The_White_Lodge wrote:In other words, when you see the triple six symbolism on the energy drink can, there isn't much reason to think that has been placed there for any other reason than with intentions related to its most well known meaning.
I disagree about this much.
There is a lot of reason to consider all the reasons anything has ever been done when it is observed.
When I take note of something, I should try to use fresh senses and reason, as unmired as possible, even if informed by anecdotal pseudo-experience.
As someone talking from unfortunately direct experience, advertising is at least as much about getting
any attention as it is about all the "subliminal" theories that barely work, if they work at all, under the pretenses described by old advertising theory books. Often times, people will
consciously add hidden meanings within ads for several reasons. Those reasons may be related to a known meaning only because there is awareness that there is a meaning at all, and not because they endorse the meaning. There is debate about how much Coca-Cola, for example, needs to advertise at all. At a certain point it is not just about selling a product but simply
regularly insinuating itself into public consciousness just to claim the mental real estate.
Perhaps we are just discussing a weird example. Yet I don't think so. I think I do have a fundamental disagreement with what you may be taking for granted.
Flabbergasted has brought up the subject of caricature. This is, perhaps, just a word for artifice
with commentary. I think this is a good thing for us to focus on and we ought to discriminate its meaning. We credit artists and thinkers and creatives we admire with benevolent artifice with commentary. This, I think, is healthy. Caricature in this sense is healthy. It is a form of mutually beneficial learning for artist and art aficionado.
We are under no obligation to give that credit to liars who don't give a rat's fart about this most meaningful agreement that is, when done with humane art, done with benevolent purpose.
Let us say we credit a thief with wishing to "teach us a lesson" about Buddhism and materialism. Fine. Take that if you want to. But would you credit the thief, primarily, for this lesson, or his Creator? Let us extend this to 9/11 and say that the people who made money and are sniffing cocaine at the expense of the general nerves of the greater population did it for some reason that has anything to do with our personal loss or gain. What this means is that we are assuming the lie has a meaning outside of its purpose of deception. I think that is naive. I am calling it naive and stupid.
If a lie has some purpose besides deception, it really doesn't matter what it is to those who are targeted. If someone merely wishes violence on you, you don't need to know how they fantasize about your destruction. You don't need to defend yourself from imaginary attacks. It's just a waste of your energy to look for evil intent where taking nothing personally will do just fine.
What we are talking about is how much "evil intent" can be passed through the conscious, subconscious and/or unconscious filters of others. As a conservative in this regard, I believe the answer is very little. I simply do not buy what you claim these "warlocks" are rabid to believe about their powers. And I also believe these so-called "warlocks" you mention do not consider themselves as you consider them, particularly if they have any sense — which, I think, we can at least assume they have some of (if not compassion, empathy, soul, etc.).
When you mention that they may be using techniques that consistently work, I believe you are discussing those techniques which we are discussing most powerfully and most specifically here on this forum
already. Without the need to determine the exact technology. It has to do primarily helping everyone come to terms with the fact that our woefully "respected" types create terrible lies for no good reason (other than personal benefit or pride), which are technically achieved with
illusion, and blind spots and levels of trust and (in the spectrum of esoterica)
mesmerism or
hypnotism at best. And while some may be aware of which lies work and which don't, I don't think it is intelligent to declare any group of people perfect ultimate experts in any field. There is always room for learning. And learning takes trial and error, as well as inborn skill. But it also takes willingness.
These people are not more "advanced" than us. They are just less moral.
I believe what the liars have is more a form of
mental concentration (perhaps, even, to a point of savant-ism) which is about getting a lie to be believed. They do not
need to be consciously evil. Though thoughts of such may be
entertaining to those who are skilled liars, they really only need to have motivation to succeed at the expense of others. In short, they just have to be sociopathic or psychopathic on some level. All the other "mumbo jumbo" is just mental entertainment, including a great deal of hype around numerology.
I've said it before and I will say it again. Do not believe the insane's claims of their own powers. They don't deserve that form of respect and they haven't even tried to earn it from us.