I’m finishing up The Power of Myth
after some stylistics excursions and as a result, am reminded of the power of
rite. Campbell talks about ritual but nothing like Emile Durkheim in The
Elementary Forms of Religious Life.
Am I ritual-less? Nah, probably
not, but which rituals are the correct rituals?
“It is subjective” you say.
“Indeed” I harrumph sarcastically.
“Look,” you say, “if you don’t like
the subjectivity of rituals, maybe you don’t like rituals…or subjectivity.”
Then you motion for the door curtly, as if to imply my being thrown through out
of it at a high rate of speed.
“I get it,” I’d say. Fully aware of
my subjunctive tense. “You say subjective and maybe you even mean subjective,
but you, yes you, reek of objective. Absolutely malodorous with it.” Then I
would pinch my fingers around my nose to indicate the universal sign for sewage
treatment pond, you know the one, then I would probably look you square in the
eye (your good one) and wink as if to imply my own objectivity in a roundabout
way, if you are picking up what I’m putting down.
Then you’d say you are tired of me
and I would say some things I don’t mean.
Moving on…to
A peak experience is a moment accompanied by a euphoric mental state often achieved by self-actualizing individuals.[1] The concept was originally developed by Abraham Maslow in 1964, who describes peak experiences as "rare, exciting, oceanic, deeply moving, exhilarating, elevating experiences that generate an advanced form of perceiving reality, and are even mystic and magical in their effect upon the experimenter."[2][3] There are several unique characteristics of a peak experience, but each element is perceived together in a holistic manner that creates the moment of reaching one’s full potential.[4] Peak experiences can range from simple activities to intense events;[5][6] however, it is not necessarily about what the activity is, but the ecstatic, blissful feeling that is being experienced during it.[7]
Campbell said that he had a peak
experience running a race during his time at Columbia, where he was 30 yards
back but knew (objectively? See what I did there) that he was going to win.
I am trying to think of a peak
experience of my own. It is that last part of the paragraph that is throwing
me, the “blissful feeling…during…”
I intercepted a jump pass in pee
wee football once but was nothing like blissful during the experience but I did
know (yes, objectively) just from the nanosecond look of the quarterback, that
he was going to try to hit the tight end.
I had one night with a band at a
bar that at the time was named O’Hooley’s where I could not make a mistake,
felt like I could play anything I wanted to without fear of mistake, with
complete (for me, anyway, subjectivity rears its ugly head) facility.
But did I feel blissful?
Have I ever felt blissful?
I think I need examples.
I’ve felt euphoric but I just don’t
know about blissful.
Am I splitting hairs?
Can one be blissful splitting
hairs?
