Myth and Mythomania

If you are interested in DEMYSTIFICATION—in general, as in making sense of Myths, Fairytales, Dreams, or Conspiracy, in the same vein—you will want to know, or rehearse the following:
Trying to demystify is looking for meaning, or striving for lucidity. Trim any complexity by reducing random realities to a synthesis of elements—but look for meaning in sequence rather than in content.

There is no such thing as a "modest success" in this domain, whether you make sense of it or if it remains as mysterious as always—the trying alone, if it is grounded, will produce special benefits for you, either way, and these will readily be turned to social advantage. No genuine attempt at demystification ever is dismal or a failure. A child who is exposed to this process in a fairly consistent fashion will gain discernment.

DISCERNMENT may or may not be immediately measured by the usual IQ-Tests—probably because Discernment is the next best thing to Basic Wisdom, whereas Intelligence-Tests tend to be an imitation of themselves... But what is certain is that the quality of discernment influences every aspect of human psychology in total.

MYTHOMANIA The Mythomaniac is driven by a need to transfigure anything at hand, and for the sake of it! Life isn't complex to him—the world is much too plain for his own taste, if anything. Hence, the purpose of his existence is to enrich & embellish his reality, and everyone else's, while he's at it...

A Mythomaniac does not merely tell lies, he sees every "extravaganza of language" as an opportunity to contribute to the evolution of his village—to the human race, more likely... Obviously, such a person is not interested in demystifying anything.

Living with Mythomania all day long and trying to make it useful is very similar to trying to domesticate a couple of Hyenas tied to a pole at the back of the house, so you won't miss it if they turn into pets all of a sudden while you're off with the Evening Fairies, or expecting a manifestation of Garden-Hobbits—whichever proves more reliable to recount first thing in the morning at the office...

MYTH IS TABOO
Myth is a difficult topic to approach, even if you are willing. It is veiled with mystery, surrounded by layers of rumours, spread by God alone knows who or when—and why, you're left wondering. Is SUBTERFUGE so necessary as to override the benefit of any straight answer?... Demystifying anything is relatively easy if you stick to what everyone knows, as expected of you in a Quiz-Show, for instance. You then walk away with a well-deserved reward. You knew the height of the Great Pyramid, and how many slabs went into the making of it. But there are other questions. This Enigmatic Structure is meant as a puzzle rather than for being solved. This theory is weird, so no one will ask you to think that way—not for gold. MYTH grows complex at this juncture, for dealing with the mysteries seldom proves rewarding unless you attend your own questions. This is challenging, find out why...

MYTHOLOGY remains a traditional frivolity you could live without, unless you translate its symbols in your own mental language, use your head, see with your own eyes—as when you analyse your dreams, in fact. Dream-Interpretation can't be generalised past a point, because though SYMBOLS are universal, they carry a very intimate meaning for each person—they become alive with meaning in a personal sense, best of all.

Your Dreaming always means something for your private use. Find what that is by learning to read yourself. Start by asking yourself what things mean to you—anything at all. For example, in your dream you were casually eating an apple while riding a horse through lunch hour city traffic... Now think, what do apples, horses and the city mean to you? Start with a general opinion, as in "I like apples, I'm fond of horses—can't stand peak hour traffic & commotion, though!"...

Treat Legends, Myths & Fairytales—or Movies, for that matter—in the same way, at first, as in "I prefer Cinderella, like The Count of Monte Cristo better than Dracula, and Bluebeard more than Tom Thumb, but I'll have The Matrix on any day!"...

Moving on to more intimate grounds, say, "I enjoy crunching on an apple—but when's the last time I did that?"...

When you deal with Myth & Mysteries always be prepared, in case something is to be realised or acknowledged beyond the usual opinion.

You may find that you are fond of horses, but don't like the smell of them... Further, it may occur to you that you are unsympathetic to the smell of animals... which is why you don't keep pets, in the first place.

Making sense of anything at all often turns out to be an excursion through a world of Customs & Taboos. Plain Living is a Myth, in this sense.

TABOO would have you wear an Intellectual Chastity-Belt, accept what you don't know as normal—and even call ignorance a blessing!...

Wandering in the Unknown is especially difficult on account of the Danger Signs you see every second step you take.

HOCUS-POCUS wouldn't be half as scary if it weren't restricted by Taboo—which turns anything it touches into some Medieval Prohibition...

All in all, the hard nut to crack in anything Mythical, Mystical or Supernatural is that you never know where to begin, what is to be gained or what you might be missing. Worse, taboo won't let you realise what you might have understood... You won't let yourself cash-in on what could work as an asset for you, for fear of becoming a social outcast overnight, or something like that...

Luckily, too many restrictions will eventually point to the obvious.
Taboo is bound to give the game away, because it must keep posting prohibitive signs all over the place just to exist another day. At times, this is blatantly advertising what is precious—and you could cut straight through the Outlandish with plain sense.

Regrettably, however, we fail to realise that WE keep inviting Terror, thanks to the many taboos we still carry in our heads. Thieves often don't know where to go until they see too many protections around a house. They may not break in, but will keep planning for it.

MYTH is neither mysterious nor a burden when we deem ourselves rational beings—because we esteem realism and despise nonsense—and so readily invest in the graspable while dismissing the subtle as a probable deception no one needs.

This representation of existence in Black or White throws Myth in one bag with lies, fairytales, legends, the absurd, the immaterial, hocus-pocus, mumble-jumble, unreality, disillusion, etc—which makes it easy to define "being down-to-earth" as the reverse of all of the above...

We are taught to value reality above all else, and this imperative takes force and precedence as soon as possible regardless of culture or social background, to the extent that the business of being a child consists in learning to differentiate fact from fiction and fight the demons of unreality by all means, and "with extreme prejudice." This works well at the movies, as in Apocalypse Now—especially at the beginning, where Martin Sheen is given every reason as to why the man he must execute really needs to be terminated. However, the man [Colonel Kurtz] who has been described as a monster, also possesses qualities held as rare by his executioner, whence the drama at core of this unique movie.

A child grows confused for being increasingly required to destroy an enemy that it cannot live without.

Childhood is confusing, for demanding merciless fighting against that which is most treasurable. Apart from that, the mind of a child is not especially limited.

To be continued...