A Conversation On a Winter's Day
By Caroline Myss
The other day I had the luxury of spending some time with a dear friend, one of those rare individuals who has a way of seeing the world that illuminates your inner world just by being around him. Our conversation covered a whole range of topics but inevitably we landed upon all of the changes happening in the world around us — and within us. We asked each other, "Where are these changes leading us?" Was there a direction, a theme, perhaps an archetypal pathway that was coded in the chaos?
We discussed the politics of America in the midst of all these changes and the on-going stress of an on-going war and how that stress filters into the collective soul, almost becoming unnoticeable. After a decade, who can even discern this stress from all the other changes that are occurring so rapidly? Our conversation took a pause at the great crossroads known as the Past and the Future. We noted a mutual sense of sorrow in realizing that so much of the familiar landscape of America was indeed slipping away forever. But what could we see ahead?
Neither my friend nor I is an optimist. Nor are we pessimists. I would describe us both as devoted realists who maintain our feet on the earth while continually looking inward and upward for inspiration and insight for navigational indicators through these unfamiliar seas. Things that qualify as navigational indicators include dramatic shifts in the familiar myths and archetypes that have held together the social fabric for decades, if not centuries, for example. A myth that gets dismantled has to be replaced by its next version, a more evolved story that can contain the magic and mysteries of the celestial world for us, the earth dwellers.
As a for instance, the myths of Christianity took over the mythic structure of what we refer to as the pagan era of the Roman world. Christianity absorbed the pagan myths into a new mythic story but it took nearly three and a half bloody centuries for the Christian myths to take the lead. (Hitting the pause button for a moment: It's really incomprehensible to the "mind" in us to realize that we are essentially "mythic" creatures. There is not a word inclusive enough to communicate how controlled we are by our mythologies. We cannot function separated from our myths. Indeed, we literally are our myths and even to go near that truth can be an intimidating, alarming, or even, as wars so often prove, destructive proposition. That is, wars are fought over which religion has the more potent myths; or is my God or your God in charge of the cosmos? Cuz if it's your God, then my myths are worthless; thus, one of our mythic systems has to be wiped out.)
Aren't we just remarkable? We can think of ourselves as so educated, so intelligent, so sophisticated — but let someone tamper with December 25th or question the meaning of "promise" in the "promised land" or suggest any review of the fundamental myths that hold together the great traditions and wham….emotions take charge of the conversation and all rational discussion comes to an end. Why?
Because the discussion has turned to the subject of myths and myths are our mission control, our sacred ground. Myths are the batteries that operate our belief systems. Inherently we understand that if someone challenges or tampers with our myths — and God forbid someone should point to the folly in one of them — our world could come crashing down upon us in an instant.
Many times I have written about the fact that we are living in times of great change. But we are experiencing more than "great" change; we are living at a time of "mythic" change. Deep in our intuitive gut, we can sense a dismantling of our most familiar myths — the myths of our religions, the myths of our nation and others as well, and even the myths of the inevitability of the future of the planet. Whereas we once took the future of this planet for granted, we can no longer do that. None of us grew up with the idea that water might be scarce or that the air might become toxic. We had the threat of nuclear war but that was a manmade threat, not an environmental catastrophe that signaled an illness in Mother Nature herself. And certainly none of us grew up concerned about oil — that's for sure.
In short, we grew up believing that all good things would continue on as they always have, which is certainly a lovely mythic-sized wish but one that is impossible to fulfill. Beyond our mythic-sized wish for all good things to remain intact is the mystical truth that forms the core of Buddhism: Change is constant and all things change. Suffering is caused when we act against the changes that are inevitable. We must cooperate with the inevitable even though there is pain in the letting go of the familiar.
This describes our moment in time, this moment in history. Our familiar myths are getting dismantled, no matter which direction you look — socially, religiously, politically, economically, globally, environmentally — everywhere. And thus we are fragmented as a planetary community, not yet able to move forward as we have yet to script "global" myths about who we are as "global" beings with "global" identification cards. But that's where we are headed.
Obviously you can be overwhelmed by the size of this moment in history. All of us should be overwhelmed by what we are living through. Nonetheless, we are the ones living at this time. I am someone who needs to see as much and as clearly as I can, knowing that at best I can but glimpse a fragment of what is unfolding in the world around me. But let me take you back to the question my dear friend and I discussed with each other after we laid out this same background scenario of the ending of a mythic era in human evolution: What could we see ahead?
Though I would prefer to be addressing all of you from a stage as my enthusiasm level is now rising, I must type out my response — all the more difficult as the answer fits the image of a hologram far more than it does the conventional thinking that there is only one way through or one way "out" of a predicament such as the one humanity now finds itself in. Our way through this evolution of mythologies is already underway — which is not the same as saying that our way through is a safe, easy, or low-risk path. New myths are already "under construction", so to speak. What would those be?
