online Holy Nights Journal |
Introduction |
“Everything in the cosmos takes its rhythmic course: the stars, as well as the sun, follow a regular rhythm. Would the sun abandon this rhythm even for a moment, an upheaval of untold magnitude would take place in the universe. Rhythm holds sway in the whole of nature, up to the level of the human being. … The rhythm which through the course of the year holds sway in the forces of growth, of propagation and so forth, ceases when we come to the human being. For the human being is to have his roots in freedom … As the light disappears at Christmas-time, so has rhythm … departed from the life of the human being: chaos prevails. But the human being must give birth again to rhythm out of his innermost being, his own initiative. By the exercise of his own will he must so order his life that it flows in rhythm, immutable and sure; his life must take its course with the regularity of the sun. Just as a change of the sun's orbit is inconceivable, it is equally inconceivable that the rhythm of such a life can be broken. The Sun Hero was regarded as the embodiment of this inalterable rhythm; through the power of the higher human being within him, he was able to direct the rhythm of the course of his own life. And this Sun Hero, this higher human being, was born in the Holy Night. In this sense, Christ Jesus is a Sun Hero and was conceived as such in the first centuries of Christendom. Hence the festival of His birth was instituted at the time of the year when, since ancient days, the festival of the birth of the Sun Hero had been celebrated. Hence, too, all that was associated with the history of the life of Christ Jesus; the Mass at midnight celebrated by the early Christians in the depths of caves was in remembrance of the festival of the sun. In this Mass an ocean of light streamed forth at midnight out of the darkness as a remembrance of the rising of the spiritual Sun in the Mysteries. Hence the birth of Christ in the cave — again a remembrance of the cave of rock out of which life was born … As earthly life was born out of the dead stone, so out of the depths was born the Highest — Christ Jesus. Associated with the festival of His nativity was the legend of the three Priest-Sages, the Three Kings. They bring to the Child: gold, the symbol of the outer, wisdom-filled human being; myrrh, the symbol of the victory of life over death; and frankincense the symbol of the cosmic ether in which the Spirit lives.” (Rudolf Steiner in Signs and Symbols of the Christmas Festival, a lecture given by Rudolf Steiner in Berlin on December 17, 1906; The Festivals and Their Meaning / GA 96)
The online Holy Nights Journal is meant to help us to connect with the cosmic rhythm and the yearly rhythm during the time of the holy nights between the Christmas festival and Epiphany. The online Holy Nights Journal can be used as a guide during the 12 days and 13 nights to practice to live with a consciousness that connects in a meaningful way with the higher truths in the universe and concerning our own life. We are encouraged to turn inward and towards a contemplation of the deeper meaning of our lives and of our own particular and unique biography.
The Sophia Institute Holy Nights Journal has been inspired by several individuals and the work of the late Willi Sucher and William Bento in particular. Sucher and Bento dedicated much of their life’s work to the research into Astrosophy and the wisdom of the stars. Astrosophy concerns itself with the new relationship of the human being to the stars, was pioneered by Willi Sucher and is based on the understanding of the world and humanity as represented in the work of Rudolf Steiner, called Anthroposophy. For more than 65 years, Willi Sucher strove to understand humanity’s new relationships to the stars. His work was inspired by Anthroposophy, which was his lifetime study and path of spiritual development. The “lightning-bolt” that galvanized his intense interest in developing a vision of the human being’s new relationship to the stars was a statement by Rudolf Steiner that the asterogram at one’s death is more significant than a birth chart in understanding the significance of an individual life as it affected that individual’s further evolution. Willi Sucher combined meticulous mathematical calculations and a fully scientific approach with a personal path of meditation and spiritual development to bring a high level of intuition and inspiration to his work. William Bento, PhD had created many different relationships with many clients as a psychologist, a mentor, and one who consulted the workings of the heavens including Astrosophy and anthroposophic psychology which evolved into Psychosophy. William Bento was instrumental and participated in creating Holy Nights Journals for many years. More recently Mary Stewart Adams has been taking up the work with star wisdom, Astrosophy and the Holy Nights, and has led groups working with the Holy Nights under the auspices of the Anthroposophical Society in the United States.
The focus of the 2025/2026 online Holy Nights Journal is the following.
