Most people seem to accept the idea of a supernatural/paranormal level to existence, even if they do not claim to know exactly what that is. Although I have had some contact with the unseen for most of my life, I have never felt sure of what is out there than I somehow catch echos of.  My experience tells me that most religious traditions have codified an allegorical reference to someone’s long ago authentic experience.  But the narratives have been so distorted that ‘truth’ is not clear.   How can we peel back the layers and find the substance?

As I let the many traditions and modern theories swirl in my overloaded brain, I cannot escape the impression that all paths are ways to approach the same thing.  If there is truly one core metaphysical reality that somehow interacts with our own, what would it be.  If we sift all of the common elements together and then stop back, what kind of picture emerges?  So many have proposed unifying ideas of the other, but so far I have not felt that ‘snap’ that indicates a solid lock.  To me so many traditions seem to have a gilded facade that may hide a darker truth.  What unpalatable reality may be underneath the stories of faith and redemption?

So far, these attributes seem to fit the essence of the many traditions:
–  There is a form of consciousness that exists outside of our daily sensory realm.
–  There is an inherent connection between that entity and ourselves.
–  I suspect some kind of symbiotic interchange exists between us and has for most of our existence as a species.
–  Conversely, there seems to be some faction of the entity that is parasitic and hostile.
–  They do not inhabit the same sensory realm as we do.
–  They seem to need something intangible but essential from us.
–  They seem to be capable of manipulating our perceptions.
–  They are shadows in our world and we are shadows in theirs.

Possible interpretations:
–  We are pawns in some other entities long term internal power struggle.
–  We provide something intangible they need or want, so they manipulate our perceptions to elicit certain reactions.
–  We may be a form of livestock to them to be maintained and drained as needed, as aphids are to ants and as cows are to us.
–  We are not supposed to know what is really going on, we are fed lies and illusions to pacify us.
–  We are somehow related or connected, yet not eqipped to directly interact without an extreme effort or altered state.

Critical questions:
–  Some of their reality does spill over into ours, but how much is real and how much is illusion?  Is the distortion intended or accidental?
–  Where they somehow responsible for our existence, as so many traditions refer to a creator?
–  Are they a remnant or a vanguard?