Did it occur to you that movies like The Matrix, A Beautiful Mind (Widescreen Awards Edition), and The Truman Show have touched a nerve and been popular with so many people for a reason? It's because a lot of us perceive that there's more going on in this world than we're privy to. There's a whole other world out there, one we're not permitted to explore, and many of us are at the point where we're ready to plunge in and take it back.
The question, of course, is how to do so. I can't tell you that. I'm in the process of breaking through my own blinders right now. However, I've made some progress, and I'm more than happy to share the how-to with you.
What "They" Hid and How "They" Hid It
We've become estranged from our humanity. We've forgotten who we are, how we relate to one another, how we relate to the world around us. It may take us a long time to decipher what we've lost and how to get it back. However, Kalle Lasn's Culture Jam: How to Reverse America's Suicidal Consumer Binge--And Why We Must will give you some idea what's been taken, and how we've allowed the theft. The book won't tell you how to reverse the binge, despite the title, but it will show you how pervasive the binge has become, and how it happened.
Margaret Cho's one-woman show Margaret Cho - I'm the One That I Want is designed to challenge expectations about race, gender, sexuality, media, mental and physical health—all while making you laugh out loud. Never miss an opportunity to see this movie. You won't regret it.
If you need periodic reminders that there's more going on than you're allowed to know, pick up copies of Mother Jones and Utne. Both deliberately seek to peer through the haze of obscurity we've been shown to see what's really going on. The truth behind news, how our perceptions are distorted, and the real way the world works.
Yep, learn a language. Language creates perception, and the more subtle linguistic differences and qualities you can apply, the more subtle qualities you'll be able to see. So learn a language. Learn it quickly, apply it often, and never let yourself forget it.
Esperanto can be glossed in a few months of study, and Esperanto (Teach Yourself) (Revised: 3rd Edition) is the best book I've found for home-schooling in the tongue. It's out of print, but you can still get a copy if you look, and heck, there are other books available. Once you've grasped Esperanto, learning Romance languages like Spanish or French will be a lot easier.
If you want a language that will really open your eyes as to what you're missing, try Japanese. There are profoundly different fundamentals, and they'll help change your view of the world utterly. Japanese: The Spoken Language (Part 1) is the book they used to teach me in college. It should be used with Japanese: The Spoken Language (Cassettes) if you want to get it exactly right, but the cassettes are very expensive.
Remember, "they" depend on the limits of your perception to keep the wool pulled over your eyes. By learning a language, you widen your perceptions and short-circuit "their" goals. The more languages you know, the better. Besides, being multi-lingual is sexy.
A relationship with a higher power that supports your search for truth can be a life-saver. It keeps you from being alone on the road, and it reassures you that there's reward for your success. Don't fall for the goopy, formless New Age faiths, however. That's exactly what "they" want. New Age tends to focus on an attitude that, if it feels good, it is good, and this playsinto the lazy, self-indulgent goals "they're" trying to set for you.
You'd be surprised how many Christians never open the Bible. Even if you're not Christian yourself, The Learning Bible: Contemporary English Version (Firelight Planning Resources) is a real eye-opener. Jesus was a real anti-establishment figure, though in a subtle, subversive way. So was Jeremiah, who is the hero of many truth-seekers.
Now that you've acheived this state of bliss and enlightenment, how do you keep from lapsing back into the way you used to be? And don't think you won't—thought is a skill, and like any other, it will fade without practice.
Read and listen to music. That's right. All you need is to read and listen to music. As long as it's outside your experience, the more you read and listen to, the more you'll widen your perceptions and the more advanced you'll be.
Read everything you can, even stuff that disagrees with your point of view. But don't read lightly. The skill of reading is a difficult and incisive one. Try Mortimer J. Adler's How to Read a Book (A Touchstone book) on for size, and you'll be able to read like a Ph.D. literary critic all the time.
One book I must recommend, or you'll never hear of it, is Travels by Jerry J. Davis. It presents a dystopian future in which the media has run amok. If this is a concern for you, or if you like the novels of Philip K. Dick, try this novel on for size.
As for music, shut off your radio. Most American radio will hold you back with its dependence on slick, bland tunes and milquetoast lyrics. Dig tunes with words you don't understand. Putumayo Records is a good source of new and different music. Try Gypsy Caravan or Putumayo Presents: Carnival for starters.
Experience also tells me that Natacha Atlas' Ayeshteni is good for this purpose, as is Altan's Island Angel and Ondar's Back Tuva Future. As you experiment with style, you'll find what works best for you.
While we're at it, your new mode of thought may be well served if you listen to Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers!, a classic by the mindbending Firesign Theatre. Nothing will be the same after you've heard this timeless beauty.
You're not there yet, of course, but you're on your way to a new view of the world—one that isn't dictated by outsiders and people with an axe to grind, a point to prove, or a product to sell. Don't ever let anyone take that away from you as long as you live.
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The Matrix [AC-3] [Anamorphic] [Closed-captioned] [Color] [Dolby] [DVD] [Special Edition] [Widescreen] [NTSC] DVD ~ Keanu Reeves
A Beautiful Mind (Widescreen Awards Edition) [Anamorphic] [Closed-captioned] [Color] [Dolby] [DVD] [Special Edition] [Subtitled] [Widescreen] [NTSC] DVD ~ Paul Bettany
The Truman Show [AC-3] [Closed-captioned] [Color] [DVD] [Letterboxed] [Widescreen] [NTSC] DVD ~ Jim Carrey
Trust Us, We're Experts: How Industry Manipulates Science and gambles with Your Future by Sheldon Rampton
You Are Being Lied To: The Disinformation Guide to Media Distortion, Historical Whitewashes and Cultural Myths by Russ Kick
Esperanto (Teach Yourself) (Revised: 3rd Edition) by John Cresswell
Japanese: The Spoken Language (Cassettes) by Eleanor Harz Jorden
The Learning Bible: Contemporary English Version (Firelight Planning Resources) by American Bible Society
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