Laird Scranton - The Cosmological ...

[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
//-->ACKNOWLEDGMENTSIn addition to those already thanked in previous volumes, I am indebted to Rich Richins for the use ofhis beautiful image of Barnard’s Loop, which was drawn from his website,www.enchant-e​dskies.net.I would like to express my appreciation to Dr. Nilifur Clubwala, whose many inspired insights andinsightful questions have led me again and again to push the boundaries of knowledge of my subject. Iwould again like to thank John Anthony West for his continued friendship and unwavering support. Iwould also like to thank Walter Cruttenden for the many kindnesses shown to me at his annualConference on Precession and Ancient Knowledge. A very great debt of gratitude is owed to WilliamHenry, who has championed my earlier books in his lectures and on radio, and for graciouslyagreeing to write the foreword for this book.I would like to give many thanks to my nephew Matt Scranton and brother David Scranton, whowere instrumental in acquiring a Na-khi–English dictionary for me in China. Thanks also to ChristineMathieu for her patience in allowing me to use her as a sounding board for my Dogon/Na-khicomparisons.Thanks are due to the late Walter Fairservis, whose classes I unfortunately never took while atVassar College, but who nonetheless eventually came to influence my outlook on the likely origins ofancient Chinese cosmology. I would again like to thank Nati Nataki at Afrikan World Books inBaltimore for his generosity and ongoing support of my work. I would like to thank Scott Creightonand Gary David for their insightful discussions, which helped to further the direction of this book. Ialso appreciate the steadfast interest and support that has been expressed for my books by ourneighbors on Homestead Avenue in Albany. And last, but not least, I owe thanks to my wife, Risa,son, Isaac, and daughter, Hannah, for their quiet conspiracy throughout my studies to continue to treatme very much as they might treat an actual, normal person.CONTENTSCover ImageTitle PageAcknowledgementsForeword by William HenryIntroductionCHAPTER ONE—Conceptsof Comparative CosmologyCHAPTER TWO—SignatureSigns of the Parent CosmologyCHAPTER THREE—TheDogon Mythological Structure of MatterCHAPTER FOUR—SymbolismCHAPTER FIVE—GuidingMetaphors of the CosmologyCHAPTER SIX—TheEgg-in-a-BallCHAPTER SEVEN—TheAligned Ritual ShrineCHAPTER EIGHT—TheElemental DeitiesCHAPTER NINE—TheConcept of the Primordial EggCHAPTER TEN—TheConcept of the Divine WordCHAPTER ELEVEN—TheConcept of the FishCHAPTER TWELVE—DeitiesCHAPTER THIRTEEN—CivilizingSkillsCHAPTER FOURTEEN—WrittenLanguageCHAPTER FIFTEEN—SynchronizingCosmologies: The Na-khi-Dongba of ChinaCHAPTER SIXTEEN—AsAbove, So Below: The Chariot of OrionCHAPTER SEVENTEEN—Recappingthe Plan of the CosmologyEndnotesBibliographyAbout the AuthorAbout Inner Traditions • Bear & CompanyCopyright & PermissionsFOREWORDFrom the moment I held Laird Scranton’s first bookSacred Symbols of the DogonI knew I was in fora mind-expanding excursion. In the foreword, John Anthony West spelled it out right from the start:“This book—small in size, large in significance—proves that the very latest scientific work on thestructure and genesis of matter, quantum theory, and possibly both string theory and torsion theory wasknown in very ancient times. However, it was (and in certain cases still is) expressed in myth andsymbol rather than in mathematical formulas.”Sacred Symbols of the Dogonunited my left and right brains as it spiraled my imagination into anextraordinary and advanced mindset that existed on this planet millennia ago. I felt that no one hasreached so far into the origin and meaning of symbols as Laird, and I was thrilled that he included uson the journey.Laird’s insights have brought clarity to questions many researchers have been asking as well asproviding corroborating evidence of a lost, ancient “sacred” science based on a vastly detailedunderstanding of the basic forces of the universe.For instance, I had made the uncanny match between the shape of the ancient Egyptian “ships ofeternity” and modern depictions of wormholes. They’re virtually identical symbolically and in statedpurpose. I wondered if the gods of ancient Egypt shown riding upon these ships into the stars couldhave been opening wormholes and traveling through these cosmic tunnels or shortcuts to nearby starsystems. Such a thought is, of course, nonsense to traditionalists. It blew my mind when Lairdcompared a diagram from string theory proponent Brian Greene’sThe Elegant Universe—ofthefabric of space tearing and two ends of a wormhole starting to grow—with the ancient Egyptianhieroglyph for the word “to tear.” They matched perfectly. I could feel Laird’s excitement at thisdiscovery, and share it. “Come closer,” the gods seemed to be saying. “Open your minds, little ones.Reach for the stars. Sail the stars, with us.”Do wormholes exist in the universe? Are there ancient beings that can tear holes in space? Didthey leave us clues for doing so, or better yet, a codebook containing the secrets of the nature ofcreation? These tantalizing questions stretch our minds to the limits. I, for one, am glad to have LairdScranton doing the challenging and deep symbol work he is doing. His discoveries about this originalsymbol code have placed us on the cutting edge of knowledge and on the edge of a new world. Nowit’s up to us to set sail.After reading Laird’s work, who can read of a hole tearing open in heaven, as happened, forexample, during the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist (Mark 1: 9–11), and not wonder if there issome deep scientific message embedded in this crucial scripture. Before he was baptized, Markrefers to Jesus as “from Nazareth of Galilee” (Mark 1:9), whereas afterward he is “the Nazarene”(Mark 1:24), suggesting a transformation at the time of baptism. The Baptism of Jesus elevated him toa higher state of consciousness. Based on what Laird has revealed about ancient Egyptian myths andsymbolism filtering into Judeo-Christian tradition, it is likely there is some secret, cosmologicalknowledge to be found here. We simply need to be brave and inquisitive enough to seek it. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]