The occult, much like the Jedi, never left us. It was beaten back by monotheism and technology, but it merely remained on the fringes of our consciousness, in the dark. Humanity, being afraid of the dark, has tried to forget the occult, and out of fear, labeled it evil, much like Christianity labels that which it cannot understand as the workings of the Devil. The occult lived on, through the remnants of the Occidental (“black” or natural magic) and the survival of the East, the Orient. Likewise, the Jedi lived on in Obi-Wan and Yoda. It lived on in our mythical and legendary lore. It lived on, buried within our souls, buried within the collective unconsciousness, the collective soul. Myths are so similar because our souls are connected. We are holograms, microcosms, of a massive macrocosm, an infinite SELF. Myths, much like Art and Music, is an attempt by the soul to reach out and perceive that which it knows not, that which our minds are ignorant to. In this light, Science Fiction gives the occult a realm to operate, a timeless area. In Science Fiction, the rules can be twisted because society doesn’t have to be the same. Society doesn’t have to live in a monotheistic world, and the stars don’t have to be lifeless masses of matter and energy. Within the realms of science fiction, the Hero is reborn. We see this with Star Trek and the Matrix. We see this indefinitely in Star Wars.
Whether George Lucas had intended the many intricate connections I have made with Star Wars that is not relevant. I do know that Lucas created the story from combining many myths. These myths are different sides to the same truth, the same feeling within humanity. Imagine twelve or more people sitting down in chairs, all sitting around a circular table. These people are forced to stare at an object, a very non-symmetrical object, which sits in the middle. They cannot move, for they are trapped within their slice of the circle. They cannot talk due to the separation. They can only draw an image of what they see, an imperfect image. When these images are combined together, like Lucas has done, it becomes a more comprehensive picture. All I have done is label the parts of the object, even the ones that Lucas could not label himself. The films are made in a way that strikes an emotional chord, a string, within us. The story is enthralling, yet familiar; the visuals are new and stunning, yet based upon a reality within us; and the music is appropriate and thrilling, yet speaks to the soul. The mind of Star Wars is the story, the body of Star Wars is the visuals, and the soul of Star Wars is the music. This balance creates an epic. Star Wars as a film series speaks to the volume of our situation. The prequel trilogy is much like a microcosm, a myth, of our past. The original trilogy, the hero’s quest, the emotional soul that resonates within almost every viewer, is a myth of our future, or perhaps a myth describing how to take back our future. It is in this understanding that the occult stands beyond the reach of time, with technology beyond our dreams, but “a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away”. This is why Star Wars is the phenomenon that it is because it is our souls crying out, crying out to be a hero, crying out to tell us that everything is not all right. It is our soul crying out to tell us that we have the power, within the realms of our mind (science and technology), within the realms of our body (attunement with our natural world), and within the realms of our soul (the occult, ALL of it), to make this world better, to take down the veiled Empire of Duality which rules our reality, to save the soul of Darth Vader, to take down the Emperor, to EVOLVE.
The rest is up to you.
http://www.mrheadlee.com
http://www.vimeo.com/mrheadlee
Monday, January 3, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Microcosm-Macrocosm Relationship in Return of the Jedi
Duality of the world has created a duality of the individual. Likewise, the duality created by Darth Sidious has created an underground world of duality, a world of gangsters and smugglers, bounty hunters and Ewoks, a duality of the body. This duality is blurred by shadows and twilight (perhaps why Han’s vision is blurred on Tatooine and why Luke confronts Leia about their true heritage in the twilight of Endor). This is the natural realm. The natural realm is ruled by the gangsters and warlords, and on Tatooine, Jabba the Hutt. These two dualities, the duality of the Empire (the mind) and the duality of the underworld, or the real galaxy (the body) need each other to exist, which is why we see Darth Vader resort to bounty hunters in order to hunt down Han and Leia. The body is more powerful than the mind, but the mind divides the body. Just like the body of a group is powerful than its leaders, but they are sometimes blinded by the ambitions of those leaders.
