The old is discarded for the new at lightning speed. In contrast, in my earlier years my life experiences were largely naturally intertwined with the past. In Cyprus, for example, my friends and I attended school on a colonial compound without seeing it as old-fashioned, even as we paraded around in our eighties neon garb. We didn’t bat an eye as we careened through millennia, passing a medieval Greek Orthodox church one minute, popping into classical goddess-inspired Aphrodite’s Café the next, often in hysterics while getting ready for the disco and New Wave music that same evening.
In school we studied both classics and modern English literature, Eliot and Euripides sitting side by side. We moved naturally between vast swathes of time, allowing us access to universal insights. One of the most striking spots to experience this phenomenon physically is Istanbul, where you can stand in Sultanahmet Square, turn 360 degrees, and take in more than three thousand years of human creativity, from the ancient Egyptian obelisk right up to the modern shops hawking knickknacks. I recommend taking a ride on that head-spinning carousel of time if you can. I remember my own experience there as if it were yesterday.
Greek philosophy and mythology were my everyday companions, and in these pages Plato, Aristotle, and others will speak to you down through the ages. Their voices ring out with truth and understanding, as pertinent today as they were more than two thousand years ago. Artist, scientist, software developer Keith Rowland reflects:
“Seeing the threads that have continued from past to present and are still intact helps me discern which are true. ‘There ain’t much new under the sun.’ Philosophy has helped me in my everyday life. I have been very quick to anger and say things I regretted. I tried and tried to stop that habit but couldn’t completely. I finally realized the only way was to change my attitude so that the hair trigger wasn’t there to begin with. Wisdom is the best tool with which we can change our attitude. It is applied knowledge. We have a whole encyclopedia of examples from which to learn, from others who went through great pain to acquire wisdom and teach us so that we don’t have to endure similar pain.”
The Power of Language
Language itself is a keeper of wisdom. Words, whether or not we know their roots, shape our consciousness. This is why words hold incantational, subliminal power. Tapping into the original meanings of our everyday words reveals many secrets. The word create, for instance, is related to the Roman nature goddess Ceres (Demeter in Greek mythology). Her name originates from the Proto-Indo-European root ker, meaning “to grow.” So, at its root, creativity is natural; creativity is growth! This confirms one of creativity’s great secrets, which we’ve already touched on together: creativity is a process, not a product. Creativity is growth, not just the fruit, delicious though that is. Heed past wisdom: it holds many such secrets hidden in plain sight.
Creativity is a process, not a product. Creativity is growth.
BRIGHT WAY ACTIVITY
What Has Inspired You?
What stories from the past have inspired you? Think about fairy tales, books from childhood, movies, paintings, images, song lyrics. How have these shaped and informed your real-life experiences? Great works of art touch on truth and reflect life’s meaning back to us. This is why I count even humble works as great, if they tap into universal truth.
When I was a child, I loved the Moomintroll book series by Tove Jansson. Looking back on those books, I see that many of the themes that moved me then still inspire me today. I loved the freedom, the playfulness, the philosophical asides, the drawings, everything! Once in a while I read those beloved books again, and I feel refreshed and affirmed.
What is contained in your store of past wisdom?
Past Wisdom and the Alchemy of the Bright Way
As you know, it’s not just past artworks, stories, and cultures that influence and inspire us. Ancient philosophies are also trustworthy guides on the Bright Way. Why? As Keith said, they’ve been distilled through millennia of hard-won human experience to quickly communicate our deepest truths. While you don’t have to buy into any of these philosophies wholesale (there are too many of them for that, and no guide should be followed blindly), they are sharp skill-building tools and potent symbols of inspiration.
Alchemy, for example, is a practice going all the way back to ancient Egypt and the legendary Greek-influenced Hermes Trismegistus. Alchemy’s history and impact fan out from what we now know as the Middle East to all of Europe, the Americas and Asia.
On the surface alchemy may seem to be about transforming lead into gold, an impression encouraged by those wanting to reserve this wisdom for a select few (hence the phrase hermetically sealed, referring to Hermes Trismegistus). Story and metaphor are among the best ways to communicate profound messages. As such, “lead into gold” is mostly an allegory for transformation. It refers to transmuting the heavy, dull, and toxic parts of ourselves into light, strong, bright, beautiful gold. This process reflects the grand journey of self-realization we all take and that we are walking together now. Alchemical symbols surround us, for example, heading part 1’s chapters. The circle-and-dot represents the sun (creative energy) and gold; the wheel-cross, cycles and the physical plane; the infinity sign, eternally renewing life force. These imagination-stimulating symbols also appear in many belief systems and eras, some dating all the way back to the Bronze Age.
On our Bright Way journey, we’ll work through the Operations of Alchemy. These processes, to put it briefly, initiate us with fiery ego-taming and conclude with a celebration of our integration as a body-mind-spirit. This evolution becomes a way of life as we spiral through this healing, creative process over and over, reclaiming our internal gold. As Plato reflected, “Love is born into every human being; it calls back the halves of our original nature together; it tries to make one out of the two and heal the wound of human nature.”
Whether you are spiritual, scientific, agnostic, or not involved in any of these perspectives, the tenets of alchemy can be stalwart supports. You already encountered As Above, So Below, one of the principles of alchemy, which is the observation that the big picture reflects the little picture, and vice versa. The meaning above the surface mirrors the meaning below the surface. Our inner mind reflects our outer life, and the reverse also holds true. Your creative life reflects your whole life, and your whole life reflects your creative life. Understanding this principle alone can give you great control over your life, allowing you to become its director instead of a passive watcher.
BRIGHT WAY ACTIVITY
As Above, So Below
Start noticing the coincidences, synchronicities, and connections in your daily life, reflecting the concept of As Above, So Below. For example, how does your approach to learning reflect your approach to doing? How does your health affect your thinking? How does your mind affect your body? How does a painting or a piece of music affect your mood? These are all examples of how As Above, So Below can play out in your life.
You don’t have to be an alchemist to walk the Bright Way. On this journey you are simply borrowing these time-honored tools and concepts to heighten your learning and creative experience.
Likewise, when you harmonize with yourself in step one (much more about this later), you might recognize centering and meditation techniques used in many Asian cultures. You don’t have to take up Zen philosophy or start practicing Hinduism to benefit from the process of centering.
