The Collective Unconscious and The Doomsday Conspiracy

The collective unconscious refers to the unconscious mind and shared mental concepts.

Coined by Carl Jung, the concept of the collective unconscious helps to explain why similar themes occur in mythologies and religions around the world.

Believed that human beings are connected to each other and their ancestors through a shared set of experiences. We use this collective consciousness to give meaning to the world, not much different than how an artist works.

Fear of the dark, religious symbols and worldwide archetypes, such as the tree of life, could also point to a sort of genetic memory.

In psychology, genetic memory is a theorized phenomenon in which certain kinds of memories could be inherited, being present at birth in the absence of any associated sensory experience, and that such memories could be incorporated into the genome over long spans of time.

Internet memes (lolcats, trollface, etc.) and imagery of crisis (nuclear mushroom clouds and 9/11) are a perfect example of this phenomena at work in the modern era.

Now, what if the collective unconscious could be hijacked and how could this feat be accomplished?

Hijacking the collective unconscious would require a trajectory of visual stimuli as well as moments of crisis that are mentally draining on a personal and mass scale. The best example of this would be the 24/7 news cycle.

Another idea to familiarize yourself with is the theosophical concept of tulpa.

A tulpa is a concept of a being or object which is created through sheer discipline alone. It is a materialized thought that has taken physical form and is usually regarded as synonymous to a thoughtform.

Thought manifesting itself to reality, like a metaphysical algorithm.

If we were to manifest a localized tulpa, using ATS as an example, what would we manifest? Most likely an authoritarian dystopia, WWIII and the end times. We would essentially manifest a self fulfilling prophecy.

In lovecraftian literature, mass psychosis precedes the coming of Cthulhu.

For a fun thought experiment, imagine a mainstream media writing a narrative of perpetual stress and all that negative thought energy is used to feed a slumbering beast, like a psychic vampire.

Some might call it psychological or spiritual warfare.

In any case, what would be the best way to avoid these negative thought outcomes?

Turning off the TV and not feeding the machine could be a solution.
Avoiding sensationalism and thinking positively. Doing something creative with your mental powers rather than decrying about a great reset, world war 3, the end times or the sky falling.

Yes this is a conspiracy site but that doesn't mean that every underlying thought has to be based upon fear and paranoia.

Let's manifest us a Bigfoot.

a reply to: CloneFarm1000
Bingo, that’s a partial explanation of just what a number of systems and philosophers have attempted to explain over the years. It’s certainly an aspect of mysticism, theosophy as well as ancient medical paradigms like Ayurveda and Chinese Medicine (particularly the Taoist 5 element vs. 8 humors).

Psalms and Proverbs even take a whack at it

a reply to: CloneFarm1000

Good post, OP.

Setting the MSM/societal control/etc. aside for a moment, your post makes me think about my process of understanding the “subconscious” as Jung would define.

IMO, we’ve come far enough that we can separate the physical brain/earthly body from the consciousness that makes each of us unique/have personality, and that gives meaning to everything. That is, of course, if you believe we live in a conscious driven reality - and I do.

That realization made me conclude that consciousness/sub-consciousness is backwards. Said another way, the definitions are overly simplified.

In my view, “sub-consciousness” is basically your bodies pre-programmed, automatic systems. Fight/flight. Breathing. Need food. Reproduction. That’s all programmed, and you think about all of it. We call that “conscious” because you’re aware of your automatic responses and regulated them.

However, the thing that powers your human body, drives your decision making, is why you gravitate towards various subjects, etc. is your “self”. You may have some genetic predispositions, but, you can like whatever you want. Be drawn to whatever you want. All of those “things” get played out through the human body - and thus “you” are demonstrated to the conscious world.

If people spent more time thinking about themselves in terms of what do they really like. What brings them true joy. What they wish was different, and then unpacked that “feeling”, they’d probably find some difference between lived reality and inner “desires” - or, again said differently, they’d find out who they are and why.

Instead, we’ve spent millennia asserting that “you” are below “consciousness”. That’s true in terms of importance at scale, but, it’s also wrong because we are all part of the collective consciousness that gives meaning to all things physical and allows it all to exist.

If I lay that train of thought on the OP, it makes me sense that society progresses more by realizing their consciousness is “sub” to nothing - and all things physical flow from the manifestation of consciousness.

Sadly, our consciousness runs into three real important - and 100% earthly, human matters - economics, capitalism, and scarcity.