Han is eventually captured by the efforts of Boba Fett and transferred to Jabba as his “favorite decoration”. The efforts of another within this realm, Lando, fail to save Han. Likewise, the efforts of Han’s natural connection, Chewbacca, and his feminine connection, Leia, fail as well. Neither can the efforts of the mind, the droids C-3PO and R2-D2, save Han. They are just tools. It is up to Luke, the soul of the group, the near-Jedi Knight, to rescue them all. In the same respect, it is a co-dependency that saves them, for Luke can’t save them himself. It is a TEAM effort that saves them all, the combined selves saving the SELF. This is the conquering of the dark of the Body, but then there are still the shadows, the twilight of the Body.
They then travel to Endor. There, they face the reaches of the mind, of the Empire, on the planet. It is this short skirmish that separates them, that polarizes them. Leia is “lost” during the small conflict, and rescued by an Ewok, Wicket. The Ewoks represent the good side of the “animalistic” or “primitive” Body. The female element works well with the animal element, for she is connected in a way to it. Thus, Leia works well with Wicket and becomes a Mother-Goddess figure. Without the female element, Luke, Han, Chewbacca, and the droids, fail to recognize a simple trap set by these same Ewoks (Luke gets a sense, from his occult-like connections, but it is too late). After releasing themselves, the Ewoks are hostile to the out-of-balance crew, and begin worshipping C-3PO because he is an ember of the fire, a piece of shimmering technology. The ensuing entanglement leads to everyone except C-3PO (and Leia) being prepared for sacrifice. Luke must resort to the occult, the Force, to reconcile this conflict, to balance the mind with the body, to balance technology with nature. Once these elements are reconciled, and brought back into balance, the Rebel team then becomes “a part of the tribe”, and this team effort is what helps win the Battle on the moon of Endor.
Then, in the real battle, the Rebels rush in, perhaps blinded by arrogance that they are greater than the Ewoks, and thus only need them as “guides”. It is the combination of technology (the droids) and nature (all of the Ewoks) that frees the Rebels from another capture by the Empire. One last combined effort is needed to win the battle. We see this when Chewbacca, the natural element of the “hero group” joins forces with two Ewoks and captures an AT-ST, a “chicken walker”. It is this final “wearing the enemy’s skin”, nature combining with technology, that turns the tide for good, and wins the battle on Endor, which subsequently results in the destruction of the second Death Star. We see the true internal nature of everyone as Han concocts a plan of trickery in order to draw the Imperials out. While trickery is usually considered wrong, in this case, it is the correct mode of action, and the one that is most “natural” for Han. Using a triangular understanding of paradoxes, it is this “superposition” of options, a meeting between “morality” and “immorality” that allows Han to make a good decision. Sometimes the ends are justification to the means, especially if no life is harmed (the Imperials were captured, not hurt). This is a good example of Kohlberg’s 3rd stage of moral development.
Meanwhile, Luke fights his father, both to beat him and to save him. Luke refuses to accept the truth of Darth Vader’s reality and tells the Emperor, “You will not convert me as you did my father”, and instead believes that there is still good within him. This is the final showdown between the occult and Christianity, with the Demi-urge watching. Luke eventually resorts to a plan of non-action, a Taoist philosophy, but when Vader threatens Luke’s sister, Leia, Luke cannot hold himself back, his love is greater than his control, much like Anakin’s love for his female element, Padme. Luke fights viciously, beating back Vader, and then cutting off his hand, only to discover that it was just technology. Anakin Skywalker had become trapped within the hell that is technology. Likewise, Christ has become trapped within the hell that is monotheism. Luke, realizing that destroying Vader, destroying Anakin, destroying his father, would only perpetuate the endless circle of imbalance, refuses to fight anymore, throwing his lightsaber to the ground. The Emperor decides that “if [he] will not be turned, then [he] will die”. The Demi-urge then attacks Luke, filling him with lightning, burning him with the fire. Vader, realizing that he must save Luke, turns on the Emperor, and casts him down into the core of the Death Star. This is the redemption of Christianity. This is a microcosm of what I believe to be the “Apocalypse”. It will not be God fighting against the Devil, it will not be Christianity saved in a Rapture by Christ. It will be the Return of Christ, the true essence of Jesus Christ, within the minds of humanity. With this return, it will be up to Humanity to fight and defeat the Demi-urge. It will be up to Humanity to evolve into a state of peace, much like that which is described when John talks about the New Jerusalem (the New Republic of Star Wars?).
