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My Way, My Truth And My Life!
My intention this year is to embody the "shift of the ages".
Date: 1/12/2014 7:09:55 AM ( 10 y ) ... viewed 10963 times We in the Western World (the limits of which may appear to be undefinable at times) have a relatively strong orientation to the "story" of "science" and technology. It is a story that has only partly been publicized and that is because it is much more a story of power then probably anything else that people may initially think.
I have drafted a longer sketch that continues on this train of thought that I could share with interested individuals. However now (to make a longer "story" short here on this "Truth of Self" blog) the veritable "Heart Center" of my message is that each and every one of us has a virtually undreamed of (and therefore unknown potential) for empowering ourselves and others! If we only could touch upon the truth of that then we could possibly see that what each of us has is actually an untapped potential as well. But as soon as we do see and know that the source of our power is within us, that we all have even now, then we will know where to begin "tapping" in!
So far, what has been presented here has been declared and greatly expounded upon elsewhere. But from this point on my message comes down from the universal level to the total and complete uniqueness of each and every individual. That is because each and every single individual is completely unique within their own "Human Design" and therefore our inner "mechanics" are not exactly alike (despite all pronouncements to the contrary). The "tapping in" to "the source of our inner power" will actually be different from one individual to the next. The "Human Design System" can reveal the uniqueness of the mechanics for each individual, however that system requires an active learning process for any individual who wants to know what Human Design actually consists of and especially their own!
Once the mechanics are known it may still take time to learn how to actually live through the unique mechanics of one's own individual Design. After all, so many of us have spent our whole entire life-time living under many deeply conditioning systems that have suppressed our authentic self and compelled us to homogenize ourselves into the collective by adopting a persona that we actually have made up and that we believed we had to construct as a "survival mechanism". We are so creative and we will do whatever it takes to survive (or we fear that we will some how parish)! Survival - The True "Supreme Law Of The Land"!
It took me a grand total of about 42 years to completely break through all the layers of the "person" that I thought I was and to finally know real authentic power, that is the power of my own authentic self and especially the power to live just as that! (Here is a point where "The Declaration Of Independence" and "these truths" can be inserted.)
My own "story" is one that I am finally able to begin to tell now with a certain clarity, a clarity that I needed to have circulating throughout my entire psyche before attempting to begin telling it.
Knowing myself as I know myself now I can say:
I am a powerful, leading-edge, conscious co-creator who is willing to wait for certain essential connections (with other conscious co-creator individuals) and identify our mutual interests. I am willing to wait for the right alignments before I attempt to begin a shared manifestation process toward a co-creative initiative with any individual.
Any meaningful co-creation that I may enter into is one that will have clear vision/mission and outcomes that in and of themselves will be a conscious co-creative process.
After many years of deeply engaged participatory experience in shared households I am finally and irrevocably convinced that any group initiative can only function as well as it incarnates (into the group awareness field) a clear shared vision that each and every participant is able to fully articulate with lucid understanding of all that the shared vision entails. I am now most certain that this frequency of "vision" is best known by the participants when they have co-authored the vision together and committed it in writing in a form that can be "published".
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This process will indeed take time and may even be considered an "interruption" in one's daily routine, however I now know (after many years of working without this kind of vision and the consequential loss of clear understanding that comes with a shared vision) that the focused and dedicated "interruption" can be worth getting to the "delight" of clarity that a genuinely shared and most essential agreement for people to co-create together.
This next paragraph contains a great hope of mine for the possibility for co-creating and living in a truly healthy community!:
One of many great "benefits" of having a clearly written and most functional vision statement is that whenever there is a need for "course corrections" they can be mutually-supported by any and every participant! All it takes for any course correction is to realign with the true trajectory! To use an all natural nautical analogy - as we travel under the night sky we look to the stars to guide our way. We align ourselves in accordance with that light. But if we do not have this kind of star vision wisdom then we will not be able to see our way during our night time travels. Our movement will be "forced" to stop. Especially if the waters we travel in have icebergs! The truth is my friends that when we are traveling in the oceans of the collective the icebergs are virtually every where! And whether we realize it or not we are always traveling in the oceans of the collective!
The process will require individuals to discover what their most essential values are, the ones that they really "need" to live by and that they can not live with out! These essential values of each and every participant can then be reflected in the group's shared vision and then that can be mutually held sacred by all in the group. Getting to these true values and to where they can be held sacred by all will require the deepest communications, the quality of which can be called "fellowship" and the depth of which can be called "communion" with one another.
