Symbol Watcher

Two very different world views stood together last night on a University of Mississippi stage: one saw the world through a lens of fear and familiar solutions, while the other talked of repairing relationships and pioneering new programs.

As I listened to Obama and McCain speak, I realized their differing perspectives cannot be explained by any age gap.  There are plenty of older people who’ve remained open to the ever changing world around them.  There are also lots of young people who live their lives in such a narrow, sedentary way that it betrays their chronology.

Both men want America to be prosperous and they want the world to be safe and peaceful, but what steps we need to take to attain that peace and prosperity is where McCain and Obama part.  This parting cannot be explained away by a generational or even political divide, but by something deeper – a difference in how each man views the world and how each man chooses to move about among his fellow human beings.

During the debate, McCain consistently demonstrated a hesitancy to communicate his beliefs on domestic matters and maintained a position of defensiveness on foreign matters.  He gave only one detail concerning his vision of the Wall Street bailout – an allotment to provide loans for failing businesses.  Obama was more open, giving four specific measures he wanted included in the bill – among them aid to homeowners in foreclosure. 

When discussing our nation’s energy policy, McCain said we need to focus on the two same sources of energy we’ve been focusing on for the last 50 years – natural gas and nuclear energy, stating that we could create 45 nuclear power plants by the year 2030.  In contrast, Obama emphasized a mix of new, cleaner and safer alternatives, including wind, solar and bio-diesel.  

Obama mentioned other specific areas he wants to focus on to move the country forward: make college education affordable, invest in science and technology education for children, provide broadband access to rural parts of the country and create a new energy grid that will accommodate the alternative energy sources he wants to develop. 

If McCain has a plan to address the changing energy and economic needs of our country, he did not mention it.  He only mentioned the same programs he has already been involved in — reducing government waste and pork barrel politics.  Both are laudable, but they are not enough to position America to be prosperous in a global economy threatened by global warming. 

No where was McCain’s fear-based world view more apparent than when he talked about international relations.  His proposed responses to terrorism and other threats of violent domination center around a defensive, us-vs-them mentality.  McCain believes that Obama’s plan to sit down and talk with leaders of Iran and South Korea will only serve to “legitimize their behavior,” as if America could not make it clear that the purpose of meeting with these leaders would be to iron out the differences between us, not condone past behavior and policies.

McCain said he would form a “League of Democracy . . . to impose painful sanctions against Iran.”  Taking a broader world view, Obama responded that it would serve America better if we made sure the non-democratic powers Russia and China also issued sanctions since they trade extensively with Iran.  He went on to explain, ”. . . the notion that by not talking to people we are punishing them has not worked.  Our efforts at isolation have actually accelerated their efforts get nuclear weapons.”

Many of us, consciously or not, live our lives from a standpoint of one of the two world views demonstrated by McCain and Obama.  Some of us live our lives in a defensive fear.  We build walls around us to ensure some other man/woman/country doesn’t cause us to loose whatever security we believe we have.  Some of us live our lives trying to tear down those walls in an effort to build common ground.  I think that’s why this election is so close.  

– Writeye

September 27th, 2008 | Tags: McCain world view, Obama world view | Category: Current Events |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

The symbolic significance of feet is underrated.  I know I’ve had a lot of dreams about feet over the years.  My feet, and the feet of other characters in my dreams, have been covered with spiders, wrapped in aluminum foil, thawed out, iced up, well heeled, and walking on the most beautiful and sturdy wooden floors you can imagine. 

Some of the oldest symbolism regarding the foot dates back to Buddhism.  The Buddha is represented by the soles of his feet, which show the seven symbols of divine wisdom — conch, crown, diamond, sceptre, fish, vase, swastika and Wheel of Law.  (Please note that the swastika had very positive symbolic origins, including standing for creative energy, before it was contorted by the Nazi party.) 

Going barefoot can also be a sign of humility, such as when Christ washed the feet of his disciples.  Feet were once believed to transmit personal energy from the person to the ground being trod (thus the often used phrase about following in another person’s footsteps).

