Photos: Near the Allt Duine; trying to protect the Allt Duine.
Bit of a long piece, this one; I've divided it into two parts. Thanks for reading.
Part One: Dark Unveilings
Elegant and simple as it is comprehensive, 'The Gates of Awakening' is Neil Kramer's map and model of the process that comes under a whole variety of headings: 'finding yourself', 'walking the spiritual path' - you get the idea. The Gates are four in number, to be opened both successively and simultaneously. First up is 'engagement', characterised by an enthusiastic recognition of the 'subjects that really matter' in this world, followed by the study and other forms of investigation that are the natural consequence of this initial realisation. Second come the 'unveilings', which are of two types. Look behind the curtain and you can find the 'Light Unveilings': that the universe is essentially magical, formed of different densities of energy; that all phenomena are interconnected and inseparable; that consciousness creates reality; and so on. But take another peek behind the barriers to deeper perception of what is really going on, and you will encounter the 'Dark Unveilings'. Which is where we come in today......
The Dark Unveilings reveal the other side of the fact that things are not the way they seem. These may include uncovering the roles of illuminist groups and other unelected groups with a globalist agenda, such as the Bilderbergers; the significance of PSYOPs, media propaganda, disinformation, and the rest. It extends over a range of phenomena, from the highly visible - politicians and other public figures - through the realms of geopolitics and parapolitics, to the more fundamental realisation that this entire system of hierarchical organisation and control is itself a manifestation of consciousness; specifically, a particular form of consciousness, a main feature of it being its attempt to contain, to restrict human consciousness to a certain (low) level.
Among people variously engaged with alternative/spiritual things who I am aware of, three broadly different stances are taken with regard to the Dark Unveilings. There are those who are fully cognisant of the machinations involved, but have incorporated this understanding within a wider view of the nature and potential of the universe. This is, I suggest, the place to be. Then there are those sincere and serious practitioners who are either ignorant of the Dark Unveilings, or fail to see their relevance. The western Buddhist movement with which I was once engaged seems to be in this situation, in terms of its public face and activities at least. This I find curious -an unjustified sentiment, since I was in precisely the same position until a few years ago...... But nowadays I find it a significant missing piece of the jigsaw of consciousness. Buddhism overflows with notions such as 'mind is primary', 'Mind Only', 'Our life is the creation of our mind' (verse one of the central Buddhist text, the Dhammapada). So to fail to acknowledge how the minds of human beings are put on by a system intended to contain and deceive - to mould the way our minds are created - and to see that in operation on a daily basis, all strikes me as an omission. Particularly since that system itself is, on a deeper level, a form or level of consciousness. Buddhism might try to encase all this within 'the workings of samsara', but it is too abstract to simply leave it at that. To properly understand some things, it is necessary to examine them precisely and closely, through the lens of concrete examples.
And then, finally, there are those who, often fearlessly, have uncovered layer upon layer of the 'Dark Unveilings', but have got stuck there. This is not a good place to be at all. Ultimately, darkness breeds darkness. Like the process of personal psychotherapy, the task of revealing the shady machinations perpetrated by and through certain human beings is endless. By itself, it will get us nowhere; certainly no solution offers itself on that same level. We need to incorporate and move impeccably on.
My personal gateway into the Dark Unveilings was, strange as it may seem, through windfarms. One of my aims on moving from outer London to highland Scotland in 2005 was to extricate myself, in part at least, from the artificial environment of the Big City. On arriving in the Highlands I was disturbed to see these enormous metal-and-plastic whirling structures appearing in wild and upland places. The general consensus propagated on television and in the newspapers was that large-scale windfarms were an essential ingredient if we were to avoid catastrophic human-created global warming. If it was indeed true that polar bears, Pacific islanders, and the rest of us, could be saved with a few turbines on the hills, that would be a sacrifice worth making, I reckoned. However, just to be sure, I decided to do a bit of research. Surprise, surprise: what I began to discover was that the reality was not remotely what was depicted in the popular media. I had opened a Pandora's box of lies and deceit, covert agenda, a panoply of little-publicised facts about windfarms. A small difference between the official story and the results of my research I could have stomached. But the disconnect was so great that it could mean only one thing: something else is going on. From here, it was only a step towards investigating the entire human-created global warming theory, and realising that here was another can of worms (Peter Taylor's presentation at the First ARC Convention, Feb 2010, was an important stepping-stone for me in this particular unveiling). And from here it was just another small move to begin to look at the deeper realities of Control System dynamics in general - from its lower levels in visible politics to its (ultimately more interesting and significant) manifestation as a certain form of consciousness.
