Bees: Wonderfully And Fearfully Made

Posted on April 29, 2020 Leave a Comment

Excerpt: Biodesign Out For A Walk, Chap. 11, Matthew II

“Who can comprehend a submicroscopic, life-enabling molecule of information that can guide an ant or bee or elephant into making millions of yes/no, life/death decisions? Every one has its miracle story, none of which is humanly comprehensible.”

Although 2020 is officially the Chinese “Year Of The Rat,” in the Young homestead it has become the year of the bee. It began with a big spike in the Mason Bee population in our garden. Mason bees are mostly female who lead an almost totally solitary life with the only contact made while mating with males who typically die shortly thereafter. The males do not have a stinger, and the females will only sting if trapped or squeezed. This makes them an ideal neighbor for the home garden, since they pose little to no threat of stinging.

In many ways, honeybees are starkly different. They are highly social and a healthy colony may include 50,000 bees. They depend on each other and if bothered can be easily provoked. Giving up their lives, female “worker bees” can insert a stinger, usually attached to a venom sac, that injects venom into human skin. The sting is often painful and the effects of the venom can last for days.

None of the aforementioned information was of much importance before a tree-service crew arrived to fell one of our huge oak trees that was posing a threat to our neighbor’s property. The tree was safely lowered and it became my task to clean up the brush and saw the trunk and limbs into rounds. That’s when I discovered a honeybee hive hidden in the hollow of the tree.

While I consider myself a devout Naturalist, the prospect of being stung by 100s of angry bees was quite scary. I quickly invoked Charles Darwin (survival-of-the-fittest) and decided the hive had to be eliminated. When I shared this view with my wife Christie, she was shocked by the possibility of losing so many of her bee friends. Of course, I should have known that she would channel St. Francis of Assisi and her concern conjured up the words of one of the hymns that our family enjoyed singing in church:

“All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful

The Lord God made them all.”

“All Things Bright and Beautiful” is an Anglican hymn, also sung in many other Christian denominations. The words are by Cecil Frances Alexander and were first published in her Hymns for Little Children.

Having no idea what to do, I consulted a local apiarist for advice. She quickly discerned that, due to the size of the trunk, relocating the hive intact would not be feasible. She mentioned another option, but indicated it may take two weeks to remove the bees. Meanwhile, she was keenly concerned about the newly horizontal position of the hive and indicated that even one hot day could alter the structural integrity of the hive and possibly cause irreparable damage.

“Whatever you do,” she said, “ better do it at night to minimize risk to you and trauma to the bees.” Having no beekeeper equipment I had to improvise and prepare for an after-dark mission. My chainsaw would be needed to make crosscuts above and below the hive in order to return the trunk to the vertical position. Because of evening noise regulations I notified our neighbors and the local police about my pending soiree with the bees. The police dispatcher seemed amused with my request, probably because it had nothing to do with Covid-19.

A long-sleeved shirt and Levis would be covered by mechanic’s coveralls, wrapped with duct tape at the ankles. A rain parka with hood that could be cinched down tightly around my face that would be covered with a facemask. A hiker’s headlight was at the ready. Leather work gloves would hopefully protect my hands. Christie mused that I looked like medical personnel working in a Covid hospital. I double-checked the chainsaw and procured bubble-wrap to seal the entrance. I had never embarked on an operation like this and the fear of possible attack by a swarm of angry bees was palpable. As nightfall approached we both felt like we might lose our dinner.

Everything was in place and the bubble-wrap was quickly inserted. And then I was cursed by a double whammy of quotes: Whether Murphy’s Law, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong,” or Robert Burn’s; “The best laid plans of mice and men;” the chainsaw refused to start. However, after using a couple of farmhand expletives, the motor roared to life.

I made the first crosscut 18 in. below the hive opening and rolled the round out of the way. Then I quickly made the top cut, 18 in. above the opening. The hardest part was repositioning the 300 lb. stump into the vertical position. As I wrapped my arms around the stump section, the frenetic buzzing of thousands of angry bees resonated throughout my body. I tried not to think of what would become of me if they escaped their temporary prison and attacked the source of the alien noise and shocking vibrations.

