Hmmmm ... In the midst of current events, I became aware of an odd resemblance to characters in a film I watched some time ago.
This morning I followed up on my intuition that the character (played by Nicole Kidman), who is accompanied by a disturbing orange creature who reminds me of a certain presidential candidate," looks very much like a certain woman who has been nominated for a position as a Supreme Court justice.
"... The film depicts the adventures of Lyra Belacqua, an orphan living in a parallel universe where a dogmatic ruling power called the Magisterium opposes free inquiry ..."
Clouds and light in the October sky in the coastal Pacific Northwest in the early morning:
Walking in Beauty: Closing Prayer from the Navajo Way Blessing Ceremony
In beauty I walk With beauty before me I walk With beauty behind me I walk With beauty above me I walk With beauty around me I walk It has become beauty again Hózhóogo naasháa doo Shitsijí’ hózhóogo naasháa doo Shikéédéé hózhóogo naasháa doo Shideigi hózhóogo naasháa doo T’áá altso shinaagóó hózhóogo naasháa doo Hózhó náhásdlíí’ Hózhó náhásdlíí’ Hózhó náhásdlíí’ Hózhó náhásdlíí’ Today I will walk out, today everything negative will leave me I will be as I was before, I will have a cool breeze over my body. I will have a light body, I will be happy forever, nothing will hinder me. I walk with beauty before me. I walk with beauty behind me. I walk with beauty below me. I walk with beauty above me. I walk with beauty around me. My words will be beautiful. In beauty all day long may I walk. Through the returning seasons, may I walk. On the trail marked with pollen may I walk. With dew about my feet, may I walk. With beauty before me may I walk. With beauty behind me may I walk. With beauty below me may I walk. With beauty above me may I walk. With beauty all around me may I walk. In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, lively, may I walk. In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, living again, may I walk. My words will be beautiful…
Before the storm arrived later this morning, there were Crepuscular rays and cloud shadows just before sunrise. Listen for red-winged blackbirds. Watch for flocks of birds just before the earth turns toward the sun. May need full screen to see them.
"I Have a Dream" is a public speech that was delivered by American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963, in which he called for civil and economic rights and an end to racism in the United States. Delivered to over 250,000 civil rights supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., the speech was a defining moment of the civil rights movement and among the most iconic speeches in American history.
Under the applicable copyright laws, the speech will remain under copyright in the United States until 70 years after King's death, through 2038.
Sorry for audio-video sync problem"
(above is the accompanying note on the "Rare Facts" YouTube channel)
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"... but we would dishonor those heroes as well to suggest that the work of this nation is somehow complete. The arc of the moral universe may bend towards justice, but it doesn't bend on its own ..."
(President Barack Obama)
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Early this morning, the words "free at last" appeared in my thoughts and led to this post.
At the beginning of April 2020, a few days before the anniversary of the day Martin Luther King, Jr., was murdered in 1968, I woke up from a horrific nightmare of mindless violence which included abject isolation and fear. We all have dreams of freedom, and we all have unspeakable nightmares. During these past months, it is a series of nightmares that have shown me what I cannot ignore when I am awake.
Some dreams and nightmares are over. Some follow us into all of our waking moments. We do not have to live in fear. This morning I remembered this message, also from Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1968:
"... And then I got into Memphis, and some began to say the threats, or talk about the threats that were out of what would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers. Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place, but I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will, and He's allowed me to go up to the mountain, and I've looked over and I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the Promised Land. So I'm happy tonight, I'm not worried about anything, I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."
Our religion is the traditions of our ancestors - the dreams of our old men, given them in solemn hours of the night by the Great Spirit; and the visions of our sachems, and is written in the hearts of our people.
The first person who ever commented during my earliest days of blogging in December 2006 has been posting again recently. She is a poet. Her blog is called "Chatoyance."
God is a concept By which we measure Our pain I'll say it again God is a concept By which we measure Our pain
I don't believe in magic I don't believe in I-Ching I don't believe in Bible I don't believe in tarot I don't believe in Hitler I don't believe in Jesus I don't believe in Kennedy I don't believe in Buddha I don't believe in mantra I don't believe in Gita I don't believe in yoga I don't believe in kings I don't believe in Elvis I don't believe in Zimmerman I don't believe in Beatles I just believe in me Yoko and me And that's reality
The dream is over What can I say? The dream is over Yesterday I was the dream weaver But now I'm reborn I was the Walrus But now I'm John And so dear friends You just have to carry on The dream is over
"... I'd like to live to ripe old age with Yoko only, and I'm not afraid of dying. I don't know how it feels at the moment, but I'm prepared for death because I don't believe in it. I believe it's just getting out of one car and getting into another ..." (John Lennon, 1980)
"... if there is a God, we're all it ..." (John Lennon)
"... I'd like to live to ripe old age with Yoko only, and I'm not afraid of dying. I don't know how it feels at the moment, but I'm prepared for death because I don't believe in it. I believe it's just getting out of one car and getting into another ..." (John Lennon, 1980)
Believe it or not, after I published this post and then turned to the tiny bundle of cards that sits next to my laptop and has quotes from around the world -- quotes that I read on most days -- the card that was uncovered for today had these words from Chief Seattle on the subject of death:
"There is no death, only a change of worlds."
