AN ARCHETYPAL STORY OF CONFLICTING VALUES
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This is an archetypal story of an encounter between Jesus and the devil. It goes like this.

       Jesus had spent 40 days in the desert on something like a vision quest. He was
       exhausted and hungry, and the devil seized this opportunity to tempt Jesus with
       three challenges. The first challenge was to suggest that Jesus turn a stone into
       bread. Jesus refused. Next, the devil tempted Jesus to fall from the highest 
       tower of the temple so that God would have to catch him. Jesus refused. 
       Finally, the devil took Jesus to the highest mountain so that Jesus can see all
       the kingdoms of the world and possess them. The only catch was that Jesus 
       would have to worship the devil in return. 

This archetypal story is adapted form the Gospels of Matthew (4:3-11) and Luke (4:1-12). These are the only accounts in the gospels where the devil and Jesus meet face to face. Allow your imagination to take you deeply into this encounter. 

Consider the devil: 
        How does the devil look?
        How do you think he smells?
        What kind of teeth does he have?
        A mustache?... with handlebars?
        How does his voice sound?
        How close does he get to Jesus?
        Is there a sneer? A look of confidence?
        Do you observe how he seems to be sizing-up Jesus?
        What are his values?
        How does he walk away from Jesus?
        Does he look back over his shoulder?
        Could he be leaving with a contemptuous glance?
        What values does he display in his temptations?

And then there is Jesus. He has just returned from forty days and nights in the desert. Use your imagination: 
         What does his robe look like after forty days with no change?
         What shape is his hair in?
         Look at his sandals; how are they holding up?
         Look at his fingernails, his toenails.
         No contact with running water since his baptism by John, how parched are his lips?
         Where are his eyes, drooping or fully open?
         How emaciated does he appear to be?
         Is he walking fast or slow?
         How startled might he look when the devil appears?

Now, give attention to the devil's agenda and challenge to Jesus.
         Number One:
                     Turn the stones into bread. 
                     The result would be wealth.   
   
         Number Two:  
                     Jump from the highest point in the temple so that God will have to save you.
                     The result would be revenge. This is because the devil is angry with God who
                     elevated human beings as being more important than the devil, a dark angel  
                      who rebelled against God and wants revenge. (See Milton's Paradise Lost.)
                                               
         Number Three:
                     All I am asking from you is worship, and in return you may rule over all the
                     kingdoms on earth.

      These three values--wealth, revenue, and worship—appear to be the devil's highest      
        yearnings. Sound familiar? But how does Jesus respond? What values does he reveal?

You and I have the advantage of time, theological study, psychological reflection, and the portrayal of Jesus as a prophet, healer, a mystic of sorts who goes off to himself often where he is thought to have entered into deep meditative states with God. In addition, Jesus is a teacher. We have some record of his teaching, and, as written in Matthew 5:1-12,  this is what he taught. 

         When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, 
         his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
               Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
               Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
               Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
               Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
               Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
               Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
               Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
               Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the 
                    kingdom of heaven.
               Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of 
                    evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is              
                    great  in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were
                    before you.

Consider then the values Jesus lived and taught in response to the devil's temptations. Placing them side by side, they look like this:

                  Devil                                                   Jesus
                  wealth                                                 poor in spirit
                  revenge                                               peacemaking
                  worship                                               love

You will note that this archetypal story is a reflection not on religious dogma but the role values play in forming one's moral compass. Of course, religion is not irrelevant when we seek an understanding of our moral compass. But religion is more then dogma and ecclesiastical creeds, is it not? Most simply put, religion serves as host for our primal values. It is no wonder that all the religions of the world claim some variation of the "golden rule." 

           Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
           And do not do to others what you would not have them do unto you.

This is the citadel of compassion. And what is compassion if it is not the foremost value that can hold humanity together. Of this we dream.
                     

                                       VALUES AND MORALITY

My moral compass is a dial of values important to me. Five of the most important values are courage, freedom, truth, beauty and love. I could list more, but those five circulate regularly through my life, giving shape and identity to my work, relationships, recreation, and spirituality. They may be called my core values.  However, sometimes I think, feel, and act contrary to the five values I listed above. 

Why is that so? Life happens to us while we go about our work, relationships, and the many interesting things that catch our attention. A conversation with a neighbor, a TV show, an article in the paper, our partner's reminder of some household duty we forgot, anger at some disturbing political event, the much-treasured telephone calls from children, the mischievous scurrying about of our dogs and cats—all these and more pull us away from our deep center. So many interests and needs grab our attention and we flounder. We juggle our many selves and we lose contact with our moral compass.

But is this not a dilemma each of us faces as we deal with the practical concerns of our everyday life? Or to put it more directly, how often do we give thought to our values? And what do I mean by "value"? What is a "value?" And what do I mean when I place them in the role of directing our moral compass?

Take just a moment here and consider what a value is. The Oxford Dictionary of the English Language defines value this way: 

• the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something.
• the principles or standards of behavior; and judgement of what is important in life. 

And what about morality? Take note of this definition of morality:

• a particular system of values and principles of conduct.

