What are crop circles? What causes them?
Take a look at this You Tube video if you want to be reminded about what an amazing, mind-blowing phenomena they are:
“Made by human hands? A hoax? Look at the details of interwoven plants in the magnified views. And remember these appear quickly, and even working one night would entail massive talent and person-power, let alone the other, measurable factors like changes in the electromagntic field inside the formations, the “blown” hole at the base of each stalk that is associated with the bend, non-broken stalks, textures, etc., etc. Some, on occasion ARE hoaxes, and some good ones, but can you imagine what it takes to do these so often, too?”
David Sunfellow, of New Heaven New Earth, has done extensive research into crop circles and concludes that some 98% of them are man-made. You can read his report here. How can we learn more about the intelligence that creates crop circles, other than interviewing the hoaxters or looking in the mirror? The purpose of this Integral Deep Listening interview of crop circles, as with all interviews, is not to determine the ontological status of something, that is, its veracity or falsity, nor is it to determine its etiology, that is, who or what caused them. Instead, the purpose is to ask, “What is the result if we approach crop circles as if they were wake-up calls, to be listened to? What might we hear? The answer to this question is that while different people will hear different things, there will be patterns of information that can be understood as collective or species wake-up calls. In addition, Integral Deep Listening understands that there are different types of wake-up calls. Some, like fire alarms, simply blast out a message of warning. Others, like repetitive dreams or subtle medical symptoms, are low-grade wake-up calls that are easily ignored and forgotten. IDL attempts to bring out the best and most helpful aspects of any wake-up call, while recognizing and attending to both warning signs and fear-based elements.
Regardless of who or what created created crop circles, their significance will always in part be that which we project onto them. So why not look at crop circles from perspectives that transcend but include our waking minds? After all, our waking minds only have theories about crop circles, and these theories change as man’s world view expands. If there exist outpicturings of deeper, more transcendent, more inclusive perspectives than our own, then perhaps we can hear from crop circles about their own nature, purpose, and execution.
While the hoax, followed by the UFO theories of the creation of crop circles, are most popular, I like to think at least a few crop circles are created by the same consciousness that produces Marian apparitions and our dreams, when experienced from the perspectives of most other characters in them. What I like about this idea is that it points toward ongoing consciousness on a scale of which Homo Sapiens consciousness is only one subset. It implies that life itself is generative, intelligent, and extraordinarily abundant in its creativity. It also ties in nicely with such ideas as the Mahayana Buddhist idea of alaya vijanana, Jung’s universal unconscious, and Sheldrake’s morphogenic fields. With all the political, economic, and ecological insanity presently happening here on our plane of daily existence, there is perspective in remembering that life is both inscrutible and playful. These ideas, however, are all the interpretations and projections of one waking consciousness or another; the purpose of an Integral Deep Listening interview is to take a phenomenological approach, that is, to lay aside such assumptions, beliefs, and interpretations during the interview and instead listen in a deep and integral way to the object of the interview, in this case crop circles.
No one interview will ever provide a final or complete explanation for any collectively-created phenomena, but like the blind men and the elephant, with enough different interviews by different people, we may be able to construct a composite picture. In that spirit, I encourage you to become “Crop Circles” as I have in the following interview, and see what comes up for you. If you do, I would love to read your results and then to share them with others on this site.
Following this summary of the interview you will find a transcript of the actual interview.
“This interview is not of a personal dream, but more a dream of some consciousness that is greater than any man or the consciousness of any group of people: crop circles. While they may all be clever hoaxes, we can still interview them as an expression of human experience. I do not view crop circles primarily as a means of communication, but as a group or collective dream. Dreams are not primarily about communication any more than flowers, rocks, and rivers are primarily about communication. They are innate outpicturings of awareness; each person gets to choose whether he or she will tune into that awareness or not, and in what way. Normally, people simply tune in with their waking predispositions and interpretations, which represent only a small fraction of those perspectives available to them. Consequently, their consciousness remains narrow and stunted.”
Here is what the crop circles have to say: “We take a multiplicity of shapes and designs, all creative, all unique, all reflecting intelligence, all difficult for humans to make, but some of us are made by humans as pranks, experimentation, art work, or for publicity. We cause people to think. We cause people to stop and question their assumptions about what is real, what humans are capable of and what they are not. There is nothing about ourselves that we do not like, since we can take many different forms and our creativity is broad. It would be like asking art if it disliked itself or had any weaknesses. Those are determinations in the eye of the beholder, not in the art itself.”
