Living Myth

This episode begins with a consideration of the old idea of two arcs that shape the course of human life. The first arc describes the process of growing up, stepping out and making a life in the common world. The second arc involves the inward path through which a person awakens to their inner life and develops a greater sense of both spirit and soul. Whereas the first arc has to do with external things, the second arc involves eternal matters.

Humans have always been called to grow along both the outer and the inner arcs of life. Yet, there are times when the crises of the outer world make the inward arc of realization and great imagination more important to follow.

Despite the modern obsessions with materialism, mass technology and narrow ideologies, a society can only heal and truly grow by tapping the deep feelings and creative energies of the inner arc of life. When everything seems to be falling apart, the inner arc of imagination and creativity is actually closer at hand and the second adventure of the soul is calling for our attention.

Thank you for listening to and supporting Living Myth. Michael's new book The Heart of Transformation is now shipping and you can order signed copies through the Mosaic website at: mosaicvoices.org

You can hear Michael live by joining his free online event "Living Authentically in Times of Uncertainty" on Wednesday, November 11.

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.

"Each soul is on a lifelong pilgrimage and the secret object of every pilgrimage is the center of the pilgrim", says Michael Meade on this episode of Living Myth. People set off to a famous shrine; they seek to enter a holy place or arrive at a natural wonder. The point seems to be to reach that distant destination and somehow be renewed and confirmed by the experience. Yet instead, Meade suggests, any renewal that happens must happen within the pilgrim and can only happen when the center of the self becomes awakened by the ardor of the effort or by the grace of the unseen. We may set out to reach a shrine or spiritual center, but we fully arrive only when we reach the center of ourselves.

Thank you for listening to and supporting Living Myth. Michael's new book The Heart of Transformation is now shipping and you can order signed copies through the Mosaic website at: mosaicvoices.org

You can hear Michael live by joining his free online event "Living Authentically in Times of Uncertainty" on Wednesday, November 11.

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 episode, Michael Meade answers the question, "Why do you turn to myth in times of loss or disorientation in life?" Meade begins by describing his search for answers when a community became broken apart because their at-risk young people were dying tragically. The search for answers leads to the ancient myth of Gilgamesh who desperately seeks for wisdom and renewal after a devastating loss. In response to the increasing sense of overwhelm and despair regarding the climate crisis and state of the world, Meade turns to myth again and the story of Vishnu finding wisdom and sacred knowledge from the depths of disorder in the world.

Thank you for listening to and supporting Living Myth. Michael's new book The Heart of Transformation is now shipping and you can order signed copies through the Mosaic website at: mosaicvoices.org

You can hear Michael live by joining his free online event "Living Authentically in Times of Uncertainty" on Wednesday, November 11.

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.

We live in a time of the "lifting of the veil" that includes the uncovering of scandals as well as systematic abuses; but also the discovering of hidden truths that can reveal the way forward. On this episode of Living Myth, Michael Meade uses surprising elements of the uncovering of the famous Lascaux Caves to show how the dramas of history lead us to the haunts of mystery. Like the hidden treasures found in ancient caves, there are new forms of imagination and understanding waiting to be found in the depths of the human soul.

Thank you for listening to and supporting Living Myth. Michael's new book "The Heart of Transformation" is now shipping and you can join him this fall for a series of online and in-person events that bring to life key themes from this book. Learn more at: 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.

On this episode, Michael Meade describes how "entering the modern world at this point is like entering a rite of passage that is already underway. In that sense, we are in a 'liminal phase' that requires a transition, not simply from one place to another, but from one way of seeing the world to another way of seeing and being in the world." Liminal refers to a betwixt and between period in which we become radically disoriented and repeatedly confused. Yet, in a liminal condition we can also find aspects of ourselves that are otherwise hidden. We can open our eyes and our hearts to the possibility of becoming not just a different person but a greater, more conscious, more creative person. Whether we call it the "bardo realm" that we fall into, or the liminal phase that we step into, at critical times in life we are called to encounter life's essential mysteries that wait to be found again, and need to be learned anew. If we frame the radical changes and deep uncertainties that we are all currently experiencing as a rite of passage, we may have a greater chance of finding and integrating a deeper sense of ourselves, as well as the greater values and true ideals of humanity. If we accept that we are in the liminal stage of a collective rite of passage, our fears and uncertainties can become doorways to meaningful callings and transcendent visions. We are being called to leave an old way of seeing the world behind in order to arrive at a new world view and a renewed sense of imagination that can realign human culture with great Nature and the living Earth. Thank you for listening to and supporting Living Myth. Michael's new book The Heart of Transformation is now shipping and you can join him this fall for a series of online and in-person events that bring to life key themes from this book.

Order New Book

Event Registration + Info

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 features a compelling and inspiring interview between Michael Meade and Robin Beck, the editor of The Artist of Possibility magazine, produced by Emergence Education. The conversation begins with the archetypal imagination of the eternal youth and wise old sage who dwell in each person's heart and soul and can be drawn upon in times of trouble and confusion.

Michael tells an ancient story in which the youth and the elders reimagine and redeem a culture that had lost essential values and that leads to a discussion of Michael's new book, The Heart of Transformation. Turning to the metamorphosis in which the lowly caterpillar transfigures into a free-flying butterfly, transformation is seen as the essence of nature and also as the calling of the individual human soul. From there, the conversation expands to the polarization of society, the dangers of Artificial Intelligence and the capacity of the human soul to awaken to a new world view and find ways to participate in a renewal of life on Earth.