Thanks for making me think, OP.

originally posted by: CloneFarm1000

Coined by Carl Jung, the concept of the collective unconscious helps to explain why similar themes occur in mythologies and religions around the world.

Have you considered other explanations as to why that may be the case? What if these "similar themes" originate from one particular area?

“Egypt, Persia, and Greece felt the influence of the Babylonian religion . . . The strong admixture of Semitic elements both in early Greek mythology and in Grecian cults is now so generally admitted by scholars as to require no further comment. These Semitic elements are to a large extent more specifically Babylonian.”—The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria (Boston, 1898), M. Jastrow, Jr., pp. 699, 700.

Belief regarding death: “Neither the people nor the leaders of religious thought [in Babylon] ever faced the possibility of the total annihilation of what once was called into existence. Death was a passage to another kind of life.”—The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria, p. 556.

Practice of astrology, divination, magic, and sorcery: Historian A. H. Sayce writes: “[In] the religion of ancient Babylonia . . . every object and force of nature was supposed to have its zi or spirit, who could be controlled by the magical exorcisms of the Shaman, or sorcerer-priest.” (The History of Nations, New York, 1928, Vol. I, p. 96) “The Chaldeans [Babylonians] made great progress in the study of astronomy through an effort to discover the future in the stars. This art we call ‘astrology.’”—The Dawn of Civilization and Life in the Ancient East (Chicago, 1938), R. M. Engberg, p. 230.

Carl Jung, considered one of the founders of psychoanalysis, is said to have regularly used astrology.

Your Future—Is It Written in the Stars? (Awake!—1986)

It is an October morning in the ancient city of Babylon. From atop a towering ziggurat, a priest beholds an important sign over on the eastern horizon! The constellation of Scorpio briefly rises before slowly fading beneath the advancing dawn.

TO THE superstitious Babylonians, this was most significant. Their stargazers had long noted that the stars of a certain constellation seemed to resemble a scorpion with a large curling tail. It was thus named girtab, or Scorpio. They imagined that this group of stars actually had the characteristics of a scorpion. As the scorpion is a nocturnal creature, Scorpio seemed a fitting symbol of darkness. Its brief appearance at dawn every October signaled the approach of winter.

In his book The Truth About Astrology, Dr. Michel Gauquelin explains: “They projected the earthly scorpion into the sky, and that, in its turn, was supposed to have an influence on those born under that constellation. This kind of astrological inversion still goes on today. Modern textbooks state that when the Sun moves into Scorpio at the time of birth, it confers on the newborn child some of the characteristics of the scorpion​—a dangerous, aggressive and courageous insect [arachnid], with a fearsome sting.”

Is It Scientific?

The sun no longer rises with Scorpio during October. Over the centuries, the earth’s relationship to the constellations has gradually altered. Now during October the sun instead moves into the constellation of Libra (Latin for “scales”), which is said to confer qualities such as charm and ease. Quite different from Scorpio!

While Eastern astrologers have kept up-to-date with these celestial changes, most of their Western colleagues have not. They thus base their predictions on a heavenly scheme that is some 2,000 years old! Regarding this, Drs. H. J. Eysenck and D. K. B. Nias state: “If Western astrologers are right in making any particular interpretation, Eastern astrologers are wrong, and vice versa. Yet both sides claim to be extremely successful!”

This alone sheds much doubt on the reliability of astrology. In addition, one psychologist examined the marriage and divorce records of 3,456 couples. Did the compatibility of their astrological signs have any bearing upon the success or failure of their marriages? According to Science 84 magazine: “Incompatible signs got married​—and divorced—​as often as the compatible ones.”

Astrologers counter by saying that the sun sign, on its own, is of little significance and must be considered together with planetary influences. But this also creates problems because the Babylonians believed in the influence of only five planetary gods​—Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The telescope, however, has revealed three more​—Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. This has caused confusion among astrologers. “Some astrologers,” writes Louis MacNeice in his book Astrology, “made these an excuse for the inaccuracies of their predecessors; but others . . . argued that these new planets could not influence human beings because they could not be seen with the naked eye.” Most Eastern astrologers therefore ignore the distant planets. Western astrologers, though, attach great significance to them.

The time selected as the basis for a horoscope also raises questions. Most astrologers use the moment of birth. But the law of genetics says that hereditary traits are passed on to offspring at conception, not at birth. According to the book Astrology: Science or Superstition?, the ancient astrologer Ptolemy “neatly side-stepped this by claiming that birth will be under the same constellation as reigned at the time of conception, although there is in fact no reason at all to suppose that it is.”

Scientists React

...

