I'll probably be more able to write about
these topics when I've had time to study
the movie more
closely. But this little "Dream" of
the Mass Mind is chock full of soul-expanding insights. It's
been a long time since a true Chaosian
character has been introduced to public scrutiny. And this fellow
(Heath Ledger's "Joker") is truly articulate about what all that means.
And he is nicely balanced with a Theosian counterpart in Christian
Bale's portrayal of "Batman."
In their
transmission "Dark Forces
in the Coming Transformation,"the
Reconnections talk in detail about the role each "side" of a
polarization plays. The "Dark" Angels lead us (or drive us, as the
case may be) into our Vacation in
Limitation, even as "Light" Angels lead us back home. The real
key, during any particular lifetime, is to find out which is which.
Not everyone who wears the black suit is "dark" and not everyone who
wears white is "of the light." And the JOKERS, as we can clearly
see in this film, are all "wild".........which means, of course, they
can go EITHER WAY.
I won't take
time to go over plot synopsis for this production, or praise for the
vivid performances and excellent writing.
Others
in the "biz" have done a far better job in that regard than I ever
could or would. What I would like to focus upon today is the
wonder of CHAOS, as exposited so well by writers Tony Nolan, Christopher
Nolan, David S. Goyer..........and, of course, the inimitable Bob Kane,
without whom we would have no characters in the first place. And
hats will be off for the rest of this year to this one-of-a-kind
performance by the late Heath Ledger, who departs this 3D world in a
blaze of cinematic glory.
In their
writings on Chaos, over the years, the Guides shared with us the
Chaosian Manifesto (the cornerstone of the Chaos Concept). It goes
like this:
"All structure is bad.
Structure requires leadership, leadership bestows power, and power
always corrupts."
In this
movie......we have a character who not only believes this,
whole-heartedly, but his mission in life seem to be proving it to the
world. In a way, his diabolical "apostleship" reminds me of the
"lessons" that are set forth by the character of "John Doe" (played by
Kevin Spacey) in the movie "Seven."
Joker's
clarity and depth of commitment is clearly illustrated in a scene where
he sets fire to his "half" of all proceeds derived from criminal activities in
Gotham City.
In doing so,
he assures himself (and us) of two things: That he will continue to
have nothing so he will have nothing to lose.
And, equally important, there is nothing he won't or
can't do to accomplish his over-riding goal.
And what is that goal? To
remove the damaging effects of "plotting and scheming" from the human
experience spectrum. It is, after all, the goal of any "good"
Chaosian Force.......to re-introduce the element of unpredictability
to every part of life's journey, thereby assuring that everyone involved
must dig DEEP, DEEP DOWN in order to survive, let alone cope with what
comes toward them.
The one "hitch" in this plan, as was
pointed out by one film critic---is found in the fact that, in order to
accomplish his goal of knocking everyone off their high horses, the
Joker has to become the biggest plotter and planner of them all.
He has to be "smart" for all the wrong reasons.
Conversely.........(and this is what is
so beautiful!).........In order to combat the flawless machinations of
this criminal mastermind.......the "Hero" in this movie must remove his
"mask" as heroic avenger and replace it with a distorted image of shame
and degradation. In honor of this transformation, a new criminal
mastermind gets introduced to the franchise. His name?
TWO-FACE.
This Grand
Game of "changing places"...........of clear-cut characters going
against their nature in order to prove a point, or accomplish a greater
goal..........is playing itself out in many parts of society today.
One wonders
what "The Joker" would do or say about all the Parlor Tricks that have
been played with our Constitution and the American People during these
last 7+ years of the Bush Administration....the War, the Patriot Act,
and this Oil Price Debacle? Doubtless, he would certainly approve of
using political betrayal and trickery to run off with all the power.......but
to what end? Would he support these new politicians if he knew that
all they wanted was more money and control? Or, like in the movie,
would he be busy gathering all his "winning cards" in one pile.....just
so he could throw them high in the air, at the last minute, and invite
the
world to join him in a wondrous game of "52 pick-up?"
It's a lot to
ponder. And I haven't begun to get my fill of it yet. But
this first viewing has proven to be an excellent snack.
DJ. 7/19/2008
Heath Ledger: A Final Portrait (with Nick
Drake)
Also In Memory of:
Jim Morrison, River Phoenix, John Belushi, Brandon Lee, and many other
Bright Stars who burned out way too soon!
Regarding Abortion
As I was driving
through one of our larger East Side Communities on July 5th, I noticed
that several people had chosen to re-state their passionate
objection to the idea of allowing a woman free choice concerning
what happens to her body once she has been proclaimed "pregnant."
Their marching took up almost an entire city block. Some of the
signs read "It's not a choice, it's a child." Others railed
heavily against the evil of "Government-Sanctioned Murder."
