The Divine Architect, Abraham Lincoln, and Evolution
Washington DC 4/22/23, 6:30pm (at the Washington Monument, facing the Lincoln Memorial).
The Lincoln Memorial
After visiting London, the capital of England and the UK, in January, I became curious about seeing my own country’s capital. I was blessed to be able to take a pilgrimage to Washington, DC for the week of my 39th birthday. I went with my husband and youngest daughter- it was our first time there.
On our initial venture out of the hotel, we strolled to try some gelato (delicious) and then kept walking until we reached the Washington Monument. From there, we looked in each direction, noting famous landmarks.
It had rained earlier, and the sky was very active, quickly changing.
When I took the photo above, I was under the impression it was the Supreme Court Building I was looking at.
Washington DC 4/22/23, 6:42pm (at the Washington Monument, facing the Lincoln Memorial).
When I took this photo (shown above), about 12 minutes later, I was still under the impression I was photographing the Supreme Court Building.
It was only that evening at the hotel room, while comparing a map of Washington DC with my photos, that I realized the building I had been gazing at over which the sky was performing so noticeably was the Lincoln Memorial.
The Lincoln Memorial during a moonlight tour, 4/23/23
The building of interest was, in fact, a “temple, as in the hearts of the people, for whom he saved the union.” A temple dedicated to Abraham Lincoln’s memory.
This gave me some serious goosebumps.
First of all, I love Abraham Lincoln. I was intrigued with him as a child. I even named my first pet after him (a hamster).
I think my fascination had to do with the ideals Lincoln stood for, his lasting impact, his way with words, his unique appearance, and, not least of all, his prophetic dreams.
The All-Seeing “Eye in the Sky”
As I inspected the first photo more closely, I realized how striking the cloud formation was. The phrase, “eye in the sky” and a related song came into my mind. I looked up the phrase and soon stumbled upon information about Freemasons (Lincoln was not one). I read about the “eye of providence” - the symbol on the dollar bill with the eye inside the triangle surrounded by clouds and streams of light (streams of light as though in my second shared photo above).
The Eye of Providence Symbol represents the All-Seeing Eye of God. The eye is often depicted within a triangle and surrounded by beams of light or a halo.
A photo I saw in the Library of Congress depicting George Washington with Freemason symbolism, including the Eye.
There is also a more ancient rendering of the Eye, known as the Eye of Horus:
Eye of Horus - an ancient Egyptian symbol of power, protection and healing.
A Timely Moment
Standing at the foot of the Washington Monument, watching the play of the sky above the Lincoln Memorial, was among my favorite moments in Washington DC.
I’m not able to understand or articulate the meaning of the event, but the feeling I had is that I was at precisely the right place at precisely the right time. I had this feeling while I was there before I even realized what I had been looking at. It was a sacred moment.
Which is what the “eye of providence” or the masonic “grand architect” is all about. The idea of the “eye in the sky” is that there is a larger plan at work and we mortals participate in it.
Seeing in “eye in the sky” was, to me, a sign of an interactive intelligent universe. Not only do we behold the Divine; the Divine also beholds us.
Jesus taught, ask and it shall be given, seek and you shall find.
The act of seeking, witnessing, and beholding, is a spiritual practice in and of itself.
Not everything happens by overt action. Much happens in stillness, simply in the act of perceiving. Perhaps perceiving is a kind of seeking.
The Lincoln Memorial during a moonlight tour, 4/23/23
A Captain on an Evolutionary Journey
As many actions as Abraham Lincoln took in his life, he was also a perceptive man and he noted his visions. He called himself “a mere instrument, an accidental instrument.” Although he did not ascribe outright to a particular religion, Lincoln used Biblical metaphor beautifully in his moving speeches, prompting minds to open and hearts to change.
What started out as a calling to preserve the Union, became a movement to abolish slavery, with Lincoln at the head. A “Captain,” as Walt Whitman would later write in his poem “Oh Captain! My Captain!”
Like a landmark on the human evolutionary journey, Lincoln came to represent a move away from the brutality of using people as objects and toward a vision of inherent Divinely bestowed dignity, thus equality. He ushered in a fuller realization of the ideals inherent to the Constitution. As affirmed in the Gettysburg address, “All men are created Equal.”