On the surface, most simply put, our moral compass is what we learned in childhood. Be nice to other people. Say "thank you" when you are given something. Do not cross the street in front of oncoming traffic and hurt yourself or cause an accident. Share your crayons with other kids who do not have any. Respect your teachers. Stand when you say the Pledge of Allegiance. At church, bow your head when others pray. Do not be resentful when others are elected as class officers but remember you may be chosen the next time and, if not, support other kids who are honest and hard-working. Remember, you may have many sweethearts before you choose a life-partner. With messages like these our core values were formed and our morality set in motion.

But, as I said earlier, sometimes we flounder and lose touch with our moral center. The truth is, as we observe in our society today, something happened to our moral center. Our language has become coarse and often vulgar. Support of the poor and needy has been impacted by the national social services grant cuts. Severe foreign oil rollbacks and steep inflation impact groceries and transportation as well as operating costs. In addition, we cope with a war that has not been officially supported in Congress nor explained as to cause and expectations for termination.

How do we explain what has happened to America that has rattled the world, broken alliances, threatened the stability of our democracy, taken away attention to the natural disasters that threaten planet Earth, and lost sight of our democratic ideals? I offer three explanations. 

The first explanation is that the everyday needs of life summon our attention. Population growth has increased with a preference for living alone. We are drifting apart. The total number of single-person households has increased from 6.9 million in 1960 to over 38 million in 2022. Consider the strain this growth alone places on our infrastructure and services. In other words, our population growth and expectations for the "good life" command attention. We create new highways, we destroy habitats to build new houses,  we expect community services, we need medical care, and we face an aging population. With so many demands for our attention, who has time to think of a moral compass?

Second, Carl Jung called our attention to consider what happened to Germay between 1935 and 1945. As he said in his essay, "Wotan," it was not so much the economics or politics that fractured the nation, as it was the experience of "Wotan," the archetype of power, war and domination. In his timeless essay, Jung describes what happens to a nation that falls under the spell of an archetype. In another writing, I will say more about the nature of an archetype and its power to seize the minds of individuals. I trust it will suffice to describe an archetype as having impact on humans just as instincts have an impact on animals. The archetypal experience of a "feeling tone" shapes the direction taken because of its power to influence our perceptions, thinking, and feeling. As a result, our moods and mental activities are led in directions of which we are not conscious and within which our values are lost. Wotan led to an authoritarian rule of Hitler who embodied the dictator archetype and activated the energy that engulfed the German people. Such archetypal powers  override our morality.

My third explanation as to what happened to our society that has distorted our moral compass must be understood psychologically. Simply put, we are experiencing the would-be leadership of an individual whose personality may be described as narcissistic sociopathy. You may look up the term. Google, with the aid of AI, presents this summary:

        They are characterized by extreme grandiosity, deep manipulation, a 
         complete lack of empathy, and a disregard for social norms, often 
         gaining pleasure from harming others. These individuals lack a moral
         compass and often use deception for personal pleasure or gain. 

Here with these considerations of (1) sociopathic narcissism, (2) archetypal possession, and (3) a growing population driven by advertising media that shows no concern for morality, I have described how we lose touch with our values and morality. But they are not lost. I will return to the role of values and morality in the night-time drama of our dreams. 

                                            INTRODUCTION

               Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social
               well-being and not mainly the absence of disease and 
​               infirmity. The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard
​               of health is one of the fundamental rights of any human 
​               being without distinction of race, religion, political belief,
               economic, or social condition.  (Constitution of the World
               Health Organization)

​Without health, there can be no experience of a moral compass; without a moral compass, there can be no health. And without dreams there can be no deep understanding of what it means to be healthy or how to move beyond the distractions of mistrust driven by robotic decision-making and the urge to settle conflicts by going to war. 

​Why do I say that? Because, as Montaigne said, "Dreams are the true interpreter of our inclinations, but great skill is required to sort out and understand them." 
(Quoted by Coriat in The Meaning of Dreams, (title page, 1915). Montaigne affirmed life and embraced human potential to recognize and pursue our values and needs.

What are these values? I will list five:

                                                 courage  
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Paul Tillich named the meaning of this state of mind best. Having faced Hitler and his Nazi war machine that conducted the malicious destruction of human life, Tillich came to the United States where he wrote his most profound understanding of what it means to face the evil disruptions of life. At the very center of his appeal to courage, Tillich affirmed "the courage to be oneself." (The Courage to Be, p. 105)  This is where we begin as a child and where we end in the face of death, hoping we can claim as did St. Paul: 
                 I have finished the race.
                 I fought a good fight.
                 I kept the faith.  (2 Timothy 4:7)

                                                freedom

I cannot let this value pass by without referring to Thomas Jefferson. Pursuing his personal understanding of freedom, Jefferson affirmed "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," preferring "dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery" whether it be the authoritarian rule of government or the oppression of a religious theocracy. He supported education and the freedom to talk and disagree. Where Jefferson is strongly criticized, however, was his failure to recognize and act on his own undemocratic practice of maintaining slaves, an abuse of which several generations would pass before this evil was recognized for the tyranny it is. 

