Nature of things - the secret life of inanimate objects

252 Pages·1992·2.269 MB·English

by  Watson, Lyall

THE NATURE OF THINGS:
The
S L
ecret ife
of
I
nanimate
O
bjects

THE NATURE OF THINGS:
The
S L
ecret ife
of
I
nanimate
O
bjects
LYALL WATSON
Destiny Books
Rochester, Vermont
Destiny Books
One Park Street
Rochester, Vermont 05767
Web Site: http://www.gotoit.com
Copyright © 1990, 1992 Lyall Watson
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photo-
copying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Watson, Lyall.
The nature of things: the secret life of inanimate objects /
Lyall Watson.
p. cm.
Originally published: London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1990.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-89281-408-4
1. Parapsychology—Case studies. I. Title. II. Title: Inanimate
objects.
BF1031.W385 1992
133-dc20 92-19457
CIP
Printed and bound in the United States
10 9 8 7 6 5
Destiny Books is a division of Inner Traditions International
To Charles Fort
student of the strange, who spent his life collecting reports
of the unusual and, in four impish books, deposited thousands
of these inconvenient foundlings on the doorstep of science.
His work goes on.
Forteans in many countries continue to compile records of events
which elude reasonable explanation, adding to their founder’s
gallant attempt to prevent reality from being too narrowly
defined.
I am grateful to the British chapter of this defiant non-
organisation which publishes the Fortean Times and, in particular,
to its editor Bob Rickard who raided his journal’s archives on
my behalf.
L.W.
Acknowledgment
The author is grateful to Grafton Books, a division of the
Collins Publishing Group, for permission to quote a poem by ee
cummings.
Contents
Introduction The Thing Is . . . 9
1 The Nature of Things 17
Homing things – Naked genes – Living stone -
Crystal clarity
2 The Origin of Things 42
Inventing things – Organic bridges – Mind
measures – Earth magic
3 Taking Things Seriously 67
Great notions – Mother Earth – Metal magic -
Transformation
4 The Social Life of Things 90
Social notions – Things of value – Things of
power – Things of moment
5 Things Like Us 116
Graven images – Face value – Reflections -
Effigies
6 From Things to Machines 145
Darwinian things – Marking time – Moving
things – Automagic
7 The Ghost in the Machine 180
Loose limbs – The backlash – The body
electric – Knowing things
Conclusion . . . and Another Thing 221
Sources 231
Index 245
Introduction
The Thing Is . . .
. . . that we have a problem.
We have broken the mould. Humans have, by taking thought,
found ways of adding considerably more than one cubit to their
stature.
It started simply, perhaps with a crystal or a tool, but it
was not long before our bodies became embellished with an
astonishing array of new appendages, organs designed to meet
every need. ‘Observe’, said Samuel Butler:
a man digging with a spade. His right forearm has become arti-
ficially lengthened, and his hand has become a joint. The handle
of the spade is like the knob at the end of the humerus; the
wooden shaft is the additional bone, and the oblong iron plate
is the new form of the hand which enables its possessor to disturb
the earth in ways to which his original hand was unequal.32 *
We have freed ourselves from the constraints of organic evolu-
tion and become instead part of a different, very much more
rapid, evolutionary process. Tooth and claw have been reinforced
with blades and missiles, hide and hair with extraordinary organs
such as coats and umbrellas. We alter our shape and appearance
to suit the age and season and extend and magnify our senses
on demand. We have developed limbs which, instead of being
attached to our bodies, lie loose about the world. And our access
to them is limited not so much by natural ability as by accidents
of birth and wealth. We possess, as a result, an extraordinary
* Numbers refer to the Sources listed on page 230.
9