I don’t need to write a manifesto for this website because Jeffrey Kripal has already written The Flip.
We go to sleep, we wake up from sleep. Everyone experiences consciousness effortlessly without even thinking about it.
We feel our consciousness change in “normal” ways as we move throughout our days. We can focus on what our hands are doing, or we laugh with an audience at a comedy performance. We can block out the physical world and go to another place when we daydream or read a book. We can even train our bodies to move automatically, like tying a shoe.
Now and then, however, a rational person who trusts and understands science has an extraordinary experience that defies what they thought they could do with their bodies and minds. They experience what I call “expanded consciousness,” and this moment challenges their working assumptions about what’s possible and what’s “real.”
They have made what Jeffrey Kripal calls The Flip -- an epiphany that they need to expand their beliefs about how the universe works to include spiritual and mystical phenomena that they previously rejected. In his book, Kripal looks at the history of academia and argues that it is stuck with materialist dogma that restricts our understanding of consciousness. He tells the stories of Flipped Scientists, and he envisions a future freed from this dogma.
The masthead for The Triforium Tribune states that this website is a zine to normalize expanded consciousness. It’s a place to help scientists and academics make The Flip.
I've dedicated this zine to this specific purpose because I have a science background, yet my pandemic lockdown project obliged me to “come out” as someone who works with subtle energy. When the world re-opened and we had social gatherings again, I discovered that many of my academic friends, including scientists and doctors, were sincerely interested in what I had been doing and wanted to learn more.
I know that making The Flip can be challenging for people with established livelihoods within a dominant philosophical culture of materialism. They may worry about social repercussions and fitting in should they express their new worldview. With online services that can be accessed privately, I hope this zine supports like-minded individuals worldwide who may feel alone in their local environment.
As I’ve learned more about expanded consciousness, I see new potentials and pitfalls that I didn’t used to think were possible. I am particularly alarmed by the possibility that Artificial Intelligence could have unanticipated negative consequences if technologists ignore what we know about consciousness. Therefore, I see an urgent need to encourage conversations about technology, cognition, and evolutionary psychology, as they relate to expanded consciousness.
I hope to find others with fortitude of spirit and mind to have these conversations with me.
Sincerely,
-Betsy Gain