Some time ago I watched the inductions into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame: Joni Mitchell was the major inductee, and one of her songs, Woodstock, was performed by James Taylor. Taylor, of course, made it his while keeping it true to the Mitchell original. You could see in James' eyes and hear in his voice how very much the words he sang influenced his life and who he is today. I thought, during the performance of her songs, of how much the Hippie sentiment of those heady (no pun intended!) days has been a central factor in arriving at my present dharmic location. My children tease me about being an ancient Hippie, and last night I realized just how true it is. Just check out the words of this "philosophy of our time," to see how compelling and attractive this philosophy can be to a modern humanist.
Woodstock, by Joni Mitchell
Well, I came upon a child of God
He was walking along the road
And I asked him, tell me, where are you going
This he told me:
Said, I'm going down to Yasgur's farm
Gonna join in a rock and roll band
Got to get back to the land
And set my soul free
{refrain}
We are stardust
We are golden
We are billion-year-old carbon
And we got to get ourselves
Back to the garden
Well then, can I walk beside you?
I have come to lose the smog
And I feel myself a cog
In something turning
And maybe it's the time of year
Yes, and maybe it's the time of man
And I don't know who I am
But life is for learning
{refrain twice}
By the time we got to Woodstock
We were half a million strong
And everywhere was a song
And a celebration
And I dreamed I saw the bomber jet planes
Riding shotgun in the sky
Turning into butterflies
Above our nation
We are stardust
We are golden
We are caught in the devil's bargain
And we got to get ourselves
Back to the garden
You just have to love the lyrics and the sentiment expressed. Check out the wondrous lyrics of John and Paul's "Fixing a Hole" for an interesting segue. Both the songs are fine examples of how the use of entheogens in popular music composition offer compelling insights into the many aspects of reality. However, on to a discussion of different philosophies than that inhaled in 1960s.…
Although I am not a student of the Kabbalah, ontology, or other philosophies that seek to make an arcane and esoteric discipline from subjects that are impossible to resolve and codify, I continue to make the mistake of getting caught up in the dialectics of Cartesian logic, only to be confronted by the illogic of the "Cartesian Other" before travelling too far down the road of resolution and comprehension. I do, however, note some parallels between the Ten Sifirot of the Kabbalah, and certain aspects of earlier Assyrian mysticism, both of which appear to be influenced by the philosophy of Zoroaster, and the all-pervading mark of early Hinduism and the concept of the balance of Order and Chaos, the many faces of reality, and individual Oneness with Brahman.
In the ragbag philosophy of Jim Fanning, I have cobbled together a series of beliefs that, to me, resonate with Right. I believe that which is called the "soul" is our connection to the universe, and whatever might be: our touchstone that provides our sense of morality, of justice, and of truth. This connection can be "tweaked" to provide a less obscured view of "What Is" either through the use of physical aids (e.g. prayers, chanting, chakra chimes, temple bells, incense) or mental aids (e.g. entheogens, meditation, sensory privation, etc.). Further, although the many religious texts offer versions of the Truth, and are solid guides to morality and personal spiritual gratification, they are, ultimately, flawed because while they purport to be the revealed word of God, they are, in sad fact, only the feeble words of Man, self-serving, biased and offering only an incomplete glimpse of the whole cosmic picture. The words are only candles, lit to offer some small refuge against the absolute cosmic night that underscores the profound mystery of it all: a pitiful human gathering around our campfires, seeking collective comfort against the sure knowledge of our insignificance.
At this stage of my life, for me, the Buddhist concept of Mindfulness (being aware of NOW) is a satisfying way to focus my life into the present, to avoid dwelling on the past, and to stop fretting about the future (either immediate or beyond). Marvels exist all around us, and yet we ignore them as we are too wrapped up in either "What Was" or "What Will Be." Mindfulness permits me to listen to the wind in my jackpines, and watch wind patterns in the long grass, to see how branches reach to light, to hear chakra chimes resonate with other objects, to marvel at the moonpath on the Bay, and to savour the melancholic taste of history in a bottle of Bushmill's or Jameson's Irish whiskey. If, then, this is all there is, it is Heaven for me NOW: if there is more, that NOW will be explored when it arrives.
Are there other realities, other worlds, other NOWs? I do not know, but I would think that, in the face of the infinite mystery of the universes, nothing can be discounted, in the fields of quantum theory, multiverse theory, superstring theory. Nor, of course, should anything be credited as Truth, without verifiable evidence.
Peace.
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