The section of trunk was secured in the vertical position and I fled the scene. I had brought along a 15 ft. pole saw that I used to retrieve the bubble-wrap, and then quickly retreated to the safety of our home. Meanwhile, Christie was texting every stage of the drama with two of our daughters. All three were cheering me on from at least six feet away from the hive.

As I write this, life in the hive seems to be returning to normal. The bees are busy flying to and fro on their busy errands.

We hope that the hive did not sustain any permanent damage.

I would not describe the experience as “bee’s knees,” but an adrenaline-inducing event that was hopefully once-in-a-lifetime.

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

The Book Whisperer

Posted on April 15, 2020 Leave a Comment

“A spiritual partnership is a partnership between equals for the purpose of spiritual growth. Spiritual partners use their delightful experiences together as well as their power struggles to learn about themselves and change themselves.” – Gary Zukav

Excerpt: Biodesign Out For A Walk, Forward by Linda Williamson.

I now realize that one of the great lessons of Biodesign was learning how a strong marriage works. Christie was, and is, the strength behind the scenes; the wind beneath Lowell Young’s wings.

Linda Williamson is one of my most-admired colleagues who taught at St. Helena High School. As a consummate world traveler, she was keenly aware of the myriad of logistical challenges of moving a group of 40 people from St. Helena to Grand Canyon and back six days later. As a chaperone on one trip to The Canyon, she watched Christie dispatch the tasks with skill and grace.

However, Christie’s role in the Biodesign Program, was metaphorically wider and deeper than Grand Canyon. She is a bibliophile and eventually provided 20-30 books that became the physical—mental—spiritual fabric of what evolved into Biodesign.

One of our Goddaughters is astutely aware of this and dubbed her “The Book Whisperer.” The designation is a soulful sobriquet and bares witness to the fact that Christie has been my personal “Book Whisperer” for nearly 55 years and affirms Linda Williamson’s observation:

Christie was, and is, the strength behind the scenes; the wind beneath Lowell Young’s wings.

The photo was taken 5 years ago at our 50th wedding anniversary. It was celebrated at San Francisco’s, The Golden Mirror Restaurant, the same restaurant I proposed to Christie 56 years ago.

Three years earlier (1961) the Wedding Song was written by Noel Paul Stookey (Peter Paul & Mary) as a gift to be sung at the wedding of his pal and singing partner Peter Yarrow. The song has become legendary and been sung at countless 1000s of weddings.

Although the song was likely inspired by the Gospel of St. Matthew, the magical blend of lyrics and melody can create transcending moments for all who celebrate the mystery and sanctity of marriage.
Christie recently joined Facebook and can be contacted at https://www.facebook.com/christie.young.50702

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

Anne Frank—Dealing With The Covid-19 Virus.

Posted on March 25, 2020 Leave a Comment

On the third day of complying with Napa County’s “shelter-in-place” edict, my mind drifted back to happier times at Yosemite Valley. Typically, during the Class orientation session on the meadow beneath the watchful eye of Half Dome, I shared Anne Frank’s reflection:

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As long as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be.”

The contrast between Anne’s quasi-imprisoned life and where we were sitting was almost too schizophrenic to resolve.

For many very strange and mysterious reasons, the Biodesign Class was privileged beyond all imagination. Sitting in a sacred circle, with young curious minds, contemplating the works of John Muir and Mother Nature’s magnificent Yosemite Valley, often generated thoughts and emotions that defied description.

We were sitting on a meadow where American Indians lived perhaps 3,000 years ago, and the Awahnechee Tribe dated back 800 years. Perhaps their spirits conjured up Black Elk’s prophecy:

“I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of all things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being. And I saw the sacred hoop of my people was one of the many hoops that made one circle, wide as daylight and as starlight, and in the center grew one mighty flowering tree to shelter all the children of one mother and one father. And I saw that it was holy.

