Alternate Realities

[BrandonD]

Hm, I'm noticing the tension's a bit high on the forum, maybe a new story will lighten the atmosphere and get us back into the mode of fascination with this utterly incomprehensible world that we happen to be stuck in. That's what got us interested in the paranormal in the first place, eh?

Now that I've told one of my weird stories without being called loony or a liar, I definitely feel more comfortable telling more of them.

This is a really long post, so be warned.

In October of last year I decided that I should buy a passport and take a solo trip out of the country. I decided to make my first journey a trip to Peru, to participate in an ayahuasca ceremony. I'd never taken drugs before, or read much about shamanism for that matter, so apart from being my first international trip this was going to be a new experience in many ways.

To say that this experience was incredible would be understating x 10. I was fortunate to have a firsthand experience of the subjectivity of time and the certainty that consciousness and not matter is the foundation of reality, but I don't think this forum is the place to talk about such philosophical stuff.

The reason that I'm bringing this story up is that I had several paranormal experiences as well. There were many, but I'll restrict my story only to the 2 events that I was able to externally verify, and I'd like to hear any thoughts you might have about them.

I participated in a total of 5 ayahuasca ceremonies in the amazon jungle. The main paranormal experiences happened during the last 2. I'll try and sum them up as best I can.

First I'd like to explain a bit how the ayahuasca took effect. It was slow-acting for me, meaning that nothing at all would happen until almost 45 minutes had gone by. This was uncommon, as it generally affected others very quickly. I would get a physical feeling like I was moving up to the top of a roller coaster hill, a dizzy vertigo feeling, and then I would plummet into this alternate world. My mind would be completely gone from this reality and I would be somewhere else. I would somtimes emerge back into the "real world", like surfacing from the water, but then I would submerge again. During this time I would have almost no control of my motor functions, like a dream state. This drug was supposed to last for about 4-5 hours, but for me it lasted much longer (possibly because I'm a skinny guy). For a few of the ceremonies I remained in the ceremonial hut the entire night.

Basically, this was some strong stuff.

This first story involves the fourth ceremony. One of the fellow participants I had met was a guy from Florida. I had noticed when I shook his hand that he didn't look me in the eye. I immediately noted him as an untrustworthy person. It was only later that I discovered, to my embarassment, that he didn't look me in the eye because he was blind! He was there with his girlfriend, who wasn't really interested in ayahuasca and was basically there to hold his hand and guide him around where he needed to go.

After the fourth ceremony had ended I was lying on my cot, still in the midst of my strange state. After a while, a friend I had met named Paige came up to my cot and said that I should really come outside. I had a difficult time, but we both stumbled to the door and stepped out on the porch. There was a crowd of people standing outside.

I can only describe this part as saying that the world had become transformed into something different, and so had my means of perception. It was the middle of the night, but I could see better than I could see in the daytime. I could look into the jungle, down the dirt path leading up to the cabins, and see everything clearly no matter what the distance! Everything was silver and had its own sort of light. It's difficult to describe exactly how the world had become different, but it was like something in harry potter. Everyone on the porch was seeing this same thing, and we were describing it to one another.

I noticed that the blind man was out there, but not talking. The next day I went up to him and talked to him. He told me that he had been able to SEE that night! He was outside, and he was seeing everything that we were seeing.

Since during the other ceremonies I had stayed on my cot and didn't go outside, I asked the others if the outside always looked that way after the ceremony. They told me that the bizarre transformation had only occurred on that one night.

---

My second story involves the final ceremony. For some reason in this ceremony my cot had been turned around 180, so that now I was facing the shaman and his assistants. I was lying on my cot, waiting for the ayahuasca to take effect, when I noticed something strange.

I saw a tiny light floating about 8 to 10 feet above the head of the shaman. This was right at the beginning of the ceremony so I was feeling completely sober, the entire rest of the world was ordinary, and yet there was this strange light hovering above his head. It was bluish in color. My rational mind was still functioning, and I was trying to find an explanation for this light. A lightning bug? A star shining through the roof of the hut? Or perhaps a reflection from one of the apprentices' head mounted flashlights? None of these answers seemed to make sense to me.

Then the light began to move. As it moved it turned orange, and I could see that the light was slightly directional, almost like a tiny headlight. As it flew to the right, I could see that the light was directed slightly stronger rightward, and vice versa. Then the light would instantly stop and hover frozen in place, turning back to blue.

