INTRODUCTION

THE ORIGIN OF OUR QUESTIONS

 

 

In days of yore, in the distant days of yore,

In nights of yore, in the far-off nights of yore,

In years of yore, in the distant years of yore,

When necessary things had been brought into manifest existence,

When the necessary things had been for the first time set in order,

When bread had been tasted for the first time in the shrines of the Land,

When the ovens of the Land had been made to work,

When the heavens had been separated from earth,

When earth had been delimited from the heavens,

When the fame of mankind had been established,

When An had taken the heavens for himself,

When Enlil had taken the earth for himself,

When the netherworld had been given to Ereshkigal as a gift.1

So begins the Sumerian epic tale Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld, from the third millennium BCE, more than five thousand years ago. These words were written in a language that we are only now beginning to understand, by people with no knowledge of, concept of, or real need for the internal combustion engine or other modern technologies. What could they have written that would be of interest, that would be of use, to us today? This book explores the ancient myths of Sumer, Egypt, Akkad, and other cultures to see how modern men and women, as we now live our lives, can benefit from ancient words.

The authors contend that these ancient myths, which form the basis of present-day Western culture and beliefs, have much to provide us in the way of knowing ourselves, or the Self, such as described by Jung,2 Martin,3 and Raffa.4 The myths offer insights into who we are, who we might become, where we might strive to go, and how we might begin an effort to get there. Throughout our exploration we invite the reader to look with fresh eyes at what might seem to be familiar tales. In the end we hope that these myths will offer new life, meaning, and usefulness to each reader for his or her own explorations, internal and external.

We recognize that myths arise from astronomical, meteorological, and geological events.5 But we present here our thoughts that the myths more importantly contain valuable information on the development of the soul within man. Questions regarding life, death, and consciousness are not well understood. The enduring question of higher consciousness may be the key to the survival of the myths, as well as to their powerful ability to create a renewed sense of the Self within our literalistic and materialistic world.

One of the key points of this book is that, for each individual, daily life involves at least two different I’s. For the most part, a person wanders around without much self-awareness. At certain times, however, something becomes more active and aware within. Sometimes this results from efforts of attention, while at other times it may occur through what appears to be an accident or pure chance. This arising of awareness is a beginning, a creation, or a re-creation that in this book we refer to as an awakening of higher consciousness or an arising of the Self. We see these moments of self-awareness as the central theme of myths throughout the ages. The ancient myths, such as those in the Bible, are not merely tales of long ago and far away. We present our case that myths refer to the intimate and immediate awakening of higher consciousness—and thus provide much-needed insight and guidance.

Figure I.1. Authors Lloyd Dickie and Paul Boudreau at the base of the Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops), also known as the Great Pyramid of Giza, with the Pyramid of Khafre (Kephren; middle) and the Pyramid of Menkaure (Mycerinus; smallest) in the background.

We follow in the footsteps of many great minds. The scope and potential of this broadened approach was set out clearly in a short book by R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz, Du symbole et de la symbolique, or The Symbol and the Symbolic. He predicts that “it is rational science, which today has reached what is already being called the surrational, that will open the way towards esotericism of a suprarational nature.”6

This book is our personal response. It is based on our studies of the greatest of the myths, those that first appeared in Mesopotamia and Egypt and were distributed to Europeans by way of the Hebrews and the Greeks. These myths embody a quality of thought and feeling that is now being widely sought throughout the Western world. Through these studies we have come to believe that myth can provide a substantial base from which to restore a balance in general perspective to our present civilization. We have become especially aware of the need to cultivate the more sensitive and introspective sides of our natures, and to distinguish them more clearly from the external social influences that can oppose or obscure them. The frenzy, confusion, and even violence that plague our social and political atmosphere act to upset any such balance between these two aspects of human nature. In fact, it is increasingly apparent that these divisive forces threaten to destroy the delicate fabric that has been slowly developed and disseminated over long periods in the traditions that underlie our present complex society. We now recognize that myths are important vehicles in the building of civilization.

