SETIsLady wrote: ((((((((Hugs)))))))))))) Joolz, so nice to see you again
{{{{{{{Hugs}}}}}}} backatcha!
Moderator: Super Moderators
Joolz wrote: Well, I got my B.A. a year ago last December. I've been working on my M.A. since then. I'm all done with classes, though. At this point, I just have to write my thesis. I'm not teaching at the moment. I did a stint as a T.A. in a world mythology class last fall, though, and looooved it. As for moving, we're actually just moving a few blocks. Great house in a neighborhood we like and are already familiar with. Just got the keys Friday night. And yes, I'm about to be "too busy moving to post." LOL
joequinn wrote: Forgive me, folks, for this post, which commits the sin against the Holy Ghost by being totally off-topic, but I have a couple of private words for Joolz which the rest of you can ignore and which some of you might not even understand…
Joolz, I did not know that you were so interested in comparative mythology. This subject has been an deep obsession of mine ever since the 1960s, and in the days when I still thought that human nature was educatable, I used to lecture on mythological subjects extensively. Immersion within the mythological consciousness is an exquisitely intoxicating experience: I can tell you that from personal experience. But another part of you needs to be very, very suspicious of that mythological consciousness and, when necessary, even to fight against it with all your strength. Yes, the mythological consciousness intensifies, and yes, there is nothing quite as ecstatic as following your bliss. But mythological consciousness also simplifies, and following one’s bliss, if that bliss turns out to a Freudian death-instinct in disguise, ends not merely in suicide but also in genocide. In proof of that assertion, I invite you to contemplate the last thirty years of Amerikan history from a mythological point of view.
I also invite you to study the lives of both Jung and Campbell, both of whom enthralled me profoundly in my youth --- but both of whom came oh-so-disturbingly close to turning to the Dark Side of fascist evil. The lives of these two men are an inspiration, yes, but they are also a warning, a very frightening warning. The ecstasy of the mythological consciousness is quite intense, Joolz, as I know full well. But death and madness lie right by --- and perhaps even within --- that ecstasy. Be very, very careful of the mythological consciousness, Joolz, and never more so than when its bliss starts to tingle within your veins…