In the end of Return of the Jedi, everything is in balance. The heroes are back together, the Alliance is in cooperation with nature (the Ewoks), and all four elements are back within balance. They are celebrating in treetop villages (Air and Earth), with Fire (a symbol for Technology?) being used as a tool to light the celebration. The final element, the water element, lies in the fluid, almost water-like, nature of the Jedi “ghosts”. These ghosts are also a symbol of occult balance, as the three levels of the occult are in balance. Yoda represents the Orient, and is much like the real-life Buddha. Obi-Wan represents the Occident, and he is much like the legendary Merlin figure (“That wizard’s just a crazy, old man”). Anakin is the final element, the Levantine, and he has finally become balanced (unlike in reality); he represents Christ. And finally, we are Luke; we must balance these three presences, these three spiritual influences, with the influences of technology (Luke's technologically-rebuilt right hand and lightsaber), as well as the influence of nature.
http://www.mrheadlee.com
http://www.vimeo.com/mrheadlee
Han is eventually captured by the efforts of Boba Fett and transferred to Jabba as his “favorite decoration”. The efforts of another within this realm, Lando, fail to save Han. Likewise, the efforts of Han’s natural connection, Chewbacca, and his feminine connection, Leia, fail as well. Neither can the efforts of the mind, the droids C-3PO and R2-D2, save Han. They are just tools. It is up to Luke, the soul of the group, the near-Jedi Knight, to rescue them all. In the same respect, it is a co-dependency that saves them, for Luke can’t save them himself. It is a TEAM effort that saves them all, the combined selves saving the SELF. This is the conquering of the dark of the Body, but then there are still the shadows, the twilight of the Body.
They then travel to Endor. There, they face the reaches of the mind, of the Empire, on the planet. It is this short skirmish that separates them, that polarizes them. Leia is “lost” during the small conflict, and rescued by an Ewok, Wicket. The Ewoks represent the good side of the “animalistic” or “primitive” Body. The female element works well with the animal element, for she is connected in a way to it. Thus, Leia works well with Wicket and becomes a Mother-Goddess figure. Without the female element, Luke, Han, Chewbacca, and the droids, fail to recognize a simple trap set by these same Ewoks (Luke gets a sense, from his occult-like connections, but it is too late). After releasing themselves, the Ewoks are hostile to the out-of-balance crew, and begin worshipping C-3PO because he is an ember of the fire, a piece of shimmering technology. The ensuing entanglement leads to everyone except C-3PO (and Leia) being prepared for sacrifice. Luke must resort to the occult, the Force, to reconcile this conflict, to balance the mind with the body, to balance technology with nature. Once these elements are reconciled, and brought back into balance, the Rebel team then becomes “a part of the tribe”, and this team effort is what helps win the Battle on the moon of Endor.
Then, in the real battle, the Rebels rush in, perhaps blinded by arrogance that they are greater than the Ewoks, and thus only need them as “guides”. It is the combination of technology (the droids) and nature (all of the Ewoks) that frees the Rebels from another capture by the Empire. One last combined effort is needed to win the battle. We see this when Chewbacca, the natural element of the “hero group” joins forces with two Ewoks and captures an AT-ST, a “chicken walker”. It is this final “wearing the enemy’s skin”, nature combining with technology, that turns the tide for good, and wins the battle on Endor, which subsequently results in the destruction of the second Death Star. We see the true internal nature of everyone as Han concocts a plan of trickery in order to draw the Imperials out. While trickery is usually considered wrong, in this case, it is the correct mode of action, and the one that is most “natural” for Han. Using a triangular understanding of paradoxes, it is this “superposition” of options, a meeting between “morality” and “immorality” that allows Han to make a good decision. Sometimes the ends are justification to the means, especially if no life is harmed (the Imperials were captured, not hurt). This is a good example of Kohlberg’s 3rd stage of moral development.
