ecently we have seen a resurgence of targeting innocents by religious institutions in power. Most recently the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and their paternal father in Rome have once again proudly raised their banner on the mounting waves of suppression, subtle though it may be, and proclaimed themselves king of the world. We hear the cry once again, “Down with the infidels, it’s Gods Will, it’s Gods will!” The only difference today is we are not seeing a public massing of knights and armies willing to plunder for the church, at least not an open massing of troops but who knows what goes on behind the cathedral doors, or other non catholic entities corporate offices for that matter. We as non-clergy are kept in the dark about these matters, for the good of our souls of course if we are to believe the party line. For a church concerned with spreading the word of God to all the world, there is very little transparency to the world in they way they conduct their affairs. That is until a heretic, heathen or clergy with a conscience turns on a light and then, things scurry to the shadows.

hat do Girl Scouts of America (GSA) and Catholic Nunneries have in common? The answer of course is they are both organizations where females play a prominent role. GSA does so outside the scope and independent of the Catholic Church, so this alone makes them a target. But nunneries are a different story, for though run by females they are still subject to the whims of the male clergy who have the ultimate say, or that has at least been the standard belief until now. The question arises why now, again, have nunneries become a target of their own church who is turning on them like rats turn on each other, devouring their own kind? The answer of course is this has been an ongoing thorn in the Roman side. Once women were given an amount of autonomy and freedom , as illusionary and limited as it is, they became a threat to the church which is fundamentally run by a male clergy and they have been unable to unseat that foothold ever since. Another consideration is the life of a nun was not always voluntary, but one of political exile, they became a dumping ground for those who were an embarrassment or threat to the empire in some way. Consequently, the nunneries became versed in the lessons of politics and took good notes, being more aware of the nuances than their male religious leadership ever would be. Being good middle managers, the Bishops engage in damage control but their efforts have been poor, as evident by the sudden savagery which they are turning their attention inwards, oddly (or maybe not so) upon entities which are not supposed to have that much power within the church in the first place. So we now have questions, “What do the nunneries have on the male clergy which is creating such a concern?”

onsidering the Catholic church is an organization who considers itself above the law and immune to the legal system, not much of its behavior is surprising. With their own private courts, law enforcement etc. we can see perfectly why rouge priests are hidden from legal authorities. Imagine our other most rabid Fundamental religions having such a privilege, and some do, the scenarios become quite disconcerting. No area has remained exempt from this, for only recently the Vatican was found hiding corporations and business interests under their religious status to avoid having to pay taxes. Another disconcerting blow to the religious world for if the Vatican has been discovered, then other smaller churches are also at risk for their dishonest money laundering and tax evasion schemes.

o what of these unruly Girl Scouts of America, an organization who teaches young girls and women to be independent and empowered in a world which constantly seeks to subvert and is actively engaged in disempowering them? A world which teaches repeatedly that women, despite the passage of women’s suffrage and the increasingly rapid recognition of positive roles in the community, women are still second class and have no place above subservience to men. Women are forbidden to think they have control over their body or a say in their marriage, and are even denied the right to defend their children against lechry of clergy. Mary Rice Hasson, a visiting fellow in Catholic studies at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a conservative think tank in Washington, laments about GSA:   “Their board is dominated by people whose views are antithetical to the teachings of the Catholic Church.” ( AP (David Crary) New York, 5/10/12).

ndeed it is Mary, GSA was never meant to be a Catholic run organization and so it goes without saying a Non-Catholic organization will not bow and scrape to the demands of a Conference of Bishops who have absolutely no authority, sacred or secular, to dictate to GSA how their organization is to be run. This is the Girl Scouts of America, not the Catholic Girls of America. The Conference of Bishops needs to get over itself because they are not a legitimate authority to dictate what is proper “Godly” morals and what is not. My advice to GSA is to cut loose the small amount of Catholic memberships, let them leave if they wish. Those who leave can not be helped right now, for they already live in a family atmosphere which is set to undermine the goals of GSA and thus create problems, because they are being directed by their church to do so. Those girls are already steeped in a belief system where they are taught to be powerless and at the whims of a predatory system. The Conference has no desire or intent to work with GSA or really addressing their concerns objectively, and possibly admit they are misguided and themselves in error. They are inflexible and do not operate collaboratively, with the intent to control because that is the historical context of the church. One simply has to look at the blood soaked pages of history to see that footprint left on this world, no apologies or reparations made to the deeds they have done. They believe they are above all that, their actions justified because God sanctioned them. The GSA has shown great restraint in dealing with the Catholic church, and graciously attempted to accommodate them when no effort was required or should have been made in the first place. An entity of women standing firm against a male clergy who is telling them how to conduct business, no wonder the conference is concerned. My expectation is to see the church excommunicate the lot, institute the inquisition and began to conduct witch trials in the courtyard of their churches. I’m sure other fundamental churches would follow their example happily.

y suggestion to the Conference of Bishops is this. Stay where you belong, within the confines of your church where you are needed most. Your authority is not recognized outside the confines of your walls, and I suspect that will change for the better (or worse in your case) soon enough. You do not have the right to dictate to non catholic organizations how they run their organizations, because they have no desire to be under your thumb. If you feel the need to exert control, control your predatory clergy, control your dishonest business practices which abuse and demean your religious status. Control the archaic thinking of your clergy and members who still believe and teach sickness and mental illness is demonic activity or punishments from God. Disband the U.S. Conference of Bishops and admit it is an entity used to exert control, to force organizations, governments etc. to fall in line with the practices and philosophy of the Catholic Church.