This depth of sharing will allow individuals to walk together, side by side in their shared light of truth that each individual has fully embodied within them. It is in this light that we can find our way together. This "conversation in light" is so essential that without it lighting our common path we are less able to truly walk together in the most healthy and mutually respectful way! Letting our light warmly shine (so that it can be readily received by one another) enables us to walk together in that light and warmth which (IMO) is the co-operative spirit that is necessary for a functional group initiative.
However, without that fellowship and shared communion the door to the pathological is left open. I tell you this from having my own direct (sufficient and difficult) experience. That particular door can lead down a dark path that once opened can be terribly difficult to bare. I have witnessed this enough now! Why risk going that way when there is another way that is more certain?
The very heart-core of my message is that we need the "more certain way" and we need it now! We need the way that is illuminated by truth; the truth of who and what we ourselves are as unique individuals as well as that of the other. We need the way that is illuminated by the truth of life including the life of our dear Mother Earth. This is what true "vision" consists of. Without this kind of vision the people parish (and in fact are already parishing)!
However, without a commitment to dialogue the vision/s will not be able to be fully communicated! (This is why I advocate adopting "The Four/Five Agreements".)
I distinguish dialogue from communication even though the purpose of communication is to increase understanding to the point where we can see what others see and thereby possibly have a "shared vision" with others. However what many people may call "communication" nowadays doesn't necessarily include complete understanding. Nor does "seeing" what others see mean that we agree with that "vision".
Dialogue is more dependent upon deeper listening and more complete understanding plus acknowledgements of the whole of what others present and to get to that shared place requires a commitment, especially in light of the following.
It is one thing to have listeners who can be silent while one individual talks but who can say how well the silent one is actually listening? Especially if the speaker has actually completed a thought and yet the listener doesn't acknowledge that and so the speaker just goes on and on repeating their idea, possibly in different ways, or just adding more minute detail that essentially does not offer additional support toward the primary goal of understanding. However, without receiving an acknowledgement by the listener (who may be wondering when is the speaker going to stop talking) the "communication" is not really complete.
That is because the listener has the responsibility to acknowledge the speaker and the listener needs to exercise that in the course of the conversation. Sometimes the listener has to exert an assertive acknowledgement if they are with a rather forceful speaker.
Also - the listener may need to ask the speaker to explain unfamiliar words, terms or phases or even familiar ones that could be used by the speaker to name their subjective feelings without actually naming those feelings.
If the listener just remains silent then does that mean that everything the speaker has said is totally and completely clear and fully understood by the listener?
Back to "commitment". My own experience of individuals who do not demonstrate to me either the ability or a commitment to dialogue has taught me some of the hardest lessons of my entire life!
Prior to hearing professor Klocek present (what I consider to be) his warning that without dialogue the door to psychosis is left open I did not have an insightful reference to apply in my relations with others. Now I have that insightful reference! Now I have come to the point where I see my limits on how far I am willing to go into "psychosis" with another. I am not a professional psychosis manager! I do not want that function. Therefore I have a need to respect my limits. The only "strategy" that I know of (at this time) that I can apply to respect my limits is simply not accept the "invitations" or the "inquires" by others who want to "talk" with me but who have not demonstrated an ability or a commitment to real dialogue. The possible contamination by psychosis is simply not worth it to me! Now I have the responsibility to "just say no"! "Thanks for the invitation; I am sorry I need to decline."
The "pathological" is not isolated. It is not as "selective" as it apparently may be presented to the public. Each individual has responsibility for their own relation to the collective. We are all connected to the collective and therefore we need to know the "terrain" of the collective psyche. We need to ask what does the collective unconscious consists of? Then we need to learn how to navigate and possibly "respond" to whatever may come to our awareness in relation to the collective psyche. We all have this responsibility as individuals.
In my knowingness - there is simply no way around the truth of this, unless you leave the planet. Our individual relationship with the whole collective is an ever-present dimension that comes with the human experience, whether you like it or not! That is called your humanity. Apparently there are some individuals who may have sacrificed their humanity to false gods.
The collective psyche has intensified to the point that it is virtually everywhere! It is only "somewhat less intense" in some areas than others, but it is not really "escapable".
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Back to my preference for conscious co-creation with conscious co-creative individuals. I know myself well enough now to know what it takes for me to co-create with other co-creators. It all comes down to the mechanics of how my unique "Human Design" works. One of the major key parts of my mechanics is in my Defined Throat Center.
If you don't know the "Human Design System" or at least have a most basic astrological comprehension then you may have to "bare with" me through following.
