This morning I was excited to read an article in the current issue of Discover
(July/August 2015) that gives a good analogy for what I do as a
cataphatic mystic and how I learned to do it. The article is called "Sonic Vision" by Berit Brogaard and Kristian Marlow, and it's excerpted from an upcoming book called The Superhuman Mind: Free the Genius in Your Brain. If you have a subscription to Discover, you can read
the article online. Or you can buy the current issue at the newsstand,
as I did.
First, though, a quick story that sort of shows how I navigate in my
life as a mystic and auditory channeller (Some of you may recall that I
have a strong auditory connection to the soul who once lived as Jesus
son of Joseph. Again, I understand this is problematic for some readers
and, again, I can't apologize for who I am and what I do.)
To find the Discover article about humans who are blind but
have learned to "see" their environment by using sophisticated
echolocation skills, I could have kept checking on the
Discover website until such an article appeared. But that's not how I
live my life. There's only so much time and so much money and so much
brain energy. What I do instead of constantly checking websites or
subscribing to print magazines is to patiently wait until I get a
message from my angels. (Again, I understand this is problematic for
some readers, but this is a Christian site, and angels or messengers
or persons-of-soul or whatever you want to call them have always been
part of the Christian narrative.)
So here's how my discovery of the Discovery article went. First, I realized I needed to go buy a birthday card for a friend. Then
it occurred to me I could walk to the plaza instead of driving (though
often I drive). And because I walked to the plaza, I passed by the
window of a convenience store I hadn't gone into for a long time. And
because I walked past the window, I saw their sign for inexpensive
cards. (I'm on a tight budget, so I'm always looking for good value). And because I saw the sign, I went in. And because I went in, I
discovered the store has been turned into a good magazine shop with
titles that don't normally show up in the local drugstore. And because
there was a good selection of science magazines, I was able to "feel"
the quantum Post-It note that was attached to the Discover issue.
Don't laugh, but this is how I do all my shopping. It's a process of
navigation. It's a process of following quantum threads until they
lead me to the quantum Post-It attached to the thing I need. Often the
Post-It is attached to something I'd forgotten I needed, but while I'm
standing there, with my hand reaching out unerringly toward the shelf,
my mind (often the slowest part of me to catch on in these situations)
suddenly says, "Oh, yeah, I actually need that!"
At which point I know I've been guided by my incredibly kind and incredibly thoughtful angels.
So anyway . . . back to the article about echolocation in Discovery. If you have a chance to read it, you'll discover an amazing story about
a man named Daniel Kish who lost his sight to retinoblastomas at the
age of 13 months and then figured out on his own how to use echolocation
to "see with his ears." What's really fascinating (apart from Kish's
skill, dedication, and willingness to teach others how to see with their
ears!) is that he and others with this skill use the visual processing
area in the brain's occipital lobes to generate spatial imagery in their
minds. They suss out echoes that most of us can't hear (because we
haven't practised hard enough) and these echoes are processed not in the
auditory centres of the brain, but in the visual cortex (which does
process some sounds). Using comparative informative (between the sounds
going out from their clicking tongues and the reflected sounds coming
back from nearby objects), the brains of these individuals can construct
highly detailed images of what's nearby. It takes proper training and
lots of practice and commitment, but it can be done. Sighted people can
learn how to echolocate, too, although the phenomenological experience
may be different.
The process described in this article is very similar to what I do
and how I do it. I don't click with my tongue, of course, but I seem to
be able to "click" with an as-yet-to-be-determined type of brainwave. I
get "quantum echoes" coming back from nearby persons-of-soul, and these
are the echoes my brain processes and turns into words and imagery.
I've known since December 2004, when I had my brain scanned on three
different days at the Amen Clinic in California, that the visual cortex
of my brain lights up when I'm talking to Jesus,
but my auditory cortex isn't really involved in the channelling
process. I've also learned after 15 years of daily experience as a
cataphatic mystic that when I'm awake and channelling, I don't really
"see," yet I get black-and-white visual imagery with words that come
in from persons-of-soul, including Jesus. The words always come in
clear as a bell -- the same as having a conversation with somebody who's in the room or on the phone with me.
 |
| SPECT scan of my brain when I'm talking with Jesus (December 2004). White areas show which brain regions are working hardest (highest oxygen uptake), red areas show the next highest oxygen uptake, and blue areas show average regions that are working but not doing the "heaviest lifting" for the task that's being captured on the scan. SPECT scans capture the brain's function during specific tasks rather than showing simple anatomy. On my channelling scan, some of the high-activity areas are in the cerebellum (which is normal for most people). Other high-activity areas (white and red) are in the thalamus; basal ganglia; posterior cingulate; and the visual cortex at the back of my occipital lobe. |
This is a voluntary and learned process -- just as echolocation is a voluntary and learned process. It's also a scientific process. And I had to be trained how to do it properly, just as Kish's students have to be trained. In a few people (such as Kish) it develops instinctively. But most people have to be trained.
Being a cataphatic mystic is a bit different from being a non-sighted person who's learning to echolocate. The process is more complex, and not many people are born with the talent to be full-fledged cataphatic mystics (which is as it should be -- the world only needs a few full-fledged mystics at any given time).
But everybody is born with the brain-talent for intuition (a talent which, on rare occasions, such as during an intense emotional crisis, gets pushed more towards the mystical end of the spectrum, with actual sensory impressions coming through briefly from Spirit). And everybody can learn how to use their intuitive circuitry better than most people do. Some adults have so badly fried their intuitive circuitry that they can longer hear a damn thing from God/Spirit/Source/angels, though the potential is there -- just as the potential to echolocate is there for both sighted and non-sighted people. This potential can be developed with proper training, practice, and commitment. With the proper development of the brain's intuitive circuitry, anyone can strengthen their relationship with God (who's talking to us all the time, whether or not we consciously realize it.)
Here's a great quote from the article:
"Kish's training curriculum differs from tradition by taking an immersive approach intended to activate environmental awareness. It's a tough-love approach with very little hand-holding. He encourages children to explore their home environment for themselves and discourages family members from interfering unless the child otherwise could be harmed."
Welcome to my life! Tough-love is the key. This won't please anyone who goes to a weekend workshop and expects to emerge as an expert in intuition. But if you're willing to do the work, you can gradually learn how to create a map of your relationship with God.
Keep in mind, though, that intuition isn't a "divine gift" that's dropped fully formed into your head because you've asked for it in prayer. It's more like a packet of seeds you have to nurture if you want the stems to grow into a reliable support for your life.
With practice, intuition helps you know where to walk -- and when -- so you can feel God's presence in your life. And all you need is your own 3D brain.
Addendum Nov. 5, 2017: Two other unusual but very real "frontiers" of neuroscience -- blindsight and tetrachromacy -- also relate to how I use my biological brain to communicate on a quantum level with God/Spirit/Source/angels. You can read more about blindsight and tetrachromacy here:
BBC - Future - Blindsight: the strangest form of consciousness
Human Eye Sometimes Sees the Unseeable - Scientific American
BBC - Future - The women with superhuman vision
