The Illusion of the Morning Sky

We look up at the morning sky and it is like a ceiling. It contains us. It feels like Mother Earth is holding us close to her breast. We feel comfortable and safe. Our ancestors were uncertain as to what was on the other side of the sky. At night they saw all kinds of things and struggled to explain it such that it fit with what they saw. Could they ever imagine the truth?

It was easier to imagine some kind of heaven above that “majestical roof”, as Shakespeare called it. “That brave o’re hanging firmament.” “Laden with Golden Fire”. I couldn’t have said it better myself. What is above that ceiling? The Attic? That was the stage upon which the less enlightened ancestors saw it all unfold before them on. I don’t blame them for getting it wrong. They didn’t have the tools, or perhaps the imagination, to find the truth back then. Add to that the politics of religion. To control the unruly masses something very much bigger than themselves had to be held over them. We were one church service away from being barbarians, from the religious leaders point of view. I’m not sure we weren’t. Wouldn’t it be convenient if there was an all powerful mysterious being that controlled our existence after we left this plain of existence? Heaven was his domain. We can’t know his plan. He is the Creator. How did he do it all? Well, let’s make him all powerful. That explains away just about all the loose ends, of which, at the time, there were many.

Not all the loose ends have been more reasonably filled in since then. However, most of the important ones have. I am amazed that I get to live right at this time of profound discovery and enlightenment. Now we are down to just a few big questions. The very very beginning is still a little sketchy, to say the least. What IS at the bottom of a black hole? Is there a bottom, or “the other side”? If we knew that, what else would we then know? What does this new perspective mean to beliefs that are up to 6000 years old? We better figure it out!

Before anybody is allowed to have inviolate beliefs some reality had better be included. Certainly the church has learned its lesson by now! Can we, in good conscience, allow ourselves to be in denial over simple facts? You can have Faith, but wouldn’t your faith be that much stronger if it were actually based in truth? It is hard for me to imagine an argument against this. Is denial some kind of badge of honor to prove your faith? God is not the Wizard of Oz. We are allowed to look behind the curtain, when whoever is back there is not a charlatan. There are many reasons to hide behind a curtain, but very few of them are good reasons. Eventually we grow up enough to be able to handle taking a peek. We develop the means to look. We understand what the curtain is and what it is for. Our sky protects us from the harsh radiation of space, but we have managed to go to the other side of it. There is at least one more curtain we have to get to the other side of.

How Much Of You Is Mine?

