The Lodging for the Rose

No doubt, we face some exciting prospects when we begin to look at love in its absolute form as a universal principle, rather than merely a personally circumscribed limited spark. Those prospects are certainly worth a thorough exploration as they promise us a brand new, win-win world. And it all looks achievable.

Well, it appeared much less that way in the early 1980s when I launched the project to pursue an exploration of what is involved, in the context of a novel. The project promised to be exciting, and it was that, but it also proved to be vastly more extensive than I ever imagined it could be. Over the years, the work became expanded into a series of five novels, instead of just one. The subject simply couldn't be dealt with within a smaller sphere.

I have named the series for this discovery, ^The Lodging for the Rose.^ The background for the title isn't readily apparent, as it is imbedded in the flow of the story itself. Its metaphor, however, is such that it can have a multitude of meanings, and they would all likely be correct in the context of the vast range of the subject of universal love. The metaphor encompasses even the intriguing question of how a gardener loves a rose?

Is the object of the gardener's love really the beauty of the rose? Or is the beauty born within the gardener's heart, which is but mirrored in the rose? And if this is so, is all love but an out-flowing reflection of our self-love? Indeed, where do we find the lodging for the rose?

The beauty of a rose means nothing to an ape or to an alligator; and to a bee, it only signifies food. But to us, it has a meaning that goes very deep. It represents the richness of color, the principles of harmony, the delicacy of life, and countless thoughts that mirror these, and gestures that on special occasions become associated with a rose. But how much more are we ourselves, than a rose?

The rather extensive work of creating the five novels was produced over the space of many years. By its design, the work is not meant to magically inspire a growing love in society for one another. To pursue such a goal would have involved a denial of the underlying principle. Instead, the work was designed to explore the dimension of the love that already exists in our humanity as a fundamental reality of our being, which we all too often try to hide, or fail to acknowledge, or even fear, or shun.

Naturally, a project of this nature, that is designed to explore the love that we have and may allow to unfold in its existing universal dimension, is not a project lightly undertaken, nor was it undertaken without cause. It evolved against the background of society's struggle at the time when the project was begun, to deal with the deadly looming nuclear war threat that had overshadowed all horizons at the height of the Cold War. The ^preface^ for the five volume series still reflects this background to a large degree. But this isn't what the story line is all about, that is thread through the entire series of the five novels. The story line is about the discovery of love in its fuller dimension against all the barriers of traditions and emotions that one must invariably deal with in the context of the principle of universal love.

As it turned out, most of the daring concepts that are imbedded in the story line have become more relevant to our modern time than to the time frame in which the project was launched. Perhaps the reason is that we face ever-increasing threats in today's world that put into question the survival of our civilization. These threats have grown so enormously in recent years that the nuclear bomb threat that one dominated the Cold War era, is but one of many now, and not the most severe one among them, according to all evidence.

I will touch upon some of the modern threats later, within the context of dealing with the myriad dimensions of love for which this overview project has been created. The project has been created in a different context than the novels. It has been created to provide some brief glimpses of the multifaceted nature of universal love in the social and sexual domains at the grassroots level. In order to accomplish this rather ambitious task more easily, I have prepared a collection of twenty-eight excerpts from the five volume work, that by their nature can stand alone as unique stories. They illustrate in part the wide range of concepts that evolve in the process of the discovery of universal love. The excerpts are presented out of sequence so as not to give away the story line. Also, they have been carefully selected with this objective in mind.

 Story 1

The first of the twenty-five stories bears the title, ^Lianhua.^ The story deals with the broad, timeless, universal dimension of the principle of universal love. It spans ages, cultures, creeds, and the boundaries of customs and nations.

It should be noted that this is not how the series of novels begins. The series begins with what one might encounter in real terms, in a person's unfolding exploration of the principle of universal love. It begins on an uncertain note, since the principle of universal love will have to be discovered first, which is not an easy thing to do, which may be perplexing and liable to fail in many ways. For this reason, the story line of the novel begins with the most likely scenario, a gigantic flop.

The challenges that are involved in coming to terms with the demands of universal love in the social and sexual domain, are naturally exciting, but they can also be quite overwhelming. The process involves discoveries from a domain that has itself not yet been discovered. We have been trained for centuries to believe that marriage and universal love can't mix, and if it is attempted, we will inevitably drive ourselves into impossible situations where all hell breaks loose. Thus, we have been inclined to follow this script.

