One Seeker's Journey

Stars in our eyes? More on the question: 'Are we ready for the Cosmos?'

2009-05-10T23:02:35Z

I actually present this argument in the last two chapters of The Cosmic Bridge. I like the message in the old version (1951) version of The Day the Earth Stood Still, which roughly states that if we export our warlike ways to the Universe the Cosmic Civilization will have to act and the result will not be pretty.

There have always been myriad reasons for venturing into a new frontier or what have you. My thought is that in the next few hundred years, physics will advance to the point where we WILL have the ability for starflight. And when some some-one both has sufficient ability and sufficient need to go, then they will go.

Whether or not we deserve to go is a very different question. Humanity has been quite adept at expanding into places we arguably do not deserve to go. Yet, for better or for worse, we went anyway.

There are six-billion humans and counting. Each of us function somewhat independently. Thus, the human race is pretty good at doing lots of things at once. Unfortunately, While those 'things' have often been endeavors with greatly varying degrees of wisdom, they have been done. I believe this shows that humanity will move into a new arena given the capability to do so.

Ultimately, I suspect that the only thing that could prevent us from going to the stars is if we destroy our own civilization - which, IMHO, is a very real possibility. This could mean wrecking the whole Earth, but would more likely "only" mean the collapse our own civilization.

I subscribe to the idea that each species/civilization is implicitly tested at the stage in which they develop large scale energy capabilities (becoming a type 0 civilization, to use Michio Kaku's terminology). In our case, this means nuclear technology and space travel, possibly including stardrive capability. If the species in question (in this case, Humanity) manages to transcend ego and survives to reach the cosmic-era it will probably survive onward for the long haul. For us, that probably means making it through the next hundred or so years. If we manage that, I suspect that we will somehow manage to mitigate our current planetary-scale survival issues.

My own belief is that our destiny is in space, regardless of who we are at the time we go. It is in everyone's interest - Earth and Cosmos together - that humanity has evolved a mature consciousness when we do venture forth.

Star travel sooner than we think?

2009-05-04T14:51:05Z

Over the years, Jack Sarfatti has always been a bit of an icon to me. I have followed and admired his work, including spending a fair amount of time perusing his website: www.stardrive.org. This site describes much of his research and thinking in both consciousness studies and gravity physics - both direct descendants of zero point theory. In more recent times, the site appears to have fallen into disrepair, yet the information on there is still extremely interesting.

I studied physics during my undergrad years in the mid 1970s, and learned some fascinating stuff. This included an undergrad level of understanding of the mathematics behind quantum physics, particle theory, etc. However, since that time, I hadn't followed the progress at the leading edge of quantum physics beyond what you can read in Scientific American, etc. I also hadn't followed the latest in gravity theory, zero point theory, etc. All had advanced incredibly since my undergrad years. So when I listened to Sarfatti's YouTube interview today, my jaw dropped. Based upon what I heard presented there, I believe that we could have working star travel: antigravity propulsion, and all that goes with it, within a hundred to two hundred years. The revolution is truly just around the corner.

A few years earlier, my wife Gwyn and I attended a lecture by Dr. Mark Millis, at that time the head of NASA's Breakthrough Propulsion Workshop (http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/bpp/). In it, Dr. Millis described the essential hurdles facing star travel, and possible propulsion research coming out of NASA's advanced concepts work. Dr. Millis stated that the biggest problems in the physics of possible star travel have always been:

Propulsion - how do we propel a spacecraft fast enough to cover the distance to a nearby star in a reasonable period of time?
Energy - how do we obtain the truly prodigious amounts of energy required to travel interstellar distances.
Gravity - how can we tailor gravity fields to both provide the acceleration as well as provide artificial gravity within the starship, itself.

If one looks away from rocketry and examines other modes of propulsion, one finds that ultimately, in order to travel to the stars we will have to be able to understand and control gravity. Arguably, this is not something we could do using conventional physics and Dr. Millis stated that we need to think WAYYYY out of the box on this one. Well, apparently, there is far more of a mathematical foundation behind this than I thought. I hadn't realized just how much until listening to the Sarfatti interview on YouTube.

