Michael Ende's 'Momo' - an allegory for Laura & the C's?

[luc]

Thanks, Zadius Sky, for these observations...

Just to add two more things that fascinated me: (Spoiler!) When Momo is with Prof. Hora and he shows her the "hour flowers", this all made me think of Gurdjieffs "rays of creation". So Hora would be symbolic for the level where the soul energy is distributed to us (he says he doesn't create the energy, he just administers it) but it is up to the humans how to use their time/soul energy. Interesting also that according to Hora the humans themselves created the men in grey and give them their power (the fall?).

I found the development of Gigi also fascinating, how money and success can so easily corrupt even the finest people. The Men in grey say this is the most easy thing to do... How true for this world...

This book is really a beauty...

And then there's the endless effort. The average hunter-gatherer works seventeen hours a week, which leaves plenty of time for creative endeavors, spiritual concerns, gossiping, and the all-important nap. Agriculturalists work from dawn to dusk and then some, and even in modern America, which all our hallowed technology, the average US citizen works over forty hours a week, which doesn't even include life maintenance tasks...like cooking, cleaning, and child-rearing. Beastly indeed. Why did humans do it?

What a great quote, I haven't read that book yet, seems very interesting... It is probably fair to say that one of the major manipulation/control techniques in our world is to deprive us of our time.

At first, in the process of reading, I was wondering why would they be smoking cigars (to which 4D STS are against), then I realized that cigars smoking are similar to time-consuming ("burning time") - plus, cigars were made from the dried petals of lilies, which represent time, not tobacco.

The cigars may be merely a symbol for the process of "eating time/soul energy" which cannot be understood in 3D-terms, osit. Plus, cigars are a symbol for "big business / big politics", for the ruling elite, and according to the book our modern civilization is created by the men in grey. How true...

[Psalehesost]

Interesting also that according to Hora the humans themselves created the men in grey and give them their power (the fall?).

There's the idea, in part of The Wave, that the nasty buggers (4D STS) may well be ourselves in one possible future.

So that we have different, conflicting possible futures (STS, STO) interacting and "competing" regarding the choices of our present, and who and what we become as a result.

[luc]

There's the idea, in part of The Wave, that the nasty buggers (4D STS) may well be ourselves in one possible future.

So that we have different, conflicting possible futures (STS, STO) interacting and "competing" regarding the choices of our present, and who and what we become as a result.

Thanks for that, interesting indeed! This is also a good reminder for me to reread the wave series every now and then, since it is so dense in concepts that one can so easily forget and that one can understand only at a later stage in the Work...

[Denis]

Great book with a powerful message in it. I find this quote (at the beginning of chapter 6) to be remarkable- the translation is mine, since I read the book in Croatian language:

There is a big, but still quite an everyday secret. All people have a stake in it, everyone knows it, but few think about it. Most people simply accept it, and do not wonder about it. That secret is time.
There are calendars and clocks for its measurement, but this tells very little, because everyone knows that for someone a single hour can seem like an eternity, and sometimes it can fly away as a moment- depending on what one is experiencing at that hour.

Because time is life. And life dwells in the heart.

And the riddle in the novel (chapter 12) is great. All in all, I recommend this book for reading to all the good people. 

[Psalehesost]

I've read the book as a child before, at least twice, but didn't then think deeper about it.

Am now re-reading it - and have read the first chapter showing the grey men convincing a potential "customer" to "save time".

He then proceeds to change his life according to all the suggestions he were given during the encounter, which he no longer remembers, thinking them his own thoughts.

Some thoughts, working with the analogy of the men in grey:

As Zadius Sky noted, it seems believing the lies is the means by which the people are sucked dry - the thing that "seals the deal".

And the things the people cut out of their lives makes their lives meaningless - not only without enjoyment, but also without creativity and learning. And in thinking a bit of the "message" of time representing life, I am struck by one thing in personal experience: The more I learn in a given "time", the "fuller" that time seems to me - in contrast, time in which I learn little seems "empty", as if it were indeed swallowed up.

