The purpose of this forum is to bring back open public discussion on matters that are typically thought to be hidden, behind the scenes, or merely under reported in the main stream world-view. This will be a continually updating project to share important information between members of a living community.
Based in Calgary, Alberta, this forum is open to any and all interested in the subject matter. A weekly meeting will be scheduled for every Tuesday between ~6 and ~8 pm, held at The Distillery Pub at 615, 7th ave SW.
Format:
Introduction:
From time immemorial there has been a place in the community for peers to congregate and discuss the issues of the day. Today, although there are myriads of ways to communicate myriads of stuff, the context of face-to-face gatherings is much less prominent, let alone encouraged, outside of academia. The old idea that I'd like to introduce as new idea, is an open forum, tasked to persistently widen the perspectives of my communiy. The idea is to provide a free venue for people to entertain important information they wish to communicate with their peers in a non-judgmental yet critically thoughtful manner. I wish to enable an environment for intelligent discussion among free-thinking individuals with respect for dialogic persuasion; defined as a willingness to temporarily suspend conclusions in order to introduce novel information and perspectives, persuasion is a mutual act where all parties seek to learn from and / or teach one another.
Intention:
Having studied philosophy at the university level for almost five years, I've found the dynamic of group discussion and presentation of information one of the most effective means of communicating. Living in the culture that we do, many important perspectives often fly under the radar of people's general comprehension, especially academic philosophy. Bringing light to these challenging issues in a public and transparent manner allows for greater dissemination of important new information into the general consciousness. The working and intended goal here is consistent, honest, and as thorough as can be integration of as many perspectives on life as possible.
Since my perspectives tend to be closer to the fringe rather than the local ways of thinking, I really need to bring myself closer to the people around me. There are many innovative efforts occurring all over this city, and the world for that matter. For example, I find the idea of Calgary Dollars a very important approach to changing the economic and cultural scene and bringing people together. Permaculture and community gardens are not only important for local food production but also education and social balances. With these issues and many others in mind, I'm trying to make what I do well, research and critical thinking, available to the community. This is why I've thought of holding a forum to introduce us all to new ideas, myself included of course.
Structure:
The Forum will be a weekly meeting, keeping records of the proceedings, summary recap, presentation of information and perspectives by host and / or guest contributors, as well as time for questions and open discussion. With each session having a particular topic, or multiple topics as per number of presenters, the focus will be contained in weekly handouts with minutes from previous meetings, notice of later topics, and agenda of the meeting at hand. Including relevant information summarized, these documents will be the backbone of a community library with Internet access to recordings, minutes, and a perpetually developing collection of members' contributions.
Easy access to a community website where this information can be easily shared is a key component of the forum. Keeping track of where we've been and where we want to go is an important aspect of building a solid foundation, especially for later joiners. An on-line forum seems appropriate as well to keep discussions going whenever relevant. I'll take care of this aspect.
Resources:
Having spent the majority of ten years studying and living alternative perspectives, my scope of interests has extended to many areas of research. I have an extensive library of rare documents that are otherwise difficult to locate, as well as pertinent information about practical applications where these ideas can potentially lead: self-sustainability and further holistic integration of the community at large. Access to large databases of free information is key in this project.
In order to put this library and my passion for sharing discussions into effect, this forum is the suitable prospect to entertain these practical new ideas for thinking about our modern world. With the ideas and information already at hand and my full commitment to developing this forum, few supplementary resources will be needed, and provided at my cost, from contribution, or other potential sources. A request for volountary donations from members or participants may be required, but only minimal, of course.
My limited technical aptitude ought suffice introducing people to accessing the internet for researching purposes. Also the initiation and maintenance of the internet domain would obviously be my responsibility, and gladly so.
Polity:
Instead of policy, like policing, I advocate polity, like politeness. Any and all ideas are relevant with a strict adherence to specific guidelines. These indicators identify manners of polity in order to keep in check as best as possible any knee-jerk emotional reactions people might have to whatever information or perspectives are being entertained. When presented in an unbiased and neutral manner based on cogent argumentation, information can be shown to be accurate or not; whereas beliefs are inherently biased and incapable of neutrality, their acuteness needs to be preceded by comprehensive analysis of the data at hand. Needless to say, behaviours such as circular arguing, ridicule, name-calling, shouting, constant interrupting and other such negative attitudes will evoke a request for majority decision as whether or not to ask said parties to excuse themselves from the discussion.
Methodology:
Having in place a comprehensive and concise method for critical thinking, controversial topics can be addressed in a sane and even-handed manner. The first presentation and corresponding documentation will be the back-bone of the forum, consisting of my current summation of key points to critical thinking and an introduction to topics that require its' urgent application. The process functioning here is based on the seven Medieval Liberal arts called the Trivium (a three-part method that describes the processes of mind) and Quadrivium (a four-part analysis of the processes of matter), the field of study and patterns in nature called Sacred Geometry, as well as the study of coherent structures of argumentation to remove contradictions from propositional statements.
