Parapsychology

On reading a blog-pal's blog, in which she has dedicated quite some space to her research on Vaastu Shastra, my own research interests were activated from their dormant state. A few months back I was researching subjects like Astral Travel, Remote Viewing, and OBEs. It happened when I came across a book in Astral Travel at the Crossword bookstore at Bangalore. I initially thought it to be a book on the recent surge in space travel/tourism, but found out something drastically different. Well, it was definitely about space travel, but in a different sense. I read the opening lines with a mix of anxiety, excitement, and maybe a bit of scepticism too. But I found it fascinating enough to look up for more such books and found a couple more. Needless to say, I bought all of them, and had finished reading them in the next few days. I also searched for relevant data on the internet, and found that there were scores of websites dedicated to these topics, and other similar intriguing subjects.

For a few months, I didn't study more on the subject, but I really wanted to share it with all by posting it on my blog. Just when I had the thought of going deeper into the subject, I received a free copy of a local magazine - Citadel - on booking a bus ticket, in which there was quite a big article on a person from Pune. The space was given to him because of his ability to astral travel to different planets. The article further fuelled my desire to study more on this fascinating subject.

If anyone has anything to share on this, you are free to post it here.

Books

Books. Do they teach you anything? Just recently I was having a conversation with a close friend, where we were discussing this topic. Books suggesting various 'alternative therapies' to deal with our dreams, desires, and challenges that we face in life are plenty in number, and are found almost in any bookshop, or even on the roadside in India. Books that tell you how to meditate, how to use your mind to achieve anything (happiness, wealth, love, etc.), how to succeed in business/jobs, how to find love, how to find peace, or even how to realise your own self, are available in plenty. But can these books actually help you to realise/achieve your goals? Although books might give you a different view of things, and help you know more about a particular subject, there are hardly any examples of successful people, or 'self-realized' people, who attribute their success to books. This is not to say that books are useless, or the person writing the book is cheating you. Books might be written with the noblest of intentions, and they are useful in certain areas of life. But to learn more about 'life', the best teacher is life itself. And what you learn from life remains, which cannot be said about what you learn from books. Reading self-help books might, at the most, give you a 'feel-good' feeling, and help you reduce stress to a certain extent. But learning from life will help you grow. Books might even lead you to narrow down your thinking, and limit your creative expression. But only when you apply the concepts in your life, will you really learn. I am not undermining the importance of books (I myself am an avid reader of books on a variety of subjects ranging from philosophy, to fiction, to reference, to biographies, to science), but am only suggesting that reading has to be followed by implementing. Otherwise it will not do much to change your present situation.

Experience

"The concept of 'experience' is all crap!" That was the statement made by an acquaintance of mine recently. He was basically referring to the 'experience' criteria that most companies set while hiring people. It surprised me (albeit pleasantly), as it was coming from a person who'd worked for around a decade, and was successful. He added, "Experience only gives you confidence, and does not show you what is right or what is wrong". I feel experience doesn't even give you confidence, but it just creates an illusion of being confident. It is something that you rely upon to seem confident. It is similar to bookish knowledge, which without making you truly knowledgeable, just makes you feel confident, only because you know more than the other person. Whereas in the true sense, you just become aware of facts that already exist, and do not learn anything new. And in most cases, you end up forgetting the same things later, if you do not constantly update yourself on the same, or if you are not in constant touch with the same. If we take a view from the 'negative' perspective, it could be said that experience / knowledge limits your thinking, and you become less open to new ideas, and less adaptive to change. This is because you would tend to cling to the experience that you already have, as it is the ONLY source of your confidence. A person who is truly confident of himself does not mind unlearning a few things, or changing his/her point of view. He/she does not rely on experience/knowledge for confidence. To take an example, for a person who is highly experienced in the financial sector, to take up a job in a totally different field, say sports, or fine arts, would be very difficult (if he is not self-confident in the true sense). He would find it very difficult to adapt to his new field of work, and would resist any new learning. For a person who does not rely on his past experience, although it might take time to learn the ropes, he would at least not resist any new learning. To sum it up, experience is great, only if you do not cling to it.

Opinions...a preface

Opinions...the only reason for not having a blog for my opinions was that I did not have any fixed opinions! Although sometimes I did feel strongly about certain issues, but later the views became more flexible, and did no more have the required conviction to post it on a site. Whether this reflects an open, flexible mind, or just a confused mind, is for anyone to judge. This is something which I haven't tried before, which is the only reason why I'm starting a blog on my opinions. It would, of course, include my thoughts and experiences as well, as they would be the primary factors influencing my opinion. Also, whereas my first blog is meant only for me (and maybe a few close friends to read), this one is meant for a larger audience. Let's see how it works!