Experience

Rhonda Tharp

Active Member
You are what you experience. If you look back at everyone you have come in contact with and think back to events you experienced, it has added or altered your personality, soul, perception, etc. Having to take into consideration every single one of my students' background, lifestyle, religious affiliation, political affiliation, etc I have (or would like to think I have) become open to all kinds of things. If I didn't, I couldn't relate to my students or their parents. After having taught mythology, I began to wonder if America was suffering from a lack of common mythos. But then as I got to know individual students, it seems that there could easily be 6 billion different myths in the world. This reminded me of a quote by Campbell - dreams are private myths. Everyone has their own private myths.

Then, if we consider that Campbell stated people need to search for their own religious experiences instead of studying and living vicariously through those that have had religious experiences, then we have not "lived." It is when you experience your own enlightenment that you truly become open to all things. So I guess the answer to living or becoming enlightened is to look inward while looking outward???

Do myths help others become open to all things? If myths were taught as metaphor, would our culture become more understanding of others? I struggle with my students seeming so ego-centric, and would like to instill in them a way to see past their own lives. Whew, sorry for rambling...
 

WoodNymph

New Member
So I guess the answer to living or becoming enlightened is to look inward while looking outward???
Sounds like the makings of a new line of self-help books! :)

It does seem that in the past so much more was learned by experience or thinking or experimenting. Now if you want to know something, you ask or read or google. We may do things faster now, but it is not necessarily better.
 
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