Tag Archives: Conspiracy Theories

The Two Orders of Validation

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By George A. Boyd © 2020

Q: It seems both reason and intuition have the capacity to generate error. Can you shed some light on this?

A: Let us tease apart the verification processes of reason and intuition:

Reason arrives at tentative, consensual truth through a process of analysis and critique, and testing.

  • It starts with facts, data, or evidence.
  • It generates a hypothesis to explain the fact.
  • It tests the hypothesis to determine whether it is true or not.

It observes, measures, weighs, detects, tests, and sets criteria for the statistical probability that the hypothesis is likely true.

  • This estimate of the likelihood that something is true can range from five out of 100 in social science to one in 100 billion in physics.

Empirical verification is a step-by-step algorithmic process, which is subject to peer review, analysis, and critique.

Intuition reveals truths that dwell in the sphere of the Soul’s consciousness.

  • It uses the faculty of discernment (Vijnana) to locate the object in the inner mandala of the Soul’s consciousness and recognizes it and labels it.
  • It employs the faculty of contemplation (Dhyana) to gather information about the object of meditation through observation, reflection, comparison, and identifying analogies or correspondences.
  • It is founded upon the Soul’s consciousness, which is the anchor of spiritual law and the foundation of inner Truth (Dharma).

Finding the ground of intuitive truth enables you to identify the stable markers of Subplanes, Planes, and Divisions of the Continuum, and to locate your spiritual essence in inner space.

Intuitive discovery or revelation is a heuristic process, which explores meaning, realizes possibilities, makes associations with other ideas, finds correspondences, and examines the changes that transformation produces.

When this rational and intuitive process goes awry, it gives rise to two forms of distortion:

Conspiracy theories – In this distortion of your rational process, you make assertions without validated facts, you create a hypothesis to explain your assertion, and you believe this hypothesis is the truth without subjecting it to tests. This arises from a failure to conduct empirical verification.

Delusion – In this distortion of intuitive discovery, you assume something is true in error. You use discernment to incorrectly confirm your erroneous belief. You only admit information that supports your belief, and you deny, ignore, or attack information that is contrary to your belief.

Disciples need to correct both types of distortion, and identify what is true behind conspiracy theory and delusion.

You can ask questions like these to examine these patterns:

Is this an intuitive or empirical truth?

How do I know this is true? How can I verify this?

What are the consequences of holding this belief?

  • How does it affect my behavior?
  • How does it shape my emotional reactions and attitudes?
  • How does it color my perception and worldview?
  • How does it alter my beliefs?
  • How does it influence my values?
  • How does it sway my choices?

When I make these choices, how does it impact my life, my relationships, and my career?

The Gentle Art of Spin

Q: What is the process through which truth is perverted so it gives rise to conspiracy theories and delusion?

A: This is both an active process and a passive process:

In the active process, you choose to lie and deceive others. Criminals, con-men, and dictators utilize the active process to control others and make them do what they want.

In the passive process, you start with a logical error and then you begin to justify and defend it. The passive process is generated when you receive incorrect information and you believe it is true. This can result from exposure to those who are telling you lies and you believe them; it can also stem from having incomplete information and making faulty conclusions based on this limited data.

These active and passive “truth cycles” are described below:

The Active Process

In the active process, truth is progressively eclipsed. The dichotomy is between choosing to tell the whole truth as opposed to the choice to lie.

  • The downward cycle for the active process moves from omission to misstating the facts to active distortion to feeling initial anxiety and guilt to rationalization to outright denial.
  • The upward cycle for the active process moves from breaking denial, stopping rationalization, to finding the source of anxiety and guilt to correcting distortion to stating the correct facts to revealing what was omitted.

The Passive Process

In the passive process, rationality is perverted into delusion through warping of information.

  • The downward cycle for the passive process moves from making a logical error to covering up this error to accepting false information to making judgments based on this false information to precipitating a change in mindset to a descent into paranoid thinking.
  • The upward “recovery” cycle for the passive process includes taking responsibility for what you can control to examining your mindsets and rejecting erroneous beliefs and perceptions to rejecting incorrect judgments and founding subsequent judgments on correct information to identifying and rejecting false information and finding correct information to admitting your errors to identifying the source of logical error and correcting it.

To deconstruct a rational or empirical belief, reflect upon:

  • What is the evidence for this contention?
  • What is your belief about the evidence (hypothesis)?
  • How do you prove this is true?

