Everyone has some go-to for times when they need refreshing, at least I hope they do. Most of us have several. One of mine happens to be literature that is special to me. And Walt Whitman is often one of my go-to’s, especially the songs of life he hears echoing through this Universe.
I examined some of Walt’s poem, “Song of the Universal,” last night. I had never analyzed it or particularly noticed it, but I see the metaphysical beauty of it, the scope of it, the emotions of that which he terms the universals: joy, goodness, health peace, and salvation. At the outset, Whitman makes it clear that underneath all of the surface appearances of this earth and, metaphorically, our lives, exists “Perfection,” a perfection we all have a share in. The degree to which we appropriate that for ourselves determines our appreciation of it and its benefits. That “seed Perfection” represents what I have called Heart, eternal Spirit that arrives as part and parcel within us, “amid the measureless grossness and slag” of the default Ego operating system. Whitman shifts within the poem from individual application and consideration to a more global aspect. He makes it clear that “Science” (mind) has a role, “absolute fiats issuing.” But those commands and rationalized deductions contain limited effects. The “Soul — above all science,” soul, the generator of emotions and that which is most susceptible to responding strongly to Heart or Ego, is the reason we come here, the vehicle through which we truly understand the issues of life: “For it, has History gather’d like a husk around the globe; / For it, the entire star-myriads roll through the sky. // For it, the partial to the permanent flowing, / For it, the Real to the Ideal tends. / For it, the mystic evolution…” He ranks the soul and the ability to respond emotionally to life as the reason for our primary human experience. But what is it that operates the mind and soul? Well, that would be Ego or Heart. In the above line “the Real to the Ideal” indicates a Heart movement: what we feel as ideal ends in our soul creates reality, moves us towards experiencing what we wish, engages the law of attraction. However, Whitman does not gloss over the effects of Ego operation. When he refers to “the mystic evolution,” he includes the outworking of Heart moving through the dross of Ego. The very next line states, “Not the right only justified — what we call evil also justified.” How is evil justified? He implies evil is explained, and the explanation of it sounds a lot like Ego work in the next stanza: “Forth from their masks, no matter what, / From the huge, festering trunk — from craft and guile and tears, / Health to emerge, and joy — joy universal.” Surface, Ego ugliness forms the framework of life like the trunk of a tree and produces sneaky deception and sorrow until Heart is engaged. Then, the understanding of how it all works together and how we have had our part in life produces “joy universal.” Whitman goes on describing Ego works, which I won’t quote here, but he generalizes it to seeing the ego works of individuals become the face of the nation: “…the varied, countless frauds of men and States, / Electric, antiseptic yet — cleaving, suffusing all…” The effects of folks not tapping into their own Heart, “the seed Perfection,” that which is “enclosed and safe within” the “central heart,” is division that spreads throughout the nation. I started looking at this poem because I had had enough of looking into some of that continuing division in this nation. This is a nice bar of notes in the song. Whitman always believes that true America, like the true Heart, core Self of us, needs yet to be discovered fully: “…America… // To the Ideal tendest.” He also believes we need to hear the song and understand for ourselves the Ideal, Heart-truth and identity and essence; it’s all for us: “All, eligible to all. / All, all for immortality! / Love, like the light, silently wrapping all! / Nature’s amelioration blessing all!” Now that’s a song, a song of the Heart, a song in which we can all join in the chorus. Walt wishes it for everyone, appealing to his version of Heart in this poem (he doesn’t always use God for that term): “Give me, O God, to sing that thought! / Give me — give him or her I love, this quenchless faith / In thy ensemble. … / Belief in plan of Thee enclosed in Time and Space; / Health, peace, salvation universal.” Eternal Spirit in time and space — Heart in each of us. We can’t see the universal good until we tap into Heart. He says a bit earlier in the poem: “O the blest eyes! the happy hearts! / That see — that know the guiding thread so fine, / Along the mighty labyrinth!” If you have the opportunity, read the poem because other references sing the beauty of knowing Heart. Ultimately, Whitman asks, “Is it a dream?” He answers the question himself, the dream being symbolic of something not real: “Nay, but the lack of it the dream, / And, failing it, life’s lore and wealth a dream, / And all the world a dream.” If his “Song of the Universal” and its Heart-truths are not real, then nothing is. I think it’s a pretty sweet song, presenting to the listeners not only the composition but the opportunity to play it. Universals available to us all: joy, goodness, health, peace, and salvation. I didn’t say much about salvation, but he makes it clear he’s not referring to an orthodox religious response, but rather he implies salvation from the effects of Ego. So we can join in: “…a strain is heard, just heard, / From some far shore, the final chorus sounding.” It’s within us, our own Heart. Discover the beauty of all that rightfully belongs to us. Get singing! Blessings!
