cohering.net home literary living area

  divining
gary e. davis
April 5 / September 28,
2016
 


Athena is the pre-Hellenic (Minoan) protectress of the city, goddess of war, and of practical reason (what a mix) who was appropriated by Hellenes to be—says an allegedly authoritative source—“the virgin goddess of reason, intelligent activity, literature, arts, and wisdom” (again: what a mix!) No wonder she didn’t need Apollo: She evolved; and did so on her own?

So my story goes. Mythogeny constellates values
by way of personified magnets
(or magnetic personifications). My mythogeny is a genealogy of Hellenic psychality (without theological concealment). Truth of myth is at least a matter of cohering
our being wholly.

Of course, Truth is about real prospects of heart and mind. True happiness idealizes wholly flourishive life. Truth matters because life happens wholly, relative to all relevant facets (the gods remind them). Those who conceal cultivate tragedy.

The Hellenes originated divination of realistic Truth value as a principle of being.
Say what you will about the reality of gods and goddesses, the Hellenes were indeed pioneering diviners of reason—embodied in literary arts (which they originated!),
and principled aspiration for the sake of wholly flourishive individuality. Concept-ions of being as leading omni-cultural (holistic) mind which is available in principle
to everyone originate with Hellenes.

Leading Hellenic minds sought to imbue everything with value and to embrace new ideas wherever they arose. Ideas inspired striving for new species of conceptual constellating, corraling talent to make life better.

The Hellenes made cultural values into worldly religion (and Literature!), so natur-alized art became the basis for cultural being. Good striving was a hallmark: shaping paths to excellence, striving for personal best, constellating ideality as divine perfectibility that centripetally drew culture into accelerated evolving.

As gods, kinds of distant windowmirrors for receptiveness and responsiveness
engage and involve diviners in expressive contributions for one’s ownmost individuation that would be lasting. They are projected teachers.

For creativity—fire in the crucible of divination—phenomenality is to and for inter-play of receptiveness and responsiveness. Finding an awing other actively engaged
with you—winds in woods, words as loves—rather than passively felicitous can be elating as It draws a way by giving way to insight, ideality, Vision. Alive envisioning with us, of us—singular receptive responsiveness?—can be a synergy that originates.

Sophia, isn’t that a little divine?—in an aesthetic sense, at least: ‘divine’: “supremely good or admirable” (Merriam-Webster Unabridged) for our personal best; “having a sublime or inspired character” for our humanity.

If only to have our names sung across the ages, becoming immortal by being found
by gods—for a poet, at least: found in high times channeled by instructive seas,
from whose island cliffs gods dwell as serene animals entertaining our capacity
for graceful bearing toward perfection of all humanity—through divine phenomen-ogeny, we might say (instead of godly auras), finding figurative gravity to mirror
our potential for radiant intelligibility.

Divine—good verb, but quite secular for contemporary life—properly: “conjecture, suppose, infer, perceive,...,” comprehend, appreciate “especially by insight or intuition.”

So, what’s the basis for ability to excellently do that?

Whatever the explanation, if a person is too good at it—which is starkly rare—
the person becomes a magnet for attention, if not danger: Insiders compete for favor (palace intrigues—melodramas between elites); outsiders seek to destroy (Socrates
is forced to drink hemlock; diviners are discredited)—unless the source of excellence is displaced to be outside of the star figure (who, thus, can allegedly be replaced:
“My genius came to me, as it may come to you. Patience.”); thus, her/his excellence is safer, protected by invocation of a special agency of high, comprehensive, powerful resourcefulness that transcends presence of the given star who merely channels there being grace within (or available, in principle, to) anyone. The principle of available potential is thereby general, godly.

So, classically, an earlier meaning of ‘divining’ prevailed: “to prophesy with supernatural aid.” The basis for excellence of reason by inquiry, to comprehend highly, to appreciate intimately, to prospect foresightfully was as if constituted
by otherworldliness of Our given nature. For the Greeks, the gods were in our world.

Anyway, a True star is less interested in explanation than devotion to the calling.
True creativity withdraws from primary concern about a public (warranting the channel). If results are later fruitful for others, beautiful. If not, so be it. One does what one can. Luck may be the real god. Importance is for others to assess.

There is genius, but in nearly every case, it doesn’t matter to itself. Mostly, genius just wants to continue its work. True “divines” never intimate being so, which may be to “say”: There are no divines, really; just better artists of being human, better teachers, creative audacity, high excellence, elated fun learning, and the like.

Dear Sophia, “goddess of divine wisdom,” validate potentials of our world, living— which all gods always reflected (i.e., potential in the world) and, through divines (artists, teachers, audacious inquirers, etc.), enable.

Notwithstanding such pretentiousness, the point is being in the world, in fairness of and to one’s potential, otherworldly only tropally. Paradise is to be made, not found. Notions of heaven beyond this life (or for the world in a faraway future) draw humanity across generations to make imaginary heights real and lasting.

Out of the head of Zeus indeed: Rhetorics of the gods provide an accessibly displaced rationale for highland resorts that’re beyond materiality so prized by most others.

 

 


< previous -|- Next: gnostic Sophia -|- topic: As Aide of Sophiana