By Judith Gayle | Political Waves
Don’t you love it when the gears begin to turn and you know you’re going somewhere? That’s in the air now, this sense that we’re picking up speed. Perhaps this feeling of relief is a response to Mars in direct motion, finally moving us along but still in shadow phase so we’re not zooming ahead like a bullet train, unable to process much but watering eyes and rushing wind. We’re more like riders looking out the window now, connecting the dots on the landscape, accessing where we are and how the topography is changing. And it’s more than Mars, of course. It’s the currents of our major energy changes, our pending eclipses and aspects, pulling us forward into the future, having whittled away some of the lethargy and illogic we were stewing in for so long: frogs slowly simmering to a boil.
It feels like a second wind (or ninth or tenth). Instead of wincing at the prospect, I must now confess a renewed curiosity about what headlines each new day will bring. There’s still a lot of delusion out there, people saying astoundingly cynical things they’re sure the faithful will believe, but there are also signs of sanity everywhere you look, some surprising. Take FOX Newscaster Shepard Smith applauding Obama’s support for gay marriage. Shep suggested that the POTUS was now on the “right side of the 21st century,” which earned the immediate ire of always-vigilant GOP overseer Limbaugh. Rush demanded to know in which state Shep thought such an opinion might win an election. Trumpeted the Bloviating One, “It’s still up to the hicks and the hay seeds …”
A clever Dem would commit that description to memory, just in case the radical right wasn’t sure what Rush thinks about them. Still, who would have thought such a moment might play out on FOX television? Or this report of Alan Colmes taking down Joel Arends, the Swiftboaters’ front-man on FOX radio who had accused the Prez of “spiking the football” on Osama bin Laden. Arends, who successfully muddied the reputation of war heroes Max Cleland and John Kerry ten years ago, did a less than credible job of pretending to represent miffed Navy SEALS critical of Obama’s actions (none available for comment.) It’s all too evident that Rupert Murdoch is preoccupied elsewhere.
Oh yes, sanity is poking its head up, but ‘crazy’ is still alive and well. We saw it peek out behind the polling numbers that took down long-time bipartisan Republican Richard Lugar this week. Another reasonable soul bites the dust, but — as some argue, and effectively — it shouldn’t take TNT to blast some of the old timers out of the Congress. Unfortunately, Dick was replaced by a wing-nut whose idea of bipartisanship includes every citizen giving back their Social Security number while applying for a gun permit, or, as this is now acknowledged, the “new Republican orthodoxy.” There is no bipartisanship left to the GOP. They can’t move much farther right without seceding, which — in their minds, at least — looks to be an attractive possibility. Crazy!
And ‘crazy’ is just fine and dandy in the House of Representatives that approved another of Paul Ryan’s austerity budgets, throwing bones to the dogs of war at the Pentagon but cutting food and medical aid to American families, while giving the ever-ravenous 1% all the cash they want. Paul recently argued that his (well-documented) devotion to Ayn Rand and her political principals was simply an early admiration, now cooled. He also drew the ire of Catholic Bishops with his uncharitable budget proposal, suggesting that Jesus would approve turning the deadbeats and their children out of the fold and making them find jobs. Accountability for the poor but not the rich. Tough love, emphasis on the tough.
Ryan’s rhetoric includes zealous objection that the “makers” are forced by government to care for the “takers,” which makes me want to go all Charlton Heston Biblical and proclaim, “And by their lack of compassion, shall ye know them!” The faithful wouldn’t notice, of course, because you have to have some experience of compassion to understand how necessary it is, and as yet, the faithful respond better to fear than to kindness. Ryan recently held forth on this topic with Glenn Beck, who was so taken with Ryan’s full-throated vision of a Randian future that Beck gushed out an unflinching, “I love you!” Evidently feeling no man-on-man remorse, he then agreed with Ryan that “progressivism is a cancer” infecting the nation.
Seriously? I won’t speculate on how riddled with paranoid delusion Glenn’s brain is, but Ryan is just another of those “hollow men” who talk Gawd while sucking up guns and butter, a con man to whose followers Will Pitt had this to say about the pastor who advised worshipers to beat the gay out of their children: “… I have all the sympathy in the world for those who have been scammed, conned and taken advantage of, but I am all the way done with living in a country run by the professionally duped.”
Amen, brother! Those who haven’t figured out what’s objectionable about the guys who wear white sheets and burn crosses under a star-spangled sky calling themselves Christian shouldn’t be allowed to lead this nation’s politics. This same reference to Beck reminded me of the summer of 2010 when he went ballistic on FOX with arcane projections and apocalyptic visions. That was the summer when Michele Bachmann put her own version of crazy on the line, when the remaining handful of Pub moderates gave up attempts to herd the crazies, and the Tea Party took shape in front of our very eyes. That was the same summer I began my daily mantra of, “If you see crazy coming, cross the street.” If that sounds familiar to you, it’s because I wrote of it then and it’s still true.
