Imagine the Possibility: A Human Essay

What if our stories of gods, goddesses, saviors, angels, devils, souls, little men and green men, are not just stories of things our ancestors couldn't explain... what if they were accounts of events that, once upon a time, happened to mankind?


All around the world--literally, everywhere--are ruins of a lost time, structures so impressive we would struggle to create them today.  Some lie beneath the sea and some below the earth, while others are in plain sight.  Who were these people?  How did they accomplish so much if they were primitive hunter-gatherers, barely evolved in the scope of cosmic time.

What if the evolution story isn't the only part of the story?
What if religion is a ritualistic remembrance of these stories, also only part of the whole?

Millions upon millions of pieces, scattered across the planet, yet inevitably part of the same family--our genetics are compatible to mate with any viable mate to produce offspring.  We are the same species.

We tell stories about everything; we entertain ourselves with visual stories and listen to musical ones; we lie about our lives to avert shame or for gain.  When we die, a story of life remains in the memory of those who knew us and through pieces of ourselves left behind.

Yet many of us are skeptical that myths, legends, folklore, and strange happenings could possibly be true.  These stories are no different than the story we tell ourselves: career, family, wealth, purpose, faith, and politics are all plots and sub-plots of our lives.


If we believe our story to be true and real, why do we doubt the stories of our ancestors?


Why can we not imagine Odin, father of the Viking pantheon, sought wisdom by hanging from a great tree of cosmic knowledge for nine days, stabbed with a spear, offering himself as sacrifice.  The similarity to Christ's experience is unmistakable.

Some would argue there can be only one true story.  Why?  Going back to the comparison to your personal story, would you say your experience is the only true one on earth?

Imagine for a moment, if you will, the story of the Bible is true.  It is the story which mankind as a species is experiencing on this planet, at this time--there were other stories, other ages, eons, whence came the ruins and mythology of today.  What if our story is indeed the story as told in the Bible?

Of course, there are many interpretations, aren't there?  That's not our concern here: we are not trying to interpret which version of which story is correct.

The basic story tells us that mankind ignored God's warning and was cursed; this curse was removed by Jesus Christ, the Son of God, sacrificing himself in atonement for man's initial sin; Christ will, at some future point, return to claim the earth as his blood price, triggering a violent cataclysm during which all opposing forces will be destroyed; after the cataclysm, a period of restoration under the rulership of Christ will span a thousand years.

What if this were true?

Why do mythological stories (scriptures are mythological in theme) make us skeptical?  Is there something inherent in our society affecting how we perceive unusual stories?  Our hyper-rational scientific age conditions us to demand physical proof--something our senses can measure.


Can you picture the moon in your mind?

Prove it.


We have no trouble believing there are billions of galaxies with billions of suns burning far out beyond our sight where none of us here will ever reach, let alone see in a picture.  Our scientists are reprogramming the genes of plants and animals, creating basic artificial intelligence, and smashing particles near the speed of light--yet the story of a divine hero saving us from destruction wrought by our own hands is too far-fetched?


Basic science states that all matter is an expression of energy.


Have you experienced deja vu?
Ever meet someone you are comfortable with, like an old friend, but it's only been five minutes?

There are unexplained cases where illiterate children recall detailed facts about a dead person's life, often talking as if they were the person.  Is reincarnation possible?


Look at the science fiction we're cooking up in this world.  It may not seem like it to less fortunate people, but there are places where it feels like you're on a Jetsons' space ship.  We are using the energy of the universe to fashion a science fiction dream (or nightmare).

If it's all energy, is it possible the energy that constitutes our "soul", or mind, can be transferred, preserved, or otherwise manipulated?

With our technological progress, the possibility--even probability--is within reach.  If we can imagine a technology designed to capture the exact type of energy constituting our soul, the concept takes shape and doesn't look so impossible.

After all, it's not like anyone or anything would want to capture a soul, right?


Can our soul be affected by our lives?

We know energy can be affected by many things, including biological entities.  Intuitively, I think so, but without the memory of past lives, it is impossible to know.

It is, at least, possible to accept the stories of people (like the little girl mentioned above) as true: souls can and do return.

Let's say the energy of a soul is here for centuries.  Would such a soul manifest itself as, say, the Dalai Lama or some other figure generally regarded as "wise".  Would such a soul be a great leader like Lincoln?

Maybe these souls transit to bodies in times of need or to restore balance.  Perhaps newborn souls are naive and easily swayed by older souls like, say, Hitler.


That knock at the door might be Jesus stopping by to see if you've read his Dad's best-seller.


Perhaps there is no soul at all, no ghost in the machine, and we're just talking monkeys bound for nature's compost pile.


Thanks for reading.


Follow the light through the heart of darkness.