Myth: The Mind-Body Connection

On my Living 4D podcast series, I’ve talked A LOT about myth in our lives, and very recently with James Carse.

But what does myth really mean to you? Do you even have a myth? That’s the essence of this latest video in my Mind-Body Connection series.

I define myth as a story that integrates your self to the bigger picture: The world, the cosmos and the mystery (because we don’t know where it begins or ends) that appear like Russian dolls all nested inside each other.

Going back to Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey from last week, I explain his four functions of a myth:

• Evoking a sense of grateful, affirmative awe of the monstrous mystery of existence (if it’s a functional one).
• Presenting an image of the cosmos that maintains your sense of awe.
• Validating and maintaining a sociological system (that defines the means by which we act).
• Carrying your self through life’s stages, culminating in death.

Myths and archetypes work together to create your set of values (consciously or unconsciously) and the experiences in your life.

I spend good part of my video talking about the conflicts that can arise when people hold onto outdated myths based on religious beliefs, for example, like our world being only 6,000 years old.

Myth helps you integrate into a socio-cultural environment at the time you’re living in it. While many ancient myths still work (with some updating), following outdated myths like the “under-aging” of the planet really don’t serve people very well, but that doesn’t stop a lot from trying!

Is it worse to be living an outdated myth that doesn’t integrate into the way you live today or having no myth at all?

Either path is a frightening one as societies and the people living in them tend to disintegrate into chaos without the presence of a vital, passionate myth.

As you watch this video, my hope is that it instills the need for myth and how it can help you live that dream-affirmative life you always imagined…

Love and chi,

Paul