In Nov 2024, I was a pilgrim on the Camino de Santiago, a journey which took over a month. This episode, I share a testimony of some of the key graces and moments on my mythic pilgrimage! 

A short heads up that I will be taking three months break from recording - because I’m going on pilgrimage myself! I am setting out to walk the full Santiago de Compostela across the south of France to the edge of Spain.

Hi friends, the classical Hero’s Journey greatly parallels our spiritual journey.🧙🦁 Using the Lion King, we’ll explore ten key stages of the Hero’s Journey identified by Joseph Campbell, drawing parallels with Jesus’ own life, death and resurrection.

Diagram of Lawrence's "The Hero's Journey adapted for Spiritual Direction."

Excerpt from episode:
"Stage 2: the Call to Adventure. At some point, there is a visitation from outside the home, that acts to draw the hero out … or at least shake him up out of his mundaneness. It is Hagrid coming to Harry and telling him he’s a wizard, Morpheus telling Neo to follow the white rabbit or Obi Wan suddenly appearing and offering a chance to rescue Leia. It is God the Father at Jesus baptism, commissioning him to leave Nazareth and begin his mission. Whatever form it takes, the call to adventure comes from beyond the home, calling the hero on somewhere further, newer or deeper. In the Lion King, this happens when Mufasa takes Simba out that first morning in order to show him the world, and to tell him that there was more to life than childish games, that one day he would be king and rule over all the pride lands. Confused at first, Simba agrees, and when he later sings ‘oh I just I can’t wait to be king’ he is fully embracing the call to adventure... "

This episode will continue on from the previous, exploring The Lamb's victory over the Dragon, Whore of Babylon and Antichrist. More importantly, we will dwell on the climactic finale of the entire bible: the Wedding feast of The Lamb! Prepare for a ride!

Excerpt:   

"... fact check first: unlike what is presented in popular culture, the antichrist is not actually mentioned in the book of Revelation at all, and flowing from that, there is also no explicit notion that the antichrist is even one particular person / or entity that’ll appear at the end of time. While interpretations of these ideas could technically be drawn from scripture, they are to be held lightly. 

Let’s begin by looking at where the term antichrist actually comes from – and for that we turn to the letters of St John. About the antichrist, two significant passages are written: "every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already." Then in his second letter John says "for many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist." 

These passages are very indicative of the true nature of the antichrist – the one who denies the incarnation of Jesus – and more especially, the one who denies that God came in the flesh. Pause to think about this - for this is actually quite bizarre. After all, you’d think the anti-Christ would be some great leader who persecutes Christians, deceives the world to sin or simply wages war against love and peace etc. But as it turns out the most damaging opposition to Christian message is the denial of Jesus’ humanity – of his fleshliness. The antichrist then, can be understood as an idea, a false idea, a heretical idea, as much as it could be depicted as a singular person in time. St John Paul II’s Theology of the Body goes to lengths to explain why denial of Christ’s humanity is absolutely toxic to Christianity... "

Soundtrack credits: The Battle (Harry Gregson-William, The Chronicles of Narnia), Sogno di Volare (Christopher Tin), Holy Forever Instrumental (Chris Tomlin and CeCe Winans) 

 Soundtrack credits: The Battle (Harry Gregson-William, The Chronicles of Narnia), Sogno di Volare (Christopher Tin), Holy Forever Instrumental (Chris Tomlin and CeCe Winans) 

Are we living in the end times? While mythical images of fiery lakes, dragons, and the Antichrist can be captivating, what are the true spiritual insights offered by this often-misunderstood book?

Soundtrack credits: Sogno di Volare (Christopher Tin), Holy Forever Instrumental (Chris Tomlin and CeCe Winans), Bethsheba, (from David, composed by Gabriel Wilson) 

This episode is a spiritual and psychological exploration of trauma. Guided by the insights of Dr. Gabor Mate, we use the redemption storylines of Twister (and it's sequel) to explore how trauma can be a hidden path to holiness.

Excerpt from episode:
"So now I’m going to dive deeper into how the Twister movies are trauma redemption stories. There’s a line in Twisters that I want to begin with. Recall that Kate is initially hesitant to get back into tornado chasing because when she was a doctorate student, she had underestimated a tornado’s power and as a result, had gotten her three friends killed. This affected her life immensely, and she gave up her passion for taming tornados and instead, stayed safely boxed up as a meteorologist behind the scenes. She hated living this way, but at least it was safe – how many of us can relate with Kate? Halfway through the movies however, when Tyler is speaking with Kate, he reminds her that the Fujita system of rating tornados is actually not based on its size or windspeed, but rather, how much damage it inflicts. This is a wonderful metaphor for understanding trauma. Trauma is not measured so much by what happens to us, but how much damage it does within us. In other words, the same incident happening to two different people can have incredibly different effects. For example, the same car accident can affect a parent passenger very differently to a child, with the parent being merely bothered by insurance, while for a 5 year old, it could result in a lifelong paranoia of getting into a car. Similarly, a divorce can detrimentally affect one child far more than the other. One of the world’s leading writers on trauma currently is Dr Gabor Mate… who says that “trauma is not what happens to you, it’s what happens inside you as a result of what happens to you.” However, he also says that the fact that trauma is measured by the wound it inflicts, and not by the incident itself, is actually good news. This is because there is now a separation of a past event from our present experience of it… we are not helpless victims of something in the past. Wounds after all, can be healed… even if the healing needs to happen slowly. If our trauma was merely measure by an incident in the past, we would forever be a slave to it - a victim, or at best a survivor. But through healing, we can be so much more than that.

