Contemplating the Possible – A Six-Part #Exploration of #Spirituality, the #Paranormal, and the #Unknown

A Place to Start

Spirituality is one of those things we all tend to skirt around, wanting neither to tread upon another’s toes nor to put ourselves out on that proverbial limb by expressing what we believe. Whether we are right or wrong, whether what we think makes sense or does not, we are typically cautious about sharing it. We often limit what we share with our closest family or friends about our thoughts on those things we don’t understand. It’s something we have been taught not to speak of and not to explore. Why? There are probably as many reasons as there are beliefs, but the hush-hush only leads to more profound confusion, and all that unknown fodder can lead to some very adverse outcomes. Because, for as many of us who quietly go about our lives, believing or not believing, there are (possibly) just as many who would raise their voices to defy all sense of proportion, and there are still others who go to extremes most of us might consider cataclysmic.

We’re the Same

I am an average person living a so-called average life. I have neither a doctorate nor a degree of any variety, but I have more than a few years of life experience. I have laughed, and I have cried; I’ve been married and divorced; I’ve been blessed with family and friends, and I’ve suffered loneliness, depression, and the misery of guilt. I went to public schools and church on Sundays. Nothing in my experience makes me an expert of any kind. You might say, I’m just like you, and you may be much like me in many ways. We share a commonality in that, outside of external differences, we are all human. We’ve lived, breathed, laughed, cried, and suffered like a billion others.

Our cultures may be different, and our neighborhoods, backyards, places of work, and worship may vary, yet, like me, you’ve possibly experienced something during your years of life on this fragile planet that you simply could not explain. You may have wondered about the same sorts of things I wonder about, and you may have questions for which there are few answers.

A Premise

I firmly believe that the unexplained exists for the purpose of exploration. It is there to question and consider, not to fear or to quash into silence, and certainly not to dismiss. The unexplained and the unexplainable are simply the margins of the page. The blank space that only some have written their thoughts into is a space where what seems implausible can also be possible. It is the realm most do not wander into or notice, but it is where all things are, at the very least, possible. Let’s keep an open mind and explore these possibilities.

Throughout this series, I will ask many questions and present you with many unexplained, curious, and unproven notions. Some may be unique to specific individuals, while others are common to most human beings regardless of race, creed, language, or social bias. Within this series, we will cross over the threshold of what can be proven with scientific evidence and step into the domain of what is possible.

What is Possible?

The standard definition of the word possible is: something that may or might exist, happen, be done, be used, etc. It is something that may be true or concern something for which there is no contrary evidence. It is, for all intents and purposes — or at least for the intents and purposes of this series— something that has not been proven or disproven.

Throughout this journey, I will shine a small light on many unexplained phenomena. Not to provide scientific evidence or irrefutable proof but to open the door to exploration. I might offer what I think about these unproven notions, but merely as food for thought, as a starting point for consideration and conversation. I may illustrate the idea through a brief fictional caption or short poem.

What I will not do is provide any definitive answers. This journey is not about answers. Instead, as the title suggests, it is an exploration of the unknown. It is a book filled with questions about what may be possible. I have chosen to share the wanderings and wonderings of my mind rather than keep to myself because, among the many things I accept as truth, we learn through sharing. We are guided toward understanding by sharing our thoughts, feelings, hopes, and fears.

Walking With Me

As you delve into the shadows of the unknown through this series, you will come upon lampposts, little glimmers of light in the form of questions. These glimmers are part of the expedition. They, in fact, ARE the expedition. Outposts are where you can and should stop and take a few moments to look around. Consider where you are, where you’ve been, and where you are going. Your role in this journey is not passive. You are an active participant, contributing your own thoughts and reflections to the ongoing exploration.

There may be naive questions, tedious questions, ill-phrased questions, and questions put after inadequate self-criticism. But every question is a cry to understand the world. There is no such thing as a dumb question.

Curiosity versus Cowering

Imagine how little we would know if we kept everything to ourselves and upheld the axiom to never discuss this, that, or the other thing simply because it may offend someone. We would be mired in the medieval landscape of inquests, witch-hunts, and horrors. Yet, even in one of my favorite holiday movies, The Polar Express, the train conductor carefully stops his passenger from sharing his beliefs, saying:

It’s nothing I need to know.

Somewhere along the way, we have become timid of spirit, whereas once, we were unabashed and fearless. The Crusades are a perfect example, and while it is fundamentally wrong to force anyone to convert their beliefs to match our own, the fact that we once held our beliefs so vitally important that we went to such extremes is my point. Now, we are often vigilant in concealing them, which speaks volumes about our shift to a more cautious way of believing. At some indeterminate point, we learned to suppress the wonderings and wanderings of our thoughts. We were told not to talk about things we didn’t know about. This series is a call to return to that fearless spirit, to embrace our wonderings and wanderings, and to cultivate an open-minded curiosity about the unknown.

Consider the Unknown with Me

Believe what you want. I am not here to tell you that you are wrong or right. My only hope is to raise a few questions along the way and offer the opportunity to explore and contemplate the possible.

 

By ~Morgan~

I spend most of my time on my DeviantArt page. Please stop by!

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