The Salt Shaker - Will We Ever Learn The Truth?

Imagine a salt shaker placed on a dinner table, in the shaker there are millions of grains of salt. All the salt grains are crammed in together, the only grains that aren’t are the ones at the top.

The ones at the top can see above them and around them, because of their privileged position they see that they are in a salt shaker in fact they even know what a dinner table is. However, those who are not so, and are crammed in right at the bottom, know nothing of a salt shaker or indeed a dinner table.

The grains at the bottom of the salt shaker know only of the other grains around them and are completely oblivious to the fact that they are in a salt shaker let alone placed on a dinner table.

You would think that those grains at the top would communicate what they can see to the rest of the grains so that the others can share in the marvels of what is all around them, alas they do not because they believe that they are superior to the rest of the grains because they know something that the others do not and that is that they are in a salt shaker placed on a dinner table. To them that’s all they need to feel superior and ‘special’ However, little do they know it is ‘dinner time’

The grains at the top can see that there are strange creatures sitting around the table with what seems to be some kind of strange offering in front of them. Before they know it, the salt shaker is lifted in to the air turned upside down. The grains of salt are thrown in to chaos and confusion and those at the top disappear out of the salt shaker on to the offering never to be seen again. The salt shaker is placed back on the table.

The grains in the salt shaker have changed position and some of them can see new surroundings where previously there was nothing, they try to communicate this to others around them but instead of listening, the grains at the bottom decide that their experience of being turned upside down was something much bigger than them and that a new form of idolisation must take place so that it doesn’t happen again. A religion is born.

No matter how many times the grains, that can see around them try, the grains at the bottom refuse to except their words. Time passes by and more and more grains become swept up into the new idolisation of their ‘upside down’ experience, to them something happened that they can’t explain, so they try their best to understand based on what they know, but because they are all crammed in together and do not listen to others who have had more experience, and before long the whole ‘upside down’ experience becomes something entirely different. Over a short space of time several layers of other grains decide that because there experience wasn’t exactly the same they believe that its best to idolise this ‘experience’ in a different way, another religion is born.

This goes on for a while and before long the ‘upside down’ experience is completely forgotten and a new understanding emerges. This understanding is that the grains at the top are the ‘naughty grains’ ‘the evil ones’ and that when they are turned upside down the grains that leave the shaker are punished by the ‘almighty ones’ No matter how many times the privileged grains try to reason, the others still do not listen.

From outside the salt shaker time has passed quickly but because the grains inside the shaker do not know of time they are oblivious as to what is going to happen next and before long its dinner time again. The grains at the top see the ‘creatures’ sitting around their offering and before long the shaker is turned upside down and the grains who were at the top are lost on to the offering never to be seen again, new grains take their place and the entire process starts all over again.

This continues day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, with each dinner time, a new religion is born.

Then one day out of the blue one of the ‘creatures’ knocks over the salt shaker and the entire contents of it is spilt on to the table, all the grains can see all around them, they are amazed at what they see. The ‘creature’ sweeps up the grains and places them back in the shaker. Now that each grain of salt has experienced the same thing an agreement is reached on how to precede, a new universal religion is formed.

These grains of salt do not know anything apart from their own experiences and surroundings. They do not know what a table is, what a chair is, or indeed what or who the ‘creatures’ really are yet they continue to try to explain their experiences as best they can and base their religion around it. Of course for others outside of the salt shaker it is clear what they are, for they are just salt grains, in a salt shaker, placed on a table. However, they have no need to communicate this, because to them they are just grains of salt nothing more.

The salt grains will never know………..

Originally posted by franspeakfree
Imagine a salt shaker placed on a dinner table, in the shaker there are millions of grains of salt. All the salt grains are crammed in together, the only grains that aren’t are the ones at the top.

A better analogy can be found by reading the book Below the Salt by Thomas Costain.

In mediaeval England salt was expensive and only affordable by the higher ranks of society. At that time the nobility sat at the 'high table' and their commoner servants at lower trestle tables. Salt was placed in the centre of the high table. Only those of rank had access to it. Those less favoured on the lower tables were below (or beneath) the salt.

Strictly speaking, to be 'below the salt' was to be below the salt cellar.