                                                          truth

Supporting the values of courage and freedom, truth ennobles each. And presently in this distracting time of misinformation and self-serving political exploitation, "truth" itself has become elusive. Long lost is the art of political oratory in which the search for truth is debated. Absent today is the standard of a search for truth-telling. How quaint appears the childhood story of George Washington's response when his father asked who cut down the cherry tree: "I cannot tell a lie. I cut down the cherry tree." This likely mythical tale was told and re-told to children (and adults) as an early childhood quality of George Washington, but also—very importantly—as a value to be enshrined within the democratic ideals of the new-born nation. And so it has largely been honored and held as a noble ideal to be lived out by persons in all walks of life.

                                                 beauty

What an interesting value we share, made even more so by the layer upon layers of meaning on which beauty rests. How do we define it? How can it ever be held within any simple definition? I fall back on the often-quoted definition of John Keats. In his poem, Endymion, written in 1818, he left us these unforgettable lines:
                    A thing of beauty is a joy forever.
                    It's loveliness increases.
                    It will never pass into nothingness.

Two of my neighbors stood admiring the new pickup truck one of them had just brought home. The proud owner rubbed his hand over one of the gleaming fenders and almost reverently said, "What a beauty"!  And so it goes. What more can we say, whether it be a new, polished pickup truck, my wife's treasured daffodils springing up in our yard each year, or General Patton's profane exclamation when he saw the first m26 tank. How odd, we may think, that the idea of beauty ranges along a long line of pleasures to see, touch, hear, and sense—experiences of a joy that will never pass into nothingness.

                                              love

And then there is love. Is it the most treasured of all things we value? What more can be said about it? But we do well to recall that love encompasses many levels, evoking a mystique that is spiritual, erotic, practical, friendly, aspiring, hospitable, playful, self-focused, passionate, romantic, and unconditional. 

The three Greek words generally used to name love are philia, eros, and agape. 
Philia is that love we feel for friends, neighbors, and others who enter our lives in a mutually-caring way. Next, there is eros. Here we experience the energy of passion, attraction, and a desire to connect. This is not simply a sexual longing but a pull toward that which we care for passionately. But eros and philia do not stand alone. By themselves, they describe the cognitive and emotional experiences of caring. However, human beings have evolved in their reach for the stars and a spiritual longing for that which is ultimate. This we call agape, unconditional love. 

These five values—courage, freedom, truth, beauty, love— appear universally. They propel us, engage us, and fulfill our lives. But they do not operate alone. Our values intersect our needs, and to our needs I turn next. 

                                                   PRELUDE

Are you living your life? Your true life? Not some way of being in the world determined by what others told you. Are you living your real life, your true life and not some false life made up of "shoulds" and "oughts," a false life imposed upon you by others who tell you what they think you should be. Those "others" may mean well, they may or may not be nice people, they may point to their success in the world and want the same for you. 

But here's where the matter comes to a head. No one can tell you what your true life is. You are unique, special, unlike any being that has existed in the past or will exist in the future. Your parents, teachers, guides may claim a success for their lives and want the same for you. Or, it could be that they never really lived their life and fear that you may be like them, disappointed in what they made of their life. In either case, no person, near or far, past or future, can tell you your true life. 

How, then, can we find clues that may guide us toward living our own life, guided by an identity we name our "true self?" What source do we have that we can trust, a source that is universal, timeless, ever-present, and often ignored? That source is our dreams. In this writing I plan to present the idea of our dreams as guides to our identity and our moral existence. Along the way in later writings we will explore many dreams.

And, by the way, I hope you will take this occasion to reflect on your own dreams. If you do not presently record your dreams, this is a good time to begin. Any kind of notebook will serve as a dream journal, preferably a book that is not lined, so as to allow you to draw pictures along the way.

In your journal, allow for a section where you record the meaning of words you may not know. Definitions are wonderful. They help to clear the fog in our mind that obscures insights. "Insights" are the "ah-hahs" that open our way of thinking, feeling, sensing, and acting.

For example, here are a few of the words and concepts that will appear in our journey together. Let's begin.

                                                    DREAM
--Dreams are stories in the ancient language of symbols.
  And like the stories we read in our novels or watch on our screens, a "story" has a beginning that moves toward a climax which resolves the problem or issue and brings the story to an end that may or may not be satisfactory. The story often commands our attention, propelled by characters we like or dislike, often reminding us of individuals and situations we have experienced in our waking life. After all, theatre began in ancient Greece (500 BCE, 490 BCE) when the Grecians needed a way to understand and cope with the political, moral, cultural, and religious concerns of their time. So it is with us. On the stage, in our movies, and novels we face and try to cope with the "dramas'  in our personal and public life. Mythic stories entertain us while they also make possible the tears, laughter, wonder, awe, and meaningfulness of our deepest humanity. Appearing as we sleep, our daytime dramas come to us each night in our dreams. In other words, our unconscious works to resolve matters of our waking life. This is the gift of dreams as well as the challenge as to how we may understand them. 

                                                   VALUES
--things, behaviors, qualities considered as important, interesting, and  worthwhile.
   We may or may not be conscious of what we truly value and, most importantly, we may discover in our dreams that we do not honor those values.

                                                   MORALS
--standards of behavior regarding right and wrong that one may or may not practice.
  Note also that moral behavior differs from moralistic behavior, which is a judgmental view of one's behavior. In other words, moralistic preachings and behavior do not necessarily reflect our deepest morals. 

