Archive for religion
My (somewhat) uncanny resemblance (sort of) to Joseph Smith
Subersive? Moi? At least my nose isn’t as big as his.
A few weeks back, a new awareness crept over me as I watched the PBS special “The Mormons.” Do I really sort of look…like…that…GUY?
How could I live with my own semi-resemblance to a guy everyone thinks is a womanizing weirdo? I did the obvious thing: I ran immediately to my copy of Harold Bloom’s The American Religion. Because Harold wrote some cool things about Mormons. I need something cool to think about, if I am going to look like the person who put the gams in the term polygamy.
Also, I did the other obvious thing: I looked up Joseph’s astrological birthchart, hoping to find some cosmic explanation for the resemblance. I did find some relief in the fact that Joseph was a Capricorn, because I am NOT a Capricorn. Although, we do share something Aquarius: he has Aquarius Moon, I have Aquarius Ascendant. So, in case a Mormon wants to grill me regarding my positive and affirming views on human sexuality, I will cry “Save me, Aquarian sex-positive Brother Joseph!” (that is what my astrologer told me to do, anyway.)
Most importantly, here are the aforementioned cool things Harold said about Joseph
“The God of Joseph Smith is a daring revival of the God of some of the Kabbalists and Gnostics…Mormonism is a purely American Gnosis, for which Joseph Smith is a far more crucial figure than Jesus could be.”
Here is Joseph, again. Most Mormons don’t know this, but this portrait captures the Prophet about to flit down to the piano for a rousing hymn, “Who Wants to Be a Sexy Gnostic?”
If I’m to (somewhat) resemble an American religious figure, I suppose Gnostic, misunderstood, widely-adored Joseph is OK. As long as I have him with a dose of Harold. I can live with that.
The Sacred and the Profane, on a map
The more I contemplate the work of Chuck Pettis and the Geo Group, the more I appreciate Seattle.
According to the website, “This project made Seattle the first city on Earth to balance and tune its ley-line system. The project received front page coverage in The Seattle Times. Five years later, the April 1993 issue of Seattle Arts reported:
“Some artworks start life in fiery controversy and eventually find enthusiastic acceptance. When in 1987 an artist working with individuals from other disciplines cre- ated an artwork tracking the invisible ‘ley lines’ in the Earth’s surface – imposing a grid of lines over a satellite photo of the Seattle area and placing crystals at significant junctures, then beautifully framing the whole thing to hang on the wall – it sparked a brief but nasty battle over the separation of church and state, art and faith. The (Seattle) Arts Commission was accused of funding a New Age, pagan sect. Now the work hangs happily on the wall of a new home the DCLU (Department of Construction and Land Use in the Dexter Horton Building), where many visitors figure it must somehow relate to the City’s zoning policies.”
A quick overview of ley lines: cosmic energy lines come into the earth at a perpendicular angle, turn to travel along the surface of the earth for several miles, then drop down to travel through the earth, and exit on the other side from where they entered. The part where the lines travel the earth are Ley Lines, and where they drop into the earth are called “Power Centers.” Many sacred sites (such as Stonhenge) are lined up with Ley Lines, or mark Power Centers.
I LOVE that the Geo Group has made visiting Power Centers an easy activity: the website has photos and graphic instructions on how to approach each one. Namaste, and thank you.
I marvel that I’ve been able to put this routine into my bag of tricks, when I’m feeling down, low on energy, or in need of a creative boost. My favorite power center is in the Washington Park Arboretum, near the UW. There is a power center near the baseball field and swings, and Chuck Pettis has left detailed clues (down to how many paces you need to take, from a certain tree) to find it.
When I am here, I feel like turning cartwheels and being generally silly. I leave, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, creative, and back to myself. I also know that my feeling better helps the earth feel better.
It makes me regard our ever-constant stretch toward divine awareness, and how we feel we must distance ourselves from our egos, our fears. Most of us learned to be horrified at our bodily functions, and we definitely don’t want the Earth Self to be our Whole Self. I think this fear of our Earth Self is part of what happens when we do not regard the Cosmic energies which are working in tandem with Earth. When we disregard these energies, it makes it easier for us to spoil our landscape. This attitude also spoils our own bodies, and makes life a living hell. As Caroline Myss writes in her new book “Entering the Castle,” identifying wholly with the Outer Self is Hell.
And I would agree. We need to acknowledge the Cosmic energy working within our Earth energy. And visiting earth power centers is one way to palpably feel it. Looking at the map above is a way to SEE it, to remind ourselves that YES, Virginia, there is a Cosmic Santa, and it is sending beams of energy to animate our Earth. It is a beautiful thing. I don’t think the Ordinary World, (or the Outer Self) and the Cosmic World are alien to each other. The ley lines prove that the twain can, and do, meet, that they work together in a beautiful pas de deux. And when we visit these power centers, we help heal ourselves, the earth, and bless the cosmos.