I lied there in complete perplexity. What the hell was this thing? It flew back and forth, then freezing in place, but never flew outside of the range of the shaman and his apprentices. My eyesight is poor, but when I pull my eyes squinty I can see clearer. Since I still had full control over my body I pulled my eyes to get a better view, and I could see that it was a very sharp pinpoint of light, exactly like a star. Changing color as it moved, but never blinking.

I lied there trying to decipher this thing for about 20 minutes, and then it suddenly zipped off rapidly to the left. I quickly leaned off the cot to follow it until it flew out of my view.

About 5 minutes after this experience, I felt the roller coaster vertigo effect and I fell into the ayahuasca experience. At one point, one of the shaman apprentices came in close to check on me and I was able to ask her about this light.

She did not hesitate for one moment and replied, "That was Don Alberto." Don Alberto was the teacher of the shaman that was presently conducting the ceremony. What's even stranger is that Don Alberto was still alive!

Fast-forward to the end of the ceremony.

After the lanterns were turned on signaling the end of this ceremony, I was in a state of extreme excitement and the state had loosened its grip upon me. I began asking everyone nearby if they had seen the light that I had seen. It turned out that 6 other people had seen this light. I asked them to describe it and they described it exactly as I had seen it. One of the women who saw it said that it was just a lightning bug. I asked her if she had indeed seen it as we had: unblinking, changing from blue to orange, and occasionally freezing in place. She said yes, and I explained that I've seen hundreds of lightning bugs and none of them have those characteristics.

For one of the men that had seen this light, this was not his first ayahuasca trip. He had been once before, and during that particular visit the shaman had been Don Alberto. He told me that when he saw this light he thought of that old shaman and said out loud "I miss you Alberto."

At this point I had not yet told anyone what the apprentice told me! I then told him what the woman said to me and we were all very shocked!

Ok those are two of the "paranormal" experiences that happened during the ceremonies. My thoughts on the subject is that this drug seems to expand perception so that you can see parts of this world that are normally imperceptible, or on the other hand, perhaps it creates some sort of communion between separate minds so that they are seeing the same thing.

All I know is that during at least 2 of my experiences, multiple people were seeing precisely the same thing, and I verified it for myself it by asking what they saw before divulging what I saw.

If anyone here has thoughts or similar experiences I would much like to hear them.

 

[The Pair of Cats]

Great stories Brandon.Please enlighten us with any other of the stories that you have on this subject. It's good to talk "Paranormal" for a change instead of just talking about UFOlogy.

 

[BrandonD]

Great stories Brandon.Please enlighten us with any other of the stories that you have on this subject. It's good to talk "Paranormal" for a change instead of just talking about UFOlogy.

I wonder if they might be related (ufology and these other stories)? Something curious about this story in hindsight, is how much that light made me think of a tiny little ufo. Hovering totally still, and then zipping to and fro. It made me wonder, if the consciousness of a person can really appear in the form of a tiny light, perhaps ufos represent the disembodied consciousness of some being other than a person?

Just a weird idea to play around with.

 

[The Pair of Cats]

Your story might have a relationship with ufology. There are many who think that ufos, or ET"s may come from other realities or dimensions.
I think once you have experienced something, such as yourself it's not a very big step to considering the possibilities.

 

[Poi]

Interesting stories, Brandon. Thanks!

I wonder, when one incorporates new realities into one's consciousness, if that pathway doesn't remain open for a while, as evidenced in your being able to see the light when some others didn't see it. (At least it appears from your story that not everyone saw it.)

Seems to me that practical experiences eventually take our attention away from the door to the infinite. Maybe that's supposed to happen, I don't know. Could be that your door was open when others just hadn't allowed it or were distracted by personal thought. In any case, I think you were very brave. Can't say I'd like to go that route myself.

 

[Raevenskye]

thanks for sharing those stories! what fabulous experiences! I believe there is great power in shamanistic altered states, and that your experiences are probably real...expanded perceptions, or "other" sight. I think Poin brings up an interesting point, too. I believe that once you tap into the "other", it taps into you, too...I visualize it as being a light beacon you emit, and they see and can follow. I always make sure (if i'm doing spirit-work for someone) that people understand that once you put your light out there, you can't take it back (or it can be really difficult to)...you open yourself to other energies, and knowing basic protection is a good idea. You seek it, and it seeks you back.
You were incredibly brave for going through those ceremonies, and I bet you are much changed by them!

