The only myth that is going to be worth talking about in the immediate future is one that is talking about the planet, not this city, not these people, but the planet and everybody on it. And what it will have to deal with will be exactly what all myths have dealt with—the maturation of the individual, from dependency through adulthood, through maturity, and then to the exit; and then how to relate this society to the world of nature and the cosmos… And until that gets going, you don’t have anything. —Joseph Campbell
by Anodea Judith PhD: The human drama is nearing its denouement. The great unveiling is approaching, a time when the power structures of the world begin to crumble and people of the heart sing out a new truth. Many voices are joining the chorus, many feet are walking the path, many minds are dreaming possibilities for a magnificent future. For beneath the crises that are looming at every level of civilization, the global heart is awakening, beating out the rhythm of a new and glori- ous dance, calling us to a better way of living. You who are dreamers and poets, executives and laborers, healers and teachers, artists and visionaries, parents and lovers–each of you plays a part in bringing forth the new dawn. You are the ones who will be leading humanity’s rite of passage into the next age.
For the awakening of the global heart occurs as each of its many cells opens to the power of love in its own heart and joins together to pump life and breath into every corner of the globe. Physically, the heart is an organ that keeps us alive through a coordinated network of cells beating together. Spiritually, the heart is the center of love, the primordial force that calls things into relationship, the force that makes our lives worthwhile.
Globally, the heart is a symbol of a new organizing principle for how to live together on this finite jewel of a planet. The cultural transformation from the love of power to the power of love is the drama of our time. Ours is an era that future historians will look back upon, marveling at the magnitude of the challenges and changes we are now experiencing. They will call it a time of Great Awakening, a time when the best and the worst of humanity played their parts in the fate of human evolution. But if future generations are alive to tell this story, it will only be because the best of humanity prevailed and pulled together with a love so profound that the seemingly impossible was achieved. Human consciousness is being drawn inexorably toward the same issues, the gaze of collective attention focused like never before. Center stage is now everywhere, broadcast from living rooms, auto- mobiles, airports, and cell phones, from radios, newspapers, maga- zines, and the Internet. Increasing numbers of people watch the unfolding events with bated breath. Some have been watching for quite some time, with growing concern. Others are just waking up, rubbing their eyes in confusion. Still others prefer to remain asleep, doing their best to ignore the signs that point to an impending and massive shift at every level of civilization.
As we meet for coffee, for dinner, for business meetings, or for romantic dates, the conversation buzzes like an audience murmuring between acts. Where’s it all going? What will happen next? What’s wrong? Who’s right? What should we do? What can we do? And most frightening of all–especially among the youth today–are those who wonder if we will even survive into the next age. For the emerging generation is watching in despair as the adults in charge recklessly spend their inheritance with little regard for the future. In the theatre of our world, we are simultaneously audience and cast, playing to an instantaneous feedback system that continually shows us our reflection.
But rather than the image of a single character, we are witness to a global tapestry, weaving itself into a new picture. Its threads were spun from archaic forces long ago, woven together by the myths, legends, and heroic deeds of our ancestors. To weave a new picture, we must engage with these forces and take them into our own hands with maturity, with consciousness, and most of all, with heart. For we who are alive at this time–whether we like it or not–are entering a rite of passage into the future. This rite is both personal and collective. We are no longer separate strands in the web of life, but the very weavers of the web that holds us all. We stand at the dawn of a new era. Immersed in technology, yet hungry for the sacred, there is deep longing for a story that bal- ances masculine and feminine, progress and sustainability, order and freedom, power and love. The stories we tell ourselves shape our world. They guide our relationships to each other, to the environment, and to the future.
Life in the twenty-first century is spinning a new myth. It is time to listen to the growing chorus of voices that make up this story. Together, we are discovering and inventing a way to the future. To weave a new story, we must inquire into the essential ques- tions asked by myths and legends of all ages: Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going? It is these questions that give meaning to the drama, and define the parts that each of us has to play. It is to these questions, wrapped around the unfolding human mystery play, that this book is addressed. Here we find guidance for the mythic journey, not only as individuals, but also for the emerging story of what we are becoming together.
Excerpt from Waking The Global Heart, – Anodea Judith Ph. D