The new myths are ones that are solar based, global and environmentally interactive, ones that integrate life as opposed to dominating and destroying life as a result of an absence of moral or ethical conscience. The movie AVATAR is an expression of this new myth, recognizing a yearning for a new relationship to nature and the Divine that is "spiritually organic". (No myths offer perfection, mind you, but in theory all myths present new possibilities of what humanity is capable of achieving.)
As is so often the case, when great change comes upon a society, the people who forge the pathways into the new myths are visionaries from the arenas of literature, art, philosophy, theology, and science. James Cameron is an artist/film maker/visionary and his work has hit an all time high in popularity not only because of its 3-D technology, but because of its visionary message. And lest you be tempted to think that all visionaries merely dabble in fiction, I will tell you that last October a meeting was held in the Vatican, a gathering of astrobiologists, astrophysicists, theologians and philosophers. The intention of their meeting was to discuss the challenge of expanding the tenets of Catholic theology in preparation for the inevitability of extraterrestrial contact. That is, all theology is earth-centric, right? Soooooo, what on "earth" will all the churches of the world do with their earth-centric doctrines once extraterrestrial life is "made official"? Talk about a collapse in mythologies….whewie. As one Jesuit noted, "Catholic theology has no problem with our 'brothers' from space as we do not put limits upon the creative force of God." Not bad, eh? (Personally I have to believe the Vatican must have been alerted to prepare for extraterrestrial contact….but what do I know? This story was front page news in the Washington Post, fyi).
Visionaries, soul travelers, and people who have the stamina to attach themselves to "incoming myths" will see this time as one of great birth and not just great change and turmoil. The "traditional mind" can draw a breath here and say that such "myth flexibility" belongs to the young people of the world, not to those of us who grew up believing in the "good life forever" mythology. To that I say a loud and bold "nonsense". To me, any person who has invested years in refining his or her inner life is a potential visionary, a person equipped to recognize an "incoming myth". You are exactly the people this world is counting on in terms of making that grand leap from one inner domain to the next.
The study of the application of mystical laws, for instance, is a pathway to understanding "incoming myths" in the emerging world. (Note that I am doing a workshop on this subject in March.) It's important to learn how to perceive instead of just "think"; how to imagine something new as the old is fading and how to draw upon your intuition for creativity and not just survival.
Your inner skills are a part of this new emerging landscape, the new myths that are solar/soul based. We have crossed into a new land that is governed by the rules of energy more than matter; the psyche more than reason and the mind; the soul more than the ego. Perhaps we haven't learned a great deal more in these last fifty years, but we have discovered the energetic nature of our consciousness. To put this in the language of the Sacred for those who prefer that window, we have positioned ourselves to comprehend that "energy" is actually "grace". Such profound knowledge has changed the rules by which we now must live — including the fact that we can no longer allow ourselves to "age" at the speed of our physical bodies or cease being a creative asset to the whole of life because we have grey hair. Energy — or grace — is an ageless, timeless, and endless resource, no matter the "age" of the physical body. The "myth" that we are no longer as valuable as we get older is one I shall be delighted to abandon.
So, again, where are we headed in this time of chaos? So much depends on what you know and how deeply you understand what is really happening. It's a privilege to be alive during these times of great change — especially when you are spiritually awake. I've organized my workshops this year around themes related to this extraordinary time and what I believe would be empowering, creatively dynamic, and life changing. The way I look at it, the more my life changes around me, the more I need to walk toward those changes.
Perhaps I will see some of you at my upcoming workshops. If not, please make use of the many free workshops on my web site. I know that the economy has put a strain on decisions to come to workshops, which is so unfortunate for all of us. That's why CMED has made its archive of lectures and workshops so available.
I wish all of you the best as we begin 2010. What a year we shall have. I invite you to join my Salon, where my subject matter is aimed at more personal spiritual instruction. The subject for January is: Do You Need A Spiritual Director? I'm delving into this subject because so many people have asked me questions about spiritual direction and whether or not it's appropriate for them. What is spiritual direction? What types of problems does a spiritual director handle? How can I tell if I am spiritually or psychologically depressed? What is spiritual madness versus psychological madness?
All of these questions are addressed in my January Salon, which will be released early next week.
Much love to all of you,
Caroline
Copyright 2010 Caroline Myss. All rights reserved.
About Caroline Myss
Caroline Myss is a five-time New York Times bestselling author and internationally renowned speaker in the fields of human consciousness, spirituality and mysticism, health, energy medicine, and the science of medical intuition. Caroline established her own educational institute in 2003, CMED (Caroline Myss Education), which offers an array of programs devoted to personal development. The Institute draws students from nineteen nations. In addition to hosting a weekly radio show on the Hay House network, Caroline maintains a rigorous international workshop and lecture schedule and continues a consultation practice as a medical intuitive with physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, and other health practitioners.
www.myss.com
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