The biggest breakthrough has apparently come through the sudden appearance of dark matter, and then of dark energy, in cosmology observations of the last couple of decades. Over most of my lifetime, astronomers/cosmologists have been baffled by the problem that there was not enough mass in the universe. The universe is not closed and should ultimately drift off into an infinite void. This was theoretically and poetically unfulfilling; there must be about 10 times as much mass out there, unobserved in some way. Over the ensuing ten years, it was found that the there is just enough mass, and therefore curvature, to exactly close the universe. So truly, the missing mass MUST exist, rather than be a mere theoretical artifice. It was thus given the imaginative term, "dark matter".

Then, in 1999, came the cosmological measurements of Dr. Saul Perlmutter et. al. These were expected to confirm this model - that the universe was slowing down at just the right rate to prevent it from expanding forever, yet never falling back in on itself, either. "Unfortunately," the experiments found something different - that rather than slowing down, the universe was accelerating(!!!). This meant that something out there was actually pushing the universe apart - effectively a cosmological scale antigravity. This meant that in some way, antigravity must be possible - because it actually exists.

At that same conference where we heard Dr. Mark Millis, Gwyn and I also attended a talk by Dr. Ning Li, an experimental physicist. In this talk, Dr. Li addressed the apparent interaction between superconductivity, electromagnetism, zero-point physics and gravitation. Again, most of it was rather over my head, but I did get the gist of what she said (I think I did, anyhow). She build a mathematical case for the physical effects within a superconductor causing a coherence within the zero-point field, which in turn resulted in modification (shielding) of the gravitational field. Much of this was a theoretical response to the experiments in Tempere, Finland (http://www.electrogravityphysics.com/html/tampere.html), which have apparently shown interactions between superconductivity and gravity. Thus, Dr. Li had built a one of the first cases that I knew of for actual gravity modification. Indeed, gravity control WAS possible.

Now, with the concept that the universe is accelerating, it seems that indeed, gravity is far more pliable than we thought. Apparently, the cosmos is made up of about 3/4 dark energy, and only 1/4 matter. Antigravity is not only present, but it is the most prevalent thing in the universe.

Returning to the YouTube interviews with Jack Sarfatti, I listened with rapt attention as he described how something like gravity modification might be accomplished. He talked about some of the current gravity-EM field experiments that are going on at Berkley, Cal Tech, and other leading edge physics institutions. Several of these are close to demonstrating actual conditions in which negative energy density could exist - and thus negative gravity. If this is the case, than the fundamental theoretical hurdle to star travel, the control of gravity, may soon fall.

Someone - perhaps Einstein - stated "The difficult we can do tomorrow, the impossible may take longer." Now, just maybe, the impossibility of star travel has turned into the difficult task of actually doing it. It may a few centuries to actually master the "small matter of engineering" required to actually apply the physics, to build a working "warp drive" engine. But if these experiments pan out as described in Sarfatti's interview, then perhaps the biggest "impossibility" has begun to fall.

What will/would the Awakening be like?

2008-01-03T15:50:30Z

For years, many including myself have been writing about a coming shift in consciousness - a psychic/spiritual emergence or Awakening. Since this sie is all about the coming New Civilization, I thought I'd pose the question here as to what people here feel that might be like.

I am currently writing a novel series about the transition, the time in which we make the change in consciousness, the apocalypse, the transitioning to the fifth world, or whatever one wants to call it.

There will most likely be a series of books (the first of which is pretty much done and looking for a publisher). The final book will be that in which we make the above-mentioned transition, whatever that might look like. I am currently trying to form a picture to the conclusion in my mind as I write a general backstory for the series.

My questions for the general NCN world are this:
1) How do you think a transition will actually occur (if it does)?
2) Will it be associated with 2012, or some other time? Gradual or sudden? etc...
3) What do you think the world will look like after such a transition?
4) What would life be like in such a world?
5) Will it be Psychic emergence? Some form of enlightenment? Something else? Or will we simply learn (somehow) to live together in a better way?

I have a zillion questions about this, and I've played with some ideas myself. But I'm most interested in the perspective of people in NCN, since this group is about the New Civilization.

Let me know what you think.
Thanx,
-Craig Lang

The Dream of the Trail

2007-10-09T15:32:39Z

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I awoke this morning in the middle of an interesting dream. In it, I had begun to take a short walk in the evening. I remember walking around my childhood neighborhood in Madison, WI. Suddenly, I found a trail near a park that was a bit beyond my normal childhood stomping grounds. I started to walk this trail and found that it went further than I thought. I continued on the trail and found that it kept going further and furhter.