It seems that as a response to the covid virus, many people are following Anne Frank’s advice, even if they may not be going alone. Unfortunately, by flocking back to Nature in droves, many of the State Parks, beaches and recreation areas had to be closed.

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

Lenten Meditations: God vs. Science

Posted on March 2, 2020 Leave a Comment

“It’s déjà vu all over again.” Yogi Berra

In 1946, anthropologist Loren Eiseley exposed the hypocrisy of scientists who dismissed the Biblical story of creation as mythical and unprovable and then proceeded to replace the poetic metaphor with The Big Bang Theory, which is equally mythical and unprovable.

Eiseley, who has been described as one of the great science/spirituality writers and along with many honors, was awarded the Pierre Lecomte du Noüy award to writers who described the overarching themes uniting science and religion.

When he wrote; “The story of Eden is a greater allegory than man has ever guessed,” he was aware that secular scientists were using their God-given gift of free will to devise theories and models that supposedly proved that God did not exist.

Like the eminent naturalist, Louis Agassiz, he was not convinced that Darwin had answers for any of the “big” questions in biology: The origin of the Universe; the origin of living things; the Precambrian explosion; the origin and rapid dispersal of the angiosperms, the rapid increase of the human neocortex; the origin of human “values—consciousness—free-will;” the origin of non-genetically transferred “gifts” of music—art and logical/mathematical genius.

70 years later, physicist Alan Lightman published, Searching the Stars on an Island in Maine. While the book may be a personal “tour de force” of his academic brilliance, as a self-described “humanist,” he confesses that science cannot prove or disprove the existence of God. To his credit, he questions his own credibility and that of other secular scientists who have eschewed Newton’s laws of conservation of matter/energy, the very laws that hold the universe together. Collectively they boldly proclaim that “The Big Bang Theory” is the Alpha and Omega solution to the Universe, without describing what the Universe was at T minus 1, or how a universe could exist before time was created. Lightman is not alone. There is a legend that on his deathbed, Einstein smiled and said, “But I still wonder how nothing can become something.”

Evidently Lightman was inspired by a transcending experience; “looking up at the stars off the coast of Maine.” He also shared a goose bump-inducing account by clergyman William James: “I stood alone with Him who made me, and all the beauty of the world and love, and sorrow, and even temptation. I did not seek Him, but felt the perfect union of my spirit with His…”(Varieties of Religious Experience).

Surely he knows that neither of those accounts can be explained by Darwinism and the great naturalists John Muir, R-W Emerson and Henry Thoreau described them as transcendental events that are essential components of being fully human—fully alive.

Lightman touches briefly on human ego, but in the debate of science vs religion the issue is of paramount importance. It is intriguing to wonder if he is familiar with the acronym “EGO” (edging God out) that is frequently used by people of faith. One of the extreme examples of “EGO” can be found in Stephen Hawking’s book, The Grand Design. Hawking has risen to a Greek-god-like status in academic circles and I suspect that his book has replaced the Holy Bible on the bookshelves of many secular scientists. He boasts that believing in God is obsolete because the universe is so complex that it made itself out of nothing. To many people of faith this represents the highest form of ego/narcissism by inferring that he is smarter than God.

When I share his theory with non-scientists their responses range from shock, disbelief, derision and even laughter. One of my “cowboy” friends scoffed and asked, “Do intelligent people really believe that “b s”?”

The cowboy prefers Albert Einstein’s more humble theology to the arrogance of secular scientists:

“The scientists’ religious feeling takes the form of a rapturous amazement at the harmony of natural law, which reveals an intelligence of such superiority that, compared with it, all the systematic thinking and acting of human beings is an utterly insignificant reflection.”

Lightman suggested that most cosmologists are atheists and I can envision a group of them on a starry night, shaking their fists upward and chanting, “There is no God!” and toasting each other with a glass of Napa Valley Cabernet.

