The Anatomy of Fate
In dealing with apparitional phenomena, it is necessary to try and understand the method whereby the intelligence governing encounters is able to control the situation to the extent that the outcome is inevitable.
To do so, it may be appropriate to examine what seers, mystics, poets and philosophers refer to as 'cosmic consciousness'.
This is the universal 'overmind' or 'parapsyche' which is independent of human consciousness, but is sometimes merged with it.
Cosmic consciousness is the psychic element that pervades all of reality and it is probable that it can be used as a means of control.
It would seem that the parapsyche can be directed by different governing intelligences depending on which levels/areas of reality are involved in the scenario such that mental events emanate not from the 'victim', but from the overmind acting as a control system.
Obviously, for control to be assured, the intelligence involved must have a complete knowledge of the psychology of all participants.
It is probable that normally, individual consciousness acts as a bulwark against such 'invasion', however, degradation of the psyche renders it more vulnerable to the overmind and this can be achieved by closure device activity which interrupts and causes the suspension of sensible thought.
It may be that the overmind can operate through multiple subjects simultaneously so that the apparition and witness or witnesses are effectively connected together as the scenario progresses.
Success would therfore also depend on the 'victim' being unaware of the manipulation to the extent that in some cases the individuals involved are unknowingly willing participants in their own downfall.
Of course, 'downfall' may be too strong a word to use as regards the Loch Ness Monster, however, it seems appropriate if we include everyday tragedy in our analysis.
'Whom the Gods would destroy . . . . . . ', and therein lies the nub of the matter. Cosmic consciousnes to the 'favoured' is apparently a sublime union with an ineffable and limitless source of wisdom.
Why then, are some individuals singled out for particularly harsh treatment? This is a question that has concerned investigators into human tragedy for centuries.
Masters of the Masquerade
The human imaginative capacity has long been recognised as both a blessing and a curse, for although we can originate stunning cultural artefacts, what we can imagine, we can pass off as the truth.
Thus falsehoods and downright lies can mask the reality of apparitional phenomena.
However, from the evidence, which is almost entirely anecdotal, we can conclude that apparitions of the type we are concerned with are not holograms, in that they appear solid and can interact with the physical world.
The Loch Ness monster is an example of an apparition which is purely visual as witness reports do not include the occurrence of sounds such as might emanate from a wild creature.
The mermaid, on the other hand, would seem to be both visual and sonic given that, though largely overlooked, she is able to further convince witnesses of her reality through the power of speech.
Therefore, to all intents and purposes, the thought form is real and the fact that the mermaid speaks causing compressions and decompressions (sound waves) of the air, confirms that this is a complex phenomenon that is able to perfectly simulate life.
The question that remains is, do these encounters involve spontaneity on both sides, or, are they entirely 'stage managed'?
Further, is the objective a foregone conclusion given the psychological state of the 'victim'?
These are questions that are rarely asked probably because the originator of the thought form wishes it to remain so.
Research into such experiences should procede with the assumption that these encounters are 'designed' by a controlling intelligence with the ability to make the ideative substantive. In other words, turn imagination into reality.
This being so, the endeavours we make as independent intelligences must be understood as contingent on recognising the phenomenon and having the will to minimise its effect.
The Other Side of Life
Of all the impossible creatures connected with water, there are none who evoke the strangeness of existence more than the mermaid.
Part omen of misfortune, part erotic fantasy, she combs her hair and astonishes the lone traveller ambling unwarily along the shore.
Do the same minds who give us the monster of Loch Ness also deem it necessary to bestow on our fragile senses a vision of a woman whose body is half human, half fish?
There is no doubt that such apparitions can have a profound effect on the minds of witnesses.
This immediately begs the question - for what purpose?
Stigma is defined in the dictionary as a mark of social disgrace.
There is perhaps nothing more shameful in the world of the scientific rationalist as a person who proposes that anomalies that cannot be accounted for through scientific experiment actually exist.
For the orthodoxy to survive, it has to secure the support of every person who depends on it, which means everyone who participates in the global socio-economic system.
In 1978, a Filipino fisherman recounted his meeting with a mermaid who aided him in his efforts to net a considerable catch.
Unfortunately, he was eventually forced to remain silent after being derided by the society he thought would celebrate his experience.
Stigmatisation takes many forms, however, the result for certain individuals is that they become social outcasts.
Of course, in a liberal democracy, idiosyncracies and strange beliefs are, generally speaking, accepted, so that the forms of stigmatisation that were once used no longer have the same ability to achieve the required objective.
This is perhaps why reports of such apparitions have dwindled in the last twenty to thirty years, to the point where, if they occur at all, they are no longer regarded as newsworthy.
Nonetheless, there are other forms of stigmatisation which still have the power to render their targets vulnerable and at the mercy of the institutions which deal with such 'aberrations of the mind'.
