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Are we inadvertently summoning forces beyond our control in our relentless pursuit of innovation and progress? Can we harness the power of our creations without unleashing terrible consequences upon ourselves and our world?
Prometheus and his brother, Epimetheus, were tasked by Zeus with fashioning all living creatures. They granted animals remarkable abilities – feathers for flight, claws, fangs for hunting, tails for balance, and gills to breath underwater. When it came to humans, they had no gifts left. Still, Prometheus loved his human creations and daringly stole fire from Olympus to provide them with warmth and protection. This act of defiance has inspired and cautioned humans for millennia as they reflect on Prometheus’ punishment.
Prometheus embodies the eternal struggle between conscious and unconscious forces within psyche. His act of rebellion, like the ego’s desire for independence, results in detachment from its unconscious origins. Wild archetypal forces become impossible to contain and chain him to a rock where an eagle eats his liver each day. Prometheus’s liberation by Heracles represents the relativization of the estranged inflated ego with the unconscious, fostering growth and humility.
The relentless pursuit of Promethean treasures propelled figures like Oppenheimer and Madame Curie, Louis Pasteur, George Washington Carver, Henry Ford, and Elon Musk. As they extended their grasp into the boundless skies of human potential, these brilliant minds bestowed upon humanity invaluable gifts and some brought risks they could never have imagined.
HERE’S THE DREAM WE ANALYZE:
“A likable, completely bald old man was near his life’s end and fading into obscurity. So, he gave me his eagle. He taught me how to care for it and what to do with it. The eagle came near me; it was on my arm at times. I sat there listening to the old man for a while. Then he said, “Of course, this isn’t everything you need to know, but this is all I can teach you. For the rest, you’ll have to learn from the old man who taught me.”
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There’s also the BALD eagle which symbolizes the US and balances that predatory power with the kind older bald man. Bald eagles seem to feed primarily on fish and are flying over lakes (over seas?), but they do not exist outside North America – so maybe an idea of the challenges of adaptation mentioned by Joseph.
Joseph’s mention of alchemy in the Frankenstein novel reminds me of The Memoirs of Elizabeth Frankenstein which looks closely at how and why he was introduced to alchemy.
Deb’s comments on the darker side of hope leading you to a reckless gamble reminded me of a poem I saw once. I wish I recalled the exact working, but the basic idea was if you have only enough money for a meal, spend half on bread and half on a poem. I guess that sounds impractical, but I think it speaks to a placing of transcendent importance on poetry or beauty or ideals.