Theos-Talk Archives (December 2001 Message tt00209)

Hi, Daniel:

Feel free. I did not realize I had written so much. 
If you are going to edit it, pls leave my name off and
then you can do whatever you wish with it. In
response to your question how one could determine if
the stories are true, the best evidence is in the
story you published about "Ootan Liatto" and the
multiple pencils story published by Olcott. I am not
clear how any objective historian could read either of
these and conclude that Olcott was not inhaling
something at the time he saw what he says he saw. If
we are going to believe Olcott was being truthful,
then we have to follow the logical consequences of
that belief.

The rest of the evidence seems to support the Olcott
evidence.

The evidential questions with regard to the Coulomb
and Solovyoff testimony, though, are quite different. 
It is possible with normal methods of historical
criticism to sort the wheat from the chaff in those
cases and also with regard to the Hodgson report, in
which case these documents become valuable materials. 
The methodology required is a multi part one, but the
first step is to edit out and discard all subjective
impressions as distinguished from observations. I
have not read the Coulomb book, but that does away
with most of what Solovyoff said. The second step in
Solovyoff's case is to compare and contrast what he
said to Hodgson with what he said in his book. The
end result is that an honest criticism is much more
satisfying than an apology. It neither serves the
hostile not the servile side of the argument.

As for whether Blavatsky had an occasional drink or
not, I cannot help wondering: So what? Olcott denied
that she was a drinker when they were in India, and
even if she were, it does not explain anything that I
can see.

Steve

--- danielhcaldwell <danielhcaldwell@yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
> Dear Steve,
> 
> You have been quite prolific of late in writing
> about your "sense 
> distorting fumes" hypothesis to explain (at least)
> some of Olcott's 
> experiences involving the paranormal.
> 
> I have found the following posts from your pen on
> this subject:
> 
>
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theos-talk/message/4061
> 
>
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theos-talk/message/4082
> 
>
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theos-talk/message/4085
> 
>
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theos-talk/message/4091
> 
>
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theos-talk/message/4117
> 
>
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theos-talk/message/4130
> 
>
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theos-talk/message/4133
> 
> Since I think this is an important subject which
> needs to be explored 
> in greater detail, I will try in the next week or so
> to write a 
> somewhat detailed commentary on what you have
> written above.
> 
> In the meantime, with your permission I would like
> to post these 
> above mentioned emails of yours as an informal essay
> on my web site 
> BLAVATSKY ARCHIVES.
> 
> Thanks for sharing your ideas on the subject and let
> me know if I can 
> post this material.
> 
> Daniel H. Caldwell
> BLAVATSKY ARCHIVES
> http://hpb.cc
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ 
> 
> 


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