Rick is currently traveling abroad to teach workshops in Poland and Italy. He sent this short essay from Warsaw.
Walking through the streets of Warsaw: a city that has been repeatedly and brutally destroyed now rises in peace and reconciliation with a beautiful breadth of soul. Yes, scars remain as reminders, not to be bitter and vengeful, but to forgive and transform.
The energy of one heroic being pervades this city, Karol Jozef Wojtyla, later known as Pope John Paul II. Whatever you may think of the church, its dogma and its politics, this man risked his office by using its power to singlehandedly rally the forces of truth and conscience against overwhelming political, military, and social oppression. The spirit of his ministry saturates this city. The most hardened anti-clerics salute him. His aura is like the sunlight burning through the clouds. Here is a testament to the value of a life sacrificed to truth, to the power of the soul, and to the ability to confront and transmute toxic darkness.
Maybe Pope Paul had the advantage of a well-defined adversary. Our adversaries are just as dark, but perhaps not as blatant. The best way to get around Warsaw (especially during rush hours) is the tram. These electric vehicles operate for pennies. They are convenient and quick. We had such trams in many U.S. cities, but they were ripped up and destroyed by the auto industry. Now the oil they demand gushes out into our waters.
Oil is ruled by Scorpio and represents excretions from the body, from the body of the earth, as well as representing that which is hidden coming to light. The great waters (Neptune/Pisces) are our collective consciousness. The poisoning of the world cannot be hidden, whether it is through radioactive military waste, industrial subterfuge (like the aluminum industry funneling their waste product, fluoride, into the drinking water), or mandated swine flu vaccines.
It is said in the classical Indian myths that when the waters were churned and poison arose to engulf the world, the god Shiva drank it and forever more displayed a blue line on his throat. Shiva embodies the power of transmuting poison, of taking it in without taking it personally, and turning it toward the Light.
To be willing and able to absorb the “toxic” and transmute it is an initiatic art which takes many forms. Jean Paul allowed the light to shine through him and confront the darkness. Lord Shiva drank it and held it in his meditative consciousness until it turned to nectar. These strategies are both instructive and necessary in these times.
There is a new world waiting to be born, and our planet shakes in labor. May we be inspired to open to the best in us, to confront what needs to be confronted with wisdom and compassion, and to become a conscious part of this emergence.
Rick Jarow
Dear Rick,
this is just a line from across the polish border, from Görlitz, right on the river Neisse and from Barbara M., who delights in knowing that you currently teach in Warsaw and will move on to Italy – good to know you around!
Here, too, on the bridge connecting Görlitz to Zgorzelec (now polish, former
Görlitz ‘Eastern City’) Karol Woityla is being worshipped – a true ‘bridge builder’in the sense of your current blog topic.
Best wishes, Barbara
Many thanks for your post, Rick. When we were in Haridwar, India for the Kumbha Mela, the Iceland volcano erupted (April 14) clouding the skies with ash & dust that brought European air travel to a stand-still. Then, less than a week passed (April 20) and the Deepwater Horizon platform blew up resulting in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The sheer scale of these “eruptions” – one from deep in the earth into the sky and the other from deep underwater into the seas – are seismic forces from underneath (unconscious) exploding into our midst (conscious) representing the powerful forces of change now rolling through our world.
Good Day Rick,
Very nice to hear from you this fine morning.
I must thank you for your positive words of wisdom
and inner perception of the resent oil spill into
our waters.
Your words of inspiration give us all great hope
as our world approaches its rebirth.
Wishing you a safe journey.
Love&Light
Maryjane
Dear Rick~
It is exciting to experience Warsaw through you … wonderful to have you bring the Pope to life for us. I always love your interpretations via astrology, yogic deities and intuition … thanks for your uplifting message. Thanks for reminding us of the Light. Thanks for your light.
Namaste~
Amy
Dear Rick,
6/26/2010 the day of the Lunar Eclipse so much has been shared on this great day of transformation.I found your site thru Open Center I was reading about your philosophies, then I came upon your blog and read your last entry, most inspiring and where better to be in a place that has gone thru such pain to become a place of peace and light. Our Mother is in her birthing stage with great pain but will become of this will be a new Earth and a new Hu-man.
God Bless you for your intelligence,
Marie