That's how the struggle begins, doesn't it? A paradox begins to unfold between the script and what we feel in our heart, and see with our eyes, and recognize at the depth of our Soul to be true. And the demand to acknowledge what is true won't go away. It prods us to accept what our honesty with ourselves, imposes. Gradually, we begin to respond to what we recognize to be real, and accept the principle of universal love to be real, that is imbedded in our humanity and continuously makes its demands on us to acknowledge its reality. In struggling with this paradox the complications begin. That's how the story line of the novels starts, which of course, is too complex to be carried within the framework of little stories. The little stories are useful, though, as snippets of the larger flow as they single out from it a number of rather unique elements, like the one that unfolds in the second story presented here.

 Story 2

We sometimes encounter a certain irony in life, in that we find it easier to be honest to one another about terrible horrors we may have witnessed, than to be honest to one another about deeply unfolding feelings of love, especially when the feelings of love fall outside the commonly accepted axioms. Is this rational? No! How then is it that we sooner talk about anything else, except what our innermost thoughts are focused on?

I am sure that countless reasons can be cited why this is so. One of these may be an attempt to hide our love behind a veil of pity, and to attract love through pity.

Ultimately, such a diversion is not conducive to enrich one another's existence, which should be the object of one's love. But it can be an expression of a great love just to quietly listen to another, especially in cases of experiences that are not easily told, as in the second story, ^Shoot Them.^

 Story 3

There are certain tricks that we have invented that allow us to talk about love without ever having to make a commitment to it. One of these is to transpose the subject into the academic domain, or into the realm of dreams.

This sort of diversion allows us to wrap into a metaphor what the 'civil' taboos won't permit us to talk about face to face. It is tough enough in many cases to speak about love in direct terms when all the emotions and conventions support such an interchange between hearts. But when they're not, when we face great emotional barriers, we become very small persons and resort to communicating in a hidden manner, most often with jokes.

Is it any wonder then that the subject of love is carefully avoided as if it weren't anyone's concern, unless the subject can be wrapped into some metaphor, preferably a scientific metaphor, or better yet, the scientific metaphor becomes wrapped up in dreams as in the third story, ^A Dream About Love.^

 Story 4

It can be tempting when barriers become monumental, or the response to the heart's yearning a deafening silence, to give up on universal love altogether. In case, can't one simply love oneself, as in the fourth story, ^Self-Love.^

The question arises here if this kind of self-isolation is really possible. Is it possible for a rose-gardener to never love a rose?

In the face of the principle of universal love, where the object of one's love but reflects the beauty in one's Soul, a self-isolation in love appears to be ultimately not possible. Or is it? I let you decide,

 Story 5

It appears to be equally as impossible to isolate mankind from its Soul, than from its love, with Soul being the heart of our humanity that we all share. Empires may pursue such isolating goals politically, and succeed to some degree, but in this larger realm the consequences always force us back into the sphere of love to the point that we rally up a rescue for each other.

Perhaps we find it necessary to do this for no other reason than to preserve our sanity, as in the fifth story, called ^Depopulation.^

It needs to be pointed out that the above stories are not intended to convey a feeling that the entire project of coming to terms with the challenges of universal love, involve a long series of failures and inhibitions. To the contrary, the story line trends radically the other way. It tends to be stretching the envelope of credibility to the limit in daring attempts to embrace the challenges imposed by universal love.

In technical terms, this involves a long development. Often, just to define the challenge takes a long sequence of steps, to say nothing about defining what universal love is. For this reason I have made the first half of the first volume available on-line, on the Internet, in an extensive preview presentation.

An even greater challenge than defining the concept of universal love may arise when one is required to defend it against age old emotions, or when the demand arises that one re-educate ones emotions. This can become a greater challenge than even that, which Shakespeare's Hamlet was confronted with when he faced the unknown, and couldn't respond. Out of his failure in being unable to respond to the demands of universal love against the weight of emotions and the smallness of the society in which he lived, his tragedy unfolded, and with it the greater tragedy of the nation of Denmark that became defeated militarily.