It is intriguing that he does not entirely share Hawking’s unbelief, but seems to admire people of faith and the huge contributions they have made to civilization. In a hauntingly transparent passage he wrote:

“But nonbelievers have a great deal of difficulty. It may be that quantum physics can produce a universe from nothing, without cause, but such an accidental and unanalyzable origin for EVERYTHING seems deeply unsatisfying, at least to this pilgrim. [A person who journeys to a sacred place for religious reasons]. In the absence of God, we still want causes and reasons… I respect the notions of God and other divine beings. However, I insist on one thing. I insist that any statements made by such beings and their prophets about the material world, including statements recorded in the sacred books, must be subject to the experimental testing of science.”

One of his saddest confessions is; “I will admit that incoming stimuli are not forming patterns to my personal satisfaction.”

Again his lamentation contrasts sharply with Albert Einstein:

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom the emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand wrapped in awe, is as good as dead —his eyes are closed. The insight into the mystery of life, coupled though it be with fear, has also given rise to religion. To know what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty, which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their most primitive forms—this knowledge, this feeling is at the center of true religiousness.”

Perhaps, instead of searching for God in the ivory towers of Babel, Lightman might consider embracing King David’s profoundly penitential Psalm 51 (Hebrew Bible). Or contemplate the wisdom of Albert Einstein, one of the great scientist/humanitarian/spiritual writers in human history.

In a splendid irony, Lightman may have become an unwitting advocate of Genesis 1:27; “So God created man in his own image.”

Comments welcome.

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

“ I Sing The Body Electric.” Walt Whitman

Posted on January 20, 2020 Leave a Comment

Kirlian photography has fascinated me for over 50 years. It was discovered in 1939 by Semyon Kirlian and all these years later, there is little agreement among scientists as to what the images represent or their value.

I don’t know if there is spiritual connection to Kirlian images, but a quick click to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirlian_photography yielded three images that seem to resonate with Walt Whitman’s poem, “I Sing The Body Electric.”

The larger image appears to be a human silhouette with a bright crimson aura. The two smaller images are multicolored human fingertips. (Photo credits: Wikipedia.org)

Whitman’s poem is part of the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass where he explored the physical body at length. In other poems he has established the interconnectedness of the body and the soul; here he celebrates the primacy of the body and its importance in forging connections between people.

Physiologists have known for a long time that all human thoughts, ideas and actions are enabled by billions of electrochemically-activated neurons. Many scientists, sages and poets (including Whitman) believe that this “energy field” does not stop at the body or cranial limits, but radiates outward into the ether. Shakespeare opined,

“A prayer is a thought that starts in the heart and passes through the head on its way to heaven.”

It is not uncommon for some mothers and daughters to share nonverbal communication and pick up the phone at the same instant to call each other. Some identical twins have a propensity for similar communication. People of faith commonly reserve time each day for contemplation and prayers offered up to their Creator. There are rare individuals who appear to be gifted with the ability to “light up a room full of people,” deliver an inspiring sermon or motivate others to seek higher levels of consciousness.

In Felix Adler’s “supreme ethical rule” he stated:

“The hero is the one who kindles a great light in the world, who sets up blazing torches in the dark streets of life. The saint is the man who walks through the dark paths of the world, himself a light.”

Although there are doubts regarding Kirlian photography, what is not in doubt is that warm-blooded animals emit heat in the form of infrared radiation. “Sciencing” is the term used to describe this phenomenon and certain fish, frogs, blood-sucking insects and some snakes have this ability. The snake family known as pit vipers, which includes pythons, boas, and rattlesnakes, have a particularly well-developed ability to sense heat in the dark thanks to their infrared vision. They have pits lined with heat sensors along their upper and lower jaws.

Although humans generally experience infrared radiation as warmth, there is increasing evidence that some people have the ability to actually see infrared radiation in the form of auras. I have no idea whether this is a legitimate form of parapsychological phenomenon, however, once when I was leading a discussion from the front of the biology lab, a very perceptive girl shouted out, “Mr. Young, you are surrounded by a bright red aura!” I had no idea what it meant.

Robert Burns, another great poet wrote; “To see ourselves as others see us…” Although most people will not likely see Kirlian images, infrared radiation (or auras) most have the gift of being able to “read” each other’s joy/sorrow, anxiety/peace, anger/frustration and a plethora of human emotions and spiritual phenomena.