I have one Gate that is Defined in my Throat Center and that is activated by my Unconscious Mars within a Defined Channel that is joined by my Unconscious Moon in my Emotional/Solar Plexus Center! The "voice" of that Gate is potentially very powerful, in fact it can cause a certain kind of "mutation" in others. That mutative potential is somewhat "tempered" by the "Lines" that are activated in the Gate's corresponding hexagram (I Ching) where these planetary activations are actually activated at.
Consequently I have had some impressive learning experiences with my "mechanics" throughout my entire lifetime, most of which were without the knowledge of my Human Design! I have very well earned my personal Knowledge in the living of my own Human Design! However, I don't think that "the school of hard knocks" is the only way for people to know their Individual Design. After all it is relatively a simple matter of our "mechanics" and we now have the Human Design Revelation available to us to learn what these mechanics consists of! Anyone can see all the mechanics in their own chart! The real question is: "how many of us are interested?".
My intention this year (2012) is to embody the "shift of the ages". This is something that people have been talking about as if it is some kind of an event that essentially will just magically happen. I don't believe in magic. However, I embrace miracles!
Miracles are "thought corrections". They require a reversal of thinking. Our "thinking" about who and what we are, what life is and what others are all needs to be reversed to allow for all the natural expression of miracles in our lives. Once the reversal happens there is no turning back. Therefore, whatever you can do to "choose again" to be willing to see beyond the limits of your "perceptual world" will be all worth it! The miracle of that essential course correction actually occurs in one Holy Instant and in another and in another repeatedly until you have a new "groove" that is made through your psyche! That is the only way to be free from the collective psyche!
Therefore begin intending your miracles now!
This Holy Instant Is The Dwelling Place Of Your Miracles!
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June 15, 2016 -
Just found the following very interesting statement - in light of "without dialogue the door to psychosis is left open"!
"The Open Dialogue practitioners use the term monologue to describe the state of psychosis"[1]
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July 30, 2017 - Source of the Force - SECRET BEHIND STAR WARS INSPIRATION!
Douglas Gabriel | @2016 | All Rights Reserved
I would like to share with you my personal experience of collaborating for three days in the early 70’s with Marcia Lucas and a small team of Anthroposophy scholars on the script of Star Wars and my recent discoveries about how that foundational work affected the writing, editing and expansions of the original Trilogy.
First of all, it seems fitting that my first encounter with the origins of Star Wars – a modern fairy tale ultimately about the return to spirit – would happen at Christmas time, a season in which humanity recalls its sense of spirit and hope.
I was a student at the Waldorf Institute at the time, and remember the day that I first met the characters of Luke Skywalker, R2D2, C3PO, and the entire Star Wars entourage. Yet, when I first encountered them, they were more like two-dimensional paper-dolls in an unfinished script, before their true meaning had been breathed into them. For example, Luke Starkiller as I met him was a far cry from the Skywalker he turned out to be. You may be surprised to learn that the story in its early form was depicted through the machinist eyes of two robots, not yet the familiar, crowd-pleasing epic that would become one of the most famous and endearing movies in the world.
That is, of course, before I and colleagues from the Waldorf Institute would spend three days as part of a think-tank working session with George Lucas’ talented wife and professional film editor, Marcia Lucas (née Marcia Griffin), to transform a story that was originally based on two robots into a sweeping modern fairy-tale that even today still evokes a timeless sense of human destiny.
Meeting Marcia
At that time, like the characters, I was in development, too, as are all earnest students. In addition to being a student of Anthroposophy – a discipline of knowledge developed by Rudolph Steiner concerned with all aspects of human life, spirituality and future evolution – I also managed the Waldorf bookstore, which was a treasure trove of spiritual knowledge.
That Christmas season had been busy, and I was just locking up the store and ready to head home when my teacher, Werner Glass, approached me.
Born in Austria, Werner was a beloved instructor at the Waldorf Institute and inarguably the most prominent Anthroposophist scholar in America. I can only say today that it was a great honor to be his student. That day, there was a glint of lighthearted cheer in his eyes.
Thinking that he was simply going to wish me a merry holiday, I was surprised when he asked me to follow him.
“Where?” I said, blindly following him like a faithful puppy.
Without answering, he led me into one of the more spacious classrooms, where four other students were already seated around a table, talking with the Institute’s co-director, Hans Gebert. A woman I did not recognize seemed to be at the center of the conversation – a pleasant-looking brunette with a friendly, yet sophisticated, air.