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Do you have a special someone with whom you share “our song?” Or, did you ever experience that? At the very least, you know what I’m talking about, right?
I hope so. Music, songs, tones, frequencies create resonance with someone, something, somewhere. Do you know your own special song with the Universe? We each have one, but we will never know that sweet frequency until we meet our true, core Self. Infinite frequency possibilities exist, and we will resonate with one, because we are, at Heart level, eternal Spirit. It’s impossible not to have one that is our very own. I observe many people, and I see many who are really not very happy. Sometimes, I’m not. When that happens, most specifically when that characterizes a person, it is because they are living in dissonance with core Self. Their Ego is creating disharmony with Heart, and they are not aligned with Universe. It’s just miserable. Know how I know? Have you ever just gritted your teeth and put a semi-smile on your face when someone puts on music you can’t stand. And it makes it worse when they say, “Don’t you just love this song?” Most of the time we just go along with it, accept it. Most of the time people living in disharmony with Self and Universe do the same thing, and they become the mass of humanity living lives of quiet desperation (Thoreau). We could just say, “I hate that, and I don’t want to listen to that.” And that’s when Heart would ask you exactly what you would like to listen to. When we have that conversation, we will discover our song, that allows us to appreciate, understand, and properly relate to the rest of the songs, the musical libraries of the Universe. But we will have our own song, and no other frequencies can drown that out — not completely, at least. However, it can become muddled in our hearing when we start listening to too many other songs at the same time. I say this because the last few days have been like that for me. We all need to pay attention to other songs, other noise because we are social beings. Those with which we interact depend on our own special song. The title of mine is the same as my new name: Discovery. Because that is my nature, I dig into many ideas. Everyone is different, but when I get too distracted from my own happy song, I can get feeling agitated and angry. I need to find a balance because I share my discoveries. Sometimes, my song works in happy, blessed harmony with another’s, and is that every sweetness. Other times, those include shedding Heart-light into dark situations of ugly songs, like I have the past few days concerning some current political and social issues. I knew this morning, though, that I must tune back to my base frequency and hear the music of sweet discovery. This happened after I read over an hour in the Federal Register reading background for S.J. Res. 18 (2017–18). I’m glad I did it, but I needed refreshment; I needed to hear those notes that gladden my soul. What was the first thing my Heart suggested to me when I stated this? “Go to Walt. The ‘Song’ poems. Songs of the earth, the Universe, Spirit.” Good idea! I fetched Leaves of Grass from my library and started reading. Ahhh! Sweet resonance. I still think once I become established as a writer I will explicate some big chunks of literature according to Heart-light, a metaphysical treatment. I see it all over the place, and I understand more in the context of our own song, frequency, and resonance. Some people wrote in different genres. Some were artists and musicians and expressed themselves in such wide variety of ways. And when a biographical look at their lives occurs, many point out their flaws. People who are considered accomplished, the greats, were so, are so — and can be so in any endeavor imaginable — because they lived their song. I don’t judge when they may have been out of tune — might observe it but don’t judge it. Let’s look at Whitman and “Song of the Universal.” First, I saw it was his own song: “Come, said the Muse, / Sing me a song no poet yet has chanted, / Sing me the Universal.” Oh, the beauty and freedom of one’s own song. Is there really a Perfect Source for such personal songs, a master energy bank composed of infinite frequencies? “In this broad Earth of ours, /Amid the measureless grossness and the slag, / Enclosed and safe within its central heart, / Nestles the seed Perfection.” Why yes, there is! Do we each have a part in that? Let’s hear Walt’s song once again: “By every life a share, or more or less, / None born but it is born — conceal’d or unconceal’d, the seed is waiting.” It’s there, within us, every one of us. To what extent we sing with our own Heart frequency determines our “share.” A kind of car karaoke that’s beautiful when it’s with Heart! I may continue this tomorrow or at least at some point. For tonight, I hope you are humming along right now with that tune that makes your whole being resonate, your face and eyes and arms and legs and soul and mind smile. It all works together, our body-soul-mind complex. We are a mass, every one of our cells, of vibrational frequencies of life. Discover yours! It’s so easy and so worth it to have that Heart-song always playing, especially when we hear disharmonious songs of life around us. None of those matter when we have our own. We can interact, help others, face evil, do whatever our song drives us to do, and we won’t get lost. We will hear our song. Blessings! Positive beats negative hands down. Soul-modulated thought beats thought-modulated soul hands up. We may always examine both sides of the coin, know two sides exist to every story.
