absolutely love this. “non-literal immersion” as an alternative to literalism is fantastic. also, loved the bit about how myths/stories/metaphors help us get a grip on _both_ the internal world of feelings and the abstract world of concepts (and your use of the words “murky” and “crystalline” to contrast the two 🔥). excited to try out this spirit-making myself!
Is this spirit-making, or a recognition of the spirits already within us? Carl Jung wrote extensively about archetypes - our instincts so refined as to be autonomous personalities operating within. The Greeks identified them as Gods, and surely these are the root of so much world mythology.
Do we 'invent' them? Do they exist beyond us? Perhaps this doesn't matter, if it is the same influence. The spirit within me, guiding me to project the ideal woman onto a potential mate, we can call Aphrodite, which will exert the same influence on you.
Great post, thank you! Also, the image, along with your earlier piece on metaphorical realism, put me in mind of Nicholas Humphrey’s excellent Soul Dust: imo the best book on consciousness.
absolutely love this. “non-literal immersion” as an alternative to literalism is fantastic. also, loved the bit about how myths/stories/metaphors help us get a grip on _both_ the internal world of feelings and the abstract world of concepts (and your use of the words “murky” and “crystalline” to contrast the two 🔥). excited to try out this spirit-making myself!
Is this spirit-making, or a recognition of the spirits already within us? Carl Jung wrote extensively about archetypes - our instincts so refined as to be autonomous personalities operating within. The Greeks identified them as Gods, and surely these are the root of so much world mythology.
Do we 'invent' them? Do they exist beyond us? Perhaps this doesn't matter, if it is the same influence. The spirit within me, guiding me to project the ideal woman onto a potential mate, we can call Aphrodite, which will exert the same influence on you.
Reading Jung really opened up a new world for me.
Great post, thank you! Also, the image, along with your earlier piece on metaphorical realism, put me in mind of Nicholas Humphrey’s excellent Soul Dust: imo the best book on consciousness.