by Steven Willy Rachlin 1/29/73

I am scared because I am alone.
Scared because I found you and you are the way I am.
I am scared I might still be alone.
Frightened by the darkness,
And the way that I first found you.
What does it all mean,
And how much of you is mine?
~~~~
I don't know why I need you.
It's not just our first meeting.
I needed you before that.
I never thought that it would happen.
You brought things I didn't ask for.
But now that i have taken,
I wonder if I 've lost.
~~~~
So now I sit not sure of
The future and its coming.
The Questions wait unanswered.
The road to you is calling.
I scream, but there is silence.
Not even echoes answer.
A sign says that I'm lonely.
It flashes on and off.
~~~~
The darkest night, the deepest river
Couldn't keep me if you called me.
I need someone to lean on me.
I want someone to help me.
~~~~
The pieces of the puzzle
Fall together when assembled
And they paint a pretty picture,
But the picture makes no sense.
~~~~
When you're lonely
Send your mind out
And mine will meet it softly.
We'll be driven into comfort,
I'll drag you down into silk shadows.
For I will never touch you,
It's our minds that will embrace.
If I never feel your lips again
At least I'll feel your thoughts
And see your face.
Touching can be beautiful,
But what we could have is better.
~~~~
So I'm scared and I am lonely
And unsure of what is coming
But I'm hopeful for the future
So I'll take what you will give me.
~~~~
As I stare into the starlight
And sip slowly at my wine,
There is darkness, there's confusion,
There is beauty and some rythmn,
And I ask myself this question:
How much of you, is mine?

The Universal Dream

The universal dream: Freedom sprinkled liberally with peace. More than just survival certainly. Where we are now, in relation to where we are going, I think the Universal Dream is to evolve, to arrive at that point in the far future where a real freedom is possible. This is a task for all of humanity. Each one of us is responsible for moving this idea forward. Darwin called it Survival of the Fittest, but what is it really called once you get past savagery, brutality and politics. At some point "the fittest" should mean both the physically AND mentally FITTEST. When the threat of us destroying ourselves no longer exists, that is the Universal Dream.

Is Religion Good or Bad?

Very early in human history humans were extraordinarily ignorant. We have been gaining knowledge, exponentially as of late, and yet religion, as it has been practiced for the last 2000 to 6000 years, has stagnated horribly into a political tool. (not that it mostly was ever anything else) IF ANY religion showed the slightest hint at taking new knowledge into the belief system it would not only get my attention, but might blow me away. The unwritten law of TRADITION that seems to pervade most religions is employed as an inherent system of control and the stifling of reality. Very very sad indeed. Old knowledge is one thing. Old myth is another thing entirely. All religions that are of the Sons of Abraham, at this point in human history, are deeply and inherently flawed. Just as a human needs to grow, I would expect that the belief in God should be the VERY FIRST THING to grow, to evolve, to expand and to develop as our intelligence, knowledge and understanding of Creation grows. That has, simply put, NOT BEEN THE CASE!! So far, there is enough we don't know, that does not preclude the possible existence of God. Maybe he does, Maybe he doesn't. We don't know. However, 13.7 billion years later, and a million million miracles later, here we are; humans, who think, and can conceive and wonder. Whatever you believe you have to acknowledge the spirituality and wonderment of such a thing. I can believe that a God might exist, in that context. As there is no "proof" that he does exist, it leaves a lot of room for doubt, however, there is no proof he doesn't exist either. The existence of the universe, and US in it, gives one pause though. Humans seem to need Religion. Humans seem to need politics. I wish we could keep them completely separate. That does not seem to happen in actual practice. Too bad. So to answer the original question: Religion, as it is currently practiced as a whole IS BAD!!! Do we need it? Collectively, yes. I just wish there was a religion in existence worth our following. If you don't believe in God, that does not get you off the hook, by the way. Look around. The Universe is BIG and demands attention. It is real. Believe in THAT!!!! Worship our very existence in it. Worship the fact you are alive and part of a sociological phenomenon. There is NOTHING to question in that. There is no other proof needed for that. THAT is reality. THAT is worthy. Maybe religion will step up.

Sublety Is Certainly Not Without Influence

I have survived several things in my life that could have killed me. I was given yet another chance at life when I got my kidney/pancreas transplant. I have taken these things as an indication that there is something I should, or at least CAN contribute to the world to make it more Enlightened. I feel that I can put ripples in the pond of the Universe and my influence will be felt either directly or indirectly by many people. In any event subtlety is certainly not without influence. On my homepage I have placed a saying I came up with several years ago in a sort of revelation. AS LIGHT CAN BEND A TREE, SO ENLIGHTENMENT CAN BEND THE WORLD!!! We each seek sustenance from the energies that are out there in the Universe. How we grow and in what direction we grow depends on what is out there to cause us to grow (or bend) in any particular way. If one person puts out good vibes, that's a start. If that person can convince others to do the same thing at the same time, well that is more powerful. The truth of Enlightenment is bright indeed. If we light it up we will bend the world.

Across The Atlantic

How far a heart stretches

When a net of love catches

The beat of it pounds in my chest.

Across a vast ocean

I still feel the emotion

A feeling I really like best.

Are you feeling alone

So far from your home,

Well, know that I am on a quest.

To bring you to me

Across the big sea

So that right by my side, you may rest.

So come to my arms

I'll keep you from harm

And press you, so close, to my breast.

For soon you will know

It's not far to go.

Regardless of how far, I'm blessed