looking for the elephant: a philosophical way of looking for and at history

8/14/2019 Looking For the Elephant: A philosophical way of looking for and at history

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LookingFortheElephant

APhilosophicalwayofSeeingandLooking

at,andforHistory

by

RussellD.Hartill

Publishedbythe

HSSTORYFoundation

Sandy,Utah

March,2006


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Looking for the Elephant

IAnelephantisaverytangibleandreal

creature,butadifficultonetocaptureand

transport.Tobringanelephantintoyour

homeorclassroomwouldbeatremendous

ifnotimpossiblechore.Nevertheless,it

wouldberidiculoustosaythatelephantsdontexist,justbecauseamanlacksthe

resourcestosuccessfullycaptureoneand

bringithome.Elephantsexist.

Andsodoeshistory.Itexists,andexists

outsideofourperceptionbecauseitisnota

productofmansthinking.Historyisthe

realityofwhathappenedandthereasons

behindit.

Beforewegoanyfurther,Idliketoshare

withyouapoembyJohnGodfreySaxe,

entitled TheBlindManandtheElephant.

ItwassixmenofIndostan

Tolearningmuchinclined,

Whowenttoseetheelephant

(Thoughallofthemwereblind),

Thateachbyobservation

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Isverylikeatree.

TheFifth,whochancedtotouchtheear,

Said: Eentheblindestman

Cantellwhatthisresemblesmost;

Denythefactwhocan,

Thismarvelofanelephant

Isverylikeafan.

TheSixthnosoonerhadbegun

Aboutthebeasttogrope,

Than,seizingontheswingingtail

Thatfellwithinhisscope,

Isee, qouthhe, theelephant

Isverylikearope!

Saxeteachesthehistoricalprofessionsome

wonderfullessons.Historyisnotanopinion,

prejudice,orpointofview.Historyisthe

elephant.Onenotehere:Seemingly

conflictinghistoricalaccountsmaynotbeat

conflictwitheachother.History,existingoutsideyourperception,isnotlimitedbyit;

thewayinwhichyouseeitisnotexactlythe

samewayinwhichsomeoneelsewillseeit.

History,ifsuccessfullycapturedand

presented,willbeabletoaccommodate

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Everyonceinawhile,someoneventuresinto

thejungleand,afterapersonalstruggleand

greateffort,findshiselephant.Hehasseen

it.Butnowhisjobistocaptureitand

presentitasaccuratelyandsuccessfullyas

possible.Perhapshewritesadescriptionof

itonpaper,makesasketch,takesa

photograph,filmsamovie,tapesa

videotape,makesahologram.Or,perhapshecapturesoneliveandbringsithome

(Takingitoutofcontext?!?)Allwouldbe

valiantattemptsatpresentingtheelephant

toothersandall,withoutexception,would

failmiserablyunlessonekeyingredientis

presenttheabilitytotakeyourreaderthere,

lettinghimseetheelephantforhimselfinits

ownenvironment.(incontext)

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IIHistoryexistsapartfromourperceptionof

it,perhapsjustslightlybeyondandoutof

ourpresentdayreach,butasourabilitiesof

perceptionincreasesodoourpotentialsto

closeinontheelusiveelephant.Evenwhen

wehavethesepotentialsitdoesnotmeanwewillautomaticallystumbleuponhistory.

Westilllackasenseofdirection.

Inordertocapturetheelephantandpresent

itaccuratelytootherswemustbeableto

takethemthere.Toaccomplishthiswemust

firstgetthereourselves.Letstakesometime

nowtoexaminetheanswerstotwo

questionsWheredoeshistorylive?and

Howdoesonegetthere?

Reviewingwhatweknowalready,history

existsoutsideofourperception.Perceptionisourabilitytoseesomethingasitreallyis.

Itinvolvesthesenses(sight,smell,touch,

taste,hearing)andourspiritualsenseof

feeling.Togowheretheelephantis(thatis,

togooutsideourownperception)wemust

enlarge,utilize,develop,discipline,and

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oxygen,food,andwater(butonsecond

thoughtmaybeyoushouldnt)

Dontevergiveup,butyoumustthirst,and

hungerfortheelephantifyoueverhopeto

findit.

Asyouemergefromthistunnel(andsome

peoplewontever),youwillfindyourselfbackwhereyoustartedbutsomethingswill

appeardifferent.Youwillfeeldifferenttoo,

asthoughapartofyouismissing,oras

thoughyourelookingforsomethingthat

youoncehadanddesperatelyneed,butlost.