 Story 6

In real terms the demands of universal love are no less formidable than what Hamlet faced, nor are the consequences of failure to meet them any less severe as comes to light in the sixth story, ^Shared Roses.^ This story is but a brief snapshot of a much larger development, like all the other stories that are but snippets of a large and profound, multiply interconnected love and adventure story in which these snippets themselves almost disappear, or appear in a different context as one might imagine.

 Story 7

Another aspect of love, that results from it, is unity. But what is the natural by-product of the principle of universal love in terms of unity. This aspect too, takes the focus once again into a new and rarely explored domain that likewise challenges the imagination. The seventh story pertains to this dimension. It's title is, ^Unity.^

 Story 8

Naturally, the concept of universal unity also a political dimension which is all too often interrupted, with potentially tragic consequences. In such cases the demand becomes proportionately severe and urgent to find a platform on which to restore a basis for unity. This always takes one back to the basics, to the principle of universal love, in some form, no matter how faint, because there simply exists no other foundation in universal principles that one can build on. This unfolds in the eighth story, ^Shadow of the Night.^

 Story 9

The development of unity, really is powered by the principle of universal love. The oneness of our humanity, in an honest appreciation for it, always drives the development of unity. We allow some of this to exist in the form of parties and weddings, but even there we always impose boundaries and barriers, with a few exceptions of course, as in the ninth story, ^The Royal Dance.^

 Story 10

All too often, however, we find ourselves totally blind in terms of finding a basis for unity. Indeed, the subject never comes up when fear rules the scene. Still, the possibility always exists, as in the tenth story of a ^Weapons Mythology.^

 Story 11

The subject of unity in response to universal love covers a rather wide area, not the least aspect of which we find in the sexual domain. I wonder if we have really dared yet to push the envelop in that direction, where dishonesty with ourselves for the sake of conventions and fears block many aspects that might otherwise enrich us and brighten our lives, and in the eleventh story, ^CSB.^

 Story 12

As we allow love to unfold, and we discover more and more of its riches, we literally create ourselves a brand new world, don't we, as in the twelfth story, ^Shopping for Glass?^ Unfortunately, this happens all too rarely. We are not accustomed to enriching our world by enriching the lives of one another. It appears that this quality of universal love is one that has almost become lost, that needs to be re-learned and redeveloped.

 Story 13

In the shadow of this loss we have created for ourselves a rather poor and dismal, and even dangerous world. Instead of enriching one another in love, we steal from one another. We have created a hell from which we have not as yet found the resources within ourselves to escape. The thirteenth story, ^Flat Earth Society^ deals with creeping insanity that unfolds as we distance ourselves from the principle of universal love.

 Story 14

This process of distancing ourselves from the principle of universal love may actually become our global, universal doom. In today's world the doomsday arsenals of nuclear weapons are no longer the largest threat. We know where those arsenals are located, and if we should decide to eliminate their threat from the face of the earth we can do this in the space of a week. The same cannot be said about the threat to human existence that we have created by building up a vast breeding culture for evermore new and deadly diseases. This is what Africa has become under the imposition of policies designed for the radical depopulation of the continent in order to preserve its natural resources for the future need of the Anglo American imperium. This policy was spelled out in 1974 in the U.S. National Security Study Memorandum 200, that became formal policy in 1975. AIDS emerged out of this background in 1980, while the caldron that created it is still boiling unrestrained. We have been extremely luck so far, as none of the new diseases that this caldron produced have been particularly infectious and deadly in comparison with the 1918 flu that wiped out close to fifty million people in the space of a few months, that unfolded from a similar biological breakdown in the wake of the destruction of World War I.

This disease breeding caldron cannot be shut down overnight. In order to eliminate this danger to human existence, we need to rebuild Africa before something universally tragic unfolds from it. And to do that, we need to develop the entire world economically, that no longer has the potential to accomplish such a feat, and to do this, we weed to assure that no more wars are unleashed that would prevent this necessary global development from happening. But this is precisely what is not happening. Humanity is presently facing the madness of a new World War, that has the potential to be the biggest war in all of human history, with consequences that humanity as a whole may not survive, certainly not in the long run since the rescuing of Africa can then no longer be achieved under such circumstances.

In real terms, the principle of universal love holds the key to human survival, which key is presently being destroyed in the wake of a growing insanity. The fourteenth story, ^Mission Africa^ vaguely deal with this challenge. Indeed, this challenge must not be seen as a political challenge, but as a challenge for human development in universal love.

