Living Myth

In this episode, Michael Meade considers how there are always two stories going on in life. The ongoing drama of what we call the world and the story of the individual soul trying to awaken to a life of meaning and purpose. The two stories are secretly related and become more intensely connected and dramatic during times of upheaval and radical change. When the way we have been taught to view life no longer explains the world in which we live, we are being called to awaken to a greater imagination and deeper understanding of the world around us. In mythological terms, while one world is collapsing another is secretly forming and waiting to become known. And because we are involved in both stories, we become witnesses to the collapse and potential contributors to the renewal. That kind of imagination does not align with most modern science, which believes that entropy will simply drag us all down in the end anyway; nor does it fit with religious ideas that declare that the end might be near. In times of chaos what we need to recall and better understand is that the mystery behind it all is the story of collapse and renewal. Mythological stories offer a framework for the essential and necessary process of re-creation. Just as a forest renews when the great trees fall and decompose before the next version can grow. Knowing about this process of collapse and renewal does not make experiencing it less painful or even less confusing. It does give us a mythic and imaginative framework that can help us cope with a world gone wrong, while also developing practices for assisting in the process of rejuvenation and renewal of life on Earth. Thank you for listening to and supporting Living Myth. You can hear Michael Meade live by joining his free online event "Kairos Time" on Thursday, June 18. Register and learn more at: mosaicvoices.org/events 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 750 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 Along with these free weekly podcasts, you can now read free weekly essays and long form posts by Michael Meade on Substack. Learn more and subscribe at: michaeljmeade.substack.com 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.

This episode considers how until modern times, people have relied on ritual practices to heal the wounds of culture, draw upon the renewing energies of nature and rejuvenate the life of both individuals and the community. Ritual gives a place for constricting attitudes to loosen, for emotions to flow and for the reservoir of genuine hope to renew. Creative rituals can help release the burdens of our lives and can remove ego attitudes that block the flow of feelings and vital energy. Transformative rituals have the capacity to reconnect our minds and hearts in ways that reduce fear and anxiety and ease the grief of isolation. On the ground of ritual, undiscovered parts of ourselves can awaken and strengthen our sense of meaning and purpose in life. All the arts were originally used as vehicles of vision and aspects of ritual and ritual is its own expressive art. In drawing upon the primal elements of nature and the inspiration of spirit, we can access spontaneous sources of healing, vision and renewal for both the individual and the community. Thank you for listening to and supporting Living Myth. You can hear Michael Meade live by joining his free online event "Kairos Time" on Thursday, June 18. Register and learn more at mosaicvoices.org/events 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 750 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 Along with these free weekly podcasts, you can now read free weekly essays and long form posts by Michael Meade on Substack. Learn more and subscribe at michaeljmeade.substack.com 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.

This episode of explores how as the world becomes a more chaotic and conflicted place, turning to creative practices can help us find ways to settle and center and grow a greater sense of self and soul. Throughout the ages, meaningful practices have served as primary pathways for psychological and spiritual growth, as well as for finding moments of wholeness and inner unity. Traditional roads of practice typically appear as the inward path of meditation and deep reflection and the expressive path of creative arts such as music and dance, painting and writing. Both primary pathways can help us become more vital and resilient and be more able to "spring back" no matter what befalls us. Whether through creative arts, contemplative practices or a combination of both, we need ways to keep renewing our spirit, opening our hearts and finding inner coherence. A heartfelt practice can help inspire, heal and transform our lives; it can also help us contribute to a world in need of healing and renewal. 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 750 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 Along with these free weekly podcasts, you can now read free weekly essays and long form posts by Michael Meade on Substack. Learn more and subscribe at michaeljmeade.substack.com 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.

This episode begins with the ancient tale of the Titans, the mythic giants who wreaked havoc at the beginning of civilization and arise again when human cultures become power driven and chaotic. For the Titans, nothing is sacred except excess, immediate satisfaction of greed and being insatiable when it comes to power and dominance. Titans were also called the strainers, as their excess of hubris or self-importance caused them to strain to be seen as gods who had no limits and did not need to follow any rules. In psychological terms, the condition of titanism appears in those who use chaos to gain power and use it solely to aggrandize themselves. Under the spell of titanism, everything is done simply for effect, to make a big appearance that glorifies or even deifies the person who is actually empty and hollow inside. Lacking any sense of empathy for the suffering of others, they come to see violence and destruction as necessary for maintaining power and extending their sphere of dominance. As we are in a period of great uncertainty and cultural upheaval, we are subject to a return of titanic conditions like lawlessness, wanton greed and the reckless use of power by those who have no idea of how to use it. Yet, sustaining those false uses of power requires that people continue to give their own power to those seeking to be deified. For, power is no godsend in itself and can only become a blessing when it is used to help those in need and to protect those suffering injustice. Thank you for listening to and supporting Living Myth. You can hear Michael Meade live by joining his free online event "The Soul of Change" on Thursday, April 30. Register and learn more at mosaicvoices.org/events 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 750 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 Along with these free weekly podcasts, you can now read free weekly essays and long form posts by Michael Meade on Substack. Learn more and subscribe at michaeljmeade.substack.com 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.

This episode of Living Myth begins with the idea that we keep finding ourselves in uncharted waters in terms of the future of the planet and in unmapped territories in terms of human culture. The increasing pressures and uncertainties in the outer world create an inner tension that can only be relieved through a change of awareness coming from within us. In order to avoid overwhelm and find meaningful ways forward, we must tap the deep resources of our souls which can connect us to the timeless roots of imagination and the endless energies of creation. Only imagination can provide the genuine visions we need, while also revealing untapped capacities for healing and renewal. Soul awakens as things seem to fall apart and soul would have us each find our unique part in life's ongoing drama. Yet, the way of the soul requires that we let go of our conventional and collective beliefs and received ideas. As we make more soul we find more moments of wholeness. When there is enough soul in the world, nature and culture can be truly connected and both can be served. Thank you for listening to and supporting Living Myth. You can hear Michael Meade live by joining his free online event "The Soul of Change" on Thursday, April 30. Register and learn more at mosaicvoices.org/events 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 750 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 Along with these free weekly podcasts, you can now read free weekly essays and long form posts by Michael Meade on Substack. Learn more and subscribe at michaeljmeade.substack.com 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.

On this excerpt from a Living Myth Premium episode, Michael Meade discusses the inherent longing for redemption and how it can be experienced as a life-seeking process rather than an end-of-life event. He explores the archetypes of creation and apocalypse, reframing the latter as an expression of the dynamic of collapse and renewal. Part of renewal involves connecting to vertical imagination, that goes deep into the unconscious, and can reveal the unique map of each soul's journey and help us become instruments for transformation and awakening. You can hear the full episode and receive additional podcast content by becoming a member of Living Myth Premium. Learn more and join this community of listeners at patreon.com/livingmyth. Members receive bonus episodes each month, access to the full archives of over 750 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.

This episode begins with the contemporary psychological theory of a "reminiscence bump" which attempts to explain why we remember certain songs and events from our youth, while forgetting most other things. The theory includes the idea that our sense of identity comes from an internalized story that we construct to make sense of our life. Michael Meade contrasts this kind of mainstream psychology with the ancient idea that youth is not simply a stage or a phase in life, but more of a meaningful, symbolic condition connected to something eternal and enduring in our souls. In ancient myths and fairy tales it is the youngest sister or youngest brother who represents the eternal youth that is part of the natural inheritance of each person's psyche. Although considered too slow or weird or dreamy to begin with, the youngest part of the psyche carries the dream of one's life as well as our innate connection to the roots of nature and the realm of spirit. In terms of myth and depth psychology, the eternal youth of the soul turns out to be the only one able to find a way forward when everyone else has become fearful, discouraged and stuck in life. The old idea of "coming of age" involved coming in contact with the inner dream of one's life and the enduring passions and unique inner story already seeded in one's soul. Ultimately, the thing we are secretly trying to save is our own authentic lives. And at each critical turning point in life it is this youngest inner sister or brother that tries to awaken further and connect us with what has been long forgotten and what is being newly imagined. When the future of the world is in question, it is the youngest part of the psyche that knows what people have forgotten and what human culture most needs in order to heal, transform and reconnect to the dream of life. 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 750 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 Along with these free weekly podcasts, you can now read free weekly essays and long form posts by Michael Meade on Substack. Learn more and subscribe at: michaeljmeade.substack.com 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.

