How to Think Impossibly: About Souls, UFOs, Time, Belief, and Everything Else

by Jeffrey J. Kripal

Particular beliefs can literally demonize common phenomena that are not in themselves sinister or negative but become so when they are believed to be so. Belief is a kind of mirror. So are impossible phenomena. If you believe you are dealing with invading demons, you are probably going to find invading demons. If you believe you are dealing with beneficent angels, you are probably going to find beneficent angels. If you believe you are dealing with extraterrestrials inappropriately involved in our genetics, then you are probably going to find extraterrestrials inappropriately involved in our genetics. In truth, though, you are likely dealing with none of these things. The phenomenon reflects to us what we will, what we fear, who we think we are.