I recall that in spots, the path looked challenging. It was late (this was only supposed to be a short, after-dinner walk), and I was concerned that I would run out of daylight pretty soon. In spots the way looked treacherous, and I did not want to be on this trail after dark (though visually, it looked pretty wide and smooth). Still, the idea of exploring was irresistable so I continued walking.

Eventually the trail led to another park, and then another. I realized that there was a whole series of parks I had known nothing about, even though this had been my childhood home. Finally, I ended up in a major park with a commons area and a shelter house were people were gathered. I apparently joined the people and got to know them pretty well. I fit into the group nicely, feeling right at home.

Fast forward a bit and we get to a moment where I was in the group, but now it was time to head home. It was alot later than I had thought. I asked one of the people there, the leader figure, exactly where we were. He confirmed my thoughts that the main road (Midvale Blvd., the "busy street" that runs several blocks from my house, and right behind my grade school) was just a few blocks away. I thought to myself that I could either take the trail back home, or walk along the boulevard (I remember again thinking that I did not want to be on the trail after dark). The next thing, I was saying goodbye to my new friends and setting out for home. I'm still not sure whether I took the trail or the road, but I know I was now on my way.

Dream interpretation is always an interesting thing. It was one of the first times in a while that I have clearly remembered a dream. I have not done that in quite some time, and this one was extraordinarily clear. Over the weekend, I had just read Cal Banyon's booklet on "the 7th Path," a relatively recently developed methodology of self-hypnosis and meditation. One of the things he says is that, as a side effect, one might begin to remember dreams after doing some of the suggested work. In addition, I have had extrememly deep meditations in the last few days. This usually happens at critical times in my life-path. So my thought is that there is most probably a big change afoot. This is probably both for myself individually, and for others in the bigger picture - as within, so without.

My own interpretation of this dream is that I-am/we-are going in a new direction, something I never knew existed but that is directly linked to that which has always been familiar. The trail looks scarey, yet is actually pretty smooth. I remember being concerned about being in this unknown place without guidance (i.e. after dark). However, the trail leads to something that is far better - a joining with a group (a purpose?) that is welcoming and confirms/affirms where I am and what my own purpose is.

I ask where I am, and one of the members of this new group, a leader figure, tells me that I am actually not very far from the conventional (Midvale Blvd.). Ultimately, as I need to return home, it is not clear to me whether this should be via the same trail (the new), or via the main boulevard (the old, straight and well-understood).

I still don't know which route I chose. Since we are approaching a RIF (layoff) at the day job, and I don't know whether I will get "liberated," this is a very valid question. I don't know whether I will be taking the familiar boulevard (keeping the day job), or the trail traveling through the wilderness, in the dark (going independent).

Yet, even on the trail, I realize that I am never actually very far from the boulevard; safety and conventionality are not as far away as they might seem at times. Even in the roughest of times, I'm probably safer than I think. In addition, both routes connect the new with the old. They join my new discovery of purpose and path with my life as it already exists.

Still, I wish I could have seen the end of the dream - which route I actually took. It would be nice to have a look ahead. Maybe I should bring a flashlight, just in case...

Not everyone is a skeptic...

2007-10-03T15:56:33Z

During the talk, I was expecting a bit of a skeptical audience, so I kept my talk pretty conservative. I focused mostly on close encounters of the first kind (CE1's) which are relatively close UFO sightings - close enough to see details, but not actually encounter occupants. My goal of the talk was to describe the apparent technological capability shown by UFOs, and what we would have to do to duplicate these effects.

I highlighted effects such as:
- High speed,
- Rapid accelleration,
- Hovering and very-low speeds,
- Completely silent operation (noted by nearly all sighting witnesses)
- Radiation, field and electromagnetic effects
- Ground traces.

I described a significant number of cases, displaying each aspect of the encounters. The talk briefly brushed on the abduction phenomenon - just enough to tickle/tease the curiosity, without getting too far beyond what the more conservative folks in the room could expect.

As I indicated above, I had expected some rather skeptical comments/questions. I noted a couple of people seemed to be somewhat turned off, but of the 15 to 20 people present, most seemed quite fascinated - one or two of them thoroughly drawn in.

I can usually tell from someone's reactions as I do a presentation like this, whether they have had some form of interaction with the phenomenon. And in at least one person, I saw exactly that. After the talk, the person came up to me and indicated that she had had an encounter that, as she described it, sounded almost exactly like a close encounter of the 4th kind (a.k.a. abduction).