                                                   COMPASS
--"a device for determining direction by means of a magnetic needle...turning freely on a pivot and pointing to the magnetic north."  (Merriam-Webster)
  Sometimes the concept of a compass may be used in considering the direction or misdirection of one's life. See the following.

                                     TRUE NORTH, CHARACTER 
--"the direction from any point on earth toward the fixed geographic North Pole, where the earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface."  (Wikipedia)
    True north differs from magnetic north (to which a compass points). See above.
   True north may refer to a person's core values, qualities, and behaviors that determine an individual's character.

While the terms "values," "morality," and "character" may be described in still other ways by many professions, I will later be using these words and concepts as I described them above. My intention is to place dreams within a frame or theoretical construct in such a way as to take note of the direction of a person's life. Is the dreamer following his/her True North? How can one know? Is it possible that our dreams search for a moral compass? 

It is in such a moral compass that we find our freedom, a gift that is profound, and yet, very simple.  

                                              "SIMPLE GIFTS"
             
                   'Tis the gift to be simple,
                   'tis the gift to be free.
                   'tis the gift to come down
                     where we ought to be.
                   And when we find
                    ourselves in the place just right,
                   'twill be in the valley of love and delight.
                  When true simplicity is gained, 
                  To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed, 
                  To turn, turn, will be our delight,
                  'til by turning, turning we come round right.
                         —(Composed by Elder Joseph Brackett, 1948)

I am well aware that in these troubled times, many of us simply stop watching and reading bad news. My use of the phrase "senseless society" may tilt your opinion quickly in the thinking of "Here we go again." But, in my defense, I hope to rise above the bad news by offering a view of safety and sanity. However, first things first:

                              THE SITUATION: A SENSELESS SOCIETY

Politics! It did not have to be this way, but for the time being it is a way of fear, confusion, misinformation, the splitting of friendships, families, boards, governmental organizations, services, news outlets, municipalities, and even the military. In other words, even the task of describing the danger of our present situation is daunting. 

I will try, however, to state the "senselessness" of our society and world situation by drawing on the expertise of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Following the horror of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a group of scientists who helped build the first atomic bomb realized the horror of what they had created, and what it might portend for the future of civilization's survival. In order to help guard against the danger of individuals and even nations' use of nuclear weapons, the concerned group of scientists in Chicago founded the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists for the purpose of educating the general public of the dangers potentially threatening global catastrophe.

The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists publishes articles regularly, available to the general public. The organization consists of renowned scientists from around the world. Each year they convene in late January to consider the actions and non-actions of world leaders and governments, asking what has been done to save our planet from catastrophic destruction, always keeping in mind the nuclear destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as reminders of what devastation we can enact on one another and the planet.

You may yourself read and reflect on the report of the Bulletin. They addressed the following concerns, acknowledging that Russia, China, the United States and other major countries have become increasingly aggressive, adversarial, and nationalistic. In particular, concerns raised had to do with the following: 

• "a lack of leadership on nuclear issues with no country stepping up to stem the growing sense of disorder and breakdown of norms."
• "a troubling climate outlook" with record-breaking trends continued in 2024 and 2025. Globally averaged temperature in 2024 was at the warmest level in 175 years of record-keeping.
• "Increasing chaos, disorder, and disinformation in the world's information ecosystem threaten society's capacity to address difficult challenges in 2025, and it is clear that AI has great potential to accelerate these processes of information corruption." 
• "Four major concerns: the possibility that scientists could create mirror life, the continued evolution of AI and biological weapons systems, and the dismantling and degradation of US public health infrastructure... ."

And there you have my brief summation of the bad news in a senseless society. Now I  present the other side of the equation.

                                   THE RESPONSE: SAFETY AND SANITY

First, let me quickly add that there remain governments as well as professional organizations and determined individuals who carry on the worthy and courageous work of serving humanity. Those individuals and groups, thankfully, are too numerous to name in this short writing. Therefore, I will point to four other sources available to you: Buddha, Moses, Christ, and Lao Tzu. I have chosen these sources as a resource not only because of who they are, but also because they offer windows into practices that may assist us in the search for safety and sanity.

• Buddha: The prince, Siddhartha Gautama lived a sheltered life in Nepal until he left to witness the widespread suffering of aging, sickness, death, and the misery of groups warring with each other. From this experience of suffering he preached the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path that concludes with a deep meditative concentration taught in Tibet, China, Japan, and world-wide sites. Often the meditation employs  the universal mantra: om mani padme hum ("Hail to the Jewel in the Lotus") evoking the image, compassion, and wisdom of Buddha for a suffering, senseless society.

• Moses: Moses was a Hebrew prophet. He led the Israelites out of their slavery in Egypt. Following an Exodus that crossed the Red Sea, they arrived in a wilderness where Moses spent 40 years with his quarrelsome group of hungry, scared, confused band of followers. They had barely escaped their previous decades of slavery, only to fall into the temptations of idolatry and demand that Moses lead them back into Egypt. When Moses could take it no longer, he sought solitude on Mount Sinai where he was given the Ten Commandments. The commandments begin like this:  "I am the Lord thy God — Thou shalt have no other gods [ultimate value on being] before me."  This is a high bar challenging our senseless society with its gods of wealth and power. 