Footprints of the Gods
Loch Ness has perhaps the most famous example of a monster associated with water, however, it is by no means unique.
North America and Scandinavia in particular have many lakes with reported sightings of unidentified animate objects. The most notable is Lake Okanagan in Canada which is reputedly the haunt of 'Ogopogo'.
The folklore of the Scottish Highlands is full of references to strange creatures connected with bodies of water.
The kelpie (each uisge - Gaelic for water-horse) is a case in point. This horselike being was regarded as malevolent and lurked in lochs waiting for human victims to approach.
Documented cases of encounters, though rare, do exist, which leads to the conclusion that either lies are being constantly told, or, these creatures are seen.
Apparitions of this type cannot easily be studied because of their transient nature. Nonetheless, clues as to their origin can be garnered from Tibetan Buddhism.
The 'tulpa' or thought form is a manifestation of an idea which can eventually become a solid entity with an independent existence.
The materialisation of thought forms, though difficult, is regarded as an occult art which can be learned and involves meditation and concentrated visualisation.
This being so, apparitions such as loch monsters could possibly be thought forms.
The fact that wakes are seen means that those apparitions have a physical aspect which causes true interaction with the material world.
More powerful minds than our own may be at work here. Those minds are adept at producing thought forms which we accept as completely real.
Until we fully understand the source and the motive, these apparitions remain abberations of the mind to the sceptic and an endlessly fascinating mystery to the believer.
The Loch Ness Enigma
The phenomenon that is the Loch Ness Monster has both fascinated and bemused sceptics and believers alike for many decades.
A number of theories have been proposed by both groups to either reason the monster away or explain its nature.
Environments can record events which can then be replayed. The mechanism is unknown but there are a number of authoritative accounts which suggest that the physical landscape can be imprinted in some way so that what occurs can be witnessed again.
The first battle of the English Civil War was fought on 23rd October 1643 at Edgehill, Warwickshire, between the Royalists commanded by Prince Rupert of the Rhine and the Parliamentarians under Oliver Cromwell.
Some months after the battle, which turned out to be indecisive, witnesses spoke of seeing what they thought was yet another action by the two sides in the same location.
As no such action had occurred, the matter created such a stir that King Charles eventually heard about it. He then dispatched a number of his officers to investigate.
They reported back that they saw the battle take place and recognised Prince Rupert, who was not killed in the action. What is unknown is whether or not they saw themselves.
If we assume they were telling the truth, then the battle must have been recorded by the landscape and later replayed.
In the case of the Loch Ness Monster, we would have to assume that after 70 million years, the recording of a plesiosaur is still playing back.
The definition of a ghost is that it is the disembodied spirit of a dead person or animal which in this case would be a carnivorous marine reptile.
If it is a plesiosaur's ghost, then we would expect it to seem spectral, wereas it is not clear that this is the impression that witnesses get. If anything, the monster appears very solidly real to those who meet it.
Another possibility is that it is an apparition projected by an intelligence which governs the experience we have of the supernatural.
Every time we encounter the supernatural, we either rationalise the event or we change our understanding of reality in some manner which may then have a bearing on how our lives develop in the future.
The Loch Ness Monster may be a mechanism for altering consciousness. Those affected will be people who have actually seen it. Anyone else can but speculate, as has been done extensively.
Myth or Mystery?
When the London surgeon R.K. Wilson took the best known and probably most iconic picture of the Loch Ness Monster in 1934, it is perhaps no coincidence that the date was April 1st.
Since then, many intriguing photographs have been taken of what is supposedly a large reptilian creature, possibly a plesiosaur, inhabiting the depths of the loch.
From 1933 onwards, when interest began in earnest, there have been thousands of eyewitness sightings and many professional and amateur expeditions to find the monster have been undertaken.
All to no avail. The Loch Ness Monster has proved to be elusive despite the fact that the area in question is situated in the centre of the Scottish Highlands close to the city of Inverness and therefore not particularly remote.
The loch is the largest body of freshwater in Britain. It is approximately 22 miles (35 kilometres) long, 1 mile (1.6 kilometres) wide and at its deepest, 985 feet (295 metres). Yet, no conclusive evidence for the existence of the monster has ever been produced.
The idea that there is an unknown marine animal living in the loch is fairly absurd. The lack of physical evidence and the numerous sonar scans that have been carried out, without definitive results, lay to rest the theory that the monster is a purely physical phenomenon.
Because there is no physical evidence, rationalists conclude that there is no mystery and that sightings can be attributed to hallucination or hysteria while photographs can be interpreted as hoaxes.
If there was no mystery, there would be no serious interest in the Loch Ness Monster, so we can say that it is definitely an inexplicable phenomenon which can only be understood if regarded as a temporary manifestation centred on the loch and able to convince witnesses of its reality.
It is most likely that we are dealing with an apparition or apparitions which appear to certain people who are led to believe it is a real creature.