I have lots of favorites; but the " journey " of finding them and the ( things they teach us ); both about life and about ourselves is part of the point and the gift of what this type of path means to me. ( William Hendrich Van Loon was a particular favorite of mine who I think in an indirect way lead me to Joe. ) I read parts of the western cannon for awhile; what is refered to as Southern Literature for awhile; and lots of other types; but it was when I got to Joseph Campbell's work that I began to get a better understanding of what was leading me; ( still is ). Joe talks about this process in different ways like finding an author who speaks to you and then what that author read on so on; but to me what he is getting at is what is going on inside you and following that. There is a phrase he used; ( " Power of Myth " I think it was ); about a Guru's advice I like alot: " It is in you ; go and find it. "
I have lots of favorites; but the " journey " of finding them and the ( things they teach us ); both about life and about ourselves is part of the point and the gift of what this type of path means to me. ( William Hendrich Van Loon was a particular favorite of mine who I think in an indirect way lead me to Joe. ) I read parts of the western cannon for awhile; what is refered to as Southern Literature for awhile; and lots of other types; but it was when I got to Joseph Campbell's work that I began to get a better understanding of what was leading me; ( still is ). Joe talks about this process in different ways like finding an author who speaks to you and then what that author read on so on; but to me what he is getting at is what is going on inside you and following that. There is a phrase he used; ( " Power of Myth " I think it was ); about a Guru's advice I like alot: " It is in you ; go and find it. "
Cheers
Found a historian-journalist, Hendrik Willem Van Loon at Amazon and Wikipedia....him?
Heard term, "western cannon" before, but not sure what you mean by that.
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I'm so busy being and doing that I'm not sure I know what's happening with me right now.
Carmela; Van Loon was sort of my guide to understanding various areas of literature, art, and world history. ( This was part of a long process I went through trying to find what it was I was searching for. Then I found Joseph Campbell. )
Back in my lawyering days, I bartered services for sets of the Great Books and the Harvard Classics. Spent lots of spare time tearing through them. Read volumes of comprehensive world history and art, but I'm sorry to say that my interest in other works of fiction was minimal.
It feels like a thousand years ago. Lacking a place to put the books after my father's death, I donated the beautiful books to a worthy cause.
I wonder if any of it was internalized. Also wonder how they may figure into my interest in Campbell's work.
CarmelaBear wrote:Back in my lawyering days, I bartered services for sets of the Great Books and the Harvard Classics. Spent lots of spare time tearing through them. Read volumes of comprehensive world history and art, but I'm sorry to say that my interest in other works of fiction was minimal.
It feels like a thousand years ago. Lacking a place to put the books after my father's death, I donated the beautiful books to a worthy cause.
I wonder if any of it was internalized. Also wonder how they may figure into my interest in Campbell's work.
~
Carmela.
My first attempt; ( which I removed ); in reply to your post was not really the response to what I feel addresses the point. I too had a set of the Harvard Classics which I loved; but concerning your post; if these clips resonate within you then to me there is your answer. Important books, art, and poetry speak to the beauty and nobility of spirit that resides within us all. ( Joseph Campbell knew that and was able to speak to that in a way that not only connected the dots across cultural boundaries so to speak; but in a way that interpretes these themes and makes them accessible. ) Each of us has the potential to find and follow our own personal adventure and destination. ( That in my view simply put was part of what his message was. ) What that is and what happens along the way is up to each individual person and their interplay with whatever life presents to them as they pursue their own unique and individual journey. ( That's all I really know for sure about life because I like everyone else am trying to navigate my own way. ) To add to that is the understanding he also mentions that: " life is not a problem to be solved; but a mystery to be lived ".
We do not breathe mystery. Our brains do not process the smell of mystery.
We confront the mystery of life by being in the presence of our own perception. At some point after conception, the organism is aware of itself as a separate entity, and thus we find pain. There is return to a comfort zone. There are interesting, tantalizing, aggravating experiences that seem to be something we can affect. At the level of a single cell, life survives by recognizing limits and finding ways to adapt. Life does not ask our permission to be capable of being subjected to our conscious observation and command. It imposes upon us the task of recognizing our capacity to intervene and participate with passion and courage.
The essence of life is that it is both experienced and enjoyed as a challenge and something too infinitely boundless to be discovered outside the world of the spirit. Unless you are on a lifelong acid trip, life is lived one problem to the next until the challenge of the body encased in skin finally ceases to breathe.
Mythology and ritual do not solve the problem of life's mystery. They help solve the problems associated with knowing that life changes drastically and inexplicably.
In the first moments of José Padilha's Secrets of the Tribe, about the anthropologists who study the Yanomami, we learn exactly what the observed think of the observer: "You Nabäs (western folks) are always such liars," says one tribesman. "I don't like to believe anything you say because you always lie." After watching this 96-minute film that documents a "he said-he said" war of egos fought among ethically dubious anthropologists on opposing sides of a theoretical debate that includes accusations of genocide and pederasty, it's hard to disagree.
And continues...
To interview the Yanomami, Padilha did what those before him had done: He paid them. "Everything is trade with the Yanomami," he explains. How did he get Chagnon to willingly revisit the allegations that forced the embattled anthropologist into early retirement? "I say I am making a film about science," Padilha explains. "Everyone thinks they are the good scientists and everyone else is doing bad science.
"The methodology of anthropology is flawed," Padilha continues. "Each anthropologist finds exactly the evidence to fit his paradigm. To destroy the data you have to destroy the person. Who cares how you feel about Einstein? Take his data to the lab and see if what he says holds up. No one ever said that about Einstein, but you get my point...Chagnon doesn't agree with Ken Good, so he says, ‘Oh, he married a teenager.'"
Watch Bill Maher on HBO now and then. It was mentioned that Rush Limbaugh said that "12 Years A Slave" won the Oscars on account of the social justice subject as much as for the quality of the movie. Bill Maher said basically the same thing, and though it may be true, I don't think there is anything wrong with that.
For those of us who would rather be tasered for two hours, we do not need to actually see the movie to understand that it is a good story on many levels. I am absolutely certain that if well-respected film experts say it was well done, many of us who are emotionally hypersensitive to the plight of the enslaved do not need to be subjected to emotional torture to endorse the work of exceptionally talented people.
Some of the members of the academy probably voted for a movie they may decide never to watch.
Once in a while a door opens, and let's in the future. --- Graham Greene
"Alive Inside: A Story of Music and Memory" is a moving and powerful documentary about how a little ipod and some music can help bring joy, meaning, and interaction back into the lives of Alzheimer's patients.