belief. The Opinion concludes with recognition that we who are involved in consciousness and Psi studies may need to be more mindful about how we are viewed by the public.

Studying Psi Phenomena in the Current Political Climate. 1
Brief
Contents
About the Fool
Emerging Political Climate
Dominant Influences Shaping our (USA) Government
Capitalism at the Expense of Human Rights
Belief-based Governance
Self-centered Citizens
Community-centered Citizens
Steering the Ship of State
Shaping a Paradigm
Developing Discernment
Environmental Awareness.
So how to React?
Reference Links

About the Fool

The 22 Keys (Major Arcana) of the Hermetic Tarot₁₂represents a very old tool for teaching ancient understanding about our spiritual nature. While many people use the complete 78 card deck for divination, the 22 Major Arcana (keys to secret wisdom) are intended to be used as a textbook. Students were expected to contemplate the hidden meaning of the symbolism in each card to discover their hidden meaning.

Learning is cyclic in that we gain a little understanding about our nature, the nature of our world and our relationship with the world by way of life’s experiences. In that context, The Fool in Key 0 represents the Seeker at the beginning and end of a never-ending cycle of experiences. People illustrated in the Tarot represent various aspects of the Seeker. Females portray the feminine or creative potential aspect of the Seeker. Men portray the creative formative aspect of the Seeker.

When religions dominated society as a state religion, citizens were expected to follow the teaching offered by the church. In effect, the only truth allowed by the state was that which was explained by the priesthood. Ancient wisdom such as the Tarot were designed to help Seekers learn to think for themselves, and thus, they posed a danger to the church. To protect Seekers and their teachers, the lessons were taught in secrecy, or like the Tarot, they were taught in a form that was meaningless for those who did not have “eyes to see.”

In our present society, it is no longer necessary to hide our study of personal potential subjects like the Tarot or mediumship. However, as discussed in this Opinion, our society appears to be rapidly evolving toward a more authoritarian government supported by a state religion. In this emerging environment, it might be sensible to think of a contemporary Tarot as a layperson’s textbook for consciousness and Psi studies. As such, the Fool is the Seeker.

Symbolism of The Fool

The Fool Diagram has many symbols with common esoteric meaning. Even the colors are given meaning. The meaning I give here is based on the old teaching but is intended to be more useful for contemporary seekers.

The person represents both male and female seekers.
The person seems about to step off a cliff. Think of the way we begin the study of a new subject. Seeking, especially, has the potential of many unexpected adventures. The cliff represents the unknown but always hopeful future.
The white rose represents the desire for spiritual understanding.
The dog represents our human aspects. In some versions, the dog is biting at the Fool’s ankle indicating that our human aspect holds us back.
The pouch represents our acquired understanding. We integrate acquired understanding into our worldview. It is hidden (internal) because we are integrating previously acquired understanding into our worldview. In contrast, Key 1 The Magician represents the first potential of our next phase of seeking. In Key 1, the “tools” of seeking are visible on the table because the new experience is just unfolding.

Emerging Political Climate

Years ago, Lisa and I were in Laughlin, Nevada attending a UFO conference. The conference was in a casino. We played a little nickel video poker during a break. A lady playing the machine next to us asked if we were on vacation and we mentioned the UFO conference. The conversation wandered as they often do amongst strangers, mostly focused on the paranormality of UFOs. The conversation abruptly ended when she turned to directly face us and asked, “You do believe in Jesus, don’t you?”

It is moments like that in which I am reminded that there are people in the world who might be offended by the phenomena I study. I do pay attention to the mood of my audience but one of my teachers taught that it is important that Seekers are open with others about their understanding. His point was that people often need many encounters with such ideas before their self-realization might begin. In that sense, and of course because I am forever excited about consciousness and Psi studies, I seldom hesitate to talk about my interest.

Things are changing in our society, though. I try to consider news reports from the perspective of a Seeker. As I describe in this Opinion, what I am seeing in the news tells me that it may be a good idea for all of us who are working with Psi phenomena to be more aware of the point of view of our audience.

Politics is supposed to be about good governance, but it is always about promoting one group’s view of good governance over others. Who is defining “good governance” tells us a lot about what “good” might be. Let me define a few terms before I describe what I think are the dominant influences defining “good” today:

Good

In this context, “good” means governance that provides for the present and long-term benefit for citizens; governance that is humane; governance that respects the dignity of individuals; governance that treats all citizens equally, fairly and with an even hand.