Thisisgood.Evenifyouneverhadan

elephant,searchforitasthoughyoudid.

Yoursearchwillbemucheasierwiththese

feelingsaccompanyingyou.Also,neverbe

afraidoftheelephant.Thisisbasic.Ifyou

haveanyfearsastowhatyoullfind,you

wontfindit.Courage,topresenttothe

worldwhatyoufind,beitpopularorunpopular,isalsorequired.Non

conformistsaresometimestheworst

conformists.WhileattendingCalState

Sacramento,dressedinsolidnondenim

slacksandasportshirt,Iwasapproachedby

aprettyyoungthingwhostartedchewing

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meoutforbeingsquare,asshesaidI

dressedlikealltherest;andwasa

conformist.AskingherwhatIneededtodo

topleaseher,sheanswered,Dressinlevis

andaTeeshirt,whichhappenedtobethe

officialuniformwornbyherand80%ofthe

studentsoncampusthatsemester!

Howdoesonesearchforsomethingyouoncehad?Intwowaysphysicallyand

mentally.Whilelooking,feeling,smelling

andlisteningforit,youarealsotryingto

rememberwhereyoulostit(ifyouknew

where,youcouldgorighttoit)Sothesearch

isbeingcarriedoutintwodimensions.This

issymbolicofthedifferencebetween

undiscoveredevidencestillonsite,andthe

evidencewhichhasbeenmisplacedandlost

inourlibraries,orjustplainneverusedand

forgotten.

Byscramblingandsearchingfranticallyinalldirectionsanddesperatelytryingto

rememberwhereyoumisplacedyour

elephantonebeginstotasteandperhaps

understandwhatismeantbygoingoutside

onesperception,byusing,expandingand

exercisingallofyoursenses.

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Thisprocessmustnowbegin,but

systematically,andnothaphazardly.If

correctlyfollowedyouwillbetakendown

twopathsatthesametime.Tothefar

cornersoftheearthphysicallyandtothe

deepestrecessesofyourmindspiritually.

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IIIEnlargingyourperceptionisaccomplished

alongthreefronts.Oneeyemustbe

constantlyonthelookoutforeveryscrapof

evidencetheelephanthasleftbehind.Each

oneofoursensorsmustbelookingfor,

scanning,andreceivingevidence.Evidenceisnothistory,butitcanleadustoit.Thereis

adangerofspendingtoomuchtimewith

evidence.Remember,youreultimately

lookingfortheelephant,nottheevidence.

Evidenceisameanstotheend.

Traditionally,evidencehasbeenexamined

byonesinglesensor(sight).Eachpieceof

evidenceshouldbeexaminedbytheother

sensesaswell.(Smellabook,forexample).

Evidenceshouldbecrossexamined.Our

sensorshaveneverbeenfullyused.Nowis

thetimetodoso.Creativityisaprerequisite.Think.Involveallyoursensesinthesearch,

notjustyoureyes.Music,food,clothingwill

suddenlybecomeotherpiecesofevidenceto

lookfor.Inordertofindtheelephantyou

musttrytothinklikehedoes,andyoucant

dothatuntilyoubegintoputonhisclothes,

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eatwhatheeats,anddowhathedoes.

Experiencingevidenceinordertoarriveat

thehistoryisoneoftheguidingprinciplesof

Livinghistory.

Onceyouthinklikehedoesyoucanbeginto

findevenmoreevidencebyaskingyourself

WherewouldIgo?Floodyoursenseswith

theevidencesoftheelephant.Sinceitexistsoutsideofyourperception,any

comprehensionofthecompleteelephantwill

comeonlyafterusingyoursensestothe

fullest.Theonlywaytostretchandenlarge

yoursensesisbyoverloadingthem.

Anothereyeistunedintoandconstantly

lookingforwaystoaugmentandperfect

onesperception,description,andretention

abilitiesofboththeelephantandhis

evidence.Astechnologicaladvancesare

introducedandbarriersbrokendown,much

evidenceshouldbereexamined,inhopesofseeingmoreoftheelephantandlessofthe

spears,fans,andtrees.