In this episode, Michael Meade examines how collective fear and overwhelm can knock the ego off balance and lead to stress and despair. Since the world will not settle soon, the unity and wholeness so sorely missing in the outer world must be found within us. As things fall apart the "knowing self" within moves closer to the surface, seeking to become more conscious to us. Despite the troubles they cause, critical turning points in life intend to change us from within, giving us access to imagination and wisdom from the deeper self while also learning to deliver something of our true self to a troubled world. The centering and guiding power of the deep self gives us our innate sense of meaning, a true source of coherence and a instinctive sense of purpose. Thank you for listening to and supporting Living Myth. You can learn more about connecting to the deep self by taking Michael Meade's new course "Rites of Passage" that explores how timely and timeless practices of rites of passage can help us navigate a changing world and connect more deeply to inner wisdom and our unique genius Purchase and learn more at: store.mosaicvoices.org 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 750 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 Along with these free weekly podcasts, you can now read free weekly essays and long form posts by Michael Meade on Substack. Learn more and subscribe at michaeljmeade.substack.com 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.

This episode considers the problem of resistance to change from psychological and mythological viewpoints. While we are facing radical changes that threaten both nature and culture, we are also challenged by the dilemma of human resistance to change at both personal and collective levels. The issue is not simply a lack of commitment to change. Rather, resistance arises precisely where we have the best intentions to change. The problem becomes all the more difficult as we may not be aware of our resistance because it occurs at an unconscious level. Attempts to meaningfully change can feel like an internal struggle between opposing parts of ourselves; one part that overtly wants change and another part that covertly works against it. What some psychologists call an internal "competing commitment" or a subconscious "immunity to change" was once known as the fatal flaw that leads us away from our soul's natural goal of transformation and spiritual realization. In terms of mythic imagination, each soul has an original intention waiting to be found and a life dream waiting to awaken. And each soul also has its fatal flaw, a kind of reverse attitude that works against that original intention. Genuine transformation develops from the inside out. Thus, when change becomes essential, not just for ourselves, but also for life on earth, we are called to awaken to the true aims of our authentic selves as well as to the fatal flaws that work against meaningful change, both personally and collectively. Thank you for listening to and supporting Living Myth. You can hear Michael Meade live by joining his free online event "Finding Ways to Make a Change" on Thursday, March 5. Register and learn more at mosaicvoices.org/events. 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 740 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 Along with these free weekly podcasts, you can now read free weekly essays and long form posts by Michael Meade on Substack. Learn more and subscribe at michaeljmeade.substack.com 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.

There are certain, critical moments that say directly to us: You must change your life. Collectively, we are in a time when great changes are necessary; yet the idea of truly changing is too fearful for most people. On this episode of Living Myth, Michael Meade tells a surprising story from ancient India in which a fearful tiger suddenly awakens to its true inner nature and becomes transformed. It turns out that learning about one's true self can be like approaching a tiger. The authentic self has beauty and unique markings. It has power and an intensity of presence similar to the fierce brightness of a tiger. Awakening the deeper self also reveals an inner sense of nobility that can shift fear to awareness and replace uncertainty with a living sense of purpose. In mythological terms, the less people awaken to who they are in essence, the greater the amount of fear in the world becomes. If we are to find some way through the cascade of crises that currently threaten the world, we must face our deepest fears, open our hearts and begin to see with the visionary eyes of our tiger self. When the inner eyes of our hearts and souls open, we begin to see the world as we were intended to see it, and in so doing, find ways of transforming our lives that also help to transform this troubled world. Thank you for listening to and supporting Living Myth. You can hear Michael Meade live by joining his free online event "Finding Ways to Make a Change" on Thursday, March 5. Register and learn more at mosaicvoices.org/events. 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 740 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 Along with these free weekly podcasts, you can now read free weekly essays and long form posts by Michael Meade on Substack. Learn more and subscribe at michaeljmeade.substack.com 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.

