Random Thoughts Prompted by Genius

A Thousand Dimensions

Volume I 2022

Writing is often prompted and, therefore, unplanned. These thoughts were prompted by the genius of Stephen Hawking CH CBE FRS FRSA and a different genius in the world of music, the genius of Hans Zimmer. The composition prompting me to write is Hans Zimmer’s theme Time to the film Inception.

Furthermore, these ‘conversations’ are entirely my imagination, allegorical at most.

I write with a writer’s freedom. Nothing more.

(Written whilst listening to "TIME" by Hans Zimmer and without forethought or preplanning)

 Random Thoughts Prompted by Genius

Chapter One
Part 1

To the glory of humankind

The beauty of creation

The beauty of the mind

The creation of the most incredible sounds

that we call music

The beauty of humanity's absolute triumph

over every tyranny

every attempt to self destruct

To Live and Let Live 

"Where there is life there is hope" 1

when speaking of the multi-billions

that go to make up 

what we call

'our' Universe

Kenneth Thomas Webb
January 29, 2019
All Rights Reserved
Alle Rechte Vorbelhalten

1   Professor Stephen William Hawking CH CBE FRS FRSA. Here is the Genius.

Part II

Go on
CHALLENGE YOURSELF
step outside time
step beyond man-made boundaries
and work things out
you do not lose your faith by so doing

Indeed, it is heightened to levels 
that thrill you and extol you 
to ever greater quests
where there is life there is hope.

And that last declaration
where there is life there is hope
is by no greater man but
Professor Stephen William Hawking CH CBE FRS FRSA

 Chapter Two

Afterword
(2016)

When I wrote this on 28 April 2015 I had been greatly moved by the Composer Hans Zimmer’s Soundtrack to the Score for the Film Inception, this piece being the track Time, and which can be viewed through YouTube, better still, purchasing the score through iTunes or through Spotify.

A small stone along my life’s timeline. I was rediscovering my faith, and since that time, it is as strong as it ever was; perhaps, the strongest yet, for it is against the backdrop of a lifetime of learning, of mistakes, of misunderstanding religion per se, of experiencing the horror, unwittingly, of the wilderness, and then that incredible sense, spiritually, as one feels the sand and stone change to earth, the earth to grass, the rocks to trees and verdant pastures; at last, shade from the terrifying heat of the noonday sun, the sound of fresh water - living water - and an awareness of just how small I am and just how large GOD is.

We go full circle. 

As with the prodigal, returning to one’s roots is daunting, unwanted at first; but then deeply yearned for. There is nothing to compare with the experience, and new perspectives gained, of going to different places, living and working in different regions, counties or countries.

But that pales when one returns to one’s real roots, one’s own country, one’s own shire, one’s own family, to see out the remaining years at a leisurely pace, determined more than ever to walk righteously before the LORD, as it is written, however, we perceive that Phenomenon.

Note well those last five words … however, we perceive that Phenomenon. My upbringing is that of a Christian. In the 1950s Christendom was still a term of daily use. There are many bibles on the bookshelf in this study, all belonging to family and ancestors. But had a practical faith, and whilst I enjoyed Sunday School, I recall too my paternal grandmother often reminding me (no doubt because I was moaning) that as a child and teenager in the 1880s-1890s, the whole family was required to attend church every Sunday not just once or twice, but thrice! Morning Service, Afternoon Service and Even Song young man. That shut KTW up!

In the video in the Galleries section, the late Christopher Hitchins reminds us of the disappearance of the universal term ‘Christendom’. Hitchins was by no means a conventional Christian. Arguably, an atheist; yet with a depth of perception that is a breath of fresh air.

My faith remains as secure as ever; it is, these days, simply free of all religious dogma. I look on with incredulity when I listen to those - in all religions - who have a literal belief. Yes, I can believe that the Crucifixion took place. That is why I have written WHAT? HE IS RISEN?!?

