{"id":1558,"date":"2021-08-14T15:57:20","date_gmt":"2021-08-14T22:57:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ralockhart.com\/WP\/?p=1558"},"modified":"2021-08-14T15:57:20","modified_gmt":"2021-08-14T22:57:20","slug":"the-final-ragnarok-has-begun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ralockhart.com\/WP\/the-final-ragnarok-has-begun\/","title":{"rendered":"The Final Ragnar\u00f6k Has Begun"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Owl & Heron Newsletter<\/strong><\/p>\n

Published by the Owl & Heron Press<\/strong><\/p>\n

Russell Lockhart and Paco Mitchell, Editors<\/p>\n

editors@owlandheronpress.com<\/a><\/p>\n

August 2021<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

The Final Ragnar\u00f6k Has Begun<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Paco Mitchell<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I confess. I do not really enjoy Norse mythology.<\/p>\n

Yes, I know I\u2019m being idiosyncratic, but it\u2019s the truth. I do not like the spelling of those non-Latinate names, loaded as they are with cloudy, rainy consonants, such as Mjolnir, Nidggoggr, Ithavillir and so forth. Clearly, too many consonants. And, although it ends in a vowel, we could even throw in Snotra, for good measure.<\/p>\n

No, I prefer sunny Mediterranean vowels in the names of my antique, pagan gods, names such as Osiris, Isis and the Bennu Bird.<\/p>\n

But when I read a\u00a0poem\u00a0<\/em>that Russell Lockhart had written and posted on his blog, a poem derived from a dream he\u2019d had featuring one of those Norse names, I had to change my tune. The Norse name was\u00a0Ragnar\u00f6k<\/em>, referring to \u201cThe Fate of the Gods,\u201d or as \u201cThe Battle at the End of the World.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite my irrational linguist\u2019s dislike of too many consonantal clusters, I had learned enough about the Nordic myths to know at least in simple terms what Ragnar\u00f6k was about.
\nAs if to confuse matters further, however, Russ\u2019s dream applied an adjectival modifier to \u201cRagnar\u00f6k\u201d that drove its point home in a major way\u2014down to the bone, as it were. The adjective was\u00a0\u201cfinal.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Thus, we can reasonably name the dream\u00a0\u201cthe final Ragnar\u00f6k.\u201d<\/em>
\nBut before we reach the gist of my comments, we should first clarify what is implied by an\u00a0unmodified<\/em>\u00a0Ragnar\u00f6k.<\/div>\n

\nIn most archaic traditions\u2014mythic or religious\u2014multitudes of gods, goddesses and spirits have typically abounded. This primordial attitude viewed the world as holy, as sanctified, imbued with spiritual powers and presences. There were sacred oaks, sacred groves, sacred grottos, sacred springs, sacred rocks, sacred promontories, sacred mountains, etc.
\nBy contrast, it should be apparent that our modern world today is deeply profaned, deeply de-sanctified, deeply being sold out for\u00a0money<\/em>.<\/p>\n

As I said, my first exposure to that dream came in the form of a\u00a0poem<\/em>\u00a0Russ posted on his blog. Why a poem? Because dreams and poems are very close cousins. They illuminate one another. And like all good poems, this one\u00a0suggested<\/em>\u00a0more than it\u00a0explained<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Like dreams, poems should be taken symbolically, not literally. And the ambiguity of their images should be welcomed, invited to spur the imagination. Given the sheer scope of this particular dream\u2014for I regard it as global, to the point of being mythical\u2014I would say that the dream addresses itself to humanity in general, though it presented itself to Russ Lockhart personally. After all,\u00a0someone<\/em>\u00a0has to receive these mysterious missives.<\/p>\n

From the moment I first read about the \u201cfinal Ragnar\u00f6k,\u201d the image slammed me so hard I felt it could have been my own dream. How could that be? Wasn\u2019t I being presumptuous? After all, when we think of dreams at all, giving them the slightest bit of credence, don\u2019t we think of them as epitomizing the dreamer\u2019s most inward and strictly personal thoughts, feelings and emotions? There\u2019s considerable skill involved just in\u00a0listening<\/em>\u00a0to someone else\u2019s dream, let alone\u00a0commenting<\/em>\u00a0intelligently on it. How much more risk is involved when the dream has widespread, even global, relevance?<\/p>\n

