Return to RDNA homepage
Return to archives readings homepage
Return to archives readings homepage
When you talk about Jung's ideas, it's important never to say the phrase "collective unconciousness." That's his phrase. You must make up one for the same experience. Call it "the great lake." If you're an earth type, call it "the granite magma layer." If you're an air type, call it "the beehive of thoughts." Ask your own psyche to rise, and slowly eat the phrase, and change it as it wishes. The problem of your own originality will then arise. If instead of "collective unconscious," you say "beehive of thoughts," you'll notice that the concept you've expreseed is already different from the concept "the collective unconsciousness." Then you are responsible for that difference. You'd better be ready to defend it.
If we all did that, we'd see less of the goo that we constantly see in spiritual magazines. The word "bliss" apears again and again. "Bliss" means absolutely nothing. I have never met an American who felt "bliss." The whole movement is permeated by catch phrases.. The political movement of the Sixties died because people accepted the language without changing it. The Marxists accepted Marx's language, the students accepted jazz musician's language... Language is important... If, as in the English department, the language is all received knowledge that the psyche has not absorbed and interpenetrated, then the language is dead.
Not equal to
Not metaphor
Not standing for
Not sign.
The purpse is to identify not with the body which is falling away, but with the consciousness of which it is a vehicle. This is something I learned from my myths. Am I the bulb that carries the light, or am I the light of which the bulb is the vehicle? If you can identify with the consciousness, you can watch this thing go like an old car. There goes the fender, etc. But it's expected; and then gradually the whole thing drops off and the consciousness rejoins consciousness. I live with these myths - and they tell me to do this, to identify with the Christ or the Shiva in me. And that doesn't die, it resurrects. It is an essential experience of any mystical realization that you die to your flesh and are born to your spirit. You identify with the consciousness in life- and that is the god.
It seems to me like this. It's not a terrible thing - I mean it may be terrible, but it's not damaging, it's not poisoning to do without something one really wants.... What's terrible is to pretend that the second-rate is first-rate. To pretend that you don't need love when you do; or you like your work when you know quite well you're capable of better.
A Twentieth Century-Fox executive in Paris arranged for an exhibit of the fake paintings used in the movie "How To Steal A Million." He phone Howard Newman of the New York office, who said the fakes could not be shipped because they were on tour. "What should I do?" asked the Paris man frantically. "Get some originals," said Newman. "Nobody'll know the difference."
On some hill of despair the bonfire you kindle can light the great sky- though it's true, of course, to make it burn you have to throw yourself in.
All disciples are idiots. What were Tolstoy's followers? What are the Marxists? What are the Chassidim who wrangle and push to pick up the holy crumbs from the rabbi's banquet? What are theose would-be artists who imitate Picasso or Chagall? They're a flock of sheep, and they're always driven by a dog.
As he told me about his plans, I listened but could not forget that he would not last the week. What folly to be talking of the future, of his his future! But once outside, I could not help thinking that after all there is not much difference between a mortal man and a dying man. The absurdity of making plans is only slightly more obvious in the second.
We're all doing time. As soon as we get born, we find ourselves assigned to one little body, one set of desires and fears, one family, city, state, country, and planet. Who can understand exactly why or how it comes down as it is? The bottom line is, here we are. Whaterver, wherever, whenever we are, this is what we've got. It's up to us whether we do it as easy time or hard time.
Do you change people first or do you change society? I believe this is a flase dichotomy. You have to change both simultaneously. If you're changing only yourself and have no concern for changing the society, something goes awry. If you're changing only society but not changing yourself, something goes awry, as tended to happen in the late 1960's . Now, "simultaneously" may be an overstatement, because I think there are periods when one has to concentrate on one or the other. And there are periods in a society, in a culture, when the emphasis is appropriate only on one or the other. What I'm trying to say is, never lose sight of either the internal world or the external world, the peace within and the peace based on justice outside.
A Pentagon official once said the people who would actually push the button probably have never seen a person die. He said the only hope - and it's a strange thought- is if they put the button to lauch the nuclear war behind a man's heart. The President, then, with a rusty knife, would have to cut out the man's heart, kill the man, to get to the buttom.