This is what Tyler was trying to help Kate see. Tragic though her past mistake was, it could not and should not change her present moment. In the barn house scene, he actually believes that her sodium polyacrylate theory could actually save countless lives, but Kate was too wounded to see it… and was hence blinded to the opportunity of her present moment. This is what trauma does to us… it keeps us locked in the past, and unable to function freely in the present or see its opportunities."

To celebrate 100 episodes, today is a little ‘behind the scenes’ of the Myth Pilgrim, where I allow MYSELF to get interviewed by a friend Gerard William. It’s my honour to share what inspires the episodes, how I make decisions and what myth and fairytale have meant for me growing up. 

The four cardinal virtues (Prudence, Temperence, Fortitude and Justice) are as important as they are forgotten. Follow Dumbledore, Sirius Black, Hermione and Snape as they illustrate each virtue in the Harry Potter saga. 

Did you know that baptism transforms you into a Priest, Prophet and King? Baptism is a share in these very 'offices' of Christ. Through the transformations of Frodo, Gandalf and Aragorn, learn how these roles look, and be inspired to activate them! 

Excerpt from episode:  

"The final office is that of king. While we tend to think we know what we mean by king—namely someone that rules others or is in leadership—the kingly office of Christ is so much more than that. It is primarily about responsibility and accountability, two words many of us in the modern world shirk at. It’s a common trope that a kingdom rises and falls with the integrity of it’s king—this was certainly true of the OT kings, and it is also true of Christ the king. This is where Aragorn comes in as the exemplar model of Christ kingship. When the world of men had a bad king – namely Isildur – the honour of men came crashing down, which in turn led to the cowardice betrayal of the Dunharrow army. But when a good king arose, Aragorn, he once more restored the dignity to men, and united Gondor and Rahan and all the men of the west once again. Everything rises, and falls with the king. So it goes with you and I today, dear kings of Christ. Where are you called to be responsible for the realm entrusted to you? Your realm could be your workplace, your circle of friends, your online contacts, your local council, your country and of course your family, your marriage. Whatever it is … know that you are responsible for that realm, and that one, day you will be held to account for the way you’ve governed that realm under Christ’s authority. Have you protected it, sanctified it and sought the flourishing of everyone in your kingdom? Or have you allowed it to be divided, conquered, letting your secret sins defile it and corrupt it? The choice is yours, but the power is Christ. Fight the good fight till the very end, dear friends, and be responsible for all that is entrusted to you. Become Aragorn and say "I do not know what strength is in my blood, but I swear to you I will not let the White City fall, nor our people fail." This is the office of king."

Soundtrack for this episode: The Lord of the Rings OST (Howard Shore), Jirandai, Diablo IV OST (Ted Reedy)

Blurb: Charming fairytale, or divine truth? How we sit with the Genesis creation stories shapes how we approach life's biggest questions: on life's meaning, love, the nature of reality, gender, marriage and human suffering.

Excerpt from episode: "...where Adam under the first Tree stood passively while his beloved was ambushed by the serpent, Christ the new Adam, puts his body on the line to protect his beloved from the serpent. You may be interested to know that the translation of the word serpent ‘nachash’ is sometimes translated as dragon. Was it a dragon then, in Eden? It would go to show why men are so obsessed with slaying dragons in world mythology, because that was precisely what Adam didn’t do. Instead of using his masculine strength to fight and defend, he stood by passively … which is the opposite of slaying the dragon. Christ however, restores this masculine genius for men. And for women, Mary’s fiat restores the feminine genius that was lost when Eve failed as the nurturing mother of all living. Through Mary, we learn once again that, “a woman’s soul is fashioned as a shelter in which other souls may unfold” – that’s from St Edith Stein. While many woman will be called to biological motherhood, all women are first called to spiritual motherhood… in the same way that all men are first called to spiritual fatherhood (and not merely grown-up boyhood). Jesus and Mary, pray for us, that we may see in you the redemption of our masculinity and femininity, Amen."

Suggested further content: 

Dr John Lennox - Confidence in Genesis 

Dr Jordan Peterson - Biblical Series II: Genesis 1: Chaos & Order 

Soundtrack credits: Background music used episode is from, or covers of , the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim OST (Jeremy Soule)