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Wednesday, November 2, 2005, 5:39 PM PST |
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John
Denver: Rhymes & Reasons
With a Reference to Sean Prophet
Here's another timeless classic from John Denver,
Rhymes & Reasons, written by him, both the words and the music, back in the late
1960's, performed here, in this clip, in 1987, during a live performance in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
This song is a nearly seamless ray of light from on high,
a ray of light shining into the pool of his soul, expressed in musical form. Here, take a few
moments
to listen to it, and I will pick up the commentary below.
Rhymes & Reasons
Words and Music by John Denver
So you speak to me of sadness
And the coming of the winter
Fear that is within you now
It seems to never end
And the dreams that have escaped you
And the hope that you've forgotten
And you tell me that you need me now
You want to be my friend
And you wonder where we're going
Where's the rhyme and where's the reason
And it's you cannot accept
It is here we must begin
To seek the wisdom of the children
And the graceful way of flowers in the wind
For the children and the flowers
Are my sisters and my brothers
Their laughter and their loveliness
Would clear a cloudy day
Like the music of the mountains
And the colours of the rainbow
They're a promise of the future
And a blessing for today
Though the cities start to crumble
And the towers fall around us
The sun is slowly fading
And it's colder than the sea
It is written from the desert
To the mountains they shall lead us
By the hand and by the heart
They will comfort you and me
In their innocence and trusting
They will teach us to be free
For the children and the flowers
Are my sisters and my brothers
Their laughter and their loveliness
Would clear a cloudy day
And the song that I am singing
Is a prayer to non believers
Come and stand beside us
We can find a better way
In the first stanza you have God our Father speaking to the
soul, and
giving a rather penetrating commentary that speaks to the plight of every soul on earth. This is
absolutely
universal. He speaks of the fear that binds the soul with many layers of chains. Every soul on
earth is so chained. And
this state of slavery goes on life time after life time, from God's perspective, it seems to never
end. And the
dreams that have escaped us all, the dreams of returning to our divine homeland, they have
flickered out for
everyone. And the hopes associated with those dreams, they have been forgotten.
So you speak to me of sadness
And the coming of the winter
Fear that is within you now
It seems to never end
And the dreams that have escaped you
And the hope that you've forgotten
And you tell me that you need me now
You want to be my friend
We sense life turning sour, inspiring us to grasp after
some
kind of relationship with a higher saving power. Truly, we can sense when the winter is coming,
a time
when life forces are withdrawn, and in this context, it is the symbol for the coming of the end of
the life
when the soul leaves the green fields of earth, and faces a sojourn in the astral plane, waiting for
the next
opportunity to embody. It is a sad parting, especially with the fields of opportunity, so freely and
hopefully
given to us by God our Father, have gone unsown yet again.
And you wonder where we're going
Where's the rhyme and where's the reason
And it's you cannot accept
It is here we must begin
To seek the wisdom of the children
And the graceful way of flowers in the wind
And it is here we see a slight note of chastisement,
wherein the soul is rebuked for a certain amount of stubbornness, for not accepting the obvious
truth, that we find our reason for living in the moment, in the process of seeking the
re-assimilation of our
souls, step by step into the domain of spiritual reality, which is symbolized by the wisdom
of the children, and the graceful way of flowers in the wind.
Now, the meaning of this phrase, the "wisdom of the
children"
is to be understood in at least these two dimensions.
The first dimension is the most obvious. What is the
wisest thing
about a child? The child totally accepts its state of absolute dependence on the parents. That is
the
only way the child can survive. It would be foolish in the extreme for the two-year-old child to
try to make
a living on its own. And so, juxtaposed to what would be the most extreme foolishness, you
have standing
out in stark relief, the apex of the child's wisdom, in the full acceptance of the parents as the
source of
everything that it needs. And so, there is a very important lesson there, very fundamental, a key
if you
will, that shows us where we have gone wrong, leaving off of our dependence upon our Divine
Parents,
God our Father, and Mother.
The second dimension of meaning, while hidden from
our eyes, is
no less profound. Our brothers and sisters, who reside just beyond the veil, who we know as the
ascended
masters, are what? What are they? They are Children of God! In other words, they are
CHILDREN. And what
we learn from them, the wisdom of these children, is like unto the wisdom we have already
talked about. We learn
from them what it means to become dependent upon God once again, how this is the only way to
have
paradise sprout from our hearts, our souls, our minds, our fingers, and our voices. That really is
the essence
and the apex, at the same time, of all wisdom, as above, so below. God is the source of all
power. There is no other
source. God is the source of all wisdom. There is no other source. God is the source of all love.
There is
no other source. If the soul desires to have these things in vital manifestation within the domain
of
character, the soul must learn how to return to the source, to the ever flowing spring, in the
moment --- Not
in some future time, but in the moment, here and now. If you think about a mountain stream,
you will
understand that you can never drink from it in the future. When your lips touch the crystal
water, as
your mouth is filled, and you are drawing the liquid inside, it will always be in the present
moment. And
if there is a journey before us to the head waters, high up in the mountain passes, and there is,
when can
the steps be taken in that direction, if it is not in the present moment? How will the soul ever
arrive
there if the right number of steps are not taken, each one in the present moment?
At some point, the soul must come to grips with the fact
that
it must seek God, and it must find God, in the present moment, and not in some future time.
