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by
Johannes Vermeer
I have been re-reading The Power of Myth, which is essentially a transcript of conversations that the acclaimed journalist Bill Moyers had with Joseph Campbell in 1985 and 1986. Every page of the transcript is rich in thought-provoking wisdom. As I leave a rather chaotic year, however, I find myself thinking more and more about a particular colloquy concerning the importance of not only creating, but defending, a sacred place in one's home.
Bill Moyers: You write in The Mythic Image about the center of transformation, the idea of a sacred place where the temporal walls may dissolve to reveal a wonder. What does it mean to have a sacred place?
Joseph Campbell: This is an absolute necessity for anybody today. You must have a room, or a certain hour or so a day, where you don't know what was in the newspapers that morning, you don't know who your friends are, you don't know what you owe anybody, you don't know what anybody owes to you. This is a place where you can simply experience and bring forth what you are and what you might be. This is the place of creative incubation. At first you may find that nothing happens there. But if you have a sacred place and use it, something will happen.
Happy New Year to Everyone!