Potential Topics:
Critical Thinking: As previously noted, the first topic considers aspects of critical thinking that are often overlooked. This serves as the basis for continuing investigations in the forum. It will also be continually updated as the process of developing critical thinking proceeds within the group. Application of the Trivium is central to this issue, along with the pyramid of argumentation, the flow chart called 'Our Discussion,' and Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats style of group conversation. Identifying logical fallacies is greatly important as well, as an informal way of showing false reasoning simply by the structure of the argument.
Permaculture: Along with related topics to address food issues, energy use, and sustainability. Seed saving and genetic engineering, alternative construction and lifestyle design, biodiversity and nutrition. To me, so many different factors fall under this title that I could go on and on... Basically, the idea that we can take care of ourselves by our own wit is as close as we want it to be. Maximum output with minimum input is a core principle of permaculture design. Substantial increases to topsoil through continuous addition of bio-mass in the form of mulch, compost, and other nutritional elements. Layered planting allows for production at all levels, from trees, shrubs, green vegetables, ground layering crops, root vegetables, etc.
Chemtrails / Geoengineering: What are those strange clouds in the sky that form after airplanes leave their trails behind? This controversial issue reaches into the lives of everyone on the planet, and there is lots of evidence to find if one looks for it. Poisionously high levels of aluminum and barium have been found in many places in the groundwater, the vegetation, and even in people themselves.
Alternative History and Megalithic Civilizations: Who built the Great Pyramids and how? Why are they on a mathematically perfect grid that surrounds the globe, even accounting for curvature of the earth, which, by modern standards wasn't discovered until half-way through the last millenium? What are the origins of the knowledge that enabled huge stone constructions along this grid all over world? Could the skeletal remains of 2.5m tall humans with cone-shaped, two-plated (instead of the modern human 3 plates) skull, found near some of these sites, have something to do with them? Regardless of supposition, the sheer volume of historical anomalies necessarily calls into question the academic understanding of what happened on this planet before history.
Sovereignty: What is law and where did it come from? The system in place today is by all accounts a de-facto authority that claims its power through the naive acquiesence of citizens. The real law (de-jure) concerns matters of claim in cases where one has caused harm or loss to another. What claim of injury is made when a law officer issues a ticket for something like jaywalking, and how is that contract enforced? By what measure do people have control over their lives if to live in society necessitates the earning of fiat currency and paying unlawful taxes? These issues and more can be addressed as common law.
Climate Change: Along with other anomalies throughout the solar system, why is the temperature changing on this planet? Is the temperature increasing on all the other planets because people drive too much? Maybe there is something else going on with the cycles of time and rotation of our solar system through the wider range of scales in space. Perhaps the changes in the Sun, evidenced by increased solar flare and CME action over the past dozen years, have something to do with odd weather patterns, general increase in temperature, and other interesting anomalies around the world including the latest 'strange sound' phenomena.
Electric Universe Paradigm: An idea presented by many leading astrophysicists, comparative mythologists, and other academics, points to the fact that just because things are such as they are today, does not necessarily mean that they have always been as such. In challenging the mainstream theories of a gravitational basis for the dynamics in the universe, it is according to this paradigm that electricity and plasma physics provide a more integrated and more sufficiently explanatory mechanism for many of the features we observe that remain badly explained or totally unexplained to this day. The aspect of comparative mythology ties in ancient rock art and oral traditions that indicate a very different configuration of this solar system in previous eras.
Cancer and Cures: Although there are at least five (to my mind) legitimate cures for cancer since the 1940s, the amount of money in modern 'cancer treatment' has rendered the medical establishment dependent on suppressing these cures. Just to mention the names of the Doctors and others who discovered these cures: Dr. Wilhelm Reich, Royal Raymod Rife, Dr. Harry Hoxsey (whose daughter still operates a clinic in Mexico), Dr. Stanislav Burzynski (still operating a clinic in Texas), Max Gerson, and others. Some people propose that a simple change in diet and habit or the introduction of simple compounds (like the Gerson tonic or Cannabis) can cure cancer entirely. Thousands of testimonials attest to this claim.
Entheogens; or Psychedelic Drugs: Every culture throughout human history has utilized a technique for altering everyday modes of consciousness. Many to this day still encounter the spirit world by means of ingesting, in one way or another, highly psychoactive compounds. Along with a very rich and ancient tradition of practice, consistent and regular use by shamans contribute to the development of the consciousness of the community. And although these mind-manifesting drugs are illegal in western culture, their use is prolific and often misused for lack of appropriate context. Condemnation for exploration of consciousness seems to me like an insult to life. Applications of psychedelics in medical treatment has proven time and time again to yield beneficial results in scientific investigations and improvement of well-being (generally speaking) for participants in those studies, yet are not accepted by the establishment.
Conspiracy theory:
Conspiracy fact:
Hemp:
Aquaponics:
Sustainable Housing:
Holo-Fractal-Graphic Theory:
Sacred Geometry:
Cryptozoology:
Extra-Terrestrial / UFO:
War on Drugs:
Spirituality:
Secret Societies:
Ethical Theory:
Political Theory:
Mythology:
Inter-species Communication:
Mystery Schools:
Predictive Programming:
Astral Projection:
Alternative Building Techniques:
Masonic Design and Architecture:
Mysticism:
