06.27.06
Posted in Hero's Journey, Screenplay at 9:34 pm by Administrator
Sometimes I feel I have nothing to say or nothing to write about it. And then I take one step forward. I write one word. And then I wait for the next word. I write one sentence. And then I write the next sentence.
Step by step, I work at my writing. My screenplay and my blog are not cut from whole cloth but woven together thread by thread. Word by word. Sentence by sentence.
The Spiritual path is also walked step by step. Most of us do not arrive in this world fully actualized, fully knowing what it is we are suppose to be doing here in this crazy wonderful world. We have to dig for the answer. We have to dig deep within, sifting through the dust and rubble of our past to find the gold nuggets that are within us.
Believe, Listen, Love and Trust are good companions to take on a Spiritual journey. Believe is the magic spark that starts the journey. I started on my path because I believed there was more waiting for me. I believed that I had a part to play in this drama we call Life. Believe is the spark and fuel that feeds the fire within.
But to continue on our Spiritual path we need to have more inside than just believing in ourselves. We need guidance. And to find that guidance you have to look within and Listen. Be very still and Listen. What do you hear? Do you hear anything or are you unable to hear because your mind is chattering away?
If you are unable to hear your guiding voice embrace this information for this is what you need to know. This is where you are right now. You can’t change and grow unless you know what needs to be changed. Love your shortcomings. Love your flaws. For within them you will find your greatest strength.
Love is the key to unlocking the door to your True Self and Trust is the Divine Answer. In order to grow on our Spiritual Path we must embrace our Shadow. Those traits that you cannot stand in others will be found within yourself. Love and Forgive yourself for not being Perfect so that you can Love and Forgive others. This is the path we all must walk.
In my opinion the hardest lesson to learn is to Trust. We cannot know the Divine Spirit intellectually. God(dess) is not found in our heads but in our hearts. We must learn to Trust our experiences with the Divine. We must learn to Trust that everything is connected, that the wings of a butterfly in a rainforest can effect change on the other side of the world. We must learn to Trust that small voice that speaks within our heart. We must be able to trust that voice when the world tells us we are mad, for when the world is insane, sane people will appear to be mad.
Believe, Listen, Love, and Trust, for you are a Child of the Divine Source. The Answers and the Way are within you.
Namaste,
Swan
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06.23.06
Posted in Musings..., Screenplay at 6:15 pm by Administrator
The month of June takes it name from the Roman goddess, Juno. According to Roman custom, the month of June was sacred to Juno, hence the name of our modern month.
As a goddess Juno was known as the Queen of Heaven. She was the wife of Jupiter, the Roman god who fooled around with numerous mortal women. This made her a jealous wife and who could blame her. Having your husband cheat on you would have ticked off any wife, immortal or mortal. Juno is also known as the goddess of marriage, the home, children, and child birth. I wonder how many June brides are aware of the connection between their marriage and the goddess, Juno. I guess it is appropriate that I am “giving birth” to my brain child in the month of June.
June 21 was the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. In celebration of this auspicious date I held a lovely ritual in my backyard under Grandmother Tree, a giant oak that shelters my yard. The ritual was quite moving. I cleansed the area with sage smoke and salt water. Then created a circle using my frame drum and dried rose petals. In the circle I lit candles representing the four elements, the goddess and her consort.
Summer solstice has traditionally been a time to rededicate ones self to the Divine Source, which was the intent of my ritual. I rededicate myself to the Divine Mother and thanked her for her guidance. I again realized that I am not writing this screenplay, it is being channeled through me. This is such a comfort. I don’t have to be brilliant, I just have to still my chattering monkey mind and listen for the voice of the Muse to speak.
This morning in my meditation the Divine Force visited me again. She brought several ideas for scenes that need to be developed. I have two Villains in the script. One Villain represents unchecked authoritarian power (Major Tolley) and other represents unchecked aggressive power (Crime Lord). These Villains balance out my male lead (Pandemonium) who represents healthy male power in the role of community Protector and Leader.
An idea came through of using doves as a way for Pan to communicate with Mrs. MacMillan that Rose was with the Caravan and vice versa. Also as the person who helped Rose leave the city, Mrs. MacMillan is destined to receive a visit from Major Tolley. Lucky, the dog, can be use as a device to find Rose after she gets kidnapped by the Crime Lord. I will stop there for now but the flow of information that is coming from the Divine Source seems to be endless.
I am now on page 37 and plan to be on page 45 by Sunday evening. Many thanks to everyone who is following my progress, I appreciate your support.