If there is no evidence, it does not exist in the physical universe.

To deconstruct an intuitive belief, reflect on:

  • In what nodal point is this truth anchored?
  • What is your criterion for assuming this is true? [Is this a mathematical proof? Is this a sensory proof? Is this an emotional or experiential proof based on faith or conviction? Is this a proof based on authority or scripture? Is this a revealed (revelatory) truth? Is this a proof based on analogy or correspondence like Gematria, numerology, astrology, or tarot? Is this a proof based on symbolic or linguistic analysis?]
  • How can you verify that truth is reliable?

Truth has many facets. What is true depends upon the means through which you derive it or arrive at it.

Notice how this process of spin can move both ways: you can descend into error; you can correct yourself. You may wish to apply this process of truth recovery to deconstruct your false beliefs.

The Seven Orders of a Conspiracy Theory

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The Seven Orders of a Conspiracy Theory

By George A. Boyd © 2020

Q: How do conspiracy theories start? How are they different than a realistic view of the world?

A: There appear to be seven orders of a conspiracy theory. The layers that make up these seven orders appear to reify the belief systems of both conspiracy and reality based frames; conspiracy theory deviate from sound logic and facts, or interpret them through a distorted filter. These layers are as follows:

Order

Content

False view
(conspiracy theory)

Correct view
(reality based frame)

1

Supporting Data

Selects data to confirm false premises

Selects data to confirm verifiable and correct data

2

Emotionalized Idea

Creates negative fascination with an idea, which motivates action based on fear, guilt, hatred, or prejudice

Creates sober realization, activates actions based on thoughtful judgment and clear thinking

3

Coherent synthesis

Premises and data construct a false narrative, and puts together a conspiracy theory as an explanation of the selected facts

Premises and data construct an accurate narrative, and a consensual worldview based on verified facts and validated inferences

4

Worldview or mindset

Those who believe the conspiracy theory hold that they access to hidden or secret knowledge that makes them aware of sinister activities that only they are privy to; they ignore data that conflicts with their core beliefs that make up the conspiracy theory

Those who adopt an accurate narrative do not perceive any sinister activities and can find no evidence for them; they rely upon consensually validated knowledge to inform their world view, which changes as new data becomes available

5

Identity

Those who believe in the conspiracy theory identify as a member of a secret group that is dedicated to exposing and defeating perceived evil actors; they may separate themselves from groups or individuals they perceive as evil; more radical groups among believers may attack these individuals or groups that are perceived as evil

Identifies as a member of a diverse society, with people who have many different ways of perceiving the world and who hold different values; the world is not perceived as evil

6

Psychological matrix

As the conspiracy theory becomes integrated into character, it becomes a paranoid system expressed as behavior (paranoid personality disorder), belief (delusional disorder), and ultimately contaminates core identity, giving rise to paranoid schizophrenia

Integrated personality functioning; there is coherence between behavior, belief, and core identity (integrity)

7

Karmic matrix

Accretions of karmic impressions of ignorance, negative passions, and delusion; feelings of upset and rage mark the emergence of these impressions

Accretion of impressions of understanding, integrated knowledge, and wisdom

Q: How could someone realize they are ensnared with a conspiracy theory, and extricate themselves?

A: It is a matter of recognizing the errors in belief and reasoning that lock the conspiracy theory in place. It is hard to be objective when the conspiracy theory mindset has taken over your rational faculties. Usually, someone outside the conspiracy theory group has to point out to you the logical inconsistencies and implications of continuing to hold the conspiracy theory.

If you are capable of objective self-analysis, you may be able to recognize the signs of layers four and five—whether the group you belong to contends it is privy to secret knowledge or if you identify with a secret group whose mission is to combat perceived evil, for which there is no objective evidence. That is a clue you might have gotten yourself involved in a conspiracy theory.

Many people in the USA are under the thrall of a variety of conspiracy theories; we suspect that if they could emerge from these delusional world views, much of the animosity for those who hold different political views would dissipate, and we would see enhanced cooperation between the members of both parties.

Q: Are members of right wing and left wing extremist groups under the sway of conspiracy theories?

A: You could use this schema as a framework to analyze their beliefs and mindsets. We suspect that a central conspiracy might indeed play a role in the hateful and paranoid behavior, beliefs, and identification seen in these groups.