Even if I remember little of a given time when I learned, there still remains a sensation of "fullness" in my memory - a feeling that the time was meaningful and indeed meant something. To be sure, time where I learn can also pass quickly - though often it simply feels as if I "have time" and things progress at just the "right" rate - and time where I don't can also pass slowly, if there's no distraction involved - but there always remains a difference in the "fullness" of it, looking back.

And if we really think of it, the things that really eat up our time are mainly the result of lies - to the degree to which they direct us, and as a result succeed in making our lives "empty" - just like junk food is "empty".

So the analogy is to me quite meaningful - when we believe in lies and live our lives accordingly, our "time" is rendered "dead" and sterile - in effect "eaten". And the battle is through us - what we do amounts to forces, creative or entropic, acting or manifesting through us - so such "eating" of our "time" indeed takes place on behalf of, or in "service" to, entropic forces.

And this might - at least to some extent - be a more tangible way for us to perceive a multi-level process of feeding, as believing in lies also amounts to the eating of one's energy of awareness.

[Mac]

Just finished reading Momo. Ende didn't have the evidence that we have of hyper-dimensional intrusion in our lives. But this book suggests that he may have had his suspicions.  Nasty gray creatures that steal our time. Time is the only real currency we have at this level.

Sacrificing the joys of this moment for building a future that never comes. Some of best times of my life were summers when I was a kid. Pretend adventures with my friends, exploring places nearby (even some that were forbidden), reading the books I wanted to, and just general horsing around. Sharing binoculars to see the moons of Jupiter, having the time to watch an anthill or bees going about the tasks.

These days kids summer vacations grow shorter each year. There are proposals to have school year around. Time is freedom, life and love. These poor kids are having all the joy drained from their lives.

This book was filled with joy for me. Cassiopeia, the tortoise. Showing that moving slow, but with steadiness of purpose, is really moving fast. It might make a great tee shirt design: image of a tortoise with "Cassiopaea" printed above. Then letters on his back "Knowledge protects, Ignorance endangers."

As in Lord of the Rings in this story the day is saved by the seemingly small and meek. The gray men fear Momo more than anyone else. Her open heart and ability to see them for what they are gives her the ability warn others about what is happening. She is dangerous to their plans.

The men in gray cooperated for their common purpose until things started to go wrong for them. Then it was every man for himself. Each was very willing to sacrifice his colleges to save himself.

Loved this book, couldn't put it down.

Mac
   

[Denis]

And here is the 1986 movie (in English language) for those who have not watched it yet. Michael Ende (the author) played a small role in it- the passenger in the train. Worth watching, IMHO the film managed to portray the spirit of the book quite well, although I would recommend to read the book first and then see a movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLUFIXxKwKg

[Seppo Ilmarinen]

Very fascinating! Even the cover of the book on some versions reminds a little bit of Laura with the curly hair. (this cover is from finnish version). http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiedosto:Momo_kansi.jpg

[Breo]

Yes me to, I have red Mo mo, when it came out and I was a teenager. It is a wonderful book, that once you started it, cannot put away. I remember the feelings I had then quite well, like a universe opening up. It was my first book that was so thick and beautiful with its design. I treasured it. And now to have it connected to this Work... hm, special indeed, somehow deepening the enjoyment, mentioned in the last C´s session

[momo]

Hello!

Interesting, I didn't know about this thread, when I chose my name...
No intention to compare myself with Laura - just an intention formed as a child: I wanted to be a good listener.

Here's the story:

I remember reading the book as a little child, too early in my mothers opinion - I remember discussing with her that I feel old enough to read it.
And then, till late at night, with a flashlight under my bedsheet - so she doesn't send me to sleep - I would be in the Amphitheater, or with Meister Hora, or read through the Graue Männer's troublemaking plots.
What stuck to me strongest was Momos ability to listen, not just to listen, but to enable by listening, to catalyze, to be there for whoever feels he/she has to choose words to try to say something.

Finding The Wave and all these other precious publications connected this - and I was surprised the Nickname is not taken.

In my opinion, Momo is a must-read for as early as anyone feels ready, and I gave it to my daughter. Soon, I'll give it to my oldest son, too.

If you haven't read it yet, don't watch the film or this silly comic-series before it. The film is still ok, but you'll loose so many aspects of how you resonate with Michael Endes choice of words. As always - it is preferable to read it in the original language, and I have no idea how good the translation is.

