September 19, 2021: The Battle between Good and Evil
Chess Board (courtesy of Reddit)
The crisis in the world today is the battle of good and evil.
The challenge is for all here in this incarnation to stand up for their truth, having thought about the veracity of their beliefs. The herd is attractive, it gives a sense off belonging, part of a club, strength in numbers. To stand alone against the tide requires clarity of thought and courage to face opposition. Violence will never be the answer, it hardens opposition and reduces the possibility of compromise. There is room for all opinions. Tolerance to disagree is the mature way forward. Situations and challenges are always multifaceted, and there is always another way to view life based on life experience. Dogmatic belief and intolerance will hold society back. Finding the middle ground can be the only way forward. Vilifying others achieves nothing, you are dealing with a situation of mirrors. It is the behaviour of the playground.
You are being asked to take on the mantle of responsibility for your own opinions, not to be the repeater of the loudest voice; to take responsibility to analyse the information you receive and allow it to filter into your own feeling nature, so that head and heart work together.
Fear of change is an obstacle. Freedom comes when you are willing to accept an unknown future. You cannot maintain outmoded beliefs which have been proven to be false. Practice stillness. Find a quiet moment each day. That is the way forward.
Life in Britain during World War II must have been hell. The constant fear of invasion by the Germans coupled with nightly bombing raids and V2 rockets would have kept the population on edge. How they survived is astounding, but it must have left a residue of anxiety.
George Orwell wrote “Nineteen Eighty-Four” shortly after the war, and the picture was bleak.
Roger Waters of the group Pink Floyd must have picked up the same ‘vibe’ when he wrote “The Wall” (1979). His vision of a dystopian world takes the concept of Big Brother that one step further into insanity. He envisioned a world in lockstep with fascism.
Hammering home the analogy
In fact, alienation is the overarching theme of this concept album (and then music movie) and during the 1980’s this may have been a ‘real’ feeling of how the world had finally gone mad.
When the population follows a charismatic leader, all kinds of aberrations occur. January 6th of this year is a case in point. And we haven’t seen the last of Donald Trump, so I can only imagine how much worse life in the States could get. But other parts of the world are under siege, too. Will the world survive?
Another Brick in the Wall
Pink Floyd
I don’t need no arms around me And I don’t need no drugs to calm me I have seen the writing on the wall Don’t think I need anything at all No, don’t think I’ll need anything at all
All in all, it was all just bricks in the wall All in all, you were all just bricks in the wall
(Doesn’t that say it all?)
Fascism is fascination of power over the intellect. When you stand up to the crowd, you’re considered a freak. This is freaking ugly, this is freaking sick. Long live Liberty of Thought.
The increased speed of time brings its own rewards.
Lessons are coming fast and furiously, forcing a processing to take place. If processing is not done you are in a state of confusion, which has been brought into focus and seen in the world at present. News comes from all directions. What is true? What is false? What applies to my soul’s intention?
It is only by seeking stillness that you will find your own truth. Stillness is required to find clarity. Meditation is such a simple thing to do. Just commit to sitting quietly for a short period each day and the light of truth will come. From that still point, understanding of right and appropriate action will come. Confidence in your own judgement will grow and peace will be in your heart.
I got this image during today’s afternoon nap. I think it’s informative and enlightening.
A bald eagle is a bird of prey, but it usually only hunts fish, like salmon. In order for it to fly, both wings must be in balanced operation. In other words, if one wing or the other begins to dominate, the bird will not be able to maintain its flight, thereby losing its ability to exist.
Surely, most people will understand this analogy. Even the image on the Great Seal of the United States of America demonstrates this required balance.
Peace on the left, war on the right (our view facing): could it be any clearer?
After reading 1984 yesterday, I realized that I neglected one of the Newspeak/doublethink phrases:
Freedom is Slavery
Then, today, I read the following from a Phineas Quimby article:
The difference between rebellions and revolutions is this. Revolution is headed by the liberty party of all the world. Rebellion is got up by the aristocracy for their benefit and the enslavement of the many. Now the idea that a revolution and a rebellion depend on circumstances to change the name is wrong. But as all governments are founded on revolutions, the idea of revolution was right to a certain extent; but when a government is formed on the popular voice of the people, that is the answer to all the questions of self-government. For if a government cannot stand against a rebellion, waged against liberty, it clearly shows that the time for revolutions to cease has not arrived. But when all will admit that the people themselves are the government and to destroy the voice of the people is to destroy the government, then any act perpetrated against the liberties of the people must necessarily come under the head of rebellion; for the change must bring anarchy, aristocracy and despotism.