Loneliness does not come from having no people around one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which others find inadmissible.    -Carl Jung

riters are no stranger to controversy.  We have called down the ire of whole governments, religious leaders, tyrants, prudes, psychopaths, zealots and all the weak-minded in-between included those in our own ranks who devalue the call of the muse and seek to subvert it to their own ends.  Each family I suppose has someone in its tree in the branches at some point who fits this agenda in some form or other so why should Writing be different?  Writers have been consigned to the flames, imprisoned in jail cells, put under house arrest, landed in the seat of the inquisition (both past and present) and subjected to all kinds of abuses and vile accusations and at the same time sat with world leaders and help shape positive visions and dreams for the world at larger as well as upon various smaller levels.  Their books have been banned and censored and yet found themselves in the great halls of learning as well a community library both large and small.  What a wonderful life the Writer finds themselves in.

ommunity is important for anyone, but for Writers it is an essential element for their craft to have fellowship.  The writer by nature can be eccentric, at least in perception, and this while beneficial may take its toll in regards to encouraging some kind of isolation, as being alone or different that the rest of the community (which sometimes is often the case but this is a strength as opposed to a undesireable condition).  Isolation is the Writer’s enemy and the weapon of choice for those who seek to silence the writer.  If the community of authors can be divided and fragmented, their mutual support weakened then we will have a repeat of book burnings, destroyed libraries and mockeries of justices where writers are accused of any crime which crosses the fancy of any religious or political leader.

erhaps one may think exaggeration is a tool I use frequently, and if that is so I direct them to the basics of history which will clearly show I am indeed right on target, and these tactics I speak of have been, and are presently commonly employed the world over today.  This illustrates then why it is most important for the community of Writers to stand firm in their commitments to support one another in their endeavors and their craft.  Writers, I believe, have lost their rightful place in society.  I have said before we are seen today as more of an oddity, classified as entertainers more than we are in the serious categories of life.  The expectation of performers is to entertain and create illusion, not reference the reality of living or call forth our inner selves as Writers did in the past.  The Arts, in general, are no longer an integral part of who we are, but simply a side bar to our existence seen as something expendable or trivial reserved for an elitist class.  Our community is defined no but ourselves but by those who seek power over us, which says a lot about the power writers hold.  Consider how much energy it has taken to relegate us to this point, from being leaders in the community to simply entertainers to be summoned at a whim, patronized only when our support is wanted.  Unfortunately it is not our voices which are heard clearly, but more heed is given to how loud the coins clink in our pockets.

 alluded earlier in the blog to those within the ranks of Writers who aid in the undermining of our voice and power.  It is my contention most newspapers fall into this category, devoting only token space to the arts which hardly, if at all, appear on the front pages of the papers but are rather tucked away deep in the farther sections which indicate their level of importance.  The excuse of course is the public wants it this way, the readers have chosen and spoken, but this is illusionary in that the paper leads their readers, and should they change their format the readers would follow or the paper would get a higher grade of readers.  The choice is a conscious one, The writer and arts remain secondary.

here is definitely a concerted effort to devalue the arts.  We see it on a daily basis and we hear it in our own communities who hunger for artistic endeavors and programs, the voices of our younger members and our older members who remember a time when Writing and arts were held in the high esteem they were.  There is a pain and longing which can only be cured by the reintroduction, the reintegration of Writers and Artists into the community not as entertainers but as guides and reality makers.  One would think in election years this message would become most important, but it is unfortunate our leaders do not recognize the voices of their Artistic community members, beyond then of a obligtory nod or a quiet acknowledgement every now and then when it is suited to their needs or politically correct.  Such ambivalence has allowed a degradation of the arts to take place, allowed imposters to assume the role of Author and Artist who use the profession as a means to spew their hate, to practice the art of charlatans, once and for all degrading the profession of Writer and Artist beyond repair so our voices will forever remain as a stage voice only, instead of lights to our own communities.  It is imperative this must not happen.

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.”                    -Henry David Thoreau

he world does not treat kindly with those who are perceived as different from the so-called established norm, whatever nebulous standard that may be.  All of us have seen, or will see if not yet of adult age, just how cruelly the world treats those who do not follow the drums of institutionalization, blind obedience, or fitting in with the “right” crowd which often turns out to be very much the “wrong” crowd.   It is more unfortunate that often times our most valued and vulnerable members become the targets of the more “in crowd”.  If one does not think there is any truth to this, or it is somehow exaggerated all they have to do is look at the appalling rise in the statistic of bullying and the increasing toll and damage it inflicts upon society to see the reality is all too real, and has always been there.  No institutions are immune from this ignorance and destructive thinking.  More religious institutions, than we would like to believe treat mental illness as demonic possession or the parents fault, despite great strides in the rights for individuals with disabilities many of our schools still struggle with providing even the basic services for Special Education and in the case of such places as we recently found in a Canton, Massachuset school, humane treatment of the most vulnerable of our children all too readily goes by the wayside as they simply become sophisticated torture chambers.  It is a paradox the realm of education should be a hotbed of activity for this type of ignorance, especially when the role of education is to set their students upon the path of so-called enlightenment.

igh school, for many become the pinnacle of where the other drum beats are heard distinctly and often times painfully.  It is also a time of revelation when we come to the realization, or the start of, that we are not only the victims but at time also the enactors of injustice and cruelty.  My own high school experience was no exception, the Pipers call was loud and calling and unbeknownst to me I had already begun a far ways down that path which is what I think helped me survive all the nonsense thrown at me.  The unfortunate part was that same nonsense sucked in some really good people with some high costs later on in life, bringing some to the pre-mature ending of what should have been a long and happy lifetime, all because they marched to a different drummer as well and their peers could not handle that one of their own heard the music differently.   Heeding the Piper’s call, for me included having close friends of different ethnicities which obviously proved “uncool” in both ethnic realms and it was made very clear to me it was considered wrong, or at best deviant somehow.  It must not have really had much of an effect on me, I never changed and eventually grew not to care about it and treat it as a minor annoyance when the issue came up.  Despite being in a religious school, the drug culture was pretty strong there and it was pretty well overlooked because of the blinders staff wore, although all the students knew.  I don’t know if the Piper’s call kept me out of this realm or just common sense.  The users were easily spotted, nodding off in class, blank wandering looks and they fact they made no secret about it but wore the badge of drug user proudly.  Later in life I entertained the notion they may have been heeding the call of a different drummer, but came to the conclusion they were running from it, trying to drown it out.  I also discovered my experiences were not unique, especially among many of the artists I encountered and talked with.

