Lew Wallace was a complex man. A 19th century writer, general and American statesman his full and active life required a full and rest full sleep. His exploits left a political legacy on the American south and a cultural legacy on the nation but what most historians fail to mention about Lew is that he may well have invented the snooze button. We can only speculate on its operation. Perhaps a spring loaded catapult to fire the clock out of earshot or perhaps a hickory handled ball-peen hammer tied to the clock with a cord. No patent was filed so we’ll never know for sure but his disposable alarm clock would fit perfectly with today’s concept of disposable lighters, diapers, cell-phones and cars.
We all live complex lives today. Lives that often won’t allow us to get full nights sleep. We reach for the snooze button knowing full well its reprieve is temporary, we all want to dream just a little bit longer. Stress and strain in our lives and the ever increasing pace of change is driving more and more people into spirituality, both personal and public, to find comfort, to find meaning and to share our dreams both with man and with our God. Our personal dreams melded into our private time like the lonely paintings of Salvador Dali. We know this is an illusion. Deep down in our soul, we know are lives are the dream. It is all just a vanilla sky.
Some of us are trying to awaken, our eyes half closed and squinting into to the light. We hear the alarm and play follow the leader into what we think is enlightenment. Fancy robes, reassuring quotes and important rituals, all in place to ease our personal fears, make us feel part of something bigger than ourselves and even just spice up the show. Dogma and scripture tweaked and crafted form ancient myths and inspiring legends molded and twisted into our modern context. Holy water and sacred symbols set the stage. Amulets and crystals just to be safe. Hippo-heads and hero-Gods lead the way. Mantras and prayer to start. Miracles and magic if your good. This is our God, our father who rules us like children. This is our way, be obedient to the master and you will get your treat. But as our eyes open wider some are beginning to see the setup, the ruse, the truth.
Religion has been part of humanity since we began to understand our unique nature eons ago. Intentions were honorable with the original teachings and were meant to help the individual and family understand who they were and how they can come to understand where to go in their lives to find fulfillment. But relatively recently we began to enter a dark age. A time that would see mankind exhibit cruelty to both man and nature in ways no seen for thousands of years. It was known as the dark age, iron age or the Kali-Yuga. Born of good intentions to weather the dark ages, the religious leaders set in place strict doctrine to combat the evil forces that they knew were coming to inflict mankind with materialistic and self-serving tendencies. Around 3000BC it began, already drowsy from the approaching forces we were unable to withstand the deep sleep we all eventually fell into, and the dark ages raged on as feared. Mankind was asleep, and alone.
Evil forces have turned much of our enlightenment truths into corruption and greed falsehoods. Modern religious ideas have half truths mixed with tribal concepts set in place over time to control you and pacify you into being ruled and used. This is the dream from which we all must wake up. We are now beginning to understand a new reality of our individual selves and our relation to a larger part. Some can see the deceit and are speaking out. Some are seeing a larger picture, much larger and representing vast distances in space and vast periods of time. Cosmic ideas moving closer into focus as time passes by and as we sit up in bed, stretch and yawn, we glance at the time. Not to transistors and dials but to the planets and to the stars.
The water bearer is above us now, in the heavens. The Mayans knew of this time and have preserved an ancient prophesy of this change from the dark ages into the light. The Dresden codex shows this well. The Veda teachings tell us when it will come, the planetary alignments, and our astronomy software can give us the date. When we look to our scholars and to our leaders for reassurances we find complicated and seemingly plausible answers. Sunspots will return soon, computer models show no anomalies and telescopes of all spectrum's will warn us of impending doom. Don’t worry because we can pray for salvation and look for a time of harmony. A time of peace. If you the reader are satisfied with this dogma then I implore you to ask …ask your scientist why our circles have 360 degrees and not 365? The ancients know why. And then ask your priest why Satan the serpent was cast down and when. The ancients know why, how and when. We will not hold hands in naked exuberance smelling flowers in 2012. At least not for long. Galactic forces from will reach out and turn the earth. We will be devastated and the cosmic clock will chime again.
Lew Wallace knew the importance of waking up and while you will sleep well tonight it must come to an end. You will have a restful sleep bothered only by the usual musings of achievements and disappointments. A normal life you have, but there is a whisper in your ear. Faint as it is, you find yourself drawn to its vibration. More compelling as the months pass by, no snooze option left, a sound that now cannot be ignored. It is time to wake up. You begin rise, to understand your true nature. A refreshing awareness that sees you forgiving your enemies and forgoing your ego. A wake-up call you now recognize as the salvation of your humanity. A divine voice now calling out to you. But what does it say? It says build your ark.