“On a personal level, we personify the creativity of humans, the part that remains always beyond the ability of waking minds to grasp, categorize, or dismiss. We are the mixing of the mundane and delusional with the sacred and transcendent, as well as a challenge to the foolish human habit of separating the two. ”
“On a scale of zero to ten we score ourselves ten in confidence, since we don’t care what humans make of us. They can dismiss us as fraudulent if they so desire. They are merely choosing not to listen to those aspects of reality that we represent. We are also ten in wisdom; even tricksters create us to represent a transcendent intelligence. Because we are totally accepting both of what we are and whatever humans make of us we score ourselves ten in acceptance. Like dreams, we don’t care if humans dismiss us as delusions or inflate our significance by turning us into spiritual revelations. We score ourselves ten in inner peace as well, but zero in compassion and witnessing. We don’t exist to generate compassion. As ourselves we don’t witness anything. You might say we bear witness and embody transcendent perspectives – in fact one has to take a transcendent perspective, that is, from the sky, in order to appreciate us at all. You might say we generate witnessing in the perceiver.”
“If we scored tens in compassion and witnessing as well as the other four core qualities of wakefulness, we would be self-aware and aware of our impact on humans without letting that change our nature. If humans scored as we do they would would have a vastly expanded sense of who they are. We recommend humans stop focusing on questions of our causation and take whatever there is, including ourselves, as ways to awaken to a broader, more inclusive, transcendent definition of who they are. Humans can become more distrusting and skeptical of us or they can appreciate us for what we are and use us to expand their awareness of who they are and what life is about. Is there any part of humanity that isn’t a hoax, that isn’t an illusion or a delusion? We encourage the cultivation of curiosity, wonder, amazement, surprise, fascination, as well as witnessing, in order to attain the broadest overview possible. We also encourage appreciation of the endless creativity of life.”
“Humans would do well to remember to become us whenever they want to merge creativity and beingness, for example, while writing.”
“We exist to remind humans of the need to learn to witness themselves, to take the perspective of the big picture, in order to see the patterns in life. This is necessary in order to harmonize with them instead of setting priorities that are in conflict with the ways that life is evolving, and so be ground into dust by it. Because the species is yet young, it will continue to attempt to run life out of the ten percent of the iceberg above the water line, waking awareness. All perspectives are illusions and “hoaxes,” and none are to be taken too seriously or literally.”
Man’s search for truth is basically one of outgrowing limited belief systems rather than finding anything that is Real or True in any absolute sense. Rather than searching for stable sources of reality, truth, or meaning, it is better to enjoy, savor, and make the most of the reality, truth, and meaning of the moment. It is important to learn to cultivate the witness, but remember the absurdity of whatever perspective you are taking at the moment. Consequently, every crop circle, as every perspective, is a worm hole into luminosity, cosmic humor, and abundance for those who care to look for such things.
What are three fundamental life issues that you are dealing with now in your life?
1. Staying focused on my priorities.
2. Remembering the absurdity of life and to smile inside!
3. Remembering to live within my breath right now.
Tell me a dream you remember. It can be an old one, a repetitive dream, a nightmare, or one that you’re sure you understand.
It’s not a personal dream, but more a dream of some consciousness that is greater than any man or the consciousness of any group of people: crop circles. While they may all be clever hoaxes, we can still interview them as an expression of human experience.
Why do you think that you had this dream?
I do not see crop circles primarily as a means of communication, because I view them as a group or collective dream, and I don’t see dreams as primarily about communication. Rather, I see them as innate outpicturings of awareness, whether on a personal, group, or system level, and I get to choose whether I will tune into that awareness or not, and in what way. Normally, people simply tune in with their waking predispositions and interpretations, which represent only a small fraction of who they really are.
If it were playing at a theater, what name would be on the marquee?
Interviewing Crop Circles
These are the characters in the dream…
Crop Circles, Farmland, Sky. The consciousness or beings that created them: humans, extraterrestrials, collective species intelligence, bored angels, leprechauns, whatever…
If one character had something especially important to tell you, what would it be?
The Crop Circles themselves. They are the indisputable facts that I would like to learn more about.
Now remember how as a child you liked to pretend you were a teacher or a doctor? It’s easy and fun for you to imagine that you are this or that character in your dream and answer some questions I ask, saying the first thing that comes to your mind. If you wait too long to answer, that’s not the character answering – that’s YOU trying to figure out the right thing to say!
Crop Circles, would you please tell me about yourself and what you are doing?