Fair Share

Fair share means that people should help the community in some way that is commensurate with their cost to the community. For instance, production of a product imposes a cost to the community in the form of everything from the cost of educating workers, building and maintaining infrastructure, consumption of natural resources and disposing of depleted products.

Human Instincts

Human Instincts are primal, unconscious urges that moderate our behavior. The most influential instinct is a predisposition to do anything necessary to ensure the continuation, even dominance of our personal gene pool (survival). Human instincts color our every choice.

Discernment

Discernment is used here to mean awareness of actual meaning and making choices based on that understanding. “Discerning Intellect” is used here to mean the habitual examination of the implications of an experience.

Progression

Progression is sometimes thought of as increasing discerning intellect leading to greater lucidity. While greater discernment is thought to represent personal improvement, greater lucidity is thought to be a prerequisite for more conscious Psi functioning. Lucidity, then, is a mental state representing a degree of understanding a person has of the actual nature of reality.

The Seeker’s Way

The Seeker’s Way is defined here as Intending to understand our personal nature, the nature of reality and our relationship with reality. The Implicit Cosmology₁₅ begins with the stipulation that the initial state of reality is curiosity. Each of us has the primal urge to gain understanding. The influence of that urge in our daily living depends on the dominance of our human instincts. The three parts of the Seeker’s Way:

1. Our personal nature – How do we develop mental perception and expression? What shapes our temperament and biases our choices? How does our human self relate to our spirit self?
2. The nature of reality – Is there a difference between what we think is real and what is actually real? Is reality purposeful? What does nonlocal mean? Is thought part of reality?
3. Our relationship with reality – Does some aspect of who we are continue after bodily death? Do we have a purpose beyond our human instincts? Are other lifeforms sentient? What is our relationship with other lifeforms?

Dominant Influences Shaping our (USA) Government

Capitalism at the Expense of Human Rights

Capitalism is “good.” Unregulated Capitalism is too often “not good.”

Unregulated expressions of our human instincts can produce a survival of the fittest environment that leads to less competition and higher costs for the public in commerce. This urge for dominance naturally leads to a “winner take all” attitude in which a few people develop great wealth at the expense of everyone else.

Our government has not done well at making citizens pay their fair share in the support of the operation of the community. As noted below, this has resulted in extreme disparity between a few wealthy people and average citizens.

Not unlike the age of Rober Barons,₂₆ it is arguable that the USA is leaning toward becoming an Oligarchy₄ controlled state. That is the pinnacle of unregulated Capitalism. Thanks to unregulated Capitalism, the USA has been drifting toward a two-class society.

According to OxFam.org₂₂:

“The richest 1 percent have more wealth than the bottom 95 percent of the world’s population put together.”

This emerging plutocratic social order looks a lot like a new form of Feudalism.

From the American Prospect article “The Rise of Neo-Feudalism”₃:

“The history of the modern democratic state can be understood as a story of shifting authority and lawmaking, first from private potentates to sovereign monarchs, and then to publicly accountable democracies. Today, this centuries-long democratizing trend is rapidly being reversed. Western democracies are not simply embracing neoliberalism in the sense of deregulating the economy. Elites are pursuing something aptly described as a new form of feudalism, in which entire realms of public law, public property, due process, and citizen rights revert to unaccountable control by private business.”

The effect of this shift in emphasis from the citizens and the community to corporations and religious authority has been blatant selective enforcement of the Constitutional rule of law that favors the powerful over the average citizen.

In regard to this Opinion, an informed and discerning citizenry can only be seen by the new priests and lords as a threat to their reign.

Belief-based Governance

Religions are “good.” Unregulated religious influence on government is “not good.”

The focus here is on Christian Nationalism as a state religion₂. Some Evangelists and Christian Nationalists have increasing influence in American politics. Their influence has been shown in the harsh treatment of the rights of “others” aka citizens who are not white US Christians. This is especially concerning for those of us who study consciousness and Psi functioning. These religions tend to think what we study is associating ourselves with demons. Consider:

From The Dangers of the New Age Movement₆ Podcast:

“Always remember that the source of these rife deceptions stem from the demons themselves, which seduce men from the truth of the Gospel; in fact, all adherents to New Age philosophies, embrace open and illicit contact with these nefarious spirit beings.”

