People.
Shut up for a minute.
This is NOT about whether there is a Higher Power in the universe. Or more than one universe. Or whatever the fuck.
Personally: I do not believe in the "supernatural." Because the "natural" is plenty -- it is, in fact, everything. I am a pagan pantheist. To me, there is nothing that is not God.
Not even President Bush, but let that go . . .
I've been haunted by real, actual ghosts (as those who followed my RotS tour blog will recall). I do energy work; I have felt the power of kundalini and chi (which ain't the same thing, by the way -- and don't argue with me, I speak from experience), as well as reiki. I am, in fact, a reiki master. I have felt things -- and done things -- that science cannot explain.
I know things exist beyond the realm of current scientific verification.
Shit, that's why I write fantasy. Because novels without magick are not the truth.
However, none of these phenomena are supernatural. They are natural. We just don't have the science to measure them yet.
Which means WE SHOULDN'T BE TEACHING THEM IN SCIENCE CLASS.
Get it? Science is not about whether something is true. Science is about whether something is verifiable.
You want to talk about truth, go study philosophy.
And Intelligent Design is the WORST thing we could be teaching in a public school science class, because it is an EXPLICIT STATE ENDORSEMENT OF A RELIGIOUS DOCTRINE.
Period.
Those of you who are interested in the politics of it might want to check out Paul Krugman's column in today's NYTimes.
[an aside to David Welch --
Holy Shit, dude -- doesn't a Major League pitcher make enough money to get a decent education? Or have the 'roids gone to your brain?
But thanks so much for playing. Vanna, show him his parting gifts.]
This is the weblog of bestselling author Matthew Woodring Stover. WARNING: use of this product may result in intestinal upset, mental disturbance, sudden mood swings, dental caries and occasional anal leakage. Management denies responsibility for any and all injury.
If you're gonna play Poke the Bear, you better keep in mind the bear doesn't give a shit it's just a game.
About Me
- MWS
- firmly believes that if you don't already know who he is, you're wasting your time hanging around here. Go buy a book or something.
26 comments:
Well said. Just so you know, I'm going to steal that.
Which is exactly what I've been saying. I mean, the whole verifiability thing.
As for Reiki -- I've been told by Reiki masters that I have Good Flow or Strong Energy or some such (it's been several years, I don't remember the exact terminology), but never have I actually felt anything during the experience. Other than, y'know, the person's hands.
I have had certain other inexplicable encounters, though.
Here comes the love!
We have evidence that a Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe.
That is the funniest thing I've seen in a long time! I had tears!! Co-worker laughed at me! hah!
I often wonder if it is as obvious to others as it is to me that ID is little more than an attempt to hook us in the mouth and drag us, kicking and screaming, back towards savage, church-dominated mysticism.
Just how I see it.
ID is little more than an attempt to hook us in the mouth and drag us, kicking and screaming, back towards savage, church-dominated mysticism.
It's not. But I think your bias is showing.
Robonaut? Is that JMT talking there? Or Mr/Ms Director/Producer?
I'd love to see the video.
shisou --
Skip the literature on reiki. Reading about reiki is somewhat akin to reading about sex -- it may be intersting and informative, but it doesn't have a lot to do with the actuality . . .
Find yourself a good reiki master, and get yourself attuned. If it works, you'll know -- it's not something you can kid yourself about.
Azrof D --
I like cheese more than you do.
It's not The Origin of Species we're defending, Shawn; it's the principle of scientific empiricism.
It's no longer Darwin's theory, man. Welcome to the 21st Century.
Robonaut: you can send me stuff care of Del Rey Books, and I'd love to get it. Unfortunately -- due to the way I seem to have attracted an unsavory element around here -- I can't give out any more public contact info than that. If you just drop me a note through them, I can respond with my snail address . . .
As far as all the hauntings go, right with ya man.
My experience with Reiki Masters has been limited, granted, but one thing he said kinda put me off.
He said that all reiki is good, and I don't believe that. Maybe there is a mindset to get into, but the shit I do with energy manipulation has nothing to do with healing.
During the seminar I tried to focus on healing, but the (to steal from MWS) 'mindview' i go into tends to hang towards fire energy, and well, it can be good, but i caught myself several times leaning away from said healing.
The reiki master never said anything about it, and neglected to talk about it, but then again, he could just be ignorant of everything other than Reiki.
He could, however, trace his lineage...
One more thing; A while back you were complaining about jokes. Try this one.
Three guys are walking in a field. Their names are Dick, Harry, and Cum. Suddenly the Farmer steps out of his house, holding a shotgun, stroking his mountain-man beard and says, "you boys know your tresspassin'?"
Dick looks over, sees the shotgun and says, "Nawsir, but we'll do anything if you let us go."
The farmer gets a strange look on his face and says, "Ok, if you can run across that field and over the hill, I'll let you go."
Dick says to himself, "I think I can do that" and runs across the field, glances over his shoulder...
The farmer raises his gun...
BOOM!
Dick's dead.
Harry runs across the field, gets to the top of the hill and glances over his shoulder...
The farmer raises his gun...
BOOM!
Harry's dead.
Cum says to himself, "I think I know what they've been doin' wrong." He runs across the feild and over the hill. He glances back at the hill, wiping the sweat off his brow, and sees the Farmer.
The Farmer raises his gun...
BOOM!
Cum runs into the forest. In the forest he finds an old church and bursts in.
"Pastor, Pastor! You've gotta help me!"
