Lost Paradises: Myth, Culture and Contemplation

Abstract

The lost paradises—or, in the singular, the Lost Paradise—are not so lost after all if we look within ourselves. It seems that our myths and our cultural origins may be linked to this concept. If we go back to the original Western myth, of Hebrew or perhaps Persian origin, as the backbone of the reflection that gives the conference its title, we might think that paradise was lost when humans entered civilisation with an increase in leisure time, and thought took the place of the concentration that was essential for survival during their stage of gathering and hunting. I propose that this rupture is the loss of paradise referred to in the myths that use this metaphor—or rather, simile—to preserve in human memory that realm of transformation which brought the benefits of civilisation, yet also the drawback of suffering. It is possible that this consequence is what gives rise to a kind of nostalgia for an origin to which we can no longer return, unless it is through one path: the contemplative path, specifically that which brings with it the discipline of silence and union. In this text, I aim to explore the words generated from that contemplation, the possibilities of their application in the realm of culture, and the consequences for concepts of magnanimity in civilisation, such as the creation of myths, the idea of transcendence, the status of the priesthood, the deification of leadership, the conception of beauty, and other related themes.