Seeing the Stars

 "My God, it's full of stars!" ~ 2001, A Space Odyssey

Today, on The Frontier Beyond Fear broadcast, I reflected upon our mystical relationship with the stars and with Nature, exploring what it truly means to "advance" as a civilization.

Listen to the podcast here:  Seeing the Stars

 

 

Photo Credit: NASA

 

The Stars We've Lost

 "One might think the atmosphere was made transparent with this design, to give man, in the heavenly bodies, the perpetual presence of the sublime.  Seen in the streets of cities, how great they are!  If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore; and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God, which had been shown!" ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature, 1836

View above the atmosphere (Photo Credit: NASA)

I came across this passage the other day, accentuating a reflection I have pondered rather often.

We don't see the stars anymore.  Not most of us.  Perhaps a glimpse while on vacation, if you can get far enough away from the city.  Meanwhile, we are filling our skies with artificial objects, as unfathomable numbers of satellites launch.  And we hardly even care.  In fact, we celebrate our "progress". 

How is the diminishment of visible stars in our skies impacting the human experience?  How is it impacting us, mystically?  I happen to believe that the mystical is actually the way the advancement of a species is measured (if it made sense to "measure" such things, which is a bit contradictory).  We've abandoned it, mostly.  And at our peril.

Do we realize we are having an entirely different experience with the skies than all of those who came before us?  

I read an article not too long ago that we never really feel at peace within a city - because we've evolved to do far better in rural locales.  This isn't particularly about artificial light, but no doubt, that isn't helping.  And yet I couldn't be here writing without it and every other technological trapping.

What if things had happened differently?

If another Carrington event arrives, as it inevitably will, we will gasp to see the stars (and the auroras accompanying them).  This foundation we have built is fundamentally an illusion.  What would we do, then?  Who would we be?

Who do we choose to be?  Why wait?

If there was a contest between the mystics and the materialists (not to say that mystics think competitively), guess who "wins"?  There's only one way forward, really.  And it's not the way we've been taught to think.  The way we're told is "real" is the illusion.  And the way we're told is the "illusion" is actually Real.  And once you know it, you know.

Being Honest with Yourself

"...to thine own self be true..." ~ William Shakespeare

This may seem to be a very simple - and even obvious - thing to say, but it's one of the most fundamental aspects of how discernment relates to inner growth and peace. 

When we are discerning and pay attention, when we are honest with ourselves about how we view things and how we feel (including when we're unsure), it makes a world of difference.  Honor the process.

 

 

Reflection photo by Susan Larison Danz. 

Silence

 "Silence is a source of great strength." ~ Lao Tzu

Sometimes, silence is exactly what we need.  

Trust in the gifts silence brings.  

Reflection photo by Susan Larison Danz.

Celebrating Our Authentic Paths

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them." ~ Mother Teresa

Sometimes we need to simply take a moment to appreciate the beauty of our authentic paths.  This is the very essence of freely expressed spirituality and divinely derived unconditional Love.  This is the path to inner peace and peace on the planet.  There is no other route.

 

 

Forest Path photo by Susan Larison Danz.

 

A Wonderful Choice

"When we women offer our experience as our truth, as human truth, all the maps change. There are new mountains." ~ Ursula K. Le Guin

 

I was intending to write about this particular topic tonight, as International Women's Day draws to a close, and my Facebook memories from last year conveniently provided the text.

 

There are a few things I'd like to add this year.  Covid-19 has shown many full-time working parents what it is like to be at home with their children.  Without a doubt, I believe some parents will yearn for this to continue.  I have a great deal of experience in the workplace as a "work-at-home" Mom,  and I do feel this needs to come with the flexibility to work less than a full time schedule, as I'm sure many parents have discovered how challenging it is to work full time with children at home - and I was not even engaged in home schooling at the time, though I was very active as a school and community volunteer.  I believe parents should have a choice, if daycare outside the home is subsidized, to receive the same subsidy, if choosing to be home with their children.  This would open the opportunity up to parents of all income levels - and to their children. 

 

Here is an excerpt from my post from last year:

   

Happy International Women's Day! Let's honor the choices people make in their lives. In my life, I am very grateful I had the opportunity to be a stay-at-home Mom. If you are in the position to be a stay-at-home parent (and I know not everyone is - Mom, Dad or Grandparent!), it's the most rewarding life I can imagine, and I will never regret that choice. It doesn't matter how many degrees you have or how successful, that choice is worthwhile. I could have used very rare at the time in-the-workplace daycare, and my career was extremely successful, but it wasn't enough. I kept my career going, in its own way. 

 

I later returned to the full time workforce [in the office] (after life circumstances shifted) and took my career as high as I ever could have wanted, yet also observing the toll that this takes and the balancing act many women face. Then circumstances arrived which brought me home again, and that too was what it needed to be. It is absolutely amazing, being a stay-at-home parent. And I was led to astonishing volunteer opportunities as well, and multiple non-profit leadership roles in the schools and in the community. 

 

These days, this choice seems to be considered a "lesser choice", like expecting all children to go into daycare at a very young age is "the best way", and no doubt later, after school care. No. It isn't. Not for many parents and not for many children. Daycare is important, yes, for those who need or seek it, but I made my choice for a reason, and it was absolutely right. (When the time came for preschool, yes, that was wonderful to make that a part of our lives, but only part-time, and part-time kindergarten as well - full time would have been far too intense at that age for many children, had it been required. Choices are important!) I'm grateful I was in the position to make the choice to be home with my child - I wish more people could be, and I did make sacrifices for it, but considering that choice "less" is simply not the truth.

 

 

 

Spring Flowers photo by Susan Larison Danz.

 

 

Car Windows

"It is only when they go wrong that machines remind you of how powerful they are." ~ Clive James

Something came up about cars yesterday that led me to reflect on a few things.  In the "old days", especially in the 70's, you would regularly see people "working on" cars in a neighborhood.  Even as a young child growing into a teen, it was a regular observation that there were plenty of people around who knew how to fix and maintain a car in a variety of ways.  Or if you did need to bring a car in to a mechanic, it was relatively simple, usually.

This has changed.

No doubt, there are countless reasons why, safety-wise, emission-wise, etc. - and yes, feature-wise.

However, for whatever the reasons, the world has changed.  And it is my continuing intent in this blog to explore how these changes have changed how we behave.

When cars became essentially impossible for people who liked to fix their own cars to independently fix, something changed.  A dependency was created that didn't exist in the same way before.  This had an impact on regular life and self-sufficiency.

Technology can solve and enhance any number of things, but it also continually takes us in a direction that makes life more intricate.  

I was watching a movie the other night from the late 1980's in which a character was in a fancy town car and fascinated with the automated locks.

It got me to thinking about the days when there were no power locks and you manually opened the windows yourself.  As convenient as that "feature" is and probably more secure, there is something I miss about cranking open a car window.  What is that about?

 

Car photo from the mid-1980's, Susan Larison Danz.