barnes (05/13/83)
"'Can you not hear it?' asked Scharis, his eyes glowing. 'It is
music; I have never heard its like before.'
Aillas listened for a moment. 'I hear nothing.'
'It comes and goes. Now it has stopped.'...
Aillas spoke uncomfortably. 'Scharis, my dear fellow, I think
you are having hallucinations. You are over-imaginative; it is
as simple as that!'
'How could I imagine so grandly? I heard it, you did not.
There are three possibilities. Either my mind is playing tricks
on me, as you suggest; or, secondly, my perceptions are more
accute than yours; or, thirdly--and this is the frightening
thought--the music is meant for me alone.'"
Jack Vance, "Lyonesse"
Let us further divide each hypothesis in twain:
a) Hallucination from a physical cause
b) Hallucination from strong imagination & belief
c) Acute perception of nature's rythm & harmony
d) Perception of non-physical, celestial music
e) A sending from Satanic being
f) A sending from Angelic being
This letter, then is an invitation to discussion on the Mystic Experience;
that type of experience not present or not recognized in most peoples'
lives. Of those who do realize such experiences, few have them daily or
even monthly. If these mystics are Westerners, chances are their neighbors
would not give credence to these experiences. What would you say to a
friend who heard or saw what others did not, and was pleased by the ex-
perience?