Cultural Mythology: Myth, culture, and consciousness

High Desert Mythological RoundTable® Group

Tuesday November 27th, 7-9PM Red Arrow Gallery in Joshua Tree

The Power of Myth Episode Six: Masks of Eternity

The Power of Myth is a series of conversations between myth scholar Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers. In "Masks of Eternity," Campbell talks about the names and images people use to describe and express the transcendent, and how we might identify with it. This is the last episode in the series---please join us!

The High Desert Mythological RoundTable meets the last Tuesday of every month at the Red Arrow Gallery. All open-minded adults who enjoy a good story are welcome to join our thought-provoking conversations. Bring cookies or other goodies to share. Donations for the Joseph Campbell Foundation are much appreciated.

(Image is the Masks of God from the Power of Myth. Note: Mythological RoundTable® is a registered trademark of Joseph Campbell® Foundation).

The Old Thief and the Magic Plum Seed, part 2 of 2

The king was furious when he opened the little wooden box and found only a dry plum pit rattling around inside. “Why, this is just an ordinary plum pit” he exclaimed, “Is this some kind of a joke? Who do you think you are, to waste my time with this foolishness!” The king angrily ordered the jailer to take the old thief back to his gloomy cell.

“Wait,” said the old thief. “It’s true that this is a plum pit, but it is not just an ordinary plum pit. When this plum pit is planted a sapling will spring up in just a few days and quickly grow into a tree, and in just a few days more flowers and then fruit will appear and these will be plums of gold. Whoever plants this tree will reap a golden reward and be wealthy all of his days. Surely this is a gift fit for a king.”

The king thought about this for a moment. “If what you say is true," he said to the old thief, “and this seed is magical and produces plums of gold, then why haven’t you planted the pit yourself?” “Well,” said the old thief, “the tree will only sprout if the one who plants it has a clear conscience and has never stolen or cheated another. Clearly I do not qualify but surely you do, my king.”

The king thought about the deals that were made in the back rooms of the castle. “I’ve never had a green thumb,” he said, and turning to the queen handed the pit to her. “You plant this my dear.” The queen thought about her secret liaisons and private plots and she turned to the prime minister who stood beside her and handed the pit to him. “You deserve this reward far more than I,” she told him.  The Prime Minister took the pit and promptly handed it to the Treasurer. “I do believe that you are better suited for this task,” he said.

The Treasurer gave a slight smile (or perhaps it was a grimace) and handed the plum pit to the Minister of War, who handed it to the Chief Jailer, who handed it to the Minister of Justice, and so it went until the plum pit passed through every hand and ended up again, with the old thief. “Apparently there is no one here qualified to plant this plum tree,” he said, “although I am the only one in jail.”

The room was very quiet. At last the king said, “You have given us a gift today, a gift for the entire realm.” He called the ministers together and they all pitched in to pay the old thief’s fine.

The old thief carefully placed the plum pit back into the old wooden box, shut the lid, and placed it in the folds of his robe.  “Can that pit really produce golden fruit?” the king asked him. The old thief smiled and walked away a free man.

 

 

The Old Thief and the Magic Plum Seed, part 1 of 2

This story is for those of you in the middle of the river, keeping your eyes open and head above the water.

Once, in a time much like this time, there was an old thief. He had stolen many things over the course of his life and he did it with such subtlety, such art, that he had never been caught. His neighbors had their suspicions but no one could be sure, he was so good at secrecy and the tricks of the trade.

One beautiful sunny day, the old thief went to the marketplace and stole some fresh green herbs. Who can say what attracted him to them, whether it was their color or scent, or some need he had to flavor a dish or make a medicine. He was not usually so bold in the daylight. Maybe he had a moment of weakness. Maybe it was an accident. Maybe it was a moment of fate. But this time he was caught red-handed, slipping the herbs into the folds of his robe. He was taken before the judge, who had often wondered if he would ever see the old thief in his courtroom, and a heavy fine was levied against him.

The fine was awfully large for such a small infraction. The herbs were not worth that much. No one imagined that the old thief could pay it and in fact, he could not. So the authorities happily converted his sentence to a long term in prison. As his jailers led him through the massive gates and down the stone steps into the gloom, the old thief looked everything over very carefully, searching for any gap, any weakness. Alas, the place was tight as a drum and presented no hope of escape.

Days passed. The old thief was alone in his cell in the darkness, his solitude interrupted only by the arrival, twice a day, of his meals. Who knows what he thought about or how he felt in that oppressive quiet?

