The chain of reason can be a perilous and unsettling process. Those brash enough to follow any given strand to its logical conclusion may find themselves in incredible if not seemingly preposterous territory. Such is the case of Graham Hancock in his book Supernatural, (2007, Disinformation, New York.) Hancock contends the wide spread use of hallucinogenic drugs throughout history not only provided the impetus for the development of human spirituality but has also revealed a supernatural dimension populated with existentially real beings capable of interacting with our physical world. These beings are known by a myriad of culturally based identities. From the guardian and animal spirits found within tribal cultures to the fairies and elves referenced in early European history to the extraterrestrial beings many claim haunt our modern era. All are different names for the same supernatural entities whose presence and causal abilities are just as substantive as our own. On the surface it seems an appalling anti-intellectual claim. However, scrupulous consideration of the facts, source review and careful assembling of the evidence suggests there is much to consider within Hancock’s theory.
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1 CommentThe essence of Transpersonal study revolves around elements of experience occurring outside the norm. It’s a uniquely subjective field investigating phenomena that frequently elude conventional scientific scrutiny. It assumes the existence of unseen forces driving human intuition, belief and behavior. Despite this avowed respect for the non empirical there nonetheless remain certain epistemological biases in many who study these experiences. This is understandable. For those whose scientific understanding is rooted within the positivist and objective tradition, the tendency to force this same paradigm upon the unseen phenomena they encounter is all too common.
Within the field of anthropology this form of ‘transpersonal scientism” is most evident when studying the spiritual beliefs of traditional cultures; particularly those with deep animist orientations. The overwhelming tendency is to assume there to be only symbolic or metaphoric reality regarding claims that certain objects or entities possess mind or spirits. Those rites and rituals designed to muster or placate such forces are labeled with such common psychological pathologies as transference, archaic sublimation or base superstition.
You are invited to Read More No CommentsModern science, our beloved paradigm of truth has failed to show us the spiritual light. Compounding its shortcomings, like a petulant loser unable to admit its inadequacies, science often reverts to trivializing and deconstructing the mystical and transcendent to the point of irrelevance. Though imperious empiricists may be quick to dismiss the realm of the unseen, for the rest of us the questions of our spiritual being still persist. As such, like a new breed of existential explorer many contemporary people feel we must look to the culturally remote, pre-modern peoples of the planet in search of the ultimate answers. Like modern Transcendentalists we’re convinced something as basic and pure as the nature of being must lurk in places of similar character. Places of yore where the innocents remain uncontaminated by the taint of modernity; where idyllic life styles coexist with the forces and principles of creation. In desperation our imaginations run wild. We’re convinced the pre-moderns hold the answers to our mystical awakening.
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The Torajan village of Kete Kesu outside Rontepao
The Torajan people on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi are a rarity among traditional cultures. They possess something capable of holding at bay the inexorable encroachment of modernity. Something within their cultural essence whose preservation is of great value to the ravenous economic sensibilities of the modern world. Something allowing them to maintain those native customs, ideals and forms so delicately assembled and maintained over countless generations. This commodity is neither land nor material resource but rather a unique and dramatic set of spiritual perspectives and behaviors. The Torajan are a new breed of entrepreneur. In concert with the Indonesian government, they have parlayed their traditional animist practices into big business.
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