The whole-body Kirlian image seems to support Whitman’s poem and may be related to what the student saw surrounding me. However, the two smaller images are intriguingly labeled male and female fingertip. Is it possible that gender is also projected in human energy fields? Is this part of the mystery of what generates “chemistry” between people?

Perhaps this is what movie producer/director Steven Spielberg had in mind when he created, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, a 1982 science fiction film. The quintessential moment occurred when Elliot and “E-T” cautiously extend index fingers for an electrifying finger-tip-touch.

Although the practical value of Kirlian images may remain obscure, perhaps their value is supporting Pierre Chardin’s contention that humans are spiritual beings. As such, it has been shown that without physical, mental and or spiritual touching the human soul withers and the body follows.

For this old spirit-warrior, it is sad to know that because fewer and fewer children are attending Sunday school, they will not experience the joy of singing:

“This Little Light of Mine, I’m going to let it shine.”

It is also tragic to note that in an increasingly secularized and materialistic society, spirituality is conversely being ignored or dumbed-down and more and more people will spend their entire life not realizing the potential power of their unique energy field.

In a beautiful synchronicity, what began as a whimsy about Kirlian photography, led me to join Walt Whitman in his exuberant celebration:

“I Sing The Body Electric!”

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

John Muir: Reflections Of The Soul In The Sierra Nevada

Posted on January 6, 2020 Leave a Comment

Excerpt: “The Soul Of The World,” by Phil Cousineau/Eric Lawton

“If my soul could get away from this so-called prison, be granted all the attributes generally bestowed on spirits, my first ramble on spirit-wings would not be among the volcanoes of the moon. Nor should I follow the sunbeams to their sources in the sun. I should hover about the beauty of our own good star… my first journeys would be into the inner substance of flowers, and among the folds and mazes of Yosemite’s falls. How grand to move about in the very tissue of falling columns, and in the very birthplace of their heavenly harmonies, looking outward as from windows of ever-varying transparency and staining.” – John Muir

“The soul is the name for the unifying principle, power, or energy that is at the center of our being. To be in touch with soul means going back to the sacred source, the site of life-releasing energy, the activating force of life, the god-grounds; to venture forth and confront the world in all its marvelous and terrifying forces, to make sacred our hours here; to learn to pay such supreme attention to the world that eternity blazes into time with our holy longing. Soul-making, this.” – The Soul Of The World

I suspect that every Nature lover would enjoy having a copy of “The Soul Of The World” in his/her “Nature/Spirituality” library. A used copy, in good condition, can be purchased for merely $5.00 @ Amazon Books:

The book is a veritable cornucopia of philosophies that resonate with the essence of Muir’s life and legacy—a treasure trove of gems of Nature’s wonder and wisdom, which became a primary reference in the Biodesign curriculum. We often began class with a selection from one of over 60 of the world’s great naturalists, including John Muir.

However, Muir did not discover the genre of “eco-spirituality.” Anthropologists claim that the first dim inklings of human spirituality appeared about 100,000 years ago. The Holy Bible includes “The Book Of Psalms,” which is rife with examples of the interrelationships between Nature—God and the human spirit. The earliest Psalm was probably written circa 1400 BC, however, nearly every religion of the world includes similar examples. Some Native American tribes have orally passed down eco-spiritual stories, legends and wisdom for thousands of years.

What Muir did, however, was to share wisdom, prophetic prowess and exultant descriptions gained from his experiences in the wilderness. All of these have made eco-spirituality more relevant in an increasingly materialistic world. He has inspired and encouraged millions of people to become proactive in soul-stretching exercises.

Following Muir’s advice into the pool beneath Yosemite’s Nevada Fall was not my idea. Like many of the creative ideas that became part of the Biodesign experience, a student posed, “If that was the first place Muir would travel on spirit wings, should we not follow his cue?” After their Muir-esque “baptism” many students expressed utter frustration with the lack of descriptive words and concluded that the experience was “transcending.”

