Myth Matters

“Loving is an authentic psychological task, the most demanding there is, just because it activates in us new ways of knowing ourselves.’" --- Aldo Carotenuto

The myth of Eros and Psyche can be read as a myth of initiation orchestrated by the goddess Aphrodite, a personification (or archetype) of love, sexuality, and beauty as enlivening powers that bring us into relationship with someone or something in particular. 

The story tells us something about the demands of this type of love, and what is required to express and live it. 

It also offers an opportunity to reflect on the transpersonal energies and patterns that shape human life and comprise our destiny.

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“I have always thought of a myth as something that never was but is always happening.”-- Jean Houston, The Possible Human

Eros and Psyche, or Cupid and Psyche to the Romans, a marvelous old myth about love, soul, and what's required to unite the two. Apuleius included this story in The Golden Ass (also called The Metamorphoses) from the late 2nd century AD, drawing on ancient Greek sources.

I've worked with this story many times. I often feel that I am living some part Psyche's journey, or turning to a moment in the tale that presents the perfect metaphor for the task at hand. 

Sorting seeds. Sending up a prayer in the form of tears. Lighting a lamp to dispel an inner darkness. 

Lately, I'm hungry for the active relaxation in the space of story and the insights that arise without effort. Perhaps you are too. 

Hope you find something wonderful and mysterious in this story. I'll  unpack some of the themes and reflect on this myth in the next episode. Thanks for listening.

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“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.” — Maya Angelou

What can we do when we are motivated by love?

I recently had the great good fortune to see the Broadway production of "Hadestown." This inspires me to revisit the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, to explore of the power of love to sustain and inspire us. 

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The hero is a central figure in our myths and stories. The hero can often provide inspiration or comfort. These stories can help us find our courage or feel a bit more powerful. 

The image of the hero is also a burden. Hero narratives in the dominate culture have combined with modern myths of the individual and individualism to paint a picture of the solo actor, the person who battles against enemies or the odds alone. The hero we imagine today, feeds the terrible loneliness of our time. 

And yet there are alternatives, and these can even be found in stories that have been framed or reshaped as hero narratives. The fairy tale "Sleeping Beauty," also known as "Briar Rose," is one example.

Lots of storytellers and crafters of story, psychologists, and cultural commentators are engaged with our notion of the hero today, but the role of the hero in our stories and in our lives is something that each of us needs to consider. 

How does the powerful influence of the hero image and heroic rhetoric affect you? How does it shape your expectations of yourself, of other people, and of life? 

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“Always you will find that within you the shadow and the light go together… It is up to you to know how to utilize the one to realize the other.” -Sri Aurobindo

Each of us is called to change, mature, and take responsibility for our conscious evolution. A central task in psychological development is recognition and integration of the shadow. And this is where the concepts and the jargon begin to obscure understanding, right?

The Persian tale of Abu Kasem's Slipper's is a humorous story that can shed some light on Aurobindo's teaching and the problem of the psychological shadow. I hope you find value in the story.

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"Noting these tokens and examples some have said
that a share of divine intelligence is in bees,
and a draught of (a)ether: since there is a god in everything..."
--Virgil, The "Georgics," 29 BCE

Stories from contemporary indigenous cultures convey an ecological consciousness of balance and symbiosis that is foreign to the way many people live today.

Are there stories in the European tradition that can help those of us in that cultural mindset reconnect with our nature and the earth, and refashion this relationship? How does a myth or story become a source of guidance and wisdom? 

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“We are an impossibility in an impossible universe.” ― Ray Bradbury

The impossibilities of our existence are more than a matter of statistics and probabilities. Our stories remind us of the tensions that we are called to live, our impossible longings, and the contradictions that are part of being human.

They also tell us that wonder is essential to approaching life with a sense of adventure, and to cultivating the curiosity and compassion that we need to stay open to the marvelous richness of our experience.

A sense of wonder is what inspires me to share the story that I have for you today. It's a Norwegian fairy tale called "Valemon the White Bear King," and it begins with a great and beautiful mystery, a powerful dream.

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"He is now struck with wonder by what's wonderful in him..."
----Ovid's Myth of Narcissus, translated by Allen Mandelbaum

In the most popular version of the myth of Narcissus, a beautiful young man rejects many adoring suitors and falls in love with his own reflection in a still pool of water. 

This myth inspired the psychologists Havelock and Freud to name a pathological love of self, "narcissism."

Narcissism can be a very serious problem, and many psychologists say this disorder is prevalent in our times. But does this concept accurately reflect the myth or contain all that it has to offer us today?

The Greek myth of Narcissus, like the still pond in the story, can offer us a place to reflect on the mysteries of self, other, love, beauty, and more. 

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Our notion of "self" is one of the deep and enduring mysteries of human existence. The concept of self is both obvious and unfathomable, the meanings elusive and diverse. It can range from the concrete "me" to the illusory-- the self as a shifting fabrication of preferences, experiences, and perceptions. 

To speak mythologically of the "self" is to speak of our yearning for soul, for depth, for the direct experience of our own inner unfolding. This process is guided by that part of us that knows our unique place in the grand scheme of things. 

Many of our myths and stories describe this quest for a vision and relationship to self that satisfies our longing. In this episode, I tell you  "The Six Companions" fairy tale.

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Birds have a unique place in our cultural imagination. Observing their habits, our ancestors learned about home building, foraging, and partnership. Their presence inspired our earliest art forms and culture. 

Today birds still teach us about sorrow and death, love and joy, and the beautiful power found in song, in singing. We're also learning new lessons from birds, about intelligence, cognition, and language.

"The Nightingale" is one of Hans Christian Andersen lesser-known stories. It's quirky and funny and an interesting reflection on the difference between art and artifice, nature and culture. I hope you enjoy the story.

“Once upon a time, when women were birds, there was the simple understanding that to sing at dawn and to sing at dusk was to heal the world through joy. The birds still remember what we have forgotten, that the world is meant to be celebrated.”-- Terry Tempest Williams, When Women Were Birds: Fifty-four Variations on Voice

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