Therearepitfallsthatwemustavoidin

tryingtodescribesomethingfromour

perspectivethatexistsoutsideofit.The

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door,forexample,hashingesononeside

andaknobontheother,butwhetherthey

areontherightorleftsidedependsupon

onesperspective.Knowledgetherefore,that

willteachushowtocorrectly,accurately

andcompletelyperceivewhatoursensesare

receivingmustalwaysbesought.Oursenses

willexpandaswebegintocorrectlydescribe

andaccuratelyretainthesignalstheysendus.

Thethirdeyedealswiththemostabstract,

butbyfarthemostcreativeaspectofthe

perceptionwideningprocess.Itdoesnot

lookforevidence,knowledge,or

technologicaladvancesitsuppliesthem.

Thethirdeyeisinchargeoflookingfor,and

creatinginspiration.

(Thinkofitasasense,afeeling,anintuition.

Inspirationiscreativity,ideas,

brainstorming,andflashes.)

Inthedarknessofthetunnelyourtwo

naturaleyeswerentenough,andyouwere

forcedtobegintousethisthirdeye.The

awakeningofthiseyeisthereasonwhythe

samethingsappearedalittledifferently

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uponemergingfromthetunnel.Itisvery

necessarytodevelopthiseyeandyouwill

entermanyatunnelpreciselyforthis

purpose.Perhapsnotmanytunnels,butthe

sametunneloverandoveragain,untilyou

canseewhatwasreallythereallthetimein

frontofyou.Whetheryoueveremergefrom

thetunnelwilldependonhowwellyou

developthiseye.

Itisbecauseofthiseyethatyoubeginto

searchforsomethingyouveneverseen

before.Youhavenoideahowyoull

recognizewhatyouveneverseen,butthe

lightthatthiseyereceivesistellingyoutogo

on.Onecannotquiteunderstandnorexplain

it,butitisanessentialandimportantto

followanddevelopthiseye.Quiteoftenit

willquietlytellyoutodosomethingwithout

explainingwhy,orcometoyoulateatnight,

earlyinthemorning,orinadream.Learnto

useit.Whileyouhavetwoeyestolook,smell,touch,andlistenfortheelephant,you

onlyhaveoneeyehelpingyoutoremember

whereyoumisplacedit.

Onewillbetterappreciatetheimportanceof

thiseyelater,sufficeitfornowjustto

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mind.Fastingisalsoareligiousterm,

meaninggoingwithoutfood.Manypeople

getsocaughtupindoingsomethingthat

timefliesandbeforeyouknowitits

nightfallandyouhaventeaten.Ifyouarent

thatexcitedaboutsomethingyououghtto

be.tryfasting.

Inthismannerwegodownthetwopaths,pickingupevidence,broadeningoursenses,

explainingourperceptionphysicallyand

descendingintoourmindsspiritually,using

twoeyestofollowthefirstpathandoneto

followthesecond.Thesurprisingthingis,

thetwopathswillonedaymeet,andwhere

theydo,thereyouwillfindtheelephant.

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IVWehavebeensearchingfortheelephant

withfaiththatitexistsandfaiththatwewill

recognizeitoncewereachit.Wehavebeen

treatingourquestasifitwereasearchfor

somethingweoncehadbutlost,treatingit

asthoughtheelephantwasamissingpartofourselves.Wehavebeensearching

spirituallywithinourselvesforitaswellas

physicallyoutsideourselves.Thesetwo

pathswehavebeenfollowingbenefitfrom

anddevelopfromeachothersdiscoveries.

Theyaresimplydifferentfacetsofa

commonquest.

Thereoccursanabrupt,curiouschangeata

certainpointinthedevelopmentofthethird

eye.Broughtonbytheevidencebeing

receivedbytheothertwoeyes,the

experienceofthetunnel,andthefeelingsofgrowthanddevelopmentofthesenses,your

thirdeye,foraninstance,catchesaglimpse

oftheelephant.Gonenowistheneedfor

faithinthatitexistsorinrecognizingitonce

weseeit.Ourjobnowistocontinue

developingourperceptionuntilwecan

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glimpsetheelephantforlongerandlonger

periodsoftimeandfinallyhaveitcontinual

infrontofus.

LookingfortheElephantisnotreallya

searchtoadistantplacebutanewabilityto

seewhatwasalwaysthereinfrontofusbut

aboveandbeyondourperception.Looking

fortheElephantisthesearchforeyeswithwhichtoseethingsastheyare.