The rate is about right, I found. Approximately one percent of the population seems to be affected by the phenomenon (events of the fourth kind), with about 10 percent having had more distant sightings (events of the first kind). When I talk about UFO research in public, I find that that same percentage, roughly 10 percent having seen something, with another 30% being interested. About 10% are hardened skeptics, with the remainder of those present having varying degrees of interest. These are just arm-wavey numbers from my own observations, but they seem pretty consistent.

So, again, where I expected (or at least was prepared for) a certain amount of skepticism, I refreshingly found a receptive audience, and possibly some closer involvement with the phenomenon than expected. It again helps me to get a feel for how pervasive the phenomenon appears to be, and also, how much more accepted it seems to have become in our society.

The Ark and The Grail - An evening of fascination and discernment

2007-10-02T20:26:19Z

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Yesterday evening, I went to a fascinating talk. It was presented at the Minnesota Theosophical Society, by Frank Joseph. Frank is a prolific writer and very detailed researcher. He has dug quite deeply into the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail and other historical legends/mysteries that have fascinated so many of us for so many years. I thought his talk was intriguing, and yet like most lectures on these topics, it had my discernment filter running in high gear.

Frank Joseph described a very different history behind the Ark - one which is very much not from the JudeoChristian point of view. He described how the Ark was initially installed in the Great Pyramid. At it's core is a crystal stone, an electromechanical transducer. It's purpose was to dampen out siesmic vibrations, as Egypt is in a very seismically active area.

Going back into prehistory, Joseph depicts the origin of Egyptian civilization, as with other civilizations, as descended from an initial union with the gods. Specifically, enlightened proto-humans of a previous age. At some point, human lust for power caused the separation, with a band of less (but still quite) enlightened people settling on the shores of the Nile delta.

At that point, the Pyramids suddenly simply appear. This is about 3100 BC (Note the top is dated to 3100 BC, while the bottom dates to about 2500 BC). At this point, they are carrying with them a large stone tablet, which is a source of energy, spiritual power, etc. This, they install in the sarcophagus of the pyramid. This is "coincidentally" at the start of the Egyptian golden age.

Segue ahead to the reign of Akhenaten, the pharoh who tried to introduce monotheism to Egypt. He removed the stone from the pyramid and installed it in his new religious capital. This caused the pyramid to lose its function, and "coincidentally" corresponded with a decline of Egyptian civilization. Once Akhanaten passed away, the stone was restored to its place in the King's chamber and Egyptian civilization "coincidentally" began it's second kingdom, a new golden age.

Now fast-forward a few years. After the death of Akhenaten, his followers, including a marginalized group known as the Hebrews, carried their monotheistic beliefs with them to the western part of the delta. At some point, they had a falling out with the restored polytheistic theocracy. They rebelled, under the leadership of one named Moshare. They overpowered the guardians of the pyramid and took the crystal tablet with them.

This was about the time of the Egyptian struggles with invaders they called the Sea People. During this time, the Hebrew rebellion caused them alot of trouble. But eventually, both were defeated. The Egyptians chased the Hebrews west across what is called the Sea of Reeds. At that point the Sea People attacked again, and a battle ensued in the marshes. Joseph theorizes that this probably led to the story of the parting of the Red Sea. Of course, the similarity is not lost on anyone. Moshare is the Hebrew Moshe, or Moses. And the crystal tablet, in its "carrying case" is, of course, the Ark of the Covenant.

Joseph goes on to describe how the ark is used throughout history, both for good and for evil. Fast forward to the middle ages. A band of nobles from Europe is sent by a secretive group opposed to the Catholic hierarchy, to the temple to search for the ark. This group soon becomes the Knights Templar - Knights of the Temple. Their real job is to search for the Ark and the Grail (Joseph states that these two are really the same thing). In summary, they found it, and spirited it away, eventually to France.

As the ark tends to enlighten all who possess it (with some definite downsides, however), the group appointed to guard it, the Cathars, founded a mini-civilization within France. At some point, the church cracked down on them, and on the Templars, resulting in the Albaginian Crusades - or, in short, a massacre of awful proportions. Again, the ark/grail was spirited away. Joseph suggests that it was hidden in a cave somewhere in the Pyrenees.