I think of this as my early-warning-system, my pro-active wrist-snap of a reminder, meant to keep me awake and aware of who has gone zombie-like and who is still engaging with some mental acumen. It works beautifully when reality is under siege, hence, all day, every day for the last decade and more. Such a method was particularly necessary after Dubby, who we thought mad as a hatter but who turned out to be even more mundanely evil and less impressively impaired than we’d imagined. We should have known it was his followers that put us in jeopardy when they all put pictures of George with a bright halo photo-shopped around his head on their living room walls (at least Rush’s hicks and hayseeds.)
I put something else on mine. “If you see crazy,” is a short version of another bit of potent insight, a longer description of how we make choices on our path. When I was doing readings and charts, as well as holding ACIM groups in my home, I had a poster framed on my living room wall. Everyone who stopped to read it stopped to read it again and then write it down. It follows:
There’s A Hole In My Sidewalk
Autobiography in Five Short Chapters
by Portia Nelson
I.
I walk down the street.There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost … I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.
II.
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in this same place.
But it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
III.
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in … it’s a habit … but,
my eyes are open,
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
IV.
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
V.
I walk down another street.
That’s a “wow,” huh? Most often, people relate to this information in terms of relationship. That’s certainly an obvious context, but my take is that we are in relationship with every one and every thing, so it’s true on every level. The hole in the sidewalk speaks to our dependencies, our addictions, our fears and our self-image. The hole can be recurring patterns in our work experience, our financial habits or our politics. We can stay in step II for decades; in fact, we can LIVE there if we want, and millions of people around the globe would take the meaning. This IS the human condition, this IS the choice between remaining in what is familiar and dysfunctional or breaking free from the bonds that keep us shackled.
We have obviously begun a long conversation here, one I’d like to explore at length next week. Meanwhile, just think about the hole in the sidewalk and how often we fall in, how much sorrow and harm to self and others we expend in the process. Think about how things might change if we knew crazy was coming but we had a choice not to dance with it, if we knew that the old familiar hole was just a step away, ready to suck us down again but we didn’t have to jump in. We have the power to stand back a bit, witness our own life and gain the ability to break the hold pattern and habit has over us. The first step is to know we can.
When we can look around us with awareness, free from a belief that there is nothing more, it will dawn on us that we have choices, that we can have a new start. We can not only clearly see those who are stuck inside the box of victimhood and a hopeless looping of habitual behavior, but how to think outside of it. When we cross to walk down another street, we’re free.
We are cyclical people. Astrology works to help us decode our time and space because we have learned to identify cycles and anticipate their influence. It works to identify our inner-space because it speaks to our patterns, our karma and our dharma, our shadow side as well as the lighted. Many of us have already broken old patterns, chosen a path of self-awareness and authority. We are coming into our collective power and we need to use it wisely, concentrating our energy on achieving what lifts us all and helping others to find their feet. We cannot come into wisdom if we leave our brothers and sisters behind.
Each positive happening resonates powerful ripples in our collective pond. Look for things to celebrate. Ignore what isn’t loving and replace it with your own good thoughts and activity. Make the choices that will keep your feet firmly on your path. Many of us were motivated in recent years by anger, pressing us forward as a response to outrage and frustration, but anger is a catalyst, not a life path. Perpetual anger distorts our judgment. It’s yet another hole in which we can find temporary comfort, but no future for ourselves or our world. No, it’s not anger that will blast us out of pattern. It’s self-love, self-understanding, compassion and grace.
It’s Mother’s Day weekend, and not all of us had wonderful mothers. If we did, let’s spread echoes of that nurture around, generous with our affection and appreciation. If we didn’t, then let’s begin to discover that internal-Mother within ourselves, reflected by those around us willing to offer an open hand. Remember, it is a great truth that positive change and dynamic choice are to be found on the path of willingness, not in the hole of self-pity and denial.
Blessed Mother’s Day to all of us who choose love, then — and for those who haven’t, may you find the love that’s hidden in plain sight everywhere you look. This much is true: crazy is always coming and there is always a hole in the sidewalk, looming, waiting for us to stumble. So a message on this weekend that Goddess would approve? Beloved child of the Universe, I hope you’re ready to cross the street.
Thanks for your very gentle patience, Judith.