Greetings from Austria,
Momo.

[HifromGrace]

“Were you really expecting me?” Momo asked in surprise.

“But of course.  Why else would I have sent Cassiopeia to fetch you?” 

He produced a diamond-studded fob watch from his pocket and flipped the lid open.  “In fact, you’re uncommonly punctual,” he said with a smile, holding out the watch for her inspection.

There were no hands or numerals on the watch face, Momo saw, just two very fine superimposed spirals rotating slowly in opposite directions.  Every now and then, minute dots of light appeared where the spirals intersected.

“This watch," said Professor Hora, “is known as a crisimograph.  It accurately records crises in the history of mankind, and one of these rare occurrences has just begun.”

“What’s a crisis?” asked Momo.

“It’s like this,” the professor explained.  “At certain junctures in the course of existence, unique moments occur when everyone and everything, even the most distant stars, combine to bring about something that could not have happened before and will never happen again.   Few people know how to take advantage of these critical moments, unfortunately, and they often pass unnoticed.  When someone does recognized them, however, great things happen in the world.”

“Perhaps one needs a watch like yours to recognize them by,” she said.

Professor Hora smiled and shook his head.  “No, my child, the watch by itself would be no use to anyone.  You have to know how to read it as well.”

[Aeneas]

Thank you for that snippet HifromGrace. So propheic about the Cassiopaea experiment.

[luc]

Thanks, HifromGrace, for sharing this.

Just a note: In the German original, Ende uses the word Sternstundenuhr ("star hours-watch") for "crisimograph" and Sternstunden ("Star hours") for crisis. I think this is a beautiful word and also has a more positive connotation than "crisis". (Btw, my wife and I engraved the word "Sternstunden" on our wedding ring, so this has a very personal meaning to me...)

[Palinurus]

Sternstunde would maybe have been better translated by pivotal moment or decisive moment, OSIT.

Stefan Zweig, a world famous Austrian writer, used this word in the title of a bundle of historical essays: Sternstunden der Menschheit.

It's not impossible nor farfetched that Ende was implying a reference to that work in the above cited snippet.

See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decisive_Moments_in_History

http://www.amazon.com/Decisive-Moments-History-Historical-Translation/dp/1572410671/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347028862&sr=8-1&keywords=Decisive+Moments+in+History

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefan_Zweig

[Atuya]

I really wonder if Ende's work is somehow 6D-inspired...

I've not read the book, and only just discovered it while reading this thread, but from the descriptions and observations posted above it seems that this is a documented case of 'past-future communication' manifested on the BBM.  Given the particulars of the book and the subject matter itself, maybe we have before us a clear case of past-future communication via consciousness.  Could it be that the work around the Cassiopaeans in the 21st century has created a beacon of light in the not so distant past?  Perhaps the positive growth of this network NOW has put roots into the THEN, literally and literarily?

Ende has this information on his website regarding "A famous first line that gave birth to a novel":

Michael Ende often spoke of how his first novel Jim Button came into being. ‘I sat down at my desk and wrote: “The country in which the engine-driver, Luke, lived was called Morrowland. It was a rather small country.” Once I’d written the two lines, I hadn’t a clue how the third line might go. I didn’t start out with a concept or a plan - I just left myself drift from one sentence and one thought to the next. That’s how I discovered that writing could be an adventure. The story carried on growing, new characters started appearing, and to my astonishment different plotlines began to weave together. The manuscript was getting longer all the time and was already much more than a picture book. I finally wrote the last sentence ten months later, and a great stack of paper had accumulated on the desk.’
Michael Ende always said that ideas only came to him when the logic of the story required them. On some occasions he waited a long time for inspiration to arrive.

6D inspired certainly!  But IMO, it was 3D perspired, and not only by Ende, but also perspired during the research and writings of Wave, Adventures, and the collective commentaries on this forum.

Do we will into existence more inspirational literature of this type? Why not? We will do what we will do!

Here is a site with additional information on Michael Ende and his work I found researching this post:

http://www3.plala.or.jp/mig/momo-uk.html

And upon reviewing my words, I note the usage of inspire, perspire... into breath, through breath.  Or: Ende on the benefits of EE