There's lots more, including Nazi Germany, etc. But I think you get the picture. There is an endless history of intrigues, travels, disasters and enlightenment that follows the Ark/Grail stories. It is a fascinating series of accounts, which Frank Joseph has researched, and builds a good case for. Whether they are true, the jury is definitely out. But they are tremendous food for thought.

What Joseph describes is quite at odds with several other recent works in the Grail hunt. One of these is the Martin Gardener, etc. al. work on "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" that describes the grail as, in actuality, the bloodline of Jesus. Another account that Joseph is in conflict with is the work of Graham Hancock that traces the Ark to the city of Axum. Again, who is right? I certainly don't know, but none of these can be dismissed out of hand without doing alot more homework.

So what do I believe? nothing. It definitely casts a new light on the Old Testament, which I never took literally, anyhow. As Frank Joseph stated, the Old Testament is a poetic recounting of history, captured from Hebrew oral tradition. It is a beautiful cornerstone to the Judeo-Christian family of religions, and thus, divinely inspired by God. But it ends with that.

So, again, I need to take with a grain of salt, anything I hear on these (pro or con). Anything described in most of this literature is simply a theory, an interesting interpretation of research and archival digging with many possible interpretations. For me, it was an evening of fascination and discernment.

Notes from NGH 2007

2007-08-14T17:32:24Z

I hitch-hiked on my instructor, Devin Hastings's table, using a sliver of his table space for a while. This was an interesting scenario in itself, as his table was so full of items that there turned out not to be enough room for mine (and he was the one who owned the table).

What happend was this: I ended up moving my books to a chair along side. This served both to distinguish me - making my books stand out (and down) from the table, and to provide lots of humor material. It brought alot of attention to the display, as I could say something like, "...and when you get to the edge of the world, there I am..." The result was that I got alot more publicity than I otherwise would have had I remained as a tiny sliver of Devin's table. And in return, I ended up selling quite a few CDs and books for Devin.

On Sunday, Kevin Hogan closed down his table a little early. Kevin's table was next to ours, so I quickly snarfed some vacant table space to spread out my wares. This was perfectly synchronistic, as immediately after my talk, I had quite a few people interested in "Bridge." Ultimately, I ended up selling a fair number of books, and getting to know a lot of hypnotherapists and experiencers - all members of the guild.

I presented my talk on working with the UFO experiencer on Sunday, early afternoon. It was a 50 minute talk for hypnotherapists on how to work with abduction cases - the practical nuts and bolts of regression work and healing of contact trauma. It was well received, I thought. Not sure what my marks will be, but I thought the talk went well. Prayers are always welcome... :-)

This weekend, it seems that God answered my prayers, the Universe answered my intentions, or whatever. I put alot of energy out there over the last several months asking to connect with experiencers, sell my books (mostly to get the word out since I hardly make much/any money off of them), and to teach hypnotists on how to work with abductees.

All of this is a step toward a dream, founding an experiencer healing center and sanctuary. Today, I feel as though I am a step closer to that dream. Each day that dream morphs a little bit. But in the last months, it has been pretty consistent. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step and this weekend, I felt as though I had made a tiny baby toddle toward building the dream.

Synchronicities positive and negative - Catch God on a whisper

2007-08-03T21:51:17Z

Firstly, A woman named Aerielle Louise, an acquaintance of mine who had done a lot of internet publicity for me on The Cosmic Bridge, passed away on Tuesday. To the best of my knowledge she was quite a recluse and had no family. She was largely a shut-in and seldom left her trailer. She lived mostly on-line, I think. She had a zillion e-acquaintances, but when people have tried to find her next of kin, they seem to hit alot of brick walls. I'm still looking...

Next day came the I35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis. All along, lots of other stuff has gone on as well - like trying to get a document written at work and needing to find people who aren't around/available. At the same time, I finally got my car into the shop to get routine maintenance done; they still haven't found out why the slow leak in my left front tire, but they did confirm it was low. That's something in itself, as I've been screwing around with that for nearly a month. Also, Gwyn has succeeded on several occasions in locking up the PC. It is a unique talent of hers, something I have been kidding her about in recent weeks. I might be overdoing it with the humor... :-)

I also had a couple of events in my HT practice which were, I think, very definite roadsigns. One was a series of really great, very successful sessions with a series of clients, while the other was a couple of clients in a row who had been booked, but who suddenly (for various reasons) cancelled. One was not able to come in the evenings, or on the weekends - which is when I do most of my HT work. So that pretty much eliminates my working with him. The feeling was frustrating, but them's the breaks, I guess. Anyway, I got home from the day job on Tuesday evening, rather bumbed, frustrated, and just plain angry. Poor Gwyn. But after about an hour, my orneries passed - which was good, since I had a client coming in about an hour. :-)

It turned out that that client did extremely well - one of the experiences that reminds me of just why I do hypnotherapy work. It really does help people who want to be helped. And so, I forge ahead. Another positive sign - "proceed this way..."