Babylon the Great (Reasoning From the Scriptures)

a reply to: CloneFarm1000

Now, what if the collective unconscious could be hijacked and how could this feat be accomplished?

Well, do what they do within the inner worlds. One creates a story that is attractive. Say Hermeticism.

Hermeticism or any other "ism" works on the basis of the human ability to create dreams, and by extension; shared dreams. One must understand that asleep dreams and day-dreams are basically the same thing.

If one gets enough dreamers dreaming the same dreamscape the dream becomes persistant. This can intrude on the awake consciousness through written descriptions and ritual. Ritual along with teachings creates the 'laws of physics' within the dreamscape. For example some magical practices.

HP Lovecraft wrote stories and they were published and gained a following. The Call of Cthulhu for example. That is enough to create a modest shared dreamscape. The readers' awake imaginations create the pictures which the subconscious thinks is sensory input so to speak.

Here is the great hermetic egregore that is really nothing more than a persistant shared dreamscape within the inner planes (picture was for another thread):


The picture above shows two spheres in a figure eight. In the upper is depicted the staff of Hermes, and in the lower is the Kabalistic Tree of Life complete with the dark tree.

In the upper sphere is a collage where deceased and asleep people go to learn hermeticism. The enterence is a huge lobby bathed in golden light with two staircases as per the design of the staff. This place a many levels. I used to stand outside and watch the comings and goings of "well to do fine upstanding folks".

In the lower sphere is to be found the Kabalistic Tree, both the "light" and the "dark" trees. The people in the lower sphere wear KKK looking outfits with hoods. The Rider Tarots of the major arcana swirl into form out of the black mist of misery that hangs like a thick fog. Then disappear just as quickly. That's the Golden Dawn. The Kabalah tree as the occultists practice it is huge and floats in the atmosphere, the dark tree of husks and rinds was extruded from the light one.

In the sky are a few Cthulhus. They are the interesting things here. The Cthulhu are true tulpas.

Now one might say that the upper "squeeky clean" sphere keeps itself clean by creating an extrusion which is the lower sphere. The upper is all golden light and the lower is darkened with the black mist of misery. The fine upstanding folks in the upper have the lower do their dirtywork. The upper sphere will eventually separate itself from the lower sphere; such is the mechanics of these things. What normally follows is corruption sets in again as a cycle. The dark tree is the extrusion of the light tree by the way. Oddly it is more of a networked transport system that links to other trees than what it is advertised to be.

Back to poor ol' Cthulhu.

In the past Cthulhu may have had other names, probably those names reserved for so-called "demons", and therefore they probably would have different appearences.

Here they look like Lovecrafts fictional cosmic monster. They will probably behave accordingly. The observer's thoughts give Cthulhu his appearence and a behavioural framework. His substance is made from the misery, as are most things here in the lower sphere.

Now if one understands this, one can get a better look at him. He is on the boundary of this persistant dreamscape, "dreamsphere" is just as good a description. Probably why they refer to Cthulhu as a "cosmic entity". "Cosmic" defined as from "outside".

If one looks closely, one can see transparent tentacles extending outwards of the hermetic dreamscape. It is apparrent that Cthulhu really doesn't want to be here, but is caught in the dreamscape by the dreamers collectively maintaining this world.

So to know more about Cthulhu, one has to look inside him, and we see a desire. A simple desire to exist in geometrical form. A desire desired to exist. Unfortunately Cthulhu's desire to exist found this world of misery and that is all he had to build himself out of. Sad really, some other more pleasant dreamscape and he would be a very different Being indeed.

So it is a desire that "ensouls" (for want of a better word) the thoughtform. Important!

To create a tulpa, one creates a dreamscape and a desire may find a place there and then the dream comes alive and becomes the tulpa.

I once made a thoughtform based on an off the shelf persona. This one was based on the infamous anime series Elfen Lied. The anime series dealt with some dark themes such as DID (Dissociate Identity Disorder) in secret programs. The main character had two personalities. One was the innocent and naive "Nyu" and the other one was "Lucy". Thus the term; "off the shelf persona". I bring this up as the thoughtform had two desires that found it, one for each personality. (I got into a LOT of trouble for creating them from "upstairs" by the way.)

That is how it is done.

They are basically persistant shared interactive dreamscapes. Hermeticism is one, nationalism is another. Even the Cat Fancier's Association creates the Cat Fanciers Association dreamscape, and probably why cat people sometimes get a bit loopy ; )

a reply to: CloneFarm1000

It's really difficult though. It's to come extent just human nature to turn to violence. Some use psychological violence others get physical. But civilization is a very thin veil.

