EIGHT DAYS A WEEK!

Recently watched Ron Howard’s documentary: “The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years.”

Although almost everything that could be documented about the Beatles world-changing, meteoric rise to prominence and dominance in pop music and our social consciousness has been written about, recorded or filmed, it still is exciting when a new telling of the tale comes out. Ron Howard focuses on the brief period of time that the band played concerts live, roughly 5 years if you count the small clubs in England and Germany, and makes clear why The Beatles couldn’t possibly continue touring. Besides the “mania” that kept them running from cars, trains and planes onto stages and into hotels through back entrances, the screaming frenzy when they played live overshadowed the sounds of the extraordinary musical innovations they were making on an almost daily basis.

None of the Fab Four were virtuosos on their instruments, like Eric Clapton or Billy Preston, who recorded some memorable riffs on Beatle albums, nor were they master vocalists like contemporaries Stevie Wonder or Aretha Franklin. Even their lyrical poetry wasn’t the equivalent of Bob Dylan or Paul Simon at the time. What made The Beatles so outstanding was the way they put it all together.

As I listened to some of those DNA-engrained songs recently, I had this realization - many good songs, even some great ones, are written around the virtuosity of the musicians. In other words, the song serves as showcase/vehicle for the talented musicianship of the artist. Those are the songs I always listened to on the radio in the 60’s and 70’s, appreciating the gifted playing and singing. But it was only the recordings of The Beatles that I saved up my allowance to actually buy and treasure. Their instrumentalism and vocalizations wrapped around and served the songs, you see, and so the songs freely came from... well, they seemed to be channeled from their souls. And indeed, well before “Father Joe” and “Doctor Joe,” The Beatles were my first gurus.

“Nowhere you can be that isn’t where you’re meant to be.” (“All You Need Is Love)

“It really doesn’t matter if I’m wrong, I’m right where I belong.” (“Fixing A Hole”)

“Let it be.” (“Let It Be”)

“And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” (“The End”)

That last lyric was the very last line on the very last song on the very last album that The Beatles recorded together. Their final message.

Whew!

9/11/16 - "THE SPIRITUAL MEANING OF CRISIS!"

This is from a very important Pathwork Guide Lecture, "THE SPIRITUAL MEANING OF CRISIS!"

"Crisis is an attempt of nature to effect change through the cosmic lawfulness of the universe. If change is obstructed by the ego, the part of the consciousness that directs the will, crisis will occur to make structural change possible. Without such structural change in the entity, no balance can be attained. Every crisis ultimately means such a readjustment, whether it appears in the form of pain, difficulties, upheaval, uncertainty, or merely the insecurity that comes from starting out on unaccustomed ways of living after giving up a familiar one. Crisis in any form attempts to break down old structures based on false conclusions and therefore on negativity. Crisis shakes loose ingrained, frozen habits so that new growth becomes possible. It tears down and breaks up, which is momentarily painful, but transformation is unthinkable without it."

Ten years ago this past Sunday, humanity experienced a collective crisis when the Twin Towers were slammed into by a crazed group of suicidal fanatics. As the Guide says above, we invite crises when we resist ("obstruct") change. The stronger the resistance to change, the greater the crisis we will call in.

Obviously, on September 11, 2001, each of individually experienced a crisis at different levels, depending on how much personally we were resisting change in our own individual lives.

Here's the Guide:

"Change is an integral characteristic of life; where there is life there is unending change. Only those who still live in fear and negativity, who resist change, perceive change as something that ought to be resisted. They resist life itself, and suffering closes in on them more tightly. This happens in people's overall development as well as in specific instances."

To change, of course, is inevitable. Only in our childish imagination do we actually think it's possible to stay the same, even for a moment. So, since change is a given, how do we overcome the futile attempts to resist change and avoid living from crisis to crisis, as so many of us do, whether it's in the form of a terrorist attack, a hurricane or a conflictual relationship break-up or other kinds of traumatic losses?

Well it isn't easy.

Here's the Guide again:

"Crisis can be avoided by looking at the inner truth when the first inklings of disturbance and negativity manifest on the surface. But a tremendous amount of honesty is required to challenge one's tightly cherished convictions. Such challenge cuts out the negative self-perpetuation, the motor force that compounds the destructive, erroneous psychic matter until it finds a breaking point. It avoids the many vicious circles within the human psyche and in relationships that are painful and problematic."

Self-honesty, which includes self-revelation - to ourselves and significant others - is the way to embrace change and live without debilitating crises.

Yes. The Truth will set you free.

So, on this 15th anniversary of that infamous crisis that shook the world, don't waste time indulging in platitudes and pseudo-patriotic vitriol against imagined enemies. Pundits and blow-hards in the media love to talk about how we "changed" after 9/11, but in fact, such people actually only became more entrenched versions of who they already were. Racists and xenophobes only became more racist and xenophobic. Those who indulged in militaristic fantasies of power and domination before 9/11 became more boldly belligerent afterwards. I suppose you could call that "change," but to me, it was more accurately just more of the same.

The reality is, folks, everyone is an actor in the play each of us is writing. Even our villains are teachers, trying to get us to look at ourselves. So, do yourself a favor and take a look before you invite the next crisis into your life.

LIKE A FISH CLIMBS A TREE!

"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."


Albert Einstein said that. Of course.

I would add that to expect a 3-year old to drive herself to pre-school or a 1-year old to cook the family dinner or a 5-year old to manage the household finances are likewise unreasonable expectations that would be not only a burden to the child in question, but quite frustrating for the persons with the expectations, as well.

Where am I heading with this? Simply to make the point that I made in my "TRUTH ABOUT EVERYTHING, PART 6: WE ARE NOT ALL THE SAME!," which is that in a world with individuals of not just different chronological ages, but also of different soul ages, we would become a lot less burdensome and a a lot less frustrated if we were able to see people in the light of their soul age.

Here are two excerpts from #6:

So, just as there are physical babies, there arebaby souls. Just as there are physical adults, there are adult souls. Etc. Etc. And just as it would be irrational to expect a physical baby to be able to feed and shelter itself, or to drive a car or have sex, it is equally irrational to expect a baby soul, even in an adult physical body, to attain higher states of consciousness much beyond the accomplishments of reflex and survival. Baby souls, in other words, generally live simple lives, with simplistic beliefs, focused on getting their basic needs met, very often by seeking others to manage the provision of those needs.

After you read the soul age material, look around you, at everyone, and consider what soul age you are dealing with in each relationship. You will find your perspective and your levels of frustration shifting when you do. And remember, don't give the car keys to a 3-year old!