At this point we ask you, the reader, to consider your approach to this material. Will it become just one more “external” influence that demands attention? Or can you find something more profound because of it? We ask you to pause and consider whether the most important thing for each of us is the individual self, not the contents of a book or the study of a myth. We do not intend to invoke any psychological or philosophical subtlety; rather, we point out a simple fact that can make a significant difference to the point of view in any study. When I, the reader, place my attention “inside” myself, an awareness of my existence arises. Through focusing on this one deliberate act, the reader can come to appreciate that awareness of the existence of being is essential.

When successful in placing attention inside, it can be seen in the background of my attitudes, interests, and activities that there exists an observing “I” that enables a certain objectivity. This objectivity allows an inner awareness, a bridge between oneself and others. Although others seem very separate and have diverse interests that are not related to oneself, it can be seen that they must operate from this same basic awareness.

This “I” of awareness can be actively present as these paragraphs are read. This awareness can give rise to an interestingly comprehensive perception of what is being said and of the extent of agreement with it. Any paragraph, indeed the whole book, can be read without any of this awareness. The book may simply be another object of passing interest in what is a personal external world. It may also become so interesting and absorbing that all inner sense of self is lost in reading. One might even catch oneself saying, “I am not paying enough attention because I see the gradual contraction in my perceptual field to the pages at which I am gazing. While I may know that my awareness broadens as I actively strive to broaden attention, I all too often relapse into a habitual mode of reading, which is a kind of sleep. But every now and again, I can see that there exists in an inner world a sense of ‘I’ that is central to me, but is different and generally separate from an exterior reality—an outer world—with which I am more familiar and to which I am more accustomed.”

Under ordinary circumstances it may not seem important or even relevant that I explicitly recognize this fundamental difference between my worlds. But we are now embarking on a study of ancient myths that Western culture regards as tales of wisdom. We cannot go far with such a study without realizing that much of what we encounter raises issues directly related to questions about this “I.” My inner awareness may be entirely missing when I am fully occupied by the external self, which is busy with what needs to be done. In fact, the externalized side of me doesn’t depend on immediate inner attention, and it seems to get along very well without the inner “I.”

In these myths we are repeatedly faced with situations and individuals (both humans and gods) whose behaviors and lives demand comparison with our own. They may compel us to ask ourselves: How can I understand this tale in relation to my own life? Does the quality of my life not depend on the relation between the contradictory demands of my external, practical life, and my inner sense of self? How can this unfamiliar but logically important underpinning of my life interact with the view that has formed in me as a result of continual external demands? Can fulfilling the private part of me be balanced with the requirements of living a full life in the external world?

The myths we study in this book are vitally concerned with these questions. We have written about these myths because they warn us of the threat of refusing to study such questions in our own lives. We therefore invite you, our reader, to approach this book with a certain mode of reflection and a keen awareness of your own possible stake in what the myths may offer.

Most of us first encounter the evocative powers of myth in childhood, in fairy tales and fables. However, although myths can help us as adults understand the meaning and significance of life, this potential develops only very gradually because of distractions by both work and “entertainment.” We, the authors of this book, found our lives as professional scientists virtually fully occupied, and we only gradually recognized that we needed modes of thought other than the logical and rational to pursue aspirations toward what is of most value to us, both in ourselves and in our surrounding culture. In our case, through a drive to understand the significance of some of the most remarkable discoveries of modern science, we gradually realized the necessity of broadening thought to include modes primarily encountered in myth, such as analogy. In doing so, we were amazed to find consistent themes in diverse myths addressing individual self-awareness and the awakening of higher consciousness.

The private individual awareness of an underlying “I” is only with us when our attention is turned to it. Furthermore, some memories of moments of such awareness are accompanied by a special clarity that was possibly vivid in childhood. In the light of these remembrances, it may appear that this inner observer determines whether events are remembered. The inner “I” seems to be missing when one’s attention is distracted or swamped by the strong impressions of an external life. Yet an external shock may also give rise to the internal observer—indeed, may be necessary to arouse it, as myths show us. Associated events are then remembered in a quite direct, clear, and vivid way. Contemplation of this inner being may also make clear that it is always the same person who observes, as though there is for it no such thing as aging. Do space and time even exist for it? Some of the myths specifically, if subtly, engage questions about the origins of time and space and their significance for reality.

