Myth as Sacred Story Myths, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica’s article on the topic, are traditional, symbolic narratives that tell stories of gods or great heroes within a particular religious framework which gives them an authority, not necessarily of fact, but of truth. [1] Magical and wondrous things happen in myths, but we need not believe their particulars to gain wisdom from them. Still, it’s not easy to define myth or mythology. Different Western scholars emphasize different aspects of myth, and distinguishing a myth from fairy tale, fable, or folklore is even harder. That’s probably why, later in the above article, the authors admit “it is difficult to generalize about…
-
-
The Great Loneliness
Ideas of the Ultimate In his book, The Masks of God, volume 1, Joseph Campbell quotes an Eskimo shaman, Igjugarjuk, who said, “The only true wisdom lives far from mankind, out in the great loneliness, and it can be reached only through suffering. Privation and suffering alone can open the mind of a man to all that is hidden to others.” [1] Igjugarjuk spoke those words in the context of a discussion about Sila. The different groups of Inuit have different notions who Sila is. Perhaps she is breath, soul, form. On the island of Nunivak, the people understand Sila to be a great spirit who speaks to them in…
-
Being Prepared and Universalism
It’s All About Love As a Universalist, I read scriptures and myths to learn about being human. In the case of the Bible, I also learn something about our relationship with the holy, the mysterious, the I Am. Though a good story raises more questions than it answers, in scripture, I can discover insights that encourage my transformation into a better self. For me, the Bible is about love. God is love. Eternal love made life possible, and everything that exists reflects that love. We can pervert love into indifference and animosity, but God—or whatever we choose to call the essence of life—cannot. Thus, God’s wrath, vengeance, and chastisement must…
-
Winning and the Grace of Losing
The Beauty of the Moon You could say the United States won the race to the moon. During the 1960s and 70s, NASA sent seven manned ships up there. In total, twelve Americans disembarked and prowled the lunar surface. By all accounts, the experience was incredible. Centuries of dust plumed up, obscuring their vision as they landed and coating their suits and equipment. As they gazed about them during the bright moon day, the unremitting gray appeared almost white. Mountains swept high against the curved horizon, volcanic lava glistened, and unusual shapes mystified them. Glassy beads and gems sparkled at their feet. A deep soundlessness filled the air. And in…
-
To Walk In Beauty
Beauty Is An Ecstasy According to the poet, Kahlil Gibran, there are many different ways to understand this thing we call Beauty. For instance, the wounded speak of Beauty as kind and gentle. She glides past us “[l]ike a mother half-shy of her own glory.” [1] The “passionate,” on the other hand, claim her as a tempest, loud and powerful and dreadful, like a terrifying sense of wonder. To the “tired and weary,” she speaks to their spirit “like a faint light,” while to the “restless” she shouts as loud as stampeding hoof beats and roaring lions. The “watchmen” see Beauty in the sunrise, and “wayfarers” see her in the…
-
Independence and Interdependence
Independence In 1776, on the 4th of July, the founding fathers of the United States signed the Declaration of Independence. No longer would they tolerate British rule. The land they had taken for themselves and their families would belong to them alone, not to a foreign power. Today, with hot dogs and fireworks, we celebrate that declaration of freedom. It’s ironic. There these men were, up in arms about taxation, about not having a say in laws that affected them, about \trade restrictions that hobbled them, yet they never considered the indigenous people who’d maintained this land for 10,000 years, nor did they think of the slaves that many of…
-
Freedom and “The Dawntreader”
Songs of Freedom People have been singing songs about freedom for centuries. During their struggle for independence, the Irish sang songs such as “When Fenians Fight for Freedom,” and “I Had Dream that Ireland Was Free.” In the 1930s, labor unions had “Joe Hill,” “We Shall Not Be Moved,” and “Hallelujah, I’m a Bum.” “We Shall Not Be Moved” was apparently based on “I Shall Not Be Moved,” an African American spiritual. Slaves also sang “O, Freedom,” “Go Down, Moses,” “Up Above My Head.” Psalm 119 speaks of walking in freedom. How these verses, and many others, speak of freedom is different, however. There’s the freedom that comes from resistance…
-
If Knowledge Is Power
Knowledge and Safety “Knowledge is power,” he told me. “Some people shouldn’t have it.” He spoke the quip casually, quickly moving on to another part of his story, but the words stayed with me. This man, a patient at the hospital, had been sober for twenty years, even through the deaths of a daughter as a young woman and his son at the age of four. He rebuilt a life that had been tattered by addiction, incarceration, and despair, but the cruelty of strangers, the betrayal of loved ones, and the loss of dreams had taken its toll. He knew that some people could be trusted with the tender parts…
-
What Is the Nature of Love?
Asking the Question Today we ask what love is. Given how many people have tried to analyze the sensation, action, and essence of love, I suspect this attempt will leave us with more questions than answers, but we humans have always asked unanswerable questions. Why stop now? So what is love? There’s the welling up of tenderness in a mother’s chest when she gazes upon her child, the sensation of hormones that surge through a lover’s bloodstream, the unconditional regard of friends for one another, the reverent respect of student for teacher. But there’s also the adoring gaze of a hound for its human companion, the geese who spend their…
-
Monsters and the Heroes Who Face Them
Seeing Ourselves in Myths It’s hard to know how an ancient culture viewed its myths. There are indications that the Greeks believed in their gods as much as did any group of people. They worshiped them and sacrificed to them because they hoped these powerful beings might bless them and their loved ones. The stories told about these gods, however, were something else. In Christianity, Biblical literalism is a recent phenomenon, arising in Europe and America in the 18th century, according to the French writer, Dennis Diderot, [1] and the 19th and 20th centuries, according to Marcus Borg. [2] Ancient Hebrews and first-century Christians understood that their religious stories were…