Across the Universe

I think this song is, most of all about about achieving a state of mind where you no longer need to think, where your thoughts, your words and your concerns go away. It's about our lack of importance in relation to our world, our universe. It ridiculizes earthly worries, and urges us to open our senses and feel. Just feel everything around us, below us and above us. Become one with the universe and everything around us, lose our individuality and become unviversal. The images in the first lines of the song represents this lack of importance of word, talking and worrying in general, “Words like endless rain into a paper cup”, paper cups can never keep rain inside of them, they are uncapable of holding them as we are uncapable to hold onto words, so he let's them go, “Slip away across the universe”, through meditation, that feeling of your head going “blank”.
The next verses are about the feelings that fill overwhelm him, when he achieves that state. About letting everything into you, the good and the bad, and at the same time letting nothing affect you. Embrace everything but remain unmoved, loving everything and accepting this things as inevitable and almost neccesary. “Pools of sorrow waves of joy are drifting through my open mind, Possessing and caressing me”, opening your mind is the key element here. Then there's the mantra, it doesn't matter what it means, for me it's related to the way of getting into that state. “Nothing's gonna change my world” may sound a little selfish, arrogant and close-minded at first (at least for me) and even more if you look at it as a sentence on its own. But if you relate it with the context of the song (buddhist meditation) nothing's gonna change my world is really about accepting the world and the universe as it is, feeling happy and calm about it, wanting nothing more and nothing less of it. For me, it's more about not WANTING to change the world, not needing to do it, than not LETTING anyone change it, as a way of defending it or blinding ourselves. It's the same sense of peace, tranquility, conformity and of communion with the self and the world of the entire song. It really embodies the entire concept. It's almost the inverse of being selfish, it's about abandoning one self and becoming whole with everything that's outside of us, achieving inner peace. The verses that follow this chorus, "Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes,", in my opinion are much more open to interpretation. For me, these images are a metaphor of the stars, of the open universe in it's literall meaning, the one we think about when we hear the word universe. It's about a calling to it's beauty, and later, the star's call for us to join them across the universe, these are just beautifull images that add to the song’s mood of mysticism. It is a literal image of us elevating through meditation and joining the stars, our universe. The lines that follows, continues with the idea of the lack of importance of our tribulations here on earth, and the our need to let them go. Once again our attempts of getting ahold of them are ridiculized by the image of the wind inside a letter box, another impossible attempt. The quick passing of our problems here on earth is emphasized, they are put in perspective in relation with that that is more important, finding peace and love. Our need to focus on more important matters. "Sounds of laughter shades of earth are ringing Through my open views inciting and inviting me." This relates once again with the lines about opening your mind and senses and letting the world in. "Limitless undying love which shines around me like a million suns” is another metaphor of the way he feels the love of the world surrounding him. “It calls me on and on across the universe", the same structure is repeated. This verses are another sublimation of the state of mind achieved through meditation. Most of all is the call for us to be there, to reach for that eternal love, to becoming one with ourselves, our universe, our gods, with our love, with our joy, with our sorrow, with everything. Embracing not only the good but the bad in order to feel everything and love as we are loved inconditionally by the world. Love is once again (as its common in the amazing world of the Beatles songs), the main theme of this song, love for everything on earth. This idea is related to the desire of losing individuality, and the frustration this individuality carries (trying to hold on to things, and the immposibilty to do so), and the almost neccesary search for something that is superior to us, in order to be at peace with ourselves and with our universe. I hope this is useful! It’s my way of seeing this incredible song.