Living Myth

On this replay of an episode on the winter solstice, Michael Meade states at the beginning: “This is not just the dark time of the year, but increasingly dark times for everyone, especially for those who care for the souls of other people and for the well-being of the earth we all live on.” He goes on to describe how ancient symbols and practices at the Winter Solstice served as a reminder of the cosmological connection between the human soul and the hidden unity of life.

Symbols have the power to bring the mind and the heart together and connect us to the deepest truths of life. A Christmas tree can stand for the Tree of Life, as it represents both the still point at the center and the power of life to change and renew itself. Simply lighting a single candle in the midst of darkness can be a reminder of the eternal process of renewal and restoration that is an essential, yet easily forgotten aspect of all of life.

This has been a dark year, yet, despite all the increasing divides in the world, we are all secretly connected, and we are each a part of the living substance of creation. Solstice coming at the darkest time of the year is a reminder of this cosmological connection between the human soul and the hidden unity of life.

Thank you for listening to, and supporting, Living Myth. You can further support this podcast by becoming a member of Living Myth Premium. Learn more and join this community of listeners at patreon.com/livingmyth.

On behalf of Michael Meade and the whole Mosaic staff, we send you peace and blessings for the New Year and we thank you for your support of our work.

This episode of Living Myth focuses upon two contrasting meanings of myth, one being a false narrative and the other as a genuine myth. On one level, myth involves things that can be proven false as when people say that something is “just a myth.”  On a deeper, more meaningful level, myth means “emergent truth,” the learning of transcendent truths that can alter both our vision of the world and our immediate understanding of life.

Both the false myth and the genuine myth use the elements of narrative and symbolism to present their core stories. One difference between them is that false myths aim to divide people and turn them against each other, while more universal myths reveal underlying truths that serve to bring people together through greater imagination and deeper understanding.

In many ways, we are in the crux of a growing tension between the two levels and contrasting meanings of myth. The current moment involves the coming together of dangerous false myths in the form of the Big Lie and the Lost Cause. The Big Lie involves the false story line that Donald Trump won the recent election, only to have it stolen from him. The Lost Cause involves the weaving together of false narratives about the reasons for the Civil War with symbols of Christianity and the false myth of White Supremacy.

Those who commit to a big lie or a false myth can rarely be persuaded by the “facts of the matter.” Their commitment is not based on facts; almost the opposite, the blind belief at the core of false myths is based upon a determination not to experience a common reality. Thus, the antidote to the big lie or a false myth involves not just the facts, but the evocation of more enduring and inclusive narratives and symbols of unity and renewal that are the deepest heritage of our shared humanity.

Thank you for listening to and supporting this podcast.  You can further support this podcast by becoming a member of Living Myth Premium.  Members have access to the full archives of over 290 episodes, receive a 30% discount on all live events, courses and products and receive 3 bonus episodes each month, including regular live Q&A events with Michael Meade.  You can learn more and become a member at patreon.com/livingmyth.  As always, you can further support this podcast by leaving a review on iTunes and sharing it with your friends.

On behalf of Michael Meade and the whole Mosaic staff, we wish you continued well-being, protection and deep community connection during this period of great challenge and transformation.

This episode begins with the surprising story of a spiritual seeker who meditates and fasts and abstains in order to know the divine and serve something that transcends the common fate of human experience. After many austerities, the god Vishnu grants his wish and gives him a mission. Somehow, on the way the seeker forgets the divine errand he was on and becomes immersed in the dramas and delights of earthly life. It will take a shocking wake-up call to return the seeker to his conversation with the divine.

“Life is the necessary illusion from which we drink, as well as the turbulent waters in which we drown again and again. That is the truth as well as the illusion of it. We are each on an errand for god. And the great beauty of this world requires that we both forget and at times remember it.

The two worlds are close to each other. And a person can cross from one to the other in a single step. That kind of crossing over can happen at any moment, and can be precipitated by seeing beauty or waking with a compelling dream. It can come as a sudden shock or a hard knock. At times, it can also be found through spiritual devotion and practice.

