The Power of the Arthurian Legend
by Christopher Power
Author
The Arthurian Legend is ancient in its roots and rich in its content. It is a legend of monumental proportions with personal and global significance. This legend contains the maps of how to live an empowered human life and the information and energy needed to realise the dreams and visions we have carried deep within our hearts and minds for thousands of years.
So how are legends powerful influences in our lives and in the development of societies and cultures?
When you first listen to an authentic legend it seems a childlike fantasy. However in time, as it gains substance, it develops into a mature fantasy with the power to help you realise what is otherwise unknown.
As the legend unfolds it grows because you become involved in the telling. Listening is not a passive process. What is within your subconscious and unconscious minds comes to the surface and adds to the telling of the legend.
As this occurs, because legends contain metaphors, you become aware of what you identify with and project upon the people and the world around you. Metaphors are bridges designed to help us grow by integrating our physical world of time/space with the real worlds of our imagination and beyond.
When you are conscious of your identifications and projections, you gain insights into yourself, your relationship with nature and your Creator, your spiritual work and how you respond to the challenges of life.
If you are not conscious of your identifications (e.g. identifying with the hero) and projections (e.g. seeing your partner as your mother or father) you get stuck half way across the bridge. The legend never moves beyond being an intellectual experience and you do not realise the potential of the legend to change and enhance your life.
This occurs when people insist on proving or disproving whether the legend actually happened i.e. seeking to find who was King Arthur and where was Camelot. These people are not aware that the realm of legends exists simultaneously within the worlds of imagination and the physical. Living legends cannot be limited to our physical world of time/space; they exist in both worlds and move between them.
To successfully cross the "metaphor bridge" we need to let a legend have its mystery.
Mystery captures our attention and arouses our natural human qualities. It captures our imagination, intrigues our Soul and Spirit and arouses our natural spiritual qualities. It opens us to a range of new possibilities and suspends our judgments. It opens us to the unknown by suspending our logic and reason so we discover what lies beyond them. It strengthens our capacity to think and feel, to dream and vision. It stimulates us to find out - "What happened?" and "How does it end?" - in order to resolve the mystery.
In essence mystery allows you to consciously move beyond time/space (your physical limits) to encounter, engage and evolve your personal myth in the realm of your imagination.
Your personal myth contains the personal legends, rituals and tales of your life. From this you develop your personal morality on which how you live your life hinges.
The interaction of the legend with your personal myth brings to life and evolves your dreams and visions, lifting them from weird to wonderful. As dreams and visions form the basis of how you create your future, legends are a powerful, natural means to develop your ability to create wonderful futures that empower you in the present.
The practical outcome is your consciousness and perception grows and evolves. Consciousness and perception are the keys to thriving in our rapidly evolving world.
It is these factors working together that make legends so powerful.
As the legend of King Arthur has been told for thousands of years, its enchantment and mystery has brought to the surface many of our identifications and projections.
In 11th century France Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine invented the story that Guinevere had an affair with Lancelot and they betrayed Arthur, identifying the legend with her own situation. This never happened in the Legend.
Morgaine was turned into an evil woman by the projections of chauvinistic societies. She was a true ally of Arthur and Merlin who out of love challenged them to grow and realise their full potential. This woman who courageously owned her magic and strength and empowered the men in her life was turned into a woman to be feared.
Now the legend is re-emerging in its essential form, free from the projections of the past, to answer a crucial question of today's world - "How can a group of people, in the middle of chaos, successfully create a realm where it is safe to love, to truly enjoy living life and realise their full potential?"
The answers and guidelines contained in how Merlin, Arthur and Guinevere achieved this in their world, address the profound changes that are happening in our world personally and globally. They show us how our practical and spiritual lives can work together, how men and women empower and support each other and how our daily lives can be enriched and fulfilled.
The author may be contacted at staraki@optusnet.com.au
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