What could be a mechanism for my proposed solar cycle theory? We know that the sunspot cycle correlates with flare activity, and that can produce effects on Earth such as power outages, and influence ionospheric activity. And perhaps there is another correlant which I haven't discovered yet which is an even better predictor.
Any mechanism should involve linked or resonant oscillators, where a small external signal can produce significant stabilizing and destabilizing effects on another signal, including those following a regular biological cycle close to that of the external signal. Whether the external signal is stabilizing or destabilizing depends on whether it's frequency is lower or the same as the internal cycle or slightly higher; I believe if slightly higher it can be destabilizing, from my memory of Itzhak Bentov's Stalking the Wild Pendulum book.
It may also involve elements of catastrophe theory (butterfly-type sudden changes in biological systems) and the related chaos theory (small perturbations causing large changes in a nonlinear system).
Solar flares influence local magnetic and electromagnetic fields a while later, and also ionospheric activity, which could lead to the observed local clear sky lightning. For a discussion of how fields can affect mood changes and god experiences, see the work of Michael Persinger, for example "Neurophysiological Basis of God Beliefs," though his much more recent work with helmets may be more convincing. However I imagine he is using higher amplitude but shorter duration pulses than those which I postulate may have affected this "divine [f,t]ool". Geophysicists often use long "sweep" waveforms -- long duration low amplitude waveforms which when cross-correlated with a reference filter produce a large impulse. In my case I believe there is a biological reference filter.
After my inquiry on "druid new moon" I received the following reply from Ailim@empirenet.com (Ailim O'Duir):
> Six days after the new moon was a time of balance between the dark > and light. It was also a time the Druids would gather mistletoe for > healing purposes. In the Keltrian tradition, we use the sixth night > as a time for meditating on balance and healing for ourselves and > the tribe.
That meshes nicely with my observations of the sixth night as the night on which I can least expect problems from the post-dark moon or from the pre-full-moon, based on observations of about ten incidents in the last 5.5 (half a solar cycle) years. The sixth day (when I "kiss the breast of moon" and wish for no bad arrow in late waxing moon) is the safest day of the waxing moon for me (though I rarely have waxing moon problems, maybe once or twice a year, hopefully less now that I am on a medium lithium level and off booze). Full moon is also a safe time, when I can relax my guard and I guess celebrate. Most waxing moons are normal, a few have been bad, and some can be romantic, warm vibes in the night. Update: when engaging in streams of thought/prayer on Monday May 12/97, six days after new moon, I had some mild mixed problems, so even that day is not entirely safe; it is best for me to avoid sleep deprivation and continuous prayer streams or psychic communication attempts (which don't work for me at any time) during waxing moon especially; and indeed to avoid too much run-on self talk during such times but employ relaxation techniques and also interact with real people instead.
I'm not sure where to get really old data (to check against Robert Schumann and others, including Ramakrishna and the Baha'u'llah) but I imagine some would be in solar physics textbooks or perhaps Jack Jacobs 3-Volume work Geomagnetism. In those same books I saw that there are small monthly lunar variations due to the shadow of the moon on the ionosphere which are also influenced by the world-snake-like equatorial electrojet and counter-electrojet. Those, including some men, with an internal cycle near the lunar month, may be affected by even this very small amplitude variation because of resonance effects (see Itzhak Bentov's very easy to read book Stalking the Wild Pendulum). Of course there are small about 25 hour daily variations as well, since the moonrise to moonrise separation is about 25 hours. Studies of people in isolation chambers show that many people have biological clocks close to this 25 hour period. Those of us who tend to stay up later and later and then have to reset each month, like as a student I did at least once each month with an all-nighter, may be affected by that advance of daily moonrise. Also, the period of 5.5 lunar months is pretty well exactly 6 solar rotation periods of about 27 days.
Once (May92) I was in a mixed state and thought that I had solved all the secrets of the universe. But then suddenly I realized that if you know everything, there is nothing left to learn, and then dropped to a low, like from the top of the cue ball to the bottom in one instant.
Regarding the magick/science debate, I hope to take us further along the Arthur C. Clarke curve of "sufficiently advanced science and technology" that is "indiscernible from magic" but there are some things which I have observed, funny coincidences, most often in normal mood, that could not be explained precisely, just partially by arm waving science.
If you are unwilling to accept the possibility that I have had some direct experience of the divine, or of scientifically as yet unexplained divine resonances similar to those described in mythology, I will still have to call you an atheist. For those who are already atheists, well, you may be willing to accept the possibility of intelligence in some or all of the sun, earth's outer core, network of stars (cosmos), our species collective consciousness, or even cyberspace, plus some other species including cetaceans (whales and dolphins). All of these interact; we are part of a system and can expect occasional feedback from this system. The feedback which we cannot yet understand by science often gets labelled as divine feedback, but there is little difference between an immanent divine entity and an intelligent large natural system.
