"Each of you is his own universe, and your inner and outer realities regularly form your very own Hall of Mirrors." ~The Reconnections.
As a non-subscriber to HBO, I am forced to wait (with many others, I'm sure) for a clear "signal" from the universe before I enjoy some of the finery they produce in night time drama. This is fine with me, as I don't get too much TV time as it is. I stumbled onto the HBO series "Six Feet Under" through a recommendation from my son, Joe.......who is always hip to the next "thing" that seems to be happening in the world of entertainment. I eagerly watched through the DVD of the first season, and I'm now moving through season two. I've slowed down a bit, since the subject matter does get heavy, even though there is much fun and frivolity (not to mention sex!) going on behind those "peaceful" doors of the Fisher Family Funeral Home.
I cannot deny that the recent passing of my sister Judy, around Thanksgiving, has thrown me into a consideration mode regarding funerals, death, and things dealing with the hereafter---and this show has certainly tickled my mind and heart in that regard. It's about a funeral home that has been run for years by a man and his wife. In the opening pilot, the father dies (on Christmas Eve).....and he bequeaths the home (equally) to his two sons. In that regard, it's truly a Prodigal Son tale, because the one son (David) had remained with his father in the business since the beginning. The other son (Nate) fled the family early on and moved to Seattle. Apparently, he needed to get away from living above an embalming studio (rrr-right!), and showcasing corpses for a living.
Unbeknownst to Nate, dear old Dad had a fondness for the fact that he was able to "escape" from the family biz, which could hold some implications about what God might feel about those who rebel against traditional religion as well. As he mixes and mingles with family, during the funeral rites of his father, Nate realizes that it's time for him to "come home" to his (ailing) family, and the business. From that point on, anything goes! The mother is beautifully neurotic and confused. The little sister is the quintessence of a mixed-up (but brilliant) Indigo High Schooler, brother David is gay and in the closet---enjoying a scintillating relationship with a black police officer named Keith.........and finally.......Nate finds Brenda, an attractive Shiatsu Practitioner who clearly reminds me of a mixture of my manic-depressive ex-wife, and a whole host of Goddesses I have encountered along the way. And Nate is well........ ME, in many regards.......at his age. The power age, about 32-ish.........where your old crap and avoidance thinking doesn't hold water anymore, and you are seriously trying to gain a foothold in the world before you reach forty and your foot threatens to fall off. Alas, we never realize it when we're at the "power age," and we seldom even realize what our power is. That comes far later. But Nate is a power guy, with a big heart and his share of "fuck you's" to share with the world as well.
What can I say? If you're looking for a show to capture your imagination, while weirding you out at every turn, Six Feet Under is for you! I'm actually glad I had to do the DVD Journey, because it's far more potent when it comes at you in concentrated form. Another thing I love about the show is: As the morticians are preparing the bodies for viewing, the spirits of the dead folk hang out and talk to David and Nate. So does dear Old Dad (pictured above), who provides lively commentary, from time to time, about the boys as they grew up, and what they still need to do to become well-adjusted (if not wildly eccentric) men. Dad, played by Richard Jenkins, is a hoot. Still chain-smoking (even though dead), he unfolds in the series as a heart-felt mystery, who never really allowed his family to really know him in life (and proud of it). He continually calls Nate "Buddy Boy," which seems totally affectionate in the context.
One of the things I like best about this series is the fact that it combines a sincere longing for family (community) with a cynical realization about all the junk we use to assault our psyches as we attempt to pile all our expectations on one "significant" person (or group of persons), thereby threatening to crush the very people we purport to love. Well done, HBO.
Dj. 1/10/07
Clockwise from left: Rico (the cool embalmer), Brenda, Claire (daughter), Nate, Ruth (Mom), David, and Keith
The Impossible Dream
Peter O'Toole in the 1973 version of "Man of La Mancha"
Ah, yes.......this New Year is going to be a Year of Dreams, and a Year for Dreamers, that's for sure. If you haven't seen that clip from Peter O'Toole and Sophia Loren in "Man of La Mancha," you can do it here and now. And I suggest you turn on your speakers and do that, before you read further. Click HERE
I learned some big lessons at the October Conclave in Sedona. My previous visions of "community" are already being realized in realms that are not entirely of this Earth. The "Clans and Tribes" are presently gathering in "The Betwixt and Between"........between Heaven and Earth. They also span downwards into what is known as The Underworld. It could reasonably be said that Earth is the MEETING GROUND between Darkness and Light, Heaven and (what some might call) Hell, and most other polarities as well.
