Christina wrote:A little clarification to avoid misinterpretation...
1) Transcendence is not a theoretical experience
Exactly what is transcending what here?
Brains that actually function have a capacity to imagine and feel, and I know it is good to imagine and feel that our "minds" are transcending our bodies. Campbell, his associates and most of the members of this forum can attest to experience of this nature. However, such physical experience is not scientifically established evidence of the existence of a consciousness outside the functioning of the living brain. The science of consciousness is not even sure of the true nature of consciousness itself, never mind the possibility that it may exist independent of the body.
[quojte="Christina"]2) We can all cultivate and spiritually mature through intutivite experiences of soul, Spirit
3) Mythically (this is a JC site) Jesus, Odin, Buddha, Green Man, etc reflect our own personal quest to go beyond (ie let go or sacrifice) the limitations of the ego mind
4) For those interested there are body/earth minded practices to help awaken a deeper state of unity awareness, thereby helping stay centered and blissful despite the sufferings of the world (and the internal sufferings of an ego). [/quote]
Yes, on this most of us agree and we admire your work.
Christina wrote:My work involves helping veterans and others with post traumatic (and other) stress disorders, addictions, serious health conditions and suicidal tendencies (I am a veteran myself with 11 years of military experience). I have been fortunate to witness how getting people back in touch with themselves (connection with their inner nature) through nature, body minded exercise, dreamwork and holistic wellness practices has brought greater peace, joy and wellness to others.
From my experience when helping those near deaths door a sense of the light within (rather than the vehicle of the body) brings the greatest inner peace and preparedness for the transition that someday we will all take.
Mythologically we do sacrifice our obstacles (judgments, critical thinking, sense of isolation or disconnection) for greater joyful appreciation of life, others and ourselves.
Within the confines of words like "sense" or experience of a light, there is no doubt that we can infuse our experiences with great meaning and with comfort that helps us move from one event to another. However, we have this sense and we have this experience on account of a body and a brain that function. Without their functioning, the experience is no longer capable of being acknowledged. The evidence stops.
So, to experience joy by accepting abstract concepts is extremely helpful, especially to those who face suffering and death. In a fox hole, gods and angels abound.
I believe that myth is a metaphor for something we intuit but cannot observe or experience for ourselves. Much of myth is speculation, but admittedly useful speculation.
Suffering and death are the twin problems facing us every day. With each moment, we are aware of emotional experience (which is produced by the body and influenced greatly by a variety of chemicals that drive our brain and nervous system). After that experience, we begin to cogitate and interpret experience and fill in the experience with a story of that experience. I have no doubt that the mythological stories you experience have a life of their own, and I would never seek to deprive you of that experience. That's what myth does. It enriches experience.
My concern is that sometimes you may mistake the experience of the story for what actually happened and you may come to believe that what felt or seemed like a self outside the body was actually that. Maybe it was. Maybe it was not. We don't know.
A belief in a "transcendent" self is comforting, but it is only a belief.
~
Once in a while a door opens, and let's in the future. --- Graham Greene