One day, when the jailer came down the stone steps with his morning meal, the old thief roused himself. “I must talk to the king” he said, “without delay.” “What does an old thief like you have to do with the king?” the jailer replied,“Forget it,” and he put down the food and turned to walk away. “I must see the king,” said the old thief, “because I have a gift for him. Something of extraordinary value, fit only for a king.” “You must be joking,” said the jailer and he went on his way. But then he started to think. Who knows what this old thief might have acquired over the years of skillful theft? And the king might give a good reward to someone who helped get this valuable gift into his royal hands.

So the following morning the jailer told the old thief that his request would be granted, and the next morning he came down to escort the old thief to the king. The old thief picked up an small wooden box and went with the jailer to the royal chambers. There sat the king on his fine throne with the queen at his side, surrounded by ministers and members of his cabinet and nobles and other fine people of the realm.

The king was a very busy man with important affairs needing his attention. He was used to receiving fine gifts and wondered what a lowly thief could possible have to offer. So he impatiently waved his hand at the old thief and said, “Come here man, come here now and let’s see what you’ve got.” The old thief did as he was bid and bowing low he said “For you my majesty,” and handed the king the wooden box. The king took the box with a slight frown and opened it. Inside was a dry plum pit. That was all.

Now how will great value be found in this plum pit? Is the thief joking? He can hardly afford to aggravate the king. I've based my telling of this old story on versions from Korea and Michael Meade's book Fate And Destiny.  Stay tuned for the rest of the story.

Trouble is bound to come

The Dalai Lama has said, "Trouble is bound to come, so cultivating the right attitude is crucial." There has always been trouble and suffering in the world and yet we must do what we can to alleviate it, out of compassion for ourselves and others, for the world. We need myth now more than ever, to help us contact that timeless dimension where this paradox can be meaningfully lived.

My understanding of the power of myth began when I read The Book of the Hopi by Frank Waters. For reasons beyond explanation I suddenly grasped the tremendous power of story to make the world and the human place within it. In that moment a path unfolded. A friend recently shared another piece of Hopi wisdom with me. I hope this message from the Hopi Elders in Oraibi, Arizona inspires and compels you to find your place in the great drama currently unfolding.

Hopi Elders Message

You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour.
Now you must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour.
And there are things to be considered:

Where are you living? What are you doing?
What are your relationships? Are you in right relationship?

Where is your water?
Know your garden.

It is time to speak your truth. Create your community.
Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for the leader.

This could be a good time!

There is a river flowing now, very fast. It is so great and swift that there will be those who are afraid.
They will try to hold on to the shore.
They will feel they are being torn apart, and they will suffer greatly.

Know that the river has its destination.

The Elders say that we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river,
keep our eyes open, and our heads above the water.

See who is with you, and celebrate!

At this time in history we are to take nothing personally.
Least of all, ourselves. For the moment that we do,
our spiritual journey and growth comes to a halt.

The time of the lone wolf is over.
Gather yourselves! Banish the word struggle from your vocabulary and attitude.
All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

We are the ones we've been waiting for.

The fisherman

Beginning with the so-called Enlightenment, Western culture has imagined that "reason" is our most divine faculty and awarded high status to the mind, its imagined source. The gut is degraded because it's instinctual. The heart can't be trusted because it's fickle. No wonder many of us spend so much time in our heads. We often act as if we can reason our way to some purity, some objective clarity, but it's not possible to be human and be totally devoid of either instinct or emotion. Remember Spock? There's a reason why that notion is science fiction.

The gut and the heart have their own logic and their own perspective and we need them all to understand what is important. I think this little story speaks to the different value systems between the metaphorical head, heart, and gut in terms we can relate to today. How many fish do we need?

A rich industrialist once came upon a fisherman lying lazily beside his boat, smoking a pipe. He was horrified. "Why aren't you out fishing?" he asked the fisherman. The fisherman smiled and squinted and looked up at the industrialist. "Because I've caught enough fish for the day," he said. "But why don't you catch more?" asked the industrialist."Well what would I do with them?" the fisherman replied.

"Why you could earn more money," said the industrialist, "and buy a motor for your boat and go into deeper waters and catch more fish. Then you could make the money to buy large, nylon nets so that you could catch even more fish and make even more money. Soon you would have enough money to own two boats, maybe even a fleet of boats. Then you would be a rich man like me."

"Then what?" asked the fisherman. "Well, then you could enjoy life," replied the rich industrialist. The fisherman leaned back against his boat. "What do you think that I'm doing right now?" he said.

(I found this story in Stories of the Spirit, Stories of the Heart edited by Christina Feldman and Jack Kornfield).

