Reflection on Michelle Storud's Earlist Memory

"But there may be circumstances in which, if the life or soul remains in the man, it stands a greater chance of sustaining injury than if it were stowed away in some safe and secret place. Accordingly, in such circumstances, primitive man takes his soul out of his body and deposits it for security in some snug spot, intending to replace it in his body when the danger is past."

When reading Michelle's blog about her earliest memory, about being in the toy store and mistaking a stranger for her dad, I could relate.  I think that at one time or another every child or person encounters mistaking someone you don't know for someone you do.  That instantaneous fear and panic that takes over your body and emotions is very powerful.  This can then leave you jilted and unnerved by the whole experience.  So I decided to research and see what kind of myth I could come up with in regards to mistake identity. 

This is what I was able to uncover: It is a Hindu Myth called, The Two Bachelors.

Narada, the celestial sage, was a confirmed bachelor, but one day he saw Princess Shrimati and fell in love with her. To his dismay another sage, Tumburu, was also smitten by her and wanted to marry her.

Both were devotees of Lord Vishnu and both sought his help. Narada asked that Tumburu's face should change into a bear's at the Swayamvar at which the princess would select her husband.

Tumburu, not knowing that his rival had already approached Vishnu, made a similar request. He asked that Narada should appear to have a monkey's face.

At the Swayamvar, the princess trooped down the long line of suitors with her garland. Narada and Tumburu stood out among the others, but when she went closer, Narada's face suddenly seemed to change and take on a simian look. She hastily turned to Tumburu, but to her horror he now looked like a bear. As she stood there in confusion, she suddenly saw another man standing between Narada and Tumburu. It was Lord Vishnu himself. He had come to find out how his devotees were faring. The princess, however, did not care who he was and why he had come. She was so relieved to see a normal human face that she immediately put the garland round his neck.

Narada and Tumburu did not mind losing to Lord Vishnu, but each was secretly glad that the other had not got the princess!!!

My Childhood Memory

"When we pass from southern to Central Europe we still meet with the great god of the oak and the thunder among the barbarous Aryans who dwelt in the vast primaeval forests."

I have been having some issues with my computer but finally have them all ironed out.  Sorry for the late post but here is my early childhood memory. I was about four years old and had been playing out in the front year of our house with my little brother.  It was a hot summers day and my family was getting ready to move to a new town.  As my mother and father were inside packing in preparation for the big move, my little brother and I chased each other around trying to push each other.  My brother and I had a love-hate relationship.  We were best buds growing up but had the typical sibling arguments and fights.  Anyway I remember the pushing game quickly turned into a squabble and as he pushed me around harder I returned the favor!! He then proceed to get really peeved and chased me up the front steps to our house.  I turned around to slam the door in his face to block his raging pursuit.  The front door to our house had four long glass panes that were vertically inset in the wooden door.  As I tried to slam to door shut, my little brother tried to shove the door open to get at me.  We both began to pushed on the glass and somehow I was able to slam the door shut on him, but as I did so one of the glass panes shattered and my little four year old hand when right through the broken glass. I remember looking in horror as blood began to run down my hand and onto the green shag carpet. (yes this was the age of green shag and yellow toilets!) I remember looking up at my little brother and seeing him ball.  I think I was in to much shock to cry. My mom heard the commotion and came running to see what was going on. She quickly scooped me up and took me to the bathroom to bandage my wound.  Tears began to run down my checks, I could hear my dad out in the living room spanking my brother.  My parents very much believed in corporal punishment and my little brother was graced with this idea that day.  I have to say that I remember getting a little satisfaction knowing this.

On the Edge

      "Their constant presence wearies him, their sleepless malignity exasperates him; he longs with an unspeakable longing to be rid of them altogether, and from time to time, driven to bay, his patience utterly exhausted, he turns fiercely on his persecutors and makes a desperate effort to chase the whole pack of them from the land, to clear the air of their swarming multitudes, that he may breathe more freely and go on his way ....."

      It has been a very long and weary two weeks of very little sleep, but I was finally able to recall my dream from last night.  It is a very cold dark winter day and I am all bundled up in snow gear: hat, coat, gloves, snow pants, the whole nine years.  I have no ides how but I am teetering on top of an enormous mountain peek with my downhill skis strapped on tightly. I am trying not to plunge of the edge by standing very still and maintaining my balance.  The more I struggle to stand still the more I start slipping of the edge.  Finally in my feeble attempt to save myself from cascading of the mountain's cliff and suffering broken bones, I slip and jerk in bed and wake up!  I suppose I could analyze the happenings in my dream and correlate them to what is going on in my waken state of mind. My personal dialog of, "your under a lot of stress and life is feeling a little out of balance right now", could most definitely be replicated by standing on the edge of a mountain cliff teeter tottering on skis to avoid bodily dismemberment.  Or I might take the mythological point of view to analyze my slumber and decide to correlate it to the Chinese myth, Yin and Yang.  This myth's idea is that the universe is shaped by two important forces called Yin and Yang.  They are opposites that are not in conflict with each other and interact to try and maintain balance and cohesion.  All of the universe and it's life forces rely on this balance to maintain harmony.  But when Yin and Yang are out of whack things get a little messed up.  So I could quite literally say that my Yin and Yang are out of balance and this is way I am about to lose balance in my dream.  I personally think I will take the Mythological spin on this one verses the psychological approach. I'll just leave it at, my Yin and Yang are out of balance right now but I hope very soon things begin rolling smoothly again.

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