Exploring the ancient practice of creating personal myths for meaning, inspired by Carl Jung. Reflecting on the significance of personal myth during crises. Discussing the power of authenticity and self-realization through personal myth.
30:19
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
insights INSIGHT
Personal Myth Reveals Deep Meaning
Personal myth is an ancient, inward story that gives meaning to our lives beyond science or religion.
It surfaces especially during life crises, offering essential guidance and authenticity.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Mead's Early Mythic Awakening
At 13, Michael Mead connected his youthful street gang to Jason and the Argonauts' quest for the Golden Fleece.
This mythic insight shaped his lifelong quest for meaning and personal story.
insights INSIGHT
Jung's Myth Awakening Post-Freud
Jung's separation from Freud triggered an unconscious myth awakening that ordered his life without his initial knowledge.
This mythic process revealed psychic contents beyond Freud's narrow framework, emphasizing purposeful psychic aims.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
This episode of Living Myth begins with the idea that the task of finding symbols and stories through which we discover the meaning of our lives is as old as human consciousness. In that sense, Carl Jung was rediscovering ancient knowledge when he wrote: “What we are in our inward vision can only be expressed by way of myth. Each human life is…like a plant that lives from its rhizome. Its true life is invisible, hidden in that root.”
In response to a time of great crisis in his life Jung realized that an inner myth was trying to become conscious and that he had to awaken to it: “I took it upon myself to get to know my myth and I regarded this as the task of all tasks.”
Since collective mythologies no longer generate a sense of existential meaning and coherence, turning inward in search of our own mythic story becomes essential for our health and psychic growth. By tapping the inner mythic root, we can develop a more conscious and creative relationship with our own deep self and soul; but also find our unique way of contributing to a world in crisis.
As was the case with Jung, our personal myth or inner story tries to surface each time we feel we are in a crisis or at a turning point. If we allow the inside story of the soul to awaken and guide us, we become the living word trying to enter the world though us. Like Jung on his radical path of self-discovery and mythic recovery, we are repeatedly being called to find and learn the personal myths trying to be born from our own souls.
Thank you for listening to and supporting Living Myth. You can further support this podcast by becoming a member of Living Myth Premium. Members receive bonus episodes each month, access to the full archives of over 650 episodes and a 30% discount on all events, courses and book and audio titles.
Learn more and join this community of listeners at patreon.com/livingmyth.
If you enjoy this podcast, we appreciate you leaving a review wherever you listen and sharing it with your friends. On behalf of Michael Meade and the whole Mosaic staff, we wish you well and thank you for your support of our work.
Living Myth