If I had more time, I would have loved to
stop and ask those campaigners how far they were planning to let
their concern for "human life" extend. Since I didn't
have time then, due to an appointment, I'd like to take that time
now.
As a society, are we just interested in
legislating morality, based on religious teachings? Or does our
"concern" for unborn children extend itself beyond whether or not they
are
allowed to come into the world? Anyone who takes a close look at
our allocations for social service funding can readily see that offering
a helping hand to unwed mothers or poverty-stricken families is not our
highest priority. Education funding is in the toilet, and the
ratio of "absentee" fathers continues to climb. But I'll get back
to that in a moment.
If a woman gets pregnant, her interface with
the embryo forming in her belly is the most dynamic connection
imaginable. No one........even the father........has a clue how
much of an "exchange" is taking place there on both sides of the Veil.
Any decision she makes concerning the future of that child must be
considered sovereign, because she is the one who stands nose-to-nose,
belly-to-belly with the life form in question.
Those who believe that "candidate souls" are
helpless victims, in need of a champion, have very little comprehension
of just how powerful that initial connection is between a mother and (would-be)
child. I mean.......who would, who COULD love that soul more than
his/her natural mother...having been personally exposed to more of that
soul essence than
anyone alive? And if she were to decide that birthing is not
a good idea, who is to say that the decision is not also reciprocated
in the child? Could it be possible that every "pregnancy" starts
out as an "interview" between a candidate soul and a family line?
What if the child says: "Nope, I don't think this is going to work out."
And while we're at it, may I add that NOT
EVERY CANDIDATE SOUL who sets out on the road to becoming human plans to
remain here? Some of them do it just for the experience of "riding
along" for awhile---a week, a month, six months. In Spiritual
Communities, it has long been understood that "SIDS" deaths (sudden
infant death syndrome) are souls who make an abbreviated journey, just
for the "experience," and then they go home. Some of them are closely
tied to growth processes in parents who get left behind, all by Mutual Soul
Contract, but their own "plans" for growing up and living a full life
remain nil.
To many folks, this seems like a strange way
to view life. Tragic, in some cases. But it's not. We
are eternal beings---Citizens of
the Multiverse. Our itineraries and contacts within specified
dimensions are often sporadic and brief. That doesn't mean we
never see those people again. Each Universe is its own
movie---complete with its own story plot. Beyond that, our
connections are varied and vast.
When my second son was conceived, the Doctors
who attended us actually ADVISED US to abort. Lynn had been
hospitalized numerous times for what looked like Multiple Sclerosis, and
they doubted whether or not her body and mind was strong enough to go
through a full-on pregnancy. Our unequivocal response to that idea
was "Hell, no. That boy is our son!" As I recall, we didn't make
that decision based on morality. We just KNEW it was something we
wanted and needed to do. And I guess that's the point, isn't it?
WE knew........even when the doctors thought they knew better.
Many Bible Thumpers have a clear feeling about
when it is that an embryo gets classified as a Human Being. Some
say it happens at conception, some say it happens at some point during
gestation. And that's fine, as long as they're making decisions
about THEIR bodies and THEIR fetuses. Isn't that the purpose of
religion? To help ME live MY LIFE in a more peaceful and
fulfilling way? The minute religion starts getting POLITICAL,
that's the place where TERROR begins! That's how it was back in the
Middle Ages, with the Inquisition.........it's how it is NOW, with
Extremist Religious Leadership---where mothers or fathers are stoned to
death for
"moral impurity" or Family Clinics are blown up in order to "protect the
innocent."
Personally, I happen to believe that a soul
does not become individuated until he or she takes that first breath.
And if you want some Bible Commentary to go along with that, try this
one:
"And
the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed
into his nostrils thebreathoflife; and man became a living
soul. (Gen 2:7). If it worked well for the first "fetus,"
I suspect this criteria could apply to them all. But again, we're
talking religion here, so everyone gets to decide that for him or
herself.
Still........it just makes
sense to me. The prime factor which declares a soul to be "living"
is BREATH. Until the umbilical cord is cut, and a fetus takes its
FIRST INDEPENDENT BREATH, he or she is not yet "alive".......except as a
newly-developing part of the mother's body. And as such, she
should have complete command over it. It's that first INDEPENDENT
BREATH which brings
everything to a new level.........a breath which says: "Yes, I want to be here. I
want to BE. I am ME." The same is true when it comes to that last
breath and the cessation of life.
In saying all this, I am not
negating the active role that many Candidate Souls play in their
gestation and formation. They come, they go..........they dance
and play inside the womb. That have cognitions, they
communicate............oh my, how they communicate! For the past
year, I've been doing Bio-Energy Bodywork on a young woman carrying her
second child, a little boy. Throughout our times together, I spoke to
him enthusiastically.......just as if he were sitting right there in my
arms. When she brought him into my office last week, newly
birthed, he opened his eyes wide and clearly recognized the voice he'd
heard over those last months. And it was beautiful.