The 2020 article Millions of Americans Believe Trump Is Fighting Literal Demons₁₇ ends with:

“Even more concerning is the influence they’ve had over believers, both neo-charismatics and mainstream evangelicals introduced to them through allies like Falwell Jr. and Graham. People who believe in demonic conspiracies are well positioned to transition into secular conspiracy theories, including QAnon, Pizzagate, and classic anti-Semitism. If Trump is defeated, and prophecy once again fails, the danger they pose will be more than spiritual.”

And Deuteronomy 18:10-12 of the Christian Bible:

“Let there not be found among you anyone who causes their son or daughter to pass through the fire, or practices divination, or is a soothsayer, augur, or sorcerer, or who casts spells, consults ghosts and spirits, or seeks oracles from the dead. Anyone who does such things is an abomination to the LORD, and because of such abominations the LORD, your God, is dispossessing them before you.”

Radical conservative governance has gained support from religious groups by supporting the suppression of many forms of human rights such as birth control and equal access (DEI). The education system and such social engineering practices as book banning and anti- “woke” have been designed to blind citizens from the dangers of excessive religious and government authority. At the same time, diverting public funding for education to private schools can only further erode social equality by indoctrinating children into radical conservative thought.

In regard to this Opinion, this Devil’s bargain between church and state has the potential to return us to the days of female subjugation, superstition and witch hunts. Increased understanding of consciousness and our actual nature may eventually be seen as a threat to the emerging new order.

Noting that over 40% of USA citizens are not white, the current trend toward a white nationalist Christian state church puts the USA on a path toward a caste system, perhaps even outright indentured feudalism.

Self-centered Citizens

Citizen engagement in government is “good.” Self-serving citizen’s blind obedience to government propaganda is “not good.”

While the urge to have unbridled Capitalism or a state religion is a predictable response to human instincts, the willingness of some people to sacrifice the well-being of society for their personal gain is not as easily understood. A large part of our citizenry has been voting to support a conservative government despite the government’s openly declared intention to suppress their rights.

Education is part of the answer. From the Pew Research Center₂₃:

“Partisans without four-year college degrees are more likely than those with degrees to say a major reason for affiliating with their party is because it ‘sticks up for people like me’ – and this is especially the case among Republicans.”

Like the Pew study, most discussions of citizen choices are focused on social factors.

The Conversation Newsletter recently published an article suggesting that citizens’ need to belong has been a major contributor to the nation’s partisan political divide. From “How the oil industry and growing political divides turned climate change into a partisan issue”₂₈:

“Within-group pressures also create stronger feelings of belonging among those who conform to the group’s internal norms, such as which political positions to support. In turn, stronger feelings of belonging serve to further reinforce the norms.”

Such answers seem to ignore the underlying dynamics of how we develop perception. Considering our human instincts, in many ways we are herd animals and there is safety in being seen as belonging to the strongest herd.

Human instincts and cultural norms underly the many reasons I can think of for a citizen to lean toward conservatism. Their grievances include the perception of too much government regulation interfering with personal wants and tribal grievances. While instincts predispose our choices, cultural norms color them.

In regard to this Opinion, the potent urge to assure gene dominance cultivates a self-centered rather than community view of personal responsibility. Grievances of self-centered citizens are easily exaggerated by central authorities aided by willing social media opinion setters. In this way, self-centered citizens have become a collective tool for authoritarian leaders.

Community-centered Citizens

Citizens cooperating as a community is “good.” Citizen’s willingness to engage in government is “also good.”

The nation is almost evenly divided between people who are relatively self-centered and people who are more community focused. Community-centered people tend to be more humanistic and less aggressive in promoting their point of view. They often tend toward greater discernment concerning cultural influences. I have often written about this. For instance:

Progression, Teaching and the Community₁₄
Cooperative Community₁₁
A Personal Code of Ethics for the Mindful Way₉
Why I Vote Humanist₁₆

From The American Humanist Association₁ website:

“Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism or other supernatural beliefs, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good.”

The Preamble of the Constitution of the United States is Humanistic:

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

I have defined Humanism as:

“A humanist is a person who has adopted a personal code of ethics which emphasizes understanding principles of nature and seeks to live in accordance with that understanding to the benefit of self and others in a cooperative community.”

The personal code of ethics I try to live by begins with the admonition credited to Jane Roberts’₂₅ Seth that we should not violate others.