Peace,
Swan
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06.22.06
Posted in Screenplay at 10:00 pm by Administrator
Good news. I completed the first act of my screenplay. It is roughly 30 pages long. I am happy to say the feedback I have received from colleagues has been good. I thought it was pretty good when I was writing it, but then it is my baby.
So now I am working on the second act. Pages 30 to 45 focus on the growth of my female lead. Right now I am on page 34. I should be working on my screenplay as I type this entry but I felt a burning need to keep people up to date on my progress.
I was telling a colleague that this is a channeled screenplay. I mean that literally. I feel so blessed to receive information each morning in my meditation sessions. This usually manifests as specific things I need to include or explore in the screenplay. This morning the Muse sent me insight into how I should end the story. In particular what is my heroine’s ultimate goal and how it needs to be resolved. Good stuff!
I am still playing around with titles. I kind of am leaning now to either: “The Caravan” or “The New World Order”.
Oh yeah, just in case you wondering. My screenplay focuses on the collapse of society in a post peak oil world.
Blessings,
Swan
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06.19.06
Posted in Hero's Journey at 7:42 pm by Administrator
Okay. To those of you out there who think I may be exaggerating the grave challenges that will be facing us in the future, you need to read this article. In a nutshell the country of Norway is constructing a seed vault that will be able to hold 3 million crop seeds.
The purpose of the vault is to ensure the survival of crop diversity in the face of climate change, nuclear war, genetic mutation, etc.
Many thanks to the Goddess that someone at the national level is taking this growing threat to our food source seriously.
Blessings,
Swan
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Posted in Musings..., Screenplay at 6:00 pm by Administrator
I am going to cover a lot of things in this post. Just in case you were wondering here is what has been going on.
I did not get the job, which I think is really for the best. On the one hand I would have liked to have moved somewhere else and done something different. On the other hand I don’t think it was a healthy work environment. So I give thanks that things worked out this way.
The screenplay keeps chugging along. I am now on page 29 and I am almost finished with the 1st Act. I have introduced a Villain but I think I really need two Villains.
I am now walking a mile or exercising seven days a week. And have been doing this consistently for several weeks. Because of this I am no longer taking Aikido classes.
And finally I have been meditating every day for over a month. This is really making a positive difference in my life. I am getting a lot of creative inspiration during my morning meditation sessions.
Blessings,
Swan
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06.16.06
Posted in Screenplay at 5:59 pm by Administrator
This is just a quick post to fill you in on how the screenplay is coming along. As of last night I have completed 21 pages. I am writing approximately three pages a night and should finish the first act this weekend.
All in all I think it is coming along nicely. I have introduced both my female and male Heroes (Rose and Pandemonium) and I have established the Ordinary World (Littleton, a small university town on the brink of economic collapse). I also have a nicely developed Mentor character (Mrs. Anna MacMillian).
Tonight I need to work on developing and weaving in a Villain. I also need to add some dialogue to a scene where Mrs. MacMillian gives Rose a Gift, which will be important to later plot development.
The hardest task so far has been coming up with a working title for the screenplay. I started out with the “Wanderers”, but came up with “Where the Wild Rose Blooms” this morning during my walk.
That’s all for now.
Swan
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06.15.06
Posted in Hero's Journey at 7:41 pm by Administrator
One of the reasons I started this blog was to discuss the enormous changes that we will be facing in the near future and how a person on a spiritual path can begin to address these challenges. I talked about this a little in an entry titled Why Are So Many Feeling the Call.
For some of you what I am going to discuss will not be new information but for others what I have to say may seem unbelievable. We are approaching a very turbulent time in the history of the United States and the world. Some say this is the end of an era, the collapse of society as we know it.
To get a quick overview of what is on the horizon for the United States and the world read this article by Richard Heinberg titled Energy Geopolitics 2006. Then read Michael Ruppert’s article Paradigm is the Enemy.
In a nutshell the U.S. economy is sinking under pressure from high gasoline prices, rising inflation, high consumer debt, the burgeoning national debt, large trade deficits, the decline of the dollar, and the bursting of the housing bubble. We are a declining superpower on a collision course with a hard reality.
At the same time we are facing the devastating effects of global warming. The truth is global warming is real and millions of people are being affected. Weather patterns are changing causing millions to die from famine and starvation. Sea levels are rising due to the melting of artic glaciers. Worldwide a hundred million people may loose their homes to rising sea waters including people living in Florida, New York and California. For more information about climate change and how it is affecting the planet go see Al Gore’s new movie, An Inconvenient Truth.
So what should a spiritual person do?
I recommend gardening. More specifically, learn how to grow your own food. This is probably the most important skill you will need to learn for surviving the coming difficulties. If you already know how to garden then share what you know with others.
