It Had to be a Dream | Western Man Warring Since Ancient Greece | German Industrialism | Noosphere | The Universe Story
April 3, 2023 Leave a comment
Yes, it had to be a dream, because i was feeling euphoric about Berlin, and then i woke up. The point of this, is that what I noticed and attended to when viewing documentations of history in museums, was fed by the associations I made with recent conversations and my web of insights through the experiences that I’ve had. A young vibrant Spanish guy with whom I talked with a bit on Saturday evening, a history teacher in Madrid, Spain, quickly got to the subject of not supporting Ukraine, specifically because it has become a political toggle switch. We discussed war. He mentioned the history of aggression of the United States and how many different conflicts the USA has perpetually engaged in. I told him to look up the movie ‘War Made Easy’. He mentioned that humans have had wars throughout history. There are plenty of patterns of war and aggression. He also brought up that religions are tools to manipulate people, to force them to acquiesce.
Inside were photographs documenting the history of German technology and economics. First the beginning of the industrial age period of Coal. There were all of these men with completely black faces, certainly black lung disease was brewing in their chests. Some worked naked, with just shoes, since the soot would ruin any clothes. This lead to the Steel production phase, then the Chemical section, talking about how Germany embarked on the pharmaceutical path. Bayer being a good example. Then the Textile section, mass production of yarns, dying. It was mentioned that once the war started, the Nazi regime redirected all of the various productions towards, in this latter case, producing military uniforms. Last was the Automotive section, where I learned that the Volkswagen, was a Nazi production, providing a car for the people. My brother’s first car was a Volkswagen Beetle, so obviously this was a success selling their products overseas. Of course Germany is known for its automobile manufacturers. It was again stressed that at the start of WWII, car production slowed, making way for building military tanks and so forth. The subject of Industrialization was starting to wear thin. The ugliness and the obvious destruction of the environment and praise of mass production, is the pride of this history. I decided to leave.
By the way, the bureaucracy of Germany was felt in the present. The museums are technically free the First Sunday of the month, yet after standing in line to enter the museum, one had to stand in a separate line to get a little sticker to enter the exhibit rooms, and also another line, forced “to check coats (security measure).
The next museum I decided to go into, was ‘sold out’, though free. Already too many people were crowded inside. I decided to walk around this other massive building, and indeed, it was a museum as well. Another long line flowing down the stairs outside. Somehow, a man approached and handed me two tickets for that museum. I said sure. I turned and gave the man behind me one, walked up the stairs bypassing the line, now another forced coat check. I entered into Ancient Greece. I’m sure I was in this museum before, and sort of absentmindedly wandered through, reading looking.
Now, looking at the relics, very tediously attending to the details of the painting on vases and reading the information about the time period and dates, the Spanish History teachers words the night before were fresh. Of the continual presence of war throughout history and using religion and traditions to not guide, but coerce the population. I was quickly astounded and revolted, realizing that the stories told through the paintings and themes of Ancient Greece, the beginning of Western civilization, 2,000 years before Christ, 4,000 years ago, was predominantly all about war, weapons, sacrifices (donations/offerings) to the Gods. I looked at steel helmuts, saw the body armor through the relief of statues, the dress that was common for woman and men. So much of the theme was dominated with war and weapons. I happened to stand briefly by a film documenting the exhibit, long enough to read the words, ”notice who are clothed and unclothed”, which cued me to attend to this detail. Some of the women’s fabrics looked shear, they wore long skirts and tops. The ‘musicians’ painted on clay were men, with instruments, often naked. The men with swords and shields tended to wear short pants, with body armor shielding their chests, backs, shins, perhaps arms, and also heavy helmuts. There was already an aristocratic class, who were well adorned, and I am certain, who instructed and encouraged the masses to always bring an offering to the Gods, of which of course, there were many. The Gods and Religion dominated their world and forced and enforced rituals and habits. Young men with cartoonish over the top muscled legs and calves adorned tombs, as did young women with gifts of animal sacrifices in their hands. I did notice that Satyrs tended to be naked, and saw one with an erection.
War, offerings to the Gods and a huge focus and preoccupation with death and tombs, seemed to be the dominant them. And fortunately music and dance was apparent. I read about Necropolis, the city of the dead. I guess the first concept of a cemetery, where one houses the dead and makes sure that they have a very sumptuous amount of material things on hand for their afterlife.
