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Excerpt from "Chapter 14: The Harmonic Convergence"
of Aquarius Rising
Book III: The Harmonic Convergence
. . .
"Hold on a second," Capo said, interrupting Frank.
"I've got something to say."
"This is what you didn't want to bring up earlier?" Frank asked.
"Yeah, basically."
"Fire away."
"All right: now I don't really want to put a damper on
your trip, Frank, but I've got some reservations about all this even if Helen doesn't."
"For example?"
"Well, yesterday you asked the question, 'Does mankind have
a future?' Right? And then we kicked that around for a while, and I thought that,
except for Barbara, we all pretty much reached the conclusion that 'No, mankind
doesn't have a future.' I mean, if we don't all fry in a nuclear holocaust, then
all these international corporations will succeed in despoiling the environment
and poisoning us to a death just as horrible, and so forth and so on, right?"
Frank nodded his head. "I think that cuts to the core of it."
"Yeah. And then you went on to discuss prophecies, and it
seemed to me that your bedrock idea there was that all these widely different,
independent prophetic traditions seemed to agree that these days, the next
couple of years or decades, are the last before the end time or the end of world. Is that right?"
"Well, roughly."
"So, my point is just what good do we think we're going to
do here? We see it's all heading for disaster. Your prophets tell us it's all
heading for disaster. But we're supposed to turn that around with a few positive
vibrations? That doesn't quite make it with me. It's like taking a big deep
breath and blowing out real hard because you think that'll be enough to put out
the forest fire. I'm sorry, but I don't see where that's going to do the job,
and I'm also sorry if that rains on your parade, but I've got to call it like I see it."
"That's fine, Capo," Frank replied. "As I said
yesterday, it looks hopeless to me, too. But that's just where we're at now,
our point of departure. It's not our destination. Do you want to hear about that?"
"Sure."
"Well, first of all, the end of time is not necessarily the
same thing as the end of the world or the end of life or even the end of our
existence. The overwhelming majority of these prophecies—if not, in fact,
all of them—come from religious traditions that hold that your death is
not the end of your existence. Every one of us has an immortal soul..."
"You are not a human being having a spiritual experience,"
Mary interjected, "you are a spiritual being having a human experience."
"Super! That says it even better."
"That may or may not be true," said Capo. "I think the jury's still out on that one."
"Fine," Frank replied. "Whether you have a
religious faith and believe that to be true or whether you don't believe that
and will have to wait until you die to find out..."
"Or not find out, as the case may be."
"Yeah, 'or not find out, as the case maybe'—well,
whether you personally believe that or not, the people who made these prophecies
did hold such a belief. Consequently, their prophecies are not so much about the
end of time or the world or humanity as they are about transition from the
current state of affairs into a new, generally transcendent arrangement. Most of
the major prophecies, even the most bloodthirsty such as the Book of Revelations,
look beyond the dissolution of the current order and on to the establishment of
a new, better order. Whether you call it Christ's New Jerusalem or the golden
Age of Aquarius or the next Sat Yuga or Jose's Mayan Synchronization it's still
the same thing and the same hopeful outcome.
"Now, I'm not a violent man. When it comes to war, I'm a
conscientious objector. When it comes to transition into the Perfect Afterlife,
I wish harm to no one. I hope the five of us are wrong and Barb is right about
mankind's immediate future. Failing that I hope the transition can be as smooth
and nonviolent and non-destructive as possible. Among those who look to the future
there is a large percentage of people—fundamentalist Christians, for one
example—who are itching for all hell to break loose on earth because they
believe something like the Great Tribulation must take place before
Christ will return to redeem them. And so, despite all their pious, praise-filled
prayers, they ceaselessly call down fire, brimstone, and destruction on us all
with the way they've set their minds and beings. Now, I believe that's a mistake
on their part. To continue with the Christian example, I think they've let Satan
trick them into his savage service and they would do better to reacquaint
themselves with the outrageously unconditional love and service which Jesus
taught and demonstrated
"And so, if I'm going to pick any one of all these prophecies
to embrace, I'll pick the Zapotec one because it dares to hope that we can turn
it all around, pull back from the abyss, and effect a gentle transformation with
nothing more than the gift from the Godhead of a new spirit of brotherly love.
If I'm going to bet my beliefs and my being on anything—and I have to bet
them somewhere, as do we all—then I'll put everything I have on that pony.
That's what I want, and that's what this little guided mediation on the occasion
of the Harmonic Convergence means to me. Does that make sense? Comments?"
Capo nodded. "Sure, it makes sense, and for the sake of all
of us, I hope you're right. Still, at this point I don't see anything that can
save us from certain doom."
"The Lord will show you a way where there doesn't seem to
be any way," said Paul.
"Well, then, as I said two days ago, if anything survives,
it'll have to be because the great Kahuna comes down from on high and fixes our
multiple fuck-ups. Nothing less than divine intervention can save us now."
"Let me ask you something," Helen said to her husband.
"If this mess could be turned around like Frank is suggesting, what do you
think would have to happen first? What changes would have to come to pass before
you'd say, 'Well, maybe Frank was on to something after all?'"
"Oh, that's an no-brainer," Capo replied. "Turn
back the doomsday clock. Take a step back from the nuclear precipice; you know,
see nuclear warheads being taken off of ICBMs and dismantled. But that's not
going to happen as long as the Cold War continues on between us and the USSR.
And that's not going to come to an end until one side gives it up, and I don't
think we'll ever surrender because we'd rather destroy the world than become
subjects of a global police state. So, I guess, if the Reagan's 'Evil Empire'
disintegrates, if, for example, the Berlin Wall gets torn down and East and West
Germany reunite, then I'd think maybe he had a point. But that'll never happen;
so, there we are."
Helen nodded and the room fell silent in it's agreement with Capo.
After a long moment Frank spoke, "So, Capo, you think the
only thing that could turn things around is divine intervention, right?"
"I don't see anything else that could do it. Sorry."
"So, is there anything you and I can do to try to attract
a little divine intervention to ourselves?"
Capo smirked and replied, "You always been a silver-tongued
devil, you. I suppose we pray and meditate, right?"
"I don't know," Frank replied. "Maybe you can
think of something better..?"
Capo laughed. "No, Frank, I can't. So, take it away: guide
us on your meditation, and may our humble offering find acceptance with the
Almighty God and save the world!"
Frank laughed. "I want you to write me a song about this
afternoon, you hear?"
"Your wish is my very command," Capo answeredwith a bow of his head.
"All right," Frank went on . . .
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