Each needs to face the vantage point of examination that resonates with them. We should, then, accept viewpoints of those who examined the other side of the coin; it’s the same coin. If we’re using that analogy, the question becomes How do we want to spend it? In other words, what do we wish to make of the same situation. That leads to some difficult considerations at times. I was reminded of this today by a friend who, knowing how I feel about the Dakota Access Pipeline (#NoDAPL), asked me why I haven’t heard that the pipeline cuts over 50% length off of an existing, dated, decaying pipeline that also runs through Native American lands. While the new one would be encroaching on claims of Native Americans, it would be removing the threat from another area. (Of course, I asked why it had to be diverted from passing through a predominantly white city to the current route, and why it wasn’t enough for the Native Americans to just say no, and why…Just too many other considerations for here.) The point is I thought about and responded to and even respected his question. We could have a dialog. Ultimately, if I’m living in Heart truth and light, I must act according to that. It should not create hatred or animosity towards one another, especially since neither one of us is directly affected. Two people in the fellowship of the Heart can discuss, evaluate, and agree or disagree without hatred. When I write about social and political issues, I try to remember this. Even though I state my opinions strongly at times, I am aware of the flip side of the record. (Don’t you love mixed metaphors — coins, records, stories!) If I am not self-aware, I can get negative, and I do not feel good when that happens. My focus must remain to evaluate situations in Heart-light. Exposing darkness can tend to the negative, so when that happens, I step back. It doesn’t mean I wouldn’t express my opinion if asked. Times I do expose Ego-darkness about some issues result from my Heart Purpose to discover — anything and everything I can. When I discover injustices, I address them. I’m sure well-meaning and maybe Heart-motivated folks saw some sort of justification in slavery and then segregation. They did not, as I do not, always use Heart when evaluating. Ego is tricky. However, when gross expressions of Ego that border on death, destruction, dehumanization, oppression, repression — any of these things belches their gross disregard for love and humanity, I will expose it, especially issues that have fantastically manifested themselves recently. I will create the opportunity to address them, and I will be a voice, however limited, for those affected by organized, conspiratorial oppression. I will help others discover the ego workings of such people. Far beyond that, the energy and emotions I choose are to present my truths that may help folks discover themselves, their own Heart, and know and live their truth, no oppression allowed. That being said, how do you view the coin of life, of what happens to you in life, of where you are going and how you will get there? One approach is positive, the other negative. Shakespeare explored the negative view of it in Hamlet through the title character himself. Hamlet perceived the wonders of this creation, including humans themselves: “..the air — look you, this brave o’erhanging firmament (sky), this majestical roof fretted with golden fire — why, it appears no other thing to me than a foul and pestilent congregation of vapors.” He recognizes the mark of magnificence and only sees it as worthless to himself. And speaking of the wonders of humans, he says, “What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god! The beauty of the world. The paragon of animals. And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust.” He knows humans are god-like, yet he chooses to believe based on the chemical composition side of us. Looking at and exposing Ego-darkness might lead to such negativity, but not when I allow my Heart to operate my mind and soul. I thought of one of my favorite authors, Dr. Seuss, and the heart-wisdom that he so often revealed: “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…” (Oh, the Places You’ll Go). The ability to create, choose, and live our own truth derive from Heart-power. When it comes to the crap in this world, the only thing that really helps anyone is this attitude of recognizing and accepting the power we hold as bearers of eternal Spirit in these bodies. Heart is the depository, our link, our fullness. This is deliverance from the egomaniacs who look at life from the wrong side of the Heart. Choose the right side of the coin so you can spend it on Happiness! Blessings! Today, I have continued thinking about relationships to Self, to others, and to life and the Universe in general. Pretty big topic, isn’t it?