We take a multiplicity of shapes and designs, all creative, all unique, all reflecting intelligence, all difficult for humans to make, but many of us are made by humans as pranks, experimentation, art work, or for publicity.
What do you like most about yourself? What are your strengths?
We cause people to think. We cause people to stop and question their assumptions about what is real, what humans are capable of and what they are not.
What do you dislike most about yourself? Do you have weaknesses? What are they?
No, nothing, since we can take many different forms and our creativity is broad. It would be like asking art if it disliked itself or had any weaknesses. Those are determinations in the eye of the beholder, not in the art itself.
Crop Circles, you are in Joseph’s life experience, correct? Crop Circles, what aspect of Joseph do you represent or most closely personify?
His creativity; the part of him that is always remains beyond the ability of his waking mind to grasp, categorize, or dismiss. Also the mixing of the mundane and delusional with the sacred and relatively transcendent, and the perennial problem of separating the two.
Crop Circles, if you could be anywhere you wanted to be and take any form you desired, would you change? If so, how?
No.
(Continue, answering as the transformed object, if it chose to change.)
Crop Circles, how would you score yourself 0-10, in confidence, compassion, wisdom, acceptance, peace of mind, and witnessing? Why?
Confidence: 10 We don’t care what humans make of us.
Compassion: 0 We don’t exist to generate compassion.
Wisdom: 10 Even tricksters create us to represent a transcendent intelligence.
Acceptance: 10 We are totally accepting both of what we are and whatever humans make of us. Like dreams, we don’t care if they dismiss us as delusions or not.
Inner Peace: 10
Witnessing: 0 As ourselves we don’t witness anything. You might say we bear witness and embody transcendent perspectives – in fact one has to take a transcendent perspective, that is, from the sky, in order to appreciate us at all. You might say we generate witnessing in the perceiver.
Crop Circles, if you scored tens in all six of these qualities, would you be different? If so, how?
Hmmm…We would be self-aware and aware of our impact on humans without letting that change our nature.
How would Joseph’s life be different if he/she naturally scored like you do in all six of these qualities all the time?
He would have a vastly expanded sense of who he is.
If you could live Joseph’s life for him, how would you live it differently?
I would stop focusing on questions of causation and take whatever there is as a way to awaken to a broader, more inclusive, transcendent definition of who he is.
If you could live Joseph’s waking life for him today, would you handle his three life issues differently? If so, how?
1. Staying focused on my priorities. Nothing to report on this one. I don’t care about his priorities.
2. Remembering the absurdity of life and to smile inside! Yeah. Maybe we’re an elaborate hoax. So you can become more distrusting and skeptical or you can appreciate us for what we are and the parts of yourself that we personify. After all, is there any part of yourself that isn’t a hoax, that isn’t an illusion or a delusion?
3. Remembering to live within my breath right now. I don’t do breath, but I do exist within my space. I am very good at being, and being OK with being.
What three life issues would you focus on if you were in charge of his life?
1. Curiosity, wonder, amazement, surprise, fascination.
2. Witnessing; getting the broadest overview possible.
3. Appreciation of the endless creativity of life.
In what life situations would it be most beneficial for Joseph to imagine that he is you and act as you would?
Whenever he wants to merge creativity and beingness, say when he’s writing.
Crop Circles, do you do drama? If not, why not?
Nope. There’s a lot of drama around me but I don’t do it myself.
What is your secret for staying out of drama?
I don’t want or need to persecute, rescue, or play the victim to others or myself.
Why do you think that you are in Joseph’s life?
To remind him of how he has to witness himself, take the perspective of the big picture, if he’s going to see the patterns in his life.
How is Joseph most likely to ignore what you are saying to him?
Try as usual to run his life out of the ten percent of the iceberg above the water line.
What would you recommend that he do about that?
Remember me and smile.
I think Joseph had this desire to interview me, Crop Circles because
He was fascinated with the possibility of looking at life from a perspective that transcends physical death. But in doing the interview he realized that all perspectives are illusions and “hoaxes,” and that none are to be taken too seriously or literally.
What have you heard yourself say?
Man’s search for truth is basically one of outgrowing limited belief systems rather than finding anything that is Real or True in any absolute sense. Rather than searching for stable sources of reality, truth, or meaning, it is better to enjoy, savor, and make the most of the reality, truth, and meaning of the moment.
If this experience were a wake-up call from the most central part of who you are, what do you think it would be saying to you?
Cultivate the witness, but remember the absurdity of whatever perspective you are taking at the moment.
