Mythic Inflation

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Mythic Inflation is a term introduced by Joseph Campbell.

Campbell says Egyptian cultural beliefs about a ruler’s relation to God or gods progresses through several historical stages, each taking its own form.

In the second stage of mythic inflation, the ruler’s aggrandized ego believes and acts as if it were a deity. Mythically inflated rulers exhibit haughty arrogance and are obsessed with gaining material wealth and power over others. They ruthlessly lie, trick, exploit and murder to achieve earthly desires and prestige.

In contrast to mythic identification, the mythically inflated king would never consider sacrificing himself for the good of the community.

In ancient Egypt the often brutal, power-hungry kings envisioned themselves as “God on earth,” as did Julius Caesar in Rome.

Whether or not the examples Campbell provides to (apparently) support these stages reflect actual social-historical conditions remains open to debate.

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Mythic Subordination

"The Storming of the Bastille", Visible in the center is the arrest of Bernard René Jourdan, marquis de Launay (1740-1789) via Wikipedia

Mythic Subordination is a term introduced by Joseph Campbell.

Campbell says that Egyptian cultural beliefs about a ruler’s relation to God or the gods progress through several historical stages, each with its own characteristics.

In the third stage of mythic subordination, the pharaoh is no longer envisioned as a flawless incarnation of God or the gods. Unlike the previous two stages, he is neither sacrificed for the good of the community (mythic identification), nor is he shameless tyrant, unaccountable to his subjects (mythic inflation).

Instead, his ego is regarded as an instrument of the divine will; but at the same time, royal decrees are now subject to some form of societal approval or censure.

Although Campbell applies this idea to the ancient world, it is relevant to the development and increasing powers of the early parliamentary system within thirteenth-century Britain, and to the French Parliament which from the Middle Ages until the French Revolution questioned royal injunctions.

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Mythic Identification

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Mythic Identification is a term introduced by Joseph Campbell.

Campbell argues that Egyptian cultural beliefs about a ruler’s relation to God or gods progressed through several historical stages, each taking its own form.

The first stage is mythic identification, where the ego is entirely absorbed by the real and/or imagined powers of the deity.

In pre-dynastic Egypt, the priesthood articulates this belief. Utterly lost in wonder at the immensity of the creator and the created cosmos, the god-like king willfully submits to self-sacrifice for the good of the community. By losing his mortal life at the altar, the king believes he doesn’t die because he’s already one with God. In tune with the immortal, his death merely signals a passing to a greater dimension.

This differs from mythic inflation, where rulers exhibiting haughty arrogance will lie, trick, exploit and murder to achieve worldly power, desires and prestige. Such rulers would never consider self-sacrifice for the good of the community.

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Mythic Eternalization

Yogi in Arunachala temple via Wikipedia

Mythic Eternalization is a term introduced by Joseph Campbell. Campbell says that humanity’s beliefs about the ego’s ideal relation to God (or gods) takes different forms.

In mythic eternalization, Campbell cites the case of the Indian yogi who strives to become one with the godhead. This differs from mythic identification because the ego does not merely identify with an immortal deity. With mythic externalization, the ego allegedly disappears when the locus of consciousness shifts, giving way to the atman, which itself becomes inseparable from the brahman.

Carl Jung makes an interesting point here. He asks who experiences the atman/brahman if the ego has disappeared. Ram Dass to this query by saying that Jung is supposedly caught up in astral levels of reality associated with the fourth chakra (there are seven in total) and is too afraid to take “the next step” toward discovering ultimate reality. “Then he will no longer be able to do what he does as Carl Jung,” Dass argues.

Noted for his sincerity and admission of his own imperfections, Ram Dass may no longer hold such a critical view of Jung today. And Jung would probably have responded by saying that Dass’ ego is stuck at the level of identifying with the “guru archetype” and he’s afraid to move on because he would no longer be able to do what he does as Ram Dass!

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Mythic Dissociation

Image by Richard Carter via Flickr

Mythic Dissociation is a term introduced by Joseph Campbell. Campbell argues that humanity’s beliefs about the ego‘s ideal relation to God (or the gods) takes different forms.

