Brass Ring Bookstore Perspectives

Index of Articles

The Book of Fallacies

by Lynda Dahl

As published in the Volume 4 - Winter 2001 edition of Brass Ring Bookstore Perspectives

Early in 2000 the words "the book of fallacies" popped into my mind. Nice sound, intriguing thought, but, so what? The phrase meant nothing to me. However, when the same words returned a month or so later, I paid more attention. The upshot was that my daughter, Cathleen Kaelyn, and I decided to collaborate on a book, Cat as my research and creative partner, and I as the writer. The title—big surprise—became The Book of Fallacies: A Little Primer of New Thought, and is being published by Moment Point Press.

Fallacies will be found in bookstores in spring. However, by early February it will be available exclusively through Brass Ring Bookstore. New World View, a company dedicated to the exploration of new thought, has scheduled a one-day seminar tour of 12 cities, in which I'll be a half-day speaker (see ad on page 9). The other speaker will be Fred Alan Wolf, Ph.D., theoretical physicist and author of nine books, including The Spiritual Universe, and his newest, Mind into Matter. I do hope to see you on the road, so to speak! And, meanwhile, I offer you the following excerpt from chapter one of Cat's and my book.

Panning for Magic

Worldviews don't turn on a dime. They don't turn at all unless contrary ideas bloom in the current garden of thought. And, boy, if there's one thing most of us dislike it's contrarians, whether in the form of people or ideas. Contrarians say that there are alternative ways of viewing the world—and who needs it? The status quo is just fine, thank you very much.

Or is it? If your personal status quo is one in which you experience a life of toil, broken relationships, constant illnesses, or financial difficulty, and if it brings you a glow of satisfaction, then put this book down and simply enjoy the heck out of your life, because it clearly suits you. But, if you have questions or concerns about the status of your ongoing existence, then it's time to dip into the pot of contrarian ideas and find those that possibly make more sense the more they're contemplated. Not that new ideas should be bought carte blanche, but perhaps they can be explored with less hesitation knowing that the tried and true are there to fall back on if the new becomes too wacky.

Don't forget, we're panning for magic. We're looking for the elusive something that makes sense of life, that promises a better way, that by nature leads to a lighter heart, a spring in our step, a smile more often than tears. We're looking for the calm underlying our thoughts, a generous peace of mind, a knowing that all is well, all is manageable, all is meaningful, and all is possible. And, yes, we're looking for material well-being, as well.

We're panning for magic, the kind honed of intelligent ideas and touched with veracity. We're not looking for fluff—sweetness and light won't work for very long. What we seek is sustainable through time, something our children and our children's children can count on to help them create intensely fulfilling lives. We're looking for concrete information that we can work with, that ignites our thoughts and fires our imaginations, and can lead to whatever we desire. So we must pan for magic in some out-of-the-ordinary places. After all, if it were where we've looked before, we would have found it by now.

So, in this book we're going to address certain fallacies—ideas which many of us believe are the facts of our reality. And we're going to counter these fallacies with new thoughts—ideas that must be in place if we're to experience true magic as a normal part of our days. Of course, we can't cover every fallacy or present every new thought that would help lead us to a completely new worldview, not by a long shot. We're simply panning for thoughts that, as the book progresses, will show themselves to have practical application. But rest assured, we will build the platform from which, eventually, we'll experience personal magic.

Fallacy 1: God is dead.

NEW THOUGHT . . . It's true our world reflects dire circumstances and our private lives can hit more walls than seem fair, but that's not because a source greater than ourselves has opted out. Perhaps the seeming lack of caring by our "creator" can be explained by reassessing the nature of the reality we call home to determine what truly makes it function. So that's what we'll do. But be prepared—along the way we will be forced to redefine our present concept of "God," or the emerging picture won't hold together.

Fallacy 2: Consciousness is a by-product of the brain.

NEW THOUGHT . . . The brain is a by-product of consciousness—and so is everything else. Consciousness is all that is. It is primary. And because it's primary, it's in a unique position: Nothing happens outside of it. From it springs all secondary constructions—planets, bodies, events, everything.
So where does consciousness reside? Everywhere. It's primary, how can it not? Everything inside and outside of physical reality must emerge from the stuff of consciousness, yet stay contained within it.
And that, of course, begins our new definition of God.

Fallacy 3: Life discontinues at death.

NEW THOUGHT . . . Consciousness, or "awareized" energy, can't just disappear as though it never existed. It can and does change form, but it can't annihilate itself. And why would it want to? What would be the point?

When the consciousness that encompasses all that is—or, if you prefer, All That Is—created individualized consciousness from itself, each unit of consciousness found itself still held within the whole, still a part of All That Is, but with a curious perception of separation. That perception eventually led the consciousness which became human to define death as "the end of living." But if consciousness is seen as a discrete part of All That Is, the belief that active, vibrant life does not continue after death is illogical. Surely All That Is has a better plan than to consistently and systematically destroy itself!

What All That Is wants more than anything is to experience. That's how it expands. So it recycles its multidimensional creations, moving them out of one context and into another. As consciousness which chose, this time around, the physical world in which to develop, we may move on after death into new lives in physicality. Or we could choose to try other venues outside of time and space. But no matter what multidimensional plans are put into action, rest assured there are other plans.