It's funny how the world just isn't ready for certain things or ideas at certain points in time. Or things just arn't appreciated one way but work splendidly in another way.
One of the Rosicrucian teachings is that the sum essence of humans goes far beyond normal waking experiences. Except most of us (at least I know me) don't have the slightest idea what this is and absolutly no experience pointing to anything else. We live, we think; that is all there is and there ain't no more!
In and about 1990 I entered the wonderfull world of computers and computer games. Well I did play so-called video games before and they were fun but becoming PacMan wasn't very enlightening. But a whole new world opened up for me as I played InfoCom interactive fiction games on my Commodore 64, the King's Quest series on my IBM clone, the wonderfull role playing games like Ultima and Might & Magic; not to mention assuming the role of a half-gnome Druid in Sean Farrow's TeleArea via modem. Never mind that I become something I obviously wasn't, like a young princess in Roberta William's PERILS OF ROSELLA. It was fun and educational too because you had different qualities when you gamed as a wizard and you had to THINK like a wizard or a druid or a princess to solve the game puzzles.
Now, given the existing techology of computer controlled insulin injectors I realize you could easily contruct a machine that would controll your hormones as well as visual - auditory sensations. You could very easy become and actually experience being something else to the extent you let the machine controll your reality. But you would still be YOU. What ever that is .......
Which only points to the perenial conclusion: there are many routes to the end and they all lead to the same goal. The era of machines and computers have hardly lessened the idea of soul and spirit. Quite the opposite. It is easier then ever before to change yourself superficially even as we learn new ways to assert our indiviuality. Because no matter how many tools we don and become there is always the decision making process. We decide, we act, we animate; we change and evolve not in account of but in spite of our environment. There is no explanation for this! Probably no cure either other then something deep inside beyond the reach of technology.
