Knowing

Knowing

by Marco M. Pardi

“Far more crucial than what we know or do not know is what we do not want to know.” Eric Hoffer. The Passionate State of Mind and Other Aphorisms.

“As knowledge increases, wonder deepens.” Charles Morgan.

All comments are welcome and will receive a response. All previous posts are also open for comment. If you are unable or unwilling to comment, please forward this site to someone who will.

I want to open a discussion, particularly because I will include an occurrence which raised a question for which I hope someone has an answer. In any event, the discussion will touch on issues which affect everyone. But first, I want to clearly state some assertions.

Those readers who have followed my posts over the years well know that I have spoken of what I call the “non-corporeal”. That is, what some would call spirit, and some would call soul. My writings have included the context which I feel supports my confidence in such a state of being. But for those who are not familiar with those previous posts I will reiterate that I am not a believer in a god or a supreme being. I do think the universe is conscious. Does that mean it knows and loves each of its parts? You have trillions of cells and billions of bacteria living in you. Do you know and love each of these? I will also reiterate that I do not believe in the non-corporeal. Based on my personal experiences and on the many volumes on NDEs and associated phenomena written by impeccable medical and scientific sources I accept the non-corporeal as a known state, albeit requiring some adjustments in investigative protocol. You can’t walk a near death experiencer into a laboratory and tell them, Do it again.

I wish to also make clear that I have no quarrel with those who do believe in a god, so long as they do not try to impose their beliefs on the conduct of my life or those for whom I care. I count among my acquaintances clerics from the three Western religions and highly value their discussions as they, unlike so many common “faithful”, are utterly open to rational inquiry and the exchange of ideas.

In his essays on Intellect Emerson wrote, “The most wonderful inspirations die with their subject, if he has no hand to paint them to the senses.” But, wait. Have you ever felt inspired? Moreover, have you ever felt there was some epiphany you just couldn’t put into words? Looking at the word, inspiration, we find it derives from the concept that an outside source (spirit?) has inserted (in…) new knowledge, or a new way of seeing things. Conversely, we use “expired” to announce the departure of the elan vital (Bergson’s source of causation and evolution in nature), meaning that mysterious entity we call life is no longer within, or the inner power of the substance we purchased is gone.

A very common paradigm erected in recent decades is: body, mind, spirit. Sounds simple. But then we find many people who use brain and mind interchangeably. Obviously, this is incorrect; brain is part of the physical body. Perhaps these people are so locked into the Materialist view, which demands answers to such questions as Where and What, that they are unable to depart from their dogmatic physical position that ideas arise only from brain electro-chemical states.

But I do not here want to get into deep and arcane bio-chemical arguments. I am fully aware that alteration of brain chemistry can cause alteration of mental states. And for this reason I subscribe to the view that the brain is not unlike an exquisite receiver, like a radio. Move the dial from station 1 to station 2 and you change the “message”. But station 1 does not stop transmitting, or cease to exist simply because you moved to station 2. Nor does station 2 begin transmitting only when you tune it in. Alter the electronics in your receiver, such as by taking certain drugs, and you may receive only an electrical storm emanating from the receiver. Or, perhaps the alteration opens new receptivity in the brain by blocking the portions that tell us You Can’t and empowering the portions that say You Can.

For those interested in exploring the linkage between data input and ideation I seriously recommend:
Mærk Verden: En beretning om bevidsthed book by Tor Nørretranders

Although written in Danish, there is a paperback version in English. I am certain it is among the best books in the field.

So that leaves us with mind and “spirit, essence, soul, oversoul” whatever is acceptable to you. I think we can agree that mind is not a physical entity. I will try to present the case that it is not merely the product of a physical state. I have literally hundreds of medical and science based accounts of documented mental functioning even while the brain is medically certified as either completely inactive or dead. Obviously, I will not list them here, partly because I have written about them elsewhere.

Ever found yourself saying, “I knew that” and not knowing how or when you learned it? While Tor (above) explains how we take in and process billions of data bits throughout the day we still have people who cite “intuition”, leaving it in a murky, non-corporeal state. There’s that in prefix again, as if it’s coming from the outside. But is the outside really OUT, or is it a domain we don’t realize is part of us, and we a part of it?

Many sources like to reference “The Akashic records”, a compendium of every action, thought, word, and deed ever generated in the cosmos popularized by Madame Blavatsky (Theosophy) and Edgar Cayce. Okay, I can’t deal with the image of some giant volume hanging there in space. But, surprisingly, the concept turns up in major religions as “The Book of Life” and other such things. Supposedly, mystics and “seers” can access this knowledge, though I am skeptical of Madame Nozall.

I’ve written before of an incident in 1964 in which I sat with a woman I had never before seen and she calmly told me precise details of my early childhood (which I could verify only years later), precise details of my present (my work required a Top Secret – Cryptographic security clearance), and precise details of my future including unique physical descriptions of persons I would encounter in distant lands. How did she know this?

For several years I applied my knowledge and understanding of Thanatology (the study of death & dying) by spending hours with extremely ill or frankly dying patients. Several times a patient, not within earshot of family or attendants, told me “This is it” or “It’s my time.” Many would dismiss this as “giving up”; that may have been the case some times, but certainly not every time. Did they know something? If so, how?

Since childhood I have “accompanied” many people as they transition through what we call death. Each event is well documented, especially in the sense that I was in a remote location from them and did not know of their situation (some were sudden death). Medical literature is increasingly filled with documented reports from medical practitioners describing their own such journeys with patients. I have also written earlier about this. Take it or leave it.

During one such accompaniment the transitioning person pleaded with me to “come with me, you know it’s good. Come with me.” I responded, “It’s not my time” and promptly “returned” to waking consciousness. Less than an hour later I learned through a phone call that this person had suddenly and unexpectedly died.

So, here’s the question: Who was the I who said it’s not my time? And how did this I know it was “not my time”? If the I knew it was not the time, does the I know when it is the time? I’ve been through some on the edge medical issues, but through each of them I knew. How? In my daily conscious life, sitting here now, I can’t say when it will be my time. But it seems I’ve known when it wasn’t. How?

For many years I have liked the following paradigm:

Some are born asleep and stay asleep,

Some are born awake and are lulled to sleep,

Some are born asleep and awaken,

Some are born awake and stay awake.

How much do we learn versus how much do we come to realize we know? And where did that knowing come from?

I’m betting there are readers out there who know something. I know I’m anxious to learn. So, please, know away.