 

heart and mind: sacred activism

“A spirituality that is only private and self-absorbed, one devoid of an authentic political and social consciousness, does little to halt the suicidal juggernaut of history. On the other hand, an activism that is not purified by profound spiritual and psychological self-awareness and rooted in divine truth, wisdom, and compassion will only perpetuate the problem it is trying to solve, however righteous its intentions. When, however, the deepest and most grounded spiritual vision is married to a practical and pragmatic drive to transform all existing political, economic and social institutions, a holy force - the power of wisdom and love in action - is born. This force I define as Sacred Activism.”
― Andrew Harvey, The Hope: A Guide to Sacred Activism

Here is a preview clip of an interview with Andrew Harvey. I plan to read his book, The Hope: A Guide to Spiritual Activism. (He's reciting Rumi.)

 

Occupy your heart

On September 17th people gathered in Liberty Square in Manhattan’s Financial District to launch Occupy Wall Street and the Occupy movement. I think it's fair to say that no one knew what would happen or how the movement would grow, and predictions regarding outcomes and the ultimate value of the protest seem equally uncertain. (According to Occupy Wall Street the movement has spread to over 100 cities in the United States and actions in over 1,500 cities globally). But something powerful has emerged, some vital energies are stirring. On the common level of public debate people talk about unjust economic policies, political corruption, corporate greed, and bankrupt social contracts. But what is the mythological context or mythology expressed in the action and ideas of Occupy Wall Street, I wonder?  Are the three hideous brothers going to be called from Tartarus to aid in the creation of a new world order? (see past posts on the Greek Titanomachia for the story).

I don't know. But the words that we use provide clues. Their origins and layered meanings resonate and round out conscious and unconscious daily uses. We often say more than we intend. The conversation happens on more than one level.

A central slogan of the Occupy movement is "Human need, not corporate greed." Pay attention to the needs of real people, not legal pseudo-persons. "Corporation" is an interesting word. A primary meaning of "corporation," from the Latin corporare "to embody," was once paunch, pot belly, bulging abdomen. This is still an active definition but in the mid 15th century the term corporation came to mean a group of persons united in one body for some purpose. A body is a material physical structure but it's also a group or collection of related things. The body politic, for example, is a nation. A corporation is a body.

We can further investigate the metaphorical anatomy of the corporation to encompass the word "capitalism," from "capital," from the Latin capitalis, "of the head." We also find caput--"head"--or maybe that should be kaput? Seriously, the word "capital" reflects the historical Western preference for the head, for the presumed logic of the intellect over other forms of knowing and understanding. In our capital driven society, this head is a primary value, the essential material and goal of many enterprises.The concept is also associated with life itself, and mortality. Think capital crimes or capital sin. But where is the heart? I think this is the question many are asking.

A synonym for head is "chief." But the head was not always the privileged leader. In Old English the definition of heart (heorte) included mind, will, and intellect in addition to soul, desire, and the physical organ. This is the origin of the phrase "to know by heart." In French coeur (heart) is related to the words "accord" and "record;" to be in harmony or of one heart, and to remember or "call to mind." The heart is the metaphoric seat of memory upon which wisdom depends and it is also an organ of thought.

In 1925, C.G. Jung visited the United States and went to Taos Pueblo in New Mexico. There he had a conversation with chief Ochiwiay Biano that he describes in Memories, Dreams, Reflections. Ochiwiay told Jung that the Taos Indians didn't understand the continual, desperate, restless seeking of white people and thought white folks must be mad. When Jung asked him why he thought whites were mad, Ochiwiay said it was because they think with their heads. "We think from here," said the chief, and touched his heart.

What is the proper relationship between heart, mind, and belly/gut and how do we know what matters? (matter from L. materia "substance from which something is made," and mater "origin, source, mother.") This is a question for all of us in our personal and public lives. We need a synthesis of all three.

“Mindfulness must be engaged. Once there is seeing, there must be acting. Otherwise, what is the use of seeing?" Thich Nhat Hanh

The Study of Myth

On August 31-September 3, 2012, a four-day Symposium for the Study of Mythology will be held in Santa Barbara, California. This interdisciplinary gathering will pay tribute to the fact that myth is a changing, elastic landscape that flourishes in surprising ways. People use mythology and mythmaking in a wide variety of forms, as teachers and artists, as poets and social commentators, as storytellers and scholars. Anyone interested in the significance of mythology and mythmaking today is encouraged to attend.