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

Thanksgiving—Turkeys—Apples—Indian Corn

Posted on November 25, 2019 Leave a Comment

One of the greatest scientific events on Planet Earth was the inception of the biological design of sperm and egg. It should be the source for jubilant thanksgiving, for without them the highest form of life Earth would have been marine or fresh-water green slime.

Excerpt: BOFAW, Chapter 26; “Soul Medicine.”

“While walking in the Mendocino woods, the students came upon a pickup truck with a camper. The back bumper featured a sticker that boldly stated, “Don’t come a-knockin’ if this truck’s a-rockin’.” The boys began to cheer, and the girls said the boys were disgusting. I discovered that the best word that defined the teenage humor gender gap was “disgusting.”

Photo credit: kitchenfloorcrafts.blogspot.com

Once we were discussing the importance of Mendel’s laws of segregation and independent assortment in evolution. I reminded them that a good example was the fact that every corn kernel resulted from a sperm that swam down a silk thread and fertilized an ovum. Gina blurted out, “Mr. Young, ever since you told us that in our sophomore year, I haven’t been able to eat corn; it’s disgusting.”

It can be a fool’s errand to overly anthropomorphize biological organs, but generally the girls were not too pleased when we identified apples as enlarged ovaries.

The turkeys that will grace millions of Thanksgiving tables are distant relatives of the ones Pilgrims feasted on. They have been selectively (and probably artificially) bred so that they have huge breasts and are unable to fly.

I find it fascinating that every turkey, every kernel of corn, every apple and every human being began when a sperm fertilized an egg in a mysterious process that scientists have yet to fully comprehend.

Many people may no longer say grace before their thanksgiving dinner, but the mere existence of sperm and egg should be reason enough for shouts of exaltation and gratefulness.

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

John Muir: Flying Lessons off of Half Dome

Posted on November 19, 2019 1 Comment

“Come to the edge, he said.
We are afraid, they said.
Come to the edge, he said.
They came to the edge,
He pushed them and they flew.
Come to the edge, Life said.
They said: We are afraid.
Come to the edge, Life said.
They came. It pushed them…
And they flew.” Christopher Logue

After nearly blinding one eye in an industrial accident, John Muir declared:

“I bade adieu to all my mechanical inventions, determined to devote the rest of my life to the study of the inventions of God.”

This was primarily accomplished in Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. He launched himself on a self-imposed mission to probe the edges of his humanity and spirituality. Muir not only thrived at seeking transcendental experiences, he enjoyed urging others to seek their respective “edges”where he could give them a gentle push.

100 years before hang glider pilots began launching off of Glacier Point, Muir was urging anyone he could to climb any mountain peak and test his/her spirit wings. I know about this because 50 years ago he called me to the top of Half Dome and gave me a gentle push. My maiden flight was exhilarating and inspired me to lead 24 groups of high school biology students to the top of Half Dome to test their spirit wings. Typically, they were thrilled and like Muir, saw visions, marvels and wonders that defied human description.

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

(Muir image: A-Z Quotes)

John Muir—Silence—Grand Canyon

Posted on October 23, 2019 Leave a Comment

“And where better to grasp in one panoramic sweep the reality of time and change but on the rim of the Grand Canyon, the world’s greatest geological gash?” – “The Thread Of Life,” by Roger Lewin.

GRAND CANYON is also, arguably, the greatest page of biological history and therefore the greatest biological “laboratory” on planet Earth. After reading the adventures of John Muir in the Grand Canyon in our advanced biology class “Sean” commented, “obviously, we ‘have to go there to know there’.” I eagerly agreed, but replied that the financial and logistical limitations of flying 30 high school biology students 1100 miles to Grand Canyon would be insurmountable. However, Muir and Sean planted a seed and through an amazing series of synchronicities, the next year’s Class flew to Grand Canyon on a glorious, 6-day trip with Muir as our guide. Not only that, 14 more successive classes had the extreme privilege of hiking to the bottom of “The Incomparable Canyon” and spending two nights at Phantom Ranch.