It’s 90F across the valley here, and we’re 4100′ above sea level. Not quite summer yet either. Yes, Jan and Joe are quite the pair. Most progressives have hated them all along, but finally the weak-spined Phoenix press is starting to look critically at them, and putting out on the airwaves. Joe’s well known penchant for arresting his critics has dimmed once he realized the courts were not backing him up over the completely false charges he was arresting people on (a county supervisor, and a judge!). Since the Feds finally came out against him a week ago, he’s trying to swing back, but few take him seriously.
What is truly delusional about him is that he’s declared the DOJ has no right to tell him how to do his job. Of course, they’re suing him for his unconstitutional arrests, detention, and profiling of Hispanics, and last time I checked, the Federal constitution still overrides the state version.
To quote Bugs Bunny: “What a maroon!”
Hi Brendan. “Otis” explains a lot, and that makes “Brewer” a PERFECT last name, doesn’t it? I have to be careful with her, I dislike her so much — the emotion she prompts in me is dangerous to my soul. And I’m delighted to hear the ‘Zonie’s are pushing back at Sheriff Joe and Jan, neither of them capable of meeting the challenges and opportunities of your diverse culture — and both of them guilty of the kind of arrogance and cruelty that will be the downfall of their radical party. I want to see both their butts kicked up around their ears! And TUSD free to teach whatever it wants!
No worries about the name, dearheart — I answer to both — and I’ll take “heat” as a worthwhile excuse. For most of the five years I lived in AZ, my brain felt like a baked potato.
We need the “revise” button back.. 🙁
I meant JUDITH of course, not “Gayle.” Sheesh. It’s hot here, I’ll blame the heat.
Hi Gayle,
Nicely-put thoughts today. If, and that’s a very big ‘if,’ the House is either Dem or more evenly split after November (and not to mention Rmoney losing), I have the feeling that the Repugs will finally disintegrate into all-out tribal warfare.
I haven’t seen any real cohesion on their side for months in the House, the Senate faction simply whines, and the state Republicans have gone totally batshit crazy. Down here in the cactus patch, we’ve got a drunk, ex-hairstylist for a governor (her nickname in Phoenix is “Otis,” after the Mayberry town drunk), an absolutely, positively insane sheriff who declared last week that “no one is higher than he is,” and well, you get the picture, as does everyone else. What is heartening to see is that pushback is happening here now, and the powers-that-be seem to still be blithely unaware just how stupid they look. Better yet, the citizens know this, and we could see some surprises come November. We can only hope…
Oh gosh, GaryB, it’s so tough to deal with those who are not just sleeping through reality, but living in an alternate version. I live in a place where folks like me tend to keep their opinions to themselves for fear of backlash. There are more progressives here than are evident but they don’t want to “foul their nest,” as it were; most of them are retired and looking for a bit of peace, not a tribal war. My little Democratic PAC goes to the various fairs during the summer, representing the local Lefties, and this year I volunteered to collect slogans for buttons (we have a button maker but no $$ to purchase pre-made, so I need to find a shareware program to create the fronts) and make a bunch so we can raise funds to support our handful of local Dem candidates.
I’ve found so many really good slogans, I’m thinking maybe I’ll include a few here at some point; but the one that made me laugh, and reminds me of your dilemma, is this beauty that echoes our topic, today:
Vote Democratic:
We’re not perfect
But they’re nuts!
You’re correct that we need both parties functioning to maintain balance but the Pubs appear to be the last to intuit that they’re committing hara-kiri as the majority moves beyond homophobia, xenophobia, racism, and sexism. Perhaps when they implode, we can reorganize political thought into new parties; that’s certainly a possibility after we’ve wrestled control from the hands of the Old Paradigm factions.
And by the time the election rolls around, we must trust that more of us will be seeing clearly. Whether we can connect the dots back to politics to make informed choice remains to be seen, but I’m hopeful … and will continue to encourage everyone to watch their projections and fears because emotion creates a morphic field that magnetizes more of the same. I expect most of us are aware that this is not just ANY election … or just ANY old year! EVERYTHING takes on importance, under the circumstances.
And oh my goodness, be, I’m anticipating this Venus transit with such joy — when I think about it, my heart-chakra expands and there’s an overwhelming rush of love-energy. If we can get people out of their fears [minds, a’la Swords in the Tarot deck] even just for a moment, that kind of energy can begin to change the world we’ve made into the one we long for. It’s possible; it’s also necessary, if we are to survive our own stupidity. So thank you for the Yod information, and for always having the inside scoop on the little pieces (and the larger ones) shifting into place — so very helpful to our conversation. BIG hug!