But I have a focus, in a way. I have learned to not completely trust myself to be cogent when I am emotional about anything. And I’m emotional about what happened in London yesterday. I’m emotional about what is happening in South Sudan and Somalia and Syria. I need to stop Ego-controlled emotions that in turn control my mind and soul. The alternative is to choose my emotions based on Heart, and then, let those emotions dictate my actions and responses. I have done that, and here I am, writing. I will simply make my emotions and opinions known. Telling the truth about myself is always easiest if anything comes up later: “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything” (Mark Twain). The truth about what I choose to feel is something about which I make no apologies, explanations, or rationalizations. Some people pulling the strings of what goes on in the situations I mentioned above are egomaniacs, and I want to expose them because I resent them and am angry at them. I resent them for the facade they erect, justifying their actions as noble or patriotic. Patriotism is way overrated, as far as my truth is concerned. Why? Patriotism means that a position of superiority is assumed over others, and that is egoic and patently false. It’s all perspective, friends, and it boils down to the realities of human nature about which I have written over a million words, literally, in the past thirteen or so months. And what it boils down to, least common denominator, is we are no different, one from another. We each are eternal spirit personalized in this body and personality. Yes, even the “bad guys.” Even the sleazy, egomaniacal politicians, including presidents, senators, congressmen, generals, dictators. Yep, all in the same category. There are only two: either Heart has been engaged as the primary operating system or the default Ego system has been encouraged and allowed to function full throttle when it comes to situations I named above. Good guys and bad guys in these situations are usually in the unchecked Ego-controlled category. Ego morphs into so many forms; none are trustworthy. And the problem with the Trumps, Putins, al-Assads, war lords, (I’m not discounting democrats, which I thought I should mention since I used Trump’s name) and so many multitudes of others is they encourage and sway the masses who live in mediocrity and despair of Ego and allow Ego substitutes for Heart-truths. In other words, these evil leaders have purposefully rejected Heart and embraced Ego ideals that give them power, wealth, and control — all at the expense of anyone and everyone in their way. They are not true leaders. Conspiracies, whether formal or informal, mark them as manipulators of others. The fact that they believe their own lives marks them as dangerous people. I only named a few, but they are not arch villains or anything close to it. In some ways, they are lost souls. What I choose to feel is the power within myself, source Spirit. I also choose diligence in living my Heart and our co-created life Purpose, which is why I am writing this. Furthermore, I choose faith. I believe that masses of people like you who acknowledge true Self, say yes to Heart, and create a life purpose that yields happiness every day of your life can change the scope of the atrocities we witness all too frequently in this world. Coming into personal knowledge of the things I have discussed as the Grand Unified Theory of Humanity could change things. One thing is for sure. If you believe Heart-truth is a pipe dream and you can’t be successful or happy without the markers that egomaniacs purpose as success, then you have been deceived. Car and knife-wielding terrorists, pompous and ugly-talking presidents, cruel, vicious, and murderous leaders do not have to be the norm. One by one, we must know and respond to Heart, our Heart, and understand we get to choose the emotions and not engage in knee-jerk responses to the Ego-actions of anyone else, no matter how admirable, smart, or patriotic they may seem. Our relationships as individuals, nations, as citizens of Earth need to begin with a relationship to our own Heart. Please, for the sake of helpless, hopeless millions, show them there is help and hope by choosing Heart. Blessings in that, and sympathy and love to those suffering at the hands of Heart-rejecting egomaniacs! For many — most of us at one point or another — we want to please or make ourselves acceptable to someone else by causing them to feel a certain way. It’s not an emotionally healthy mindset if that’s the way one chooses to live, and it is the way many choose. To be honest, I was one of those, and in some ways I probably always will be. I’m getting better, which means I am growing as a human being and an author.
