with Thomas Patrick Lavin, PhD

This episode is part one of the series Myths to Grow By. In his later years, Joseph Campbell defined mythology as a system of energy-evoking and energy-directing symbols which serve four functions for individuals and for the culture: the mystical, the cosmological, the sociological, and developmental functions. This course addresses the personal development aspects of mythological systems, using the writings of Joseph Campbell and others as a guide. Seen in their developmental function, myths are blueprints or road maps to personal growth. To know our own personal myth is to be filled with energy and progressive visions of an attainable goal. To know the myths of a culture is to know the path out the Wasteland. Myths are Daedalus-wings, allowing us to fly out of the labyrinthine pain of our own narrowness. This course explores mythological images and patterns as maps to personal and cultural development. It was recorded in 1995.

Thomas Patrick Lavin, PhD is a Zürich-trained Jungian analyst who holds a PhD in clinical psychology and a PhD in theology. He was formerly chief clinical psychologist for the U.S. Army in Europe and is a founding member of the CG Jung Institute of Chicago. He is in private practice in Wilmette, Illinois, and consults internationally on typology, spirituality and addictions.

For the complete series, click here.

© 1995 Thomas Patrick Lavin. This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. You may share it, but please do not change it, sell it, or transcribe it.