Of course, there is no question that our most “awake” moments are few and far between. Authors as far apart in space and time as Plotinus7 and Northrop Frye8 recognized that these moments of special clarity arise only rarely, but are well remembered. It is not easy to admit that one’s ordinary self so totally forgets the sense of wonder that it experienced in moments of such seeing! Our forgetting all too easily leads us to suppose that this poorly remembered inner sense is so different from our present state that it can be of little lasting importance in our lives. It may be so fleeting that it later seems even illusory. Myths can help us appreciate the significance of these differences between awareness and being asleep.

If we tried to remain in touch with this less familiar Self, would we be distracted by our daydreams and illusions and therefore unable to respond appropriately in the external world? Or is the opposite the case? We can see that our lives are so pervaded by the apparently necessary learned mechanical reactions to external stimuli that they mostly obscure or entirely swamp our inner awareness. Is it possible to find an effective balance between the inner and outer influences? In some part, one recognizes that encounters with both are significant features of one’s sense of being a complete individual in a real world. The following chapters attempt to illuminate how myths help us revisit such realizations and become more fully balanced. Perhaps the wisdom in ancient myths resides in their ability to invoke deeper impressions of the different values that exist at these various modes of awareness.

To be faithful to the myths, let us regard the inner and outer aspects of the world as two different levels, which are simultaneously available to us while we remain curiously separated from each. It is true that during most interaction with the outer world, the inner awareness of oneself, or even the “thought” of it, does not exist for us as a present reality. At such times reality exists only in overwhelming encounters with external events, and we are occupied with these challenges. The other world, the one that exists in the momentary glimpses of an inner self, is then almost an illusion. It is there only as a vague feeling of presence that, while it offers another possibility, does so only when we are somehow led to give attention to it. But while the inner world is generally only fleetingly perceived, it seems to embody a more mysterious, perhaps poetic, quality—beyond our everyday occupations but somehow consistent with a deeper sense of purpose and meaning in our lives.

This less familiar, sometimes mysterious inner state certainly has parallels with what is remembered from childhood. Both now and in memory there can be an awareness of the wish for sense and meaning that differs from the satisfaction in daily occupations. One can see the need to be more familiar with the differences between them. In fact, the inner part often appears at times of dissatisfaction, which may find expression in reactions of impatience, objection, or anger; or perhaps in daydreaming; or in mechanically following appetites; or in a wish for comfort. If one’s hard-to-reach inner self disappears in the midst of daily activities, perhaps that explains why some traditions call such activities “deadly sins”: they lead one to lose the connection with the inner sense of “I.” In life it always seems to be one or the other, but not both at the same time. The myths ask us why this should be and whether a connection between the two levels of awareness is not desirable, or even necessary, to a sense of the whole of oneself.

Our task is to use the wisdom in myths to find a path toward cohesion and comprehension. We have chosen as centerpieces of our study three of the principal myths of the major civilizations of the Levantine regions, which contributed to the development of modern-day Western European civilization. We have available writings from the ancient Sumerians, Egyptians, and Hebrews that, thanks to developments in the art of translation in the past half century, can now be read and compared with one another with new eyes and new attitudes.

The perspective that is now possible can provide new insights into the elusive wisdom of ancient traditions. Such insights can be of use in understanding the special place of human beings in creation. In modern times, a period that the twentieth-century historian and philosopher Arnold J. Toynbee has called a “time of troubles,” ancient myths can help in the search for a better sense of the meaning of life, of the Self, or of higher consciousness.9 “Meaning” in the outside world is only an adjunct to the growing sense of need for renewed internal life. With effort we may approach an understanding of the remarkable difference between the spiritual and the merely secular—and possibly appreciate the awakening of higher consciousness within. Ancient myths contain the oldest expression of who we are. This book explores how relatively well-known myths can be re-approached as a contribution to one’s internal work. The book reveals that myths can effectively support our efforts to identify and strengthen our internal sense of higher consciousness.