19 Mar 2013 10:07 AM | Frank Beurskens
Problems perceived, seldom occur. This old commodity trading axiom suggests once a problem enters consciousness, it is already on the path towards resolution. Rather than frame the issue "Culture Collapse Disorder" what happens when we shift the frame of reference and ask what is the soul's purpose in bringing this collapse to our attention? It is the soul's own doing as Giegerich might suggest. Depth psychology as you point out, has much to add to understanding this problem, beyond looking outward to what is wrong with the "other". How do we come into relationship with it?
Judith Harte's response
What if the world soul, or Anima Mundi, often referred to by the late James Hillman, could speak to us in words. Would it tell us of it’s nightmare, it’s big dream? Would it describe in language oddly similar to Bonnie Bright’s characterization of the phenomenon known as Culture Collapse Disorder, a plague that now attacks our planet and its inhabitants. And, if as Frank Beurskens has pointed out so brilliantly, this planetary, cultural, collapse, which by the way, must be the worst nightmare ever for our precious Anima Mundi’s broken heart, does indeed have a soul purpose, then we might do well to heed the cries of songstress Joni Mitchell, who in the 60’ s, wrote her famous version of Woodstock, another save the planet anthem. In Woodstock, Joni pleads that "We are stardust,’ and, ‘we are golden,’ and we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden.” To a similar end, I suggest we go about the urgent business of dream-tending and relating to the current disaster that is our Anima Mundi’s rapid degradation. The world soul’s big dream, is our big dream. We must befriend the nightmare work of healing that world soul. Then and only then, will we be a bit closer to heeding Mitchell’s poignant , still contemporary pleas, that if honored, will in time, lead us “back to” our “garden” with a modicum of healing and a semblance of grace.
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Judith Harte
“Woodstock”
sung and composed by Joni Mitchell
Replies
Aleks:"The solution (if there is any) would revolve a lot around (in my words) understanding of the situation, semi-improvisation, good timing, dedication, and trust."
In any case, a good mantra in just about any situation!!
http://eekim.com/ba/bookclub/illich/tools.pdf
Ivan Illich has written Tools for Conviviality about what will happen (it was written 40 years ago) if we don't collectively devote ourselves to the necessary change. He mentions two watersheds: the first one is when society is building institutions and infrastructure (schools, hospitals, roads, army, bureaucracy...) with an expectation to ease people's lives. The second watershed is when these institutions become big and when the people serve them instead of them being useful to the people. To make the long story short, there isn't a silver bullet we can use in order to figure out when limits of growth start hitting us one by one. The solution (if there is any) would revolve a lot around (in my words) understanding of the situation, semi-improvisation, good timing, dedication, and trust.