When everyone saw Werner in the doorway, they looked up with a sense of expectation, as most students typically did when Werner walked into a room. He was like a father to us all. He motioned me to take a seat, then sat down and began to explain the situation.
“I’m very pleased to introduce you all to Marcia Lucas,” he said. “Her husband is a well- known movie director who is working on a screenplay for a science fiction film – a space opera of sorts – and they would like our Waldorf perspective. I don’t know if you have heard of George Lucas?”
This was the first time I had ever heard George Lucas’ name. I certainly hadn’t seen his critically-acclaimed and commercially successful American Graffiti. I also didn’t know that his wife, Marcia, was an accomplished film editor in her own right.
“Well, Marcia is familiar with Anthroposophy and the work of Rudolph Steiner, and she needs our help with the script, to make it more Waldorf-inspired so it will have good merit as both a movie and a spiritual story.”
Marcia nodded and offered more context. She said that the “big screen” should be used to deliver important messages to audiences and tell a more spiritual story, one that has a good foundation in the truth, not just another director’s dream.
This began to inspire me, as story-telling is at the center of our teaching curriculum in Waldorf schools. Movies are mass exposure to stories. Stories, like fairy tales, help inspire the psyche of those who witness them, similar to shared dreams. At the Waldorf school, the teacher will tell a story to the children, who learn it by heart and recite it back in class the next day. Once memorized, the stories are further interpreted through music, dance, drawing, painting, and any number of other creative responses.
Marcia needed our input, she told us, because the script was entering its third draft and lacked an element of spirituality. I could see that she was problem-solving, earnestly searching for a way to make the screenplay work.
“I’m sure we’re up to the task,” Werner said, looking at me.
For the past few minutes, I had been sitting there wondering, “Why am I here? No one had even told me about this meeting.” Then, I looked around and realized that I was the most experienced student there. The others were too young, less studied in Anthroposophy and certainly not up to this level of work. I was immensely relieved that Werner would be there to lead us through the session, and sat back, relaxed.
“The dialogue is a bit lacking,” Werner said. “I told Marcia we could help with that as well.”
With that, Werner rose from his seat and said, “Well, then. My family is waiting at home and I must be off.”
None of us could believe it. America’s leading Anthroposophist was going to leave this important project in our hands?
Werner added, “Douglas is my right hand, and I will check in on your work throughout the next few days.”
He then welcomed Marcia to the resources and hospitality of the Institute and politely left.
With Werner gone, we all looked at the Institute’s co-director, Hans, to lead the session.
Hans stood up.
“Well, I must admit that science and mathematics are my true specialty,” Hans said, in his characteristic fashion. “So, I am afraid I will not be of much assistance to this group.”
He politely bid us all adieu, then left.
At this point, I became a bit panicked. My leaders had left me in a great unknown!
Marcia Lucas, who I did not know at the time was one of the greatest film editors in the world, was looking expectantly at me.
I suddenly got the feeling Werner had said something to her about me, akin to his comment about me being his “right hand.” I had a vague realization that both she and I were here solely because of Werner. Having been a brilliant actor at the London School of Theater, Werner had been the primary Anthroposophist from the Waldorf school in North Hollywood in dealing with actors, directors and producers. She was here because of him and I was here because he had brought a promising student to the table for this specialized project. Surely, he knew what he was doing, so I decided to trust it.
“Well, then, let’s get started,” I said. “Tell us the story, Marcia.”
As she spoke, I got up and went over to the classroom blackboard. Marcia had trouble articulating the story; it didn’t flow easily. In colored chalk, I began to sketch out the story- board.
“It’s a story of two robots, you see – the movie is seen through their eyes,” she said. “The robots are key elements of the story. They must be kept.”
I understood that the robots were non-negotiable. We must somehow work with them.
“Ok,” I said. “Can you please read us the starting dialogue?”
She began. It was difficult for us to listen to. As an experienced editor, Marcia knew this. The characters didn’t work. They weren’t alive. She sincerely wanted to rewrite her husband’s movie script to its full potential, but at this moment, it was stilted. Only later would I learn more about the context of their partnership – how George was a genius concerned with the theme of machines and technology, and Marcia was the humanistic side, focused on telling a meaningful story that would resonate with the audience. I did not know it then, but she was here, basically, trying to save the script.
I decided to be frank with her.
“First, the story is not archetypal,” I said. “The author doesn’t know the true nature and value of the characters he is set on gluing together.”
Marcia began writing down notes quickly in her notebook.
“The dialogue is unreal and trite. It serves only one purpose – to move to the next scene. So, the message of the story happens in the action between scenes.”
