Your Personal Myth A sense of Purpose and Meaning (17 slides) creatively compiled by dr. michael farnworth

Marilyn Ferguson... “Our culture has little understanding of the purpose of myth or the role of the mythmaker. Myths are not for believing or disbelieving. They are for using. If a myth or a metaphor works in revamping our deepest values, it is truer than the evening news or the textbook fact.”

“Learning by Story” by Neil Postman “Human beings require stories to give meaning to the facts of their existence. I am not talking here about those specialized stories that we call novels, plays, and epic poems. I am talking about the more profound stories that people, nations, religions, and disciplines unfold in order to make sense of the world. A story provides a structure for our perceptions; only through stories do facts assume any meaning whatsoever. We all require a story to give meaning to our existence. Without air, our cells die. Without a story, our selves die.”

Stories... After all is said and done we only have stories to tell us who we are. Our stories tell us who we are, what we are suppose to believe and how to behave.

Myths Myths are inter-locking stories, rituals, customs and beliefs that give meaning to ones life. A myth is a story about something that is deeply true and real.

Cultural versus personal myths Myths contain metaphorical truths about human nature. Changing your story can change yourself, especially the deep body myths. These can be gently transformed in the light of compassion and suffering.

All the world’s a stage and we are but actors playing out scripts (myths) we never wrote but know by heart.

Myth scripting messages... You’ll be famous some day. You’re sure weird sometimes. You’ll never amount to anything. Go play on the freeway. Isn’t she the little mother. Why would you want to do that?!? That kid will never hold a job. Why couldn’t you have been a boy? Why can’t you be more like your sister?

Family myth scripts: There’s always been a doctor in our family. In our family, we’d rather starve than ask for help. We Kelly's are known for our good deeds. We Grahams have always lived off the land and always will. The women in our family have always been tough as crabgrass.

Self-consciousness and acting... Acting is to play a part. Good acting is believable and un-self-conscious. Poor acting is self-conscious as if you a spectator unto your self. Bad acting I is not believable...

Its time to be conscious The act of self-consciousness destroys the acting process and if we are role playing out our lives then the best thing to do to help destroy the acting is to become self aware of the scripts that we are playing out. In becoming aware the unconscious spell is broken and we can begin to see our self more clearly.

“A Holistic Methodology” Davis & Barton “Mythology then, is the study of the models necessary to build a self that can carry within the human body all of the acts of all the archetypes (gods and goddesses) in a way that allows an individual the freedom and capacity to always choose the best from among the possible.”

“Every culture that has lost myth has lost, by the same token its natural power of creativity. Only a horizon ringed about with myth can unify a culture. The forces of imagination are saved only by myth.” Frederick Nietzsche

Write a personal myth in 3 parts: Once upon a time.... And when s/he grew up.... And the story changed when...

Draw a picture...of your story. Use crayons Non lined paper Use your less dominate hand Try and incorporate symbols and metaphors

Now if you want, share your story with someone telling them your written story and using your drawn picture.

the end