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Epic and long overdue talk with scholar of high weirdness Erik Davis, on the ins & outs, ups & downs of paranoid awareness, self-exploration and cultural examination, & the many different pathways through Chapel Perilous.
Part One: Tightrope Walkers (0 – 33m)
The inner chatter, meeting in Mexico, a gulf in worldviews, the podcast burnout, the lost art of conversation, polarization in the information age, connection across difference, the weaponization of everything, a free speech absolutist, the tightrope walker, emotional traps, attraction-resistance to paranoia, considerations about who to talk to, a big responsibility, what comes with mastery, a pattern of response to pop culture, a curation of a sensibility, who are the listeners, how conspiracy theory is constructed, intellectual ethics, religion and paranoia.
Part Two: From Conspiracy to Complicity (33m – 1 hr 12m)
From conspiracy facts to metaphysical theory, the many wings of chapel perilous, the Aeolus period, excess imbibing of dodgy memes, Jimmy Savile, being liminal, eliciting affect, the harrowing psychological dimensions, social complicity vs. conspiracy, comparing backgrounds, woven into the system, Erik’s father, climate change, a fringe operator in the system, antipathy-affinity for paranoia, circling abysses, infection with paranoid memes, what circles we move in, mimetic creatures, an early blueprint of self-marginalization, disinheriting, an open podcast, the stake for victims, between metaphysical control and human control, a healing journey, a partial rebellion, common sense realism, intense ontological pluralism, what do we know about institutions, Illuminatus.
Part Three: Living in the Shadow (1 hr 12m – 1 hr 40 m)
Ethics and how to move in the world, tiers of control, the CIA uncongealed, a space of connection, a duck in conspiracy waters, the problem with relying on intuition, getting grounded, increased cognitive dissonance, the hidden forces of the unconscious, different levels of consciousness, what controls our actions, high-mountain psychoanalysis, an uncanny way of existing, living in the shadow, consciousness and agency, a manipulation of consciousness, fragmentation of the psyche, embedded in an intelligent creation, a felt sense of the benign, horribly coopted, path of surrender, pluralistic possibility, a demonic Archon, everyday benevolence.
Part Four: Anthropologists of the Bizarre (1 hr 40 m – 2 hr 03m)
Radical acceptance, VALIS in the kibble, the world as temptation system, the path of transgression, doing penance, a scary step, impermeable barriers, Esalen-influenced spirituality, the healing ethic of the 70s & trauma, shamanic dismemberment, the language of trauma, a sense of responsibility, an anthropologist of the bizarre, honoring the scars, the many dimensions of reality, a condition of multiplicity, affirming the wounds, the pure and the impure, Sebastian Horsley & the natural end for nihilism, back to the body, an ability for ambiguity, Strieber & Crowley, a compassionate response.
Part Five: A Relationship with Poison (2 hr 03m – to end)
Abduction experiences, the full demonic control download, the poison path, mistaking element for essence, recognizing colonization, compassionate immanence, the oneness move, a relationship with the damaged, taking on toxicity, proximity to the fallen, transmutation of toxins, remaining in the trouble, the hard edge, age & wisdom, using toxins to detoxify, a dearth of role models, path of service, Erik’s pedagogy, waiting for orders, on threshold, embodied engagement & relating, a commitment to encounter, dropping the mask, human connection, going beyond language, weaving a tapestry, worthy opponents, shared zones.
Erik’s site: https://techgnosis.com/
Songs: “Knob Wobbler,” by Gib Strange; “Broadcast to the Addicted” by Drakes Hotel; “1996” by Origami Conspiracy; “What Use Am I” by Orbiting Freakshow Orch; “Monkey Said” by The Freak Fandango Orchestra; “These Words” by Hazelwood Motel.
“The story begins only when the book closes.” ~ Marshall McLuhan
This fear of being perceived ‘right wing’, being driven by insane media is cowardly. Says me anonymously 😉
Great conversation. The more we talk and discuss, the more knowledge and understanding we get. Balance the unknown
Very illuminating on both sides. You both carry a rare combination of being investigatory and open—the true mark of wisdom, I believe. I hope this conversation is the first of many more to come. The balance here is really healthy and could really help tip the scales on the “radical” bipolarization so prevalent in the culture.
Some not necessarily connected thoughts from this long session,
Its possible that the more traumatised, fractured and dissociated ones psyche is, the more one is able to perceive of a single dark apparatus orchestrating everything. I guess this is the nature of the Jungian shadow.
Its possible Eriks psyche is less fractured , he loves his Dad , good home etc. His beef seems to be with the system itself and he is by his own admission a liberal. Though when i hear him talk about the myriad multiplicities i find myself thinking ‘Shrrooms !’. I do grok his wariness of False Unities though.
Visup points out with great clarity the nature of the various deep state factions vying for control. For those of us not in the know, we are like the frightened children cowering in the corner watching three toxic daddies fight for the sexual favour of a browbeaten mommy. The results for us are not good.
There are occasions where the various factions agree on a particular course of action in response to something which threatens their power and these are the most mysterious and terrifying events for we the beleagured people. WW1 , & 2 , Cold War, JFK, Watergate , 911 etc .
John Michael Greer has done a great outline of the Left Hand vs Right Hand path, its not what i thought it was either (transgression). It seems to have more to do with the ‘world out there’, the aesthetic break, Nietzschean will/desire, versus the inner , embodied world that connects to the divine.
https://www.ecosophia.net/the-path-between-the-pillars/
Has anyone asked Erik directly if he is CIA ? He referred bact to them a few times and seemed to have a good understanding of the organisation. The Liminalist may be attracting some attention, could also explain why it took six years ? Its no big deal to me if he is.
I have learned over the years never to take someone at their word when they profess to be less traumatized; in Erik’s case we have to add to the body of evidence alien abduction experiences & visions of soul-eating demons.
“the Left Hand vs Right Hand path, its not what i thought it was either (transgression). It seems to have more to do with the ‘world out there’, the aesthetic break, Nietzschean will/desire, versus the inner , embodied world that connects to the divine.”
I wonder if the focus of the will on the outside world as a bid for power is essentially any different from the path of transgression? Certainly Crowley’s case, as outlined in part 2 of Vice of Kings, suggests it is not. It also seems fairly typical, if exaggerated to suitably monstrous dimensions.
>Its no big deal to me if he is.
Really? That seems a tad postmodernist to me.
Good point that it is the same beast taken to a ‘suitably monstrous dimension’ .
Eriks being CIA no big deal to me in the sense that i will read his book with a big grain of salt anyway.
I dont think CIA people look like G-men anymore , creeping around kickimg doors down in the middle of the night and planting bugs. With the techniques they have now, a lot of people who work for them probably dont even realise it themselves as you point out.
There is CIA under every rock, in every nook and cranny , they are a bit of a yawn.
I spose that once the CIA moved from being an intell / law enforcement insto guarding nation state into a meta programming org it effectively became an esoteric order ?
In my experience, people who strictly disbelieve in organized conspiracies are generally lacking in the department of introspection and self-awareness. To know yourself is to know other people, to truly perceive the depth of “sin” and weakness within yourself throws a great light upon the machinations of the world.
Great points and food for thought.
CIA ? Doubt it. Maybe an un-knowing dupe. He’s what you call an “academic.” It takes them much longer and they have to stick to the academy’s agenda to stay published/employed. He kind of got stuck in the mid-80’s and fell in love with that “perfect moment.” Jasun is from a British upper class business family so he knows some things are true. Eric is a pop media essayist juggler out of the post-hippie jamboree after-burn who’s Dad is invested in scientisms. Any questions ?