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