Thisoccurswhenonebeginstorealizeand

perceiveonesrelationshiptohistory.We

havebeensearchingfortheelephantas

thoughitwereamissingpartofusbecause

itis.Wearewhereandwhatwearetoday

becauseofhistory. Thinkofyourfather,

yourgreatgrandfatherandsoon.Westand

onthesummitoftheircollectiveshoulders

aswereachforthestars.

Whenapieceofevidenceisidentifiedasoraccuratelyfelttobepartofthereasonwhy

wearewhereandwhatwearetoday(in

orderwords,apartofhistory),itbecomesa

partofus,anextensionofourselves.We

deepenourperceptionofwhereandwhat

wearefromtheinsidewhilelookingforit

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ontheoutsideaswell.Therecomesatime

whenthepieceofevidencefallsintoplace,

somethingclicks,andweseetheelephant.

Thisdoesnotmeanthatanythingfelttobe

soishistory.Historywillneverbejust

whateveronefeelsittobe.Manytraditional

rulesofevidenceacceptancemustbe

followed.Whatisreferredtohereisthepsychic,cosmicorspiritualaesthetic

identificationonecanhavewithavalid,

accuratelyperceivedpieceofevidence.

Tounderstandourselveswestudyhistory

andtounderstandhistorywestudy

ourselves.Evidenceisnthistoryuntilwecan

perceiveitsrelationshiptous,untilitcomes

aliveforus.Whenthisoccurswewillfeel

almostasifwearerelivingtheeventor

experience(becauseyoudidlivethroughit

before)

Thesearchisaphysicaloneontheoutside

andaspiritualoneontheinside,involving

feelings,sentiments,personalattachment.

Everypieceofvalidevidenceisapieceof

ourselves,andrelatedtousinacertain

uniqueway,differentfromanyoneelse.The

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insidesearchisforanunderstandingofthis

relationship.Whenwediscoverapieceof

evidenceandcanperceiveitasitis,apiece

ofourselves,wewillnotonlybeableto

catchaglimpseoftheelephantfromthe

outside,wecatchaglimpseofitasbeing

insideus(thefeelingofrelivingit,having

beenthroughitbefore,identifyingwithit,

relatingtoit).Theoutsidesearchwillleadusbacktoourselvesandhelpustoremembera

pastwereallywereapartof,thepastthat

liesdormantinsideusall.Ithelpstothinkof

ourselvesashavingalwaysexisted,

witnessinghistory,andonlyhavingjust

recentlyreceivedatbirthaphysicalbody.

Thisisntaswildasitsounds.Becausewe

areonthesummitofourancestorscollective

shoulders,andbecausewearewhereand

whatwearetodaybecauseofhistory,we

have,throughthem,vicariouslywitnessed

history,andforthosebelieversofan

afterlife,woulditbeanyhardertobelievethatyouweresomewherebeforeyouwere

bornifyouholdtotheideathatyoullgo

somewhereafterdeath?

Historyisasmuchinsideourselvesasitis

outsideourselves.Wejustlackaperception

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ofit.Wearesearchingforsomethingwe

dontremember(butitappearstousas

thoughweveneverknownit),butwhenwe

arrivewellknowitbecausewevebeen

therebefore.Evenifweforgetwhat

somethinglookslike,uponseeingitagain

werecognizeit.Youwillrecognizethe

elephantwhenyouseeitbecauseyouve

seenonebefore,andyouvebeentherebefore.Itisapartofyou.Somethingswe

justknow.Littlechildren,withoutbeing

told,knowthatlittlechicksdontgrowupto

beGermanShepardwatchdogs.Evenifwe

forgetwhatsomethinglookslike,tothe

pointofdenyinghavingeverseenitbecause

wecannotrememberit,uponseeingitagain

youllrecognizeit.Icannotprovetoyouthat

youhavebeentherebefore,butneithercan

youproveyouhaventbeentherebeforejust

becauseyoucantrememberit.Thehuman

mindforgets.Elephantsneverforget.

Whentheoutsideevidencecanbeperceived

asanextensionofyourself,youglimpsethe

elephantandrewitnesshistory.Intimewith

moreandmoreevidence,youwillseemore

andmoreoftheelephantforlongerand

longerperiodsoftime.However,thefact

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thatyouhaveseenitisnoguaranteethat

youwillbeabletoshareyourdiscoverywith

me.

