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Sacredness and Work
How can we experience the numinous in a world like ours?
Does Joseph Campbell’s advice to “follow your bliss” apply in a capitalistic world? That phrase arose from Campbell’s study of the ancient mythologies of the world. As he dove deep into the religions and folktales of our species, he discovered a core focus on self-betterment and internal growth, as well as a sense of direction and focus, in life, that came from seeing ourselves as part of a story.
There are many stories at work today; it’s easy to become immersed in “content” in a wide variety of genres, just as it’s easy to reinvent yourself within the confines of a preexisting stereotype, fad, or cultural resurgence. Out from the U.S. social paradigm has spread a vision of self-directed identity and the proliferation of self-generated meaning: we can all be the very best in our own unique ways, says the paradigm, we can all be unique individuals… if only we buy into the latest trend.
In the old myths, we found ourselves by wandering into dark caves, searching for the sacred within the realms of the vast unknown; within nature herself. But nature’s borders have been stripped of their mystery, we have cultivated the enigmatic zones and monetized them; we’ve turned the search for fulfillment and the sacred into a legal contract with whatever media entity we’re…
