Even Pandora and her box come in two versions. In one, the hideous woes of the world are let loose while locking hope inside. In another, life's joys are allowed to overflow their container, leaving the dark behind. In both versions, the light and dark of all metaphor clearly exists in perpetuity.
In fact, light and dark do more than merely co-exist. These major components of creation make up the container of all things. This dynamic juxtaposition is what holds our very life in its hands - the cosmic glue that binds us all to the pulse of spiritual continuity. As Pandora eventually discovers, it is the box that is the illusion.
What's In the Box?
The last half of the 20th century, the Soviet Union loomed large in the picture of potential threats. When word got out that Russian scientists. were experimenting successfully with psi phenomena for espionage and remote influencing, Washington began to take notice. So it comes as no surprise to learn that Remote Viewing began life as a secret so tightly guarded that outside of the scientists and small groups of research subjects involved, only a handful of elected officials and a precious few generals knew of its existence as a developing intelligence gathering and counter-espionage tool. Its official definition:
"? the learned ability to transcend time and space to view people, places and things remote in time and space, gather intelligence and report back on same."
Paranormal research was not unknown. Now, however, government was willing to pay. Something previously sneered at had suddenly become the agenda that stretched the minds and hearts of those who had sworn to defend their country with all means at their disposal. ?But "Remote Viewing"? That was heretofore undemonstrated courage of a different kind!
Under the watchful eye of the CIA and the Department of Defense, collaboration began between science and "psience", to coin a phrase. What emerged was an artful protocol, the brilliant construction of artist and psychic, Ingo Swann, who, together with other team members, produced an untiringly researched, scientifically documented experiment. With courageous support from some upper echelons of the military, a top-secret unit of psychic spies, was born.
Whatever can be said in hindsight about the experiences of those who were chosen to serve in this way, one indisputable fact remains: Remote Viewing changed the lives of these men and women and their families and friends forever. Trapped in that proverbial box was not only the "secret weapon" of a privileged few but a tool of enlightenment awaiting freedom.
Blowing the Lid Off
Enter Psychic Warrior. The controversy and intrigue surrounding the publishing of David Morehouse's book still reverberates today. Armed with the knowledge that their secret was about to see the light of day, the CIA began to release its own "expose". As the box cracked open, information and misinformation was released to bolster the illusion of containment. Pandora winked.
As Psychic Warrior and the former cadre of Remote Viewers drew global attention, the powers that be decided to officially pull the plug. proclaiming it a defunct unsuccessful experiment in wishful thinking. But Remote Viewing was far from dead.
Mining the Gold
I am a Remote Viewer, trained by one of the original members of the unit. As a therapist, knowledge of trauma and the workings of the brain and nervous system renders the connection between Remote Viewing and the quest for expanded consciousness and healing unmistakably clear.
I have yet to find a process which offers a more distinctly lucid vantage point from which to view the anatomy of human behavior, conscious and unconscious. For me, therein lies the gold. As much as it is awe-inspiring to view things remote in time and space, it is the simultaneous view of the human process that never ceases to amaze. It is the expanded knowledge of self and the palpably extended worldview of one's existence with which one walks out of the classroom and back into life that makes the difference.
Contrasts abound. The farther out we look, the deeper inward we see. What began as a tightly contained "dangerous" secret now takes its place as a global tool of conscious enlightenment and spiritual worth. What was produced in the darkness of suspicion and couched as a threat to survival has emerged as a mighty implement of truth with the potential for breaking the global cycle of trauma. Remote Viewing is a gift belonging to us all that is well worth unleashing.
(Copyright Talia Shafir, MA, C.C.Ht., 2004, all rights reserved)
Talia Shafir, MA, C.C.Ht., is based in Sebastopol, California and is the co-founder of the Center for Integrated Therapy, a haven for a broad spectrum of transpersonal, body-centered work. A regression therapist specializing in an embodied approach to acute trauma and long term post traumatic stress, she holds a masters from Columbia University. She works with clients both in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area and internationally.
Talia trained and worked with David Morehouse and several other members of the former military "psychic spy" unit. She now teaches and lectures about Remote Viewing throughout the country, adding her insights for its use as a tool of expanded consciousness and personal growth.
For information about workshops and trainings upcoming in the area, log on to http://www.soulview.com