Part Two: The Monadhliath
All of which led to my standing outside Highland Council headquarters on an icy morning in Inverness two days before the winter solstice. I was not alone: a cluster of good-natured Highland folk were there, along with a male press photographer and a lady from BBC Alba (I think). Our purpose: to let Highland Council (at least those councillors who could bother to turn up) know that we were not impressed with plans to stick a windfarm at Allt Duine, right on the edge (and I mean right on the edge) of Cairngorms National Park. Actually, on the edge of the National Park is the more emotive way to describe this potential catastrophe's location. It's situated on the eastern fringe of the Monadhliath Mountains. These are rounded, moorland-type hills, rather than spiky, dramatic peaks, so they do not get overmuch publicity. One or two books describe them as uninteresting. But there is a fantastic sense of space, of silence, of nature-is-big, on the Monadhliath: in short, a great place for devotees of modern anarcho-shamanism. I have particularly frequented these hills in the autumn, when you can feel like a visitor granted privileged access to different worlds: stags in rut roaring on the hillsides; ptarmigan strutting in their developing white winter coats; if you are really lucky, a mountain hare racing across the scrubby heather near the summits.
An announcement came that the meeting had been postponed until 11 o'clock: the councillors had been bussed off to look at the site of another proposed wind-crime beforehand. So we headed off into town for a coffee and to warm up. 'Stop-trashing-the-Highlands' people I have met are examples of what decent human beings can be. With a palpable love of the natural world of which we are part, more and more of them have a growing sense of the deeper issues shadily informing the windfarm invasion. Deception by governments and energy companies; collusion and corruption; fortunes to be made by the few at the expense of the many; how wild places are being rubbished in the name of wider but often unspoken political agendas. There is an increasingly bizarre disconnect between the global rhetoric on spending cuts, austerity measures, etc, and the millions that continue to get thrown in the direction of an energy technology that is unreliable, unpredictable, expensive, and as green as a red herring. I spoke to one or two people at the Allt Duine gathering who, like me, had no illusions about changing the policies of politicians through our actions. But if even one piece of wild land is saved this ignominy through these efforts, it will have been worthwhile.
While many 'save-the-environment-from-the-environmentalists' people maintain a sense of humour, there are some who are clearly the worse for wear. This is particularly so, maybe, for those unfortunates who have had personal visitations from the intermittently waving machines from hell. Anybody glibly sitting in their armchair saying 'Windfarms are good' should take the time to read the experiences of some people at least who have had turbines foisted on their daily lives. As a moderately sensitive soul, I find it disturbing to meet these people, fraught and drained of lifeblood from fighting an unequal battle against heartless bastards who have made their life a misery. It is, however, imperative to try and avoid ending up like this: doom and despair achieve little. Even John Muir, pioneering conservationist and someone who was not afraid to speak of the sacredness of wild places, succumbed to this particular form of bloodsucking. His vigorous campaigning against the flooding of Hetch Hetchy was unsuccessful; his death from pneumonia was linked by some to his heartbreak over the matter. No. The Dark Unveilings need to take their place within a wider context of light, love, expansion.
I urge any intelligent human being to do their own research into these deeper realities, the Dark Unveilings. In my case, I needed a personal passion to propel me into this endeavour. It is no good to take the mainstream newspapers and television as ones sole source of information; all too often, it is commentary and opinion that is offered up anyway. Personal research is easier than ever, thanks to the internet - I feel we should make the most of it while it exists in its current format. Just start off through a search engine, see where it goes. But you need to go beyond the mainstream sites; look for real reports, reliable data rather than opinion dressed up as something more noble. And learn to discern, and see through the propaganda. Here is a simple example of what I mean by propaganda-dressed-up-as-fact. We are all familiar with the boasts paraded about yet another new windfarm: 'It will produce electricity for up to 40000 households.' Sounds impressive, doesn't it. But stop to reflect that wind is unpredictable, and sometime doesn't blow hard enough to turn the blades on the turbines at all. So it is equally true to state: 'This windfarm will produce enough electricity for as little as a dog kennel.' How come the mainstream media never puts it like that? Why? Why? This is how it works. Simple. Develop your own bullshit detector. And remember: when you watch Fiona Bruce reading the 6 o'clock news on BBC, you are really watching consciousness manifesting in a certain way.
The Highland councillors disembarked from their minibus round the back of the building, thereby avoiding meeting our little group. Still, a victory-of-sorts was declared: they decided that a site visit is in order before a decision can be made. It seems we'll be back.........
