Speaking of Elves and Faeries

I've just come from the monthly get-together that I fondly call Mystic Pizza. It's a few people--frequently very few--who get together at a local K&W cafeteria to talk about metaphysical subjects.

This time the talk ranged from the story of a FAIRY SIGHTING to the question of whether cause-and-effect rules the universe.

Everyone seemed open to the most extreme possibilities. On each subject, at least one person had no doubt.

I've read that something like 42% of Americans believe in ghosts. But most of us don't go around in the world at large talking about such things. And that's understandable. For one thing, it could put a job at risk. (In my first novel Revelation, I wrote about a minister who heard the voice of God, and TOLD, and his liberal congregation began to question whether he was well.)

I wonder WHAT THE WORLD WOULD BE LIKE, IF WE ACTUALLY TALKED FREELY ABOUT WHAT WE REALLY BELIEVE.

For myself, I face no risk at all. As an artist with a metaphysical bent, I have a cultural sanction for being wacky. It's expected, nearly obligatory. The fact that I tend to wear classic clothes (with a twist) instead of flowing gowns with moons and stars on them is probably more of a liability than claiming gnomes are doing my garden chores. But I boldly go on with my quiet presentation.

At the same time, I find that, with nonbelievers, I talk far more skeptically about the "supernatural" than I am. I'm completely willing to believe stories of ghosts and fairies etc--and I want to get to see them too. Sunday I went to a Body, Mind, Spirit Expo, and bought a fifteen-minute reading from a guy, Christian von Lahr, who sees "little people." The way I tell the story of that intriguing conversation varies depending on who I'm talking with. I've heard myself speaking with a lot more skepticism and irony than I feel.

As the popular saying goes: what's up with that?