And it is even attractive when you ponder 'justice' because of the Judgement.
Lovecraft was a deeply challenged man. I mean he had real issues. Childhood stuff and big losses. So to me his stuff also always is expression of that aspect.
If you'd compare him to Asimov who was very the opposite almost, just as smart but protected, with a very healthy selfworth. Yet he also often pondered challenges for humanity.
From a technological/social point of view.

But it seems all great minds who work in stories end up in bottleneck events. Is that future throwing a shadow? Or is it just another aspect of the human condition? You'll find in every period people who were sure they lived in the worst period ever.
Meaning: things are never as stable as we remember/imagine them.

a reply to: CloneFarm1000

Fantastic Thread, thank you OP.

Provokes thought and gives insight about day by day darkening of our human world.

If by some majik or miracle, power beyond our ken, control of all mass information and media instantly broadcast only images and messages of joy and hope, refocusing our collective meta energy, how quickly might we manifest a world not bathed in blood.

a reply to: CloneFarm1000

What if all the misfortunes that befall your species were, precisely, manifestations created by the other species that your species exploits, alienates and annihilates? If that were the case you are definitely doomed, for many are the species that hate yours. Bigfoot included.

a reply to: CloneFarm1000

great post!

I'm a firm believer that we create our own reality through (collective) thoughts,
and been wondering for a couple of years if humanity is being manipulated into creating a repeating collective thought form. Looking at current events from this perspective, all the propaganda, fear mongering and repetitive media messages make perfect sense. We could be 'instructed' on what to think for years and no one even noticed...

a reply to: Direne

Most of our species scoff at the idea of Bigfoot and I guess in general those are the same people who tend to do more harm to their own species too.

Marine mammals would be smart enough to hate on humans...

I also think that raising awareness of the "supernatural" in a human world that readily exploits will add to the hate. Conflict seems to be a default human setting these days and many are oblivious to how all encompassing that truly is.

How do we disengage as a species?

I remote viewed once, did I? Did my energy-laden consciousness atoms manifest into a mirrored spiritual body of myself travelling in the twinkling of an eye wherever I thought myself to be? Or did I manifest a vision in my mind believing that I actually remote viewed? Are both types of physical manifestations?

Coined by Carl Jung, the concept of the collective unconscious helps to explain why similar themes occur in mythologies and religions around the world.

Let's remember world trade by ships/boats was happening at a large scale back then and storytellers, holy men and others mixed and mingled their truths and experiences with others. Is there really any question why similar themes occurred?

As for genetic memory, to me it's more like family generational norms, behaviours and programming that had a larger role to play, if the only role.

Turning off the TV and not feeding the machine could be a solution. Avoiding sensationalism and thinking positively. Doing something creative with your mental powers rather than decrying about a great reset, world war 3, the end times or the sky falling.

I say turn on that TV/Computer/Phone and gain education, knowledge and look at all sides - watch many news programs, get many opinions, watch documentaries (see firsthand for yourself), watch intellectual discussions but always do your own research, always follow your truth. Turning away solves nothing. Being creative is a positive and healthy option, but immersing oneself in this type of isolation doesn't really help one grow in other ways.

As for bigfoot, I'm still waiting for pics.

Very cool thread. Thank you for your insight on the “what if” at play here on earth.

I like how you e really connected the dots and spelled some possibilities out here.

I was just discussing with a friend how something seems to be at work against humanity and our reality has been torn. As to the perpetuation, it indeed feels as though our collective woe is being ushered constantly to feed something.

Something evil.

a reply to: CloneFarm1000

S&F for an excellent, thought provoking thread.
This is more like the ATS I used to know, not so political. I've done very little research on Tulpas but I am aware of the idea and will look into it more as my interest has been piqued.
Thank you for waking me from my mental slumber.

It seems, those with big tulpas going, like to use humans to become their tulpas recipient.
Not only do we feed into some non local entity but there is more often than not one, or more human recipients.
Their consciousness is comprised of whatever tulpa was installed.
This allows them to access and control the information from their tulpa.
Yes making your own tulpas gets you in trouble, as it holds a rather big piece to the puzzle of the shared dreamspace, and they'd rather keep it that way.

Thoughts are powerful things.

Careful what you focus on.

You might just get what you wish for.