She nodded, writing.
I continued. “There is no character development. No one will identify with these characters.”
Then, on a positive note, I said, “However, your husband has tapped into the true spiritual reality of our time. His obsession to see the world through the eyes of two robots is genius, but a little confused. We can work with that.”
Since everyone there, including Marcia, was a student of Anthroposophy, I began to do what Werner knew would come naturally to me as both a teacher and a student – apply the principles that I had studied to our current problem with the script.
“George has described the challenge of our times,” I said, “The war with machines, symbolized in the two robot playmates of Luke Starkiller.”
Now, an interesting side note about the names. Like Luke Starkiller, none of the character’s names that Marcia read to us were in their final form. In fact, I later recommended that the hero, Luke Starkiller, be changed to “Luke Skywalker,” from American Indian and Tibetan traditions. Then, since Lucas is the name for “light,” I also had the concept of a light saber, a weapon that both defends as a shield and attacks as a formidable force. (In Anthroposophist terms, the light saber represents the human spinal column.)
Those details would come later. Now, we had to focus on shaping the story itself.
“I think it needs to go back to the concept of a fairy tale,” I said, explaining that all fairy tales begin with a reference of the story being outside of time and space and end with some reference to their own continuance. “I think what you may want is an adult science-fiction fairy tale that is spiritually accurate, yet engrossing and interesting.”
Marcia agreed.
With her input, we decided to begin with Luke Starkiller. We tried to describe his character development in terms of the polarity that every person has in their soul – the left and right-hand paths of evil. In the end, it is the middle path, “the Force,” that the Jedi warrior should choose. Yet, without exploring both the left and right paths, the Jedi is weakened by not knowing his enemy.
“So, each movie goer will be faced with making the same decision, no matter what their life is like?” said one of the students.
“Yes, that’s the path of most fairy tales,” I said. The question is: “Which of the three paths will you choose?”
Here again, I was impressed with George Lucas’ brilliance. His obsession with machines underscored the biggest challenge of our age – the right-hand path of mechanical occultism as described by Rudolph Steiner and the left-hand path of thinking that has turned evil. Had I seen his first film, THX-1138, I would have recognized this even more clearly. “The two robots can represent thinking and willing,” I proposed.
As the heroes of George’s original story, both C3PO and R2D2 enable the audience to “see through the eyes of machines.” In his relationship and interactions with them, Luke uses his robots to enhance his thinking (C3PO) and willing (R2D2) in an age of machines, but finally finds the middle path – of feeling.
“Let’s explore the two extremes: the left-hand path of thinking and the right-hand path of willing,” I said.
We spent time talking it through. Both C3PO and the Evil Emperor are on the left-hand path of “thinking” that has turned evil. For example, C3PO can think but cannot act, and the Emperor needs Darth Vader to carry out his desired actions. In contrast, R2D2 and Darth Vader are on the right-hand path of “willing.” Having the capacity to will, they still must be told what to do.
“Darth Vader is the being we know as Ahriman,” I added. “He represents the composite cleverness of all machines, incarnated into a human being.”
“So, what about a middle path? Is there one?” one of the students asked.
“Excellent question,” I said. “The middle path is what both the right-hand and left-hand paths miss. Unable to understand the middle path, both sides seek to destroy it. The Jedi masters such as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda have developed themselves on the middle path, having already mastered the other two paths. They represent the desired balanced center between the two extremes.”
Indeed, this dynamic of two poles of evil is the central motif of the first Star Wars trilogy.
Master of the machines
Once we understood the story in context of this Anthroposophical framework, the next step was to focus further on Luke’s character.
“I think that Luke needs to develop his character by interacting with the two robots, both the left and the right hand,” I said.
We then discussed each robot.
As a robot on the “thinking” side, C3PO can speak many languages and is programmed for etiquette and translating, a truly inspired use for machines that we seldom see. He represents an evil that has been around as long as languages in every culture since the beginning of human intellectual development – the being named Lucifer, who incarnated in a physical body in China in 2000 BC. As the “left-hand path of evil,” Lucifer is a Promethean archetype who brings fire, language, philosophy, writing and culture to humanity. Chained to a mountain, he suffered each day as a vulture ate out his liver until rescued by Heracles. By representing Lucifer/Prometheus, C3PO would serve as a counter-pole for the incarnation four thousand years later in 2000 AD of Ahriman, the king of machines, otherwise known as Darth Vader.