 

[Brian Now]

Hi Brandon,

Have you read Graham Hancock's "Supernatural"? He starts out with his experience in the Amazon doing ayahuasca too. He tries to relate the typical image of a "gray" to visions people experience using concoctions like ayahuasca. He also said his visions were full of serpent-like things. I don't think he was trying to say they were hallucinations. He seemed open to the idea that the chemical was opening his mind to universal archetypes or maybe even real entities outside normal perception. I wouldn't advise buying the book, it's huge and there's too much bitterness in it for my taste. But maybe you could read the ayahuasca part at Borders or Barnes and Noble.

 

[Poi]

Oh, dear. The last two posts just cracked open my head. Ouch. LOL

Universal archetypes. We have a bit of each in us, don't we(?) though we may tend to react from the position of one or two most often. So a shamanic journey can be a journey inward rather than outward. Or are they the same trek?

The thought just struck me that we may need protection not from energies outside us, but from ourselves, those little selves we usually can control to some extent by ignoring they are indeed a part of us.

Just trippin.'

 

[BrandonD]

Hi Brandon,

Have you read Graham Hancock's "Supernatural"? He starts out with his experience in the Amazon doing ayahuasca too. He tries to relate the typical image of a "gray" to visions people experience using concoctions like ayahuasca. He also said his visions were full of serpent-like things. I don't think he was trying to say they were hallucinations. He seemed open to the idea that the chemical was opening his mind to universal archetypes or maybe even real entities outside normal perception. I wouldn't advise buying the book, it's huge and there's too much bitterness in it for my taste. But maybe you could read the ayahuasca part at Borders or Barnes and Noble.

I'll tell you something kinda odd. What I've read about ayahuasca doesn't precisely jibe with my experience of ayahuasca.

I knew almost nothing of shamanism and altered states when I went into this experience, and that's the way I like it. I was seeking an experience of the greater reality and I didn't want to be swayed by expectations of what was supposed to happen.

But I read ALOT of stuff after I returned, because I had become so interested and I wanted help interpreting what had happened. Many sources said that you overwhelmingly have visions of snakes and jaguars and gorillas and jungle scenes. I didn't have any of that. I also didn't see any greys.

But I'll tell you this, on the third ceremony I did come into contact with some sort of parasitic or demonic force that actually existed *inside* of me. It was black and living inside me somehow, and the shaman was trying to drive it out. That third ceremony was literally, and I'm not exaggerating, the most terrifying thing that has ever happened to me in my entire life. I was calling out loud for the shaman to help me.

It's hard to describe, but all 5 of the ceremonies fit together like a narrative, one led right into the other. It was like each one was a preparation for the next one.

 

[CapnG]

Pardon me for saying so but I find it a little odd that with no prior drug use and no previous interest in shamanism you chose to go to Peru and take ayahuasca. I find it incredibe. Were I to travel to Peru my goals would be see Nazca and Macchu Picchu.

 

[Brian Now]

I'll tell you something kinda odd. What I've read about ayahuasca doesn't precisely jibe with my experience of ayahuasca.

Hancock also talked about nausea, which you didn't mention in your experience. Biochemistry is strange. I know in my younger days I did a lot of acid, but never, never did I hallucinate anything. Maybe my vision got sort of wavy, but that's it. Now fast forward several years to when I was stuck in an apartment in Moscow, Russia with the chicken pox at age 28 (something you NEVER want as an adult by the way). Across the street the leafless trees took the shape of a giant Russian church. I knew it was a hallucination, but oh so cool how the tree bark colors morphed into stone shades. Where was I going with this? Oh yeah, drugs affect people in different ways.

So did the shaman identify this black thing inside you? And did you go to Macchu Picchu or Nazca?

 

[BrandonD]

Pardon me for saying so but I find it a little odd that with no prior drug use and no previous interest in shamanism you chose to go to Peru and take ayahuasca. I find it incredibe. Were I to travel to Peru my goals would be see Nazca and Macchu Picchu.

I'd actually really like to see macchu picchu or nazca. But my main intention in going there was learning, I get all the entertainment I need here in the states. I don't doubt there can be learning gained from those ancient sites, but for me at this point in time they would be more entertainment than anything else.