Quimby, Phineas. Phineas Parkhurst Quimby: His Complete Writings and Beyond (pp. 174-175). Phineas Parkhurst Quimby Resource Center. Kindle Edition.
Of course, Quimby is writing from experience within the American Civil War, so he has a certain mindset, which might not match our own. But the question of rebellion and revolution is raised.
A rebellion is an organized resistance to a ruler or to government. It s a stand against authority that s often violent in nature, but rarely successful. EX – Rebellions of 1837. A revolution takes opposition a step further. It might be considered a successful rebellion. A revolution involves change. So politically, one ruler or system of government is actually overthrown and replaced. EX – American Revolution, French Revolution…
Ah, that makes sense. But when revolution from one system of enslavement changes to another system of enslavement, where’s the freedom? And that’s why I’m asking the question.
Rise up, people…
Revolution or protests. Hands holding smartphones (courtesy of iStock)
It is a journey. Leaving the past behind allows new thought and inspiration to fertilise and create beginnings of a different character. It allows the dissolving of past attraction into new manifestations even when the initial impulse is obscure. Actions which were regarded as mistakes can bear unexpected fruit which will delight.
This is why you can leave the past without regret, never knowing how the tapestry of a life can manifest such beauty. Do not weep for the past. Allow the weave of experience to create the greater picture, full of interest and detail.
When the time comes to review your life, you will see the beauty you have created, and how many threads link up in such unexpected and unforeseen ways, when you have lived your life open to all possibilities, opportunities and experiences presented.
It might seem a stupid question, but the timing of Margaret Thatcher’s rise to power in the 1980’s seems to lend itself to a Newspeak idea: Conservatism as an act of government to control the Labour Unions, especially the coal miners. In other words, to keep the workers in a perpetual state of war.
That is what my brain has led me to see: two irreconcilable thoughts, while believing neither one: just like the mental exercises (‘doublethink’) Winston Smith had to go through in the George Orwell novel “Nineteen Eighty-Four”. In the present, one is shown two opposing thoughts, and the spiritual third way allows one to hold those two thoughts in mind, but not reacting to either of them. I think that’s called non-dual thinking.
The following image is an illustration of pages 13-14 from the graphic novel, showing Winston committing ‘thoughtcrime’: an act of subversion against the party of Big Brother.
As with all such crimes against the State, he has been enticed into open rebellion by the concept of the Brotherhood. Oh, dear. Now he’s in political difficulty. One is not meant to have thoughts of one’s own. (Does this sound familiar?)
The following illustration comes from the Wikipedia file about the original novel.
A 1931 poster for the first five-year plan of the Soviet Union by Yakov Guminer [ru] reading “The arithmetic of an industrial-financial counter-plan: 2 + 2 plus the enthusiasm of the workers = 5”
The art of this poster is reflected by the cover of this graphic novel. It is also a statement that is required under torture from Winston. (And yet, why are we surprised by anything?)
If you have young people in your orbit, I would suggest that you get this book to read: it will open their eyes to how the world has changed since the pandemic…
For a group of musicians who were just coming into their own in the 1970’s, Lynyrd Skynyrd were cut down in their prime. I watched two-thirds of their documentary last night.
Because the FAA report of the plane crash (the pdf of the report says 18:52 CDT) was so exactly detailed, I decided that it might be informative to look at a chart of the accident.
What can I say: was this crash fated in some way? Pluto conjunct the North Node @ 14° Libra seems to suggest that. And Mars in opposition to the Midheaven and Uranus in opposition to the Ascendant imply that the timing was exact. That leaves the one inconjunct to explore.
Venus Inconjunct Ascendant
You often feel that you haven’t any right to ask much of those whom you love. You feel that you must do favors for them instead of asking for their help. For you, love is an act of service, not self-gratification. Also, through relationships with others, you try to learn more about your own and other people’s inner workings. For this reason your relationships are more deep and profound than most people’s. But they are somewhat difficult, too.
Free Bird
If I leave here tomorrow Would you still remember me? For I must be traveling on now ‘Cause there’s too many places I’ve got to see
But if I stay here with you, girl Things just couldn’t be the same ‘Cause I’m as free as a bird now And this bird you cannot change Oh, oh, oh, oh And the bird you cannot change And this bird, you cannot change Lord knows, I can’t change
Bye-bye, baby, it’s been sweet love, yeah, yeah Though this feelin’ I can’t change Please don’t take it so badly ‘Cause Lord knows, I’m to blame
If I stay here with you, girl Things just couldn’t be the same ‘Cause I’m as free as a bird now And this bird you cannot change Oh, oh, oh, oh And the bird you cannot change And this bird, you cannot change
Lord knows, I can’t change Lord help me, I can’t change Lord, I can’t change Won’t you fly high, free bird, yeah
Quite simply, yes! Those North/South Nodes are conjunct, the first Sun is conjunct the second Moon, and the first Moon is conjunct the second Neptune. And their Ascendants are in opposition. But that begs the question: is there a god of Rock ‘n’ Roll that decides these things? After all, it could have been Aerosmith in that plane, instead.