Luke, who models the original Heracles or the hero in all of us, eventually breaks the chains to free Prometheus, the fire-bringer, who is on the left-hand path. So, too, the Evil Emperor in Star Wars represents the power of fire (demonstrated as lightning from his hands and the evil wisdom of the Sith) that increasingly consumes him as he misuses it.
“Luke is situated between the two robots, between the two paths, like his twin sister. His lost spirituality is drawing him upward into spirit,” I said.
All Jedi warriors have transformed blood, what was later called “midi-chlorians” in the blood. As they balance the forces of the left and right paths, they raise their consciousness, which then increases spiritual potential in the blood, a process that Steiner calls the “etherization of the blood.” As Steiner taught, spiritual people charge their blood with a consciousness that connects them to spirit (the Force). However, unlike the movie, the ability to access spirit or the Force isn’t passed along through heredity.
So, after discussing all of these concepts and laying the groundwork for common understanding, here is the story of Star Wars that we mapped out:
Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, Luke Skywalker (the archetypal human) finds his life embroiled, if not consumed, by machines. Luke is the master of those machines, because he has consciousness and, therefore, is pulled by the left and right. He is an orphan, as all modern humans find themselves, and knows that something great lives inside of him. He has hope in a hopeless world.
Luke’s father has fallen prey to the evil right-hand path of machines that has transformed him into a part-man – part machine abomination who wars against his own spirit and wishes to dominate the world, even if it means killing his son.
The left-hand path of personal black magic lives in the Evil Emperor who also wishes to kill all Jedi and, most especially, the son of Darth Vader.
Luke is protected by the humble Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Eventually, this Jedi leads him to his teacher of the “middle way” (the Force) and sacrifices himself so that he can help him from the spiritual world. This middle path is like the path to the Higher Self.
On the path, just like Dorothy on the Yellow Brick Road, Luke gains some traveling companions. Just as the Wizard of Oz was a distillation of Masonic initiation rituals, Star Wars introduces the audience to parts of the soul. This is necessary to make the story archetypal, so that it will always be fresh.
For example, Obi-One Kenobi represents the highest of the three parts of the soul, the consciousness soul, which merges spirit with matter just as his Jedi powers give him the power of mind over matter.
Chewbacca represents the lower soul, the sentient or astral soul that must turn the animal in us into a human with spiritual characteristics.
Han Solo represents the intellectual soul that first begins to awaken to higher thinking. Although clever, Hans lacks the ability to see the big picture like Obi-One.
Between Luke’s three companions, much like the Lion, Tin Man, and Scarecrow,[2] each contributes a special quality to Luke along the way. Steiner calls these soul qualities “thinking, feeling and willing.”
At the center of the story, Luke represents the ego, or the thinking human being, and must master the three steps of the development of the soul.
A return to spirit
Now that we had built the underlying framework, which was the most Herculean part of our task, it was clear to me that we needed to develop these characters into archetypes. Knowing now what motivated each character, we could easily hear the words that each would naturally say and even envision their realistic reactions to the unfolding plot.
In doing so, we kept in mind a fundamental truth: good and evil are choices. The Evil Emperor and Darth Vader were not born evil; they chose their own paths. Luke, the archetypal human, also must make his choices and live with the good or evil that results.
Still, after all of this work we had done, one thing was missing.
“We still have one problem,” I reminded Marcia. “Where is Luke going in the story?”
Sorely missing in the original version of the story, this issue had to be resolved so that everything else would make sense.
“Isn’t Luke, essentially, the prodigal son?” I said. Others agreed that Luke was separated from his parent’s home and longing to return. This is a universal element with which everyone could identify. Like Luke, each of us has our particular destiny. In our life, we embark on the search to find it and return to our kingdom in the spirit.
We further developed Luke’s direction and role in the story as follows:
Luke knows he is special but doesn’t know why. Throughout the story, he must evolve into his mission of facing his true identity as Darth Vader’s son, accept it, and decide what to do with it.
Ultimately, Luke denies the power of the machines that try to gain control over him. Instead of the cold-hearted machine-human hybrids, Luke chooses love. He must come to this awakening only after receiving help from his companions.
His sister Leia (who I suggested should be called Maya) represents his spiritual self. Although first drawn to her through physical desire, Luke transforms this attraction into spiritual love and links his destiny to hers, as the soul links to the spirit.
More sure about herself, Leia has been treated like the Princess she is. Luke has struggled to “catch up” to where she was, but in the end, their destinies are permanently entwined. Because he is on the spiritual path of self- development versus the physical path of earthly gratification, Luke doesn’t “win the girl” – that part of the story is left to another character, Han Solo.