In regard to this Opinion, the problem for Humanists is that most Self-centered citizens, many belief-based groups and Capitalists do not follow a “Do not violate others” code of ethics. For most, morality is defined in terms of protection of their wants.

Steering the Ship of State

Groups thoughtfully examining governance is “good.” Such groups with unlimited funding and influence on government are “not good.”

It is important to note that the Conservative point of view is a blend of religious and capitalistic influences. Organizations have been formed to find ways to make the conservative point of view the national policy. The most influential conservative group has been The Heritage Foundation₃₀.

From their website:

“Heritage’s mission is to formulate and promote public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.”

And

[We also} “help unite the conservatives around principles and ideas that strengthen our cause … and the nation.”

Deconstructing the Heritage Foundation’s statement of objectives:

“Free enterprise” should be understood as unregulated Capitalism.
“Limited government” should be understood as government of local fiefdoms disguised as state’s rights. This is close to the Libertarian desire for as little government as possible.
“Individual freedom” should be understood as let the strongest prevail.
“Traditional American values” should be understood as the more Calvinistic religious values of the founding colonies … perhaps with a little Taliban and Handmaid’s Tale philosophy mixed in. Morality is defined here as a strict Christian value that leans toward subjugation of women and rejection of “others.” A large population is a powerful tool for one group’s dominance over another. That implies a group’s need for as many children as possible as long as they are indoctrinated into the “correct” point of view.
“A strong national defense” should be understood as Isolationism.
“Unite the conservatives around principles and ideas that strengthen our cause” is exactly what has happened. The American Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025₈ is a manifesto for conservative governance that is being realized by the Trump administration.

The opening paragraphs of The Conversation’s “Trump’s Project 2025 agenda caps decades-long resistance to 20th century progressive reform₂₉”:

“For much of the 20th century, efforts to remake government were driven by a progressive desire to make the government work for regular Americans, including the New Deal and the Great Society reforms.

“But they also met a conservative backlash seeking to rein back government as a source of security for working Americans and realign it with the interests of private business. That backlash is the central thread of the Heritage Foundation’s “Project 2025” blueprint for a second Trump Administration.”

Mother Jones news outlet reported in the February 2025 article “A Project 2025 Mastermind Now Holds the Reins of the Federal Bureaucracy₂₀” that:

“A self-avowed Christian nationalist, [Russell] Vought is a wonky bureaucrat and Washington insider committed to Trump’s obsession with “draining the swamp.” During Trump’s first term, he tested the boundaries of the law to advance the president’s radical goals. Founder of the conservative think tank Center for Renewing America, Vought is also one of the architects behind the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 mandate for Trump’s comeback, advocating for expanding presidential powers and subjugating the federal government.”

Project 2025 leaves little doubt that the Heritage Foundation intends to establish an authoritarian government that will impose its radical conservative (and Christian Nationalist) point of view on citizens. The President is not so much the leader of this movement as he is the Foundation’s willing instrument.

Shaping a Paradigm

The current radical conservative paradigm is composed of a complex of stories that favor an authoritarian, anti-government, pro-business point of view. The paradigm depends on citizens who are willing to accept the stories as truth. Considering the human instinct to get along by getting along, it appears to be easier for people to believe the stories than to examine or even discount them.

Telling people that their beliefs are baseless seems to only reinforce their beliefs. From the April 2023 Newscientist.com article “We don’t have any viable way of countering conspiracy theories₂₁” we see that:

“The vast majority of methods for quashing belief in conspiracy theories have little or no effect and the ones that do work are impractical. That is the conclusion of a review of 25 studies assessing various methods of tackling unfounded beliefs in secret plots.”

And

“They are particularly hard to debunk because anyone trying to contest them is seen as part of the conspiracy. “They say, ‘Of course, you will say that’,” says O’Mahony.”

When that article was written in 2023, AI chatbots were just becoming available as an increasingly powerful tool for information management.

September 2024, the Psychiatrist.com article “AI Might Actually Change Minds About Conspiracy Theories—Here’s How₂₄” told us that:

“What makes the results of this study particularly interesting is that people become so psychologically invested in their paranoid beliefs that changing their minds is often nearly impossible.

“But the success of the AI chatbot used in this study suggests that the right evidence, presented in a tailored, interactive way, can be very persuasive, painting a more optimistic picture of human reasoning, the authors write.”

