Normaility and the boundaries of perception.

[bogeyman]

Is the way we live our lives, and our perception of reality, in fact abnormal? Is what is deemed paranormal in fact a reflection of normality in a world of illusion?

Do some of us have a deeper perception of the true nature of existence and the way we should interact with that perception?

[Sunny-side-up]

Yes bogeyman

Most of our way of living and experiencing so called reality abnormal for sure.

The Elder Brothers of the Kogi Indians divine who is to be their next medicine-man, shaman, mystic before birth.
https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...th+full+movie+

said child is brought up in a cave until 12, over those years one by one villagers talk with the new shaman and try to describe aspects of the world outside.

When the new shaman finally comes out into the world not only dose he/she now every villager inside out but sees the world and the great spirit for who and what it really is, not as the villagers perceive.

we are programmed and cut off from the true interaction of life and reality, we are just as much the illusion as the illusion is.

[Patient]

Do you think that it is "being in the cave", which I assume is underground, a critical part of this process? As opposed to simply isolating the person in another part of the wilderness above ground? I recall reading similar processes where many new religions were created by a person staying in a cave for a long period of time.

The Book of 5 Rings by Myamoto Mushasi which is a book on martial arts and warfare written in 1685 (I think) is still read today and the philosophy therein is used to this day even by the modern business man. He apparently went into a cave for some time and came out with this writing.

Does being in an underground cave allow ones self to be exposed to something that then provides its wisdom/theories?

If you then include the theory of a race of beings living underground - do they become aware of this person living in a cave and then telepathically send that person information? Why do so many people have a fear or just general trepidation about going into a basement? Does being underground bring us to a boundary of the paranormal?

[Fellow Aspirant]

Posted by Sunny-side-up (here)
Yes bogeyman

Most of our way of living and experiencing so called reality abnormal for sure.

The Elder Brothers of the Kogi Indians divine who is to be their next medicine-man, shaman, mystic before birth.
https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...th+full+movie+

said child is brought up in a cave until 12, over those years one by one villagers talk with the new shaman and try to describe aspects of the world outside.

When the new shaman finally comes out into the world not only dose he/she now every villager inside out but sees the world and the great spirit for who and what it really is, not as the villagers perceive.

we are programmed and cut off from the true interaction of life and reality, we are just as much the illusion as the illusion is.

Fascinating. This story meshes well with Plato's take on how we perceive reality: as prisoners living in a cave who believe that shadows cast on the wall of the cave by others passing in front of a fire are the true representation of existence.

B.

[Fellow Aspirant]

Posted by bogeyman (here)
Is the way we live our lives, and our perception of reality, in fact abnormal? Is what is deemed paranormal in fact a reflection of normality in a world of illusion?

Do some of us have a deeper perception of the true nature of existence and the way we should interact with that perception?

Man, what a huge question! Kind of like asking whether we are living in a dream when we perceive ourselves to be awake.
The answer, according to many ancient cultures' teachings, is yes!

But don't take my word for it. I could merely be a manifestation in one of your dreams.
Oh, wait - I am!

B.

[BongoBob]

Posted by Patient (here)
Do you think that it is "being in the cave", which I assume is underground, a critical part of this process? As opposed to simply isolating the person in another part of the wilderness above ground?

Does being underground bring us to a boundary of the paranormal?

In my limited experience of shamanic technique, this reminds me of the three generally understood realms of beyond that are traveled to through drumming/trance. Where the higher realm (of Akashic records, and light/angelic beings for example) is reached through some act of climbing a tree, mountain, then jumping off into the sky like a bird, the lower realm is accessed through traveling down deep through a hole in the ground, such as a cave or rabbit-hole, where you emerge on the other side, in the underworld, to meet with totem guides, deal with malevolent entities, assist in soul recovery, or so on.

Would it be critical to do so? not necessarily. I'm sure there are countless medicine men or shaman from all cultures who do not go into caves with such frequency, however the isolation and relative safety provided by a cave would allow the budding child to become much more intimate with the tools and powers that come along with accessing, understanding, and traveling among these meta-physical realms, but at the same time, would limit the blending of the physical with the meta-physical (Though that may just happen later, once such a child has come out of the cave.. I haven't had the chance to watch the video you linked, will check it out soon!)

As for being a boundary to the paranormal, I'd think it's more attuned to being closer to the boundary of the ego-walls of self- much like being set in one of those sensory-deprivation float tanks. for someone battling frightening demons of the mind, being left to one's own imagination without comfortable distraction may allow those thoughts to quickly bubble to the surface (similar in a sense to the shaman's quest to battle the demons that ill their people, to make a leap back, albeit in the realm of shadows).

[conk]

Certainly our limited perceptions and awareness contribute to the limited view of the universe. We're tuned into a very narrow band of the electromagnetic scale. Are we so arrogant as to presume nothing exists outside our very constricted insight. Likely an unimaginable range of entities and realities reside outside our 5 senses. It's the old radio frequency adage. We're tuned to station 104.3 on the dial, but most certainly a vast array of other frequencies exist above and below 104.3. We're just not tuned into them. Doesn't mean they aren't there.

Also, there's the space time factor. All things, times, subjects, ideas exist simultaneously in past, present, and future. We happen to be on page 20 of the book, just moving onto page 21. Pages 1 through 19 and pages 22 through 500 exist at the same time. We're just not at those narratives while on page 20. Doesn't mean they are not there.