Ray Grigg

The Zen of an Earth Mythology Ray Grigg

The Zen of an Earth Mythology

Joseph Campbell, the famous American mythologist, commented in his last book, The Power of Myth, "The only mythology that is valid today is the mythology of the planet-and we don't have such a mythology."

The Zen of an Earth Mythology is a thoughtful reply to Joseph Campbell's comment-an exploration of the nascent mythology that is currently forming to give fresh meaning to our individual experiences, lucid insights to our unfolding knowledge, and wise guidance to our collective behaviour.

This urgently needed mythology is replacing an old one that has been largely responsible for the environmental crisis we are inflicting on ourselves and our planet-a mythology so incongruous with nature's imperatives that its influence now threatens the viability of civilization itself.

The Zen of an Earth Mythology begins by examining the origin and effects of the Genesis mythology in our Western culture, then follows the emergence of an Earth mythology through historical developments in theology, philosophy, mathematics, technology, biology, psychology and physics.

The arrival of an Earth mythology is timely and discernible, yet confusing and enigmatic-a Zen koan that demands a solution as we struggle to understand who we are as a species, and how we are to live on our only home in the universe.