What did Shakespeare portray in his plays that makes producers, directors, and actors seek involvement in the bard’s work? I mean, the dude wrote 400 years ago in very Early Modern English. Why is his work so irresistible? I know it’s not great to everyone, but the reality is that major money is spent putting his work into action every year.
Romeo and Juliet — youth desiring to express themselves, make their own decisions, defy the wishes of their families — shows the pathos of the young people, the logic of their families, the impulsive passion of egoic conflict and how misunderstanding of one another and lack of empathy creates a tragedy. Hmmm. Do things like that happen now? Did they happen before? Macbeth — political intrigue fueled by unbridled greed for power — makes an easy parallel to the struggle for power throughout history, including today’s American scene. Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales presents a microcosm of late 14th century society and was written in late Middle English. Guess what: analogies to the 31 people portrayed there exist abundantly today. In Gulliver’s Travels, Jonathan Swift presents a brilliant, creative satire that characterizes and condemns elements of our world today as much as it did in 1726. Then, when the Age of Enlightenment occurred, followed by the Industrial Revolution, the Romantic poets, writers, and thinkers exposed the discrepancy between technological advancement and the emotional and spiritual states of humankind, and that produced huge problems for society. The greed of mankind that accelerated with the advent of faster, more efficient ways to make money and gain power showed that people had not advanced with the technology. Why? Because since the beginning of our race, the only event that makes a difference for our good is when the individual awakens to self through hearing the heart, through choosing the heart as the guide and filter to truly enlighten life. Technology isn’t always the problem; the misuse of it is. That excludes technology that is harmful to us and the environment. When that occurs, it’s only because of the same human ego — a desire to gain wealth, power, or importance at any expense. Folks, it’s all about the heart. I have referred to self-awareness and self-awakening to the voice of the heart over ego as the Unified Theory of Humanity. This spiritual awakening has always been the keystone to true human progress. Technology is not the salvation of our race; our hearts are. I know that I have previously quoted William Wordsworth, one of the founders of the Romantic movement, and when he first-hand saw the ravages of man’s ego on humans and nature during the Industrial Revolution, eventually his hopeful tone changed in the poem “The World Is Too Much with Us.” His insight about what was happening kind of sums up what I have been saying here, and pretty much in the last 135 posts. Listen: “The world is too much with us, late and soon, Getting and spending we lay waste our powers: Little we see in Nature that is ours; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!” The benefits of technology was rising affluence but only for a select few, especially the decision-makers. People had sacrificed their hearts and Nature for the ego pursuits of possible wealth. Hearts know and value the significance of connections and relationships and of people coming to know core Self. Hearts guide us to labor to gain the wealth of expressing that core Self in love to all else. Trading that away thoroughly disgusted Wordsworth. And it should us, too. As I said, technology isn’t the problem; our egos are. Any transformation that occurs in humanity will happen through a grassroots movement — one by one coming to know Self. If at some point those transformations reach a tipping point, then our development as sentient beings will exceed the advances of technology. That’s the way it should be!
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As long as I can remember, I have been intrigued with colors. My dad was a painter — houses, not canvas! — and he was old school, mixing the colors of paints and stains. He taught me to do that, too, maybe because I was always trying to play in the little cans of linseed-oil based tints. He explained basic color theory to me, made me learn it, and showed me how any color could be made from the primaries red, yellow, and blue. He showed me, although we sure couldn’t paint walls with it, how to make blacks that could complement other colors based on percents of the primary colors used. I still appreciate various colors in almost any expression where it is used thoughtfully in reference to basic principles.