The Gospel of St. Luke Lectures 5, 6 and 7 --- Lectures given by Rudolf Steiner (GA144)
In these lectures on the Luke Gospel, Steiner provides the solution to the riddle of the irreconcilable contradictions in the accounts of the genealogy and childhood of Jesus in Matthew and Luke when he unveils for the first time the secret of the two Jesus children. He also describes the workings of Zarathustra, the relation between the Buddha and Jesus child, and more. The translation of these lectures has been made from shorthand reports unrevised by the lecturer and published as Volume No. 114 in the Complete Centenary Edition of the works of Rudolf Steiner.
You can participate in a group of individuals who are working with the online Holy Nights Journal on a daily basis starting December 24, 2025 and ending January 06, 2026. You will be provided with daily contemplations, tasks and artistic challenges during the time of the twelve days of Christmas and the thirteen Holy Nights. You will be working with the materials provided in a self-directed manner and will be able to share your work online with the group, thereby creating a deep and meaningful community experience.
Each of the Holy Nights begins with the sunset and extends until dawn of the next day. Thus we find the following sequence each year.
December 24: at sunset begins the 1st Holy Night and ends at dawn on the next day (December 25)
December 25: at sunset begins the 2nd Holy Night and ends at dawn on the next day (December 26)
December 26: at sunset begins the 3rd Holy Night and ends at dawn on the next day (December 27)
December 27: at sunset begins the 4th Holy Night and ends at dawn on the next day (December 28)
December 28: at sunset begins the 5th Holy Night and ends at dawn on the next day (December 29)
December 29: at sunset begins the 6th Holy Night and ends at dawn on the next day (December 30)
December 30: at sunset begins the 7th Holy Night and ends at dawn on the next day (December 31)
December 31: at sunset begins the 8th Holy Night and ends at dawn on the next day (January 01)
January 01: at sunset begins the 9th Holy Night and ends at dawn on the next day (January 02)
January 02: at sunset begins the 10th Holy Night and ends at dawn on the next day (January 03)
January 03: at sunset begins the 11th Holy Night and ends at dawn on the next day (January 04)
January 04: at sunset begins the 12th Holy Night and ends at dawn on the next day (January 05)
January 05: at sunset begins the 13th Holy Night and ends at dawn on the next day (January 06)
Beginning on December 24, we will set up for ourselves a certain practice for each of the Holy Nights. We might select to commence with this practice in the afternoon of the day, or — ideally — around sunset in the evening of the day. This practice includes 4 steps or segments for each of the Holy Nights.
In this way we are engaging in a practice of turning in a contemplative way to the past, present and future, and in doing so move closer to our higher being, to our guiding star and to the deeper meaning of our lives and our personal biography.
The online Holy Nights Journal is meant to help us to connect with the cosmic rhythm and the yearly rhythm during the time of the holy nights between the Christmas festival and Epiphany. The online Holy Nights Journal can be used as a guide during the 12 days and 13 nights to practice to live with a consciousness that connects in a meaningful way with the higher truths in the universe and concerning our own life. We are encouraged to turn inward and towards a contemplation of the deeper meaning of our lives and of our own particular and unique biography.
The Sophia Institute Holy Nights Journal has been inspired by several individuals and the work of the late Willi Sucher and William Bento in particular. Sucher and Bento dedicated much of their life’s work to the research into Astrosophy and the wisdom of the stars. Astrosophy concerns itself with the new relationship of the human being to the stars, was pioneered by Willi Sucher and is based on the understanding of the world and humanity as represented in the work of Rudolf Steiner, called Anthroposophy. For more than 65 years, Willi Sucher strove to understand humanity’s new relationships to the stars. His work was inspired by Anthroposophy, which was his lifetime study and path of spiritual development. The “lightning-bolt” that galvanized his intense interest in developing a vision of the human being’s new relationship to the stars was a statement by Rudolf Steiner that the asterogram at one’s death is more significant than a birth chart in understanding the significance of an individual life as it affected that individual’s further evolution. Willi Sucher combined meticulous mathematical calculations and a fully scientific approach with a personal path of meditation and spiritual development to bring a high level of intuition and inspiration to his work. William Bento, PhD had created many different relationships with many clients as a psychologist, a mentor, and one who consulted the workings of the heavens including Astrosophy and anthroposophic psychology which evolved into Psychosophy. William Bento was instrumental and participated in creating Holy Nights Journals for many years. More recently Mary Stewart Adams has been taking up the work with star wisdom, Astrosophy and the Holy Nights, and has led groups working with the Holy Nights under the auspices of the Anthroposophical Society in the United States.
