Let me begin by saying that my current plan is to update biweekly on Tuesdays. I’m trying to space things out between Ryan and Asher here. I don’t guarantee 100 percent consistency here, but I’ll aim for biweekly at least. It may change to Wednesdays if Asher begins consistently updating on Mondays.

Down the rabbit hole we go.

There are certain topics that when you research them, they are just rabbit holes. Let me explain what I mean by the phrase. I work part time as a reporter and when you work in a position like that you have to find the stories. There is a direct relation you always have to be aware of with a story between research and payoff. Too little research and the story sucks, too much and you get sucked into a rabbit hole. If you’re going to spend a lot of time researching something, it better have a payoff. If you can’t easily express the truth of an idea, and after all your research you’re still confused and trapped in a maze of he said she said claims back and forth, then you are stuck in a rabbit hole.

Researching the Illuminati is definitely a rabbit hole. There is a ton of information out there, and I’ve done a decent amount of research. It’s enough to make you think at least something is going on. The problem is, all of that information is very ambiguous, and can be interpreted many different ways. If you believe the Illuminati exists, then you probably think that the ambiguous information is intentional.

Here is a short list of some of the competing theories I’ve seen regarding secret societies and the Illuminati:

1. The Illuminati are all in our heads. They don’t really exist.
2. There is one Illuminati, they are malevolent, and they want to control/enslave the world in a New World Order.
3. There is a benevolent Illuminati who want to free the world from greed and unite the world in a New World Order.
4. Both Illuminati groups exist and share the same name.
5. There are multiple secret societies competing with each other.
6. There are multiple secret societies in league with each other.
7. The Illuminati exists informally, as in there is a bunch of greedy people doing what greedy people naturally do. Secret societies in this case are unnecessary.

This is the symbol for the Information Awareness Office, an actual government entity that existed in 2001. It's professed goal was to attain total information awareness. After public outcry the organization disbanded, but many important parts of the organization were simply moved to other parts of the federal government, such as DARPA. The small words in the middle are hard to see. They are in latin and mean "knowledge is power."

I’m sure there’s more. Despite all this, there are some claims I can support.

1. Certain Illuminati symbols, specifically the all seeing eye/eye of horus, the masonic compass, and the phrase “New World Order” appear over and over in pop culture and everything else in our lives. The caduceus appears too, although who know knows if that’s related or not.
2. The Illuminati did exist historically. The question is whether they’re still around or not.
3. The U.S government doesn’t exactly have a good track record when it comes to hiding secrets that negatively affect their citizens.
4. If you look at human history, conspiracies in politics and power are the norm, not the exception.
5. Generally speaking, conspiracies are made up of people with their own independent thoughts. Imagining a secret society as a “hivemind” seems unrealistic at best, despite the dogma a given secret society may constantly feed its members.

I could provide plenty of evidence to support those four claims, but doing so would turn this post into a book. I prefer to keep the focus here on the Illuminati itself.

The question I would like to ask is, in the maze of information/disinformation about potential secret societies, how are we to react to them? The best reaction for one possibility is the wrong reaction for another. For example, if it turns out the Illuminati is actually benevolent in nature (and I’m not saying that is or isn’t the case) the resisting them and trying to expose them will only create problems for us. If it turns out that they are malevolent in nature, however, and we choose to just ignore them, then we play into their hands and their status quo is maintained.

What we need is a strategy that address all of the possibilities, and I think I have a general idea what we as a society need to do.

One of many creepy psyops patches in actual government

1. Focus on values first, not organizations, names or slogans – Whether they’re in cahoots or not,

the existence of a power elite is undeniable. Do you in general value love and freedom over fear? Then oppose the governmental policies that use fear to control you. All humans need a certain measure of safety, but know that fear is the #1 instrument of any control system. That should be your first tip off. If a policy takes away your rights, freedoms and privacy by promising to make you safer, then you should

know what the true danger is. Avoid the T.V. , avoid factory foods and anything that dulls down your awareness. If you annoy the secret societies while you’re at it, more power to you.

2. Beat the Illuminati at its own game – If the Illuminati exists and is malevolent, then they are playing a very clever power game. The book The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene lists a variety of strategies people have used to attain power throughout history. While the Illuminati, if they exist, use many of these strategies, the three “Laws of Power” they seem to use the most effectively are: Law 6, Court attention at all costs, Law 16, use absence to increase respect and honor, and especially Law 48, assume formlessness.

To be able to do Laws 6 and 16 simultaneously while not contradicting each other is impressive. The all-seeing eye, has become a kind of pop culture icon, for example. If the isn’t specifically used by the Illuminati, others do use it simply because it’s a well-known symbol. It’s become a kind of meme. Seth McFarlane even embedded the eye in a few of his cartoons, most likely just to be ironic or to mess with conspiracy theorists, but who knows?

Despite all this, there is the distance and mystery which keeps everyone guessing and arguing about what the symbol means, which strengthens the pervasiveness of the symbol, and on and on the cycle continues. I imagine the Illuminati, if they exist, wants us to keep researching them, because as a population of people, that

Of course the most famous image is on the dollar bill. Note this isn't even touching on the tons of references in pop culture and business symbols.

makes us fear them more. They know in the sea of misinformation, that finding out the truth for certain will be difficult, and even someone who discovers the truth won’t be believed.

Make yourself aware of the symbols and treat them like signposts or signatures, act against corruption that you do see, but don’t allow yourself to fear them. The Illuminati, if it exists and is malevolent, only has as much power as the public gives them, as the people who let themselves get controlled by the symbols. Remember, if any action defines the essential principles of love and human dignity, then that action in of itself is worth fighting against. If you out a secret society along the way, hey more power to you.

3. Resist behind the scenes – If the Illuminati is running things behind the scenes, the we too must learn how to resist behind the scenes. The temptation to publicly fight the Illuminati is strong, but it comes at the cost of drawing attention to yourself. Especially given public opinion, publicly fighting the Illuminati will get you labeled as “crazy”, in a world controlled by the media, and in the possibility that there is no actual Illuminati, you don’t sacrifice your reputation. It is better to make would-be conspirators think they have you under their thumb while you work against their plans in as secret and clever a way as possible.

4. Focus on love, connection, generosity, and open-mindedness – As Bob Marley once said, “All they want to do is keep us fussing and fighting.” If there is one thing a control group or power elite has no weapon against, it is a group of positive people. Technology, T.V., ipads, social media, and work all have a role to play in distracting us from love. Whether intentional or not, these things have the potential to drive a wedge between people as much as they can connect people. separated and selfish, a group of people can easily be controlled. Just ask the CIA. They love to infiltrate important groups and sow discord when it suits their needs. If people weren’t selfish, that wouldn’t be possible.

If you want to know a little more about the Illuminati and secret societies, I recommend the following sources:

http://grasptheuniverse.com/ufo-2/ufos-are-here-lost-1977-documentary/

They are both long but worth it. Of particular interest is the area after 58 minutes on the second link. The rest of the second video is just typical ufo stuff.

Also be sure to check out the book Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry by Albert Pike. Pike was a 33rd degree Scottish Rite Mason who believed that regular masonry was a front, and that there should be a secret society within a secret society of freemasonry. Yes Virginia, the idea of freemasonry being a front for the Illuminati actually came from a 33 degree Scottish Rite Mason.

Until next time, stay clever, loving, and aware.

Feel free to check out my blog at livewithwonder.wordpress.com or email me at livewithwonder@thespiritscience.net