Meanwhile, Luke fights his father, both to beat him and to save him. Luke refuses to accept the truth of Darth Vader’s reality and tells the Emperor, “You will not convert me as you did my father”, and instead believes that there is still good within him. This is the final showdown between the occult and Christianity, with the Demi-urge watching. Luke eventually resorts to a plan of non-action, a Taoist philosophy, but when Vader threatens Luke’s sister, Leia, Luke cannot hold himself back, his love is greater than his control, much like Anakin’s love for his female element, Padme. Luke fights viciously, beating back Vader, and then cutting off his hand, only to discover that it was just technology. Anakin Skywalker had become trapped within the hell that is technology. Likewise, Christ has become trapped within the hell that is monotheism. Luke, realizing that destroying Vader, destroying Anakin, destroying his father, would only perpetuate the endless circle of imbalance, refuses to fight anymore, throwing his lightsaber to the ground. The Emperor decides that “if [he] will not be turned, then [he] will die”. The Demi-urge then attacks Luke, filling him with lightning, burning him with the fire. Vader, realizing that he must save Luke, turns on the Emperor, and casts him down into the core of the Death Star. This is the redemption of Christianity. This is a microcosm of what I believe to be the “Apocalypse”. It will not be God fighting against the Devil, it will not be Christianity saved in a Rapture by Christ. It will be the Return of Christ, the true essence of Jesus Christ, within the minds of humanity. With this return, it will be up to Humanity to fight and defeat the Demi-urge. It will be up to Humanity to evolve into a state of peace, much like that which is described when John talks about the New Jerusalem (the New Republic of Star Wars?).
In the end of Return of the Jedi, everything is in balance. The heroes are back together, the Alliance is in cooperation with nature (the Ewoks), and all four elements are back within balance. They are celebrating in treetop villages (Air and Earth), with Fire (a symbol for Technology?) being used as a tool to light the celebration. The final element, the water element, lies in the fluid, almost water-like, nature of the Jedi “ghosts”. These ghosts are also a symbol of occult balance, as the three levels of the occult are in balance. Yoda represents the Orient, and is much like the real-life Buddha. Obi-Wan represents the Occident, and he is much like the legendary Merlin figure (“That wizard’s just a crazy, old man”). Anakin is the final element, the Levantine, and he has finally become balanced (unlike in reality); he represents Christ. And finally, we are Luke; we must balance these three presences, these three spiritual influences, with the influences of technology (Luke's technologically-rebuilt right hand and lightsaber), as well as the influence of nature.
http://www.mrheadlee.com
http://www.vimeo.com/mrheadlee
Saturday, January 1, 2011
A Different Cave
For Plato, the exit out of the cave was located behind the fire. For Plato, one had to see the fire, behold the fire, and then move on, out of the cave. I see it differently. I believe the exit to the outside world lies not behind the cave, but somewhere in the wall of the shadows. One of the cave dwellers, one of the archons, if you will, is perched on the walkway between the fire and the hole in the wall, thus blocking the exit with a veil of shadow. Despite this, we must not ignore the fire, and blindly search the cave wall. Instead, we must use the fire. Take a piece, a log, from the fire, and use it to illuminate the wall of the cave. Illuminate all the crevices, all the markings, and especially, the exit. The question then becomes, what will the archon(s) do? Honestly, I cannot say, for I do not know. It is possible that the archon is merely a pawn, or even an immobile statue, designed and manipulated by the fire. If that is the case, then perhaps nothing is preventing us from escaping, except ignorance. It is also possible that the archon(s) is casting a shadow over the exit because it despises humanity and wants to keep us in the dark, keep us ignorant. If this the case, then after grabbing a piece of the fire, there might be a final conflict as humanity struggles with the archon to escape the cave, a true apocalyptic battle, a battle much like the one at the end of the Return of the Jedi, except, unlike Monotheistic tradition suggests, there will be no supernatural God fighting on our behalf, just humanity against the Demi-urge and the Archons, the Rebel Alliance and the Jedi against the Emperor and his Empire.