The focus of the 2025/2026 online Holy Nights Journal is the following.
The Gospel of St. Luke Lectures 5, 6 and 7 --- Lectures given by Rudolf Steiner (GA144)
In these lectures on the Luke Gospel, Steiner provides the solution to the riddle of the irreconcilable contradictions in the accounts of the genealogy and childhood of Jesus in Matthew and Luke when he unveils for the first time the secret of the two Jesus children. He also describes the workings of Zarathustra, the relation between the Buddha and Jesus child, and more. The translation of these lectures has been made from shorthand reports unrevised by the lecturer and published as Volume No. 114 in the Complete Centenary Edition of the works of Rudolf Steiner.
You can participate in a group of individuals who are working with the online Holy Nights Journal on a daily basis starting December 24, 2025 and ending January 06, 2026. You will be provided with daily contemplations, tasks and artistic challenges during the time of the twelve days of Christmas and the thirteen Holy Nights. You will be working with the materials provided in a self-directed manner and will be able to share your work online with the group, thereby creating a deep and meaningful community experience.
Each of the Holy Nights begins with the sunset and extends until dawn of the next day. Thus we find the following sequence each year.
December 24: at sunset begins the 1st Holy Night and ends at dawn on the next day (December 25)
December 25: at sunset begins the 2nd Holy Night and ends at dawn on the next day (December 26)
December 26: at sunset begins the 3rd Holy Night and ends at dawn on the next day (December 27)
December 27: at sunset begins the 4th Holy Night and ends at dawn on the next day (December 28)
December 28: at sunset begins the 5th Holy Night and ends at dawn on the next day (December 29)
December 29: at sunset begins the 6th Holy Night and ends at dawn on the next day (December 30)
December 30: at sunset begins the 7th Holy Night and ends at dawn on the next day (December 31)
December 31: at sunset begins the 8th Holy Night and ends at dawn on the next day (January 01)
January 01: at sunset begins the 9th Holy Night and ends at dawn on the next day (January 02)
January 02: at sunset begins the 10th Holy Night and ends at dawn on the next day (January 03)
January 03: at sunset begins the 11th Holy Night and ends at dawn on the next day (January 04)
January 04: at sunset begins the 12th Holy Night and ends at dawn on the next day (January 05)
January 05: at sunset begins the 13th Holy Night and ends at dawn on the next day (January 06)
Beginning on December 24, we will set up for ourselves a certain practice for each of the Holy Nights. We might select to commence with this practice in the afternoon of the day, or — ideally — around sunset in the evening of the day. This practice includes 4 steps or segments for each of the Holy Nights.
- Contemplation. This contemplation practice should include for example turning to a segment of a lecture by Rudolf Steiner, a story relating to Christmas, poetry, the contemplation of a work of art, etc.
- Threefold review. We turn towards and review the events of our biography, events from our life from the past year, and we could include later during the Holy Nights to look towards the present and also the future and our expectations and intentions for the next year. For each of the Holy Nights we turn to a certain period of time, for instance for the 1st Holy Night we look back at the month of January of the past year; for the 2nd Holy Nights we look back at the month of February of the past year, and so on. As each of the 12 days of Christmas relates to one of the signs of the zodiac, so our review turns to the corresponding period during the past year, the present and finally the coming year. This review should be done in a threefold manner. This threefold review includes our observations of and via the three realms of body, soul and spirit, which will be described in more detail below.
- Artwork. Next we turn towards an artistic activity, drawing, painting, writing poetry, or another artistic medium of choice. We attempt to complete artwork inspired by the previous contemplation and review.
- The realm of the night. The following morning upon waking up we take a short period of time and turn our attention to the realm of the night. We note and write down what came to us from the realm of sleep, our dreams or messages received upon waking up, and the like.
In this way we are engaging in a practice of turning in a contemplative way to the past, present and future, and in doing so move closer to our higher being, to our guiding star and to the deeper meaning of our lives and our personal biography.
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The Threefold Review
Rudolf Steiner provides the following for us to contemplate regarding the threefold review.