But then, I learned about light, the rainbow, and the electromagnetic spectrum — and how it was related to solid colors. Blew my mind when I was rather young. Why did pigments mix to form black, but light mixed to form white? What? Black and white. Of course, I understand now, I think! What I love now is that I know these vibrational energies of the light spectrum represent just what we can see. And all objects appear the color they are because of their ability to absorb the visible light spectrum. But everything is vibrating with energy, the energies of the electromagnetic spectrum beyond our vision. How that plays into our mental vision and emotional states, I don’t know. Experientially, though, I know this: when the world appears gray, dull, and drab in the throes of depression or rejection or any of a hundred negative emotions, I can tune into those energies by using the prism of my heart and my soul. I can refocus all of those energies that I am receiving and change the perception of my environment’s color in my mind. Beyond this, though, is the perception that we have of one another. The next time that we catch ourselves zoning out when with someone, just not interested because we think that they are not interesting, that they are gray, well maybe we should let the light of their spirits pass through our heart’s prism and see the glorious colors that make up that “gray” person. In color, grays occur when two different hues neutralize one another; the color is all there but needs to be separated out. We can do that, and we can be reinvigorated with the beauty of life around us. We can see so many more possibilities. We can be as excited as those electrons that are vibrating to emit color wavelengths, which we can detect with our human visual apparatus. Our spiritual, mind’s eye apparatus can detect far more than our physical eyes. In my novel, The Fellowship of the Heart, I use the phenomenon of rainbows rather prominently. In fact, an ancient Celtic tribe in it is know by the name of Gwarak an Glaw, the tribe of the Rainbow. It’s no wonder since I have been so fascinated with color throughout my life. It’s also no wonder that I communicate the value of coming to know the variegated colors of Self so that we can filter the souls of others and our environment to see the beauty all around us. If this happened much more, I know that we would see much less ugliness, many less nondescript souls who are ignored, hurt, and grown resentful. These energies surround us, interact with us, affect us. We need to awaken to them. Which brings me to a song that speaks deeply to my heart. Music holds great power, along with things like sight (of colors) and smells. The mix of senses, a simple definition of synesthesia, can really amplify the ideas about which I write, which is why I love the song “Colors of the Wind.” Just a few lines and comments: “But I know every rock and tree and creature / Has a life, has a spirit, has a name…/ Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains? / Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?” These words communicate the sense that the great vibrational energies of the Universe operate in everything, that they can be discerned (as Vincent seemed to be able to do). And beyond that, mountains that sing — not just “purple mountains” — and the wind that paints. Oh, those can only be experienced and known by those who have come to be finely tuned to their own hearts and can use their spirit as a prism to refract the light of creation and life and bask in that magnificence. And then express it. The good news is anyone, everyone can do this, and it’s not hard. It’s simply desire. Do you want to know self? Do you want to see the beauty of all creation? Do you want to be in harmonic vibration with this grand scheme? Do it. Speak to your heart, open your mind and soul, and look for the rainbow. Open the heart’s eyes and see all the colors in what may be a gray, drab world to you. Life is not black and white. The mountains sing, the wind paints, and our souls see. When I taught British literature, one of the first pieces that we read and analyzed was Beowulf. Beowulf came from the land of the Geats (Sweden) to Denmark in order to deliver the Danes from a terrible monster Grendel, who for twelve years had disrupted the whole society of those people.
Why do I give this little synopsis? The monster Grendel was the first terrorist recorded in Old English literature; he terrorized their society into paralysis. Beowulf, the hero, destroys Grendel, and when he arrived he made a very bold statement: “Fate saves the living when they drive away death by themselves.” That was a big deal because they lived in a very fatalistic society. Believing that futures were pre-determined was kind of handy for their society because it helped them to rationalize their often bleak lives, over which they had little control. Thirty guys eaten by Grendel in one night? The will of the gods — their gig was up. Not Beowulf. “Hey, I’m here to change things. I’ll create my own fate, thank you.” Yeah, he was influenced by their beliefs, even at the end of his life when “for the first time, he fought with fate against him.” He still fought based on his purpose, beat a dragon, but sustained fatal injuries; he still created his own fate, knowing he would die. The key, and my point here, is that Beowulf determined his course of action, would live his conviction, and whatever the outcome was, he had determined that. How about us? In my case, do I say that I am a writer and that I will write and pursue that course of action and thereby determine my fate? My end game is being a writer; how others respond or any other consequences do not determine my truth: I am a writer. Beowulf came to deliver; fear or self-doubt did not enter into his psyche, even though warriors of the Danes basically said, “It can’t be done; it just doesn’t make sense. Why would we risk everything? No one can beat this Grendel dude.” Alternatives, choices: Let “monsters” determine your life game OR you determine your course of action for yourself, come hell or high water. Many times when transportation schedules are made, the listing for arrivals or departures is TBD, To Be Determined. It means that many dynamics are operating that affect the plans. Nothing or no one else affects the plans of those who create their own fate. They determine for Self; other dynamics are disregarded. Determination and fate are related in an interesting way. Determination implies a will to act and that becomes fate. The philosophical belief of fate says someone, some greater power, exercised determination to say what the outcomes of others’ lives will be. No, thank you. I will determine; I will move onward and upward; I will create my own fate, accept my own consequences, and reap the rewards. Oh, yes, Beowulf died, but he won a whole treasure hoard for his people, provided for the next leader, and gained fame for all history. Now, I may not want all those things, but I will act on that principle, and I think many would be a lot happier if they did, too. Rather than waiting to see what others do that work in your favor and leaves your fate to be determined — which usually means people mope around and talk about how unfair life is OR how great it is when someone else makes everything work out okay OR look for signs that tell them what some higher power wants them to do — why not Beowulf it? Five Steps to Beowulf-ing!