As part of his journey, Luke uses the middle path of the Force to conquer both the Evil Emperor and Darth Vader. The more the left and right-hand paths try to win Luke, the more they fall prey to the side effects of using evil for personal gain.
As the modern human, Luke conquers the evil machine- like foes with help from his companions and develops two powerful “forces” that the machines cannot control: human freedom and love. In this way, Luke learns to “see through the eyes of machines.” He even sacrifices his human hand for denying his father’s attempt to win him over to the Dark Side of the machines.
In the end, Luke loves his father and witnesses the death of Darth Vader, Ahriman, before his very eyes.
This is the same modern challenge that each of us faces: Who is your parent?
What do you choose: the physical world of machines or the middle path of the spirit, the Force?
A beautiful fairy tale
Over the next two days, we built on our initial framework and polished the ideas to represent every possible perspective in our archetype science-fiction, prodigal-son story. The script was turning into a beautiful fairy tale that I was certain had merit, whether or not it ever made it to the “big screen.” I was very happy to work through these concepts, because I could see my own path to the spirit unfolding in the story. (Of course, Werner had known this would be part of my involvement!)
I also appreciated Marcia’s priority of effective story-telling. In our modern times, I have seen a decline of storytelling in our culture. This is dangerous, for as archetypal stories vanish, our imagination weakens as the source of inner nourishment and soul inspiration. Movies have taken the place of storytelling and actors have taken the place of the heroes and heroines found in all archetypal stories, whether myth, religion, legend, fairy tale, fable, or any other transcendental source. Yet, as we learned in developing Star Wars, if a story is not archetypal, it will not last the test of time. Successful to this day, a full 40 years after it was released, Star Wars has proven that to be true.
After our work was completed, I said good-bye to Marcia and wished her well with the movie. She thanked me and everyone else who had contributed their ideas to our marvelous fairy tale. I heard nothing more until 1977, when the movie was about to launch and generating a frenzied buildup of media attention.
I was working in the bookstore when Werner came in to tell me the news: Marcia and George Lucas were so happy with our help that they were offering all Waldorf schools in the U.S. a chance to show an advanced screening of the movie as a local fundraiser. This was a thrilling offer, because I knew that a good deal of money could be raised. Yet, staying true to its practice of opposing TV, movies and technology in general, the Waldorf Institute politely declined the offer, to my deep disappointment.
I finally saw the Trilogy, after waiting impatiently for all three installments, and was happy that it stayed true to the fairy-tale idea we had developed in our Waldorf think tank.
As I watched the movies, I realized that Star Wars had affected the paths of those of us involved in the project. Just as we had mapped out a path for Luke, we were all on a journey to our own destinies. The archetypes we built had done their work!
For example, by working through the philosophical concepts, I saw my own path to the spirit reflected in the story, as Werner knew it would – the process had further emboldened my own understanding of the study of Anthroposophy. Also, I remembered that Werner, who was like a scholarly father, had introduced me to Marcia as his “right hand,” while Luke Skywalker had sacrificed his own right hand in the battle with his father – both situations connected to the pursuit of spiritual knowledge. As a “right hand” substitute for Werner in the project with Marcia, I grew into my leadership role as a teacher. So, too, with the substitution of his right hand, Luke acquired more masterful poise as a Jedi warrior who had successfully denied the Dark Side and became more in touch with the Force.
George Lucas himself was on the path for his genius to be recognized with commercial and critical success. He would later open his famous Skywalker Ranch, which I think is a much better name than “Starkiller” Ranch, don’t you?
Yet, when his own right hand, Marcia Lucas, was symbolically severed in their 1983 divorce, he lost a part of the humanity that had been evident in the earlier movies, and some say lacking in the later versions of the Star Wars series.
For her part, Marcia Lucas would stand on stage to be ceremoniously honored, just like the characters in the ending of Star Wars. Looking tasteful and quietly elegant next to a glittery-gold presenter Farrah Fawcett at the 1977 Academy Awards, Marcia accepted an Oscar for best editing of a film that had started off an as unknown space opera and become a household name. At that ceremony, one of her editor colleagues would speak for her, and she would not have an opportunity to thank anyone publically, not even her husband. Had they given her a chance at the microphone, I imagine that Marcia perhaps might have thanked the Waldorf Institute, although the process of being involved in this influential project was, for me, its own reward.