I pondered all of these pieces and the root of western man’s warring nature and obsession with appeasing the Gods, which in fact was I’m sure, just the ruling aristocratic class’s tool to maintain control of their power. I lingered until the end, then left the museum, glanced to the right of the spacious balcony and saw far at the end a few people standing there. There was no noise, no commotion, only a few people, nothing to indicate me to go there. But I started walking towards these people, then saw that it was two young punk looking girls, and another one laying on the ground. but as I got closer, I saw that the girl’s face laying down was super abnormally pale, it was puffy and white. Then I saw this trail of pale vomit, near her and in front of her face. I suddenly said to these girls, ‘she’s dead’. And raced back to the door to the security guards to inform them. They went over, the 2 girls dressed in punk attire, had already called an ambulance. It was alarming. I left, in almost a trance like state, in shock. Fortunately, decided to return to the outside, saw the Ambulance, and then to my shock, I saw that the girl was actually alive, and almost slumped walking, had to be held up. Super disturbing, especially since I had been acquainted with a 20 year girl when I lived in San Francisco, who died one East Sunday, because she apparently drank alcohol on top of the drub GHB, and her heart slowed to a stop. Needless to say, the impressions of the day revolted me. And when I look at the state of the natural world, and all of the different creatures that are now endangered of quickly vanishing from this planet in a mass extinction, I feel immense sadness.
So the dream of euphoria, was a dream. I find myself smiling and laughing and pleasure in observing nature, and pretty routinely remind myself of all the things I’m grateful for. Yet, I continually read about and am reminded consistently about how much humanity has been guided down an abysmally destructive path towards our natural environment and planet. Just absolutely overlooking and disregarding, what indigenous peoples continually were observant to, loving and protecting their natural environment and taking only what they need. The ‘primitive’ people have recognized that they are part of a very large continuum of life. And because I personally was raised in a small town surrounded by rural areas and my family had cats and dogs as pets, and the natural beauty of the world and value of protecting and caring for nature, is what has lead me to be passionate about saving the natural world; flora and fauna, waterways, air from human ignorance and greed.
I’m forced by economics to share housing. I’m super attentive to cleanliness and maintaining my space. It a Capricorn trait, which is my sun sign. However, I’m also very flexible and resilient about adapting, which is a Sagittarius trait, where I have three planets. So, I continually work out routines and idiosyncratic ways to work around and ignore what repulses me. And my moon is in Scorpio, along with two other planets, so I can continually dream about and strive towards reaching my ideal, emotionally needing to relentlessly move in that direction. I’m making up what I don’t know.
The other evening I actually had a conversation with someone. If I am among Germans, unless I reach out to instigate the first comments, which I do on a regular basis, I am completely invisible. That is not just a personal thing, I notice that Germans (as I had realized previously when I lived here, but forgot), don’t tend to even make eye contact. And when together in pairs or in a group, they will be engaged in their conversations and literally not acknowledge anything outside of this sphere. Walking individually, only some may for a half a second, sweep their eyes in the direction of another human being, however it is certainly not to engage. Now wait, Asian people, of which there are a significant number here in Berlin, also tend to be exceedingly private. I remember when I first went to China town when I had first moved to San Francisco. I also felt invisible, because the people coming across one’s path diligently avoid any kind of eye contact. Their stares fixed ahead. Of course, I realize that when I’m not in a particularly good mood and am annoyed about something, I also very deliberately avoid looking at or engaging. That is however rare, I’m by nature super curious, and am continually observing the environment, the trees, peoples actions, architecture.
The Third Story of the Universe | Brian Swimme | TEDxBerkeley
The emergence of the Noosphere, the thinking layer of Earth. Humanity needs to develop a planetary mind to guide Earth’s evolution. Humanity is not more valuable or important than other species. The capacity of humans to create art, with reproductive imagination to share insight.
The noosphere is part of a collective mind. Yes, engineers built telescopes, yet they draw on the collective mind. Web is the eye, humanity is the mind.
He extrapolates from the original co-written piece with Thomas Berry, The Universe Story
Martin Luther King Jr. knew what was going on, and he was murdered because he spoke the truth.
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