Brian’s Reflection: Wednesday, March 7, 2012

The goal of life is to make your heartbeat
match the beat of the universe,
to match your nature with nature.

Joseph Campbell, philosopher, mythologist


On the whole, I think that the Biblical creation stories are engaging. And I have always been glad that there are two such stories in Genesis! I think it’s very instructive to us, to see that there are two different view-points, two different perceptions, at play right from the start. It should put us on our toes.

What I regret are many of the dogmas that have developed from a wide perspective of interpretations! Especially the attitude that developed - and alas continues in many places to this day - about woman and woman’s relationship to man. Instead of seeing it as a story about “man and woman” making some “bad” decisions, Patriarchy has used the story to bolster it’s own power. To our eternal detriment as a human community, I would say.

Another regrettable misinterpretation relates to the Earth and to all that exists on It, and our relationship to It. Of course it’s not surprising that we who inherited this Myth fell into the “sin” - yes, the Sin (i.e, against Truth and Love) - of claiming power over it, to do with it as we wished.

And there lies one of our major problems in terms of our human dis-ease, our alienation from our nature. Dr. Campbell points to it wisely. We have tended to treat the Earth as an expendable inferior, a slave. We have not understood that in doing so, we have done the same to our Selves.

I believe what Joseph Campbell says is accurate. We are an integral part of the whole of Existence. We are stewards in It, not Masters of It. I think it important to remember that if we wound and main the Universe, we are wounding and maiming ourselves. I think we can see that in the woundedness of our human community right now.

I feel One with the Universe … and so I feel One with “God”. I think this is the goal of all of us.

Brian+