• Christ: What can we say that has not been said about Jesus Christ and his words? But let me risk simplifying by referring to what has become known as the "beatitudes." There are eight, and each one refers to a new state of existence, or what the New Testament scholar, Rudolf Bultmann, referred to as an "eschatological existence," the awakening to a condition of being in which one's life is oriented toward the "kingdom of God," rather than the frivolities of the world. Returning to the beatitudes of which Jesus spoke (See Matthew 5:3-10), I choose only one: "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God."

• Lao Tzu: We know little about this mysterious old man whose name is associated with the Tao Te Ching. The work itself is a collection of 81 chapters or poems rising from Chinese mysticism. Around 1100 BCE, in the Chou dynasty, the individual known as Lao Tzu is thought to have served as an archivist in the Chou court at Wangcheng. Despairing the "senselessness" of his time and society, he left that world behind but not before compiling some or all of these writings we find in the Tao Te Ching that has become a "face" for the religion we know as Taoism. Taoism focuses on nature, simplicity, balance, meditative practice, intentionally resisting the lure of a senseless world. This path is known as the Way. 

         Consider this excerpt from the Tao Te Ching, poem 21: 
                The omnipresent Virtue will take shape according only to the Way.
                The Way itself is like something seen in a dream, elusive, evading one.
                In it are images, elusive, evading one.
                In it are things like shadows in twilight.
                In it are essences, subtle but real,
                Embedded in truth. 

More can and will be said about our response to a senseless society. And in future writings I will return to:
                 the mind of Buddha
                 the commandments of Moses
                 the heart of Christ
                 the Way of Lao Tzu

I see each of these as providing a sane and safe response to the senseless society in which we find ourselves at this time.  

(The translation of poem 21 in Tao Te Ching is by R.B. Blakney, Lao Tzu, Wisdom of Ancient China.)

Like millions of people around the world, on New Year's Eve, you may have seen the ball drop in Times Square, the fireworks, parades, and celebrations around the planet. You may have been alone and quietly experienced the passing of our old year. Still, you can say that you "saw" the moment when a significant moment occurred in time.

I refer to this experience as "seeing." It is one of those occasions when we know the "past" is now behind us, and the "future" is before us. Wherever we are, in whatever time zone, our clocks approach 11:59 PM, and we experience something hard to describe. Yes, we may see the "ball drop," we may offer a toast to friends and loved ones, we may call a relative or a friend of long ago. Most often this experience commands all of our senses briefly, and then it is gone.

What did we see? Or did we? I use the word "see" to describe what may be indescribable, but yet something happened that is soulful. That event when our clocks moved from
11:59 PM to 12 AM, describes perhaps the solitary instance when we are one with each other. We may not know that, we may not see it, but we do well to reflect upon what we "saw" or missed seeing. Poets describe moments in time that transcend time, moments of beauty, awe, wonder, meaning, love, and possibly a resolve to live against a backdrop of eternity.

I will give you a small taste of what I mean when I say that poets "see" into the soul of humanity and bring to us their gifts of sight, presented with the evocative vision of poetic imagination. Of the many that could be chosen, I invite your consideration with poetic excerpts from Robert Frost, Lao Tzu, Mary Oliver, W.H.Auden, and Derek Mahon.

                                 STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING
                                              Robert Frost (1874-1963)

Frost was born in San Francisco, moved about in his early years including some time in England before settling down in Shaftsbury, Vermont, on a farm where he grew apples, taught writing in local schools, and wrote poetry.

                                      Whose woods these are I think I know
                                         His house is in the village though;
                                         He will not see me stopping here
                                      To watch his woods fill up with snow.

                                        My little horse must think it queer
                                         To stop without a farmhouse near
                                       Between the woods and frozen lake
                                          The darkest evening of the year.

                                         He gives his harness bells a shake
                                          To ask if there is some mistake.
                                         The only other sound's the sweep
                                           Of easy wind and downy flake.

                                        The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
                                           But I have promises to keep,
                                          And miles to go before I sleep,
                                          And miles to go before I sleep.


                                           TAO TE CHING — Chapter One
                                              Lao Tzu (6th century BCE?)

Lao Tzu, which might be translated from the Chinese as "Old Man," lived in the 6th century BCE, according to some research. However, little can be of certain about this profound old man who supposedly worked for Confucius before he retired and retreated to the unknown sacred mountains in China. 

                           The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.
                           The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
                           The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth.
                           The named is the mother of ten thousand things.
                           Ever desireless, one can see the mystery.
                           Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations.
                           These two spring from the same source but differ in name;
                               this appears as darkness.
                           Darkness within darkness.
                           The gate to all mystery.


                        YOU ARE STANDING AT THE EDGE OF THE WOODS
                                       Mary Oliver (1953-2019)

Mary Oliver is one of the better know poets in modern literature. She grew up in Ohio, became fascinated with poetry in her later life and wrote of nature and our place in the deep mystery of woods, streams, oceans, and animal life. She spent many of her most productive years living in Provincetown, MA. I have excerpted the beginning and ending of this poem that yet evokes in me the wonder and mystery of Oliver's world.

                            You are standing at the edge of the woods
                                                   at twilight
                                          when something begins
                                          to sing, like a waterfall
                                                      ...
                                                The thrush
                                     is silent then, or perhaps
                                            has flown away.
                                     The dark grows darker.