3. Why is that so important? 4. What am I going to do to live that? 5. Do it: no matter how infeasible, fearful, impossible, or far-fetched it seems; in boldness, despite the well-intentioned warnings of others; now. Today, we had a bit of a reprieve in our area of the country — still hot but much more tolerable. This just made me more aware of Nature and her messages than I have been for the past week or so. I always feel off-kilter, disoriented, when this happens. Maybe the news events of the past week have had something to do with that, too.
However, I do know that it is stupid to choose feeling disoriented or staying bummed out when I can make a decision. This morning as I walked with my puppies, I realized that I was crabby and impatient and just wanted to get back home. Whoa! My puppies are interested in every bunny or squirrel or long piece of grass blowing in the breeze, and I was getting harsh with them. Decision time: Listen to my puppies or listen to my ego, rationalizing why I had a right to be crabby — woke up really early, a lot to do, blah, blah, blah. Always something. My puppies, yes, I chose my puppies. Now, I do make them walk without sniffing or that’s all they would do; however, I know when it’s sniffing time, they check out every blade of grass, they hear every loud car or bark of other dogs, they somehow instinctively know when a hawk flies over and bark until it’s gone. The point is that I can learn from them: be acutely aware of my natural environment and listen. My puppies show me to be aware, actively experiencing nature, especially, but one step more is needed on my part. I need to connect core Self to what I am experiencing, ask the questions of my heart, listen for the answers — in short, enjoy the fellowship of the heart. Why? Because when I connect with nature, my heart can show me things that are otherwise unavailable to my conscious mind at that time. It’s almost immediate. The second I got home, I arranged myself outside in order to write my morning pages. I experienced the wind, noticed how it seemed to wrap around me, and then, sensed what it brought my way. Native American and ancient Celtic teachings about natural elements help me interpret them, but that knowledge is meaningless until I can relate it to my experience. What did I see this morning? I was crabby and short because I have been impatient to know how my editor will respond to my book; I wondered how so many people have so many social media responses; I began to question if… No, I stopped myself there, because that is when I heard the dove, the bird for me that has encouraged my writing, in a sense been my muse. The dove carries the significance of water, new water coming, waters of new life and link with creative energies. From my transition of teaching to writing, the dove has been there — a creative new life expression, direction. Guess what sat at my backyard fence line, cooing its song of waters of new life. Then, the robin — it almost flew right into me. The robin represents the spread of new growth. Oh, my novel, my writing is a medium of new growth. Oh, I heard the crow, too, the bird of the magic of re-creating one’s life. Yes, they all fit. Far-fetched? To many, I’m sure, but to me, to my time of communing with my heart and nature, in touch with the Spirit, it was all I needed in a matter of seconds to stop that phrase “I began to question…” NOTHING. Leave it. I am the greatest. At the time I create, the time I write, I believe I am the greatest — no room for questions, self-doubts. No room because if I don’t believe that, I don’t believe that people would decide to read anything I create before all the other millions of choices. So, why do I write? Well, really it is the expression of core Self, my identity, my life purpose now, but at the exact time I hit the publish button or send my manuscripts in, I write because I believe that I am the greatest. Folks may take issue with that, and I explained last night that I believe at the specific moment that any of us create, we should feel that way. And I appreciate that about others and don’t feel challenged by their greatness. I want them all to be the greatest; I love that idea. We should all feel that way about ourselves — greatest for us in that moment of expression. I don’t feel that I am better than others in all essential human characteristics, but for that second of making myself known, I am the greatest in that little element at that specific time. I hope at some point all feel like that. Nature can help give us that message to be interpreted by our hearts. None of it, however, can begin without coming to know Self. Yes, start there, and end there, and in between, let nature and all of life tell us that we are magic, that we are the greatest. I love synchronicity. For instance, just the other day my young friend gave me some advice about social media. He told me that I needed to go all in on one specific platform. I asked him exactly what that meant in terms of that platform. He promptly showed me how to thoroughly and diligently follow up leads, search the #’s, and start connecting more significantly.