John Muir was his own biggest critic. When he muttered, “These dead bony words rattle in one’s teeth… I can’t get a reasonably likeable picture off my hands…” he was lamenting the fact that spiritual events and awareness cannot be translated into spoken or written words.

He was probably referring to Yosemite, however if he were referring to Grand Canyon his task would have become exponentially more difficult.

Therefore it should not be surprising that perhaps his most cogent assessment of Grand Canyon involved silence rather than words.

Excerpt: “John Muir—Steep Trails,” edited by Wade Naney.

“I have observed scenery-hunters of all sorts getting first views of yosemities, glaciers, White Mountain ranges, etc. Mixed with the enthusiasm, which such scenery naturally excites, there is often weak gushing, and many splutter aloud like little waterfalls. Here, for a few moments at least, there is silence, and all are in dead earnest, as if awed and hushed by a earthquake.”

Muir was aware that as magnificent as Yosemite Valley was it was typically emotionally manageable. Visitors were prone to engage in exultant chatter, each eager to share what she/he was experiencing. This kind of behavior is practically non-existent on the rim of the Grand Canyon. As visitors approach the rim, idle chatter wanes until nearly all standing on the brink of the massive chasm, stand in stunned silence. When they turn to leave, many probably agree with the poet who penned;

“The only thing God left out of the Grand Canyon was the words to describe it.”

Unlike Dorothy facing the curtain hiding The Great Oz, there is no curtain blocking the view and visitors are invited to be swallowed up in the Great Mystery.

One year, one of the better writers in The Class, missed the essay due-date and tearfully suggested that I should give her a failing grade. She mentioned that she had made numerous attempts, but the experience was too overwhelming to process. I assured her that I was not interested in failing her and that she should press on.

Four days later she arrived before school looking exhausted, but with a radiant smile. She described bolting out of bed at 1:00 AM and writing for six uninterrupted hours.

Her first draft was beautifully organized, nearly letter-perfect and needed only a few minor changes. When she presented her paper she described walking on The Canyon floor and feeling intensely claustrophobic as if the walls were pressing in on her. When she passed an Anasazi ruin she felt a deep sense of foreboding and that she did not belong there.

Intriguingly, her Canyon experience proved to be sharply antithetical to her earlier Half Dome experience. It’s little wonder that she was perplexed. Muir would have loved the dichotomy and Carl Sandburg presaged her confusion. While watching a sunset over Grand Canyon, he mused:

‘There goes God with an army of banners;

who is God and why; who am I and why?

He told himself, This may be

something else than what I

see when I look—how do I know?

For each man sees himself

in the Grand Canyon,

each one makes his own Canyon

before he comes, each one brings

and carries away his own Canyon—

Who knows? And how do I know?

“Sean” was correct. We had to “go there to know there,” however, in the case of Grand Canyon, going there does not necessarily mean knowing there. When tourists read the informational plaque that states that the Vishnu Schist rock formation at the bottom is 1.8 thousand-million years old, most brains flash; “Warning! Data-entry-overload! Try again.”

Many of the students agreed with Muir; the most logical response to The Canyon is silence.

When they were composing their post-Canyon-essays, it was common for them to use “Jonah-esque” metaphors involving being ingested by some mysterious being, power, or process and then being egested on the third day as transformed beings.

As for me, I felt like Melville’s “Ishmael” and was supremely blessed to have been a witness for 15 years and see Grand Canyon through the eyes of over 400 very bright, curious and impressionable students. Certainly, none of this would likely have occurred without John Muir and my student/teacher “Sean.” I owe them both a huge spiritual debt of gratitude.

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

John Muir—Professor Butler—Kything

Posted on October 7, 2019 Leave a Comment

The word “kything” became more widely known in 1973 when Madeleine L’Engle published, A Wind in the Door. Evidently she was looking for a term that described soul-to-soul communion and found the word, “kythe” in an 1856 Scottish Dictionary. I was elated by the glorious synchronicity that, although I don’t recall John Muir ever using the word “kythe,” he experienced an intense mystical event that evinced the etymology of the Gaelic-born word.