                                                The moon,
                                     in its shining white blouse,
                                                     rises.
                                   And whatever that wild cry was

                                    it will aways remain a mystery
                              you have to go home now and live with,
                 sometimes with the ease of music, and sometimes in silence,
                                          for the rest of your life.


                                           FOR THE TIME BEING
                                          W.H. Auden (1907-1973)

Auden was something of a wanderer. Born in Great Britain, he sought stability in life within the boundaries of New York City, first in Brooklyn Heights, and later, Manhattan. Auden was gifted to make use of his own unsettledness and left us with an evocative commentary on the political, moral, social, and religious dynamics of his time, throwing light on the disturbing time in which we are living. Later in his life, Auden found refuge in the Anglican Church from which he drew the symbols of this long poem that concludes as follows: 

                     He is the Way.
                     Follow Him through the Land of Unlikeness;
                     You will see rare beasts, and have unique adventures.

                     He is the Truth.
                     Seek Him in the Kingdom of Anxiety;
                     You will come to a great city that has expected your return for years.

                     He is the Life.
                     Love Him in the World of the Flesh;
                     And at your marriage all its occasions shall dance for joy.


                                  EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALL RIGHT
                                           Derek Mahon (1941-2020)

Mahon was a solitary who wrote against the backdrop of Northern Ireland's brutal conflicts. Determined, he pushed himself to claim a love for poetry that his working class parents did not understand. His "watchful heart" looked inward and outward as he visited many cities around the world and saw features of life that others may not have seen. But many of us have found comfort in the vision of his "watchful heart" that he describes in the following poem.

                                 How should I not be glad to contemplate
                                   the clouds clearing beyond the dormer window
                                   and a high tide reflected on the ceiling?
                                 There will be dying, there will be dying,
                                    but there is no need to go into that.
                                 The poems flow from the hand unbidden
                                    and the hidden source is the watchful heart.
                                 The sun rises in spite of everything
                                    and the far cities are beautiful and bright.
                                  I lie here in a riot of sunlight
                                    watching the day break and the clouds flying. 
                                  Everything is going to be all right.


We do not all possess that marvelous capacity to write poetry. But we see with our eyes, our hearts, our minds, our imagination, our dreams. What do you see this new year?

                                   

Given the strange year we have experienced the first eleven months, I wonder what our Christmas might bring. By "strange year," I think of the economic, social, and political news that dominate our newspapers, journals, newscasting and many conversations. We need a Christmas and the carols of goodwill and peace. 

But we know the bitter reality. How can we not? The news instantaneously travels to inform us of the conflicts and wars around the world. Presently there are wars in 40 countries, according to the World Population Review and the International Crisis Group. 

Ever-present is the on-going devastating war between Israel and the Palestinians in which the people of Gaza suffer unspeakable destruction of homes, family life, loved ones, as well as facilities that support life, health, education, spirituality, and the most human of all needs to feel safe, loved, hopeful.

But the news story of wars that seems to top the list is the bizarre war between Ukraine and Russia, pursued by Putin who initiated the conflict in pursuit of what he claims is the rightful territory of Mother Russia, now occupied by Ukraine. While people are dying, the latest diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict appear to proceed like a gathering of brokers bargaining for real estate. Here we see in real time the much publicized "art of the deal," a book and TV show that entertained the public on way to becoming a political movement. And while this "deal-making" with Putin in Russia goes on, people are starving and dying in the wars of at least 38 other countries.

Some of those wars rage to claim or regain territory; other conflicts battle for political control, profit-making, the settling of old grievances. In too many instances, the suffering of people, animals, and natural life portray a demented world nearing the point of no return, desperate for survival and peace.

This is our world during Christmas 2025. I understand that such a brutal description  flies in the face of how we enjoy and imagine Christmas. And, I am hopeful that you are not trapped in one of the 40 war zones spread around planet earth, such as I have described.

But, on the other hand, is this world at war really so unlike the Christmas story as our Gospels tell it? Only two of the Bible's four gospels give an account of Jesus' birth. They are Matthew and Luke. The Gospel of Mark is the shortest one of the four and focuses on the baptism, ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus. The Gospel of John, however, is quite long and begins not with the birth of Jesus but as a theological/philosophical account of the world's beginning described as an act of God who prepared the way for Jesus to minister to the world with "signs" of wonder that demonstrated the life-giving experience by which others may experience a new reality and being.

In other words, the description of Jesus' birth comes from Matthew and Luke whose accounts do not overlap, but whose "stories" provide the Christmas promise of peace, although not without the threat of violence and war.

In brief summary, here are the references to Jesus' birth as told by Matthew and Luke.

• Mt. 1:25:  Joseph takes Mary to his home and she gives birth to Jesus.
• Mt. 2: 1-12:  The Magi (three Wise Men) see a star that leads them to the manger in Bethlehem, but not before they pass through Judea ruled by King Herod. They explained to Herod that they were following a star to the place where a child was to be born who would be king of the Jews. This news greatly frightened Herod who asked the Magi to let him know where this child was to be born. But after presenting gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the chlld, the Magi are warned in a dream to return home in a way that by-passes Herod.
• Mt. 2: 13-15:  Joseph also is warned in a dream that he, Mary, and the baby are in danger. The three of them escape into Egypt. 
• Mt. 2: 16-17:  Herod is furious that he was fooled by the three Wise Men, and he massacres all the male children in Bethlehem who are two years old or less.