The takeaway from these two articles is that people tend to cling to their beliefs. Trying to change their mind by telling them their beliefs are wrong probably only reinforces their conviction. However, a dispassionate, rational conversation with a presumably neutral person can moderate that conviction.

Developing Discernment

In terms of the Implicit Cosmology₁₅, our beliefs are part of our worldview. When I say that our worldview has considerable momentum, my point is that our unconscious mind develops a streaming narration of a story (perception) that is always based on what we think is true about externally sensed information. The effect is that we only experience what we think is true. For instance, a news article saying liberals are bad would agree with a conservative’s unconscious worldview and it would be readily relayed to conscious self. Conversely, if the article said liberals are good, the information would likely be unconsciously ignored by a conservative.

I am using the term “tribe” in the sense it is used in The Banner 2020 article, “Political Tribalism₂₇”:

“… Political tribalism is where loyalty to the political tribe is more important than loyalty to anything else. It means that tribe members will go to any lengths to defend their tribe’s leader—be it Trump or Obama—from any criticisms or wrongdoings, regardless of facts. Tribalism means the tribe never concedes an inch to other tribes. It is an “us versus them” mentality, where “them” are seen as morally suspect and morally dangerous while “us” are saints by comparison.”

How people consider what they are being told can be explained using The Creative Process Diagram below. Here is a brief explanation of how that diagram addresses the development of perception and feedback:

Mostly unconscious mental processes

Step 1: Source – Inputs to the unconscious mind includes stories designed to support the person’s home tribe’s point of view. Stories designed to counter those stories are also present but are mostly ignored (incredulity blindness).

Step 2: Attention Complex – The stories are unconsciously considered based on the person’s worldview:

- Possibility 1 – Express agreement if any of these are “yes”:
  - Does the story support the person’s current point of view?
  - Will accepting the story help secure the person’s place in the tribe?
  - Will accepting the story make the person safer?
  - Will accepting the story further support the person’s survival and dominance of the person’s family?
- Possibility 2 – Modify the story to conform to worldview and express if any of these are “yes”:
  - Does the story seem familiar?
  - Is the story about the kind of information the person expects?
- Possibility 3 – If Possibility 1 and 2 are not true, ignore the story.

Step 3: Expression – This is a mostly unconscious expression of what the person believes that emanates from the Attention Complex as a psychokinetic expression. That expression is “cast” into the etheric and becomes the person’s conscious perception

Conscious mental processes

Step 4: Mental Review – The person becomes aware of the story as it is expressed in Step 3 and decides if:

- Possibility A – The person agrees with the story.
- Possibility B – The person agrees with parts of the story.
- Possibility C – The person does not agree with the story.

Step 5: Intention Feedback – The conscious agreement or disagreement with the story produces:

- Possibility A (agreement) will produce a strong expression of intention back to the expression forming mental function that will reinforce acceptance of the story.
- Possibility B (partial agreement) may produce neutral feedback resulting in no change in the status of the story. However, it may also modify how the person understands the story (change worldview).
- Possibility C (disagreement) will produce a strong expression of intention that will reduce acceptance of the story. This feedback has the potential to modify the person’s worldview.

The points to remember are:

The only conscious control a person has on what they think is true is the Intention Feedback link. That influence is modest and probably requires many reinforcing events to change worldview.
Telling a person the story they believe is false is something of a threat to their survival because it questions their status in their tribe. The expected consequence of trying to change a person’s mind is a strong feedback signal to the Attention Complex that reinforces the person’s acceptance of the false story.
The Step 4 Mental Review process represents the mental process that is able to evolve discernment. In simple terms, if the person is guided to evaluate the implications of the story, it is possible for the person to begin the process of aligning worldview to better agree with reality.

The concept that has inspired The Creative Process Diagram below comes from our study of the way Psi and ITC practitioners report phenomena that probably are not paranormal. To address this characteristic, I define Hyperlucidity as:

A short-term change in behavior marked by the tendency to find phenomena everywhere despite considerable testimony to the contrary by peers.

Lucidity is defined here as:

Clearly experiencing reality as it is and not as it is imagined.

Compared to lucidity, hyperlucidity appears to result from an amplified “want” bias in the Intention Feedback link of The Creative Process Diagram.

