The Advent of Dionysus / Chief Joseph / 9.01

Big Chief Potatoes

1	I should now relate what happened in the spring of 1988, in late May or early June. It concerns Chief Joseph, chief of the Nez Perce Indians, in conjunction with Nez Perce, Idaho, and occurred over a three or four day period.

I was living with my mother at the time, in Santa Rosa, California, when one day she asked me to go to Safeway and buy a bag of potatoes. It was hardly an unusual request, so I went ahead and did as she asked. When I got there I selected a bag of potatoes that were noticeably different. They were called Big Chief Potatoes, and profiled the large face of an Indian on front, an Indian chief, in full headdress, "with feathers and all." While it said they were from Pasco, Washington. It wasn't all that unusual, except I'd never seen a bag of potatoes with an Indian on it, and I kind of wondered about it.

Indian Tapestry

A couple of nights later I had a very unusual dream. And like my experience in chapter 5, I became fully conscious and, was in the spirit. I awoke to find myself sitting in a chair, upholstered a velvety green color (more of a chartreuse), sitting out in front of a secondhand store or trading post, right out next to the street. This is a store that really exists (it did at the time I wrote this), and it's located on Highway 199 North, as you head into Grants Pass, Oregon, just after crossing the bridge.

I found myself sitting in this chair and, there was a rolled-up tapestry—I didn't know what of—sitting on my lap. I then realized I had business with the owner inside and proceeded to go in. When I met the owner I spoke to him; and, when he spoke to me, it was in such a way that the whole shop reverberated, in conjunction with each word he spoke. And I marveled, for everything was directly correspondent or, in the order of who he was. Such was the harmony between himself and those things that revolved around him.

I told him I had a tapestry for him to see, that I didn't know what of, to see what he would be willing to pay me. While in my mind I thought I could get five dollars, and sensed this would be his price; we seemed to read each other's thoughts. But as I unrolled it we were both dumbfounded. It was the picture of an Indian chief, in full battle regalia—and it was beautiful! And we both marveled! I started getting greedy at this point, thinking surely it was worth ten dollars (or more), which I then struggled to say. (I don't like to dicker.) But he said he could only afford five dollars and we couldn't come to an agreement. I then awoke from my dream and began to marvel about what it all meant.

Book of Ezekiel

It was later the next morning, perhaps the following day, that I was working with my meditation, where I "stage things in my mind." Something which I believe is attributable to Dionysus, and is similar to what Ezekiel practiced as outlined in

Ezekiel 4: "Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and portray upon it the city, even Jerusalem: and lay siege against it, and build a fort against it... set the camp also against it, and set battering rams against it round about....Therefore thou shalt set thy face towards the siege of Jerusalem, and thy arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it. And, behold, I will lay bands upon thee, and thou shall not turn from one side to another, till thou hast ended the days of thy siege." (vs 1-8). Now this sort of thing occurs throughout the book of Ezekiel, where he sets his face against various adversaries—countries, kings, etc.—to lay siege and prophesy against them.

And it just so happened I was working with American Indians this morning, and in my mind I was conveying the story of Joseph, the 11th son of Jacob (an older story they could easily relate to). Of how he was Jacob's favorite son and was despised by his brethren, who planned to murder him but cast him into the pit instead, before selling him into slavery in Egypt where he became the governor.

Genesis 37-50

Roy Masters and FHU

I was illustrating this in accord with Roy Masters and the Foundation of Human Understanding, the FHU, who have essentially relocated to Southern Oregon from Los Angeles (specifically to Grants Pass). Now I used to consider Roy my mentor for about ten years (1975 to 1985), when I listened to his radio program. And for the most part I agreed with his views (doctrine). It hasn't been until recently though, since 1987, that I've determined certain things aren't true. (I speak of this in chapters 11 and 12, and give specific detail in chapter 13—The New Church of the Reformed.) While in effect I'm speaking of some of the staff-members at the FHU, and how they conduct themselves, which comes across as brutal and austere. Indeed I've suffered several confrontations at their hands, and to be honest they weren't being fair. Invariably I wasn't their caliber of person, and was ostracized from their midst—i.e., they're a very exclusive group. I speak of this specifically in chapter 13, regarding King Lycurgus.

I've equated my rejection with that of Joseph, and his being despised by his brethren, as this testimony will bear out. I really did have something to offer, but they were so busy proving how tough they were, that they couldn't acknowledge their insensitivity: uncircumcised, probably best describes it. (As I relate in what follows—The Bear and the Garbage Can.) It's as if they were afraid of getting caught with their pants down, and somebody (Roy) might find out about it: "The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner."

Matthew 21:42

This is what I was conveying to the Indians in my mind, as well as the idea that the people of the FHU represented squatters, who had come to Southern Oregon to inherit land that wasn't rightfully theirs. Which is essentially what happened, for many people have moved here, upon Roy Masters' recommendation, to the point of nearly taking over. What I view similarly to the white man—and his "infinite amount of wisdom"—and how he ran the Indian off his land and began defacing the earth. While it was something I had been working on for awhile, before the incident with the bag of potatoes occurred: having already sent the Indians on the warpath against the FHU a number of times in my mind.

While at one point during my meditation I lapsed into a state of unconsciousness (fell asleep), at which point I had a vision: it was an Indian pulling a knife on a white settler. Now things are getting interesting! For it was later that same day, when running through the channels on TV, that I came across a movie about Indians. My mother was in the living room at the time and I said, "Just wait and see, something will likely come out of this." And I said I had been working with Indians in my meditation that morning.