Turning now to Luke, the story continues with additional details.

• Luke 2: 1-4:  Caesar Augustus conducts a census of "the whole inhabited world," with a view of taxation to follow. For that reason, Joseph sets out with Mary to register in Bethlehem. Finding no room in an inn, Mary had to give birth to Jesus in a manger, a box for feeding livestock in a barn or stable.
• Luke 2: 8-14:  An angel appears to shepherds guarding their sheep at night when "the glory of the Lord shown around them" as the angel announced the birth of Jesus. This is followed by the "hosts of heaven" who praise God with the words:

                              Glory to God in the highest heaven,
                           and on earth peace for those God favors.

• Luke 2: 15-19:  The astonished shepherds rush to Bethlehem to find the child and repeat what the angel told them about the heavenly event. 

Thanks to Matthew and Luke, that is the Christmas story. But, you may wonder, what does this say about "peace?" What indeed are we to understand about peace as scripture presents the birth of Jesus?

Note the phrase above in Luke 2:18, when the angels sing of "peace for those God favors." What are we to make of this translation? Other manuscripts translate the ancient Greek phrase as: 

• peace to all in whom he delights
• peace, goodwill among people

Most significant regarding the message of peace, however, might be the words found in another scripture, in which Jesus himself says to a people needing to hear good news: 

• Blessed are the peacemakers: they shall be recognized as children of God.  (Mt.5:9)

         

What are your plans for the holidays? Our schedules fill up quickly this time of year. Here at our house, my wife and I still have pumpkins on the front steps. We must look like zombies as we stare at our calendars jammed not only with our work responsibilities but all the other gatherings that usher in the holiday season between Thanksgiving and New Years, including visits by the children with stories from the west coast.

This is not the best time of the year to think about the "goals of a lifetime," you may be thinking. More like it to deal with today and what we might attend to over the weekend. Perhaps sometime after the Super Bowl, perhaps then we might consider the topic, vague enough as it is. 

But is it really vague? And is it really best to wait another 2 or 3 months? After all, this is your lifetime, the days pass  quickly, and the times compel us to consider: What is going on in the world just now? Who let all the creepy-crawlies out of the box? Is a nuclear attack something we really need to worry about again? Is our democracy taken for granted? What brings up the threat of our safety to the point that some of our citizens do not feel safe to venture outside their homes lest they be attacked and carried to God-knows-where by hooded assailants? Why do so many people not have opportunity to own homes, save money, send children to college? And why are our universities under attack? Why do we have less confidence in our government than we did 20 or 30 years ago, according to recent polls? Why do we fear immigrants? Why do we not marshall together all the many resources we have to create a world of peace, liberty, and pursuit of happiness for our society? Why?

My answer depends upon a distinction I make between "desire" and "goal." Think about it. A desire comes more quickly to mind than a goal. Desires appear in several spheres of our life: physical longings, intellectual curiosity, sexual turn-ons, economic pursuits to consume, manipulate, and appear better, richer, more attractive, more admired than others. 

And why do the media feed this frenzy while many who call themselves religious join in the chorus to hail some self-appointed savior with aspirations to reign as a king? But, for that matter, where have our education institutions failed to educate us concerning the possible character flaws that can consume the human personality? Have we not learned enough from history to recognize those abysmal human flaws that poison the human personality with traits of narcissism, anti-social (sociopathic) dominance, authoritarianism, xenophobia, racism, and nationalism?

While I am on it, let's look together at what happens to us when the goal of a lifetime becomes inflated with narcissistic, sociopathic pathologies. What are those pathologies? Here's a definition and a list:

                                NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY DISORDER
       A pervasive patten of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration,
       and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of
       contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:

          (1) has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achieve-
               ments and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without 
               commensurate achievements)
          (2) is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance,
               beauty, or ideal love
          (3) believes that he or she is "special" and unique and can only be under-
               stood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people
               (or institutions)
          (4) requires excessive admiration
          (5) has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially
               favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations
          (6) is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve
               his or her own ends
          (7) lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and
                needs of others
          (8) is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her
          (9) shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes
        (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Vol. IV; See also Vol. V)


                               ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY DISORDER
                       (Formerly SOCIOPATHIC PERSONALITY DISORDER)

       A. There is a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others
            occurring since age 15 years, as indicated by three (or more) of the following:

          (1) failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as
               indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest
          (2) deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning
               others for personal profit or pleasure
          (3) impulsivity or failure to plan ahead
          (4) irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights
               or assaults
          (5) reckless disregard for safety of self or others
          (6) consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain 
               consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations
          (7) lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing 
               having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another

       B. The individual is at least age 18 years.
       C. There is evidence of Conduct Disorder... with onset before age 15 yrs.
       D. The occurrence of antisocial behavior is not exclusively during the course of
           Schizophrenia or a Manic Episode. 
       (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Vol. IV; See also Vol. V)

Please pardon the detailed attempt to consider these unfavorable characteristics of disordered human behavior. When we think about these disorders, we may even feel surprised at how often we have observed them without realizing that they are, indeed, disorders that can be quite troubling for our society. Thankfully, most of us can claim neighbors and public officials who uphold the highest standards of behavior, for whom the goal of a lifetime is not compromised by the behaviors described above. However, and unfortunately, there re occasional exceptions, and in some cases prominent, public figures who appear with self-serving, reckless ambition and disregard for the common welfare. It is likely that we point to such historical characters as Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini to identify individuals whose "goal of a lifetime" violated the common sense and decency of nations.

