Post by michael on Sept 26, 2005 3:54:42 GMT -5
NOTE: TRADITIONAL (INDIGENOUS) WEATHER MODIFICATION
...the ancient phenomenon of weather control - bringing the sun or making it rain - as performed by shamans in various cultures around the world. The shaman ... bring about the desired changes in weather. Similarly, various Indian tribes have rain dance ceremonies. In such cultures, human beings are viewed as but one part of the complex, living whole of Nature, connected to all other living things and to Nature itself.
Shamanistic Weather Control
[...] In Ifa the invocation of lightning is used as an instrument of warfare. There are very specific and detailed rituals that are designed to produce and direct this natural phenomena. I have personally witnessed enough examples of Ifa initiates invoking changes in the weather that it now seems normal rather than abnormal.
From a parapsychological perspective claims of effecting the weather result in a debate between two possible explanations. One explanation is that the person has a telekinetic influence on conditions that produce the weather and the other is that the person has powers of precognition and is simply predicting events while claiming to exert some form of control.
From an Ifa perspective these two points of view are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Ifa makes extensive use of a variety of divination systems that are used to predict the future. If a predicted future event is deemed favorable, rituals will be performed to insure that the anticipated good fortune becomes manifest. If a predicted future event is deemed unfavorable, rituals will be performed in an effort to alter destiny. To me this ritual process suggests that there is a interactive relationship between precognition and telekinesis that does not appear to have been fully explored by Western scientist who research paranormal phenomena. This polarity would be extremely difficult to analyze in a laboratory setting. In personal terms it is the polarity between optimism that generates good luck and pessimism that generates bad luck. [...]
Based on my own experience I have seen shamans invoke rain and watch the rain manifest. I have seen shamans invoke the spirit of lighting while their invocations were punctuated by bolts of lightning hurling across the sky. I have seen shamans command the wind to blow and demand that it stop. [...]
Alien Intelligence
[...] In the early days of my studies of Ifa I heard stories that I assumed were exaggerated, apocryphal, or simply symbolic. As I gained more direct experience of various phenomena, two things happened; I discovered that more of the stories were true and accurate than I had originally believed, and I discovered that my understanding of phenomena made a radical shift every time I initially encountered the phenomena. Before I experienced possession for the first time I assumed that it was a projection of some hidden aspect of the inner self. Now I believe that there is a merging of personal consciousness with the consciousness of something outside of the self. The shift in explanation is based on continuous evaluation of ongoing experience. [...]
Assuming that this analysis has validity, the implications of this theory leads to a serious problem. If the mind is able to create anthropomorphic images of inanimate conscious objects while those inanimate objects are attempting to communicate with human consciousness, how do you make the distinction between valid messages coming from Nature, and the possibility that the image is simply a figment of the person's imagination. It is very interesting to me to note that my teacher's in Ifa are very concerned about the possibility of confusing these two functions of the human mind. Ifa teaches that true communication with Nature requires that the person receiving the message has access to ase. In other words communication with Nature involves a rekindling of the kundalini experience. When this occurs there are easily observable shifts in the demeanor of the person who enters that state. Imagination does not require ase. Malidoma's teacher knew that he was not communicating with the tree because Malidoma was not in the right state of mind for that type of communication to occur.
Ted Owens states that he used imagination and visualization as a key to gaining access to the paranormal. It would be fair to wonder why if the process began as imagination, it did not simply continue in the same vein and to assume that the entire event is nothing more than personal fantasy. I have found that I can access ase by repeating the invocations that were said at the time of my initiation into Ifa. I also have discovered that I can access ase by remembering the sights, sounds and smells that occurred during my initiation. Both mechanisms have the same triggering effect. [...]
The discussion of a possible explanation for the physical appearance of non human life forms does not necessarily call into question the material reality of these life forms. I think that it would be more accurate to say that there are a variety of shapes and forms that these life forms can take when they make themselves visible to human powers of perception. This may have more to do with human bio-chemistry than it has to do with metaphysics. It is also a possible source of the popularity of the image of shape shifters in Shamanistic literature.
