Right from the start in the recent Cork South Central by-election some obvious main players dominated the stage but one candidate managed to catch a certain amount of attention, not because he was ever going to win, but because he was going to lose by a long stretch and gamely entered the fray anyway.
If yogic flying is your thing, the electorate of Cork South Central might seem a strange group to start with but Brian McEnery Ph.D., who stood for the Natural Law Party, decided to have a go anyway. He knew from early on that he didn't stand a chance. But he had no intention of quitting the count centre before the announcement of his defeat. He polled 150 first preferences.
Brian McEnery describes himself as a serious scientist. He has a Ph.D. in computational mechanics from UCC. He realises that for many people his philosophy is "off the wall" but that doesn't worry him in the least.
What does yogic flying mean - can people fly? McEnery draws diagrams indicating levels of awareness such as speech, thought and intuition, leading to a transcendental state of inner consciousness that can minimise the power of gravity for those able to achieve it. There is a degree of levitation - "hopping" those in the know call it.
It amounts to a state of orderliness - leaving aside the unwanted stresses, overcoming them, defying gravity through a purity of thought and concentration. When the mind has reached that sublime position, it is possible, he says, for practitioners to lift physically off the ground. It may last for only a few seconds but it is a goal worth reaching, he adds.
"It's about the powerful use of the mind. I've spent eight years researching this. Initially, the concept seems somewhat strange. In fact, it's not strange at all. I know from the research results available that the Natural Law Party can make a difference. The thing is that it is difficult for people to make sense of all this but if you look into it, it is there to be understood."
McEnery wants to establish a research institute in Cork to bring together kindred spirits. The Natural Law Party's approach, he says, could make a difference in many walks of life. It is about harnessing natural energy, introducing order where there is disorder and bringing a calming influence to bear on the daily round.
The institute he hopes to set up would bring Irish scientists together to develop cleaner technology and measures through psychic awareness that could make the world a better place. The concept, he insists, is not too far-fetched and there are studies to prove it.
He cites some 500 research projects over the past 25 years dealing with transcendental meditation and yogic flying. The studies show, he says, that yogic fliers, working in tandem, can have a benign effect on their environment, be it in stressful urban or rural situations or war zones. Clearly, the idea has not yet caught on in Cork South Central.
Brian McEnery, who believes his campaign was treated unfairly by the media, is of the opinion, nevertheless, that the time for the Natural Law Party is at hand.
As a movement, he stresses, it has grown slowly but very definitely since its foundation in Britain in 1992. In the general election there that year, the party fielded 310 candidates and received 0.4 per cent of the vote. In June and July of 1992, Natural Law Party conferences were held in London, Ottawa, Washington, Tokyo, Bangkok and Melbourne. In 1994, in seven European countries, the party fielded more than 400 candidates for the European Parliament. It received 400,000 votes - an average of 0.5 per cent of the vote in the countries where candidates went forward. Brian McEnery's commitment is not in question.
On RTE radio some years ago I interviewed a woman who claimed she could fly - but she wasn't flying that day. Nevertheless, it gave me the opportunity to ask people to tune in, in case there would be live on-air flying. It was one of those quirky items and I'm not sure whether the woman claimed to be a yogic flier.
Brian McEnery says the concept is a serious one and should be taken seriously. He makes a good case. Even the sceptics should talk to him.