The counterculture was a prominent influence as a child of the 60s and 70s. We were encouraged to question the established ways, reject societal norms, and explore other manners of living and being. We sought ways to expand our life beyond how our parents and grandparents lived.
Gurus from India brought yoga and meditation into our communities, marijuana, and psychedelic drugs were prevalent, and psychotherapy was developing for the mainstream. All were the tools to find ourselves.
It was a radical time, of upheaval and revolt, with the youth challenging the status quo. Media caught glimpses of the radical actions exposing us to images of sit-ins, protests, and confrontations with the police. And the music was a vehicle that transmitted messages through lyrics expanding our consciousness and opening our eyes to a brave new world.
One of the pioneers was John Lennon and The Beatles.
~ The Wisdom of John Lennon ~
“The thing the sixties did was to show us the possibilities and the responsibility that we all had. It wasn’t the answer. It just gave us a glimpse of the possibility.
Love is like a precious plant. You can’t just accept it and leave it in the cupboard or just think it’s going to get on by itself. You’ve got to keep on watering it. You’ve got to really look after it and nurture it.
We live in a world where we have to hide to make love, while violence is practiced in broad daylight.
Insane people run our society for insane objectives. I think we’re being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I’m liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That’s what’s insane about it.
You don’t need anybody to tell you who you are or what you are. You are what you are! There’s nothing new under the sun. All the roads lead to Rome. And people cannot provide it for you. I can’t wake you up. Only you can wake you up. I can’t cure you, only you can cure you.
You’re all geniuses, and you’re all beautiful. You don’t need anyone to tell you who you are. You are what you are. Get out there and get peace, think peace, and live peace and breathe peace, and you’ll get it as soon as you like.
That’s what the great masters and mistresses have been saying ever since time began. They can point the way, leave signposts and little instructions in various books that are now called holy and worshipped for the cover of the book and not for what it says, but the instructions are all there for all to see, have always been, and always will be.
I believe in God, but not as one thing, not as an old man in the sky. I believe that what people call God is something in all of us. I believe that what Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, and all the rest said was right. It’s just that the translations have gone wrong.
Peace is not something you wish for; it’s something you make, something you do, something you are, and something you give away. Declare it. Just the same way we declare war. That is how we will have peace… we just need to declare it.
Produce your own dream. If you want to save Peru, go save Peru. It’s quite possible to do anything, but not if you put it on the leaders and the parking meters. Don’t expect Carter or Reagan or John Lennon or Yoko Ono or Bob Dylan or Jesus Christ to come and do it for you. You have to do it yourself.
My role in society, or any artist’s or poet’s role, is to try and express what we all feel. Not to tell people how to feel. Not as a preacher, not as a leader, but as a reflection of us all.
When you do something noble and beautiful, and nobody notices, do not be sad. For the sun every morning is a beautiful spectacle, and yet most of the audience still sleeps.
Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.” ~John Lennon