The phrase was in figurative use by the late 16th century, as this quotation from Ben Jonson's Cynthia's Revels, 1599 shows:

"His fashion is not to take knowledg of him that is beneath him in Cloaths. He never drinks below the salt."

www.phrases.org.uk...

And, if they (the salt grains) are in a crappy diner, then the grains at the bottom almost never get disturbed, instead they may have to share their world with rice grains, who feel impervious to destruction because they are too big to fall out of the holes in the world at the top of the shaker.

reply to post by Praxilla

...and a couple of those grains stuck near the bottom with the rice start wondering

why is their world sometimes disturbed,
why are some of our distant friends being abducted,
never to return to our world,
why do they always disappear when those massive aliens appear
and then a conspiracy theory is born

reply to post by Alethea


I have never heard this expression before although its interesting to read it bears nor resemblence to what I have wrtitten?? therefore, not a better analogy at all

Originally posted by Praxilla
And, if they (the salt grains) are in a crappy diner, then the grains at the bottom almost never get disturbed, instead they may have to share their world with rice grains, who feel impervious to destruction because they are too big to fall out of the holes in the world at the top of the shaker.

Your post is one of the reasons I campaign so hard for the ignore button, please stay away from my threads, there are countless of other threads you can add your little input in.

Salt is a good topic.

In the United States, during the First World War many young men from the Midwest were declared unfit for duty due to iodine deficiency. This led to a widespread movement to add iodine to salt.

Now Congress has declared War on Salt and is forcing everyone to remove Salt from food in the United States.

Goiter and Mental Retardation are going to make a come back. Nobody's fighting Congress to keep Iodized Salt in our foods.

reply to post by franspeakfree


This has to be one of the best things I've read so far on ATS! Brilliant parable!

reply to post by franspeakfree
I will never look at a salt shaker the same ever again!

Originally posted by this_is_who_we_are
reply to post by franspeakfree

 

This has to be one of the best things I've read so far on ATS! Brilliant parable!

Well at least on member actually understands it, thanks this_is_who_we_are, I was beginning to lose faith

I often feel like one of those grains of salt, I try to explain the more exotic facets of this reality to people, but their minds are so closed, they have to dismiss the ideas, or pretend to know better, or establish some kind of defense to protect thier minds against someone who could actually have a better grip on the true nature of reality than they do. Many people are so content in their minds, content that they know the answers, content that there is a "special place" for them and that they are somehow "chosen". Others who do know something, who see certain things, often like to keep their perceptions a secret, as they believe that they have acquired some kind of secret power. We have to face the reality that in general, when it comes to matters of the "other side" we are still primitivley wired, we either repress these things from entering our focus, make it "taboo" or deny it with "prove-ablity" or keep it in our minds as some kind of "blessing" or "gift". I often find that these people are basically just harbouring extradimensional spirits, and it is funny that when you tell them that they are a puppet and are basically just along for the ride, thier ego recoils in fear and denial, because they wanted to think that they were "special".

I can't wait for the next harvest, the extradimensional beings will gather their energy, and make their escape, the humans will feel bummed out, emptied, with all thier dreams dashed, they will simply be confronted with the reality that they have created for themselves.

Fooking Amazing read! Thank you very much. It's just put a LOT of stuff into perspective for me.

S+F if it means anything.

Originally posted by SystemResistor
I can't wait for the next harvest, the extradimensional beings will gather their energy, and make their escape, the humans will feel bummed out, emptied, with all thier dreams dashed, they will simply be confronted with the reality that they have created for themselves.

edit on 20-12-2010 by SystemResistor because: (no reason given)

Thankyou SystemResistor, thank you for restoring my faith in humanity and this site, its been a rough ride since the new changes, what with so many new people joining the site, uninterested in researching and more interested in posting complete garbage and childish one liners.

This whole salt shaker analogy came to me through a brief meditation one late evening, there was more to it but very complicated to write, I got the majority of it down, but I wish people could understand just how small we really are in this universe.

Originally posted by Baguette
Fooking Amazing read! Thank you very much. It's just put a LOT of stuff into perspective for me.

Thank you Baguette, if you liked this and it helped you reach a different perspective/outlook on the universe then please fell free to use it in your meditations. If you do not partake in meditations then I advise that you do, through a deeper understanding of our universe we can learn so much in such a short space of nonsensical time.

S+F if it means anything.

I much rather prefer to have discussion than be rewarded by stars