iving the life of a Writer, or an Artist, can be difficult.  Those with these gifts are predisposed to hear the different drums and their hearts long to follow.  An aching which is compelling and moving, often times painfully profound, and deeply rooted, to the point of giving one the strong feeling they are not comfortable in this world somehow and yearn for the higher realms of consciousness, or spiritual awareness.  Conventionality has never been a trait associated with Authors or Artists , thankfully it is for the most part true.  The experiences of Authors and Artists are often times magnified in ways those not involved in the field can understand.  Many are sensitives and vulnerable because of it, the feel the pangs of living more pointedly than many others might.  They walk on the borders of multiple worlds, and thus come across as misfits, rebels or things similar in nature.  Often they are seen as the enemy, because their very nature challenges the world to look at itself, to do deep reflection and for many (especially high school students) this can be a very threatening act, albite necessary for maturity to occur.

ears, decades have passed since my high school and college years.  But I have never lost an ear for the Piper who calls to me.  Indeed his/her music is as strong as ever.  A music which embodies the very wild skies, rolling seas and deep forests about it.  The rich, deep earth and the feel of cool stone, snow-fed water, the cry of wolves, the laughter of my kids, the touch of my wife’s lips and the wind upon my brow.  The deep longing to shape words in stories of mythic realms, Faerie gates made from magic and woven star shine, or the living magic each one of us possess and the gift of the world around us untainted by poisoned air, depleted soil, or useless politics which breeds only hatred and bloodshed.  Is it so bad this Piper’s music that one has to fear it so, by devising different methods in which to intimidate and suppress or somehow make the dancer conform to a mediocre life, an unfullfilled waking state where one walks in a stupor, frustrated and dumbfounded, bound by self hatred projected outward.  Always the Writer and Artist are the target, in whatever era, and whatever chronological age.  Leave them to their march, for either way you follow them and should you silence them you will find yourself upon profane ground, and the music forever lost to you.

 

“No good deed goes unpunished.”  -Oscar Wilde

tter the words “Social Reform” in this present day, and instantly you will summon a swarm of enraged, vile creatures who will put any mythological beast to shame.  The anti social crawlies which will gather emerge from a plethora of hidden corners, refuse covered holes, goblin lairs, dusty and forgotten corners and alleyways and any number of places where lives have been shattered, destroyed, enslaved or abused in some fashion.  In these lairs you find an abundance of fear, larders full of ignorance, wells of deceits and spell books packed with illusions crude, but effective on the unwary and unguarded.  You will find self-appointed gurus who claim special knowledge and insight, offering their own brand of poisons in form of poorly written books, political commentary and electorial platforms.  A few will even have the daring to invoke the name of the heavens, and drag out an ancient name of evils and assign demonic names to those of social reform.  Socialism, Fascism, Communism and a host of other bugaboo words meant to invoke fear and hatred and grow dissent, the needed ingredients for theses creatures to feed and thrive off of.

eligion and politics, two things which should never mix so of course, the human race has taken plenty of both and mixed them together.  Our religious institutions preach at the top of their lungs the separation of church and state but their very organizational structure is a political one, with their own heads of state, congress, cabinets, kings and queens.  They constantly lobby our Political leaders, involve themselves in political matters outside of the church doors and dictate which “holy” commandments are to be put on display in public (not religious) buildings.

he intent of the founders of the United States was very clear, there was to be a distinct separation between church and state.  Regardless if these were religious minded men or not, the intent was clear.  Religion had no place in the political structure, it was not to dictate policy or lawmaking or influence it in any way.  Europe’s disastrous history in this regard was the example of why, as was the recent victory of independence.  Today however, in our present day, among our own nation those who still hold to that good deed are punished, or attempted to be. We are at the point now where there is a growing movement which calls for morality to be mandated, for people to be forced into following a set religion, if not in name than selected religious concepts.

hat has this to do with writing?  In the words of old Marly’s Ghost, “Much!”   Writers are in a unique position to reach the world through our writings, whatever they may be.  Our voices, however, are not welcome ones.  There is, and has been, an ever-growing part of the global community, which look upon learned men and women with disdain, and writers (independent of any college degrees) fall into this category because often we are the ones not afraid to bring causes to light, to be the voices of dissent and the voice of reason.  Religious institutions are not the best examples of openness to new ideas, different perceptions and often writers have fallen victim to their ire.  This day and age is no different, the inquisitions have simply become more subtle, complex and covert.  A true writer sees the world differently than the world around him, they see undercurrents and nuances which are constantly missed or ignored by the political realm (journalist and commentary), they are connected with the community around them in such ways as they inherently suffer the same pains as their community does.  They are not immune to the woes but rather acutely aware of them., a condition many religious institutions have lost over the years.  It is definitely a very sad commentary some institutions are more concerned with the state of their clergy than they are with the well-being of their flocks.

et our deeds be punished then, for I would be proud to be punished for looking out for the welfare of my fellow man.  Consign my writings to the flames and I can think of now higher glory or testament to them then to have this dubious honor bestowed on them, that a mere collection of words struck fear into a realm so well protected, that perhaps that crack would bring light to them.  If I can bring a measure of comfort or joy to at least one of my readers, my work is infinitely complete.