Feet in dreams often represent our psychological standpoint concerning a particular issue in waking life.  Are your feet on solid ground?  Are your feet clean and healthy and able to get you where you need to go?  Are they injured or dirty?  It follows that shoes in our dreams can symbolize our efforts to try and protect or alter our standpoint.  Are the shoes worn and in need of repair?  Are they new?  How do they feel — comfortable or uncomfortable? 

– Writeye

September 17th, 2008 | Tags: feet symbolism, psychological standpoint | Category: Jungian Psychology, Symbol Brief |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

On Sunday night, I was watching a new show called Fringe.  Just before a few of the commercial breaks, a leaf with a triangle in the middle of it flashed on the screen.  I’m curious what the show’s creators are trying to communicate with that illustration and seeing it has me thinking about the symbolism of the triangle.

Pointing up, the triangle represents male energy, fire, solar power and ascent.  Pointed down, the triangle can become a representation of the female and her pubic triangle, lunar energy, rain.  The hexagram, two triangles laying one on the other pointing in opposite directions, illustrates duality.  It’s a shape that is seen today as the emblem for the state of Israel and is commonly called the Star of David for the Hebrew king who brought Judah and Israel together.  

The triangle is a symbol for the Holy Trinity and is illustrated in Freemasonry’s all seeing eye of providence on the back of the U.S. dollar. 

In the Greek alphabet, the letter Delta (a triangle) was the symbol for cosmic birth.  Maybe the Greek interpretation provides a clue to what the creators of Fringe are trying to say with the triangle on the leaf.  They also intermittently show a frog with the Greek letter Phi on its back, which is a letter used to indicate a mathematical formula I think.  If anyone has any ideas about it, let us know.   

– Writeye

September 16th, 2008 | Tags: Fringe TV show, Triangle symbolism | Category: Symbol Brief, TV Shows |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | Comments (4)

For the last couple hours, I’ve been exchanging e-mails with my brother about the implosion of three of this nation’s five largest investment houses.  My brother, who works in financial services, told me that what happened on Wall Street today will have far reaching ramifications on our economy for years to come. 

I know money is the grease that oils our societal machine, but history has often warned us to keep money in perspective and not let it become the focus of our lives:  “Thou shalt not steal.”  “. . . it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God”  “The love of money is the root of all evil.”  And lets not forget, Avarice is one of the Seven Deadly Sins and is often depicted as a sinner holding a purse or as a miser holding money and being attacked by a beast. 

There are other, less negative aspects to money’s symbolism.  In dreams, money often symbolizes our psychic energy.  For instance, if we dream we have too little money to pay for something or to take a trip somewhere, we may lack the ability to tackle a particular problem or take advantage of a particular opportunity.  If we have enough money to acquire what we want, then the dream may be reassuring us that we can attain whatever goal the dream is focusing on. 

If there’s some other aspect of money symbolism that you’d like to add, please leave a comment.

–Writeye

September 15th, 2008 | Tags: money symbolism | Category: Symbol Brief |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | Leave a comment

The evening air is turning cool and soon I’ll be ending my days with a glass of wine in front of an open fire.  It’s one of my favorite Fall pleasures, but when I think about fire, I know it’s one of our most ambivalent symbols.  

Fire can light our way in the darkness and warm our bodies in the cold.  Yet fire can also feed on our flesh, painfully consuming us until we turn to ashes.  Fire can stand for sexual passion, creative insight, power and wisdom.  Fire can symbolize resurrection, as when the mythical phoenix rose from the ashes.  And the ancient story of Prometheus stealing the gods’ fire reminds us that is associated with divine energy; fire is the one element both humans and gods can produce.  The condeming and destroying aspect of flames is seen in the fires of hell and the burning of witches at the stake.    

Have you ever had a dream or event in your life that gave you some insight into the symbolic significance of fire? 

– Writeye

September 14th, 2008 | Tags: fire symbolism | Category: Symbol Brief |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | Leave a comment