Each wake-up call is an opportunity to return to our soul’s conversation with the divine. Strangely, we may be closer to an awakening and a true turning point when we reach the end of our rope and feel that all has been lost. At that point, we either fall apart or else find again the thread of destiny that pulls everything together and opens the path before us.”

Thank you for listening to and supporting Living Myth. You can hear Michael live by joining his new free online event “The Deep Self Within” on Thursday, July 13.

Register and learn more at mosaicvoices.org/events.

You can further support this podcast by becoming a member of Living Myth Premium. Members receive bonus episodes each month, access to the full archives of over 525 episodes and a 30% discount on all events, courses and book and audio titles.

Learn more and join this community of listeners at patreon.com/livingmyth.

If you enjoy this podcast, we appreciate you leaving a review wherever you listen and sharing it with your friends. On behalf of Michael Meade and the whole Mosaic staff, we wish you well during this challenging and uncertain times and thank you for your support of our work.

This episode of Living Myth begins with a Celtic myth about the mythic mother that attends each human birth and the ways we each can be “spellbound” is specific ways. “Spells appear in the important areas of our lives; especially in the areas where meaning and purpose must also be found. Fate marks the spot where the limitations in our lives insist on being known, but also where the deep imagination of each soul resides. Breaking an inner spell allows us to be touched by the grace of the world. It releases vital life energy that otherwise remains trapped and reveals creative imagination that makes us able to serve our deeper self as well as the world.

When a person becomes self-denying, self-rejecting or self-neglecting, they have fallen into an inner spell and forgotten core connections to their inner radiant self. Each person suffers their own version of being a motherless child, each an orphan in search of a meaningful task or a path of awakening that can lead to a genuine transformation. In the strange way of the world, it is the orphan part of us, the long abandoned, often rejected element of our own soul that finds the true inspiration of our lives. From the dark cave of confused feelings and traumatic memories comes the next phase of the story trying to unfold from within us. If we can accept and even forgive ourselves, we can be redeemed by the gift of Mother Nature in the form of the inner Milk of Inspiration.”

Thank you for listening to and supporting Living Myth. You can hear Michael Meade live by joining his new free online event “Re-creation and Renewal on Earth” on Thursday, August 25. Register and learn more at mosaicvoices.org/events.

You can further support this podcast by becoming a member of Living Myth Premium. Members receive bonus episodes each month, access to the full archives of over 430 episodes and a 30% discount on all events, courses and book and audio titles. Learn more and join this community of listeners at patreon.com/livingmyth.

If you enjoy this podcast, we appreciate you leaving a review wherever you listen and sharing it with your friends. On behalf of Michael Meade and the whole Mosaic staff, we wish you well during this challenging and uncertain times and thank you for your support of our work.

Heraclitus said, “It is while we are trying to change that we find purpose.” On this in-depth episode, drawn from an event recording, Michael Meade suggests that because we live in a time of change, if we can allow ourselves to participate in the change, then we can find meaningful purpose that awakens the heart and leads us in the right direction in the world.

The idea of a threshold is something that exists before one state and another, before one place and another. Most of us are collectively on that threshold betwixt and between the letting go of the old view of the world and the full stepping into the new world.

Thank you for listening to and supporting Living Myth. You can hear Michael Meade live by joining his new free online event “Re-creation and Renewal on Earth” on Thursday, August 25. Register and learn more at mosaicvoices.org/events.

You can further support this podcast by becoming a member of Living Myth Premium. Members receive bonus episodes each month, access to the full archives of over 435 episodes and a 30% discount on all events, courses and book and audio titles. Learn more and join this community of listeners at patreon.com/livingmyth.

If you enjoy this podcast, we appreciate you leaving a review wherever you listen and sharing it with your friends. On behalf of Michael Meade and the whole Mosaic staff, we wish you well during this challenging and uncertain times and thank you for your support of our work.