“It is wise to separate historical account from camp-fire storyline.”

— Kenneth Thomas Webb

Chapter Three

Further Afterword (2018)

When I wrote that summary on 1 November 2016, I was only just tentatively venturing into the challenge of ancestry and archiving family history.

Today, it truly does bring me full circle; long lost names become real again, letters are as fresh as the day they were written, and the sentiments in them are as real as ever. The roots go deep, ever deeper into the ground. The branches of the tree extend above as they reflect the even greater root system below ground, so that the tree now becomes a great tree, with the potential to become greater still.

In all of this one's own character and personality develops perspectives hitherto unseen or imagined.

Memories I thought had gone are in fact found to be lying just below the surface of the subconscious. I begin to truly see who I am, what I am, where I came from, where I’m going, and how the future will unfold for the generations that follow me.

7 March 2018
KTW

Chapter Four

Part I

I sit on the promontory
overlooking Cheltenham
the wind in my hair
my mind in a whirl
...of resignation
defeat and subjugation

I am still numbed
that my knowledge
of the Bible
equates to that of the devil
For in that one short comment
on the stairwell of that
greasy-spoon cafe
to which I had been summonsed,
a lifetime of faith
seemingly lies in tatters.

Such a charge means
that I can never again
speak with authority
by quoting Scripture.

Some things are said
and can be taken back.

Some things can be said
and can never be taken back.
The damage is too severe
even though, in time,
some sort of reconciliation
returns.

What do I do?
How do I proceed to publish
the fourth anthology?

So much of it is based on faith!

How do I proceed,
when some lay charge
that I do not speak
except with the authority 
of Beelzebub?

It is cold …
The Future has closed down.

Two days from now
I am under general anaesthetic.
Am I to be consigned to Oblivion?

The chill wind warms
There is a Shimmering.
Here but not here …

Part II

A Lone Figure
Ordinary and Extraordinary
On Fire
and yet the appearance too
of water gushing from 
the standing rock
of Psalm 114 fame [i]

My vision is hazy
I am casting away my spirit
I am giving up my soul
There is no desire to remain
here anymore.

Suddenly I am aware
of that ugly phrase,
Its harsh reality!

the spirit is broken
the soul is ready to depart

Part II

Greetings Ken
In the King's Most Excellent Majesty
Our Yeshua HaMashiach Melek Yizra-el

What?
Who are You that you quote to me
my own writing?

Ken, your words, yes
but inspired by 
The Ruach HaKodesh. Perhaps?

Keep open your mind to
all possibilities,
all and any number
of dimensions
of perspectives.

Consider Three-In-One.

Do you mean The Trinity?

… silence

Consider every dimension
Every dimension has its own perspective
Every perspective has its own dimension
Never presume each is one and the same

Should I take my shoe off?

No
I’m here in the guise
most comfortable for you to cope with
You should by now have realised
I rarely, if ever, show my Deity

Now! I want to speak with you,
and so let us walk awhile

COME!
Let us stand on Favourite Rock
It is where you scattered your father's ashes
and that greatly pleased Me
It is also where I heard the groanings of your spirit
and I saw the distress and the elation in you
and I spoke with you

Remember the refrain?
Remember the lark ascending 
hovering, high, high above you?

I show myself in a million ways
and more besides.

NOW COME!
Let us sit down together
You and I
on Favourite Rock.

Countless times you have met with Me here
You can no longer recall all of them
But for Me, they are ever-present
I see and feel you
I AM in you

I know you are perplexed.
The rejection by one so young
in place of another creed
The charge that your knowledge 
of My Word
is no different to that of the 
devil's knowledge.

I know different of course
And do not pay too much attention
to lurid stories and fantasies
about the devil, satan,
Beelzebub and all the other names
by which the serpent goes

Sometimes things are said in My Name
that are, shall we say, wide, very wide, of the mark!

I’m afraid to say
that give human nature a pen
and the two run riot!

