Happy Birthday John Lennon from my Friend Christina:)
This Sunday, Oct. 9th, Mr. John Lennon would have been celebrating his 71st birthday! Mind blowing, I know. No one could ever think of him as "old". And of course he never would have been.
John Lennon. (sigh) A favorite Beatle and a favorite Libra. Many of you in the SG have been posting various references to him lately, and in honor of his BD I thought I would post this -- a song that has haunted me for most of my life.
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As you watch this video, think about the lyrics. (I mean really THINK about them.) My favorite lines are "Why in the world do you think we're here? Surely not to live in pain and fear... And why on earth are you there, when you're everywhere? Come and get your share! Cuz we all shine on, like the moon and the stars and the sun..."
Is that not cosmic consciousness in a nutshell? Even when I was a little girl, listening to this song, I knew he had something there. Over the years I have tried to examine this song more...
I once read an interview with John where he said that he got the idea from a commercial -- that karma could be as instant as instant coffee -- in the sense that everything you do has some kind of reaction that occurs right now. This was radical back in the Seventies because then everyone thought of Karma in terms of past and future lives. Nowadays I do hear some teachers speak of karma in terms of what we reap and sow more instantaneously. At any rate, one great message of this song is to THINK before we act...
I have always loved John Lennon's theme of the connectedness of mankind. "Imagine" was a great one for that, but this song expresses it almost better... "Better recognize your brothers -- everyone you meet." And of course, we ALL shine on, not just some of us... And even though he himself was a huge superstar -- he includes the line, "Who on earth do you think you are? A superstar? Well, alright you are..." It says to me that all of us are indeed superstars, and all of us are pretty insignificant, too...
Ahhh... there is just SO MUCH to be learned from this man. Give peace a chance... wouldn't you love to see them try it? Well, in many places, they ARE trying it. This is the man that talked about mind games, mind guerrillas and the Karmic wheel, in terms of pop culture. He spoke of "lifting the veil", breaking through dimensions in order to get to higher truth... right over AM radio. They tried to ban him for stating that the Beatles were "more popular than Christ" -- when in fact at the time, the Beatles actually WERE more popular than Christ -- but right after that, the new Jesus movement began, and made Christ more popular than ever! And then they actually DID ban him for his stand on women's rights ("Woman is the n***er of the world, we paint her face and make her dance.") Controversial, I know. And some did not get it... but right after that, the Woman's Liberation movement took hold of the country, and gone were the days of diminished rights and harassment. And it is pretty amazing that some 30 years after his death we are still talking about it all, understanding it more...
When he passed, I know the whole world grieved, but since then I have often wondered if he was just so far advanced that his time on planet earth was truly done, and he needed to leave in order to tackle bigger things in the Cosmos. That idea always made a lot of sense to me. (I thought of this with Steve Jobs passing, also. Actually it must be true of all of us as we pass, but not all of us are making headlines.)
I also have to add that because this is the SG, (most loving space on the 'net and all) I am going to assume that none of you are Yoko haters. (I have encountered my share of Yoko haters over the years. Gets SO annoying!) I just love Yoko! So I ask you to notice the blindfold and the knitting in this video... any interpretations? I get the idea that it may have something to do with... being 'blind' to our actions and performing life in a mechanical way (the repetitive knitting.) So hence the message of being aware of your everyday actions and the karma they bring...
And so, this Sunday, take some time to remember the man and his message. Please share your thoughts!
Happy Birthday, John. We miss you soooo much!
TOWANDA!!!