THE 'MEANING OF LIFE'

It would be interesting to see how many hits I get on this blog as readers either Google in earnest or search for the Monty Python movie (which I am not really too embarassed to admit I watched, fully expecting to get real answers) But this really is about the 'meaning of life', or at least some of it, based more on Jung and spiritual psychology than religion. I have been researching this topic all my life but once again it was a dream that provided another pivotal piece of the mystery puzzle. There is of course nothing new here, every seeker everywhere repeats the same journey. But it only makes sense to each of us when we travel our own road.

On the 9 Sept, 2010, nine days after my father's death, I had a dream which woke me with an abrupt start. I saw a Gryphon on a shield, it had something to do with a 'wound' which I really expected to be bleeding but wasn't. I heard a voice, loud and clear, speaking in an archaic vernacular: 'If thou shalt wear this symbol thou will be anointed'. I wasn't even exactly sure what 'anointed' meant. I awoke with a jolt.

I did the usual research, looked it up on the net, found an image of the Gryphon. I wrote about its symbolism but I couldn't figure out why it was supposed to be relavent to me. But I knew, as one does when one has been working with dreams and images all one's life, that it was significant - enough for me to ring up my tattooist and arrange to have it inked on my left forearm. That didn't eventuate, so I printed out the image and stuck it on the wall in my office.

During the several months of recovery from my small surfing accident I grappled with many things. I knew the injury was significant - why was I being stopped in my tracks, full flight in life? It had something to do with being in the body, not taking it for granted and making some changes in my life to reflect that. It was about ego and personal will, and there was much more.

On the 27 April I wrote this in my journal (and just in case you think I am having inflated religious delusions, this is not exclusive to me of course):

I think I can finally say 'what' it is I am doing here, incarnated on this planet. I am here in body, to incarnate 'God' into human, spirit into flesh - and reconcile heaven with earth. It is not a matter of transcending the body or denying the spirit but in being both. That is what the Gryphon dream was about. The damage to my ankle, which I have discovered is a sacred joint in eastern mysticism, and 5 months of healing body and soul, have forced me to stop and pay attention..... I think I can finally accept my 'human-ness', this has not been possible before because I just wanted to get the hell off this planet..... but this is what I am doing here. The 'why' is more difficult.

Just like the process of arguing a solid thesis, there is the 'what', the 'how' and the 'why'. The 'what' has been mainly answered, the 'how' is still evolving, lots of research into matters of the body, vitamins, minerals, acupuncture, daily yoga and chakra meditation. Trying to balance the material and the non-material aspects of being. Knowing something deeply means living it.

It still doesn't explain why God needs to be incarnated in the first place. Sure, there are philosophical explanations for that. Jung says it is because God is not conscious of itself and needs to be made conscious. But after all, if God is this supra-ordinate deity, why does it need us? I may never know the answer to that, and I am happy not to. Having at least part of it figured out has made me feel a whole lot more content just to be here.

NOTE: The model for God is taken from archetypal psychology and not Christianity, although of course the archetypes still apply and remain relavent.

image: From the net, no credit given so unable to reference. I suspect it is a mediaeval wood engraving or woodcut.