The synchronicity? As I read more of Vincent by himself, I realized that for the largest part of his short life, he didn’t go all in, and this created torment for Vincent (Van Gogh). Why does anyone not heed that still small voice of their heart? The more we listen, the louder it gets and the easier it gets, but why do so many, especially when the voice is insistent, try to rationalize around it? I have ideas, but Vincent knew. The appeal of religion to the ego, though, really did a number on Vincent, producing a life-long guilt and a fear and mistrust of his core Self. He felt it, and somewhere, he knew it. He was an artist, but his ego fought it. The conflict was palpable: “…for even now, far from that land, I am often homesick for that land of pictures. …Well, what shall I say? Do our inner thoughts ever show outwardly? There may be a great fire in our soul, yet no one ever comes to warm himself at it, and the passersby see only a wisp of smoke coming through the chimney, and go along their way” (33). Vincent only lived to the age of 37, and he wrote this ten years before his death. It wasn’t until after his death that people were warmed from the great fire in his soul. Ego always wants to be dependent on others and please others in order to help us fit in and protect us from disappointment. Problem is it makes us miserable because we are not able to live our life purpose. He compromised his heart message and made it subservient to the whole religious indoctrination, clearly seen when he equates a preacher he hears to an artist: “it’s as if he paints…high and noble art” (29). At the same time, he turns down going to an amazing art show for which his brother paid. Ego wins. So many times Vincent kept getting closer, but ego held him back. During the last ten years of his life, he finally produced huge amounts of work, but he was never free from guilt or self-doubt. He came to recognize it — “If I repent anything, it is the time when mystical and theological notions induced me to lead too secluded a life” (39). However, the negative effects took different forms but remained with him. When he heeded his heart, which desired to make his beautiful self known for the good of others, which would draw others to be warmed by the fire of his soul, he produced some of the most magnificent expressions of life ever captured — at least to me. For the last years of his life, Vincent went all in, revealing the sight given to him by his heart, revealing the energies of life, the vibrations of life on canvas with his knife, brush, and palette. It seems to me that he understood through art the very essence of quantum mechanics. Magnificent — when he was all in. Vincent never seemed to fully trust himself, to believe that if he lived his heart and life purpose, he could be happy, joyful, fulfilled, and significant. The last known written words in a letter found on his body — after he presumably shot himself and died rather slowly from it — were these: “Well, my own work, I am risking my life for it and my reason has half foundered because of it…” (167). His reason, rationalizing ego — ugh! He just did not go all in on his own heart’s revelation. However, I am so glad that he did for awhile, because Vincent’s work shows what a human can see of life, the power that is all around us, those vibrations energizing everything; they are there available for us to see, available for us to know because those are operative in us. How much better to go all in on core Self and be like Ali: “I am the greatest.” And then keep working towards that, trusting self, no doubting, no hesitancy. Onward and Upward. And then others will be drawn to the heat of the fire of our souls. It’s wonderful, amazing, and oh, so right. |
Questions to consider:How many times have you asked yourself or simply thought about the following questions?
Who am I, really? What is my truth? How do my actions reveal what I really feel and believe? What would I do with my life if I could do anything? What is my passion? Why am I here? How can I discover answers to any of these questions? If you have considered any of these questions, I hope that my experiences and writing will give you some guidance. Please read my blog and comment and share your thoughts. I would love to hear from you! Archives
December 2019
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