I was just rereading some parts of OPs post, so what is it? The unconscious or the subconscious, these are two totally distinct phenomena.

a reply to: Terpene

It seems, those with big tulpas going, like to use humans to become their tulpas recipient.
Not only do we feed into some non local entity but there is more often than not one, or more human recipients.

Your not wrong there Terpene. The key is understanding thought/feeling forms is knowing they are persistant dreamscapes. One can wake up. Though the "woke" people are just waking up within another dream. Even the simple meme works on the same principal.

I would argue that "feed" is not quite accurate a term here; "build" is better. "Contribute" is another. In the hermetic example the two dreamscapes were originally one dreamscape. As it is human built, that lent to internal corruption. These things clense themselves, so they make a "higher" and a "lower". In theosophy-speak they divide their world into higher and lower levels which is not so in the scheme of things really. The lower hermetic sphere would perhaps equate with the so-called lower planes, and the upper sphere would equate with the higher planes.

Eventually the two separate like an amoeba separates. One nice and clean and the other full of misery. Kinda reminds me of the "end of times" stories ; )

But really, dreamers (believers/participators) is what keeps these things alive. If the people on the lower level knew they were gonna get dumped by the people above, well . . .

Yes making your own tulpas gets you in trouble, as it holds a rather big piece to the puzzle of the shared dreamspace, and they'd rather keep it that way.

What are chilodhood invisible friends? Sometimes the child creates the imaginary form and something will come and live within and animate the form. lonelyness is a very loud emotion.

DID and MPD (Multiple Personality Disorder) holds a lot of secrets. The dirty laundry one might say. That lower hermetic sphere is where stuff like MK* and Mon* programming takes place. The Tarots appearing were simple programming for the newcommer and reinforcment for the returnee. A lot of the people in there are alters. That is how I found the lower place; just followed an alter "home" one day.

As for getting into trouble, LOL, well Lucy was designed as an offensive tulpa to keep unwelcome spirit visitors away. I was tired of the recruiters who didn't take "no" as an answer the first time. Those recruiters are just recruiting for their own occult dreamscapes, so why the heck would I agree to that? Those places are full of rules.

originally posted by: quintessentone
Coined by Carl Jung, the concept of the collective unconscious helps to explain why similar themes occur in mythologies and religions around the world.

Let's remember world trade by ships/boats was happening at a large scale back then and storytellers, holy men and others mixed and mingled their truths and experiences with others. Is there really any question why similar themes occurred?

There are ancient cultures so small, land-locked, and remote as to not have any outside influence from sea faring ancient civilizations, and yet their mythologies have similar structure and symbology.

I think a lot of people misunderstand the purpose of "myth" as a means of explaining the natural world. Myths are the collective symbols of dreams of a culture. The priests and shamans are gifted enough with insight into the dreams of the society to interpret as stories that speak to the spirit, or collective subconscious rather, and even have the ability to corelate such symbols to the cosmos as in the zodiac.

originally posted by: DirtWasher

originally posted by: quintessentone
Coined by Carl Jung, the concept of the collective unconscious helps to explain why similar themes occur in mythologies and religions around the world.

Let's remember world trade by ships/boats was happening at a large scale back then and storytellers, holy men and others mixed and mingled their truths and experiences with others. Is there really any question why similar themes occurred?

There are ancient cultures so small, land-locked, and remote as to not have any outside influence from sea faring ancient civilizations, and yet their mythologies have similar structure and symbology.

I think a lot of people misunderstand the purpose of "myth" as a means of explaining the natural world. Myths are the collective symbols of dreams of a culture. The priests and shamans are gifted enough with insight into the dreams of the society to interpret as stories that speak to the spirit, or collective subconscious rather, and even have the ability to corelate such symbols to the cosmos as in the zodiac.

Those ancient cultures came from somewhere and brought their myths with them from somewhere else.

originally posted by: KindraLabelle2
a reply to: CloneFarm1000

great post!

I'm a firm believer that we create our own reality through (collective) thoughts,
and been wondering for a couple of years if humanity is being manipulated into creating a repeating collective thought form. Looking at current events from this perspective, all the propaganda, fear mongering and repetitive media messages make perfect sense. We could be 'instructed' on what to think for years and no one even noticed...

That first idea you descibed, also associated with the phrase 'mind over matter', is very popular in the entertainment media though (including books). It's promoted by means of repetition ad nauseam.

Just like all forms of ESP* are heavily promoted through the entertainment media (for example by making the characters with these abilities the type of characters people want to be like: popular, admirable and likeable; the protagonists of the stories. Especially in the chick flicks and shows). *: extrasensory perception (ESP), the ability of certain persons to obtain knowledge of things without using the known senses of sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch.

