USPS Conference QFAS and Unitarians Review
As treasurer David Bidwell pointed out during the formal AGM on the first night, the society is in robust financial health, but lacking numerous volunteers to staff the executive roles. Succinctly stated by him as more a ship “in need of a new crew” than a sinking ship. Having put the position clearly there was a hefty debate on the preferred route forward, with a change of name and focus being mooted as the best option in terms of attracting new members and giving the most realistic hope of persuading the likeliest candidates to take executive roles. The proposition involved a vote on whether the society would rename itself, including the word “consciousness” in the new title. The required two thirds majority eventually appeared in the vote taken within the room, the addition of the proxy votes already stated in favour made the result overwhelming.
Saturday set-up a series of presentations, effectively attacking the great mystery at the heart of the chosen topic. It was never remotely likely that consciousness would be cracked in a day, but some effective chipping away ensued and the crowd grew with the addition of day visitors. I’m not equipped to accurately rate the success of the opening session – my own talk titled Long Strange Trip to Today. I’ll simply state that it covered a personal journey in which the apparently easy answers presented in UFO research had long ago disappointed me and explained how I’d come to see a greater understanding of consciousness in all its forms as the likeliest route to answering the questions that have been bothering me for most of my adult life. As I usually do when reviewing my own talks, I can accurately report that I delivered within the requested running time and when I heard laughter in the audience it was in the places I’d hoped to hear it.
Any lingering tensions from a debate that clearly had strong opinions were attended to in a closing session in which USPS member and astrologer Nicki Aspeotis offered Cosmic Consciousness by way of a session detailing her own studies and understanding covering her initial work in theosophy and eventual move into an extensive knowledge of astrology. The closing guided meditation proving the perfect end to an intense evening, especially for the delegates who’d put in significant road miles on the way to Great Hucklow.
The first two presenters were effectively drafted in, meaning the first familiar face speaking at the front of the room was Reverend Andi Philips who performed some of Mark Rotherham’s magic, breaking down Religious and Spiritual issues with AI, into categories and providing enough illumination to tease out the likely truth from the borderlands between intelligence as we’ve known it for years and the growing possibilities and threats of AI. Andi Philips’ own journey from advocate to sceptic helped illuminate the story, so too her frank admission that a monumental tonnage of content, sufficient to fill most of the allotted afternoon time, had been edited down. For those truly in search of the missing minutiae she offered to email the presentation around on request.
The onslaught of information gave way to profound insight when Aidan Shingler took his slot to steer the audience through a life-story punctuated with bouts of mental illness. The salvation in his frequently derailed life has come from the gift he displays for communication and the focus of his art, writing and activism on allowing people insights into his experience and, with it, the depth of understanding he has gained into consciousness. Aidan is part of the Compassionate Mental Health network who aim for “a world where more people recover after a serious mental health crisis, and people have access to a range of compassionate services to help develop positive mental health and wellbeing” and take the motto “resistance is fertile” into this quest. Fertile also describes the vivid, accessible and inspired examples of his art that appeared on the screen as he spoke. For myself, the StarDisc, a large map of the cosmos sitting on a small hill near Wirkswirth, and celebrated in many ways by the public stood as a monument to the positive side of Aidan Shingler’s journey, and on a day when the sun striking the rolling Peak District countryside was visible through the windows of the lecture room it also linked with the sense of connection he continues to strive towards. A moving and impactful presentation.
By contrast, a short and lively panel discussion which effectively formed an encore to the afternoon brought a truly random selection of subjects and a few laughs.
For the session that opened the Saturday evening. I brought a slightly modified version of my World of the Strange Workshop chronicling bizarre first-hand experiences in paranormal investigation, asking the audience how they would have coped. It’s frequently a favourite when I’m booked to speak to groups like u3as or as a means of getting passive audience members involved when I’m hired for online events. This was the first time I’d faced a crowd largely defined by a willingness to embrace the paranormal, I got a few surprising answers, and – once more – I got the laughs where I hoped to find them.
Mark Rotherham concluded the evening with a screening of the vital and very moving Planetary documentary movie, evoking a global consciousness and environmental awareness.
Before a brief piano recital, hymn and prayers and a final Sunday Morning guided meditation from Nikki Aspeotis what may prove to be the most vital thing achieved over the weekend occurred. The final USPS meeting chose to change the society’s name to Unitarian Psychical and Consciousness Society. As of this writing the rebranded and reborn group plan to convene for a conference themed around life after death on 14-16 May 2027, and – most likely – managing it with a new leadership team in place.
