Mythos of Place: an outline

 

 

Orientation

The character of a place, our sense of place, our sensitivity to place

The self-consciousness of place, self-reflection of place: What do people say about their place?

Places have potential, just as individuals do

Could it be that a place has a destiny?

Could our fate be bound up with place, the land itself?

Is there a power in the land?

Where there is Power that speaks to us, there is the seed of Mythos

To bring into language, into all forms of culture, the feel and character of place, the life of place, the very Fabric of place

To let our place speak through us—it is to allow the Mythos of place to emerge

To learn how to attune ourselves in order to know the Mythos firsthand

 

What is Mythos?

 

My preference for the word “mythos” rather than the word “myth”

The contemporary negative connotations of the word “myth”

By Mythos one is saying:

        I am directly in touch with the Power coming through

        I am speaking from that Source

        I am not merely “telling a story,” recounting a myth, but am allowing that Greater Reality

        to come through into Story

 

‘Mythos’: ancient Greek word meaning “word”: but the word as something told, a telling

What is meant then by “Mythos” is the Word as spoken by the Greater Reality—the Word of Divinity,

the Divine Word, the Word of the Gods, the Word spoken by the Gods, which then became words

—stories—about the Gods, which, over time, became “mere myths” about the Gods

Today, Mythos is the Word coming-to-us from the Greater Reality—the Word of Being, the Word

coming-to-us which is Spirit, which today is the Aquarian dispensation—the Higher Self in a relationship

to the Gods (however we come to interpret them)

Mythos: The Word that opens our “world” (worldhood), that reveals our Story (the Great Story), so that we can, in turn, begin to tell our Story (counter to all Postmodern thought, which is denial of Story)

By tuning into the Word we now have a Story to tell about ourselves in relationship to Cosmos, to the

        Greater Reality, to Being

This is Story revealing the profound Greater Reality multidimensional nature of life

 

Mythos of place   What is this?

 

The Word of the Greater Reality, of Spirit/Divinity, that comes to be spoken through place, our place— where we live.

What is the God/Goddess/Divine Power speaking through this place, where we live? How is it manifested?

        How does it present itself? In other words, What is the Story of our place? And who—what person gives voice to it?

 

If we were to say “the myth of our place” immediately there is the sense that something is wrong: there is some

false impression going round about our place that needs to be debunked. An illusory impression. The myth is

some pregiven, readymade, image like cultural coin in the social context that does not “exactly” match reality.

 

The character of place

The self-consciousness of place: How does our place reflect upon itself through the people that live here?

        i.e. What do people say about their place?

How is Mythos expressed through the character of place?

What is the character of our place? “The character of this town.”

How is our place called? How do people talk about their place?

The psychology of place: Does a place have a particular psychology?

Does the name of our place have historical meaning? a deeper meaning?

Does our place have an alternative name? nickname? catch phrase? slogan? epithet?

What is the background to it?

 

The Threads of place: How are we woven?

 

This is the Mythos of place manifesting through the Threads that weave a place into a tangible Fabric,

        giving a place its own distinctive character, the Threads that go into its Story

What are Threads? (a new “concrete” philosophical concept)

The Threads that go into the Story of place

Examples of Threads:

                The astral Power(s)/Divine Power(s)/astrological sign/occult symbol that rules a place

                        (the metaphysical dimension of place)

                The geography & geology of place

                Major natural features that are landmarks, that provide the setting of place

                Sense of direction (orientation)

                Climate/weather

                Biohabitats: the flora & fauna of place: How are they woven into the Fabric of place?

                        How do we let the plants, trees, & animals of our place have their say?

                Local names (what they mean, what we have made of them)

                The history of place (who settled our place, founded our place, original peoples): the Thread                 of history woven into the Story, important & noted historical events (cultural history)

                What ethnic groups live here?

                Cultural history and the kind of culture that has developed in our place

                How is our place inhabited: Is it farmland, rural, village, town, city, suburb, metropolitan area?

                        Is it quiet, sleepy, provincial, bustling, touristy, industrial, artsy, cosmopolitan?

                The roads & highway system, airports or harbors: How do we get about in our place?

                Our food supply, the water system: the basic necessities for life

The mini-worlds of place

What are the various mini-worlds/subcultures/social groups/social levels that make up our place?

The people who live with us in our place: The life of others, weaving them into the Story

Our place in relation to contemporary civilization

        (in relation to the greater world out there)

 

Is our place considered backward, traditional, mainstream, progressive, cutting edge?

Is it an industrial center? A cultural/intellectual center?

Is it a major world hub? The epitome of Postmodern civilization?

How Psyche manifests through our place

Psyche: The name for Spirit come-to-us anew, Divinity of soul, the new Divinity of Earth

How then do we experience Psyche in our place?

Our place in the interface between Technos & Psyche

Technos: The name for today’s all-embracing technological culture

How is our place playing out today’s increasingly important relationship between technology and spirituality?