Hello Muddah, hello Faddah Here I am at Camp Grenada Camp is very entertaining And they say we’ll have some fun if it stops raining
I went hiking with Joe Spivey He developed poison ivy You remember Leonard Skinner He got Ptomaine poisoning last night after dinner
Voting Day is next Monday. Most people have probably already made up their minds as to the party they will support: one quarter of eligible voters have already cast their ballot in the advance polls. But how does one chose as an undecided voter?
Every time an election rolls around (even one that was called in the middle of the fourth wave of a pandemic — thanks to Mr. Trudeau) the long list of pledges to every sector of society gets publicized. “This is what our party will do for you…”
But governing a country is more than making promises that you cannot possibly keep.
And I wish that voters would remember that.
Governments cannot be all things to all people. And changes take time. Just look at climate change, for example: carbon emissions need to be reduced, but no one really wants to change the status quo. A country cannot keep supporting the oil and gas sector AND adopt other energy sources half-heartedly. There has to be a political will to ‘swallow the bitter pill.’
Today’s cartoon in “The Mirror”
And note that one political party and its leader have been effectively silenced in the time period leading up to September 20th: the People’s Party of Canada may yet be the difference in how this election turns out.
Maybe it’s the fact that almost all of Nicholas Roerich’s Diary Leaves is devoted to the Pact that would have seen this banner flying above all cultural and scientific buildings, in the same manner that the Red Cross flag flies above medical centres in times of war. But when I came across this article in his book, I thought I should investigate.
This sign of the triad, which is to be found all over the world, may have several meanings. Some interpret it as a symbol of the past, present, and future enclosed in the ring of eternity. Others consider that it refers to religion, science, and art held together in the circle of culture. But whatever the interpretation, the sign itself is of the most universal character.
The oldest of Indian symbols⸺Chintamani, the sign of happiness⸺is composed of this symbol, and one can find it in the Temple of Heaven in Peking. It appears in the Three Treasures of Tibet, on the breast of the Christ in Memling’s well-known painting, on the Madonna of Strasbourg; on the shields of the Crusaders, and the coat of arms of the Templars. It can be seen on the blades of the famous Caucasian swords known as Gurda.
It appears as a symbol in a number of philosophical systems; it can be found on the images of Gessar Khan and Rigden Djapo; on the Tamga of Timurlane, and on the coat of arms of the Popes. It is to be seen in the works of ancient Spanish painters and of Titian, and on the ancient ikons of St. Nicholas in Bari and that of St. Sergius and the Holy Trinity.
It can be found on the coat of arms of the city of Samarkand, on Ethiopian and Coptic antiquities, on the rocks of Mongolia, on Tibetan rings, on the breast ornaments of Lahul, Ladakh, and all the Himalayan countries, and on the pottery of the Neolithic Age.
It is conspicuous on Buddhist banners. The same sign is branded on Mongolian steeds. Nothing, then, could be more appropriate for assembling all the races than this symbol, which is no mere ornament but a sign that carries with it a deep meaning.
It has existed for immense periods of time and is to be found throughout the world. No one, therefore, can pretend that it belongs to any particular sect, confession, or tradition, and it represents the evolution of consciousness in all its varied phases.
When it is a question of defending the world’s treasures, no better symbol could be selected, for it is universal, of immense antiquity, and carries with it a meaning that should find an echo in every heart.
Today, when humanity is burying its treasures to save them from destruction, the Banner of Peace stands for other principles. It affirms that works of art and of genius are universal and above national distinctions; it proclaims, “Noli me tangere. Do not treat the world’s treasures in a sacrilegious way.”
Buddha – Sangha – DharmaChrist with Singing Angels by Hans Memling
Madonna of Strasbourg
Inside Temple of Heaven, BeijingGurdaThe Tamga of Timurlane
I could not find this symbol anywhere on the shields of the Crusaders or on the coat of arms of the Knights Templar. But maybe I have a blind spot.
At any rate, even though Roerich worked hard his whole life to get this banner in place, it was not to be, in the end. And in times of war, cultural and scientific buildings seem still to be fair game. Such is the way of the world.
“In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen.”