I Will Fight No More Forever

The movie was called, I Will Fight No More Forever, and was about the plight of Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce Indians, and their persecution by the United States government—literally. So here I was working with Joseph, the son of Jacob and, the American Indians! Pursued by General Howard and his men, across Montana at the onset of winter, the Nez Perce were desperately trying to reach the border and flee into Canada (out of Howard's jurisdiction). While at the time I equated General Howard—and his relentlessness—with Roy Masters, and his attitude towards people who do wrong things: who are apt to get run out of town if they don't agree with him or, bashed the head? Now the one thing which is especially interesting, is what touched the whole episode off: one of the Indians pulled a knife on a white settler—like in my vision! Although it was entirely provoked by some of the white people, who committed an atrocity against the Indians.

Now the grand finale of all this—yes there's more—occurred when my mother received a phone-call from one of her best friends during the middle of the movie: who had just gotten back, from all places, Nez Perce, Idaho! It was Dorothy, a Methodist Minister and close friend of the family since I was small a child. (I spoke of Dorothy in chapter 6.) Dorothy and her husband owned a house in Nez Perce, and were vacationing there. While it's interesting that my mother tried getting ahold of her earlier in the week, and was considering the possibility of renting her house in Nez Perce—of all things! But she didn't have her phone-number, and tried getting it by calling information in Nez Perce, to no avail. While there was one final thing Dorothy said over the phone, that she had spent some time in Pasco, Washington, with some friends or relatives. Remember the bag of potatoes, from Pasco, Washington? Well it certainly is intriguing how it all came about!

Eight Years Later

And yet there's more to be told, for nearly the same thing happened eight years later after I gave a copy of this to a friend at work to read. We had talked about the book before, but she began pestering me after I gave it to someone else to read (this and two other chapters). It was right after I got it back and I said, Here! and tossed it on her bench. She began to read it but couldn't concentrate, and I said I didn't have a problem if she wanted to take it home.

A couple of days later after reading about Chief Joseph, she said she was looking forward to reading The Bear and the Garbage Can, and was intrigued by the title. Well that night when she got home and was looking through the paper, The Vancouver Columbian, out of Vancouver, Washington (just north of Portland, Oregon), there it was, an article about General Howard—and his dealings with Chief Joseph! On the very same day! (May 9, 1996). What she would have otherwise overlooked if she hadn't just read about it!

While the article was about General Howard, who was stationed at Fort Vancouver, it essentially reiterated Chief Joseph's story, and spoke of his surrender, on Bear Paw Mountain. Which really corroborates the next experience, for although both occurrences speak of the FHU's uncircumcised attitude (hence the eight years), I wasn't sure it belonged here (i.e., either here or in chapter 13). Yet it would seem some giant bear came out and snatched up Joseph at the last moment! And indeed, these were Joseph's very own words: "We were like dear. They were like grizzly bears!"

Bear and the Garbage Can

I'd now like to relate the dream I had, which was more of a vision, for it lasted only a moment and occurred almost the instant after I fell asleep, and I woke-up immediately afterwards. When a vision like this occurs, it's usually very symbolic and represents the compilation of my thoughts on a specific subject, and is therefore specific itself and clear in detail. And at the moment I fall asleep I'm transported to another dimension—in the spirit—where everything is then expressed in spiritual terms.

Just prior to the vision, I was working with Roy Masters, and the "typified attitude" of his "male listener": regarding the man/woman relationship, more specifically a husband with his wife. So it follows the vision would be about this, for this is how it usually occurs (not always), much in the way our dreams serve as a barometer for those things which happen during the day. Hence a vision would be a condensed dream.

19	Like I said I had just fallen asleep: "and I saw a bear (a black bear), rummaging through a brand new galvanized garbage can—and I awoke." That was about the extent of it, except it was very specific and clear in detail. It was very clear to me what it meant:

Essentially what a bear signifies in spiritual terms is "ignorance," as Swedenborg explains: "And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear ..."

Revelation 13:2 Thus here, the bear signifies the man's ignorance towards his wife. And, as it digs through the (galvanized) garbage can, it signifies his "sanitized attitude" towards her, as she's reduced to nothing more than a pile of garbage, that he rummages through, for a "choice morsel" here and there.

It's funny but that about sums up the attitude developed here. For when the woman enters the relationship, she brings all her problems with her, with the focus directed almost exclusively towards her; she's considered more of a liability. And being a bear about the whole thing (ignorant), the man draws sustenance through this. He's then challenged by her problems, as she becomes the "making or breaking of him." (All the while he's sniffing for tidbits.) What follows is a heroic struggle on his part, as he attempts to bring her to "redemption." And being of galvanized steel, the garbage can signifies his firmness or resoluteness on the matter—or austerity!

Diminishment of Sex Drive

There is an element of truth to the woman's position here, but Roy Masters also advocates the diminishment of the sex drive, to its eventual exclusion! And says God intended for man to be "asexual." Hence through its proliferation, a man can only bring out "the wickedness" in a woman: and promote hell on earth. And by its removal, he "sanitizes" their relationship.

There's also an element of truth to this but, is your wife more than a pile of garbage? (as corresponds to "her will"). And let's not castrate mankind for this sake, and focus on the quality of one's sexual relationship, as opposed to the quantity. This I believe is what God intended when he commanded Abraham to circumcise all the male children of his household. The very nature of which focuses the attention on the genitals, and if anything heightens a man's sexual experience (probably why Roy Masters doesn't believe in it), thus increasing his affection towards his wife! (i.e., his sensitivity).

24	It's through sexual union that a man comes to know his wife, more and more intimately. And thus being intimately joined—they become one flesh! This I believe is what God intended from the beginning. Genesis 2:24