We invite you to reflect on these layers, and see if you can recognize any of these patterns operating in you, or in other people. Awareness of these patterns is the first step to eradicating them; it will take some courage and discipline to willingly uproot them and admit that you were wrong.

Given the right circumstances, almost anyone could succumb to these subtle delusional beliefs and perspectives. If you know what to look for, you can often stop yourself from getting involved before you travel down the rabbit hole into Wonderland.

The Seven Distortions of the Psychic Realm

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By George A. Boyd ©2017

Q: What are some of the challenges aspirants face in the Psychic Realm?

A: The Psychic Realm is called the world of illusion. Seven major misrepresentations of perception and knowing contaminate the spiritual teachings that come from the Psychic Realm.

These illusions distort the Soul’s clear vision and lead to misapprehension of the working of the laws of the mind, and promote irrational thinking and false beliefs. These seven distortions are briefly described below.

  1. Solipsism – In this view, only the Self and its mental content is real, and is the only creative force. This ignores the natural events of the world, the actions of other people, and spiritual agencies that operate independently of the Self as causative factors. This leads aspirants to profound narcissistic absorption, and creates genuine distress when their efforts at creation do not bear immediate fruit or when others do not acquiesce to their every whim.
  2. Amorality – In this perspective, there is no good or evil, only undifferentiated Oneness. This leads the aspirants who experience this distortion to abide in peace and sublime detachment. Holding this point of view suppresses their ability to act on truth, to stand up for what is right and just, and to honor your values and integrity. [We are reminded that if anything is fine, and there is no good or evil, then criminals will rule and anarchy will prevail.]
  3. Omnipotence – From this standpoint, it appears that whatever aspirants intend or wish will magically and miraculously manifest. This leads to unrealistic notions about the Laws of the Universal Mind, the Law of Attraction, and the purported “motivations of the universe”—that they only exist to instantly fulfill their every desire. If this instant manifestation does not occur, then aspirants blame their thoughts and emotions, which they believe are in some manner blocking or hindering these beneficent forces.
  4. Present time absorption – In this distortion, aspirants keep their attention focused on the “eternal now.” By keeping their attention fixed in this altered state of consciousness, they neglect the adoption of appropriate orientation to their temporal experience. They abandon the immediacy of the experienced present in the Conscious mind; shun the storehouse of lived experience in the reservoir of memory in their Subconscious mind; and neglect the future orientation of Metaconscious mind that enables them to plan and set goals. These other three temporal orientations play important roles in adult functioning and in promoting personal growth—continuously abiding in the perspective of the eternal can effectively shut down personal functioning.
  5. Magical and paranoid thinking – When aspirants operate from this mindset, they run the risk of generating irrational thinking through transcending grounded awareness, suppressing reason and reality testing, and re-identifying as a spiritual essence. Belief in conspiracy theories, spiritual fantasies, and the content of unfounded channeled messages readily promote paranoia and delusion in those who do not take the time to examine these warped ideas to discover in what ways they introduce distortion and untruth.
  6. Glamour – This distortion occurs when aspirants misunderstand the phenomena of the Psychic Realm, and they tend to over-value, exaggerate, and idealize the content that comes from this band of the Continuum. Glamour also idealizes and makes people larger than life—actors and sports stars become “celebrities,” famous and gifted people are viewed as infallible gods and goddesses.
  7. Warped notions of transformation and ascension – In this distortion, aspirants come to believe that the misalignment of one of their vehicles of consciousness in the Psychic Realm is “ascension.” They use Kriya-like practices such as the Merkaba method to create “transformation,” which creates spiritual imbalance, and generates perceptual illusions and cognitive delusions. Some who perform these unbalancing practices come to believe they are “the Christ” or a “Master,” even though their Soul’s spiritual evolution is far below the station in which the Masters genuinely dwell.

We encourage aspirants to examine themselves to determine whether any of these distorted viewpoints are operating in them, and to root them out.

Aspirants will benefit from reading our book, The Psychic Realm: Finding Safe Passage through the Worlds of Illusion for guidance on how to combat these illusions.

If you have been exposed to the charismatic and visionary teachers that dwell in this realm, or channeled teachings that arise from this Band of the Continuum, it is likely you have been exposed to one or more of these distortions. We suggest that it will be valuable for you to remain vigilant, as it is very easy to slip into these seductive mindsets that abandon reason and personal responsibility, and promote irrationality and delusion.