My data is, again:
Five euphoric/mystic/desirable if controlled hypomanias, equivalent to Ceridwen's inspirations in the Taliesin poems, or the "mount[ain]" highs in the Christian and Jewish tradition, all occurring the week before new moon, all with significant solar activity before the onset, with intensity decreasing with that of the solar cycle, between Sept91 and Sept94. None since, despite my lithium level being low from July95 to midJan96, zero for a month, and very low from midFeb96 to lateJune96, and at a medium 0.6-0.8 level since, 0.7 recently with five pills spread out over the day (so it would be high, 1.0, if all five were taken at bedtime). This is still less than the six a day I was on from 1992-1995, though I was still consuming some alcohol then.
In that same time period, four mixed/panic/fear episodes, in the waxing gibbous moon period, equivalent to Taliesin's Arianrhod's prison, or the assault of Mara on the Buddha, or Satan on Jesus. Three of these were followed 5.5 lunar months later by the inspired type. This matches the "five cauldron/eight score muse" period in the Taliesin poems and a "five bow" period mentioned in the North American native story of Salmon's Magic Bath. In the low solar years (notably 1996) I had some waxing moon problems which were not followed 5.5 lunar months (6 solar rotations) later with a return. No data does not match. In the first half of 1996, after I stupidly went off lithium and continued drinking moderately, there was some long term low level paranoia/delusion with a few months when there were more severe problems during waxing moon. These problems disappeared once I resumed an adequate level (0.8 at first, then 0.6 for maintenance, now 0.7 since the level kept falling below 0.6 on four pills and since my metabolism has sped up a bit since last year) of lithium.
The mixed episode which was not followed (onset to onset) 5.5 lunar months later by a creative playful hypomania was the May92 one, which was extended past full moon by my smoking a full marijuana cigarette. Perhaps with these mixed episodes there is some kind of preliminary pumping of the brain and an internal slow biological cycle which, if the other factors are present, results in the creative hypomania 5.5 lunar months later. However in Sept91 and Jul94 I had such highs, after strong solar flares, without any such precursors. Thus now that I am avoiding factors which contribute to such mixed episodes, such as alcohol (I'll treat water like wine), even if such are absent or minimal I expect some controllable creative hypomania in the next few decades.
The earliest such future episode with precursor, based on a very slight (with no alcohol) anxious down period the night before full moon in February 1997, would be the beginning of August 1997, but I assign a low probability to this. However the week of May 1,2/97 after high winds two nights before my energy level has perked up noticeably, still in normal range though. It was the week before new moon, but I haven't yet checked recent solar activity and suspect it is still fairly low, though not compared to last year. I think it is just the late and welcome arrival of spring here that perked me up this time. Also as I mentioned early I had mild mixed problems on May 12, 1997, so if there is no high at the beginning of August then I would assign a 50% probability of a controlled creative hypomania the week before new moon in November, 1997.
Correlation, even without causation, is enough to make tentative predictions, and to allow me to be extra careful at certain times (which should minimize occurrences, not increase them). Before I worked out this theory, from backtracking, I had others, and several times wished for or expected a high, often for purely mystical reasons, yet was disappointed. I do not believe in an anticipation effect in this case. For the one hypomania I predicted (Aug/Sep94), I was extra careful to avoid sleep deprivation, caffeine, alcohol, stress or other factors, which should reduce the chance of it occurring, and which resulted in the high being controlled and reasonably productive. Plus I hoped strongly for one before either the Nov96, Dec96 or Jan97 new moons (during the solar low) based on the 5.5 lunar month separation which allowed me to predict the Aug/Sept94 high, and there was nothing. Any mood changes that have been induced by sleep deprivation, alcohol, marijuana, caffeine or extreme stress have not been nearly as good.
I have experienced no "data" that do not match my theory, though certainly lots that I have not predicted. I do not claim that this theory applies to an average population, but that I am fairly unique.
For those wanting to check back solar data, for really old data some texts such as Jack Jacobs 3-volume Geomagnetism may have it, or solar physics books, but mostly an overview. For daily space weather, solar flare warnings, sunspot data and the like, the Space Environment Laboratory and Solar Terrestrial Dispatch web pages may be of interest. These have links to other sites. In addition you can pay a small fee to get daily e-mail warnings/reports from the STD site, some of that may be available on the Today's Space Weather subpage of the SEL site, but not all(?). I haven't been following it at all lately, but feel on average perkier and more creative than last year (96) on average (slightly low energy in much of April97 though).
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