“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” Albert Einstein

uzzled though I am in regards to humanity, I am never ceased to be amazed at the endless parade of irony which it pulls forth to continue to blemish its already tarnished reputation.  It is almost as if there are those who go out of their way to invent new ways of reminding us just what they can find in humanity if one wallows among the dregs long enough.  It becomes almost a contest to see who can out do each other in what nonsense they can dig up or create out of things better left alone.  The media of course has long been a culprit of this, anyone who deny this needs to simply crawl back into the womb and de-evolve.  Their reasoning, with a grain of truth to it, is their public demands it from them so they are obligated to oblige.  Yet at the same time I find this to be an evasion for it is also the only thing on the menu which is presented so of course the people will choose, it is their limited choice offered.

 eality shows are the big craze of late, more mediocrity added to the already overdone talk shows where make shift pop psychologists conduct their therapy sessions on the air, some of which are not really psychologists at all but abuse the title of Dr. after their names to give themselves an air of legitimacy while they tear down peoples lives in front of an audience, tell people their religious choices are sending them to hell and a plethora of other nonsense and blatant stagemanship, all the while expecting us to believe this is reality, the way things really are.  Setting these aside, we have then moved into invading other people’s homes.  Characters ranging from a non descript family whose claim to fame is the word “kooka”, all the way to the lives of an imprisoned organized crime lords family and their daily trials of life, totally ignoring they are living off the broken dreams and shattered lives of his victims and from what I have seen of the behaviors history will probably be repeating itself.  We intrude ourselves in the most intimate moments of couples, down to the details of bedroom happenings and shattered relationships, and are told this is real life.  The reality is what we are seeing has been contrived and managed, edited and sugared up, and made marketable for Television.  Not all real.

eduction is not reality, but what the ”Reality” shows do are seduce us into thinking reality is what is being shown us.  The numerous paranormal shows which have sprung up at first were received with a wide interest and unquestioning acceptance, but once time passed it came to light these shows were just like any others.  What we were seeing was not real, but managed footage.  Scenes were selected, staged and redone as well as prepared beforehand.  Pieces of so-called evidence are seen outside of the whole context, mistakes are edited away as if they never happened unless they add a dramatic effect to the show.  Any legitimacy to the work is left in question and yet various paranormal groups base their own operations and methodologies upon what these shows present as industry standards-which are not real or complete.  As a result you have such things happen as shoddy or “entertainment” research.

ne might suspect they would find refuge in the travel shows, but these too are not real.  The shows do not talk about the exorbitant food and drink prices attached to quaint and eccentric restaurants, the hidden fees of traveling such as tolls or taxes or the cost of pre medical care before going to foreign countries, or even the reality of getting sick in these far off places.  All is rosy, all is exciting, all is awesome.  No negative to mar the experience or keep expectations realistic.  No one ever shows the travelers suffering from tainted water or poorly prepared food, or the traveler who falls prey to being harassed and coerced by police, or ripped off by thieves.  They don’t show the abysmal treatment of the unwanted segments of the population.  No sickness or starvation.  Reality suddenly vanishes.

“The great danger in the world today is that the very feeling and concept of what is a human being might well be lost.”  -Richard Wright, (1940 novelist)

odes of ethics, for most profession, is necessary to insure the protection of the consumer, and the worker as well as the industry, and the field of writing is no exception.  The biggest glaring inconsistency in this, among Writers, can be seen in the field of Journalism whose devotion to reporting the truth and the facts has become akin to politics.  Journalists, in my opinion are not writers, but simply a profession that employs the tool of writing heavily.  Writing is a means to an end, there is no ethical use for them despite the industry having ethical standards to abide by.  So it is with great relief we can set aside extremists who proclaim anything different is Demonic which doesn’t fit their world view, or those who dare to speak out against traditional roles are harlots or sluts.  These are not writers, these are producers of illusion, or rubbish and have no place in the world of writing.

riters having a specific code of ethics can be a slippery subject to grapple.  If one is telling a fictional story, is it appropriate to expect it to adhere to some kind of ethical standard and what would that be?  Keep in mind the ethical standard is not the guidelines of the publishing company or literary agent, so the story, while adhering to the expectations of the publishing house does not constitute following an ethical guideline or framework…of writing.  The concept of fiction, is that fiction is somehow made up, as opposed to Non-Fiction which is somehow more “real”.  Already one can see the philosophical circles one can start to get swallowed in attempting to go down these lines of discussion.  The endless circles of logic that leads nowhere and produce more questions than it started out with.  Perhaps than it would behoove us to explore the role of the writer, as opposed to an ethical code of some kind which really doesn’t exist concretely.  In this article, I will be using my own frame of reference and therefore if anyone seeks offense I suggest they examine themselves first as to why they feel offended in the first place, and if I have that much power to MAKE them feel something then just send me a blank check now because you will be forever at my whim instead of master of your own fate.

y role, as a Writer, is simple and that is to tell a story in the best way I can.  My first priority is to myself, to pull forth the story which is struggling to free itself inside of me, to take flight among the world of readers.  It is secondary to me if it is liked, there will be people who like my work and people who do not, regardless of what I do to it or what baubles and bows I place upon it.  It is their choice and decision and while ego would dearly love every soul in the world to hang upon my written words and buy my books, thankfully that is not the reality my work will encounter.  My role is that of creator, of worlds and characters, towns, stars universes and even the god/goddesses that inhabit them.  Hence, my code of ethics consists of one tenet, and that is to care for my creations. The only stricter I am under is to help them emerge from the depths of my creative waters, to live as best they can in their own world which they are about to share with others.

mazingly the worlds and people form very quickly and are eager for life.  At times they spring and run ahead, their momentum pulling along the streams of creation with them, to swirl around their feet and collect in the sky above them and the world builds around them as they watch.  At the same time, they carry forth a part of me with them, and as they grow and establish a foothold and a history, I am moving throughout it all with them.  My ethics as their creator can be awesome to think about at times.  What does it mean to create a world and have to care for it, nurture it and make it grow and then subject it to the world I live in?  The weight of Dr. Frankenstein in relation to his creature makes itself known.  What am I thinking, bringing these characters to life and what is my plan for them.

