Mythology Can Save Modern Men

Broad View of Religion and Spirituality00:00

Mystics around the world like Jesus, Muhammad, Rumi get it at various levels. Translating mystical insight is challenging—how to express it honestly from personal experience. Someone without that experience writes it down in a book and codifies it for everyone else. Big books contain mystical insights from someone who got it deeply, hard for them to speak, hard for others to write down 60 years later. Many people project their mother and father onto the creator of the universe, seeing him as upset and punitive. That made it into the texts.

Treat the Bible not as literally every word true, but as a repository, sometimes mistranslated, of brilliant mystic insight. Treat other texts similarly—some level of understanding and integration that made them survive and meaningful.

Usefulness of Greek, Egyptian Pantheon Gods01:33

Pantheon gods useful for relating to archetypal emotional patterns of life.

Story of Ares, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus: Hephaestus is the craftsman god with a lame leg, a brainiac, not a physical powerhouse, the only crippled god. Betrothed and wedded to Aphrodite, goddess of beauty, but she cheats with alpha macho Ares. They have kids. Hephaestus learns he's being cuckolded, creates a cage above the bed, drops it on Ares and Aphrodite during sex, brings in other gods to laugh at them. Archetypal exploration of pain of academically inclined guy hurt by aggressive masculine man who takes what he loves, then shames him in his zone of power: intellect.

Seen in Brennan Lee Mulligan (Dungeons & Dragons guy, very smart) story: smart kid pushed around by tough kids, got good at insulting them to cut to the core because he was smart.

Archetypes like Rorschach tests—which one calls to you? Curiosity about Ares? Look up the story, read it. Beautiful way to recognize archetypal patterns in your life that existed for thousands of years.

Key: Stories more than literal—symbolic. Jung, Peterson: these are metaphysically real, not just metaphorical/symbolic. Near-universal structures in human psychology (father, mother). Humans not blank slates. Recurring patterns based on evolution or what it is to be human.

Relating to archetypes, seeing how they strike us, helps learn missing pieces of ourselves. If didn't have great mother/father, relating to archetypal good mother/wise father reconnects with piece that should have been there as a kid but couldn't describe, explaining the pain of loss.

Hero's journey inspires young men to go out, be heroes, understand sacrifice and rocky montage ahead. Stories give steps: what's missing, what's next.

Personal Example Using Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey05:00

Joseph Campbell charts hero's journey like a clock: start at 3:00, meet mentor, descend into underworld (belly of the beast, Garden of Gethsemane at bottom), come back up, divine revelation, return to community. 12-17 stages.

Speaker charted position: hit belly of the beast, utterly lost. Next: temptation of the woman.

Odyssey example: Odysseus after Trojan War (13 years), 600 men dead, washed up on island, defeated, every island torturous. Beautiful nymph Calypso (goddess) wants to marry him, have sex, keep him there. At journey's end, offered "just stay." Stays a while but decides no—must go home to Ithaca despite hardship. Campbell calls this temptation of the feminine/woman.

Speaker at this stage: buyout offer for Charisma on Command—ride off into sunset, frustrated, take money. Knew position in journey, recognized temptation, chose struggle—home calling. Next: atonement with the father.

Then apotheosis (connection with divine), ultimate boon. Now at return/refusal to return: after grail/lamp, hero comfortable in inner world, reluctant to bring back to community. Sometimes chase or pull needed. Podcast maybe Chris inviting back to universe.

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