Ever Decreasing Circles
Entry posted by caldrail
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One of the features of the Wiltshire countryside is the crop circle. A pattern made in a field by flattening crops. Since their early days these patterns have gotten quite sophisticated and some are extraordinary to look at. For me it's a part of everyday life in the country. Every year there's a crop circle or two, so no big deal, though I doubt the farmer sees it that way.
Why do these circles appear? This morning I've picked up a book at the local library that discusses this very point. It is hilarious. The author talks about why we should forget trying to figure out who did it and why they vandalised a crop field, and instead concentrate on the meaning of the symbol portrayed.
Oh yes, meaning. The author goes into some florid glorification of the phenomenon, such as...
Once seen, the innate meaning in the structure of all things does change one's view of reality. It breathes life into what seems lifeless and gives meaning beyond purpose. The crop circles have changed the lives of many; they have started a silent revolution in thinking, one that 'en-souls' the world rather than rendering it a living machine or computer program.
Crop circles not only speak of elemental shapes and numbers but they also represent themes and illustrate the archetypal principles that underpin them. Labyrinths, mazes. knots, ropes, tethers, spirals, all become part of a symbolic language that lies at the heart of the human psyche.
Those who perceive these things embodied in the crop circles and subsequently become aware of them in the wider world will never see eye to eye again with those who do not. For those who only regard them as a prank or scientific curiosity, the circles do not tally with their reality constructs. Each side now inhabits a different reality; one side lives in a rational, logical world, whilst the other lives in a reality in every way the same but deepened by symbol, metaphor, and intrinsic meaning.
Crop Circles (Steve and Karen Alexander)
Can you imagine socialising with those two? The book is full of this sort of spiritual goobledegook. Implicit in the meaning of the book is a metaphor for mystery. That's the whole point. Regardless of what caused these things, the authors so desperately want to find mystical significance in them and most importantly describe a divide between people who scoff at the symbolism and those who embrace this new religion, and make no mistake, what this book tries to do is advertise a mysticism as a new source of spiritual well-being.
There's even a discussion about how microwave energy can flatten wheat stalks, no doubt to pave the way for our alien visitors in UFO's to use as metaphysical paintbrushes on our landscape. Why, why , why, would a species capable of launching themselves across unimaginable distances in space come to earth to draw pretty patterns in a field? If they have a message, why deliver it in the most obscure means possible? The authors would, I suspect, witter on about how human beings must elevate their intellectual awareness before understanding is possible. I really haven't got enouigh patience to find out if they do.
They also mention 'orgone', an energy field that surrounds us, binds the universe together. I feel an urge to extend my light sabre already. Feel the orgone, Caldrail. Remember to spell that correctly.
It's complete drivel. It really is. I suppose that condemns me to one side of their divide in society but really this book saddens me. I know modern civilisation has somewhat reduced the mystery of the world with science and so forth. There does seem to be a need inherent in us for some mystery in our lives. For me, wondering why some guy in India thanked Princess Di for attending the Commonwealth Games the other day is mysterious enough. For every mystery, there is someone who will exploit it for their own ends. What is more dangerous than a man bearing answers? A man bearing questions. That's why religion, as a system of organising belief, seeks to suppress our curiosity and set out the framework for us.
Take my mother for instance. She's a practising christian. To her, religion is part of her life... No, that's not far enough. It defines her life. Yet although she can play keyboards, ask her to play in free expression. Go ahead, just play something. Jam. Express yourself musically.... But she can't. Without some written music in front of her, the keyboard is silent, static, unable to provide any means of expression whatsoever. Her life is all about duty and Conformance. And that is why she identifies with her religion so readily.
Well, I'm not interested in the deep inner meanings of crop circles because as much as you meditate about such mysteries, there is no significant message to find. That might make a few people out raise their eyebrows somewhat, since I'm a spiritualist by choice, but to me there's a difference between wondering at the elegance of an 'interference pattern', admiring its shape and form, or even colour in some cases, and applying some undefined message to it that only the true believer could possibly understand.
It's simply another artform, created either for a prank or as a sort of rural grafitti, done for the pleasure of its creation or to enjoy the bafflement of others. There, I think, is the meaning of it.
Bye Bye Santa
I see a group of German Catholics want Santa Claus condemned to the waste bin of society. he's too commercial. That much I agree with. Modern commerce has reduced the festival to an exercise in satisifying junior greed and materialism. After all, with consumer goods so readily available, the christmas gift has little meaning if it doesn't go beyond the normal purchasing strategy of a family.
Instead, the Catholics suggest putting Saint Nicholaus as the patron of benefaction and returning the festival to it's former spirit of communal generosity. Fine words, and indeed, fine intentions, but ultimately what difference is there between Santa Claus and Saint Nicholaus?
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