Millions of people have come to appreciate the power and relevance of mythology in modern life. Each of us lives a personal mythology, an inner drama whose plot we enact over and over in our daily lives. It determines how we think and feel, and even what we do. Understanding your mythology can be a powerful tool for growth and transformation.
Change your personal mythology that has been leading you onward. By doing so, you will become less bound by old patterns of your childhood and society, gain greater control over your thoughts and actions and be happier and more secure.
David Feinstein, Ph.D., is a psychologist and the director of Innersource, in Ashland, Oregon. He has taught at The John Hopkins University School of Medicine, and is co-author of two popular and highly acclaimed self-help books, Personal Mythology and Rituals for Living and Dying.
Stanley Krippner, Ph.D., is professor of psychology at Saybrook Institute in San Francisco. In a dozen books and more than 700 articles, he has investigated developments in consciousness research, education and healing.
HE — for women who want to understand men, and for men, to better understand themselves –Robert A. Johnson
The Myth of Parsifal and his search for the Holy Grail is a timeless allegory that provides powerful insights into the complex nature of the male psyche. In Jungian terms, it describes the stages and challenges faced by every man in his passage from boyhood to manhood — a passage that is essentially the same today as it has been for untold centuries.
Understanding Pasifal's trials in his quest of the Grail — a symbol of all that is feminine — helps us understand why men behave as they do, and how they attempt to relate to the feminine elements in their world. It also helps to explain the difficulties a man may have in reconciling his masculinity with his anima, the unconscious feminine element within his personality.
SHE — for men who want to understand women and for women, to better understand themselves –Robert A. Johnson
In Jungian terms, the Grecian myth of Psyche and Eros serves as a powerful illumination of the feminine personality. This timeless tale of love, loss, loneliness and ultimate triumph is a revealing allegory of every woman's striving toward individuation — to become the whole and complete person she was intended to be.
Understanding Psyche's story can bring deep insights into every woman's struggle to deal with various aspects of her femininity and successfully relate to the men in her life. They myth also helps to explain the difficulties a woman may have in reconciling her femininity with her animus — the unconscious masculine side of her personality — and the problems a man may have in coming to terms with his anima, the inner feminine aspect of his psyche.
Highly recommended reading: "The Power of Myth" by Joseph Campbell