With that said, I return to the topic of this writing to ask you, what is the goal of your lifetime? It is no small matter to honor our too-brief lifetimes with the best we have to offer. And, by the way, as Jung pointed out, it is not the end result that matters so much as is the "trying." Or, as Jung expressed the matter:

                     The goal is important only as an idea;
                     the central thing is the opus [work] which leads to the goal:
                     that is the goal of a lifetime.
                                                 (Collected Works, Vol. 16, paragraph 400)

And how is your light holding up, my friend? How is your light faring in the approaching darkness of chaos, fear, irrational gloating, sociopathic disregard for others, the dismantling of our political boundaries, the suffering of innocent children, and the exploitation of our natural world?

Please forgive what may appear as a rant of woes from my pen. Actually, I am repeating in this writing the actual concerns and questions I am asked daily in my consulting room. It is not enough that in my last writing I referred to the closing of hospitals, the shutting of doors in the houses of worship which in the past offered solace and care. I lamented the shutting down of community newspapers that offered reliable information and resources for their readers. And then, there is also a decline in the practice of family medicine while universities are under attack and colleges close.

So, yes, I understand completely the ongoing swell of concerns and questions that keep many of us awake at night. It is of some small comfort that I think back to the crisis facing civilization itself as we battled two major wars in Europe and the Pacific, racing against tine to gain some edge in developing weapons of war, including the nuclear nightmare that continues to raise its head and threaten the entire world.

Yes, we prevailed, and may yet come through this troubled time. Challenging any comfort that comes with the memory of a savage victory in the greatest of wars, we now have to face the threat of losing touch with what is real today. What horrors face us in a world where reality itself competes with the manufacturing of the AI facade of reality. At this moment in time we are witnessing the exchange of control regarding our destiny. We now see the "machine" swing into the driver's seat, a machine that uses artificial neural networks capable of processing very complex data, information systems, and operational processes. What is missing in this machine? Simply put, what is missing is the centuries-old values tended by heart and mind, guided by dreams toward the goal of health and meaning.

Consider this. What does it mean to be a human being? I acknowledge that we indeed have learned much about the physiology and nervous systems of human beings. I acknowledge also that we are creatures who inherently possess values and needs that civilize us.
Let me list them:

                                   VALUES 
          COURAGE, FREEDOM, TRUTH, BEAUTY, LOVE

                                    NEEDS
          TO TRUST, TO MATTER, TO FEEL SAFE, TO LOVE AND BE LOVED, TO EXPLORE, 
          TO SHARE STORIES-SONGS-POEMS, TO LEARN RIGHT AND WRONG,
          TO LEARN AND PRACTICE MANNERS, TO REVERE THE SACRED, TO UNITE,
          TO LET-GO, TO CELEBRATE, TO LAUGH, TO DANCE, TO DEFEND OUR VALUES

If these values and needs sound familiar, well they should. In part and in some form, they appear in the political, sacred, and bohemian communities around the world.

In general, we practice these values and needs out of habit and without thought. However, conscious or unconscious, the values and needs take deep root in our psyches. For example,  our values and needs appear in such gatherings as our July 4th celebrations, but also in our most private moments of worship, prayer, meditation, and contemplation.

And now we come to consider the act of contemplation and how important it becomes "to kindle a light." What do we actually do when we contemplate? Here are some of the definitions offered: to have something in mind, to meditate or muse, to study, to ponder, to reflect, etc. 

Simply put, contemplation is the study of a matter in which thinking and feeling join hands. Granted, when we contemplate we think, but we also feel. The process of thinking carries the rational side of any consideration at hand, but any consideration that does not involve the emotional experience of feeling misses the mark. 

It is this union of thinking and feeling in the service of becoming conscious that makes contemplation an invaluable process in the decisions of our life. Who are we to marry? What career shall we pursue? Think of any decisions you have made throughout your life. Looking back at them, you realize that thinking and feeling both played roles.

Most important of all, however, is the fact that we do not think and feel in a vacuum. Actually, even when we are not mindful of them, we live in a world of symbols. We exist amid the archetypal powers that accompanied us when we evolved from the depths of unconsciousness to form the civilization that has made of the earth a metropolis of commerce, culture, and values I listed above. The bravery, skill, and desire that brought all of this into being was in fact the contemplative process that united thinking, feeling, and acting. This contemplative act of creation and transformation is itself the light that exposes prejudice, hubris, narcissism, authoritarianism, the brutal nature of war, poverty, the destruction of natural environments, urbanization, and dehumanizing rule of technology.

Whether or not that light is dimming at this moment in time, no one can be certain. But to realize that we are in danger is light enough to contemplate how we shall act together to save our civilization.