The perplexing aspect of the Owens story is the question of UFO's. In the West mention of the word UFO implies visitors from another planet. Based on the scientific understanding of cosmology and physics the possibility of contact between life on this planet and life from another planet ranges from slim to non-existent. For most scientist the possibility that the number of encounters that have been reported represent real interaction between humans and alien life forms is an absurdity unworthy of serious consideration.
In my own study of Ifa I have identified at least forty different categories of inter-dimensional beings, and each category has a number of sub-categories. The shamanism of west Africa and south Africa makes clear reference to Alien life forms who visit the earth from different dimensions of reality and some who claim to be from specific places in the visible universe. Similar material appears in the shamanistic traditions of Native Americans, most notably the Hopi who dance in honor of their alien visitors. The Hopi are extremely reluctant to speak about their relationship with alien visitors, not out of fear of being called "crazy", their reluctance is based on a concern for the safety of the aliens themselves. Elders among the Zulu teach a form of sign language used to communicate with visitors from other planets. Efforts have been made by the Zulu elders to publish this material for the benefit of everyone. Some of the material has reached the printed page most of it has been rejected by publishers as non credible. It seems to me that the issue of credibility should be left to the reader and that any effort to edit ideas that are uncomfortable to the Western reader takes the entire concept of colonialism to a new level of insidious sophistication.
Psychic Energy
Every form of martial arts that I am aware of teaches techniques for using mental ability to influence the outcome of a fight. The martial art that was developed in Yoruba culture is called "Aki" meaning "bravery". The physical techniques taught are relatively simple and are very similar to wrestling. The mind control aspect of Aki is extremely sophisticated and includes incantations for causing different levels of damage as the situation warrants. I have seen fighters pass out as a result of words that were spoken to them prior to any physical contact. [...]
Based on my experience there is no doubt in my mind that Ted Owens may well have had the ability to do many of the things that he claimed. I base this opinion on the fact that I have witnessed similar abilities used by the Ifa elders of southwest Nigeria. What is remarkable to me is that I have been given instruction in the methodology for accessing what Western science calls PK ability and have found the methodology to be effective. I have also discovered the methodology is most effective when it is applied to solving a real problem as compared with being used simply to prove that it is possible.
[...]
Ifa is based on the idea that some people have more life experience than others. Those with more experience are considered elders. It is the task of an elder to guide those with less life experience towards those experiences that will bring wisdom, clarity and understanding of both the self and its relationship to the world. If there are elders who claim to have interaction with visitors from different dimensions of reality and visitors from different places in the universe and if these elders are willing to share the wisdom of their experience I believe that this offer should be taken seriously. In the world of shamanistic belief taking this offer seriously does not mean asking the elders to prove their world view in a laboratory setting. Taking this offer seriously means having the courage to surrender to their process of instruction. You can't learn how to ride a horse by simple reading about it in a book, at some point you have to climb on to the horse's back. Any real understanding of UFOs requires a similar effort.
I believe that Ted Owens suffered needlessly because he invested so much time and energy into trying to convince his peers that his abilities were real. In my experience it is much easier to develop paranormal abilities in an environment of support rather than an environment of hostile skepticism. Hopefully the lessons that we can learn from an examination of Ted Owens life will allow us to move beyond the "is it real" phase of our understanding of consciousness into the much more rewarding phase of applying the optimal levels of consciousness to the task of solving real problems. Shamans invoke spirit beings from invisible realms of reality to effectively improve the quality of life in their communities. Shamans tend to view this interaction as benevolent, desirable and part of the scheme of things. Skeptics either dismiss this all together or become extremely hostile about the notion that we are not alone. Hostility is rooted in fear and overcoming fear is the function of initiation. Every ritual initiation has a segment that challenges the courage of the initiate. Understanding the life of Ted Owens could be just such a challenge.
twm.co.nz/indigwm.html
...the ancient phenomenon of weather control - bringing the sun or making it rain - as performed by shamans in various cultures around the world. The shaman ... bring about the desired changes in weather. Similarly, various Indian tribes have rain dance ceremonies. In such cultures, human beings are viewed as but one part of the complex, living whole of Nature, connected to all other living things and to Nature itself.
