Description

For the last two hundred years brain scientists have been aware of the physiological duality of the human brain. It consists of two virtually identical hemispheres joined by a mass of nerves called the corpus callosum. In recent years surgery has developed to the extent that this ‘bridge’ can be cut and in so doing communication severed between the two hemispheres. This drastic operation has been used on severe epileptics in an effort to stop the electrical storm affecting the whole brain. These patients have become, in effect, two people in one body. However certain neurologists believe that this duality is present at all times, the operation simply allows the phenomenon to be more easily observed. Both the evidence from deep hypnotism and the curious psychological state described as Multiple Personality Syndrome supports this belief. Psychologists have become aware of this other entity and it has been termed the Hidden Observer. This entity also manifests itself in individuals who suffer from schizophrenia. In all cases the being, termed the Daemon in acknowledgement of the Gnostic roots of this belief, shows some interesting skills, the most marked being an ability to foretell the future.The Daemon inhabits a different world of cognition and perception. The Daemon fulfils the role of a ‘guardian angel’ in that it warns its everyday self, termed the Eidolon, of potential future dangers. That it seems to be able to foresee the future is analysed and considerable anecdotal evidence is presented to support this position. Is this not the idea behind the blockbuster move ‘The Golden Compass’?Could it be that the chemicals involved in a temporal lobe seizure facilitate the accessing of forbidden ‘Daemonic’ perception by the everyday ‘Eidolonic’ consciousness? If the access is total then a schizophrenic state of mind can result. If the access is very mild then a migraine takes place. The ‘middle course’ being a temporal lobe seizure. Is this the state by which famous TLE sufferers such as Vincent Van Gogh, Feydr Dostoyevsky, Socrates, Philip K Dick and William Blake found their inspiration; their ‘Daemon of Creativity’? Anthony Peake has written yet another intelligent and thought-provoking book. In ‘The Daemon’ he expands on the idea, first put forward in his book ‘Is There Life After Death?’, that we all have a hidden/higher aspect to our personality, and that this higher self is the source of some of the amazing and profound cognitive experiences that, to a greater or lesser degree, affect us all. The theory is well thought out and beautifully presented, and he draws on many first hand accounts to illustrate his points. Moreover, Peake’s style is addictive – I just didn’t want to put the book down. I recommend ‘The Daemon’ to anyone who has an interest in the nature of consciousness and the human condition.