This episode begins with the recent shooting in Minneapolis in which an intensive care nurse named Alex Pretti was shot ten times by ICE and border patrol agents. There are fateful occasions when a tragic event becomes a moment of truth for both individual life and the collective meaning and core values of a culture. Michael Meade suggests that: "We are now, and may be for some time, in a collective tragedy that involves a battle for truth and meaning, but also the need for a transformation of culture that is aimed not only at the need for political change, but also at a transformation of the quality of human life at this time." Meade turns back to Plato's Republic, one of the foundational works of Western philosophy, that explores the meaning of justice and the struggle between "lies of the soul" and the need to "live in truth." Because the current administration is captive to its own lies, it must falsify everything. It must falsify the past by trying to rewrite history. It must falsify the present by telling people not to believe their own eyes and it must seek to falsify the future by blatantly denying the truth and avoiding accountability. In the end, it comes down to the people, as "living the lie" must be confronted with living in truth. The point becomes not only the exposure of all the false poses and hollow pretenses that living in lies requires; but also the ancient and immediate revelation that it is not only possible, but truly essential that people who seek freedom and human dignity find ways to live within truth when faced with an administration of lies. 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 740 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 Along with these free weekly podcasts, you can now read free weekly essays and long form posts by Michael Meade on Substack. Learn more and subscribe at: michaeljmeade.substack.com 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.

This episode begins with the differences between paradigm shifts that replace old theories with new ones and a shifting of the archetypes that can transform all levels of life. The origins of apocalypse involve an archetypal shift that begins with a period of chaos and collapse before it leads to creation and a renewal of life. The initial phase of an apocalyptic period also involves a "lifting of the veil" that reveals what has been concealed behind closed doors and uncovers what has long been covered up. The United States, in particular, has entered a stage where the veil lifts and ideas and motivations normally uttered in the back rooms of power become stated out loud, in public. Wildly divisive ideas and brutal practices that other regimes would try to cover over become boldly declared and are doubled down on when challenged. Whether it is the incursion into Venezuela, threats to acquire Greenland by military force or the rush to condemn an unarmed mother of three recklessly killed by a masked "federal officer," the point is to make each tragedy a polarizing and dehumanizing event that further divides people, not just from each other, but also internally, so that the lack of empathy and loss of our shared sense of humanity becomes diminished and is replaced with a fear of living fully and freely and standing for the deeper truths of the human soul. At a time when political and cultural divisions are intentionally driven deeper, what we need are not just better politics and policies, but also a greater psychological sense and deeper understanding of the sanctity of life and the importance of the individual soul. For, the original meaning of the archetype of apocalypse includes an awakening of the individual soul that can initiate a process of renewal of human society based upon the core values of meaning and truth, justice and inclusion and love over fear. 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 740 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 find this podcast meaningful, 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.

Michael Meade explores how the soul's great adventure tries to surface throughout life, so that any moment can become a true turning point if we leave the maps that others have made, follow the soul's original calling and enter life more fully and more meaningfully. He suggests that ultimately it involves a "gnosis," a deeper way of knowing that uncovers our inner resources and reveals the unique powers and gifts of our soul. We are repeatedly asked to choose: either we accept the life that has been given to us or we undertake the greater adventure of the soul. 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 725 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 in this new year and thank you for your support of our work.