Which is not meant as anything disparaging, I love entertainment and if the spare time had been available and I was in the right location (Macchu Picchu and Nazca were on the opposite side of the country from me) then I would have definitely seen them and taken lots of pictures. This was my first trip out of the country and I might have organized things a bit differently if I had to do it again. The only "tourist sites" that I have any interest in seeing are the ancient sites so Nazca and Macchu Picchu would've been right up my alley.

As for the reason I chose to do what I did: Before I had taken any drugs I had always suspected that psychedelics represented an opportunity to look at reality from an entirely new perspective other than the one that I've always had. I'm always philosophizing with others about reality, and I felt the need to put my money where my mouth was if I was truly serious. But psychedelics are illegal here, and I don't consider myself particularly street smart, and I don't exactly have "connections", so I had no way to get my hands on something that I could be sure was legit.

Then all of a sudden I discover (in a national geographic article no less) that there is an incredibly powerful psychedelic available in another country, and not only that, but there exist shamans who are well-versed in its use and will serve as a guide. People may think that my decision to go there and do what I did was crazy, but I consider the Peru experience as the ideal first experience. Most people think it's totally normal to have their first psychedelic trip with some drunk kids at a party, and that's the thing that I find odd. But then again, those people are interested primarily in entertainment, not learning.

Hancock also talked about nausea, which you didn't mention in your experience. Biochemistry is strange. I know in my younger days I did a lot of acid, but never, never did I hallucinate anything. Maybe my vision got sort of wavy, but that's it. Now fast forward several years to when I was stuck in an apartment in Moscow, Russia with the chicken pox at age 28 (something you NEVER want as an adult by the way). Across the street the leafless trees took the shape of a giant Russian church. I knew it was a hallucination, but oh so cool how the tree bark colors morphed into stone shades. Where was I going with this? Oh yeah, drugs affect people in different ways.

So did the shaman identify this black thing inside you? And did you go to Macchu Picchu or Nazca?

Ah, I didn't mention the nausea thing. Within minutes after the ceremony began, you could hear people throwing up all throughout the ceremonial hut, and this continued through the whole ceremony. I threw up ONCE the entire time, which is weird (judging by the others in the ceremony). This one time occurred during the "demonic possession" period of the third ceremony.

I'd really like to go into more about the demonic thing and the super-weird parts of my experience, but I have to forewarn that it involves stuff that I really haven't quite figured out. My impression from the ceremony is that we literally have false selves that we wear as clothing, and in our waking state we are completely unable to distinguish this clothing from our actual self. I don't mean this in a figurative "fake self' kind of way, I saw it as a literal fact just as real as the fact that we all have eyes.

So when I spoke to the shaman outside of the ceremony, he came across as a normal guy, even simple-minded. He couldn't explain much to me. I felt that I actually knew more than he did about alot of things. But in hindsight it seems that this was my clothing talking to his clothing. In the ceremony the clothing was removed, and I saw that he was a powerful person and I was actually a child. He could sustain himself within a great storm, and I was battered back and forth like a paper cup.

I can't remember the shaman being able to explain anything about the black thing, it almost seemed like he didn't know what I was talking about. But in the ceremony, I could see that he knew what he was doing. For example, at one point in the third ceremony he took a mapacho, which is a type of tobacco they smoke there, and he blew the smoke into my chest. I saw a blast of gold come out of my chest, like golden water, and this somehow helped to bring me out of the horror of that moment. I don't know how, but I could see that he was a master of this strange world.

Just as a disclaimer, these are only impressions that I received from participating in the ceremony, I don't claim any of this stuff to be the absolute reality.

So yeah, it's some weird stuff.

 

[CapnG]

I'd actually really like to see macchu picchu or nazca. But my main intention in going there was learning, I get all the entertainment I need here in the states. I don't doubt there can be learning gained from those ancient sites, but for me at this point in time they would be more entertainment than anything else.

You and I must see the world through very different lenses then. For me, the idea of going to such truely ancient places, see things created so long ago and actually stand on them or touch them... that's not entertainment to me, that IS a learning experience. In fact, it's more like... well, an act of worship almost. Genetic memory, if you will. Something to be done in awe and reverence, not as a kitchy "get away".

