Basecamp for Men E118: Entangled in Myth

E118: Entangled in Myth with Special Guest Dr. Anne Baring

 

E118 Introduction

One of the things I see that can really assist us on this Great Awakening is to keep having conversations with the wisdom keepers. The ones who have done more inner work than we have or are a bit further along. I think this affirms our Soul‘s Journey.

Which myths and modes of seeing the world will best serve us? How does each of us “serve the Grail” so to speak. It is these questions lived in each heart that will ultimately heal the Wasteland that we find ourselves in. We are not living in hopeless times, far from it.

There has never been a better time to be alive. And I don‘t mean because there are opportunities to get rich. Really, who cares about that when the inner and outer Wasteland is so evident all around us and desperately needs our attention.

No, there has never been a time when so many of us are receptive to Divine intervention. Open to the magic of transformation and alchemy. When so many of us are experiencing a deep awakening of our collective mythic imagination or epinoia as the Gnostics referred to it as.

There has never been a time when the Grail myth was so close to completing IT’S mission. That’s right. I have it heard said many times over the last couple of years say we are living in biblical times. I can certainly see and appreciate this perspective. However for me, I would say that we are living in mythical times. That the culmination of our great search for truth and meaning as a collective is about to enter an exciting new chapter.

To quote my guest today:

“What is being born in the collapse and dissolution of the old mythologies- the old belief systems which have divided instead of uniting humanity- is a recognition that we do not live in a dead, meaningless universe but within a Sacred Cosmic Order.”

I couldn’t agree more. Let‘s go have another enlightening conversation with wisdom keeper and author Anne Baring.

 

Basecamp for Men E89: The Myth of the Fallen Goddess

E89: The Myth of the Fallen Goddess

 

E89 Introduction

It seems that season three is the season to deepen our mythic imagination. And since the tagline of BFM is “Men, Myth, and the Hero‘s Journey”, this seems like an appropriate direction right now. Among Gnostics, May is the month of the Divine Goddess. So what better month to pay homage to her than this one. 

Throughout our history, there were always groups that held secrets to our heritage and our potential. These groups were not confined to one region or one philosophy or one way of thinking. Yet, when you compare their essential truths and expressions, there is a tremendous amount of agreement as to who we are as a species and how we got here.

These groups had many myths and tales for future generations. Yet the central myth, told in secret over and over again so it would not be forgotten, was the myth of the fallen goddess Sofia. It was the story of the descent of the Soul into the material realm. It is, in every sense,our story.

I will do my best to represent this myth but please allow me a bit of clumsiness. I have been working with it for just a few short years. One finds that the more you work with a myth, the more fluent and powerful your speaking becomes when it comes to expressing the central themes and motifs of that particular myth.

I was first exposed to this myth a number of years ago. I came across it in my interest in Gnosticism and soon found that the Fallen Goddess Myth was central to Gnostics. After all of my “men’s work”, I had finally arrived at the footsteps of the Goddess herself. I was spellbound.

As I began my study of and courtship of Sophia, as fate would have it, she seemed to take an instant liking to me. She was approaching me in dreams and visions, and making herself know in all sorts of ways throughout the day. I found myself typing Gnosticism and Goddess Sophia into You Tube and following the rabbit hole. The myth (and the Goddess) was starting to talk to me. It seems, perhaps, that I have been here before.

“It is truly a miracle that our species has survived the patriarchal campaign to eliminate the Goddess and her Mysteries. Without the indigenous peoples all around the world preserving the native wisdom in their lives, we would never have seen it today. At any given moment there are vastly more good and decent people in the world than evildoers. Yet those who intend evil and practice deceit gain a disproportionate advantage because they rely on the passive consent of the believers.”

Author, Jacques Lacarriere

 

What is the myth trying to say to you? What wisdom does it hold? How do you begin to interact with it so as to bring you to your own awakening?

“The Watchers became jealous. They could sense that humankind’s mercurial intelligence provided the potential for the awakening of the Divine Sparks within matter. The imprisoned Light had been active all this time.

     The very resistance of the enemy was bringing the Divine plan to fruition. In each human there emerged the potential to have contact with a Higher Self or Holy Guardian Angel. The enemy angels now took a more concentrated interests in humans. Forming a plan to thwart the All-Mind from realizing Itself. The cosmic battle between the Light and Darkness descended from the macrocosm to the microcosm.As above, so below.”

By entering this myth with your consciousness, what might you learn? How might it transform you?

We are on the verge of something historical. In the world and in ourselves. Myths such as the Fallen Goddess or the Grail are here for us. Pointing us in a direction we can trust. Restoring our Kingdom, our world, and ourselves. We have come this far together. Walk with me just a bit further. I promise you that this transformation includes you my friend. For you are within earshot of the faint trail near the clearing.

E89 Final Thoughts

To dig deep into this myth, there are a slew of resources at your disposal. I hate to endore You Tube but there is a lot on Gnostic myth and thought there. Any search from any source will lead you to all sorts of interesting threads.

John Lamb Lash is, in my humble opinion, the great bard of the Fallen Goddess Myth. He is exquisite in his embodiment of Sophia’s wisdom. He actually pronounces her name Soph Ia because he says, Sophia is too ordinary name for such a powerful deity. His book Not in His Imageis a top shelf book in my library.

Two other books I love. Anne Baring’s The Dream of the Cosmos and Return of the Divine Sophiaby Tricia McCinnon. Both are exceptional and will help build your understanding of this myth, no matter where you are at with it today. I promise that if you work with either of these books, you will come to a deeper understanding of yourself and our place in the Cosmos.