Then I discovered that Chief Seattle also said in the same speech:
"... Your time of decay may be distant, but it will surely come, for even the White Man whose God walked and talked with him as friend to friend, cannot be exempt from the common destiny. We may be brothers after all. We will see ..."
"... The Dharmadhatu is all that is manifested from the Dharmakaya, having Dharmakaya as its essence, just as all waves are manifestations of water. The Dharmadhatu is neither born nor destroyed. It has no previous existence. Its existence is beyond time and space. When we understand this truth of existence with our whole being, we will begin to transcend the fear of death, and we will not be disturbed by unnecessary discrimination.
(from Present Moment, Wonderful Moment: Mindfulness Verses for Daily Living, by Thich Nhat Hanh, 1990)
Doctor, doctor tell me the time of day Another bottle's empty, another penny spent He turned around and he slowly walked away They shot him in the back and down he went
Shine your light Movin' on You burned so bright Roll on, John
From the Liverpool docks to the red-light Hamburg streets Down in the quarry with the Quarry men Playing to the big crowds, playing to the cheap seats Another day in the life on your way to your journey's end
Shine your light Movin' on You burned so bright Roll on, John
Sailin' through the trade winds bound for the south Rags on your back just like any other slave They tied your hands and they clamped your mouth Wasn't no way out of that deep dark cave
Shine your light Movin' on You burned so bright Roll on, John
I heard the news today, oh boy They hauled your ship up on the shore Now the city gone dark, there is no more joy They tore the heart right out and cut him to the core
Shine your light Movin' on You burned so bright Roll on, John
Put on your bags and get 'em packed Leave right now, you won't be far from wrong The sooner you go the quicker you'll be back You've been cooped up on an island far too long
Shine your light Movin' on You burned so bright Roll on, John
Slow down you're moving way too fast Come together right now over me Your bones are weary, you're about to breathe your last Lord, you know how hard that it can be
Shine your light Movin' on You burned so bright Roll on, John
Roll on, John, roll through the rain and snow Take the right-hand road and go where the buffalo roam They'll trap you in an ambush before you know Too late now to sail back home
Shine your light Movin' on You burned so bright Roll on, John
Tyger, tyger burning bright I pray the Lord my soul to keep In the forests of the night Cover 'em over and let him sleep
Shine your light Movin' on You burned so bright Roll on, John
Long ago, I was wounded. I lived to revenge myself against my father, not for what he was— for what I was: from the beginning of time, in childhood, I thought that pain meant I was not loved. It meant I loved.
(that bright spot at the bottom of the photo is the sun reflected in Lake Whatcom)
Second Morning
First Morning
Watch:
https://youtu.be/pD1-F5j8BJY
(On the Third Morning, the first thing I noticed was the sun reflected dramatically in Lake Whatcom. When I was out on my porch trying to photograph it, I noticed the sun itself shining through the fog, gradually becoming brighter but not as bright as its reflection in the water. The autumn birds were singing)
How can I be useful, of what service can I be? There is something inside me, what can it be? -- Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)
Welcome to "TALKING 37TH DREAM (RUMORS OF PEACE)".
The photograph currently at the top of my blog was taken on September 28, 2020 in my living room, which is where I do my art work. My father bought that table so that he and my mother would each have a place of their own to do whatever they wanted to do. I have found it to be a great table on which to work on my mandalas. I update this photo every few months.
"OLD GIRL OF THE NORTH COUNTRY" (the earliest name for my blog) came to life in early December of 2006 so that I could post a 42-year retrospective of my paintings and drawings and through that action, create a new relationship with the day the man I loved returned from Vietnam in December 1970. For a while (sometime after spring of 2008, which is when he died) my blog was "TALKING 37TH DREAM WITH RAINBOW (RUMORS OF PEACE)". For a number of years, it's been "TALKING 37TH DREAM (RUMORS OF PEACE)." As of April 12, 2017 my blog was titled "37TH DREAM / TALKING 37TH DREAM (RUMORS OF PEACE/LOOKING UP)". Somewhere along the way it became TALKING 37TH DREAM (RUMORS OF PEACE) once again.
To begin viewing the retrospective with narrative, scroll down to December 8, 2006, on this page:
How can I be useful, of what service can I be? There is something inside me, what can it be? -- Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)
I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant. -- Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)
All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware. -- Martin Buber (1878-1965)
It is only a little planet, but how beautiful it is.
-- Robinson Jeffers
The true end of a war is the rebirth of life; the right to die peacefully in your own bed. The true end of war is the end of fear; the true end of war is the return of laughter.
-- Alfred Molano
Enjoy every sandwich -- Warren Zevon (1947-2003)
Not in God's wilds will you ever hear the sad moan, "All is vanity." No, we are paid a thousand times for all our toil, and after a single day spent outdoors in their atmosphere of strength and beauty, one could still say, should death come — even without any hope of another life — "Thank you for this most glorious gift!" and pass on.
-- John Muir (1838-1914)
Philip Henslowe: Mr. Fennyman, allow me to explain about the theatre business. The natural condition is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster. Hugh Fennyman: So what do we do? Philip Henslowe: Nothing. Strangely enough, it all turns out well. Hugh Fennyman: How? Philip Henslowe: I don't know. It's a mystery.
