Hello, Apesters! Ha! I know, nobody reads this lousy blog but what the hell? I still get a kick out of writing on it from time to time. So, let me tell you, absolutely NO ONE, about my summer schemes. Adventure is afoot…
I’m sitting here on a lazy Sunday in my apartment in the hills of South Korea, about an hour from Seoul and 45 minutes from the DMZ (that’s North Korea up thar!), watching a video that popped up on my YouTube feed about climate change. It sounds like the opening credits to a disaster movie.
Speaking of disasters, I am heading into finals week, so I have a LOT of grading in my near future. I need to get all the exams and final assignments graded, and then post the grades before June 17 so that I can fly outta here on June 26.
“Where ya goin’?” I hear no one ask. Well, I’m goin’ west. My first stop will be in Lisbon, Portugal, to do some light sightseeing before I head down the coast to a resort. At the resort, I will be checking one final tick off my bucket list by attending three ayahuasca ceremonies. I am a little nervous about this, but I feel it is something I should do to make one final epic attempt at connecting and communicating with The Phenomenon.
If you’re new to this blog, The Phenomenon is what any have come to call the higher consciousness that is present in our world. Some call it “God,” others “The Great Magoo” I don’t know, but you get the idea. I believe that this higher consciousness has always been here, messing with us humans to try to guide us to developing our own higher consciousness. It has appeared as all the great paranormal phenomenon of our world – from angels to UAPs and every shape and form of wacky boogum in between that our kind have reported throughout the ages.
It’s always something different, depending on what any individual or group of individuals needs to see at any given point in time and space. It’s like the entity that is ‘It’ in the novel by Stephen King, except our ‘It’ isn’t a child-killing thing wearing a clown mask. Our ‘It’ is generally benevolent, but not always. It’s like a parent with a twisted sense of humor. You can read about The Phenomenon in books by French physicist Jacques Vallée, or in other books by other people including John Keel, William Bramley (pseudonym), or Matthew Roberts.
All are good, but Passport to Magonia and Initiated are my favorites. Very interesting, and Vallée’s approach is much more scientific. He was a founding member of the second incarnation of the Invisible College – a group of academics who investigated The Phenomenon while hiding their identities to protect their academic careers. In fact, The Invisible College is another excellent book by Vallée.
Or you could just peruse this blog to read my many hot takes on the topic of The Phenomenon. Anyway, that’s why I’m going to Portugal – to try using ayahuasca as a conduit for communication with this higher consciousness. But more on that later, perhaps when (if) I return.
After Portugal, I will be flying up to London to see some old friends that now make London their home. From London, I hope to travel to Ireland for a few days before heading back to Asia and my mundane life.
I hope to gather some material for another book, or – better yet – a movie or streaming series. I’ll tag Netflix in this. Why not? May as well throw in Hulu and Paramount+ while I’m at it. HBO Max or FX as well. How many streaming services are there these days? Well, if the tags bring them here, hopefully they will go to this older post to read the pitch for the movie/series concept.
But the HEAT, people, my GOD the heat. It’s no joke. I think we’re already feeling the first tremors of a major social collapse. Here’s the video on YouTube that got me thinking about this:
Well, some schmuck’s car alarm is going off every twenty seconds right behind my building, so I think I’m gonna wrap this up for lack of concentration. Take care out there this summer. Stay in the shade, and give water to animals. Strays need water, too. Leave out a dish. It will be a bright mark on your Akashic record.
Set the controls for the heart of the sun, apparently.
thecontemplativeape 