They Live

I recently rewatched the cult classic movie They Live, and I was reminded how poignant this movie from 1988 remains to this day. Starring former professional wrestler “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, the movie is about a global conspiracy of intergalactic beings who have infiltrated Earth to use humans as their slaves, all while giving them the illusion of happiness under the guise of consumption. After Piper’s character begins to “see” what’s really going on, he tries in earnest to wake up other humans, but so many times in the movie, the humans try their hardest to stay asleep, culminating in an overly drawn-out wrestling throwdown in a back alley with one of the other main characters. When interviewed once by a radio host, Piper said that the movie was actually a documentary, not fiction.

Since the 1970s, the field of neurolingustic programming has emerged to reinforce the idea that our imagination can create reality, and that our words have power. Several scientific studies over the years have supported the idea that we can shape outcomes by our beliefs, which are echoed by our voice in the things we say to ourselves and others. Of course, if we accept that consciousness and intention can shape reality, then we must understand that consciousness and intention directed towards creating a reality that benefits the few at the expense of the masses has been happening for years. Neurolingustic programming can be used for “good” to create a better world for ourselves through positive affirmations and belief patterns, and it can also be used for “evil” to manipulate people into thinking they are powerless, with a conclusion that any attempt to gain power over your reality would be fruitless.

Now, we’ve come to a point in history where ancient practices like meditation and awareness are sometimes disdained and written off as “pseudoscience.” Our culture has invented a host of (neurolinguistically programmed) terms like “psychobabble” or “conspiracy theorist” to write off attempts to look beyond currently accepted paradigms of our life experience. We are told that the only things that exist are those in  the coarse “reality” of our physical world, the only measure of wealth is what we’ve accumulated in this realm, and that our subtle perceptive powers are of no value or could hurt us. Things like television, media, pharmaceutical drugs, alcohol, and the manufactured consensus serve to perpetuate this belief system in an endless cycle. They live. You sleep.