The Clans and Tribes are remembered and sustained in 3D via the Internet---which has become our "training wheels" for life in 4D and beyond. I had closed down Club Recon (Yahoo Discussion Group) in April, 2006, and promptly opened it again when I returned from Sedona. What had deteriorated in my experience by the first of the year was ready to be reborn by the end of the year.
Though I know
that there are many organizations that are adding to their numbers in 3D, the Recon Community feels like it is already halfway across the galaxy.......some here, many OVER THERE..........beyond the Veil......and I get a big "raspberries" from folks if I offer to expand and proliferate the PHYSICAL Recon Community, if that would require more pronounced political ties (ugh!).......financing and fiscal accountability (double ugh!).....unless it might be for an occasional "gathering" somewhere in the world. Yearly, to be sure, as a Conclave.......but there is an indication that regular "meet-ups" with fellow Recons would be very welcome, so long as they do not have to be sustained long---so that deep infusions of transformative energy can be exchanged---followed by a return to familiar "home fires" and one's private "clan" to process the intake and results. It feels like Jerry Garcia and the "deadheads" were/are able to perpetuate this, as well as the Rainbow Clan and the Barter Faires. Surely "Burning Man" has attained it also, to some degree. Move in, have an experience.........then move out, and remove all evidence that you were ever there, except the TOTAL TRANSFORMATION that has taken place in our hearts.As you can experience from the film clip, there are two sides of us in play here. O'Toole's character (Don Quixote) is a dreamer and a gallant knight. Sophia Loren's character is a realist and a cynic. At least in the beginning. When I view the clip, I see them as two sides of me. The Dreamer and the Cynic. That's the dance that's going on in my reality at this time. Some claim to have sidestepped or transcended both, and I salute them. But this dance is mine, and I'm going to do each element personally, thoroughly, and in perfect time.
The Recons are currently speaking to me about the "Resist Dance" (soon to be posted)...........where the mind has taken flight, but the emotions and body are tightly gripping things on the ground. The basic conflict here is a warning against idealistic impetuousness, and a plea against being disheartened by opposition. In truth, Don Quixote and Dulcinea NEED EACH OTHER........and they are shadow expressions of each other. Her statement about reality: "The world is a dung heap, and we are maggots that crawl on it"..........is certainly an accurate, albeit scathing view of the world. And those who have not seen that side of things must eventually suffer the shock of it in order to be able to reach the other side, which proclaims: "I come in a World of Iron to make a World of Gold." Ah...........sweet ALCHEMY.............
As we can easily see, if we lack the former perspective (usually through personal pain), we may try for the latter, but will often end up merely tilting at Windmills.
And so, we begin this blossoming year of 2007. The babe has barely made it into the cradle, yet I can see him walking in the Temple, educating the elders, feeding that 5000 students on a hillside. This Christed Child is much more than a religious icon. He/She is ALIVE, vibrant, vital, and ever-present...........being seen here, then there......moving all around the landscape.
Here's our newest Celtic Woman (who is actually a Kiwi).........singing about this very subject: "Mary Did You Know?" Let's not only sidestep the commercialism of the holidays this time.......but let's also sidestep the divisiveness and arrogance of religion.........so that we can think of the Christ Child as the ADVENT of God Within Us............as each of us........made manifest in a zillion shapes and forms. There is no set "form" for the GREAT FORMLESS ONE, is there? But there is certainly a commonality of BLESSING attached to it. This I have seen over and over.
And so.......as the Guides put it: Onward and Inward.
Dj. December 29, 2006
Enjoy Ms. Hayley Westenra. The Newest Celtic Woman. And a soul friend of us all:
"We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned,
so as to accept the life that is waiting for us."
--Joseph Campbell
Do
Something BRAVE today! (And then run like hell!)
Izzat Phunny, or What?
Speaking of Giraffes...........
Here's an opt-tickle Illusion. Look closely, and continuously into this abstract picture. Soon, you'll be able to make out a giraffe among the clouds.
It's amazing! Look NOW.
Love people and use things
Don't love things and use people!
A KNOCK AT THE DUIR...(CLICK HERE)
There is a flash movie on the lower left of the page. Well worth a visit!
_______________________
Some More Fun and Beautiful Stuff:
AMAZING! THE POWERS OF TEN PAGE
Let No One Sleep! Let No One Sleep!
OH MY! CHECK IT OUT! "THE CREMATION OF SAM MCGEE"
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