On the other hand, I can never see psychedelic drug use as anything other than folly. In no way am I trying to belittle your experiences, just so you understand I speak only from my own thoughts but they are called "hallucinogens" for a reason. Seeking insight through their use to me is like asking a liar to tell you the truth.

You certainly have more trust in humanity than I ever could. Going to a foreign country to be taken out to a hut in the forest and drugged by strangers doesn't sound like something I'd volunteer for!

 

[BrandonD]

You and I must see the world through very different lenses then. For me, the idea of going to such truely ancient places, see things created so long ago and actually stand on them or touch them... that's not entertainment to me, that IS a learning experience. In fact, it's more like... well, an act of worship almost. Genetic memory, if you will. Something to be done in awe and reverence, not as a kitchy "get away".

On the other hand, I can never see psychedelic drug use as anything other than folly. In no way am I trying to belittle your experiences, just so you understand I speak only from my own thoughts but they are called "hallucinogens" for a reason. Seeking insight through their use to me is like asking a liar to tell you the truth.

You certainly have more trust in humanity than I ever could. Going to a foreign country to be taken out to a hut in the forest and drugged by strangers doesn't sound like something I'd volunteer for!

Looking back at my earlier post, I think I came across as condescending. Sorry about that, I didn't mean it that way. Let me be more specific and take away that whole "entertainment" aspect of what I said before - I went to Peru with a specific intention, and there were several other things I would've liked to do also, but the circumstances didn't allow for it. I was a bad planner, and I hope to be a little more organized in that respect next time.

However, I hope you can reconsider your opinion of psychedelics. "Hallucinations" specifically refer to one's perception of the outside physical world. Psychedelics can certainly have an effect on perception regarding the outside world, but in my opinion they are primarily intended for the study of one's own consciousness. Which is one reason why the ceremony takes place in darkness.

In addition to this, I think that one can personally experience through psychedelics that aspects of the outside world which are considered solid are in fact based upon the state of one's consciousness, and therefore illusory. Not that different from a "hallucination", in fact.

Maybe I have more trust in humanity than I should, but my friends tend to describe it as recklessness. I might be a bit reckless, but as Robin Hood said in the disney cartoon, "Faint hearts never won fair ladies".

 

[CapnG]

Looking back at my earlier post, I think I came across as condescending. Sorry about that, I didn't mean it that way.

I didn't take it as such, just a different viewpoint, no apology necessary.

However, I hope you can reconsider your opinion of psychedelics. "Hallucinations" specifically refer to one's perception of the outside physical world. Psychedelics can certainly have an effect on perception regarding the outside world, but in my opinion they are primarily intended for the study of one's own consciousness. Which is one reason why the ceremony takes place in darkness.

If that's true then the likelyhood of me changing my position is further diminished. What you're describing sounds like "forced" imaginings. As far as I'm concerned it's simply chemistry, nothing "real" is occuring and it is therefore of no value to me. Additionally, I could never trust it or the person giving it to me. You can call that fear if you like, I prefer to think of it as caution.

In addition to this, I think that one can personally experience through psychedelics that aspects of the outside world which are considered solid are in fact based upon the state of one's consciousness, and therefore illusory. Not that different from a "hallucination", in fact.

But that experience is chemically induced... how can it be trusted? You may choose to take it as truth simply as a matter of course (perhaps even as a matter of preference) but it's not something I could do.

TANGENT WARNING: This brings to mind a philosophical problem I've been mulling over recently, perhaps your psychedelically enhanced understanding can aid me where logic is failing me. The quandry arises from thoughts I've been having about the paranormal in general, ETs in particular. Camps are devided into three: believers, skeptics and debunkers. Standing in the middle (again!) I find I cannot identify with either of the remaining camps. Debunkers are too drawn in, they stand there, fingers in ears, eyes shut, chanting "LALALALA!" hoping it will all go away. Believers on the other hand seem to want to believe, well, ANYTHING and EVERYTHING confirms their beliefs, nothing can disuade them. Skeptics like me just aren't sure what to believe. Then it hit me; the ETs (assuming they exist) don't need to believe in this or that, they KNOW. Belief is useless to them. On the other hand, we often "know" things that are eventually revealed to be mere beliefs (flat earth, heliocentric universe, etc). Knowledge is ultimate and absolute. Belief is more ethereal, like fog, both obscuring and revealing knowledge in glimpses. Can we therefore take anything we believe for granted or can we only rest when we KNOW something? And once we know it, how can we be sure?