Lincoln felt guided and inspired to share this message. Perhaps he was pre-destined to become a universal symbol of humanitarian heroism.
An Inspired Instrument
The Lincoln Memorial during a moonlight tour, 4/23/23
For such an “instrument” in the journey of humanity, what can be the role of visions and dreams?
On April 14, 1865, the morning of Good Friday (the day of his assassination), Lincoln shared a recurring dream with his advisers at a Cabinet meeting. The dream had recurred throughout the Civil War, and Lincoln had just had the dream again the night before. In this dream, he was on a body of water, “in some singular, indescribable vessel…moving with great rapidity toward an indefinite shore.”
Lincoln told his Cabinet that this meant some news would be coming soon. He anticipated good news, as this dream had previously heralded positive events of progress.
He went on a carriage ride with his wife and was noted to have a cheerful demeanor of hope about him.
Five hours later, while attending a comedic play with his wife, Lincoln was shot by actor John Wilkes Booth.
It is also recorded that Lincoln had recently shared the following dream with his friend Mr. Ward Hill Lamon:
“There seemed to be a deathlike stillness about me. Then I heard subdued sobs, as if a number of people were weeping. I thought I left my bed and wandered downstairs … I arrived at the East Room. Before me was a catafalque, on which rested a corpse wrapped in funeral vestments. Around it were stationed soldiers who were acting as guards; and there was a throng of people, some gazing mournfully upon the corpse, whose face covered, others weeping pitifully. “‘Who is dead in the White House?’ I demanded of one of the soldiers. ‘The President,’ was his answer. ‘He was killed by an assassin.’”
Lincoln’s Dreams & Synchronicities
How incredible and perceptive that Lincoln had and shared these dreams. Perhaps such dreams are glimpses through the Eye of Providence itself.
Should Lincoln have done something different? Could Lincoln have changed his fate if he had chosen differently? Or are the events set in place by the “Divine Architect” and dreams a mere glimpse of an immutable future?
If the design architect is building in accordance with some plan, it would not be surprising to see synchronicities and evidence of design in our lives.
It’s interesting to note, there were numerous ironies surrounding Lincoln’s death, including:
-The night Lincoln was shot, a bill sat on his desk that would enact the Secret Service, a group tasked with ensuring future presidents’ safety.
-Lincoln’s bodyguard, John Parker, had left the theater to get a drink at a bar across the street, the same one where Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth had sat, only moments before.
-Lincoln was laid to rest in the East Room of the White House, as in his dream.
-Some parallels to Christ, with Palm Sunday, April 9, 1865, being the day Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant, indicating victory for the preservation of the Union, and Good Friday, April 14, 1865, being the day Lincoln was shot.
-Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, the same exact date as Charles Darwin, the father of evolutionary theory.
-In 1861, at Independence Hall, Lincoln declared he “would rather be assassinated” than surrender the principles of the Declaration of Independence. (After Lincoln’s death, during a 20-hour public viewing of his body at Independence Hall, approximately 150,000 people passed by Lincoln to pay their respects to the beloved president.
A Shared Past, A Shared Future
The Smithsonian National History of Natural Science, 4/24/23
I learned at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural Science that all humans share 99.9% DNA (and 98.8% with chimps!) The message included with this bit of science was that race is a social construct, not a scientific one.
Humans are still in the early stages of waking up. We are still rather ape-like sometimes. There is so much growth ahead of us. But we’ve made it this far…
If the human species has been able to evolve as much as we have in the approximately 9.3 to 6.5 million years it took for us to become as conscious and intelligent as we now are, what we will become is rather inconceivable.
As I mentioned earlier, I think characters like Lincoln are landmarks in this journey we are on as humans. A resounding call to wake up to greater vision, understanding, communication, and acceptance. A reminder that the Eye of Providence is watching over us all and guiding us forward, through both the moments of ecstasy and drudgery of muck.
In The Meantime, Just Notice
Me with my daughter, 4/22/23
Don’t be afraid to notice your surroundings and your reactions. The things that happen in your heart. The way you learn from seemingly simple interactions with precisely the people and events placed on your path.
It’s quite an amazing journey we are on, so take it all in every chance you get.
Keep your eyes open and your heart will follow.