Thank you for listening to and supporting Living Myth. You can order Michael's new book The Heart of Transformation and join him in October for a series of online and in-person events that bring to life key themes from this book.

Order New Book

Event Registration + Info

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 focuses on the idea that sharing stories is at the heart of any relationship. The word relate comes from Latin roots meaning "to carry back, to report, to tell." From ancient times humans have related by carrying stories back to each other. When we stop sharing the heartfelt tales of our life experiences, we can lose the essence of our relationships.

Through mythic stories we learn to relate to the deepest parts of ourselves, while also reconnecting to the realm of great imagination and universal truths. Mythic tales can release us from the prison of time and carry us all the way back, past invisible thresholds, to the creation of the world and the origins of human life.

Ancient people used creation tales to stay in relationship to the mysteries of nature and the hidden potentials of life. If we forget our connection to mythic stories, we can lose essential understandings of how the world renews itself and how we can be agents of creation ongoing.

Thank you for listening to and supporting Living Myth. You can preorder Michael's new book The Heart of Transformation and join him beginning on October 1 for a series of online and in-person events that bring to life key themes from this book.

Pre-order New Book

Event Registration + Info

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 increasing fears that the rapid development of AI might lead to the extinction of humanity. As the dangers posed by AI agents coincide with end-time fears, Michael Meade turns to an old myth that shows that humans have always been a great risk taken by the forces of creation. As creatures capable of conscious awareness, humans can become the enemy as well as the friends of creation.

In the old creation myth, mistakes made at the beginning caused human prototypes to be short-sighted and blindly self-interested and that led to the fashioning tools and technologies that caused trouble at all levels of existence. Eventually, the animals rebelled against these narrow-minded figures, everything in creation began to speak out against them and they were destroyed in a great flood.

The next kind of humans created had a greater capacity for imagination and genuine vision because their hearts as well as their minds remained open. They had enough insight to recognize the gift of life and be conscious witnesses to the wonder and the beauty of creation. They thrived because they understood the interconnectedness of all of life and accepted the necessity of change.

Like the vestigial tale that reminds people that they are connected to animals at one end, the capacity for great imagination connects people at the other end to the divine. When people can hold those extremes together, they become genuine agents of creation, companions to the animals, and vehicles of the kind of consciousness that can help sustain nature and enhance life on Earth.

Thank you for listening to and supporting Living Myth. You can preorder Michael's new book The Heart of Transformation and join him beginning on October 1 for a series of online and in-person events that bring to life key themes from this book.

Pre-order New Book

Event Registration + Info

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.

In this episode of Living Myth, Michael Meade talks about the "inner initiate," the part of us that is ever willing to take a new step that can lead to a transformation of our life. After connecting the inner initiate to the Muses, Meade reveals how the ideas and images that he finds most compelling come from the Otherworld as the primary source of inspiration. Following the thread of inspiration leads to a description of liminal space as the betwixt and between realm where both awakening and transformation can occur.

Liminality appears as "a betwixt and between place of radical uncertainty and not knowing; but also as being on the edge of becoming." Not knowing where the world is going, not knowing what the future will be like, can be troubling and even defeating. Yet, the place of great uncertainty can also be seen as the edge of becoming where a genuine transformation of life becomes more possible.

It was while realizing that the heart is the most liminal of all places that the title of the new book appeared as The Heart of Transformation. "The heart I'm referring to used to be known as the heart within the heart; not the heart as a physical organ, but the age-old sense of the spiritual heart, the mystical heart that burns with the flames of passion, that lights up with the spark of inspiration, but that is also the heart as center, as the place where the opposites meet; the heart as the place of illumination and as the dwelling place of inner unity."

Secretly, our own hearts are continually incubating and imagining a greater sense of life. When the heart within our heart finds ways to open, we become more capable of love and more able to act as vessels through which creative and healing energies can enter this time-bound world. The subtitle of the new book, Personal and Cultural Renewal on Earth leads directly to the sense that in transforming our own lives we join nature, which is always in the process of transformation and renewal. In awakening to this deeper, inner, more genuine sense of self, we help awaken something in the world as well.

Thank you for listening to and supporting Living Myth. You can preorder Michael's new book "The Heart of Transformation" and join him on October 1 for a free online event that brings to life key themes from this book.

Pre-Order Book

Register for Free Online Event

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 735 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 connects ancient ideas of rites of passage with the need for both transformation and healing on many levels of life. An old idea from the process of initiation states that before the journey begins, you own the journey. But, once the journey has begun, the journey owns you. Both collectively and individually we are in the midst of a journey that we don't own.

Ancient wisdom and initiation practices involved the secret of letting go of what holds us back, even if it protected us early in life. Like a long-lived snake, we grow by letting go of who we thought we were and by shedding skins imposed upon us as well as those we choose to hide within. We are being called to understand a radical mode of transformation in which letting go of old forms and old attitudes becomes necessary both for psychological growth and for reimagining cultural life.

Thank you for listening to and supporting Living Myth. You can learn more about the theme of transformation in Michael Meade's new book "The Heart of Transformation" that is available now to pre-order.

Learn more and purchase 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 730 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.