 

[BrandonD]

But that experience is chemically induced... how can it be trusted? You may choose to take it as truth simply as a matter of course (perhaps even as a matter of preference) but it's not something I could do.

Well I guess it all comes down to what you're trying to get out of it. I'll give an example of the "self knowledge" aspect of the drug so you can see what I mean. It's a little bit personal but I think it might be helpful.

At each ceremony, before you drank the stuff, you were asked to state your intentions silently to yourself - what you wanted to get out of it. On day 1, I had a very lofty intention. I said to myself that my intention was to "understand the absolute truth of why I exist", or something to that effect.

While under the influence, I went into these areas of my mind that I don't normally think about. And there I discovered this intense loneliness. I mean it was extreme, coming from somewhere really deep. And I said out loud, "I don't care if I never learn the truth about anything as long as I don't feel this loneliness!"

I was shown something very significant to me and directly related to the intention that I stated, and whether it could be trusted wasn't even an issue, because the realization came from me.

Another analogy would be watching a movie and there's an old woman walking down the street. She walks near a black guy and you suddenly get worried that she's about to get mugged. Everything about the movie is illusory, the story is fake, the actors are fake, but the realization that you have some racial prejudice is completely real.

The drug thing is similar to the movie analogy, it all has to do with your attention and what you're trying to get out of it. This is one reason why I think peoples' experiences on hallucinogens are very different.

TANGENT WARNING: This brings to mind a philosophical problem I've been mulling over recently, perhaps your psychedelically enhanced understanding can aid me where logic is failing me. The quandry arises from thoughts I've been having about the paranormal in general, ETs in particular. Camps are devided into three: believers, skeptics and debunkers. Standing in the middle (again!) I find I cannot identify with either of the remaining camps. Debunkers are too drawn in, they stand there, fingers in ears, eyes shut, chanting "LALALALA!" hoping it will all go away. Believers on the other hand seem to want to believe, well, ANYTHING and EVERYTHING confirms their beliefs, nothing can disuade them. Skeptics like me just aren't sure what to believe. Then it hit me; the ETs (assuming they exist) don't need to believe in this or that, they KNOW. Belief is useless to them. On the other hand, we often "know" things that are eventually revealed to be mere beliefs (flat earth, heliocentric universe, etc). Knowledge is ultimate and absolute. Belief is more ethereal, like fog, both obscuring and revealing knowledge in glimpses. Can we therefore take anything we believe for granted or can we only rest when we KNOW something? And once we know it, how can we be sure?

I think that a distinction can be made between something known and something believed. Something known is immediately apparent, immediate sensory-based evidence. You know the wall is solid when you kick it. You know you're hungry when it is felt in your stomach. The more abstract something becomes, the further from immediate experience, the less it is known and the more it becomes a belief.

So the earth was never "known" to be flat, and for that matter it is not "known" to be spherical either. Knowledge/belief is not a black and white issue, but the shape of the earth is far more a belief than something known, regardless of whether one belief or the other happens to match reality. If I were forced to take a position I would say spherical, but I don't believe either way.

I consider belief in anything that is not directly relevant to one's life as something harmful. The equivalent of throwing money down a drain. I see much more benefit in withholding one's beliefs for the things that actually have some relevance.

In one of the old Sherlock Holmes stories, Watson tells Sherlock how many moons orbit Jupiter. After hearing this Sherlock says something like, "Thank you Watson, and now I'll promtply remove that from my mind and replace it with something useful."

I could ramble on for hours on this subject because I'm long-winded like that, but I think it really just comes down to self-knowldege. In my experience, any particular subject if taken far enough, leads back to this. We don't know and understand the mysteries of the world around us because the world inside our mind through which we perceive and process everything is still a mystery.

 

[Poi]

Can we therefore take anything we believe for granted or can we only rest when we KNOW something? And once we know it, how can we be sure?

I finally gave myself permission to "know" something until something new replaces that knowledge. It's like trying something on for size until a better fit comes along. Of course, that keeps the questions in the forefront, but that's the point. Wisdom is probably understanding that we know nothing. We are made to ask the questions, but I'm not so sure we're made to understand the answers. At best, asking questions begets imagination for all possibilities.

 

[Poi]

Edit: I guess I think we can rest in the knowledge that we know nothing. Yeah, that's what I was trying to say.