Gardening is a wonderful way to build community, and in order to survive in tough times we will need strong communities. The garden is a neutral and nurturing place where people from different walks of life can meet together on equal footing.
Gardening is also a beautiful way to connect to the Divine Mother. It is from her sacred body we receive the fruits of our labor. We discover first hand that there is a time to sow and a time to reap. Her Spirit can sustain us through tough times and she can easily be found in the miracle of the growing seed.
So even though the future holds grave challenges don’t despair, get busy. We need you in the garden. Mother Earth is calling.
Blessings,
Swan
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06.09.06
Posted in Screenplay at 6:27 pm by Administrator
Well I did it. I started my screenplay, and already I have run into my Inner Critic. Yipes. (See my dream posted on 05/26/06.)
My assignment last night was to write ten pages in two hours. I was able to produce three pages in the allotted two hours which meant, according to screenwriter and author Viki King, I was not letting my screenplay flow through me. While I was writing I could tell I was being too cerebral, that I was thinking too much.
Today is a new day and another opportunity to get out of my own way. So I now need to communicate to my Inner Critic that his services are not needed at this time. I was joking with a colleague that I need to send him out to coffee shop and let him eat doughnuts and drink coffee while I work on my screenplay. After I finish the first draft then I can invite him back. The Critic does have an important role but not now. My Inner Child needs to be given free rein at this time.
So here is the plan. Tonight before I begin writing I will meditate on inviting my Inner Child to come and play. And I will let my Inner Critic know he gets to take the evening off. I will keep you posted on the results.
Until next time,
Swan
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06.07.06
Posted in Dreams, Screenplay at 6:03 pm by Administrator
I had another dream this morning. This one was much shorter than one I posted on May 26. In this dream I am in my backyard under a large oak tree, I call Grandmother Tree. At the base of the tree is a worm bin I made.
A worm bin is an enclosed container used for housing worms. It has small breathing holes in it so the worms can breath, but it is hoped, not escape. The worms are used to compost garbage. You feed the worms plant based kitchen scraps. The worms then recycle the kitchen scraps into worm poop, which makes an excellent soil additive. (No I am not making this up.)
In my dream I see young red worms escaping and running away from my worm bin. I gather them up and put them back into the worm bin but I know they will try to escape again.
My dream ends.
The meaning of this dream is again not what you would expect. The construction of my worm bin was a labor of love. In real life I am very proud of it. I am responsible for creating these baby worms. But in my dream the fruit of my labor, the new worms that have been born inside of my worm bin, are running away. They are dispersing.
In my dream the escaping worms represent my creative energy. My creative projects are labors of love, but I frequently have a hard time completing some of these projects. My subconscious is telling me that I am letting my creative energy escape because I have not taken care of business. I have not made sure I have secured the worms in the bin. This dream is telling me that I need to be more aware and focused on how I use my creative energy. I need to make sure that I stay focused on my creative goals and don’t get side tracked into wasting energy on activities like playing computer games or watching DVDs.
I see this dream as a pep talk and lecture from my subconscious to stay focused on writing my screenplay and not let it “runaway” from me. I need to be careful and not let my time and energy creep away, like the escaping baby worms.
That being said I continue to take baby steps forward on my screenplay. Last night I loaded my Movie Maker software and played around with it bit. But then later I started playing computer games, so you can see where this dream is coming from.
Namaste,
Swan
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06.05.06
Posted in Screenplay at 6:27 pm by Administrator
Hello. I am back from my trip. It was wonderful to see my folks again. I live so far from my mom and dad, it is difficult for me to visit with them more than once or twice a year. I know I am not going to have them forever so it is important for me to spend as much time as I can with them now.
While I was home I was able to move forward on outlining my screenplay. Writing is an interesting process. In many ways it is a lot like gardening. There are times when the work is obvious and you need to just set down and do it. And then there are other times when you have to step back and wait for an idea to grow or blossom.
You shouldn’t rush an internal process like writing, just like it is not a good idea to force a plant to grow. If you try to force nature the end result is not as good as if you had let the process unfold in its own time. The same thing goes for writing. A writer needs to learn patience and trust, everything in its own season or time.
I now have an outline of Act I and Act III, the beginning and end of my movie. I am in the process of sketching out the middle section, the trials and tribulations that will lead to the growth of my female lead. I have a good understanding of the character of my female and male leads. I know what motivates them and how they work together. I also understand what I am trying to communicate on a symbolic level with my screenplay.
Writing is a soul satisfying way to connect with the Divine Force. My screenplay is not from me, it comes through me. I find that when the writing is easy it is because I have opened myself to Divine Inspiration, the Sacred Muse. All I have to do is listen and then write down what I hear.
Blessings,
Swan
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