EDITOR'S COMMENTS
It is obvious that our present reality is on its way out. It is obvious that this very moment is the darkest hour before the dawn. As Yeats says, in "The Second Coming," "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world...."
It is also obvious that a new reality is struggling to birth itself at this time. As the I Ching says, "Times of growth are beset with difficulties. They resemble a first birth. But these difficulties arise from the very profusion of all that is struggling to attain form."
What do you see coming? What new and wondrous future do you see slouching "towards Bethlehem to be born?" What is your vision of the future?
In this issue of The Caldron, in "Wisdom's Corner," Lao Tzu reminds us to trust ourselves so that we no longer need to turn to those in authority. He suggests that we accept that "the universe is forever out of control" and to focus instead upon staying in the flow of the Tao. Also in Wisdom's Corner, Ken Goffman and Dan Joy suggest that we focus upon "feeling really good, high, and happy" rather than upon greed or ego gratification. Goffman and Joy also remind us of what Tim Leary called the fifth freedom, "the right of a human being to control his own states of consciousness."
"BeHereNow" contains three related news articles. The first deals with the insurance industry coming to realize the reality of global warming - and remember money talks. The second describes the Bush administration's attempt to stifle discussion regarding global warming and its effects upon our natural heritage. The third presents the results of a study that definitely proves that global warming leads to higher ocean temperatures which, in turn, lead to more and more severe hurricanes.
In "Seeds from Plot 509," Aspen Marks envisions a future where, as the Hopi Elders say, we know our garden, a future in which we all become more self-sufficient, especially by growing our own food.
"From the Archives" contains some aged poetry from my younger and much darker days.
I created and first sang "The Song to the Four Corners" during one of my earlier acid trips in the mountains of Southern California. It was then and still is a centering mandala-ritual expressed in song.
"The Year 1906" reminds us of what it was like just 100 years ago and asks us to wonder what our lives might be like in another 100 years.
My essay "Future Vision" suggests that the various countercultures throughout the ages have been change agents, catalysts that have interacted with the mainstream culture of their time to produce a new and more viable culture. It also lays out what we have to do in order to have any future at all.
The Hopi Elders have sent out a message telling us that the Hour is now, that we are the people we have been waiting for.
"The Second Coming" is, of course, William Butler Yeats famous poem alluded to several time in this issue of The Caldron.
Read all the above, imagine (and begin to actualize) your own vision of the future. Enjoy.
Eugene Marks, Editor