I climb the road to Cold Mountain,
The road to Cold Mountain that never ends.
The valleys are long and strewn with stones;
The Streams broad and banked with thick grass.
Moss is slippery, though no rain has fallen;
Pines sign, but it isn't the wind.
Who can break from the snares of the world
And sit with me among the white clouds?
Have you ever seen an inchworm crawl up a leaf or a twign, and then, clinging to the very end, revolve in the air, feeling for something, to reach something? That's like me. I am trying to find something out there beyond the place on which I have footing.
And one winter day Maple asked Oak, "Why must I bear this snow?"
And Oak replied, "Because you have spread your branches."
And Maple asked, "Then why did I spread my branches?"
And Oak replied, "To catch the wind and sun, those things that give you life. And here, sometimes, the wind brings snow."
And Maple asked, "Then why have I come here?"
And Oak replied, "The winds blew, and you rode them. You liked them then, and laughed at the joy of spinning."
And Maple asked, "Then why did I grow here?"
And Oak replied, "Because the soil is good, between the stones."
And Maple asked, "Then why did the stones not stop me?"
And Oak replied, "Because you knew what you must do."
And Maple asked, "What is it, then, that I must do?"
And Oak replied, "Spread your branches. And bear some snow."
"I can't believe that," said Alice.
"Can't you?" the Queen said, in a pitying tone.
"Try again: draw a long breath and shut your eyes."
ALice laughed. "There's no use trying," she said. "One can't believe impossible things.""
"I dare say you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was younger,k I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."
Newspapers are unable, seemingly, to discriminate between a bicycle accident and the collapse of civilization.
Don Juan assured me that in order to accomplish the feat of making myself miserable I had to work in a most intense fashion, and that it was absured. I had now realized that I could work just the same in making myself complete and strong.
"The trick is in what one emphasizes," he said. "We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same."
Jesus said: "Love thy neighbor." (Matthew 22:39)
Elvis said: "Don't be cruel." (RCA, 1956)
Jesus is the Lord's shepherd.
Elvis dated Cybill Shepherd.
Jesus was part of the Trinity.
Elvis' first band was a trio.
Jesus walked on water. (Matthew 14:25)
Elvis surfed. (Blue Hawaii, Paramount, 1965)
Jesus' entourage, the Apostles, had 12 members.
Elvis' entourage, the Memphis Mafia, had 12 members.
Jesus was resurrected.
Elvis had the famous 1968 "comeback" TV special.
Jesus said, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me,
and drink." (John 7:37)
Elvis said, "Drinks on me!" (Jailhouse Rock, MGM, 1957)
Jesus fasted for 40 days and nights.
Elvis had irregular eating habits. (e.g. 5 banana splits
for breakfast)
Jesus is a Capricorn. (December 25)
Elvis is a Capricorn. (January 8)
Matthew was one of Jesus' many biographers. (The Gospel According to Matthew)
Neil Matthews was one of Elvis' many biographers. (Elvis:
A Golden Tribute)
"[Jesus] countenance was like lightning, and his raiment
white as snow." (Matthew 28:3)
Elvis wore snow-white jumpsuits with lightning bolts.
Jesus lived in state of grace in a Near Eastern land.
Elvis lived in Graceland in a nearly eastern state.
Mary, an important woman in Jesus' life, had an
Immaculate Conception.
Priscilla, an important woman in Elvis' life, went to
Immaculate Conception High School.
Jesus was first and foremost the Son of God.
Elvis first recorded with Sun Studios, which today are
still considered to be his foremost recordings.
Jesus was the lamb of God.
Elvis had mutton chop sideburns.
Jesus' Father is everywhere.
Elvis' father was a drifter, and moved around quite a bit.
Jesus was a carpenter.
Elvis' favorite high school class was wood shop.
Jesus wore a crown of thorns.
Elvis wore Royal Crown hair styler.
Jesus H. Christ has 12 letters.
