About mythology

Human beings have always been myth makers because of our built in desire to make sense of the mysteries of the world

What are myths?

Myths are universal and timeless stories  

How are they useful?

• They explore our desires, our fears, our longings
• They provide a way of reminding us what it means to be human
• They provide direction and guidance about how we should behave in our lives
• They reflect what is going on in our lives
• They give us hope of an invisible and powerful reality (another "world" that exists alongside our own world), and this other reality gives us reassurance that "everything is for a reason"
• THEY ENABLE US TO LIVE MORE INTENSELY IN THE WORLD - instead of watching life pass by as a passive observer

Why have they evolved?

They evolved because we are meaning-seeking creatures.  We fall easily into despair and so from the very beginning we invented stories so that despite the chaos and the mysteries, we can feel that life has meaning and value.  They put to rest our curiosity about where we came from, and where we are going.

How have they evolved?

When our Neanderthal ancestors became conscious of their mortality, they created stories to help them to come to terms with this fact.  Neanderthals may have told each other stories about the life that their dead companion now enjoyed.  

Weapons, tools and the bones of sacrificed animals have been found in ancient graves which suggest that they held some kind of belief in an after world that was similar to their own.

Cave paintings tell us stories about how our ancestors made sense of things such as the stars in the sky, mans relationship with animals, and man and woman.

Later on the written word was used and stories became more elaborate.

Are they true?

The word "myth" today is often used to describe something that is not true, but this misses the point completely when we are talking about mythology!  Mythology is an art form that communicates at many levels rather than something to be taken literally.

What's this got to do with the MythoSelf® Process?

We all create stories about the world.  Stories that have been influenced by our upbringing, teachers, peers, music, film, in fact just about everything that we've ever been exposed to.  What our lives are like depends on the script we consciously , or more likely unconsciously, have adopted.

The MythoSelf® Process makes people conscious of their own myth-making process.  Because once they are, they can begin to control it and choose for themselves how they will frame experiences and shape their futures.

Psychologist, Carl Jung wrote, "I asked myself, 'What is the myth you are living?' and found that I did not know.  So...I took it upon myself to get to know 'my' myth, and regarded this as the task of tasks...I simply had to know what unconscious or preconscious myth was forming me."