 Story 15

Ultimately, society's development in universal love must unfold at the individual level. It can only unfold individually out of this background. This is reflected to some degree in the fifteenth story, ^In the Flow of Life,^ that deals with four rivers of individual development in a highly metaphoric fashion.

 Story 16

All love affairs should ideally unfold from the background of a rich individual self-development, where riches have been developed that are worthy to be shared, that brighten the sunshine, as in the sixteenth story, ^Horizons of Snow.^ Unfortunately, this kind of love-affair is rare. More often, people seek love from another to fill an emptiness within that they have not bothered to fill with the 'gold' of their own being. They seek love like beggars, begging from the destitute.

 Story 17

Of course, there are those to whom love is a nuisance, even a hindrance in their quest to control the world, to whom human life itself is a nuisance, for life and love are inherently one. When love has been vanquished, life is in danger as the seventeenth story, ^Aquarius on Ice^ illustrates to some degree.

 Story 18

Ironically, it is the background of great dangers that sometimes furnishes an impetus to look deeper into love, and to allow it wider expression than ever before. The eighteenth story, ^Reindeer Research,^ touches on this lovely self-assertion of love that can unfold quite a unique magic. Indeed, the more we allow ourselves to explore the dimensions of universal love, the grander the image of humanity becomes.

 Story 19

The precious nature of our humanity inspired a contest, or rather the story of a contest between Mr. God and Mr. Devil to see which of the two could convince the other of its superiority in terms of the historic development of mankind. Naturally, the devil has a lot of arguments on his side and has asserted his victory more than once, but one factor always prevails against him, which is universal love. Perhaps some day the story will be written differently, if there is anyone left to write it. Well, in my book, the nineteenth story, ^God and the Devil^ ends on the side of love, as it always will for as long as humanity stands. The future of humanity rests in the domain of love. It remains secure of as long as love exists.

 Story 20

Of course, this does not mean that the battle for our humanity may no become lost for a season in some parts of the world, or even in some aspects of human thinking. The battle for love will always be fought at the leading edge of consciousness, and it will continue to be a leading edge scientific battle, but this battle, too, will be marked by the principle of love. Love will revolutionize scientific enquiry. We hand out diplomas in our schools, and diplomas to the professors that authorize them to teach, but who teaches at the leading edge? What motivates scientific discovery, indeed, what develops the process of discovery itself, but the principle of universal love, a love and respect for the human genius and its power to ennoble the universe? Every great cultural achievement has indeed unfolded from a universal love for humanity. Without this, culture becomes regressive and trails in the dust. Story twenty deals with the reversal of that, under the title ^A Poster with Dragons.^

 Story 21

In a very real way, society's cultural and physical welfare rests squarely with its love for humanity. Where this love becomes lost, society becomes a collection of 'empty people' mere living shells without substance. Unfortunately, a lot of society's love for humanity has been drained away by pursuits that degrade, belittle, or actively destroy the very notion of truth and love. The twenty-first story deals with this phenomenon of ^Empty People^ and the implied challenge in our modern world to rebuild a nation or nations technologically, economically, and culturally, with a society of inherently empty people whose humanity has been largely drained away.

 Story 22

In other words, what society needs to rebuild itself in the physical sense, is a renewed focus on what is actually truth. If love makes any demands on humanity, it is a demand to be truthful, to search for the truth, to discover it, to discover its principles, to develop scientific integrity, to develop a profound truthfulness with itself. Indifference, which has become so rampant in our modern world lies far outside the realm of truth, as well as of the realm of universal love. Can we reverse this trend? Indeed, who hold the banner of truth high in the world? One or two perhaps, and who supports their fight for the truth and universal love across the boundaries of the world, and the countless political divisions, ideological and religious barriers, color, greed, age, and status? Those are just as few it appears. This speaks but poorly of our love for ourselves and our humanity that nevertheless remains to be the foundation for our civilization. We live in a precarious world for this very reason, because the discovery of truth and love is one the last things we care to pursue. That's the dimension of the twenty-second story, ^For the Sake of Truth.^

 Story 23

Perhaps the above assessment is a bit harsh, because the foes that drive humanity into its determined struggle against itself, and it welfare, even its existence, represent a formidable force. Nevertheless, the universal principles of truth, and universal love, are likewise a formidable force, even a greater force. In its present stage of a universal division from one another humanity is easily controlled. Without an anchor in truth, society becomes ruled by the orchestration of public opinion, as in Roman times. In real terms, love and truth are but two aspects of the same thing. Neither can exist without the other. They are profound only as a single universal reality that in its oneness enriches everyone who becomes touched by its light and experiences its value. Perhaps the twenty-third story, ^Geometry of an Abduction^ can been seen as prophetic of the rescue of humanity form its own, almost universal abduction.

