Mapping our personal myth.

Joseph Campbell believed that "...each of us has an individual myth that's driving us, which we may or may not know." This forum is for assistance and inspiration in the quest to find your own personal mythology.

Moderators: Clemsy, Martin_Weyers, Cindy B.

Andreas
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Post by Andreas »

Hey Cindy! :)

James, thanks for clarifying that reading myths is not a requirement... I hope it didn't come out like that. I read myths and stories for fun!

Cya
“To live is enough.” ― Shunryu Suzuki

JamesN.
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Post by JamesN. »

Hey folks. A quick mention here that Cindy is another of our highly esteemed moderators; and her background on Carl Jung and as well as Joseph's work has been invaluable throughout these forums. And we always look forward to having her with us whenever she is able. If you are interested check out her " Jung in the Weeds " thread in the 1,000 Faces forum.

http://www.jcf.org/new/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4902

( Andreas that was a great suggestion ). As a child my grandmother read all about the Gods and Heros of Ancient Greek to me and I have carried that with me all my life. Yes it certainly can be fun if given the right introduction.


Cheers :)
Last edited by JamesN. on Sun Sep 14, 2014 1:45 pm, edited 2 times in total.
What do I know? - Michael de Montaigne

Cindy B.
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Post by Cindy B. »

Without doubt, James, you are my biggest fan...well, my only fan, but who's counting? :P

Thanks for the kind words, amico. :)
If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s. --Jung

JamesN.
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Post by JamesN. »

Cindy B. wrote:Without doubt, James, you are my biggest fan...well, my only fan, but who's counting? :P

Thanks for the kind words, amico. :)
Not so Madame; not so. I have been conferring with a new associate named " Henri " who has been struggling with this " Jungian " material and trying to figure out it's relevance for ( Felines ); but alas he confides: " I am a work in progress ". :P

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0M7ibPk ... 09E6F1214F

No one has done more.

Merci 8)
What do I know? - Michael de Montaigne

Cindy B.
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Post by Cindy B. »

Henri est trop cool, mon ami.

Merci beaucoup!
If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s. --Jung

rsstromer
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Post by rsstromer »

The Hero's Journey is not only mythic motif at work in a person's (or a culture's) mythology, which is why only one of the six episodes in "The Power of Myth" series is devoted to the archetype of the Hero. In my experience, I've found a wide variety of archetypal themes -- in addition to the Hero's Journey -- to be at work in an individual's personal mythology.
My life is the text in which I must find the revelation of the sacred. Sam Keen

Eric Mosley
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Post by Eric Mosley »

Yes, rsstromer, I agree that there are different possible motifs for a person's or a culture's myth. What I am interested in is understanding how do go about discerning my personal myth. I'm still digging into this.

So far my current lead is a sense that ritual and myth are interconnected. This fascinates me because as a white American, atheist, ex-Catholic who has practiced Eastern and First Nation spiritual traditions, I have no attachment to any particular ritual practice. So apparently, my ritual is the ritual of no ritual. Which I think is a way of saying my sense of ritual, and therefore of my own myth, is at present undeveloped and mostly unconscious. So, perhaps, the discovery of my myth might come from the development of personally meaningful rituals?

em

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Post by rsstromer »

Hi, Eric! And, by the way, my name is Richard. While there's definitely a relationship between myth and ritual, I think it's a kind of chicken-and-egg sort of relationship. In exploring my own mythology, I've found that understanding the story of my life in mythic terms has been a more effective place to start than seeking meaningful personal rituals. In exploring my mythology, I came to better understand the spiritual beliefs connected with my story and owning and honoring those beliefs helped me to more easily create or adapt rituals that might celebrate my mythic narrative. I also came to better understand which archetypes were connected to my mythology and that helped in the process of ritualizing it as well. By the way, while there are lots of good books out there on exploring our mythic narrative, two books I've found helpful in a very practical, nuts-and-bolts sort of way are "Your Mythic Journey," by Sam Keen and "Storied Lives: Discovering and Deepening Your Personal Myth," by Craig Chalquist.
My life is the text in which I must find the revelation of the sacred. Sam Keen

JamesN.
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Post by JamesN. »

Hello Richard and welcome to the forums.

First let me start off by offering an apology for an earlier very long, rambling, and rather convoluted substitute for an attempted welcome that fortunately I had the common sense to take down. If you did not see it it was not one of my better efforts; and I will try to do better by starting again and saying glad you are here.

The Sam Keen book you recommended I have and is excellent; and the new one you suggested by Craig Chalquist sounds interesting. The model of personal narrative you mentioned along with the symbol of the Greek Myth of the Labyrinth and the Ariadne Thread as a compliment have personally been a big help to me; although Eric may find something else as he goes along that he prefers.

At any rate one of our moderators should be by at some point to say hello and check in.

Again glad to have you with us.

:)
What do I know? - Michael de Montaigne

Cindy B.
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Post by Cindy B. »

Welcome, Richard!


And, all, I just want to mention that you might find something of interest in this related thread started by James, "Following the Marga": http://www.jcf.org/new/forum/viewtopic. ... 9383#89383


:)
If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s. --Jung

Eric Mosley
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Post by Eric Mosley »

Hi Richard, thank you for the resource recommendations, I will check them out.

em

Rios
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Post by Rios »

I am a social Psychologist who has studied my recurring childhood dream as part of my personal Mythology and wrote my PhD dissertation about Relationship Mythology. I work with clients who are interested in using personal & relationship mythology as a meaning making & problem solving resource for their life & relationship challenges. Please feel free to explore my relatively new website & blogs to get a feel for my work. Also, if anyone on this forum is interested in collaborative writing/projects, please feel free to email me at river8da@gmail.com HAPPY MYTHUNTING!!
Ada Rios-Rivera, PhD
http://2-rivers.net/

JamesN.
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Post by JamesN. »

Hello Ada and a warm welcome to the forums. I am an associate and our resident Jungian who is also one of our moderators; Cindy B.; is on leave at the moment but I have taken the liberty of sending her along a copy of your post for when she returns. In the meantime you might enjoy her " Jung in the weeds " threads which I have listed a link to below.

http://www.jcf.org/new/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4902

Our senior moderator Clemsy should be by at some point to say hello but while you are here please feel free to make yourself at home and have a look around if you have not done so already. The other associates here are friendly bunch and most helpful. Glad to have you among us.

Cheers :)
What do I know? - Michael de Montaigne

Rios
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Post by Rios »

Hi James,
thanks for the welcome and I appreciate you sending along that info. to Cindy! I'll take a look at the links as well.
Great to be on board!
Ada

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Post by Clemsy »

Hi, Ada! Welcome indeed! Please feel free to send any questions my way. Make yourself at home.

Cheers,
Clemsy
Give me stories before I go mad! ~Andreas

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