Do any of you dearhearts remember The Dark Crystal? It was a Jim Henson/Frank Oz homage to the epic spiritual quest, made 30 years ago and, indeed, a Very Dark landscape for Muppets; a fantasy tale about the last of a species attempting to heal the life-giving crystal that had gone dark under attack from vicious occupiers. It was all about heart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzgVPB5dpgg
At the end … no spoiler this late in the game … the crystal is healed but only with the joining of the light as well as the dark, good as well as evil; the whole of it, fractured, coming back together. That’s heart-chakra stuff. Evidently there is a CGI sequel due out next year. Henson’s frustration with the techno-limitations of his time are evident in the film but — well — heart is heart, and the “merging” of the crystal is my template for the coming Venus transit that has such enormous potential. Stream the original if you haven’t seen it; Google has some links.
Amen, Amen and Amen again. this was so beautifully moving Jude, and I hadn’t heard that “hicks and hayseeds” remark from Rush yet. Priceless. Thanks for that and all the memories of insanity. . keep ’em coming, because yes, there is something in the air that says we are moving forward. Tomorrow on Mother’s Day, Jupiter and the Sun will make their annual conjunction, but it will be much more than just an annual event. It is the sign of a new era. It is also just past the midpoint of an ongoing cycle symbolized by the transits of Jupiter conjunct Saturn that started in 2000 and will end in 2020, and it’s happening right in this same area of Taurus. As to us folks learning to identify cycles, here’s one that’s new to me and probably many of your readers.
There are three slow-moving astral bodies located far, far away from Earth and invisible to the eye. Each of them is named from a differerent society, all speaking different languages and each belonging to different belief systems, and these three bodies presently form the aspect known as a yod or Finger of God. Sedna in Taurus is sextile Varuna in Cancer and both make 150 degree angles to Quaoar in Sagittarius. Sedna and Varauna put the onus on Quaoar to manifest their combined energies. How can they do that? By utilizing planets that ARE visible to the eye. This special week between the biggest Full Moon I’ve ever seen and the Solar Eclipse next week has given our feelings quite a workout if we watched the “news”.
At the time Pres. Obama publically recorded his feelings (to be “aired” at a later time) about gay marriage, Venus (conjunct Karma) was opposite Quaoar, giving him a target to point the combined outer-fringe-astral-bodies’ energies. Also, the Moon in Capricorn was opposite Varuna, and Sedna was joined by Jupiter with the Sun only 2 degrees away from them, making it exact tomorrow. Sedna normally keeps her creative ability to herself unless forced to share, while Varuna, a god of water who sustains life, can either dispense justice or extreme conservatism, both putting the pressure on Quaoar who manifests life forms by singing and dancing. If you were watching and/or reading about this event you witnessed the singing and dancing bit. The target for this powerful yet unseen energy, Venus, not only was conjunct Karma the asteroid, but also aspecting Sun and Jupiter as well as the Moon and Saturn in Libra. Yet, like I wrote in your Heart-Space: Finding The Answers article last month, Venus and Saturn won’t exact their trine until the end of July. This is a cycle that waits for Venus to make her own news through her station retrograde, occultation of Sun, and finally turning direct and exacting her trine to Saturn. By then, Saturn, who gives form (in this case in the sign of marriage) will also be direct. Juno as goddess of marriage will ease off her long conjunction to the transiting North Node of the Moon and slip retrograde fashion back into the sign Scorpio. By the time Venus and Saturn make their long awaited perfect trine, Juno will be opposite Sedna, trine Varuna and be halfway between Quaoar and Saturn. This is a cycle you don’t have to follow astrologically in order to feel it’s effects. It will, as you say “resonate powerful ripples in our collective pond” that many of us will surely “celebrate”. Let us dance to the music.
be
Thank you Judith!!!
I had a phone conversation with a friend this week and she started off with “what did I think about what Obama had done?” I responded that I thought he had to give back to his base some of the promises he made even in the election cycle and that I didn’t think it would hurt him as those voting against Obama had made up their minds. She thought that gay equality was fair but she continued on saying that “Obama was the worst lier as a President we had ever seen” I informed her that I had become an Independent as I could no longer vote Republican due to the extreme right wing-nuts taking over the moderates. She informed me that “I was wasting my vote.” I replied that I could not vote for Mitt as he was the biggest lying flip-flopping candidate that has ever been heard! Her response ” I have never heard him lie about anything” I got hit by two cars running to cross the street!!!
Unfortunately that is the position of most that I know and they are all very educated( through the school system) and in high income brackets. I can’t convince/discuss with them of anything else or I become a liberal Obama lover ready to watch the country turn into a Muslim run socialist country where all of the deadbeats suck up their hard earned taxed income.
I truly hope that the extreme right wing implodes soon! We need a consensus building balanced two party system to face the challenges ahead. But the crazies keep a comin’! I have crossed the street but I don’t know if there is a majority of sane voters here in time for November.