The vision of the symposium is threefold:
CONVERGENCE • RESURGENCE • EMERGENCE

Details of the programs that will make up the Symposium will emerge in the coming months. In the meantime, peruse the website and join the conversation bubbling in our myth forums. You may find friends and collaborators. Visit The Study of Myth.

Heartbreak Clinic with Ginette Paris

Recovering From Lost Love and Mourning with Ginette Paris
 
September 16-18, Santa Barbara, CA at Pacifica Graduate Institute
 
No one volunteers for a heartbreak, yet it happens! The trauma and psychic numbness from loss and a broken heart inevitably leads to physical symptoms if one does not find the way back to joy. It does not matter if the loss is due to abandonment, betrayal, or death; loss of love, or loss of professional identity, country, vocation, health, youth, wealth … loss is loss. Those who succeed in liberating their captive heart learn, at great cost, what supports love and what doesn't.

This workshop is open to anyone who has ever experienced LOSS.

Join Ginette Paris for a uplifting and transformative weekend to:

• Understand what happens in the brain when we are heartbroken.
• How to overcome obsessive, painful, and defeating strategies.
• Discover how the trauma of heartbreak connects one to the deepest aspects of the psyche.
• Develop an increased capacity to navigate the darkness and begin the healing process from HEARTBREAK.

Ginette Paris, Ph.D. , psychologist, therapist, writer. Her books have been translated in French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Russian. As an international lecturer, Dr. Paris is one of the leading psychologists linking depth psychology and the neurosciences. She is core faculty at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara,  where she teaches Jungian and Archetypal Psychology.

Her publications include Pagan Meditations; Pagan Grace; The Psychology of Abortion; Wisdom of the Psyche: Depth Psychology After Neuroscience; and Heartbreak: New Approaches to Healing.

Co-Sponsors: Institute for Cultural Change and Pacifica Graduate Institute
12 CEU’s Available for MFT, LCSW, RN and Counselors.

For registration and more information go to Institute for Cultural Change.

Mother, sun, and the compost pile

The Joseph Campbell Foundation regularly features a range of interesting thinkers and mythmakers on their MythNow Blog. The current post is by Willi Paul, creator of openmythsource.com and planetshifter.com. Paul is a former sustainability consultant who is working to combine alchemy, permaculture, and mythology to redeine the sacred and further the formation of a more sustainable society.

Here's an excerpt-- check out the rest of Willi Paul's post and the MythNow blog at JCF, MythNow Blog.

Mother, Sun, and the Compost Pile: Integrating Permaculture with the New Alchemy, New Mythologies, and the Sacred

Students have told me they are fearful for the environment, the oceans are sick, but that there could be some sort of shift ahead. A sustainable path? I hope so, but I have a lot fears that the gasoline is going to dry up soon and we will be hungry. We are headed to a chaotic mess. If we can find a spiritual way to bring forth permaculture and change some of our values, we could save ourselves, but we need to do this consciously. 
 
Many in my circle view the current smoldering meanderings from the old myths as in dire need of a refreshed power center - free from the burden of the withering storylines in old plots, online game slaughters, and our twittering kindergardens. My quick scan of mythic sites includes the home page of the Institute for Cultural Change (formerly the Foundation for Mythological Studies), which does mention sustainability, as well as MYTHOS for Creatives, working a global culture-based view. And, of course, Joseph Campbell Foundation is still blessed with the Hero's Journey and Initiation from Mr. Campbell. But myth needs a new spiritual search engine to go with the Internet. This new story base and vision map is permaculture and the new alchemy and sense of the sacred that comes with it.

Myth needs a new spiritual search engine to go with the Internet.  My work focuses on constructing a new mythological paradigm that incorporates symbols, emerging from alchemy, myths and the sacred in the permaculture movement.

What is Permaculture? Some basic principles:

- Observe and Interact
- Catch and Store Energy
- Use and Value Renewable Resources and Services
- Produce No Waste
- Design from Patterns
- Integrate Rather than Segregate
- Use Small and Slow Solutions
- Use and Value Diversity
- Creatively Use and Respond to Change

Permaculture Symbols

Here are potential sacred permaculture symbols (see graphic below) that are built upon our love and respect for Nature, our communion as we work together in the soil, and the mystery of the seasons, stars and birth:

- Diversity (Soil)
- Growth (Seeds)
- Harvest (Basket)
- Transformation (Fire + Smoke)
- Stewardship (Compost Pile)
- Localization (Community Well)

What do you see? Feel? Nature in her various manifestations and integration are here. Could these symbols be seen as Sun-driven, each combining to build the larger tree of life? Both the ancient symbols and these offerings call for an integration of science and spirit.