Some Thoughts About Time….
by Bernie Bell - 08:53 on 18 October 2024
Some Thoughts About Time….
I finished reading ‘Threading the Labyrinth’ by Tiffani Angus and left the short story at the end of the book for another time - thinking it was a separate thing. When I read it, I realised that it isn’t a separate thing - if anything, it draws it all together.
I’ve emailed my friend Fred, suggesting that he reads the book and the short story.
Fred wrote ‘A Brief Explanation of Time’ and he had an epic poem dictated to him by a future poet who hopes to stop the way of the world in which he is living, from happening.
Best if I quote my exchange with Fred….
Fred sent me his ‘Brief Explanation of Time’…
https://frederickturnerpoet.com/?page_id=94
And this is what followed….
Me to Fred…
“On Mon, Nov 22, 2010 at 7:23 AM, Bernie Bell wrote:
Hello Fred
I was just photo-copying your 'Brief Explanation of Time' to send to someone, when the paragraph in the 'Looped and Nonlinear' section caught my eye, regarding observing beings in our own future etc. this reminded me of something which someone I know told me and I thought I'd tell you, as it may be of interest. Here it is.
There's a man who lives in Orkney who is a man of many esoteric interests and what might be seen as unusual ways of seeing life. That's up the people who come across him to decide. I think he's O.K. In the good old way of Victorian story-telling, I’ll use an initial when referring to him.
Here's what ‘D’ told me.......he's aware of a man living in Victorian Britain who is in a lunatic asylum because he is aware of ‘D’.
‘D’ is aware of this man but, because of how he is and how he sees the world, he's fine with this whereas this poor man is aware of ‘D’ and the modern world, and he thinks that he's nuts. The people around him think he's nuts too, so he's locked up in an asylum.
‘D’ thinks this is a real shame and is very sorry for the man, as am I. He tries to re-assure him but, well, I suppose it all just makes the man think that he's even more nuts! Having someone in his 'illusion' trying to re-assure him that the 'illusion' isn't an illusion, it's a phenomenon, and not to worry about it!
That's the tale. ‘D’ is a very genuine man, with genuine beliefs in his way of seeing and dealing with the world around him. He wouldn't make this up, or try to bull me by telling me this. We get along well, and he told me about it because he knows that I would sympathise with the situation. So, I can vouch for ‘D's authenticity.
As to what you make of this tale, that's up to you. I accept it, and can easily see it being so, and am terribly sorry for the poor man who thinks he's nuts when, actually, he has a quite extra-ordinary ability. There are plenty of people who would think that ‘D’ is nuts too and, in another time, another place, he would probably have been locked up, as would a lot of people who are open and receptive to a non-linear view of life, generally.
There you are then. A tale of time.
Take it easy
Bernie”
(PS – ‘D’ has since passed from this life - and I haven’t heard a peep from him!)
Fred to me…
“Sent: Monday, November 22, 2010 1:33 PM
Subject: Re: A tale of time......
This is fascinating. Something like it happened to me. If I were to give my honest impression of what happened (as opposed to a sensible psychological explanation), I would say that my epic poem Genesis was dictated to me by a poet in a future that will not now come about at all because I published the poem.
Fred“
Me to Fred….
“Indeed, or it might come about after all. That's the whole "Do we mess with what we see as the 'future' or not?" thing. This is probably teaching my Grandma to suck eggs, but I'll go ahead anyway.......when people 'see' a future, of course it's only what might be. It's not carved in stone, and it's foolish to think that it is. Doing so can cause a lot of problems. If a person thinks that something in the future is set, bound to happen, and they therefore either try to change it, or accept it in a defeatist sort of way, it might actually make it happen, or not, but either thing is not a good idea, as what has been 'seen' is only a possibility, possibly among many possibilities. You'll know this. And it's a recurring theme in the movies!
When I was young, as in, very young, a very small child, I started to know about things which would happen. I also dreamt things which then happened. This kind of thing was among a number of things which used to happen to me and around me and it freaked me out and frightened me. So, for many years, I tried to block the whole thing, not always successfully, as these abilities will out, one way or another. But I didn't like it, and would have preferred that it didn't happen. In recent years, due to a series of experiences, I have not only accepted all this, but am very happy with it, happy to 'walk in Spirit'. The main thing about the whole time shift, time switch kind of stuff was, that I accepted that these things were either going to happen exactly as I'd seen or dreamt them, or maybe something very near, very similar, or not quite what I'd 'seen', in a nut shell, whatever was actually going to happen, would, so me fretting about it, or trying to do anything about it, was not only useless, but might be counter-productive. This helped a lot. It happens now, and I look at it, see what I make of it, and wait and see what will happen. It seems to be the best policy. Unlike the poor man in D's tale, I know I'm not nuts, or, if I am nuts, I can see that I'm happier and more 'sane' than a lot of people around me, who are seen by the world to be more 'sane'. That sounds like I've got a chip on my shoulder, I haven't, I just see a lot of people around me who I consider to be a lot more nuts than such as my friend, and various others. Enough of me.