The idea of Hyperlucidity is based on the same sort of psychology suggested by the Jerusalem Syndrome₅ From the article by the same name published by the Cambridge University Press:

Type III “…of the Jerusalem syndrome … describes individuals with no previous history of mental illness, who fall victim to a psychotic episode while in Israel (and especially while in Jerusalem), recover fairly spontaneously, and then, after leaving the country, apparently enjoy normality.”

Referring to The Fool Tarot card, a few of the concepts implied by the Implicit Cosmology₁₅ can be expected to be in the Seeker’s pouch:

Open Mind

We are constantly sensing information, and our mind is predisposed to decide what we think of the information. To have an open mind means to resist deciding if something is right or wrong until more information becomes available. That is the first part of discernment. Recognizing that so little is known about consciousness and Psi phenomena, some paranormalists I know habitually intend to maintain an open mind.

Suspended Judgement

A companion concept to having an open mind is learning to habitually resist deciding whether we agree or not about what we are being told. I refer to that as “suspended judgment.”

Intentionality

Our intention feedback signal is our only conscious influence that can change our worldview. If we agree with what we perceive, the feedback signal will be neutral. If we strongly agree our intention feedback signal will tend to make our expression more forceful. If we disagree, the feedback signal will tend to reduce the intensity of what we are expressing.

This feedback effect is especially evident in the fear response and fixation. Speaking in terms of the two-mind perspective of who we are, our human mind is afraid of the dark. For our spirit mind darkness is just an irrelevant local experience. The human response to darkness can easily become a fixation or obsessive response if it is not moderated by other factors such as familiarity and perceived safety provisions.

Examining Implications Leads to Increasing Discernment

Since our intention feedback signal can potentially change our worldview, it is that one influence on the way we develop our expression that Seekers depend on to develop discernment. That is to say, people who learn to examine the implications of their perception have the potential to eventually align their worldview with the actual nature of reality. The process of learning to do so is referred to here as the Seeker’s Way.

Environmental Awareness

This Opinion is intended to shine a light on aspects of the current political, social and economic environment in the United States that have the potential to suppress consciousness and Psi studies because they are an affront to religious worldviews. I am especially mindful of these social dynamics:

Conformance – The study of anything that is outside of the established Physicalist paradigm requires thinkers who are both open-minded and able to examine the implications of such evidence. That sort of free thinking is the greatest threat to ultraconservative control of government and the dominance of a state religion.

Capitalism – It appears that socially responsible capitalism tends to be humanized by unions and well informed employes who follow a personal code of ethics. They also hold the rule of law based on the US Constitution above morality codes of conduct designed by corporations to protect corporate interests. In contrast, unregulated capitalism’s focus on the bottom line seems to depend on subservient employees. Free thinkers are not typically subservient.

State Religion – Religions gain their power from large congregations, which in turn makes religious groups dependable voting blocks for supporting governments. Belief-based talk of right to life morality cloaks a more likely intention to out populate groups with contending ideologies.

Propaganda – Short of outright Gestapo-like control of citizens, the most effective way to counter a humanist point of view is to vilify it in the eyes of the larger population. In doing so, it becomes reasonable for a “caring government” to protect citizens by outlawing the offending system of thought.

While organized skeptics tend to be Crusaders of the status quo, a state religion has the potential to be the Inquisitors finding evil in every claim of Psi phenomena or nonphysical consciousness.

Consider this from the article on Christianity.com “Can Christians Believe in Ghosts?”:

“As believers, we need to help others know the truth that ghosts are probably demons masquerading and that nobody should become involved with them. If somebody becomes involved with a fascination with ghosts, they could more easily be drawn into the occult.

“Once a person becomes involved with the occult, it can lead them to a myriad of things associated with the demonic. We need to do our best to educate others on staying away from being influenced by the paranormal.

“By helping others to know the truth about ghosts, we can help them become more aware of spiritual warfare and the different ways that demons try to trick us.”

In the context of this Opinion, an authoritarian government, under cloak of religious dogma, could easily show that paranormalists are associating with demons. That includes parapsychologists, altered state experiencers (OBE, NDE), paranormal phenomena experiencers, mediums, psychics, ghost hunters, ITC practitioners and consciousness researchers. Just as it is difficult to prove we are studying actual Psi phenomena, it would be difficult to argue that we are not studying demons.

It is unrealistic for us to hide our interest in the paranormal. The study is too important to stop. Besides, many of us are on record in some way via books, clubs, associations and social media. Who we are is who we are. For most of us, our interest is in scientific inquiry. It is for us to present ourselves as such.