“The following words of Goethe point beautifully to the beginning of one way by which the essential nature of man can be known. ‘As soon as a person becomes aware of the objects around him, he considers them in relation to himself, and rightly so, because his whole fate depends on whether they please or displease him, attract or repel, help or harm him. This quite natural way of looking at or judging things appears to be as easy as it is necessary. A person is, nevertheless, exposed through it to a thousand errors that often make him ashamed and embitter his life.’
‘A far more difficult task is undertaken by those whose keen desire for knowledge urges them to strive to observe the objects of nature as such and in their relationship to each other. These individuals soon feel the lack of the test that helped them when they, as men, regarded the objects in reference to themselves personally. They lack the test of pleasure and displeasure, attraction and repulsion, usefulness and harmfulness. Yet this test must be renounced entirely. They ought as dispassionate and, so to speak, divine beings, to seek and examine what is, not what gratifies. Thus the true botanist should not be moved either by the beauty or by the usefulness of the plants. He must study their formation and their relation to the rest of the plant kingdom. They are one and all enticed forth and shone upon by the sun without distinction, and so he should, equably and quietly, look at and survey them all and obtain the test for this knowledge, the data for his deductions, not out of himself, but from within the circle of the things he observes.’
This thought thus expressed by Goethe directs man's attention to three divisions of things. First, the objects concerning which information continually flows to him through the doors of his senses — the objects he touches, smells, tastes, hears and sees. Second, the impressions that these make on him, characterizing themselves through the fact that he finds the one sympathetic, the other abhorrent, the one useful, another harmful. Third, the knowledge that he, as a ‘so to speak divine being,’ acquires concerning the objects, that is, the secrets of their activities and their being as they unveil themselves to him.
These three divisions are distinctly separate in human life, and man thereby becomes aware that he is interwoven with the world in a threefold way. The first division is one that he finds present, that he accepts as a given fact. Through the second he makes the world into his own affair, into something that has a meaning for him. The third he regards as a goal towards which he ought unceasingly to strive.
Why does the world appear to man in this threefold way? A simple consideration will explain it. I cross a meadow covered with flowers. The flowers make their colors known to me through my eyes. That is the fact I accept as given. Having accepted the fact, I rejoice in the splendor of the colors. Through this I turn the fact into an affair of my own. Through my feelings I connect the flowers with my own existence. Then, a year later I go again over the same meadow. Other flowers are there. Through them new joys arise in me. My joy of the former year will appear as a memory. This is in me. The object that aroused it in me is gone, but the flowers I now see are of the same kind as those I saw the year before. They have grown in accordance with the same laws as have the others. If I have informed myself regarding this species and these laws, I then find them again in the flowers of this year, just as I found them in those of last year. So I shall perhaps muse, ‘The flowers of last year are gone and my joy in them remains only in my memory. It is bound up with my existence alone. What I recognized in the flowers of last year and recognize again this year, however, will remain as long as such flowers grow. That is something that revealed itself to me, but it is not dependent on my existence in the same way as my joy is. My feelings of joy remain in me. The laws, the being of the flowers, remain outside of me in the world.’
By these means man continually links himself in this threefold way with the things of the world. One should not, for the present, read anything into this fact, but merely take it as it stands. From this it can be seen that man has three sides to his nature. This and nothing else will, for the present, be indicated here by the three words, body, soul and spirit. Whoever connects any preconceived opinions or even hypotheses with these three words will necessarily misunderstand the following explanations. By body is here meant that through which the things in the environment of a man reveal themselves to him, as in the above example, the flowers in the meadow. By the word soul is signified that by which he links the things to his own being, through which he experiences pleasure and displeasure, desire and aversion, joy and sorrow in connection with them. By spirit is meant what becomes manifest in him when as Goethe expressed it, he looks at things as a ‘so to speak divine being.’ In this sense man consists of body, soul and spirit.
Through his body man is able to place himself for the time being in connection with things; through his soul he retains in himself the impressions they make on him; through his spirit there reveals itself to him what the things retain for themselves. Only when we observe man in these three aspects can we hope to throw light on his whole being, because they show him to be related in a threefold way to the rest of the world.