We'll leave it at that.

Why the surprise?
Of course, I enjoy humour.
See me in the here and now.
Stop seeing Me clothed
in ancient garments.

I’m here in this moment,
in your time.

Now!
Suffice it to say, you are Mine
and have always been so
You are charged with doing My work
in your own particular way

And yes. Follow the norm?
Why?
You are an individual.
Express your individuality.
You have no need to try and be
that which you plainly are not.

Got it?

Good!

You operate in contentious areas
and bring knowledge of Me to souls
that other well-meaning souls
would only see you as being evil.

But your ways are My ways
You would very quickly find out
if it were otherwise.

Now do not worry or burden yourself
anymore upon this being of the devil.
For it is preventing you from
doing anything.

I look upon the heart
Not upon the outward appearance [ii]

I am well aware of the many things you do wrong
but I am also aware of the 
misapplication of Judgment in My Name

Forget it!

Instead, live by your faith
The faith that you have developed in Me
through your studies
through your life's experiences that
yes, I admit I have brought to you
and sometimes harshly
and, as you say,
a rollercoaster.

I have given you many gifts
Use them

That you try to perceive Me
as being a million times greater
than the way I AM depicted 
in Scripture and religions
of all faiths
is neither here nor there.
That’s between you and Me.

Far greater minds are well ahead
quite a few greater minds are
way behind.

Do not detract from your faith
I have given you the ability
to see in this way.

I go now
But I leave with you
the words of Psalm 114,
the Psalm that has underpinned you
for well nigh twenty years.

Accept that people come and go

Everything is for a time and a season {iii]

With that young man you have done
the work I required of you
now it is time for him to be assisted by others.

He is no more on the wrong path
than you are.

Perceiving Me is in a Myriad ways
Dimensions and Perspectives again.

Yes, it is true that
I AM the Way the Truth and the Life
and no one comes to the Father but by Me.

But consider too
how I define Myself.
I AM The Word?
Sure.

In one text?
In one book?
In one creed?

All of these are merely
restrictions.

Consider Me in all your ways
and remember that I AM with you
to the end of time.

Really?

To the end of time?

That is men and women writing!

There is no end of time
I AM outside of time
Good.
Perceive eternity.
No writing can even remotely
describe this.

Concluding Chapter Five

I looked across the plains of England
and thought of Housman [iv]
as I watched the evening clouds
racing with majesty across the skies

...the lamps in England lighted
and evening wrecked on Wales

In that brief moment
I saw dimensions the like of which
I have never before comprehended.

I am at peace.
There is work to do
in openness of spirit, mind, body and soul,
and I am free of religion.

People will not agree, I’m sure.
So what?
For me to desire such
is to wander onto that dangerous path
that humankind too often takes
in its quest to make everyone
into a manifestation of itself:
one creed
one creed only,
or oblivion.

Tosh!

Yet these dimensions and perspectives
tell me a very different story
and give me a very different understanding
of that which once upon a time
I accepted as ‘gospel’, as the saying goes.

The Gospels?
Sure, they have their place and purpose
As do all sacred writings
But when some writing is thrust in my face
’Read this. Be saved. Without it you are lost!’… …

…

… Then I see another dimension
Another perspective
A horrid book … My Struggle.
Another one … The Little Red Book.
Yet another What Is To Be Done?

Each demanded adherence,
Total obedience.
History shows the litany of death by billions
spewing from their ugly pages.

Yes. Keep things in perspective.

END

[i] Psalm 114 vv 7-8 (KJV)

Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob;
Which turned the rock into standing water,
the flint into a fountain of waters.

[ii] 1 Samuel 16 : 7

[iii] Ecclesiastes 3 : 1-8

[iv] Alfred Edward Housman (1859-1936)

16 November 2021
All Rights Reserved

© Kenneth Thomas Webb 2022

Written in Stages

29 January 2019

7 March 2018