Shamanistic Weather Control
[...] In Ifa the invocation of lightning is used as an instrument of warfare. There are very specific and detailed rituals that are designed to produce and direct this natural phenomena. I have personally witnessed enough examples of Ifa initiates invoking changes in the weather that it now seems normal rather than abnormal.
From a parapsychological perspective claims of effecting the weather result in a debate between two possible explanations. One explanation is that the person has a telekinetic influence on conditions that produce the weather and the other is that the person has powers of precognition and is simply predicting events while claiming to exert some form of control.
From an Ifa perspective these two points of view are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Ifa makes extensive use of a variety of divination systems that are used to predict the future. If a predicted future event is deemed favorable, rituals will be performed to insure that the anticipated good fortune becomes manifest. If a predicted future event is deemed unfavorable, rituals will be performed in an effort to alter destiny. To me this ritual process suggests that there is a interactive relationship between precognition and telekinesis that does not appear to have been fully explored by Western scientist who research paranormal phenomena. This polarity would be extremely difficult to analyze in a laboratory setting. In personal terms it is the polarity between optimism that generates good luck and pessimism that generates bad luck. [...]
Based on my own experience I have seen shamans invoke rain and watch the rain manifest. I have seen shamans invoke the spirit of lighting while their invocations were punctuated by bolts of lightning hurling across the sky. I have seen shamans command the wind to blow and demand that it stop. [...]
Alien Intelligence
[...] In the early days of my studies of Ifa I heard stories that I assumed were exaggerated, apocryphal, or simply symbolic. As I gained more direct experience of various phenomena, two things happened; I discovered that more of the stories were true and accurate than I had originally believed, and I discovered that my understanding of phenomena made a radical shift every time I initially encountered the phenomena. Before I experienced possession for the first time I assumed that it was a projection of some hidden aspect of the inner self. Now I believe that there is a merging of personal consciousness with the consciousness of something outside of the self. The shift in explanation is based on continuous evaluation of ongoing experience. [...]
Assuming that this analysis has validity, the implications of this theory leads to a serious problem. If the mind is able to create anthropomorphic images of inanimate conscious objects while those inanimate objects are attempting to communicate with human consciousness, how do you make the distinction between valid messages coming from Nature, and the possibility that the image is simply a figment of the person's imagination. It is very interesting to me to note that my teacher's in Ifa are very concerned about the possibility of confusing these two functions of the human mind. Ifa teaches that true communication with Nature requires that the person receiving the message has access to ase. In other words communication with Nature involves a rekindling of the kundalini experience. When this occurs there are easily observable shifts in the demeanor of the person who enters that state. Imagination does not require ase. Malidoma's teacher knew that he was not communicating with the tree because Malidoma was not in the right state of mind for that type of communication to occur.
Ted Owens states that he used imagination and visualization as a key to gaining access to the paranormal. It would be fair to wonder why if the process began as imagination, it did not simply continue in the same vein and to assume that the entire event is nothing more than personal fantasy. I have found that I can access ase by repeating the invocations that were said at the time of my initiation into Ifa. I also have discovered that I can access ase by remembering the sights, sounds and smells that occurred during my initiation. Both mechanisms have the same triggering effect. [...]
The discussion of a possible explanation for the physical appearance of non human life forms does not necessarily call into question the material reality of these life forms. I think that it would be more accurate to say that there are a variety of shapes and forms that these life forms can take when they make themselves visible to human powers of perception. This may have more to do with human bio-chemistry than it has to do with metaphysics. It is also a possible source of the popularity of the image of shape shifters in Shamanistic literature.