 Story 24

Do we look for a new law, therefore? Indeed, we do, if this law is defined by the principle of universal love. The alternative is already unfolding. The alternative was laid out a long time ago by imperial notions of the Huxley, Wells, Russell game plan for a new world order in which humanity is to be ruled by enforced poverty and the iron fist of raw power and the enforcement threats of nuclear weaponry. Hiroshima was mankind's wake-up call, the open trumpet blast, performed directly out of the script of the Russellite game. Now doubt, this order will be the order of the world as the rock bottom default state of fascist existence, unless universal love becomes the new law, as in the twenty-fourth story, ^Queen of the New Law.^ Ironically, the fascist iron hand of raw power is not a power at all in the ultimate sense as it reigns only in the default world in which the principles of universal truth, and universal love, have been banished from the human mind.

 Story 25

This default state, a state without truth and love, is the kind of state that exists when humanity has been poisoned to its very Soul, or against its universal Soul. In this context the consciousness of humanity can be likened to a great lake into which many rivers flow, and as these rivers become poisoned, so becomes the lake as a whole. This is the focus of the twenty-fifth story, "The Hydrology of Poyang Hu." The lake Poyang is located in China where the exploration of this principle unfolds in the story. The lake itself has many rivers flowing into it, with an outflow into the Yangtze, one of the great rivers of the world. The story takes place there, because this lake has become a become a new home in the story, and is still very much alive. The poisoned lake under discussion is America, or rather what America has become.

 Story 26

The question arises here, as to whether it is fair to America, which only represents much of mankind in this situation, to leave the end of the story hanging on a negative note. Perhaps it isn't fair to do this, because America has also brought forth the most profound fighters for a new world. Indeed, the potential exists for any poisoned lake to be renewed. Still, those efforts are frustrated by stubborn, mindless, opposition, even while we stand once again at the cross roads where the future course of humanity is determined. The momentum of society would force its course once again in the wrong direction, and the determination has been voiced loud and clear that we will burn our bridges behind us as we have done at the beginning of ever major world war. Whether this will be our self-determined fate, or whether we will take hold of the great opportunity before us to open a new page for our human future that bears the inscription of universal truth and love cannot be determined.

In other words, the twenty-sixth story has not yet been written. Indeed, you are in the process of writing it. Nor has the title been yet determined. It could simply read ^Another Opportunity Lost,^ or it could even read, ^The Last Opportunity Lost.^ In too many instances in history have the great moments, bright with profound opportunities to uplift humanity, been squandered by the pathetic minds of little people who could not see them, and closed minds of society who simply couldn't care less.

The potential, of course, exists that for once in the our modern world the right choices will be made, and as in 1648 humanity puts its signature onto a new treaty with itself that enthrones the principle of universal love, and truth, and sovereignty, as in the case of the Treaty of Westphalia. When this happens, the last story in discovering love will likely bear the title: ^Here Begins Our Life."

 Story 1a

With this in mind, let me take you once more to the beginning of the five novels, to the story of a healing, the story of, ^The Lateral Lattice of Human Hearts.^

The story is based on an actual experience that involves a visual image of a universe founded on the principle of universal love. It is a simple story, but it offers in metaphor a foundation for the healing of mankind.

 Story 2a

This story too, unfolds quite early in the first of the five novels. It involves the beginning of a healing of a different type, that to some degree reverberates throughout the entire sequence of the novels. It is the story of a daring attempt to face the dimensions of universal love with an honest heart in the kind of difficult terrain where few would dare to tread. The story is called, ^In the Brilliance of a Night.^

 Story 3a

This final story in the sequence presented here unfolds in the fourth episode. It too, is the story of a healing, a kind of healing that appears far out of reach, but is inevitable. If this kind of healing is not achieved, but becomes preempted by a general collapse into insanity, the unthinkable becomes inevitable.

The title of this final story is, ^Here Begins a New World.^

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