With the circumstances as they are in the world right now, I find myself thinking a lot of the novel ‘ State of Fear’, published in 2004 written by American author Michael Crichton. You’ve probably heard of Crichton as the creator of Jurassic Park and the television series E.R.

His debut, ‘The Andromeda Strain’, made him famous overnight in 1969.  To this day – and I might add to this day more than ever – the story about an unknown virus threatening humanity  is a constant reminder of our vulnerability. Also the story of Jurassic Park, posing as an adventure park for grown ups, holds a warning not to mess with the genealogy of evolution, as does another of Crichton’s novels, titled Next, discussing Bigpharma’s hunt for power and money rather than cures.

What many may have missed is that ‘State of Fear’  brought Michael Crichton to testify before US congress. Why? Because it deals with a mechanism as old as ancient history where those in power used and to this day use fear as a tool to keep people in check. People who are scared tend to feel powerless and look up to their leaders for a solution, which puts these leaders in control. In the Netherlands we recently saw this happening with the ‘noodwet’, the so called emergency law, giving parlement and city councils more authority to act during times of apparent danger, although in this particular case a group of people also stood up against the measurement.

It is dangerous in itself write about these sort of subjects and bring them to the people’s attention. Crichton knew that. On his website, he talks about his reasons for and the dangers of writing State of Fear and even states :

‘I might get killed for this’

Crichton was indeed threatened as a result of  writing State of Fear; by high up politicians, but also by  followers of these politicians  all because, in State of Fear, Crichton brings a professor Hoffman to the stage; who explains of the ‘Fear’ theory and its mechanism to keep people subservient by pointing out circumstances  to be afraid of.

The novel ‘State of Fear’ contains three appendixes, including an 18 page bibliography, that support the research. I would highly recommend one book mentioned titled  ‘The Skeptical Environmentalist’ written by Bjorn Lomberg, which deals with how statistics shape our view of the world, while in truth, reality may be a whole lot different. Also Lomberg suffered relentless attacks because of writing this book. On this Crichton comments

This can only mean his conclusions are unobjectionable in any serious scientific way.

Food for thought in these questionable times of polarization and the use of propaganda by politicians who want to gain yet even more control.  For those interested in this subject, here are the  links to several articles regarding this subject:

 State of Fear book review explaining the role of Prof. Hoffman

Michael Crichton in his own words State of Fear

Wikipedia on State of Fear.

The Nan Yar – Who Am I card I have chosen to head this blog is the 4 of Tools: Observation,
the number 4 signifying the comfort zone – it being quite easy to follow the opinion of others when confronted with a situation one finds hard to solve oneself (as in people looking to politics to solve the world’s problems rather than picking up their own glove) ;
while the Suit of Tools shows the options earthlings have to use their own spirit rather than simply accept what they read and surrender to the judgment that is implemented by others.
As I said food for thought in these questionable times of polarization and the use of propaganda to gain even more control…

Ingrid Schippers.

September 15 2020

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3.03 , 3 minutes 3 seconds abridged version of ‘Traveling the Mind by Traveling the World

I am huge fan of the author Michael Crichton. Most of you will know him as the author of the Jurassic Park but he has written
way more than that on a very diverse range of subjects. One that stands out for me is his autobiography , simply titled ‘Travels’. Whenever I have one of those moments where I do not know what to do with myself in my life, Travels more often than not, is the book I will pick out of my bookcase.  At times it follows me around the house, from wherever I am to wherever I’m going. “There and back again”, to quote Bilbo Baggins.

What I particularly like about ‘Travels’ is that next to the stories about Crichton’s encounters and adventures around the world being smart, witty and entertaining, he is also a great Storyteller, in the sense that he explores his own mind as he travels. It is a joy to look at the world through Crichton’s eyes. He observes things others might not have noticed and although puzzled by some of them himself he so accurately describes his confusion that it sets you thinking, as if you are there with him, wondering what the heck it is all about.

Michael Crichton has been the one who made me aware that traveling,- which is something humankind has been doing since the dawn of its time,- is what jogs the human understanding of life.

There is a huge difference of course between an all inclusive holiday where one indulges oneself in the so called pleasures of life, or backpacking your way through the Himalaya’s, but somewhere in that middle, there is plenty of scope to evolve on, as  some internationals might agree.

One of the reasons I find so much comfort in Crichton’s autobiography is because funnily enough as a native of my own country, The Netherlands, I feel out of place at times, perhaps just as much out of place a some internationals might do.  It seems that once one chooses the path of Travel and leaves the nest, it can be mighty difficult to crawl back into the egg should the need arise. At the same time it is the need to learn how to Travel that makes us fly away.

It gets us of the couch and in touch with ourselves. It get us away from the television and the computer, even if those are not always considered a bad thing. Literally moving yourself from one place to the other gets the physical energies going and therewith the inspirational ones as well.

And while the traveling storytellers among us might feel lost at times; it is great to know that the world is on the move where it concerns our evolution-long habit to roam the world, and that there’s many like us. We may not know them all personally, but there are out there, traveling the world, just like you and me. And some write there stories down in which we can find comfort and recognition.

Ingrid Schippers, May 11, 2017

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And before you leave….draw your own Nan Yar- Who Am I card of the day on the right of this blog. Click the card and let your subconscious do the thinking…

This blog is featured as spoken end note of the Dutchbuzz edition of May 2nd  2017 and broadcasted on The Hague FM from 10.00 tot 11.00 pm every Tuesday or can be heard as a closing note at the end of the Dutchbuzz podcast of  May 2nd 2017

The post Traveling the Mind by Traveling the World appeared first on EN Energycounseling.nl.