In mythic dissociation, the ego has a relationship with God. The psychologist-philosopher William James argues in The Varieties of Religious Experience that this characterizes the Christian approach to the deity but it also applies to Judeaism and Islam.

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Myth

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The word myth is derived from the Greek mythos, meaning anything passed on orally.

Homer used mythos to signify stories and conversation based on fact instead of fiction. Later, Plato used mythos to refer to discourses containing shades of truth but which, for the most part, are fiction.

Among its contemporary meanings, myth often points back to a quasi-historical epoch or heroic character.

The term mythology may be used synonymously with myth or, more commonly, with a body of myths. ‘Mythology’ also involves a somewhat analytical (as in scholarly or philosophical) view of myths. A mythologist is someone who studies myths in this way, whereas a mythographer is more a compiler of myths.

Some mythologists trace historical conditions and archeological findings under the assumption that myths are just stories loosely based on historical events (as with the Hindu Ramayana).

In The Greek Myths Robert Graves says this about all myths—i.e. myth is something like a political cartoon.

Some rationalists contend that myth is an early protoscience that attempts to explain natural mysteries, not unlike contemporary science.

The functionalist theory sees myth as serving a positive social purpose. Emile Durkheim, for instance, argued that so-called primitive religion bonded community members and defined precise social classes and roles. The notion that social roles are defined and legitimized by mythology and sacred scripture seems to be partially supported by the Hindu caste system, by Greek and Nordic social stratification and by the Bible and the Koran.

Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory views myth as a folk tale that reveals more about psychological than historical truths. Freud sees myth mostly in terms of wish-fulfillment, denial and sublimation.

Despite Robert Graves’ attack on C. G. Jung for being too metaphysical, Jung himself says myths are “psychological truths” that are historical because they reveal the attitudes of a group at a particular juncture in history. Interestingly, Jung admits to creating his own modern myth through his psychological theories. He also admits to using scientific language to convince otherwise skeptical readers as to the relevance of his ideas.

In a sense, then, Jung’s approach to myth-making could be seen as somewhat postmodern in that he knows full well he’s creating a social truth, if not a permanent truth. While some third-rate thinkers may see this as some kind of moral threat, it’s not that at all. Jung’s goal in myth-making is to create a sense of meaning and purpose appropriate to his times.

Joseph Campbell notes that myth, in combination with rites and ceremonies, serves a pedagogical function. Campbell says myth provides a thread of sensibility running through various stages of life, teaching us how to belong and contribute to society, from birth to childhood, adolescence, adulthood, middle age and eventually to the grave.

In the Tibetan Book of The Dead, the importance of myth extends beyond the grave.

The structuralist theory of Claude Levi-Strauss looks at myth as something arising out of pre-set, universal linguistic structures. For Levi-Strauss, meaning is not separate but explicit to the structure of myths, which apparently pose a series of binary oppositions (e.g. good-evil, male-female, hot-cold, helpful-harmful) that demonstrate how the human mind thinks.

Levi-Strauss’ views have been challenged by Sir Evans Pritchard who says not all mythic systems are constructed in simple binary oppositions. Other opponents say that meaning may exist on top of structure. The statement “the yellow laugh looked wet” for example, is grammatically correct but most would see it as meaningless.

The poststructuralist Michel Foucault sees practically all statements and related practices in terms of myth or ‘fictions.’ For Foucault, societal morals, scientific truths as well as economic, ideological and political imperatives are myths which, when invested with social power, exhibit tangible effects. Sometimes these very real effects of myth are pleasurable and other times not.

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Mysticism

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The term mysticism has a wide variety of meanings.

In ancient Greece an initiate (mystes) was lead into a mystery, a highly esoteric process where initiates swore to secrecy.

Today mysticism generally refers to surpassing worldly sensations, thoughts and desires, which are temporarily replaced or infused with otherworldly experiences, knowledge or graces.

However, this kind of definition falls short because we also have romantic or nature mysticism.

Perhaps at its highest level mysticism refers to an intimate spiritual relationship – others say union – with God or the divine.