And writing makes a number of authors susceptible to that mindset. They try to make people feel a certain way, which creates a superficial relationship. In my opinion, the great authors communicate what they want, who they are or who they want their characters to be, and they do this without guessing how the readers are going to react to or feel about their words, i.e., they imbue their characters with real personalities, real emotions, and it’s up to the reader to determine their own responses and relationships to them. Good authors don’t change characters to elicit specific emotions from readers. These thoughts were spurred this morning from my own Heart as we fellowshipped. Many times, in fact every morning now, Heart writes to me directly in my personal pages. Yes, my physical hand is moving, but the words seem to be directly sourced from Heart without going through my mind-soul processing, kind of a direct connection to Spirit. (I believe this could occur in many ways depending on one’s co-created Purpose.) This morning I got this from Heart: “Be You, not Them, not anyone else.” Don’t try to fulfill the emotional needs of anyone else, whether in everyday relationships or for readers. We should each be determining and creating our own emotional choices. I don’t want to be dependent on others to fulfill me, only to enhance who I am, and hopefully, that would be mutual in a relationship of any sort. Thinking about these ideas of emotions this morning, choosing to feel a sense of achievement today, as I did yesterday, I read a post from someone on Instagram that had the idea of writing twenty secrets about each character if the author wonders how to proceed. It wasn’t a new idea, but it was timely. I delighted in it, so I took the thought into meditation with me this morning. I came out of that time with ideas that I liked, at least for today! And I thought that if I am writing the words of Eric and Anne Lafarnge in The Fellowship of the Heart, words or actions that give glimpses of their personalities and are part of their unrevealed secrets, then I shouldn’t have them speak or act out of character. I say this because for awhile I have been stuck in the same section of the novel, worried about how readers will feel about their current situation. I don’t care, as long as Eric and Anne are true to themselves. Here’s part of what I wrote today. Anne speaks to begin with, and then they get into the physical and emotional positions to speak to their Hearts. The beginning of Eric’s account is given first. ________________________________________________________ “Yeah, I know, kind of weird in a way. I think it’s just because we haven’t been honest with that true self. So, are you ready?” “I am. I have done this. I admit, though, I’ve been superstitious. I know my heart and our conversations were real. I just…It really doesn’t matter. I’m so glad we can do this together. Seems more real. I think…” Anne whispered. “Shhh. Let’s do this, Eric.” Her eyes moved from him to the view out the window, devouring the sun glinting off the blue of the pond in the distance. Crows circled above it, cawing loudly, excitedly. Anne sighed, pulled her feet up into the chair and crossed them as she closed her eyes. Eric sat back in his chair. Just before his eyes closed, he spied the dresser drawer where he had placed the journal in which he had written. He sat with eyes open for a few seconds, but then he heard Anne’s steady, rhythmic breathing. His eyes closed. Here I am, Heart! Yes, you are. It’s been awhile. You said you were ready to move forward weeks and weeks ago. Yes, but you know me. You know I need to think through things, try them out. Like applying my discovery of my past and you to my work. I know. But I know there is more to it than that, and so do you. ________________________________________________________ From their own fellowship with their Hearts, they will engage in a new phase of their relationship in the fellowship of the Heart. (I wrote a post a while back about the difference, and I discuss it in my upcoming ebook.) I can impart emotions and responses to the characters, but I have no idea how readers will react. That’s not my responsibility to tailor characters to readers. However, my Heart is that the experiences and emotions revealed in the work will key others to tune into their own Heart. I hope we will each know the joy of creating through choosing and living our own emotions. Blessings! |
Questions to consider:How many times have you asked yourself or simply thought about the following questions?
Who am I, really? What is my truth? How do my actions reveal what I really feel and believe? What would I do with my life if I could do anything? What is my passion? Why am I here? How can I discover answers to any of these questions? If you have considered any of these questions, I hope that my experiences and writing will give you some guidance. Please read my blog and comment and share your thoughts. I would love to hear from you! Archives
December 2019
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