Elvis Presley has 12 letters.
No one knows what the "H" in "Jesus H. Christ" stood for.
No one was really sure if Elvis' middle name was "Aron"
or "Aaron".
Jesus is often depicted in pictures with a halo that looks
like a gold plate.
Elvis' face is often depicted on a plate with gold trim and
sold through TV.
Jesus said: "Man shall not live by bread alone."
Elvis liked his sandwiches with peanut butter and bananas.
A Chinese Cat Myth
When the world was a new-created place, the gods decided to appoint one creature to see that it ran smoothly and to oversee all other creatures. The creature they selected was the cat. Thoughtful and contemplative, cats were given the power of speech in order to talk with the creator gods and give instructions to the other creatures who shared the world. For a long time all seemed to go well.
Cats, however, were sybaritic creatures. Rather than attend to the mundane, day-to-day running of a world, they wanted to doze in sunbeams on beds of fragrant catnip and matatabi vine. The creator gods saw this and asked the cats whether they were doing anything to ensure the smooth running of this newly made world.
"Running a world is not of great interest to us," said the cats, "we are content to roll on the grass and chase butterflies when the mood takes us. Mostly we let the world run itself so that we can enjoy the simple pleasures of warm sunshine and fresh, scented air."
The gods asked the cats to be more diligent in the running of the newly made world and the cats promised to pay a little more attention to their allotted task. Some while later, the gods paid another visit to their vibrant new world and they found the cats sleeping under cherry trees or playing with falling cherry blossoms. Once more they questioned the cats' dedication to overseeing the world.
"Running a world is, to be honest, a rather boring task. It is much more fun to sleep comfortably under cherry trees and frolic among the falling blossom," said the cats, "however, we will try to pay more attention to the business of being in charge of the world - it is a great responsibility."
The gods chastised the cats a second time and went away full of hope that the cats would pay closer attention to the running of the world the gods had given them. However, on a third visit, the gods found the cats chasing floating thistledown in the late summer sunshine.
"To be perfectly honest," the cats said, "we've realised that we really don't want the bother of running a world. We've noticed that one of your creatures shows much more promise in this respect, perhaps you could give the task of running a world to them so that we can spend our time enjoying the pleasures this world has to offer."
The gods reluctantly agreed, but on one condition. Those appointed to run the world required the power of speech. Therefore cats would no longer be able to talk and the other creature, called humans, would be endowed with speech. And while man busied himself about running the world and remaking it to his own liking and filling it with chatter, cats basked in scented sunshine with inscrutable expressions.
From that day on, mankind gained the power of speech while cats enjoyed the delights the world had to offer - sunshine, scents, textures and things to chase or play with. But the gods never forgot that the cat was their first chosen one to run the world and made them timekeepers so that humans could always tell the time of day by looking into a cat's eyes. In the morning their eyes are pools of blackness rimmed with gold; at noon they are mere black slits on disks of gold while in the evening they open out into pools of blackness once more. Not only that, the purring of the cat is the sound of the machinery moving the world around the heavens and should the cats cease to purr, the world would stand still in the sky and the seasons, and all of time, would come to an end. So while mankind has the day-to-day running of the world, the cat still remains its timekeeper and guardian which is why cats always look so inscrutable and so smug.
"You understand," said Chaydem, "but the reality of it escapes you. Understanding is nothng. The eyes must be kept open, constantly. To open your eyes you must relax, not strain. Don't be afraid of falling backwards into a bottomless pit. There isnothing to fall into. You're in it and of it, and one day, if you persist, you will be it. I don't say you will have it, please notice, because there's nothing to possess. Neither are you to be possessed, remember that! You are to liberate your self. There are no exercises, physical, spiritual, to practice. All such things are like incense- they awaken a feeling of holiness. We must be holy without holiness. We must be whole... complete. That's being holy. ANy other kind of holiness is flase, a snare, and a delusion."
To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest criticism and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty and find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived- this is to have succeeded.
What we
Return to archives readings homepage
Go to Current Readings