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Youmustwriteforyouraudience.Youve

gottoknowwheretheyreat.Thisrequires

forethought,planning,time,concern.You

cannotneglectthem.Eachpieceofevidence,

eachstepmustbedescribedandpresented

accuratelyandneveratalower,lessaccurate

perceptionlevelthanyouraudience.Tosell

JohnBrownwhatJohnBrownbuys,youve

gottoseethingsthroughJohnBrownseyes.Ideallyitshouldbedescribedatthesame

perceptionlevel,bitbybit,addingand

becomingmoreandmorepreciseand

specificastheperceptionabilityofyour

audienceincreasesandapproachesyour

own.

Afterseeingtheelephantyouareina

positiontodescribeitbutyoumusttryto

seeitanddescribeitthroughtheeyesof

yourreader.Describeitasaccuratelyasyou

canintermsoftheirlimitedperception

(withoutsacrificingtruthfulness).Inviteandencouragethemtofindtheirown

relationshiptoit,andteachthemhowto

increasetheirperceptionuntilyouboth

arriveattheelephant.

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ABOUTTHEAUTHOR

RussservedasthefirstMissionHistorianfor

theChileSantiagoNorthMission.Whilein

Chile,Russcontractedtyphoidfeverand

wasbedriddenforamonth.While

recuperatingatthemissionhomehewrote

this.

UponhisreturntoAmerica,heenrolledat

CalStateFullerton,graduatingwithaBAin

History.RussmarriedSusanTeresa

Rodriguezin1979andhastwosons,

DouglasStewartHartillandBrannanRussell

Hartill.HelivesinSandy,Utahandpractices

law.Heisapopularspeakerandis

ExecutiveDirectoroftheHSSTORY

Foundation.

RusswishestothankStevenSpenserfor

listeningwhilebouncingoffmanyoftheideascontainedinLookingfortheElephantandforhiscontinuedfriendship.

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ABOUTTHEHSSTORYFOUNDATION

AsaresultofthistreatiseandRussdeep

appreciationandrespectforhistory,he

announcestheformationoftheHSSTORY

foundation,a501(c)(3)educationaland

scientificorganizationdedicatedtousing

hardwareandsoftwaretosell,teachor

researchyesterday,(H.S.S.T.O.R.Y)

Supportedinpartbythegenerous

contributionsofHartillandSons(weputthe

HSinHSSTORY)aswellascontributions

oftimeandtalentsfromreaderslikeyou,the

HSSTORYFoundationisdedicatedto

helpingyoufindtheelephantandto

creativelyanddynamicallyinterpret

WesternAmericahistory.Wewelcomeyour

inquiriesintosuchprogramsasMinersof

HSSTORY,MinersusingHSSTORY,the

PacificStatesLibraryandAcademyof

PacificStatesHistory,BancroftsWest,theLIVINGWESTandBeyondBancroft

TheHSSTORYFoundation

140W9000SSuite1

Sandy,UT84070

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INDEX

aestheticidentification, 14

afterlife, 15audience, 18Bay Area Microfilm,

6bibliography, 17

Cal StateSacramento, 7collective shoulders,

14, 15describe, 6, 10, 19desire, 17discovery, 16, 17door, 10

elephant, 2, 3, 4, 6,7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12,13, 14, 15, 16, 17,18, 19, 21

Elephant, 1, 2, 13,20

environment, 5, 17evidence, 6, 8, 9, 10,

12, 13, 14, 16, 17,18

eye, 9, 10, 11, 13,17, 18

fan, 3, 4feel, 7, 14footnotes, 17hinges, 10

history, 2, 4, 6, 9,13, 14, 15, 16, 17,20, 21

HSSTORY, 1, 20,21

inspiration, 10intuition, 10

knob, 10knowledge, 10let me see, 17meditation, 11neglect, 18oxygen, 7path, 7, 12, 18paths, 8, 12, 13

people, 7, 11, 17perception, 2, 4, 6, 8,

9, 10, 11, 12, 13,14, 15, 17, 18, 19

perfect, 10perfection, 4personal, 4, 14, 17planning, 18

prayer, 11relationship to

history, 13, 18remember, 8, 11, 15Rhyolite, 6rope, 3Saxe, 2, 4

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see, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10,13, 14, 15, 16, 17,

18, 19seeing, 10, 15, 17,

19smell, 6, 11snake, 3, 4spear, 3take me there, 17taste, 6, 8

third eye, 10, 11, 13,17, 18

tree, 3truthfulness, 4, 19tunnel of

importance, 7utilize all the senses,

17video game, 18wall, 2, 4

looking for the elephant: a philosophical way of looking for and at history

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