![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Jacob's Ladder
Jan. 25th, 2002 04:50 pmHere's that scene from the movie. Jacob has been seeing demons, and is rescued by his chiropractor Louie, who is healing him.
J: I was in hell. I don't wanna die, Louie.
L: (smiling) I'll see what I can do about it.
J: It's all pain.
L: Straighten out your head... relax... you ever read Meister Eckehart? [I looked it up; he's a German theologian from 1200-1300s]
J: No...
L: How'd you get your doctorate without reading Eckehart? Relax... OK, good, now turn over gently, right side... [J turns to the left] the other right, OK? You're a real basket case, you know that? Eckehart saw hell too. You know what he said? He said the only thing that burns in hell is the part of you that won't let go of your life... your memories... your attachments... they burn them all away. But they're not punishing you, he said; they're freeing your soul. Relax... good. So the way you see it's that if you're frightened of dying and you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. But if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels freeing you from the Earth. It's just a matter of how you look at it, that's all.
This makes me think of how the Death card in the Tarot is immediately followed by the Temperance card. Cool.
J: I was in hell. I don't wanna die, Louie.
L: (smiling) I'll see what I can do about it.
J: It's all pain.
L: Straighten out your head... relax... you ever read Meister Eckehart? [I looked it up; he's a German theologian from 1200-1300s]
J: No...
L: How'd you get your doctorate without reading Eckehart? Relax... OK, good, now turn over gently, right side... [J turns to the left] the other right, OK? You're a real basket case, you know that? Eckehart saw hell too. You know what he said? He said the only thing that burns in hell is the part of you that won't let go of your life... your memories... your attachments... they burn them all away. But they're not punishing you, he said; they're freeing your soul. Relax... good. So the way you see it's that if you're frightened of dying and you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. But if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels freeing you from the Earth. It's just a matter of how you look at it, that's all.
This makes me think of how the Death card in the Tarot is immediately followed by the Temperance card. Cool.
