“[The victors of WW II] introduced an all-pervasive, ultra-powerful society-shaping drug. This drug was the first of a growing group of high-technology drugs that deliver the user into an alternate reality by acting directly on the user’s sensorium, without chemicals being introduced into the nervous system. It was television. No epidemic or addictive craze or religious hysteria has ever moved faster or made as many converts in so short a time.” — Terrence McKenna, Food of the Gods
We are living in a most interesting time, some call it the information age. But beyond that, the global changes that are occurring at this time on national, political, international, physical and spiritual levels is truly amazing. It really is an amazing time to be alive.
In this time of unparalleled access to information, some of which can liberate and free your mind (if used correctly) that was once hidden, there also is an abundance of deceptive and distorted information. We are also being bombarded with electromagnetic radiation and signals on a grand scale. Most of these signals are unseen to the naked eye, but that does not mean that they are not there. We can’t see all of the x-rays, radio waves, microwaves, infrared light, ultraviolet light, and gamma radiation etc., amongst others that permeate the world around us.
I find it interesting how much we humans rely on our sense of sight. It seems like it is the most primary and dominant of the five senses that we use daily. It almost seems like we take our other senses much more for granted as they kind of fall into a backdrop compared to our vision, which brings us vivid colors, the faces of both strangers and those so familiar to us, and the road ahead which we could not navigate otherwise.
Our seemingly most relied on sense of sight, as wondrous as it is and what it allows for us to see, can only see a small sliver of the total electromagnetic spectrum, as the visible part only makes up a small fraction of it. To be exact, since less than 1% of all light that reaches us is in the visible spectrum, it comes out to about .0035% of the entire electromagnetic spectrum.
Taking this into account, it’s not so hard to believe that most of what is around us is unseen, although when we don’t see anything we tend to think nothing is there. Electronic devices of all kinds surround us now more than ever. Because of this, it’s easier now more than ever to be located, tracked and monitored. In this age of convenience, this can be a great thing when emergencies arise, or when we are even stranded somewhere.
On the other hand, these same devices can be used to invade our privacy, predict our behavior and make us vulnerable to attacks, both physical and virtual. It’s important that now more than ever before that we understand the scope of our own behavior when using all the new gadgets and technology available to us so we don’t fall prey to outside influences (that are both known to be harmful and even those that claim they are not).
This is such a fast time we live in now, for example if you look back only 15 years or so, cell phones were not nearly as common as they are now. Almost everyone has one now, even kids! We are almost guinea pigs in the sense that we are not even sure what this constant exposure to cellular phones is having in terms of a physical effect on our bodies.
Again we are told they are completely safe, but studies have shown that over-exposure can be harmful, especially to developing brains. Just ask yourself how you feel after being on a long phone call with your cell phone, or when you are in front of a computer screen or tv for too long. Personally I feel a negative effect as I start to get antsy, my head begins to hurt and I just feel the need to put it down and walk away.
There is only so much you can do it seems to protect yourself from all kinds of unseen manipulation both direct or indirect that occurs in this day and age, (unless you are living off the grid or close to it, or are a hermit) but we can take steps to mitigate the many harmful effects to our person, both physically, virtually and mentally. Awareness is key, just like it is and always has been when it comes to stopping being manipulated directly from a physical one on one or group dynamic interaction.
This unseen manipulation can sometimes be staring us right in our face, a prime example of this is television which was noted in the quote to start this post. Many people trust much of what they see on television regarding the news and other things such as history and documentaries etc. There is a reason why they call it ‘programming’.
Remember like anything else, you now have the power to not only fact check, but also have access to different perspectives on topics both national and global thanks to the internet, foreign and alternate news networks, channels, websites, etc.
Getting back to nature more often, like experiencing old growth forests, natural waterfalls, gardening, camping out in nature, and just getting closer to the earth in general and disconnecting as much as possible is also a good way to break from the high tech norm and fill our bodies with much needed negative ions (yes I said negative ions).
Like a good martial artist who develops a physical and mental regimen to ward off attack and defend their person, in this high tech era, the use of new tools, access to a broader range of information than ever, and developing our awareness so we can protect ourself on a level beyond what most others are doing will serve us well.