Excerpt: My First Summer In The Sierra, John Muir.

“August 2—Sketching all day on the North Dome until four or five o’clock in the afternoon, when I was busily employed thinking only of the glorious Yosemite landscape, trying to draw every tree and every line and feature of the rocks, I was suddenly, and without warning, possessed with the notion of my friend, Professor J.D. Butler, of the State University of Wisconsin, was below me in the valley, and I jumped up full of the idea of meeting him, with almost startling excitement as if he had touched me to make me look up.

August 3—Had a wonderful day. Found Professor Butler as the compass needle finds the pole. So last evening’s telepathy, transcendental revelation, or whatever else it may be called was true; for strange to say, he had just entered the valley by way of the Coulterville Trail and was coming up the valley past El Capitan when his presence struck me. Had he then looked toward the North Dome with a good glass when it came into sight, he might have seen me jump up from my work and run toward him. This seems the one well-defined marvel of my life of the kind called supernatural…”

I had never heard the term “kything” before 1988 when my soul-mate-wife gifted me with a copy of, Kything: The Art of Spiritual Presence, co-authored by Louis Savary and Patricia Berne.

The book grabbed my full attention, as the authors explored various methods of spiritual communication, however, I found it intriguing when they stated what “kything” is not. They asserted that kything is not mental telepathy, not an imaginary conversation, not channeling and surprisingly, not necessarily a religious experience.

They described it as the “Art of Spiritual Awareness,” whereby two souls can commune in perfect harmony without words. The idea may be based on the concept of “Oneness.” Apparently, applying the concept puts a person “in kythe” with that which he/she is concentrating on. Kything is portrayed as a way to be present with others without regard to space or time. The practice is waning in Scotland and is practically unknown in the US.

The book became a milestone epiphany for me. The concept was provocative and exciting. Even though the Bible is quite clear about the prognosis of life after death, most Christians are understandably often a bit unclear on the mystery. But the ancient Scotts seemed to be convinced that soul communion was quite natural among the living as well as the deceased. Savary and Berne provided a splendid challenge for me.

In the early years of Biodesign, we had experienced many mystical Jungian synchronicities at Yosemite, but I did not imagine that I was “kything” with the holy ghost of John Muir. However, if what they were claiming were true, it seemed as if that was a real possibility.

Over the years after discovering the book, I made a conscious effort to invoke the soul of Muir on our Yosemite trips. I did not have a “Professor Butler” epiphany, but there were countless events that Muir would have called, “supernatural.”

One year, just before we left on our Yosemite trip, I got a little heady and foolishly boasted to the class that we would see a rainbow. I rued my arrogance for five days until on the last day when a glorious rainbow arched above us. We stood in awe-struck silence. After a few minutes, one of the boys edged over and whispered, “OK, how’d you know?”

I humbly shook my head in denial and said, “I didn’t, and I won’t make that mistake again.”

One class was sitting in the dark in a magical circle on top of Half Dome. We enjoyed a 360-degree view under a brilliant canopy of stars. The students were sharing journal reflections, prose, hopes and dreams in perfect sincerity. Suddenly, the whole Class seemed to be raised to a higher level of spiritual awareness. They conjured up Black Elk’s message:

“Then I was standing on the highest mountain of them all, and round about beneath me was the whole hoop of the world. And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell and understood more than I saw; for I was seeing in a sacred manner…”

The next day one of the chaperones approached me with a solemn countenance and said, “I have never seen anything like that.” I agreed without suggesting that it could have been an extraordinary example of group kything.

Whether Muir’s spirit was present cannot be proved, however, the need for proof of an act of kything seems utterly oxymoronic.

Muir was too modest and shy to even imagine that his soul could remain hovering about Yosemite for eternity, but the possibility has become very real to the thousands of people who have “kythed” his spirit there. If asked to explain the soulful events they generally agree that there are no words to describe them; a perfect corroboration of “kything.”

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com