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Let's talk about mythologies, religion, and the importance of finding your path.
I don't consider myself religious. But I appreciate the force that religion can be, both for good and for evil. And I appreciate the mythologies it ingrains in adherents.
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I don't consider myself religious. But I appreciate the force that religion can be, both for good and for evil. And I appreciate the mythologies it ingrains in adherents.
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In this case, "mythologies" doesn't mean "fairies & falsehoods" so much as it means fables that make truths & lessons digestible.
To a large degree, we don't always notice the lessons. They exist as stories traveling a very familiar story circle or "hero's journey" according...
To a large degree, we don't always notice the lessons. They exist as stories traveling a very familiar story circle or "hero's journey" according...
to Joseph Campbell's "Monomyth" (Hero with 1,000 Faces).
Those stories & myths help create a shared identity, and a shared system of values. And I'd wager that a lot of our ills right now come from a rejection of those myths, and with no easy way to...
Those stories & myths help create a shared identity, and a shared system of values. And I'd wager that a lot of our ills right now come from a rejection of those myths, and with no easy way to...
...recreate them, the values they impart, and the "path" to fullness of self. So many have become lost searching for it, or have given up on finding any meaning.
And this isn't preaching. If anything, I am mythologically agnostic. But I feel like straight atheism...
And this isn't preaching. If anything, I am mythologically agnostic. But I feel like straight atheism...
...can be as damaging as monotheism, in that extreme versions of it discount the value in other mythologies.
Let's take a look at the basic "hero's journey" story circle, and touch on a few examples & what they might teach us.
Let's take a look at the basic "hero's journey" story circle, and touch on a few examples & what they might teach us.
The Hero's Journey has been discussed by a lot of great folks (Dan Harmon uses it religiously in his writing a'la Rick & Morty and Community)
And the dissection of it has been done by better minds than mine - check out the "Quantum Froth Dispatches" three-part series on it.
And the dissection of it has been done by better minds than mine - check out the "Quantum Froth Dispatches" three-part series on it.
But it can also be translated into our everyday lives, which is where the mythologies come into play. The story circle overlays with the way that we learn & achieve things in life, as you can see below on an "IRL" story circle.
The biblical story of "The Passion" is actually its own mythological story circle, wherein you have Jesus in a zone of comfort, but he needs to fulfill his purpose. So he goes to Jerusalem, quite literally "denying the call" (Let this cup pass), "atoning with the father", and...
...paying the price through the crucifixion. Biblically, the story doesn't end there. There is also a part of the mythology where he goes to hell & steals the keys to life & death, before returning to the normal world & then ascending.
If you look at this versus other familiar mythologies & story circles, there are a lot of parallels. You can put it up against Frodo & Sam, who follow the same path, face their trials, return to the 'normal world', and then get on the boat to what is essentially "heaven", or...
...the final threshhold.
But what does this story, in particular, teach us?
I'd say that it is about reckoning with death. Though some would think that Christianity is in itself about denying death by believing in an afterlife, I'd say that...
But what does this story, in particular, teach us?
I'd say that it is about reckoning with death. Though some would think that Christianity is in itself about denying death by believing in an afterlife, I'd say that...
...the "Passion" story is about acceptance of our own mortality. "This cup" (Death) cannot pass from us, because it is a basic part of life.
We accept the pain & loss at the end, and in so doing we defeat "death/hades/hell" by taking away their power over us; the fear.
We accept the pain & loss at the end, and in so doing we defeat "death/hades/hell" by taking away their power over us; the fear.
Another biblical mythology is the story of Samson, which on its base is a cautionary tale against giving another power over us, and thus losing our strength (personal freedom). Delilah is representative of anyone who would manipulate us, and attempt to subjugate us.
These are all stories that follow similar paths, but if you dissect them or view them agnostically, you can see the hidden lessons that they're meant to impart.
But most mythologies are capable of that. I feel like a lack of these religious mythologies leaves a...
But most mythologies are capable of that. I feel like a lack of these religious mythologies leaves a...
...hole that we try to fill, culturally. Look at the "red pill/blue pill" argument & the larger story circle of "The Matrix".
1. Neo is in a place of comfort.
2. Morpheus gives him the "call to adventure".
3. Neo attempts to "refuse the call", but is convinced by Trinity.
1. Neo is in a place of comfort.
2. Morpheus gives him the "call to adventure".
3. Neo attempts to "refuse the call", but is convinced by Trinity.
4. Neo meets the Oracle/mentor
5. Neo enters the real world/unfamiliar situation.
6. Neo faces tests by "threshhold guardians", in the form of enemies & betrayal by allies (Cypher).
7. He learns what he needs, but pays a heavy price for it as agents take Morpheus.
5. Neo enters the real world/unfamiliar situation.
6. Neo faces tests by "threshhold guardians", in the form of enemies & betrayal by allies (Cypher).
7. He learns what he needs, but pays a heavy price for it as agents take Morpheus.
Using this power/"elixir", he becomes the master of both worlds, and is able to return to the "normal world/Matrix" as a master, rather than who he began the journey as.
It's all fairly easy to follow, and while stories don't always follow the "order" of a story circle, they...
It's all fairly easy to follow, and while stories don't always follow the "order" of a story circle, they...
...tend to have the elements.
So what does this modern mythology teach us? Critical-thinking? Not to accept our world at face-value? Looking deeper?
Yes. All of these things. Though you could argue that it does this imperfectly, and may inspire...
So what does this modern mythology teach us? Critical-thinking? Not to accept our world at face-value? Looking deeper?
Yes. All of these things. Though you could argue that it does this imperfectly, and may inspire...
...some folks to be irrationally inclined to invent conspiracies where they might not exist.
But overall, it's a lesson that is needed. Without critical-thinking & examination, it is easy to live your 9-5 life in a material world & think that is what living is all about.
But overall, it's a lesson that is needed. Without critical-thinking & examination, it is easy to live your 9-5 life in a material world & think that is what living is all about.
I've gone on with this thread wayyy too long, but what do you think? Can you see any "story circles" in pop culture, religion, or even in the real world?
And if so, what do they teach you upon dissection? What lessons can we learn from them?
And if so, what do they teach you upon dissection? What lessons can we learn from them?
