As myths go, the story of the Avatar is my absolute favourite. If you’ve been reading this blog from
the beginning, it should be quite clear why.
Once I understood the basic concept behind the word, my inexplicable experiences had found their context. Or should I say, I realised I wasn’t crazy after all.
Needless to say, I loved James Cameron’s film,
Avatar. The story superbly weaves a number of profound themes totally relevant to today, to deliver truly immersive, spectacular entertainment.
What struck me is that Cameron, like George Lucas, seems to have been a student of
mythology:
“And the only myth that is going to be worth thinking about in the immediate future is one that is talking about the planet, not the city, not these people, but the planet, and everybody on it.” [Joseph Campbell, 1904-1987]
.
‘Avatar’ delivers a broad environmental message by echoing a prime mythology: Man's need to understand himself and his place in the greater scheme of things.
It's title and story reference an ancient Sanskrit word meaning, "
to cross over". That is, to deliberately descend the soul - assumed to be a self-aware conscious energy - into a life-form in a different dimension to experience and contribute to that life-form’s reality.
The simple act of consciousness projecting into another dimension defines the concept. The consciousness becomes the
Avatar.
We're replicating the myth not just in new versions of the story, but also in virtual worlds like
Second Life (SL),
Blue Mars (BM) and various
3D games.
However, I don't agree that all virtual worlds are quite games. A game, by definition, is a structured activity with a specific goal and rules. The only limitations imposed in virtual worlds like SL and BM, are those of technology and people's imaginations.
Like life, the only purpose of the 'game' is to learn how to play. They help us remember who we truly are - the All of the One.
The need to connect with other soul-nodes is an innate one. The
Social Networking phenomenon is a clear indicator that there are not only people looking for answers in the heavens to understand the human place, but that souls are looking toward each other to understand their spiritual place. In the end, we're not human beings on a spiritual journey, we are spiritual beings on a human journey.
The film’s box office ultimately confirms the audience’s need to immerse in this kind of mythology. After all, it is the story of who we are.
The ancients – the ones who came up with (or are represented in) the story of the
Avatar myth – called this age, the one we live in, The End Times, the time of Awakening.
Which is the real world, which is the dream …?…