The perplexing aspect of the Owens story is the question of UFO's. In the West mention of the word UFO implies visitors from another planet. Based on the scientific understanding of cosmology and physics the possibility of contact between life on this planet and life from another planet ranges from slim to non-existent. For most scientist the possibility that the number of encounters that have been reported represent real interaction between humans and alien life forms is an absurdity unworthy of serious consideration.
In my own study of Ifa I have identified at least forty different categories of inter-dimensional beings, and each category has a number of sub-categories. The shamanism of west Africa and south Africa makes clear reference to Alien life forms who visit the earth from different dimensions of reality and some who claim to be from specific places in the visible universe. Similar material appears in the shamanistic traditions of Native Americans, most notably the Hopi who dance in honor of their alien visitors. The Hopi are extremely reluctant to speak about their relationship with alien visitors, not out of fear of being called "crazy", their reluctance is based on a concern for the safety of the aliens themselves. Elders among the Zulu teach a form of sign language used to communicate with visitors from other planets. Efforts have been made by the Zulu elders to publish this material for the benefit of everyone. Some of the material has reached the printed page most of it has been rejected by publishers as non credible. It seems to me that the issue of credibility should be left to the reader and that any effort to edit ideas that are uncomfortable to the Western reader takes the entire concept of colonialism to a new level of insidious sophistication.
Psychic Energy
Every form of martial arts that I am aware of teaches techniques for using mental ability to influence the outcome of a fight. The martial art that was developed in Yoruba culture is called "Aki" meaning "bravery". The physical techniques taught are relatively simple and are very similar to wrestling. The mind control aspect of Aki is extremely sophisticated and includes incantations for causing different levels of damage as the situation warrants. I have seen fighters pass out as a result of words that were spoken to them prior to any physical contact. [...]
Based on my experience there is no doubt in my mind that Ted Owens may well have had the ability to do many of the things that he claimed. I base this opinion on the fact that I have witnessed similar abilities used by the Ifa elders of southwest Nigeria. What is remarkable to me is that I have been given instruction in the methodology for accessing what Western science calls PK ability and have found the methodology to be effective. I have also discovered the methodology is most effective when it is applied to solving a real problem as compared with being used simply to prove that it is possible.
[...]
Ifa is based on the idea that some people have more life experience than others. Those with more experience are considered elders. It is the task of an elder to guide those with less life experience towards those experiences that will bring wisdom, clarity and understanding of both the self and its relationship to the world. If there are elders who claim to have interaction with visitors from different dimensions of reality and visitors from different places in the universe and if these elders are willing to share the wisdom of their experience I believe that this offer should be taken seriously. In the world of shamanistic belief taking this offer seriously does not mean asking the elders to prove their world view in a laboratory setting. Taking this offer seriously means having the courage to surrender to their process of instruction. You can't learn how to ride a horse by simple reading about it in a book, at some point you have to climb on to the horse's back. Any real understanding of UFOs requires a similar effort.
I believe that Ted Owens suffered needlessly because he invested so much time and energy into trying to convince his peers that his abilities were real. In my experience it is much easier to develop paranormal abilities in an environment of support rather than an environment of hostile skepticism. Hopefully the lessons that we can learn from an examination of Ted Owens life will allow us to move beyond the "is it real" phase of our understanding of consciousness into the much more rewarding phase of applying the optimal levels of consciousness to the task of solving real problems. Shamans invoke spirit beings from invisible realms of reality to effectively improve the quality of life in their communities. Shamans tend to view this interaction as benevolent, desirable and part of the scheme of things. Skeptics either dismiss this all together or become extremely hostile about the notion that we are not alone. Hostility is rooted in fear and overcoming fear is the function of initiation. Every ritual initiation has a segment that challenges the courage of the initiate. Understanding the life of Ted Owens could be just such a challenge.
twm.co.nz/indigwm.html