The pastor says "God will help those in need," So Cum hides behind one of the pews. The Farmer bursts in and yells, "First person to shoot Cum wins $50!"
Pastor whips it out and says, "EASY MONEY!!"
how did the farmer know his name???
other than that, lol
-- Colin
Hadrian -- reiki is an entirely positive energy; however, it's not the only energy a person can manipulate through certain meditative states, or types of intentional focus. It sounds to me like you might have been brushing the fringes of kundalini, which can be exceptionally dangerous, without the guidance of a legitimately experienced master. An uncontrolled rising of kundalini can leave you ill for decades . . . (witness the experience of Gurdjieff, if you are willing to take that kind of New Age blowhard seriously).
It has been suggested to me, in fact, that my curiously amorphic CFS/FM/chronic meningitis syndrome may have been triggered by exactly that, back in 1997, which was when I originally fell ill. The only actual evidence I have in support of this is the slow but steady improvement of my condition ever since I began regular energy work . . . but I do mean slow.
To paraphrase Inigo Montoya:
"It has been two years. I am starting to lose confidence."
And the type of reiki I practice is specifically intended to open kundalini blocks, and solve such issues, too -- but it's been a two stpes forward, one and a half steps back kind of thing, and may very well have as much to do with allopathic meds (of which I take a bundle every day) and my body's slow -but-steady elimination of an unidentified virus.
Anyway: don't mess with the fire energy, if you can help it. Watch your ass.
Like I said before: none of this is scientific. There's no medicine for it, and when you start looking for teachers and guides and masters, Sturgeon's Law applies.
90% of them are crap, if not outright frauds.
I've been considering, on and off for several months now, reading Gurdjieff: An Introduction to His Life and Ideas, mainly because it's by John Shirley, and also because I'm curious about what a friend or two of mine see in his teachings.
Yup, you don't wanna go fucking around with kundalini power. It never ceases to amaze me why so many dumbass New Age-y types bring that kind of knowledge to the West when they don't what they're talking about, or what they're doing.
Didn't know you were a reiki master, Matt. That's pretty cool!
Heh.
Didja think I was just kiddin' when I said in that interview -- "I do have Jedi powers. I use them for knowledge, and defense."?
Know how a reiki master uses energy work to treat his broken leg?
He meditates in the hospital, while a real doctor sets the bone.
By the way --
The above riddle is reprinted courtesy of
The Fabulous Robyn Drake
copyright 2003
All Rights Reserved
That's the idea.
Though "prana imbalance" sounds like more jargon to me . . .
Hey, Matt.
I don't know if you remember me, my name is Ryan Anningson. I was c0ssaides in dead cities. I've been away for most of the summer, so I haven't had a chance to check up on much of anything. Dead cities is different, you have anothe short story posted up here(which, by the way, I loved. The stories of young Hari are great: I sometimes like to make up my own.), and other things like that.
I was a bit confused with the new dead cities, so I didn't leave a post there, but I was just wondering what the latest news on Caine Black Knife is. Is there a set or tentative release date yet? My email is reanningson@comcast.net, or you can just post the info somewhere and I'll find it.
Thanks, and I must confess that I can't wait for CBK.
Ryan Anningson
Hey, Ryan.
We all remember you.
The old dead cities is now Frameshift, under the Ubercommand of the justly-about-to-be-legendary-or-maybe-slightly more-ponytailed Scott Lynch.
The REAL new dead cities is ver4.0, still under the thumb of the redoubtable gabe chouinard. You'll be welcome at either, or both.
For CBK news, well . . .
It's coming. That's all I can say right now.
Watch this space.
I'm thinking about how you said that everything is God, and then you said that kundalini and chi ain't the same thing. I don't do anything with kundalini; the closest I've gotten to that kind of energy is listening to stories told by longtime pentjak silat practitioners. But it seems to me that kundalini and chi are more similar than dissimilar. Maybe they are different ways of manifesting energy, and maybe the energy is used to different effect, but it's all the same energy, and one should be able to be manifest either with just a change of focus. Whadayathink?
True -- but by that argument, the chemical energy released by striking a match is the same as the strong-nuclear energy released by initiating fission.
Yes, ultimately, energy is energy -- but just because it's ultimately "the same" doesn't mean it's equally safe to fuck around with.
Proof denies faith.
And, clearly, the reverse.
Faith has no place in science class.
Proof denies faith.
Incorrect. Evolutionary theory aside, everything new that's learnt about the world through the application of a posteriori approaches can only contribute to Christianity's understanding of God, the Holy Trinity, and the Universe. (And of course, fish, 42, and dolphins)
This is why Christianity has a concept called the Deposit of Faith, which tells us (effectively, in layman's terms): There are truths that God has revealed to the world (the final deposit was during the apostolic period), but that Christianity, as a religion with mysteries, allows for an ever-developing understanding of what this means.
These mysteries, it should be noted, do not therefore mean "something we cannot understand" but rather, "something we can understand a little bit more." Not unknowable, but rather - everknowable.
So no, science & religion do not have to disagree, and rather, can compliment each other.
The key, the...thing to remember - Christianity (speaking at least for Catholicism & Orthodoxy - I know Protestantism less well, depending on the sect) - is not a fideistic (ie: blind faith; humans are corrupt and knowledge is suspect and dangerous, so follow the rules, don't ask questions) religion.
Savy?
*grumbles*
Love that double-posting action...
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