 

 

 

Basecamp for Men E81: The Quest for the Soul

E81: The Quest for the Soul with Special Guest

Dr. Anne Baring

 

E81 Introduction-

So many of our wisdom traditions and myths speak of the recovery of the Soul. In the central myth of the Gnostics, The Goddess Sophia has fallen. The Feminine Soul has descended.  Out of the Pleroma or Heavenly Abode all the way to the material dimension that we find ourselves in. Sophia: confused, lost, bewildered, and homesick, the Feminine Soul begins its slow, steady journey back to its Heavenly Abode.

Myths and fairy tales often contain the clues and maps of the Soul’s Journey. It’s descent and eventual ascension. Myths awaken and nourish the Divine imagination. They nourish the Soul.

To use my guests’ words, when we are not in touch with the Soul, it is as if a vital part of us is asleep. It cannot communicate with us, nor we with it. Civilizations such as ours may die because we have forgotten how to nourish the soul and imagination. We have forgotten how to honor and love nature and the Divine Feminine.

All of our most vibrant myths seem to be pointing in this direction. To the marriage of the Divine Masculine Spirit  with the Divine Feminine Soul. We are, as a tribe, being asked to reclaim what has been dormant but not forgotten.

We will not restore the Wasteland we find ourselves in without this awakening. Technology will not rescue us. Not with its dry, digital landscape. It’s algorithms. Technology represents a kingdom without the Goddess, without nature and the Divine Feminine.

In mythic terms, the most beautiful maiden of the forest is in a deep sleep and awaits for the right Prince, for the right moment in the story. It seems we have arrived at this part of the story. We are there.

The destiny of the entire kingdom is dependent on this outcome. Can the Prince, the symbol of Solar Consciousness, turn inward and find the Lunar Soul, his inner Divine Feminine?

Each one of us holds part of this Soul. The myth of the Holy Grail includes all of us. Each one of us IS the Sleeping Beauty AND the Prince that restores her and the kingdom.

It is important to remember that the Soul does not communicate primarily through words. It does through myth and poetry but the Soul seems to prefer feelings, intuitions, emotions, and dreams. It is in this inner direction that holds the key to the Grail and has the potential to awaken the sleeping Princess.

My guest today has written an incredible book. One that ought to sit high up in anyone’s library.

Anne Baring Bio-

Doctor Anne Baring is a Jungian Analyst and the author of 7 booksincluding her most recent book The Dream of the Cosmos: A Quest for the Soulwhich was awarded the Scientific and Medical Network Book Prize for 2013. The ground of all her work is a deep interest in the spiritual, mythological, shamanic and artistic traditions of different cultures. Her website www.annebaring.com is devoted to the affirmation of a new vision of reality and the issues facing us at this crucial time of choice. Here is my interview with Anne Baring.

E81 Final Thoughts-

I hope you enjoyed my discussion with Anne Baring as much as I did. I felt like I could talk to her all night and not run out of things to ask her.

If you have not read the fairy tale The Sleeping Beauty or you have kids and you want to introduce them to a powerful tale of the lost feminine principle and the Soul’s Journey, go pick up a copy.

Fairy tales carry an amazing transformative power in them. I was speaking with a friend the other day and I was saying that sometimes I think you could take out all the literature of the world and leave only the fairy tales and the Soul would still be able to figure out where it is and where it is going.

Anne’s book The Dream of the Cosmos is as good as everyone says it is.  It is full of myth, magic, the Soul’s Journey,  and how we go about restoring the Goddess and the feminine principle to its rightful place.

To buy The Dream of the Cosmos or other books by Anne, go to Amazon. And to listen to Anne’s excellent talks and find her video archive, go to www.annebaring.com

 

 

 

 

 

Basecamp for Men E42: Honoring the Divine Feminine

E42: Honoring the Divine Feminine w Sally Kempton

 

E42: Introduction

In season one, I did a bunch of episodes on the sacred masculine. I like to use masculine archetypes to help orient the listener  to a larger inner landscape, using myth when appropriate.  I promised I would return with some episodes about the Divine Feminine as I think it warrants a deeper exploration.

In my studies of myth, I have been particularly attracted to two myths: One is The Holy Grail. The other is the Fallen Goddess Myth or the myth of Sophia, which is the central mythic motif in Gnosticism. Both are Goddess myths.

And India, being a suppository of Feminine divinity, has always carried this lineage forward in a powerful and enchanting way.

The Goddess traditions, and there are many from all times and places, come with a whole new set of insights, practices, and wisdom. For the open-minded seeker, this lineage has the potential to open up vast new vistas for the spirit.

My guest today is Sally Kempton and she is a teacher in the great Feminine lineage. I am a HUGE fan of her work and her wisdom.

 

Sally Kempton Bio

Sally Kempton is a widely respected teacher of meditation and spiritual wisdom. A former journalist who wrote for Esquire, New York, and the Village Voice, she has spent over four decades practicing, teaching, and writing on meditation and spiritual philosophy.

Sally is the author of two best-selling books, Awakening Shakti: The Transformative Power of the Goddesses of Yoga, and  Meditation for the Love of It,” which Spirituality and Health magazine called “the meditation book your heart wants you to read”.  Sally teaches online courses and seminars on meditation and spiritual philosophy, and leads retreats and workshops in the U.S., Canada and Europe. Her website is www.sallykempton.com.