ood stories, however, interact with the real world regardless if they be Fiction or not.  So in the overall scheme of things the one code of ethic which writer should follow is to treat their readers, and characters like human beings.  Each one has intrinsic value as a unique, breathing entity and therefore by that very nature alone should be treated as sacred.  Within each of them, they carry the spark of whatever creator brought them forth so every writer should have the one code of ethic driving them; that is to express the very feeling and concept of what it is to be human.  Our work goes forth and proclaims much about who we are as a human being, though as I have said before we may not intend such a thing to occur.

ur code of ethics, as Writers, is a simple one then, and that is simply for us to be and conduct ourselves as human and if we are in doubt to what that means, then to explore it to the fullest extent of each dimension that we can.  We can create worlds and universes, and destroy them, with a touch of our fingers.  Does it not make sense if we are to send out our own creations to the cosmos, than we should know ourselves least we become lost and leave our creations without their source of life?

In the garden I tend to drop my thoughts here and there. To the flowers I whisper the secrets I keep and the hopes I breathe. I know they are there to eavesdrop for the angels. ~Dodinsky

aradox, while quite enjoyable and at times even amusing can also be puzzling as well for me. If Spring is a time of growth and awakening life I am surely starting down the road to my hibernation.  My seasons are backward, you see.  Summer will be my slow time, my time of sleep and lethargy or at least it has been in the past.  This year is an unknown for me for I now live in a different climate so it will be interesting to see how my body attunes itself.  As the Greenman begins to awake and rub the leaves away from his face, will I be awaiting his arrival or will my thoughts be once again turning to the hibernation of an introspective summer, my dark time if you will.

t is not that the Greenman is a stranger to me or one who has been kept at a distance.  On the contrary for quite some long years now I have been interested in this figure.  The stone garden faces with ivy twining around them, on quaint garden walls, archways and even the arches of chapels.  It really is no wonder, to me, such a figure commands the imagination of gardeners as well as resides in deep forests and peers wisely at us from gardens of all types.  The act of gardening itself can be quite mysterious and spiritual to say the least.  At our fingertips we witness and take part in the very ancient acts of creation and destruction on such an intimate level it can not but help to shape our psyches in so many ways.  Gardens, forests, flowers, vegetables and the like have become intertwined with who we are as a species, we are never far from them even in the most urban of environments nature will intrude upon us and remind us she is still there, and he cohort the Greenman is awake.

y no means do I consider myself old by universal standards, but when I garden I can never walk away without feeling I have grown older in some way.  It is not any instant revelation that suddenly bursts upon me, or deep unknown esoteric wonder that suddenly comes to light, but rather is is a feeling that I have somehow aged beyond my tangible years.  In leaving off from my gardening, as work or simply visiting, I have emerged from being in the presence of a respected professor or wise friend with whom I have just had the most profound conversation.  I sometimes believe the Garden of Eden of the Christian tradition was not one confined place, but rather the whole earth herself and our fall from grace was the severing of direct communion with not only God, but the world as a whole.  As a result we have warred with the world since and taken our rage out upon in so many horrendous ways.

hat shall we talk about today my leaf covered friend?  Under a damp canopy of Alder, Pine and Oak where Owls and Ravens roost while below them stream and brook bubble along and jump over rocks, laughing, singing diverting attention away from the mundane useless purposes I have let my mind become attached to.  The abhorrent shoes I wear are no longer on my feet, keeping me from feeling the life which supports me, pine needles, wet grass and stone, the malleable earth which gives beneath my toes and feet.  Everywhere I look I see the green, your eyes maybe watching me and smiling?  What is it about this realm that I could sit forever against this tree trunk, letting the world easily pass me by?  Is this an inkling of what it was like in the past, to hear footsteps upon Holy ground and wait in anticipation for them to stop next to me?  There is life here, more ancient than I could ever imagine or ever hope to see in a hundred life times.  Is is really I am unwanted here, tolerated only because I believe, despite my senses and even rational faith, your breath permeates the leaves beside me and whispers to me.  The calling of the quarters, cardinal points or arch angles are simple illusionary sleep walkings, a childs scribblings and meaningless tune to make me comprehend something I have no right to comprehend?  Seasons pass me by and yet I feel there is more wisdom in that herd of Elk than I will ever acquire in my lifetime.

nderneath my palms and fingertips, the small encasing dirt crumbles into the hole below as leaves and flowers brush against my wrist, caressing my skin softly and tenderly as any child.  I feel a touch of guilt, planting them there and knowing they could be in an open field somewhere or along a forest path, nestled among the roots of a tree or the shade of a mossy stone near a riverbank.  But I also feel the touch of contentment,knowing near me will be a living, breathing soul whose magic all through childhood produced fairy beings who could bring the seasons to my doorstep and windowsill.  Was it you, my leafy friend, who I walked with on the foothill paths behind my house as a child to discover where the Hawks were nesting, or how far the winding path would take me?  It had to have been, for you are here too when it rains and I look out my window to see the trees dancing and reaching, calling and inviting as the mist shrouds them in veils and misted garments of such delicate gossamer a tailors sight would tear them.  The candled moon illumines your home as it does mine, and at times you are at my windows as I drift to sleep.  I awake and expect ivy to have grown through the corners of my walls.

oor wandering souls, this sentiment is a temptation to be indulgent but I also know it is a false sentiment in that we are never alone, not with a garden by any stretch of the means.  What boon companion to we have to listen to our every joy and woe, and give us nothing in return but wisdom and love unconditionally?  Who watches over us in our forever sleep, in the garden with the yew trees but the flowering vines and subtle foxgloves, the dainty purpled petals and Rowan berried boughs, and throughout it all the ivy faced figure of a long known friend waiting for me in waking and sleep.