My answer? A\u00a0lot<\/em>\u00a0more risk, I suspect.<\/p>\n

But I am convinced that the world situation is reaching such a state of crisis, rising so fast, that bold steps must be taken and risks must be faced, if even a few of us are to have a chance\u2014not of solving the global crisis\u2014but of\u00a0preparing ourselves<\/em>\u00a0for what humanity is about to undergo. In fact, I will go a step further, and report an intuition that came to me recently.
\nBut first, a comment on the word \u201ccrisis,\u201d which comes from\u00a0krisis,<\/em>\u00a0the Greek term for \u201cdecision\u201d or \u201cdecisive point.\u201d One use of that word attaches to its medical application, as in \u201cthe turning point of a disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

When I say the world situation is \u201cin crisis,\u201d I use the term advisedly; that is, the entire world is suffering from a disease, and we are passing through a \u201ccritical\u201d phase. There will likely be no unwinding the disease, no backing up to the\u00a0status quo ante<\/em>, no restoration of the \u201cold normal.\u201d We may get through the crisis, to some extent, but I fully expect that, as long as I live, I will be seeing an ever-worsening cascade of novel, unexpected and deeper crises. I do not look forward to it.<\/p>\n

The intuition of which I spoke is both simple and portentous, and it fits snugly within my opening title:\u00a0\u201cThe final Ragnar\u00f6k has begun.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

In other words,\u00a0what we fear is already happening.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Russ\u2019s dream did not say how much \u201ctime\u201d this final Ragnar\u00f6k will require\u2014i.e., \u201chow much longer will the process take?\u201d We can\u2019t really say, of course. I would guess the answer is: \u201cHowever long it takes.\u201d<\/p>\n

I say that, because my studies over the years suggest we have already passed several systemic \u201ctipping points,\u201d i.e., points of no return, points of irreversibility. This has to do with what are called \u201crunaway feedback loops.\u201d<\/p>\n

In commenting on his dream, Russ has already pointed out that all other \u201cRagnar\u00f6kian\u201d end-of-the-world myths, invariably incorporate a\u00a0\u201cnew beginning,\u201d\u00a0<\/em>however modest. A single shoot of green grass is all it takes to signal that the myth of a new world is\u00a0guaranteed<\/em>. We should realize, however, that\u00a0anything bearing the name of Ragnar\u00f6k\u00a0<\/em>implies a widespread\u00a0death of the gods\u2014<\/em>with or without a shoot of green grass.<\/em>\u00a0This is cataclysmic, due to the\u00a0loss and derangement of values<\/em>\u2014and it\u2019s what my intuition says we are already undergoing.
\nEn este momento.<\/em><\/p>\n

Already.<\/p>\n

Right now.<\/p>\n

Therefore,\u00a0now<\/em>\u00a0is the time to begin studying and preparing for the\u00a0final Ragnar\u00f6k\u2014<\/em>for after that, according to Russ\u2019s dream, there will be no further opportunities.
\nAnd the best ways of carrying out those preparations?<\/p>\n

Dream states, or dream-like states.<\/p>\n

Or poems.<\/p>\n

Or art.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

COMING IN AUGUST:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cA Dream Story\u201d \u2026
\nDaniel Burke<\/em>
\n\u2014
\nReview of Craig Holdrege\u2019s\u00a0Seeing the Animal Whole and Why It Matters<\/em>\u00a0\u2026<\/strong>
\nMike Daniels
\n\u2014
\nSigns from the Dreamspace
\n\u2014
\nSome recent postings
\n\u2014
\nThe\u00a0Prologue<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>to\u00a0<\/strong>Dreams: The Final Heresy<\/strong>\u00a0\u2026\u00a0<\/em>Russell Lockhart
\n\u2014
\nContributions from Readers
\n\u2014
\nResources<\/p>\n

Register for the Owl & Heron Press Newsletter at owlandheronpress.website<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2021 Russell Arthur Lockhart, Ph.D., PC, All rights reserved.<\/em>
\nYou are receiving this email because you opted in at our website,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Owl & Heron Newsletter Published by the Owl & Heron Press Russell Lockhart and Paco Mitchell, Editors editors@owlandheronpress.com August 2021 The Final Ragnar\u00f6k Has Begun Paco Mitchell I confess. I do not really enjoy Norse mythology. Yes, I know I\u2019m being idiosyncratic, but it\u2019s the truth. I do not like the spelling of those […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-coming-soon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ralockhart.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ralockhart.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ralockhart.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ralockhart.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ralockhart.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1558"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ralockhart.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1558\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1559,"href":"https:\/\/www.ralockhart.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1558\/revisions\/1559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ralockhart.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ralockhart.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ralockhart.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}