“Fairy” (or, more accurately, “Faerie”) was originally an adjective rather than a noun. It did not refer to a form of elemental creature but was a descriptive term, similar to our present-day “paranormal”. The inhabitants of alternative reality in this region were known as the Fay. The word “fairy” also has roots in the Latin fata, which means “enc

The word “entheogen” was chosen to define such substances. It is derived from two words from ancient Greek: éntheos, literally “full of the god” or “possessed”; and genésthai, “to come into being”. So an entheogen is a substance that facilitates the finding of the “god within”.

One of the most intriguing perceptions that links all the altered states of consciousness surrounding encounters with the unknown is the sound of buzzing or whirring. This is reported in OBEs, NDEs, lucid dreaming, UFO encounters and, as we shall soon discover, during psychedelic hallucinations facilitated by a substance termed dimethyltryptamine (

Science has always used observation and experimentation to prove truths about the natural world. Indeed, the concept of the observer is central to a great deal of modern science.

We know that modern human beings – that is, human beings with recognizably modern brains, like our own – have been around for more than 200,000 years. This means that our ancestors in the deep, unrecorded past had the same potential intelligence that we ourselves enjoy. It is probable that they soon learned to communicate using language, possibly e

In Tibet these mind-created entities have long been known as “tulpas”.

As for the snake symbolism, this can also be linked to Gnosticism. One group of Gnostics, known as the Ophites, argued that the Fall of Man described in Genesis had been incorrectly interpreted. For the Ophites, the serpent wanted Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, to eat from the Tree of Knowledge (gnosis) so that they would know their true id

ringing and bell-like sounds are frequently reported during egregorial encounters.

Before an observer detects the quantum particle, it does not exist. His or her consciousness brings the object into reality. Without conscious observation, there is no reality. In this way we create our own universe! (See pp189–191.)