And what
is it, that keeps the soul from finding the trail to the inner crystal stream? It is fear. A fear that
never
seems to end. A fear that chains the soul to the status quo.
And when it comes to the "graceful way of flowers
in
the wind." we see in the most obvious dimension, the same theme of total dependence upon
God, and the
absolute beauty that comes from that dependence. I mean, if you want to become the center of
attention,
you only need to become a flower. At any rate, there is another dimension, another reality
behind the
scenes, when you consider the spiritual beings who are responsible for bringing forth the
manifestation of
the flowers. They are Children of God. And you see in their creative work, an expression of the
character
that looks to God for the blueprint of all grace, for truly, you will find it nowhere else. How do
you think it
is possible that the expression of their hearts manifests before us as the "graceful way of
flowers in
the wind."? It is because they have looked into the treasury of God-Reality, and found the
blueprint
of that graceful way, therein. But there is a third dimension of meaning in the flower that ties
all of this
together, which makes it a profound symbol of spiritual reality, and here I am speaking about the
more
classic petal shapes, like unto a sunflower, or a daisy, and even a rose.
Every flower is the symbol of the divine family. And
you, as a
member of the divine family, are represented in that flower, but can you say where? You are at
the center
of the flower as the little child, the little brother, or the little sister. The center of the flower is
always you. And at the apex of each petal you find the face of a particular heavenly brother or
sister. And that
face shines upon the soul, at the center, which is you, a very beautiful kindness, very beautiful, a
very warm and
cozy regard for the little brother or sister, and to the extent that the center, your soul, can
recognize that kindness, to
that extent the center will give off the fragrance of ineffable gratitude and appreciation. The
structure of the petal
symbolizes the flow of this beauty between brothers and sisters in the divine family. And there
are many petals, because each
child has many elder brothers and sisters, all of which look upon the child at the center with the
most beautiful and
sublime kindness.
To illustrate this, we can put Sean Prophet at the center
of a Cosmos flower, and
arrange some of his brothers and sisters at the apex of the petals, like so:
And because we have far more brothers and sisters than will
fit upon the
petals of a single flower, you can understand the origin of the concept of gardens. But, no matter
how many
flowers there are, you are always at the center of every one.
This is worth contemplating at length, in as much as it
represents one of the most fundamental
treasures of the divine life that actually exists, and exists right now, for every child, no matter
how dull and callous
the consciousness of the soul at the center has become. This is important to understand. Our
elder brothers and
sisters maintain the flower at higher levels, it is always there, in terms of their constantly
beautiful and kind regard
flowing in our direction. The flower can be made physical as we attune our awareness to the
beauty of these
fundamental divine relationships. And you can see how the divine character, your divine
character, will take shape
under the glorious influence of such beautiful interactions. As this reality touches the soul
within the domain of
realization, at that point, a jewel, like unto a diamond, or a ruby, or a sapphire, takes shape in the
consciousness,
and it glows there forever. Such a precious aspect of your identity. And you can see how the
awareness of the
soul itself becomes like a golden crown. And now, we realize as well, that the flower represents
a whole, yet as a
whole, it tracks the one sun in the sky doesn't it? The "graceful way of flowers in the
wind."
For the children and the flowers
Are my sisters and my brothers
Their laughter and their loveliness
Would clear a cloudy day
Like the music of the mountains
And the colours of the rainbow
They're a promise of the future
And a blessing for today
Here, the music, the words, and the images, go directly
to the center of that target. They point directly to our brothers and sisters beyond the veil, those
who wield all the powers of paradise and who are capable of bestowing awesome blessings
upon their little brothers and sisters who have wandered into this dark morass of confusion
which is called life on planet earth.
Though the cities start to crumble
And the towers fall around us
The sun is slowly fading
And it's colder than the sea
This song was first published in 1969 on the album of
the
same name, Rhymes & Reasons, while the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center
were
under construction. The ribbon cutting ceremony for the official opening of the Twin
Towers occurred
in April of 1973, nearly coincident in time with the handing down of the Roe v. Wade decision
that
legalized abortion. I mention that, not just because the towers crumbled, but because there is an
important link there to the children, and to the 43 million in the United States who were
murdered
before they could take their first breath.
It is written from the desert
To the mountains they shall lead us
By the hand and by the heart
They will comfort you and me
In their innocence and trusting
They will teach us to be free
From the desert of human desolation and nonsense, to
the
mountain heights of divine freedom, they, the children of heaven, the ascended masters,
our
brothers and sisters, will lead us, by the hand, and by the heart. First by the hand, taking a hold
of our
spiritual appendages, in response to our calls, drawing us up higher, into the domain of ineffable
paradise,
truly the domain of indescribable freedom, initiating our hearts in the flow of life-sustaining
gratitude and
anchoring us in an unshakeable comfort that will never leave us. And so too, by the heart,
which becomes
ever more alive with divine life, providing an ever expanding window into the domain of divine
truth, we
are led by the light of understanding itself.
For the children and the flowers
Are my sisters and my brothers
Their laughter and their loveliness
Would clear a cloudy day
And the song that I am singing
Is a prayer to non believers
Come and stand beside us
We can find a better way
The better way, is the way that the Ascended Masters
would
teach us, if we would only hear, and lend an ear, and make the required effort to pass the tests
that are
essential to making progress on the path.
May you pass every test. And don't forget to visit the
pearl while you are here.
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