conclusion
If we apply Mythology to ourselves personally with the biological aspect attached to our interpretations we will gain greater meaning in our lives. We can take Campbell's ideas to bring this meaning into our personal lives; "The images of myth are reflections of the spiritual potentialities of every one of us. Through contemplating these we evoke their powers in our own lives" (Campbell 273). Campbell's ideas of divinity intrigue me. His concept that God is in us all creates thoughts that the God inside us is the mind or soul that survives physical death. Could it be? Could our divinity be self created by the brain and once we recognize that divinity within there is no way it could possibly die?
Maybe the higher power concept created by the brain and communicated through myth is the power within us all. The power to recognize that; "Perhaps the only thing that is certain is uncertainty" (Ancona 163). Consciousness as evidence of existence is truly multi-dimensional by nature. Nothing is black and white when it comes to the science and function of the brain. We can make sense of life through science to a certain degree, but when myth comes into play the lines between A and not A begin to blur.
Upon looking within ourselves it is most important to remember; "The person who thinks he has found the ultimate truth is wrong" (Campbell 65). Most truth is a combination of parts, not unlike this paper, a junction of science and philosophy to explore the nature of the answers. According to myth there is no ultimate truth, because truth, standing alone, can blur just as easily as A and not A. Dr. Landwehr offers another look at how the concept of a higher power can affect myth; "Myth at the core of a belief system may not always be literally true (though they may be to some degree), but they always carry a psychological, symbolic or metaphorical truth" (Landwehr). A truth pushed forward from the unconscious to the conscious mind to answer the questions all humanity asks.
An argument rages on whether the mind is a separate entity from the physical casement of the brain, or if the brain and mind are indeed one whole unit. If they are truly one form then what happens to consciousness when we die? Does the conscious mind die? Many would suggest that the mind is the very essence of the spirit or the soul that is connected to the higher power concept given to us through myths. But how can it endure after the physical death of the brain and the body? There are no scientific answers to these questions. I believe these very questions are the basis of how the physical structure of the brain has produced mythology. Out of fear, stories are born to ease the mind (or spirit) from certain death. Physical death means we stop forever. But if the mind is truly separate from the body, then it could possibly survive that physical death. Could it not?
By understanding the evolution of the triune brain we can more clearly understand the physical and biological aspects of how mythology is created. By understanding how those myths create an immense power being concept we can in turn apply that concept to ourselves, to our minds and find the divine being within. There are many arguments of the existence of a soul or spirit over and above the brain or mind. Mythology is the only proof of these concepts. From all of my research thus far science can not separate the mind and brain, they are scientifically one and the same. Once that science is applied to the dream symbols and archetypes of mythology it's not difficult to conclude that the brain is the physical component that translates to us a stream of consciousness, the evidence of existence. That consciousness is our soul, it is who we are. Divine by biologic and evolutionary nature.
Works Cited
Ancona, Francesco Aristide. Myth: Matter of Mind? Lanham: University Press of America, 1994.
Bond, Stephenson D. Living Myth; Personal Meaning as a Way of Life. Boston: Shambhala, 1993
Campbell, Joseph and Bill Moyers. The Power of Myth. Ed. Betty Sue Flowers. Random House: New York, 1988.
Ernandes, M and S. Giammanco. "MacLean's Triune Brain and the Origin of the