Last night, I had planned on plinking away with my laptop, playing with a new storyline. However, instead, Gwyn and I just sat in front of the TV, watching the Tom Clancy movie, The Sum of all Fears. It might not have been the best movie to see to set my mind at ease after being bumbed earlier in the week, but it was interesting - as Tom Clancy always is.

Life seems to be one long chain of synchronicities - both positive and negative. The negative ones seem to tell me something like "don't go there" or at least, "don't dive in feet first." I get that on occasion w.r.t. my HT practice - clients cancelling, no-showing, etc. I often think that this is telling me that I shouldn't go into a particular form of HT work, or should modify some aspect of my business. But at the same time, the rewards I get from doing healing work far exceed the downers from those few clients who no-show, etc. The world is full of both hope and disappointment, and ultimately, discernment is our most important gift. What is the Universe trying to tell us?

Another synchronicity - I added it as a footnote to my Yahoo 360 blog entry: "what else..." - has to do with the bridge collapse. I wrote the blog entry on Monday or Tuesday, asking what else could cause catastrophic problems with technology. The next day the collapse came. I had been discussing a show I saw on the Science Channel about a massive engineering project proposed in the early 1920's in the Mediterranean. It now turns out that this would have caused catastrophic environmental change. EE Gads - what if we had actually done it?

And even more syhchronicities; the movie I watched last night, The Sum of All Fears, was the same way - I had earlier thought about that movie - about a week ago, I think. I was surprised to see it on the TV. I find that I often will see things like mile markers exactly coinciding with the number on the clock, or the radio playing a song I was just thinking about. More synchros in the chain, more grist for the mill.

I guess that synchronicities can be marks along the right path, but they can also be warning lights over closed doors. Over the years, I have learned to listen to them, because I think that they have alot to tell us about our path through the roadmap of life. Or, as a friend of mine once said, "Catch God on a whisper."

Announcing global release of The Cosmic Bridge

2007-03-31T15:54:25Z

The Cosmic Bridge directly takes on the question, What is Alien Abduction? Why are the visitors here? What might their agenda be? What is their effect in the lives of those who experience contact with them?

The book is based upon case studies in my own files, as well as others from the UFO abduction literature. It then expands the discussion to talk about contact in general - what appears to be the global dynamics of the UFO encounter phenomenon.

Why are they here? Are we a possible threat to them? Or do we offer a possible gift to the cosmos that is too precious to lose? In "Bridge" I build several models of contact, culminating in a hypothesis of how and why contact may be occuring in our time. I propose ways to test this theory - what must we see in the near to intermediate future for this theory to be true?

I think you will find that "Bridge" offers a different view of UFO abduction and alien contact.
Check it out on www.theCosmicBridge.com or on lulu.com at www.lulu.com/CraigRLang

Thank you,

-Craig R. Lang

A Symphony of Change

2006-10-17T02:40:59Z

On Friday evening, we went to see the Lord of the Rings Symphony, put on by the Minnesota Orchestra. It was a eerilly haunting overture, a combined instrumental and choral arrangement of the musical score of the movie, Lord of the Rings. It caught the sense of mystery and fantasy behind the books and movies. To me, it captured the essence of the books, and it made my scalp tingle.

During the performance, I found myself thinking back to some of the impressions I had gotten as I read the books many years ago - and more recently, saw the movies. The greatest was the sense of an undercurrent of meaning to the events of history. The complexity of the music seemed to suggest the intricate interweaving threads of events that make up history. Are they now, as portrayed by J.R.R. Tolkien, leading to the end of the age?

When we got home, I looked up a webste I had read a year or two earlier, Tolkien at the End of Time. In this article, Jay Weidner and Sharron Rose describe how Tolkien appears to have captured the transition from what they say was the third or "Bronze" age, to the fourth or "Iron" age. It is a time of transition from an age of magic to an age of technology - from the age of elves to the age of men. It is the ultimate shift from spirituality to concreteness - when mankind became fully separated from godhood.

