081314 - Myth, Metaphor, and Atomism

Here's Pooh:

It seems fairly clear that the only time we can actually live is "today". The past is just that; the future will come in some form. Both may have an influence on how we live the Present. But "Today" is and should be our Favourite!

I've been thinking about the word "spiritual" ... as in this usage:

I don't like to use the word "spiritual" because it always seems to imply that our material nature is extraneous ... and inferior to the "spiritual". We talk about the "flesh" being discarded, and the "spirit" being eternal .... though to me "eternal" is a dubious concept, especially in the ways people conceive of it!

I've been seeking for another word to describe "us". For the moment (everything can change, and indeed both must and should!) I've settled on "atomistic". I would rephrase the above to say simply, We are Atomistic, having an Experience. "Being Human" is an Atomistic Experience.

It is my belief that every person, every culture, every society, is a Mythmaker ..... by which I mean, we develop stories which help us to explain how we understand ourselves and our experiences. I call Myths "Truth Stories". I don't think that some myths are intrinsically better than others (though some will speak to us individually more powerfully than others); all of them are someone's attempt to comprehend, or to seek meaning. As well, I think that all myths are, to some extent, what we would call propaganda. They are, in part, crafted to justify any group's beliefs, biases, prejudices, hopes, vision, etc. For example:  Jewish scripture claims that God gave them the "Promised Land". Christian scripture claims that Jesus is God. Both claims, deriving from the deliberate shaping/redacting/editing  of "scripture" by both communities, tries to establish their assumed rights or power or superiority. 

Figures in Myths are always metaphors ..... they stand for "large" meanings. "God" is a metaphor. Metaphors are very useful; they allow us to expand ideas or concepts beyond the limitations of our intellectual abilities, primarily by pointing us beyond our limitations and inviting to "see" into Mystery.

So:  what do I think "God" is, since I no longer feel confined by the common intellectual or institutional "explanations"/definitions? I can only try, with my limited human intellect:

"God" is the metaphor for Emergence.

Emergence simply happens. "Behind" Emergence is, perhaps, a Mystery. It does not help us to try to "box in" that Mystery.

Ethics develop from our human reflection on Emergence. As part of this process, we choose. This is the profound gift of human essence. We create "God" .... because this is the way that the Mystery "works". I accept no philosophy, theology, which denigrates the sublime beauty and creativity of being Human. Ponder this!

Well, Dennis and I are in Pueblo CO, on our way to Rapid City SD, to visit a friend and see Mt. Rushmore (and for me, even better, the Indian Chief carvings!). Then we head to Wisconsin. It was 91F when we arrived in Pueblo ... one never knows!

I wish you an awareness of your Emergence!