So how to React?

My sense is that it is important for all of us to become more engaged with the larger community. This means:

Self-education – First, it is for us to educate ourselves in the state of the art of science of consciousness and Psi studies.
Speak rationally – Second, each of us could do well to examine what we think is true and how we talk about it. Learning to speak of consciousness and Psi studies in rational sounding terms can elevate how we are seen by others from seeming to be superstitious ghost hunters, for instance, to the appearance of being thoughtful investigators.

Learning to speak in more rational terms has the added benefit of us expressing our intention to our perception forming mental process to be more rational.

Theory rather than belief – The majority of reasonably well informed paranormalists seemingly try to stay close to good theory and evidence. It is a bad idea to tell any person involved in organized religion that we believe. If what we “believe” is not in agreement with the religion, then it must be demon inspired. Say instead that we are studying the theory and evidence. We might not accept the theory, but it is an interesting subject. Ask what they think?
Show benefits of discernment – The motto on my website reads: “Believe what you wish but understand the implications of what you believe.” The most important step any of us can take to protect consciousness and Psi studies is to teach others to examine the implications of what they think is true. It is a good idea not to confront people’s beliefs. Instead, try to find ways to be a role model for discernment. Critical thinking is a skill that can naturally lead to more rational choices.

Be The Fool The Seeker. As Lisa and I did in that Laughlin casino, it is too easy to stumble into a confrontational discussion with people who fear nonreligious thoughts about consciousness and survival. We exited that conversation by putting on our harmless rational face. That was then. The social dynamics are much meaner spirited today and it is reasonable to expect today, that woman would be more aggressive.

There is much that we do not know about the nature of consciousness and Psi phenomena. For instance, ghosts are not necessarily evidence of dead people. We psychokinetically express our thoughts. One of the theories offered to explain poltergeist events holds that people’s unconscious psychokinetic expressions can sometimes produce large scale physical effects. The same for any human reported, apparently paranormal experience.

It makes no sense to be assertive about what we think is true. Keeping an open mind and practicing suspended judgement is probably the most rational perspective we can take about paranormal phenomena and religious beliefs.

As I have proposed before, the academic community can better serve its lay customers by establishing a more coherent model of consciousness. It is so much better if we can cite a model that is well supported by science than to only argue that “this is what I think.”

This advice is intended to make you an emissary for rational thinking. You are the teacher. Teach by example.

With all of that said, you are still citizens and have a duty to participate in the political process. Seekers do not retreat to a cave. Seeking means gaining understanding through experiences. Today’s political environment offers a most important opportunity to gain understanding about our nature that otherwise might not be available.

Key Terms to Remember

Suspended judgement – Our mind is predisposed to decide about sensed information. By resisting deciding what we think of it, we open ourselves to considering possible new information. That is the essence of having an open mind.

Consider the implications – We each experience the world from a different perspective. There is no right way to think. However, there are more rational ways. By learning to always stop and consider the implications of what we think is true, we offer gentle guidance to our perception-forming mental processes indicating our desire to be more discerning.

Be a teacher – The three aspects of a teacher are: 1.) Teach the principles, 2.) Be a role model demonstrating the operation of those principles, 3.) Demonstrate the effect of living the principles by who you become. While your human might prefer the traditional “do unto others” Golden Rule, it is likely that your spirit mind prefers the “Teach me as I teach you” version.

Personal responsibility – What happens to us is often out of our direct control. How we react to what happened to us is our choice. Remember that anything that happens is an opportunity to gain understanding. If you accept the idea that you are spirit having a human experience, you will understand that gaining understanding through life experiences is your purpose.

It is my understanding that the only way we can change our country is to teach citizens the value of discernment by always considering the implications of their choices. One teacher begets two. Two teachers begets four.

One world, Many Tribes

This Opinion is about how people make choices, the choices they make and how some of those choices might negatively affect people interested in consciousness and Psi studies.

The Lucidity Spectrum Diagram below is an attempt to illustrate the relationship between choices guided by human instincts and choices guided by discerning intellect.

It is important that we keep in mind that there is a difference between the good in people and the ideologies held by some people. Treat all people with respect but be aware of their discernment. Teach others to consider the implications of their choices by example. People learn most when they ask.

Society is composed of many tribes representing many points of view. Learning to share reasons for accepting a particular point of view is an important builder of civilization. Be cautious but be kind.