My point here is twofold.
First, I want to establish that there is, indeed, more than one way to
look at an issue. And the people who get to make the "call" on how
these issues are interpreted are those who will be affected by the
outcome. And Candidate souls DO get to have their "say".........whether or
not we believe it.
God help us if Roe vs. Wade
ever gets repealed. When people who are NOT INVOLVED with a situation start legislating
what people WHO ARE INVOLVED must do (especially in the Name of God)---a
new form of "karma" is set up. A National Karma, which
goes on for generations.
Statistically, we've already
seen how rapidly crime rates dropped in those years following the
enactment of Roe vs. Wade. Even though politicians love to suck up
all the glory for those statistics---it seems clear to me that the
biggest factor to produce that change was a lack of "tortured souls" who
were born into homes that neither wanted them nor were prepared to deal
with their care and upbringing.
Legislated Morality always
blows up in the faces of those who encourage it. Even those who
are convinced they are doing "God's Work!" Wouldn't it be
great if we all lived in a world where people let GOD do "God's Work"
and we spent our time focusing on our own?
Secondly: If we DO get to the place where we once again let Government violate the
sanctity of choice in the care of a woman's body, don't we owe it to
that woman to stand behind her ALL THROUGH THE CHILD'S LIFE? Money for the
birth, money for the upbringing, child-care, the whole kittenkaboodle?
After all..........we're CONCERNED for that child's welfare, aren't we?
She had a plan, but WE had a better one. Or are we really only concerned about our sense of religious "oughtness?"
These are all just things that
went through my mind as I drove past those marchers. I'd be
interested to hear what
you think.
DJ. 7/14/2008.
Passion
I've
seen her.
She
rides bareback through the meadow,
motioning
for me to come too.
Where
is she going?What does she require
of me?
________
"What
do you need?"she asks.
"What
must you have, lest you die?"
"When
you have answered my question,
you
will have begun to be alive."
Passion
NEEDS.
It
does not WANT to---it HAS to.
____________
Passion
REQUIRES.
A
child does not WISH or DESIRE to be born.
It
slides, headlong, down a dark and moist corridor---
desperate
and unrelenting---
bound
for it knows not what.
It
only knows it NEEDS TO GO THERE.
There
is no CHOOSING in a world of passion.
There
are no options, no sweet discussions,
no
considerations of the outcome.
___________
There
is only RAW ENERGY---
the
voice of a thousand volcanoes,
awakening
from their dream.
This,
then, will be your pilot---
the
Captain of your "Now" Journey.
He
brought you to this place, and---with benevolent focus of intent,
has
bid you rest awhile.
Soon
he will be back.
________________
That
which has been called "normal" for you could only then be called
an
EXCEPTION to what is normalAt best, this has been an existence inside a parenthesis.
______________
Your
lot has grown stale and inadequate.
With
all of it's intricacies and it's emergencies---
with
all it's ponderings about time and provision---
it
is NOT ENOUGH.
And,
how could it ever be?
____________
You
are not THIS.
You
could evaporate the very foundations upon which you stand---
leaving
only ashes as your calling card.
Yours
is a deepening, broader scope.
But,
for this moment, you merely consider.
You
measure things, negotiate and despair.
_____________
Do
not stand upon principles.
They
could never be strong enough to hold you.
Look,
instead, to the energy itself.
Understand
that, if something or someone holds dominion over you---
if
you are now constrained and held tight so that you
cannot
do what you will---
It
is a good and a just thing that you are there.
That
darkened face of momentary power,
unknowing
and unfeeling, shall keep you and feed upon you---
though
it knows not who you are.
___________________
And
you shall be held---innocent and suffering---
until
IT CAN HOLD YOU NO MORE.
Therefore,
take this time to languish still a little while longer.
Cast
away your power to the four corners of the Earth.
Let
it rant and cry out and claim dominion---
while
you rest a bit in this weakness.
Let
it be THERE instead of HERE.
For
once it is HERE---it will NEVER AGAIN depart.
And
those who THINK they know are MISTAKEN.
There
is no boasting in the Sun or in the Rain.
There
are no idle claims to wealth or power.
Only
faithful and appropriate dispatch.
But,
in-between the showers or the noonday heat,
we
can still enjoy this hour of peace and security---
distinct
from what we were, and are, and yet shall be.
_______________________
Copyright,
1992, by Daniel Jacob. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright, 2008, by Daniel Jacob. All Rights
Reserved. May be copied and shared, for purposes of personal growth
and/or research, so long as the above URL and this copyright are
included. All reproduction for profit, by any means, requires the written
permission of Reconnections, Inc.