In fact, later, when working with Producer Kathleen Kennedy during the writing of the Indiana Jones movies, I was quite aware of my participation in shaping small moments in the movies where true wisdom and light shine through the story. This is what I have tried to do in all of my writings: share the love for spirit that I try to live each day and to bring that spirit into the souls of everyone I have the privilege to meet or touch in some small way – even through a simple story that is the ubiquitous retelling of the original story, the return to spirit.
Just a few days ago, with all of the resurgence of Star Wars memories and the recent release of the latest installment in the series, I googled Marcia Lucas’ name and discovered that she and George had divorced in 1983. She had returned to using her maiden name, Marcia Griffin. When I had worked with her, I had no idea that she was one of the greatest film editors in the world, her skills having been regularly in demand by the top directors, including Scorsese and Coppola. I was delighted to learn about her Academy Award and believe she is an unsung heroine in the history of Star Wars.
After all, how often does a mortal human being create something eternal – a story that lasts forever?
I leave you with a link to an article about Marcia Griffin that gives a beautiful picture of her contributions to the making of Star Wars:
http://fd.noneinc.com/secrethistoryofstarwarscom/secrethistoryofstarwars.com/marcialucas.html
Enjoy, and may the Force be with you!
Douglas and Tyla Gabriel are delighted to share this story with you as a part of the Our Spirit project, which is a new Inspiration and Imagination of Anthroposophy in our times. If you received this link or PDF from a friend, thank them and return the blessing by freely sharing this paper with your spiritual friends and colleagues and Star Wars fans. These materials are available to readers who receive our newsletter from
http://www.ourspirit.com.
The website includes video lectures on a variety of topics, including one from Douglas on the making of Star Wars, but more prominent in our works is the unveiling of Sophia. Video talks can be found in the section entitled Our Spirit Talks.
We would also like to acknowledge our editor, Karen Dell Kinnison, who lovingly pours over our manuscripts, making sure that readers have a pleasurable experience reading what we write.
You may reproduce this paper for non-commercial purposes as long as it is all-inclusive, including this acknowledgement page.[3]
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June 4, 2018 -
"The term 'Anthroposophy' should really be understood as synonymous with 'Sophia,' meaning the content of consciousness, the soul attitude and experience that make a man a full-fledged human being. The right interpretation of 'Anthroposophy' is not 'the wisdom of man,' but rather 'the consciousness of one's humanity.' In other words, the reversing of the will, the experiencing of knowledge, and one's participation in the time's destiny, should all aim at giving the soul a certain direction of consciousness, a 'Sophia.'"[4]
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March 13, 2018 -
"...our relationship with technology is one of the most important—yet often least examined—factors that influences our health.
In their book The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World, Drs. Gazzaley and Rosen highlight the importance of taking good breaks: they reduce fatigue, improve brain function, boost productivity, and relieve stress.
However, not all breaks are created equal. In fact, some breaks might do more harm than good.
Gazzaley and Rosen argue that checking our phones during breaks, or when we get a little bit bored, reduces our attention span and trains us to check our phones even more frequently throughout the day.
Given that the average American already checks his or her phone 80 times a day, this is not a welcome change!
So, the next time you feel like you need a break, instead of opening up Facebook or Twitter, playing Angry Birds, or checking your email, consider one of the following alternatives:
Go outside. Take a short walk, sit in the sun, or do ten minutes of gardening. Being outside is restorative.
Move your body. Do a few body-weight squats or push-ups. Stretch or do a few yoga poses. Just a few minutes of movement benefits both your brain and body.
Have a cup of tea. Make some tea. Let your mind wander. Daydream. Unstructured time is crucial for our mental health.
Taking "real" breaks—those that rejuvenate and restore rather than distract—can have a dramatic impact on both our physical and mental well-being.
Give this a try this week, and let me know what you notice!
In health,
Chris" (Kresser)
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Another "break" just close your eyes and be aware of both your breath and your heart.
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Notes:
[1]
http://www.power2u.org/articles/recovery/empowerment-is-vital-to-dialogical-recovery.htm
[2] I'm amazed to read this reference here now as I had just blogged on the Theosophical perspective that was behind writing of "The Wizard of Oz"! My entrance into this "rabbit hole" began here:
http://www.mountainastrologer.com/standards/editor%27s%20choice/articles/cinema.html
[3] http://cosmicconvergence.org/?p=12888
[4] "Awakening to Community - I" By Rudolf Steiner:
https://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/19230213p01.html
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Keywords:
power, story, myth, personal mythology, empowering, heart, heart center, holy instant, miracles, psyche, pathological, communion, fellowship, perceptual world, thought correction, thought reversal, vision statement, star wars, Sophia
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