This condition thus illuminates why we are stuck in this state of duality. We have turned our backs on the shadows, on the occult, and we have become enthralled by science (and thus reason and technology), as well as monotheism and culture. The occult has become “primitive”, “uncivilized”, and perhaps even, “evil”. This creates our state of dualistic conflict, right vs. wrong, light vs. dark. The light seems to be the right, and the dark seems to be the wrong, but they are neither. Parts of the dark are wrong, just blank pieces of the wall. Likewise, parts of the light are right, but it is merely a tool. Unfortunately, the occult is where humanity must journey if we are to make the next evolutionary step. However, we cannot do this alone; we must take the fire, take our science, take our technology, take the best of our monotheism and culture, and explore the occult, explore the hidden! We must take the light and illuminate the dark. We must face our fears of the dark, the unknown, the hidden, and we must attempt to understand that which we are afraid of. Not until we utilize our reason and intellect to understand the shadows, to understand the occult, will we have even the slimmest chance of evolution.
Going, once again, back to my number theory, this version of the cave is easily understood. I said earlier that 7 was the number of God and also perfection, perhaps it is “God-like” perfection (4, the number of the sun or the source) plus humanity (3). The mind is the first digit place-holder, and thus the weakest. The stage of the mind is represented by the stage of the fire. The body is the second digit place-holder, and is represented by the shadow wall. Finally, the soul is the last place-holder, and the strongest of all. This also gives new understanding to meditation. If one’s purpose during meditation is to quiet the mind, usually with the body (breathing), to perceive the soul, then one is merely trying to dim the fire in order to see the light that lies beyond the cave. This “light at the end of the tunnel”, however, is not the whole light, it is not the whole spectrum. It is just a fraction of the truth. In order to fully see the truth, to fully experience the outside world, and fully evolve into our potential, we must take the fire to help us through the tunnel, the journey. This journey is represented by the Hero’s Journey, for we are the heroes of our world, we are our own myths.
http://www.mrheadlee.com
http://www.vimeo.com/mrheadlee
This condition thus illuminates why we are stuck in this state of duality. We have turned our backs on the shadows, on the occult, and we have become enthralled by science (and thus reason and technology), as well as monotheism and culture. The occult has become “primitive”, “uncivilized”, and perhaps even, “evil”. This creates our state of dualistic conflict, right vs. wrong, light vs. dark. The light seems to be the right, and the dark seems to be the wrong, but they are neither. Parts of the dark are wrong, just blank pieces of the wall. Likewise, parts of the light are right, but it is merely a tool. Unfortunately, the occult is where humanity must journey if we are to make the next evolutionary step. However, we cannot do this alone; we must take the fire, take our science, take our technology, take the best of our monotheism and culture, and explore the occult, explore the hidden! We must take the light and illuminate the dark. We must face our fears of the dark, the unknown, the hidden, and we must attempt to understand that which we are afraid of. Not until we utilize our reason and intellect to understand the shadows, to understand the occult, will we have even the slimmest chance of evolution.
Going, once again, back to my number theory, this version of the cave is easily understood. I said earlier that 7 was the number of God and also perfection, perhaps it is “God-like” perfection (4, the number of the sun or the source) plus humanity (3). The mind is the first digit place-holder, and thus the weakest. The stage of the mind is represented by the stage of the fire. The body is the second digit place-holder, and is represented by the shadow wall. Finally, the soul is the last place-holder, and the strongest of all. This also gives new understanding to meditation. If one’s purpose during meditation is to quiet the mind, usually with the body (breathing), to perceive the soul, then one is merely trying to dim the fire in order to see the light that lies beyond the cave. This “light at the end of the tunnel”, however, is not the whole light, it is not the whole spectrum. It is just a fraction of the truth. In order to fully see the truth, to fully experience the outside world, and fully evolve into our potential, we must take the fire to help us through the tunnel, the journey. This journey is represented by the Hero’s Journey, for we are the heroes of our world, we are our own myths.
http://www.mrheadlee.com
http://www.vimeo.com/mrheadlee
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