Rose and Weidner propose that this is - at least metaphorically - a tale of the start of the present age. They argue that it is the beginning of the technological realm that we now call "history." They state that this would have been approximately 6,500 years ago - at least - at the dawn of history (CL Note: my guess is that it would be at least 10 to 12 thousand years ago, at the end of the previous ice age). They describe how this is the transition to the present era of technology, war and power.

Rose and Weidner describe various mystical traditions, especially alchemical lore, astrology, the Mayan calendar, the book of Revelation, and the Great Cross at Hendaye, France (which they describe as depicting a vast array of alchemical knowledge). The ancient adepts discerned trends and cycles in the physical, spiritual and religio-political worlds, which seemed to correlate with these themes. From this, they described the four ages of the historical cycle - the golden, silver, bronze and iron ages.

The ultimate conclusion of Rose and Weidner is that, while Tolkien describes the transition from the Bronze to the Iron age, we are now at the conclusion of the Iron age, and thus of the complete cycle of history. Thus, we are about to transition from the age of Iron to the next Golden age. A complete renewal of spirit and the beginning of the next cycle of history.

I was struck, also, by how the transition of ages seems to be characterized by climactic struggle between the forces of good and evil - in whatever manifestation they appear at that moment in history. In the case of Tolkien's books, this is the struggle between the evil forces of Sauron and those of the human/elven world of Middle Earth. In other popular SCi Fi epics of the present-day world, such as Babylon 5 and Star Wars, the same themes appear - the grand struggle against a menacing evil and an intricate weave of the threads of events. These form a tapestry of conflict that ultimately brings about transition from one age to the next.

So I wondered, as I was sitting in the concert hall, are we presently in such a scenario? Do we see the impending climactic conflict that will bring us from the Iron age to the Golden age? Is this the time indicated in prophecy as the close of the age? I thought about events in my own life, the feeling of being on a misison - and the sense that each of us has our own missions in life, our own life purpose to fulfill. I wondered, do these also interweave in a similar way, into an epic saga of the end of the age?

I thought about the description in the Bible, in the book/chapter of Matthew 24: "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars" and "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places."

That night I remember having an indistinct nightmare. I dreamed that something was amiss. The next morning, I awoke with the sense of things being wrong. I felt that everything was somehow "off." I gave a talk that afternoon at Minnesota MUFON, which seemed to go well. Yet somehow it seemed to miss the mark. I decided that I needed to make some changes to the PowerPoint slides, to improve the flow of the talk. In my mind, that fixed the immediate issue. Yet there was the sense that something was wrong. This was the feeling that I had as I went to bed that evening - the same one that I had at the time of the Indonesian Tsunami, and the night of 9/10/2001. Something was amiss.

In the morning, I awoke feeling refreshed. We went to church, then did the usual Sunday afternoon stuff - mostly family leisure day-off type stuff...
That afternoon, as I was sitting in the den with my laptop, doing some writing, Gwyn's sister suddenly called with the news of the big earthquake in Hawaii. The phrase, "earthquakes in various places" suddenly came to mind - in richter scale force...

I again wondered whether we are indeed seeing an increase in earthqauakes, storms, droughts, etc? The earth is at carrying capacity - and with any shift in climate, it looks like famine might be imminent. Is this the time indicated in Matthew 24? Is this the time of the apocalypse? Are we approaching the fabled changes of 2012? The questions mount in my heart and mind.

Then I recalled the final passage in the paragraph, "All these are the beginning of birth pains." To me this measn that there will be alot more "excitement" to go before the transition is complete. It's still a long way to 2012. But the phrase "birth pangs" also suggests that it is the sign of a birth - the coming of a new world - the shift from the Iron to the Golden age...

I am struck by the currents of history, of prophecy and of the tapestry of events. They remind me so much of the threads of meaning interwoven in literary epics such as Lord of the Rings. I continue to notice the present-day interweave of politics and religion with natural events such as earthquakes and storms - and with the decline of the environment. Ultimately, I wonder: are they, indeed, building toward climactic events in 2012?

Is this the conjoining of so many threads of prophecy - Revelation, Nostradamus, Hopi, Mayan, Alchemical, and so many more...? Are these the birth pangs? Dreams and earthquakes, wars and rumors of wars - are these indeed the early movements in a climactic symphony of change?