Extrasensory perception includes telepathy, or knowledge of someone else’s thoughts or feelings; clairvoyance, meaning awareness of objects, events or persons without using the normal human senses; precognition, or knowledge of the future; psychokinesis, sometimes called “mind over matter,” an ability to control material objects by concentrating on them.

Many people have become fascinated by demonstrations of extrasensory perception. What accounts for the times when really accurate information comes through ESP? Certain carefully controlled experiments have produced results that scientists cannot explain. What is behind this power?

Extrasensory perception, as a means of discovering hidden knowledge or foretelling future events, is a form of divination. The Bible associates divination with wicked spirit forces, or superhuman demons. Note the basis for such a conclusion.

Acts 16:16 speaks of a certain servant girl who “used to furnish her masters with much gain by practicing the art of prediction,” something that extrasensory perceivers do today. But when the apostle Paul expelled from her “a spirit, a demon of divination,” she was no longer able to make accurate predictions. If such could occur even while the apostles were alive, should it surprise anyone that such things occur now?

Is there evidence that some manifestations of ESP today are linked with demon power? Yes. For example, Lewis Spence writes in An Encyclopædia of Occultism: “Clairvoyance [a form of ESP] remains to the present day a prominent feature of the spiritualistic séance.” Interestingly, Uri Geller, a man who has received wide publicity for his abilities at extrasensory perception, said of his power: “I believe it is generated through me by an intelligent power in the universe. I believe in God, but I do not believe this is coming from God.” (Italics added.)

It is not surprising, therefore, that serious harm has resulted to some who have become involved with extrasensory perception. Allen Cohen, a clinical psychologist and director of a drug-abuse institute, says of people who try to explore forces such as ESP: “Through improper meditation, serious illness, or attempts to astrotravel, these people see mystical visions that they can’t integrate properly into their view of life. There is a great and building problem today with the huge numbers who are becoming obsessed and possessed. When you treat their mental disturbance in a normal way they simply aren’t helped.” So why explore something that has been so harmful to others?

ESP can cause people to look to wicked spirit forces for guidance and many who have delved into extrasensory perception have become “obsessed or possessed.” As demonstrated in the experiences shared by an Eastern Ukranian woman in the article below (concerning her mother being killed by a practitioner of magic, "white magic" according to himself):

Provided With a Hope That Sustains Me (Awake! 2000)

...

... Some of them believe in astrology or spiritism, and many use the horoscope to inquire about the future. Others turn to sorcerers, or kolduns, as they are known in Russian. Some of these people seek contact with the dead in hopes of finding relief from sickness or just for fun.

...

“White Magic Is Good”

Pjotr *, a distant relative, had an accident while working in a coal mine and suffered head injuries that required treatment in a special clinic. Concerned about his health, he consulted a koldun. The sorcerer put Pjotr in touch with the spirit world. Although his wife and my parents told him that sorcery was foolish, he felt that he knew better. “What I practice is white magic,” he asserted. “Black magic is wicked, but white magic is good.”

Pjotr claimed to have powers that enabled him to foretell the future and protect people from harm. Nonetheless, Pjotr’s wife left him. Hence, Pjotr would come to stay with us, sometimes for weeks at a time. His influence on the family was terrible. At any rate, Mother and Father started to have serious arguments. Eventually, they separated and divorced. We children moved into another apartment with Mother, and Pjotr—her blood relative—moved in with us.

...

“Your Dear Mother Is Dead”

When I returned from Gorlovka, the apartment was locked, and a notice from the police forbidding entrance hung on the door. A shiver went down my spine. I went to our neighbors. Olga was too upset to talk. Her husband, Vladimir, said kindly: “Tanja, something dreadful has happened. Your dear mother is dead. Pjotr killed her. Afterward, he came to our apartment, telephoned the police, and turned himself in.”

...

... Father moved into the apartment with me, and Lubov returned from Uganda and stayed with us for a short while. At times, we had reason to feel that wicked spirit forces were harassing us. Additionally, Father had awful dreams. He felt that he was to blame for Mother’s death. “If only I had stayed with her,” he would say, “she would still be alive.” Before long, Father fell into a deep depression. Within four months of Mother’s death, he committed suicide.

...

Pjotr explained that a voice had told him to kill my mom, and he went on to describe in detail what had happened on that day. As I listened to his horrible story, my disgust was mixed with pity, for he seemed nervous, like a hunted animal. ...