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The Death of the Supernatural
There was a time when I was inexplicably drawn to the unexplained. Ghosts and goblins and shit used to send a shiver down my spine. Synchronicities used to send me into a tizzy. But somewhere along the way, recently, all that stuff has dropped off for me.
It’s not that I’m no longer interested in it whatsoever. I guess it is that my focus has shifted radically - as well as my motivations. Where once it was theoretical exploration that thrilled me, nowadays I am finding practical application to be more my cup of tea. I once wanted to find the answer. Now I want to share what I have found. It has become a moot point as whether what I have found is truly “The Answer”. Such worries have nullified by the simple proof of my own life that, whatever it is and whatever its ontological status may be, the shit works.
I haven’t become a materialist. It is more that I have accepted the body as the locus of our perceptual experiences. Maybe not the source, but it is certainly the crucible in which the treasure is formed.
What treasure? It is deceptively simple: fully experiencing every moment. It’s one of those things that sounds trite if you’re in a certain state of mind. But what I have found about that state of mind is that it cancels out all kinds of important shit because it is a judgemental bitch. So if you are in a state of being where you find certain things to be trite or ridiculous, well… you’re going to stay in that state of mind unless you decide to change it.
It’s more than just a decision that is required. But it 100% starts there. Over the coming weeks, I will be going more deeply into the methodology which I have found to be successful within my own life. One of my hopes is to strip it out of the context of my own life and hopefully put together some tools which will aid other people who are ready to make these changes in their lives: in other words, people who are ready to actually start experiencing their lives. Most of us only have flashes of actually experiencing our own lives. We spend most of our time protecting ourselves with habits, programmed emotional responses and lies we tell ourselves. But it is possible to actually be there, to be here, to be fully present, in our whole lives: not just in parts and in compartments and apart-ments.
Don’t get me wrong: I still like UFO’s and vampires and shit. But I have been given certain gifts: visions of possibilities and pathways to get there in this world, in the real world, the objective one we all share; and I aim to bring them into existence. That or die trying.
PS. A wonderful thank you to everyone who contributed to my recent fund-raising efforts! I really appreciate it and am ready to start giving back.
August 26th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
Tim - this sounds like just what I was looking for.
August 27th, 2007 at 8:08 am
When I was in third grade, I kept renting the same book in media (library) class every week — it was called “Stories of the Unknown” or “Mysteries of the World” or something — each chapter focusing on something like Loch Ness Monster, big foot, UFOs, ESP, Atlantis, etc. I must have read the book through and through dozens of times. The cover image is still brunt in my mind.
The resulting middle and high school years were somewhat infected with the Agent Mulder-esque “I want to believe” syndrome, in which I reached as far as I needed to so that I’d find the proper explanations. Then things fell quiet for a while.
But recently, thanks to sites such as your own, I’ve fondly re-examined this fascination of mine. It is still there, to be sure, but my relationship with it has continued to grow…
…and now, I’ve been more at peace with it all than ever, simply knowing that it is the *experiences* of these things that has always intrigued me. It doesn’t matter at all if they’re “materially real” or “entirely objective” or any of that. The experience occurred (even if not to me), and that is really the root at what its all about, as far as I’m concerned. In the end, it seems a great testament to the utter ground of undeniably mystery upon which all is ultimately founded.
August 27th, 2007 at 9:26 am
I can relate to this. I spent a week with my Dad. He’s a semi retired bussinessman. Works in the construction bussiness, so pretty much lives in the world of the concrete, literally. Its hard to relate to him, but I think it was good for me. I talk to my Mother about the esoteric stuff I am into and she just tells me how smart she thinks I am. My Dad asked me how does this stuff directly effect my life?
He’s all about action. Which I am wanting to be but need a good kick in the ass. All the people I have ever met that are older and really tough and vigorous still have personalities like my Dad. Our bodies want action.
August 27th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
The purpose of our bodies and minds are to bridge intention into the world of action, or that is as near as I can figure.
August 27th, 2007 at 12:34 pm
This, after years of studying and applying esotericism, is exactly where I have ended up.
Existence, life, and the body are all “miracles.” The body contains unbelievably refined and even explosive energy all of itself. What more are we after?
This is something that has helped cure me of a lot of fancy and IMO any spiritual seeker should read his words. It is possible to be spiritual, mystic, and yet reductionist, at least until one finds their own truth.
August 27th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
Tim, your blog’s the bomb and you are da MAN! Or should I say superman? Keep shining brother.
August 27th, 2007 at 2:49 pm
Weird because I had a really involved dream about Superman this morning - one of those ones where no matter how many times I woke up, I would get right back into it where I left off. In it, I think Superman and some team of assistants saved the world, only to discover at the very end that the forces they were acting on behalf of may not be so benevolent after all. The end of the dream featured me (as a woman, I think - “me” simply being the viewpoint character) using a black and red notebook I carry around which fired a red laser beam at a door, unlocking it, leading me out onto a balcony with the ocean below.
August 27th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
AWESOME
August 27th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
Yeah my symbolism is almost never so concrete as that. It’s almost like a sentence, really.