Through his body man is related to the objects that present themselves to his senses from without. The materials from the outer world compose his body, and the forces of the outer world work also in it. He observes the things of the outer world with his senses, and he also is able to observe his own bodily existence. It is impossible, however, for him to observe his soul existence in the same way. Everything in him that is bodily process can be perceived with his bodily senses. His likes and dislikes, his joy and pain, neither he nor anyone else can perceive with bodily senses. The region of the soul is inaccessible to bodily perception. The bodily existence of a man is manifest to all eyes; the soul existence he carries within himself as his world. Through the spirit, however, the outer world is revealed to him in a higher way. The mysteries of the outer world, indeed, unveil themselves in his inner being. He steps in spirit out of himself and lets the things speak about themselves, about what has significance not for him but for them. For example, man looks up at the starry heavens. The delight his soul experiences belongs to him. The eternal laws of the stars that he comprehends in thought, in spirit, belong not to him but to the stars themselves.
In this way, man is a citizen of three worlds. Through his body he belongs to the world that he also perceives through his body; through his soul he constructs for himself his own world; through his spirit a world reveals itself to him that is exalted above both the others.
It seems obvious that because of the essential difference between these three worlds, a clear understanding of them and of man's share in them can only be obtained by means of three different modes of observation.
— Rudolf Steiner in Theosophy
In order to learn, practice and deepen the threefold way or threefold observation we are asked to write down our observations in a threefold way. We likely will discover — over time — that this activity is transformative for our perception of our life’s events, preparing us for a deeper and more meaningful understanding of our own biography and the times we live in.
Of course, everyone needs and should develop their own approach and interpretation of the task at hand.
As an example, a sample threefold entry can be found here following.
Body/Physical World: Today I observed wildlife in my backyard. There was a squirrel that ran up and down one of the trees, while emitting certain sounds. Then the squirrel disappeared behind some bushes and did not return.
Soul: The observation of the squirrel filled me with a joyous feeling, hope and the feeling of endless possibilities, as the squirrel darted this way, then that way. When the squirrel disappeared, a deep melancholy entered my soul, and I became aware of a slight fear of the unknown, as I pondered the question of where the squirrel had gone now.
Spirit: I became aware of the fact that we live within a very narrow field of observation that we call reality. At times we forget that there is another reality “beyond those bushes,” which our thoughts might be able to explore in the same way — and with the same ease — as the squirrel who went there, as if to show me the way.
“The following words of Goethe point beautifully to the beginning of one way by which the essential nature of man can be known. ‘As soon as a person becomes aware of the objects around him, he considers them in relation to himself, and rightly so, because his whole fate depends on whether they please or displease him, attract or repel, help or harm him. This quite natural way of looking at or judging things appears to be as easy as it is necessary. A person is, nevertheless, exposed through it to a thousand errors that often make him ashamed and embitter his life.’
‘A far more difficult task is undertaken by those whose keen desire for knowledge urges them to strive to observe the objects of nature as such and in their relationship to each other. These individuals soon feel the lack of the test that helped them when they, as men, regarded the objects in reference to themselves personally. They lack the test of pleasure and displeasure, attraction and repulsion, usefulness and harmfulness. Yet this test must be renounced entirely. They ought as dispassionate and, so to speak, divine beings, to seek and examine what is, not what gratifies. Thus the true botanist should not be moved either by the beauty or by the usefulness of the plants. He must study their formation and their relation to the rest of the plant kingdom. They are one and all enticed forth and shone upon by the sun without distinction, and so he should, equably and quietly, look at and survey them all and obtain the test for this knowledge, the data for his deductions, not out of himself, but from within the circle of the things he observes.’
This thought thus expressed by Goethe directs man's attention to three divisions of things. First, the objects concerning which information continually flows to him through the doors of his senses — the objects he touches, smells, tastes, hears and sees. Second, the impressions that these make on him, characterizing themselves through the fact that he finds the one sympathetic, the other abhorrent, the one useful, another harmful. Third, the knowledge that he, as a ‘so to speak divine being,’ acquires concerning the objects, that is, the secrets of their activities and their being as they unveil themselves to him.
These three divisions are distinctly separate in human life, and man thereby becomes aware that he is interwoven with the world in a threefold way. The first division is one that he finds present, that he accepts as a given fact. Through the second he makes the world into his own affair, into something that has a meaning for him. The third he regards as a goal towards which he ought unceasingly to strive.
