One Myth on 42nd st part 2

Did you read the beginning of this blog? Check out the story of the first dream.

Did you read the first dream? Whadayadoin? Go back and check it out why don't ya?!

Now that you've read about the first dream, you might want to check out Part 1 of the "One Myth" mural project (if you haven't already).

Okay. Good. That vision of the spiral of light from the first dream is the central image for this mural on 42nd st. It's also the middle of the eye of god, which is the larger central image for the One Myth. Joseph Campbell, the great American mythic historian, pointed to this one myth as the arrival point of all mythologies through the whole world. He believed that what separated one culture from another throughout the globe was language, and language based on the mythological creation stories each culture would tell itself to explain where it came from, what purpose its customs and rituals had, etc. He thought (and I'm paraphrasing here) that these separate language and creation tales caused much of the social unrest and warfare between cultures throughout the globe; for while each culture had its stories of its origins and an inkling of the oneness that should connect us all, the stories themselves conflicted with the next culture's creation myths, and this conflict sparked the experience of the other, the stranger, the enemy--essentially, misunderstanding. Campbell stated that in order for the humanity to know peace, we should essentially manifest a single story, One Myth, that explains origins of all life as we know it (and don't know it, says I).

The Lakota medicine man Black Elk, who survived the battle of Little Big Horn (Custer's last stand) in the 1800s, had a vision as a young boy that would define his life and marked him as a healer and shaman. As far as I can remember, Black Elk lay in a Coma for many days, while in the spirit world he spoke with many Grandfathers, spirit elders, who showed him four roads that represented the peoples of the world and fates of humanity. Black elk spent his life watching the decimation of his people while trying to find a way to heal the sacred wheel of life, which had been broken.

I once attended a Star Visions conference in Estes Park, Colorado, organized by Lakota medicine men, where they taught a series of spiritual symbols given to them by extraterrestrials. It was a far out experience, really mind blowing, people from all over came with stories of ETs, healing methods, ancient rituals. I'll talk more about this conference at another point in the blog, ( I need to do a little research through my notes so I can remember this stuff properly).
After returning from the conference to my temporary home in an anarchist's apartment in San Francisco, I had a dream of a single, Egyptian-looking eye, floating in a bed of fire. It felt distinctly different from a normal dream, more of a vision, a message from the spirit world, the single eye of the Universe.

These visions were the basis for the One Myth structure. Since I was painting on 42nd st, I figured I'd go out of my way to create a message I thought would be beneficial for people to see, being that there are so many people there from all over the globe. This would be my message to the world.

As you look at these details of the mural, you'll find Black Elk's 4 roads, as well as the grandfathers. You'll find peoples from all cultures worldwide. You'll find the duality of day and night, earth and moon, male and female, a duality which I believe is an illusory structure of the mind that represents the movement of creation itself. You'll find the eye of God, resting on matter, containing the four elements, as well as the fifth element, spirit. And you'll find spirit, creating the peoples of the world from light, something from nothing, the many from the One.

And you'll find a tree on the moon.

You'll also notice that everyone in the painting is sleeping. Their eyes are closed. They are dreaming their way into reality.

Consequently, the whole time I was painting this mural, I knew the building was going to be torn down within a year. And it was. I think they're still building a Bank of America where the One Myth once stood.