Although not appearing in the Bible or in the writings of the Church Fathers, the related terms “mystical,” “mystagogy” and “mystagogue” explain one’s initiation into the essentially mysterious sacraments of the Christian Church.

It’s often said that Christian mysticism differs from Eastern mysticism in that Christianity emphasizes a relationship between the individual and God, rather than a loss of individuality and absorption into, or total identification with, the divine.

But this difference, in practice, is likely one of degree, character, or perhaps a developmental difference.

There seem to be exceptions, at least on the conceptual level, to a general distinction between the ideas of Christian relationship and Eastern absorption.  For example, some Christian saints request in their prayers to be entirely immersed in Jesus’ divine glory. This idea of immersion sounds very Eastern.

And the Hindu school of Visistadvaita (founded by Ramanuja) maintains that a sense of individuality rests within the ultimate and eternal, and idea which sounds very Christian.

To further complicate matters, , even within a given tradition mystics talk of a diversity of realms and numinous experiences. So it seems unlikely that the experiences accessed by mystics within different traditions are identical.

Some writers and pop gurus try to condense different kinds of mysticism into a simple formula, such as “union with the divine.”

In fact, most spiritual seekers usually try to fit very different ideas about mysticism into their own particular belief system.

Filipmoroz adds:

In my opinion mystics, who always need the adjective of religion they came from while described, did achieved such level of union with divine that does not need religion anymore. Religion needs words meanwhile their level of union does not. » Source

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Music of The Spheres

Pythagoras, depicted on a 3rd-century coin via Wikipedia

The so-called Music of The Spheres is an idea originally developed by Pythagoras and his followers, signifying an inner kind of ‘music’ that allegedly can be perceived by studying the geometric harmony of planetary motion:

There is geometry in the humming of the strings… there is music in the spacing of the spheres.

This sentiment was later picked up by the German astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571-1630).

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Mystic

St. John of the Cross, Doctor of the Church via Wikipedia

The word ‘mystic’ refers to one who engages in mysticism, and is often used pejoratively or as a caricature (e.g. wooly-headed mystic). This usage arguably arises, in part, from the worldly bias of contemporary consumer-oriented culture.

Many individuals, religious and secular, seem to value only that which they can buy, sell, and most of all, see. Subtle religious feelings may not be accessible to them, so naturally they’d think the whole idea of mysticism is hogwash.

Fortunately, this almost animalistic perspective of reality is not all pervasive–although it does seem to be dominant in the scientific, legal and political aspects of 21C culture.

There always have been and continues to be mystics who suggest there’s more, much more to life than meets the eye.

By the same token, some mystics seem to make grandiose claims and have allowed their sense of reason to be eclipsed by personal biases.

The respected writer on mysticism, Evelyn Underhill, makes a distinction between the sincere and the insincere mystic, and other important related distinctions (e.g. meditation vs. contemplation).

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Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus

Mozart, about 1780. Detail of Mozart family portrait by Johann Nepomuk della Croce via Wikipedia

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-91) is one of the greatest European composers to date, equal in stature to Bach and Beethoven. Indeed, some say he is the greatest composer known to mankind.

Mozart lead a paradoxically charmed and troubled life. A child prodigy born in Salzburg (now in present day Austria), his father arranged for his first European tour at age six. He later worked for the Archbishop of Salzburg, moving in 1781 to Vienna, where he was hired as court composer under Joseph II in 1787.

He wrote over 600 compositions in all, including symphonies, marches, operas, church music, piano sonatas, a Requiem Mass (anonymously commissioned by Count Walsegg), and much more. Even his earlier childhood symphonies (the first was written at age 8 years!), are superb compared to those of most other composers.

Mozart apparently was a night person. He kept late hours while composing, and sometimes while carousing. Unlike Beethoven, who meticulously revised compositions, some say Mozart almost ‘channeled’ his work. That is, musical ideas apparently came to him very quickly and were translated without hesitation into musical notation.

Some claim that Mozart believed his Requiem Mass was mostly for himself. But others say he might have thought it was for his father (Mozart fell ill and died prior to its completion).

At any rate, Mozart’s distinctive legacy will no doubt astound listeners for all time.

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