Why does the world appear to man in this threefold way? A simple consideration will explain it. I cross a meadow covered with flowers. The flowers make their colors known to me through my eyes. That is the fact I accept as given. Having accepted the fact, I rejoice in the splendor of the colors. Through this I turn the fact into an affair of my own. Through my feelings I connect the flowers with my own existence. Then, a year later I go again over the same meadow. Other flowers are there. Through them new joys arise in me. My joy of the former year will appear as a memory. This is in me. The object that aroused it in me is gone, but the flowers I now see are of the same kind as those I saw the year before. They have grown in accordance with the same laws as have the others. If I have informed myself regarding this species and these laws, I then find them again in the flowers of this year, just as I found them in those of last year. So I shall perhaps muse, ‘The flowers of last year are gone and my joy in them remains only in my memory. It is bound up with my existence alone. What I recognized in the flowers of last year and recognize again this year, however, will remain as long as such flowers grow. That is something that revealed itself to me, but it is not dependent on my existence in the same way as my joy is. My feelings of joy remain in me. The laws, the being of the flowers, remain outside of me in the world.’
By these means man continually links himself in this threefold way with the things of the world. One should not, for the present, read anything into this fact, but merely take it as it stands. From this it can be seen that man has three sides to his nature. This and nothing else will, for the present, be indicated here by the three words, body, soul and spirit. Whoever connects any preconceived opinions or even hypotheses with these three words will necessarily misunderstand the following explanations. By body is here meant that through which the things in the environment of a man reveal themselves to him, as in the above example, the flowers in the meadow. By the word soul is signified that by which he links the things to his own being, through which he experiences pleasure and displeasure, desire and aversion, joy and sorrow in connection with them. By spirit is meant what becomes manifest in him when as Goethe expressed it, he looks at things as a ‘so to speak divine being.’ In this sense man consists of body, soul and spirit.
Through his body man is able to place himself for the time being in connection with things; through his soul he retains in himself the impressions they make on him; through his spirit there reveals itself to him what the things retain for themselves. Only when we observe man in these three aspects can we hope to throw light on his whole being, because they show him to be related in a threefold way to the rest of the world.
Through his body man is related to the objects that present themselves to his senses from without. The materials from the outer world compose his body, and the forces of the outer world work also in it. He observes the things of the outer world with his senses, and he also is able to observe his own bodily existence. It is impossible, however, for him to observe his soul existence in the same way. Everything in him that is bodily process can be perceived with his bodily senses. His likes and dislikes, his joy and pain, neither he nor anyone else can perceive with bodily senses. The region of the soul is inaccessible to bodily perception. The bodily existence of a man is manifest to all eyes; the soul existence he carries within himself as his world. Through the spirit, however, the outer world is revealed to him in a higher way. The mysteries of the outer world, indeed, unveil themselves in his inner being. He steps in spirit out of himself and lets the things speak about themselves, about what has significance not for him but for them. For example, man looks up at the starry heavens. The delight his soul experiences belongs to him. The eternal laws of the stars that he comprehends in thought, in spirit, belong not to him but to the stars themselves.
In this way, man is a citizen of three worlds. Through his body he belongs to the world that he also perceives through his body; through his soul he constructs for himself his own world; through his spirit a world reveals itself to him that is exalted above both the others.
It seems obvious that because of the essential difference between these three worlds, a clear understanding of them and of man's share in them can only be obtained by means of three different modes of observation.
— Rudolf Steiner in Theosophy
In order to learn, practice and deepen the threefold way or threefold observation we are asked to write down our observations in a threefold way. We likely will discover — over time — that this activity is transformative for our perception of our life’s events, preparing us for a deeper and more meaningful understanding of our own biography and the times we live in.
Of course, everyone needs and should develop their own approach and interpretation of the task at hand.
As an example, a sample threefold entry can be found here following.
Body/Physical World: Today I observed wildlife in my backyard. There was a squirrel that ran up and down one of the trees, while emitting certain sounds. Then the squirrel disappeared behind some bushes and did not return.
Soul: The observation of the squirrel filled me with a joyous feeling, hope and the feeling of endless possibilities, as the squirrel darted this way, then that way. When the squirrel disappeared, a deep melancholy entered my soul, and I became aware of a slight fear of the unknown, as I pondered the question of where the squirrel had gone now.
Spirit: I became aware of the fact that we live within a very narrow field of observation that we call reality. At times we forget that there is another reality “beyond those bushes,” which our thoughts might be able to explore in the same way — and with the same ease — as the squirrel who went there, as if to show me the way.