“Two-thirds of people in the United States and half of those in the European Union can no longer see the Milky Way with the naked eye.   A very small portion of the world still receives the gifts of perfect darkness. ” —Holly Haworth, IN SEARCH OF DARKNESS: Do you remember the Milky Way?,” PARABOLA, Spring 2012.

cience Fiction, I have always maintained, has always held a touch of prophecy to it.  Intentionally or not, Asimov and others had vision  which only those growing up reading their works can truly appreciate the deep impact it made upon their life, and of society as a whole.  The almost prophetic constructs and ways in which their stories came to life  and paralleled our own world and the issues we are facing, and have faced.

ur world has changed greatly over the years, and one can not help ponder the impacts this has had on our global world as a whole.  Our world continues to narrow seemingly in upon itself, as our advances in technology provide us with empty promises, and the clarity of the skies above as seen with the naked eye are  offset by technology taking us beyond the realms of where our eyes can see.  Yet, in our own world the natural skies are shrinking and are increasingly becoming a rarity as opposed to the norm.  Don’t get me wrong, I throughly enjoy the wonderful pictures of our universe our space technology brings us and I think it  adds a wholesome developmental component to the human species so we are able to look beyond the confines of our own world and see just where we are in the universe, a dose of great humility in and of itself.  The beautiful colors of a nebula, the intricate rings around a planet or the banded colors of swirling clouds, the bright star shine which pulses out radiance and then deep black void of a black hole where light enters but doesn’t reappear.

hatever the advances, one has to wonder what impact upon our development as a whole takes place when we lose a bit of our natural world so fundamental, such as darkness.  We stand upon the edge of our Foundation and look into space, but what do we really see?  Do we really see what lies before us or is it obscured somehow,slowly and subtly fading from our sight to beguile us with a different vision, perhaps one not so wholesome?  What message does it give those who grow up after us, who may not understand instinctually what it means to see real darkness or the stars which reside there?  Growing up in a city which started out as rural, I had at least some opportunity to escape the light pollution by fleeing to the surrounding hills which were untainted by mercury vapor street lights and busy streets and highways.  I have been in cities where there is constant light around the clock, it is a disconcerting feeling not having periods of darkness, not being able to look up and see the night sky clearly.

agic is a word I hear quite frequently bandied around freely, and generously.  It can be used in reference to a magician’s efforts of entertaining an audience with slight or hand, illusion and elaborate feats like making statues disappear and the like.  There are some true artists in their own right which fit into this category and do much for the installations of wonder and revival of awe in our lives.  I have also heard magic used as in the realm of Fantasy such as Wizards, Dragons and the like.  Awesome reading and of course in my own writing I am partial to this genre.  There is the magik of the spiritual life, the belief the world holds a natural, spiritual energy and each one of us has the potential to use it for whatever purpose. It is not a manipulation of the natural world, although some will have you believe it to be, but rather living in tune with it and LIVING the spiritual life in the context of the natural cycles, rhythms and the like which are seen as manifestations of a higher power.  There is the magic of psychotherapy, which really means the acknowledgement and wonder of our own selves and accepting ourselves for who we are and the transformations which accompany such empowerment.  There is the magic of Childhood, which is a state of being, living in a state of wonder and awe in the world around us, an innocence maintained, or regained.  A child may speak of talking with the wind and who are we to say they are not indeed doing so?  Thier perceptions are much different from our own, and the tendency of many adults is to tear away those perceptions and replace them with their own.

here is a book cover, one of many, which is among my favorites.  It is a Foundation book, (By Asimov), and shows a young lady standing in the ruins of some great place, looking out to the horizon and the whole sky is black, except for a huge, swirling galaxy.  The realization of the universe has suddenly become much larger, and at the same time much smaller.  The lights have been removed, darkness has set in and for maybe the first time one sees the universe in its entirety, even if it be for one fleeting moment of sublimity one knows the darkness holds wonder and secrets, as well a terrors.  We find that blotting out the darkness doesn’t work, so we demonize it, call it evil or become afraid of it.  We equate it with dastardly deeds, subversion and the like.  But flood a room with light, and there will always be a shadow, close your eyes and there is always darkness for sleep.  It is one of the things of the natural world we take for granted, and abuse regularly.  There is this overwhelming idea we must shine our lights into every corner of the universe, there must be no dark spaces and if there are these spaces are void of life.  The firefly of course defies this notion, because without the darkness the existence of the firefly remains unknown to us.  We pass it by unnoticed, unmarked and not honored.  But come nightfall, we are transported into a fairy realm and our inner child is revived for a time.

ow many people today no longer lift their eyes to the stars at night, or in the early morning and really see?  What happens to us when we can no longer see the Milky Way, the rising of Venus, the red glow of Mars, the three distinctive stars of Orion, or even the yearly meteor showers.  One of the things I made sure to do with my children was to turn off  all the lights around our house, inside and out, and then go outdoors and look up at the sky.  No lights, just blankets, some soft  pillows and the darkness.  Then came the stars,slowly at first then quicker and much faster than we could keep up with until the darkness revealed a host of them, and still there was darkness; all around us and in-between the stars, behind the moon.  There they stayed until morning, when the light chased them from the sky greedily stealing all their splendor.  And so, I end with the quite below:

“ight, the beloved.  Night, when words fade and things come alive.  When the destructive analysis of day is done, and all that is truly important becomes whole and sound again.  When man reassembles his fragmentary self and grows with the calm of a tree.”  ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

“We are the carriers of health and disease-either the divine health of courage and nobility or the demonic diseases of hate and anxiety.”  -Rabbi Joshua Loth Liebman

any will miss the irony of the observance of a holiday celebrating liberation and life.  The story of Passover of course is a well-known one in the Judeo-Christain traditions, as well in other forms to be found in other spiritual traditions as well.  The characters may change, but the message remains the same.  However reading the newspapers, listening to the news on radio or television and all the other political commentators and so-called political journalists one would realize they have no interest in liberation or freedom, but rather the sound of their own voices and promotions of their own delusions, their own private non existant worlds where illusionary monsters and demons hide under their beds and roar at them.  They have become the slaves so deeply, they no longer know what liberation, let alone freedom is.  What is more deeply pitiful about this is their self-imposed slavery and they would, not being happy with their own life, impose their own slavery upon others because misery loves company.  These figures should be pitied and mourned for they long ago neglected to place the saving marks above their doorsteps.

