"If myth is translated into literal fact, then myth is a lie. But if you read it as a reflection of the world inside you, then it's true." -Joseph Campbell Narrative structure provides the scaffolding that helps us make sense of the world and our place in it. We are ruled by story. Some of these are stories we tell ourselves, many are told to us, and all of them tap into and are informed by previously acquired beliefs. Right now a story is being told to us that taps deeply into an emotional core that can be used to bring about changes in our behavior, our thoughts, our institutions and how we see ourselves and one another. It's been done before. Unless we are very careful when it comes to scrutinizing claims being made about UFOs/UAP, NHI and more, we may discover that we've become supporting characters in someone else's preferred narrative. Consider the following quotes from Messengers of Deception and Forbidden Science 6, both must-read books by Jacques Vallee: We also need to begin a kind of research that will take UFO observations as empirical data and try to use them to initiate an interaction with the phenomenon itself. And we should do this now, before the new myth is created, before the myth of extraterrestrial revelation replaces belief in the rational acquisition of knowledge. Let that last quote sink in. The myth has been created and the public have not had access to the kind of empirical data that could inform how we view that myth. Recently, development of one of the largest databases ever put together to collect, categorize and understand the sort of data we would need to help us understand the phenomenon was abruptly stopped right before an AI overlay could be introduced in order to analyze the carefully curated information. It also appears that someone Vallee knew as a friend had maintained access to and later attempted to exploit that database: Most importantly, Texas friends shouldn't exploit databases when they don't have access to the people who know what the data means. It's a terrible mistake. (p.258, Forbidden Science 6) Could he be referring to Hal Puthoff who lives in Texas and had been working with Jacques during the BAASS project that was cancelled right before the AI overlay could be added to Jacques' Capella database? The idea that leaders of a society have received their legitimacy from higher levels, rather than from the people, is fundamental to authoritarian forms of government. Why am I thinking of claims involving people with Cherokee ancestry right now? A claim that Vallee rebuts on p.272 of Forbidden Science 6: Sometimes I feel like I've been railroaded into sloppy conclusions and a faulty model. I am tired of extracts of catechism that are as unsound theologically as they are unimportant in this study. My colleagues' bizarre 'finding's about syndromes and abductions in Scandinavian women with Cherokee ancestors aren't even funny... The group of people who will first manage to harness the fear of cosmic forces and the emotions surrounding UFO contact to a political purpose will be able to exert incredible spiritual blackmail. And finally: Sources of information should be severely scrutinized, not only for human error, instrumental inaccuracy, and observational bias, but also for deliberate deception. submitted by /u/imaginasaurus [link] [comments]