If you're interested in this theme, you could read a book called 'The Strangers' by Matthew Manning. This tells of how, when Matthew was growing up, he and his family lived in a house which would be said to be 'haunted'. The man 'haunting' the house, Mr Robert Webb, didn't see it that way, as he saw it, what were all these 'strangers' doing in his house? This is why Matthew called the book 'The Strangers'. It's a very interesting read. Not so much about futures and present and them affecting each other, as what's happening when people 'see' people from other times. Mr Robert Webb sees these people in his house, what do they think they're doing there? The Manning family saw Mr Robert Webb, and were affected by his presence in a number of ways. Fortunately, Matthew is someone with the ability and awareness to deal with this in a kindly and careful way. In fact, reading ‘The Strangers' helped me a lot to deal with this stuff. I thought, "If Matthew can do that, I can do that". Matthew now gives Healing, and is well known for this. I’ve met him, twice, and, again, he's a very good man, not someone to make things up. Anyway, why make up stuff like that? It doesn't make life easy and he had a terrible time of it when he was young, trying to cope with all the things which happened around him. I also was at University with someone who was at school with Matthew and he, Ray, told he about the stuff that used to happen there. I'm rambling a bit, again! Anyway, an interesting read, an interesting man. And the link, of course, is with the ideas about time, shifting, moving, being, not necessarily going from A to B to C etc.
I started by saying "Indeed" but that your publishing the poem, didn't necessarily stop the poet in the future from doing so. Maybe he/she produces other poems which are published, or not, and maybe the one which you published, not being part of the opus, doesn't matter. Maybe 'your' version, gets lost, disappears in the years in between, and the 'future' poet gets to publish it anyway, as their own. All those 'maybe's', we just can't know. Why would he/she dictate it to you, if that meant losing it for him/her self? I don't know, I'm just playing with thoughts here. Anyway, it was dictated to you, therefore meant to be made public now, so there must be a reason for that, even if it means that it doesn't 'happen' in the future. All you can do, is what you do. What other people do, is what they do, which includes dictating the poem, to you. That's another bee I have in my bonnet - whatever happens, is what's meant to happen, otherwise, something else would have happened. That's logic. Plain logic. Even if it's something pretty dreadful, it's exactly what is meant to happen, at the time, or .......something else......would have happened! My Mum used to say "There must be a reason for raindrops to fall, and there must be a reason , for falling in love." I think it's from a song, but it's a very good thought. I was very lucky in my parents, who were from a long line of cranks and nutters, so they didn't take me to a psychiatrist, they saw that I was, mostly, a happy, sociable child, and let me get on with it. They did try to get rid of the spirit presences in the house where we lived, which isn't always a good idea, but it didn't work anyway. They were Catholics, so they had an exorcism, not a good thing. If we meet a troubled person, we don't whack them across the face, and tell them to clear off, which is what an exorcism does, so why do it to people who don't happen to be in a body? Rambling, again.
I'm glad you found the story of interest. I never know what response I'm going to get, when I cast my bread on the waters. Sometimes, it comes back buttered, sometimes, it don't come back at all!!! It's always good when a person finds interest in what's happening around them. That sounds condescending!!!! Not meant like that, at all, by any means, just a statement of fact.
Keep on, keeping on, and, in case you do so, don't worry about pre-empting your future poet person, I'd say it's all working out, and has worked out, how it's meant to. Whatever that may be!
If we were all v.v. careful about how we might change things, we'd have to shut ourselves in a cupboard for life but then, that would change something. Do you like 'It's a Wonderful Life' with Jimmy Stewart? One of my favourite films.
Stay out there
Bernie”
Fred to me….
“My future poet doesn't like the future he is in, and is willing to sacrifice his own existence to have us go a different way.
Fred”
Back to the here and now….
I’d like to see ‘Threading the labyrinth’ illustrated - I don’t mean lots of illustrations – it doesn’t need them – just some to help to illustrate/illuminate the tale, done by someone or more who ‘gets it’. Maybe even in styles to fit the times - for example, for the 17th/18th Centuries maybe woodcuts.
It’s a corker of a book – and very fitting to read at this time of year.
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