e know the spiritual lessons of Passover, Easter, Ostara or whatever other term you wish to call it.  Today we will briefly look at the Psychological side of this celebration.  Passover, which will be used generically to include all the other names for this time of year, is the embracing of psychological health.  It is unfortunate commentators such as Coulter, Limbaugh and others stand out as they do as examples of some who have willingly taken on the diseases of hate and anxiety, both psychological conditions and both rooted in fear of liberation from these conditions.  They are the extremes whose sickness overshadows those who really struggle and need assistance, who can benefit from help.  The unheard are the voices of the Psychological Passover, those who are enslaved and suffer but whose cries have gone unheard.  The manifestations of this are around us daily, re-emergence of hate groups, reincarnations of past political groups whose philosophy has not changed, only the name has changed.  There is a growing mistrust, and has been for quite some time, in the political and ruling powers of Government, the efficiency of our health system, the quality of our social services, even the credibility of our spiritual organizations has proven unstable and enslaving.  Gangs, criminals and street vigilantes alike are indistinguishable from one another.  Underlying it all is a current of sweeping fear, as the Angel of death approaches our Psyche and we seek ways in which to avoid his visit to our doorstep.  What will it take?

sychologiclly there is one key element necessary for liberation to take place, and that is the acceptance of the person to willingly change.  Without this foundation, slavery will continue.  We will still be slaves to our anxieties and fears, even though we know what to do to alleviate it.  Once we become aware, we can no longer hide no matter what we do.  Our sub conscious and unconscious will forbid it, our demons know we are aware of them and they must act at all cost, even if it means our own death both in a psychological and physical way.  There will be no stopping them, no one will get in their way.  They will promise us everything, cajole us, pacify us and break every treaty or pact we strike with them.  There will be no choice other than slavery, which leaves us with two choices, liberation or slavery.  It is a deadly process once hate and fear take hold upon our Psyche, our Psyches knows this is not a natural state and will use all its resources to expel it from us, and of course we will resist until we are at the point of death or in need of resurrection.

ear is not a sophisticated emotion, it is simple in that the basic foundation of fear is anything different or out of the norm is a threat.  A new idea, a change in environment, a new technique or way of doing something, resistance to these and more is based in fear.  It is a primal fear, the fear of change, the fear of the unknown, the fear of us not being in control so we compensate by enslaving, we destroy what we fear thinking that by so doing our lives will become more easy and pleasing, more safe and secure and we are the ones to ensure it shall be done.  We make laws to control our neighbors, giving up more and more of our freedoms to Government, Churches and the like to help us enslave others, to give us that secure feeling we have controlled the universe to suite our needs.  Soon however, it becomes intolerable what we have done and increasingly life becomes more difficult for us.  The person we see in the mirror we despise, because we see the very demons we fear grinning at us.  How can this be?  It must be those “others” fault.  Those Liberals, Educators, Free Thinkers who caused this demon to appear.  That hateful, spiteful, obscene demonic face looking at me can’t be me.  We become outraged, our life has been impacted, invaded, threatened.  We must act, we must never let this happen again, our innocence demands our vengeance be taken on them.  Blood is called for, the weapon can be a gun, knife, computer, or political ideology.  Our demon howls in confirmation, we hear our own voice and our fear elevates and our hate blooms.  What a beautiful terrible flower, it is ours, it must not be touched, or taken away by those “others”.  Our delusion kicks in, Look what they have done to me, look what I have become.  It is their fault I am like this, I must stop them, I am the savior, others must know my truth etc.  All this time we are forging the chains of our slavery tighter, the angel of death approaches and still our doorstep remains unmarked.

esurection comes, if we are lucky, when the crisis passes.  If we have somehow banished our demons face from our mirror and marked our lintels, we face the awful truth of our own complacency in our condition.  We have seen hope in our recovery, in our liberation.  The banishing of our demon didn’t kill us (but it doesn’t mean it is gone), we recognized the anxiety and hate were delusional constructs or our own insecurity, our own fear of ourselves which we projected onto others.  Innocents who we saw our own weakness in and exploited them to compensate for our own misgivings.  We are now faced with the task of living our new life, our awareness that all we have done in the past is unchangeable, good and bad. IT also means we began to live as part of a community, instead of trying to master the community.  People have rights, feelings, dreams, hope and are not so different or demonic as we wrote them to be.  We began to recognize the nobility of our neighbors around us, instead of looking for whatever is wrong with them to use against them.  Instead we began to take upon us the courage in raising ourselves to a higher standard, the courage to transform our own wastelands in the Psychological paradises they should be which in turn will transform the outer community as well.  It is the rites of spring in our psyche we are concerned with, the emergence of spring, or life lain dormant now manifesting itself in all its fullness which reminds us the dark seasons of our psyche are not permanent and can be used as transformational instead of destructive.

“Are you a good witch or a bad witch?”  The Wizard of Oz

 here is an old oriental curse/proverb which is said to be, “May you live in interesting times.”   Whatever wise sage I happened to cross in this life, or a prior one, had to have been a potent one as well as an old gentleman with a twisted sense of humor and irony to rival my own, and yet….   How farseeing was that obscure sage and what method did he use to divine the twisting passages of the trickster fates?  Had I known then what I know now, would it have changed anything or would I have endured the curse any easier?  The conclusion I come to is probably not, and I would have found myself stuck in a festering occupation requiring no critical thinking, demanding blind obedience to a political structure which continues to erode and crumble as I sat and watched the world go by.   All this but for one liberating factor, and that is education.

ducation continues to be vilified, just as it has been in ages past.  The nuance of anti education propoganda which I have grown up with has had a decidedly political overtone to it but the under currents have not changed.  They are as old, ancient and destructive as ever and easily find the miserable and ignorant to greedily drink from that tainted and poisoned water, spreading their plague just as easily as any contaminated grain or infected vermin.  Their message today takes on the form “Education will make you Liberal”.  The thinking is Education is bad, it is evil, the system is tainted beyond repair and needs to be purged by fire and blood to free it from the clutches and control of some giant master minded liberal monster or secret organization which seeks world dominion and mind control.  To be educated, is anathema, unless of course you are on their side and then all is well.

evelation as to where this mindset comes from took me some time to discover.  You see, part of the education process teaches one to look at issues critically, not to make quick, off the cuff , unfounded, snap judgements concerning the questions or issues before you.  One of the things I discovered is prior to age eighteen the mind is easily shaped and as one gets older the higher functions of thinking began to kick in so if one can keep the open mind intact by the time one graduates high school, one is more likely to engage in critical thinking in their adult life.  Beyond high school, at a University or College this ability to critically think becomes highly sought after and what is more it can be taught into adulthood (outside the college or university this ability is increasingly discouraged).  So our institutions of higher education carry out their main mission, and that is to teach their students to think and what is more to think openly and wisely.  It is here, if the student has not discovered it ahead of time already, they learn the folly of blind acceptance of what they are told.  They began to see in-depth the far-reaching impacts of stunted and half-truths.  Their minds are open to other options and other possibilities, to new ideas, to a better choice of tools which will be used throughout their lives.  They are encouraged to push themselves to become better students and better people.  They began to take their rightful place as citizens of the nation, of the world.  If the world of Education were open to only one small segment or class of the population, those who cry Liberal might have an easier task, but what works them into a frenzy is anyone can walk the halls of higher education, it levels the playing ground and brings knowledge and learning to the hands of the common, everyday person.  It no longer becomes an elitist privilege, but a shared equality with rich and poor alike.  This of course is seen as dangerous, as destructive, as brainwashing.  The cornerstone of power is no longer secure, it becomes unsound because the falsehood upon which it is based no is in danger of being discovered and toppled, indeed experience shows that it will be.  Something must be done!

ear is the basis of all ignorance.  It is fear which drives the concepts of education somehow corrupts.  As such, the tools employed to further this cause, this belief that the opening of minds is a bad thing, consist of two dark and poisoned tools.  The first is violence and the second is assassination of character.  While in our “civilized” society violence is employed less and less in this cause against liberalism, it nevertheless remains a viable option although a more Public Relations damaging one.  It is interesting to note the choice of non violence is a liberal concept but of course those who use passive resistance and non violent protests are accused of being subverted by the liberally educated even though the opposition will not hesitate to employ the same methodology.  Today it is more civilized and acceptable to use the second option of character assassination.  It is easier to accuse those who have achieved a higher education of acting superior than those who have not because from a psychological perspective.  Daily people project their own fears, their own inadequacies onto others (individuals, groups and systems) and seek out scapegoats.  Education is a natural target because it is highly visible.  Diploma, Transcripts, Research Facilities, Campuses, Textbooks, food services, dorms, in essence a miniature community.  Significant employers seek out college graduates for positions with their companies, agencies etc, guest speakers biographies often include academic accomplishments, it is common place on most job applications to be asked for levels of education.  The unfortunate result is those coming out of institutions of higher learning are targets as well.  They are the subversives who must be feared.

f the reader needs a modern-day example let me turn their attention to recent events in the world of politics.  In a male dominated industry, that of politics a group of male politicians and male clergy to discuss and attempt to decide the fate of options for birth control via insurance.  The telling mark of the preordained outcome of this is one woman in this issue has been singled out as a target because she dared raise her voice against the political and religious male driven tribunal.  She dared raise her voice and questioned their authority and expertise, as others before her have.  This was no everyday, run of the mill woman though, this was an educated young woman and but those two qualities she already came to the conflict with two strikes against her, an educated female.  What has been the reaction than to her boldness to question, her education and expertise were unassailable so instead of allowing critical thought to reign, the opposition attacks her character.  They dig deep into history and once again draw upon the old fears of women’s power, raising the hue and cry of if they question someones character than it must be so.  A simple accusation is the pronouncement of guilt, is all the proof they need.  They will broadcast it upon the airwaves and that in itself makes the pronouncement  so, and those who defend her or protest her treatment also proclaim their guilt as subversives, as evil minions in league with the devil and his minions.  They are terrorists, socialists, democrats and dare we utter the unspeakable word…Liberal.  Oh My!

ne may ask why bother addressing such pathological thinking about education being subversive, liberally tainted?  My reply is because this kind of falsehood will plunge us into a world of ignorance that will take hundreds of years to crawl back out from, if ever.  It has happened once already, where university, college and library were put to the sword and flames in the name of God’s will.  The world never recovered from that, vast amounts of knowledge were lost forever and no apologies or restitution were ever made or will ever be forthcoming.  It was an intentional and systematic attack on Education, and today the same conditions are in the making.  It was not addressed than, so to prevent history from repeating itself it must be addressed now.  It is not paranoia, we already see it happening.  The accusation of Education being liberalized is only a symptom of a greater undercurrent.  Knowledge is power, and to control knowledge and bend it to their will that is what is sought by those who would de-liberalize education.  Critical thinking would be discouraged, questioning those in power would be criminalized as would voicing our opposition.  We would be told to shut up, sit with our hands in our lap, recite by route the words on the board and explore only what we were told to explore and under what conditions.  Our institutions would cease to turn out highly educated adults, and instead give us a drone society who once again looked up at the sky in fear and saw hell fire instead of a wide unexplored universe.