Depth Psychotherapy & Your Own Personal Mythology

Mythology is of great interest to /a-midlife-transition, and has been a matter of vital importance throughout the time that humans have been upon this planet. Myth-making is one of the fundamental ways that humans understand and make themselves at home in the world.

Myth-making is an expression of the deepest parts of the human psyche.  In the symbols that appear through dreams and in the rest of our lives, we find the touchstone for our own personal mythology.  This is the truth of our lives expressed in a way that is far deeper than mere statements about our lives can express.

© Joanne Zh| Dreamstime.com

Carl Jung, the /a-midlife-transition pioneer, was one of the first people to speak of individuals as having their own personal mythology.  He believed that, in the contemporary era, it was going to be a matter of psychological necessity for more and more people to find their own myth or narrative for their lives.  He stressed that it was only in finding this personal mythology that many contemporary people would be able to find the sense of fulfillment and grounding in life that would make a meaningful life possible.

Are you one of those people who needs to explore and develop your personal mythology?  Has that process already started within you?

What does it mean to find your own mythology?  Above all, it means to take seriously the symbols in your life, and to treat them as a unique reflection of your own deepest being.  It means accepting that I am a mystery only partially known to myself, and that my vocation and purpose in my life is to understand as fully as possible the symbols and images that appear from within myself.  It means understanding and accepting that I am something greater than simply my own ego or conscious self.

© Jose Tejo| Dreamstime.com

A man dreams that he sees a huge tree, greater than any sequoia, planted in the front yard of his house.  It grows greater and greater, and finally no one can ignore that it is there…

A woman dreams of a dolphin that visits her, and beckons her on a journey…

A man dreams of finding himself on a sea voyage on a beautiful sailing craft that belongs to a goddess-like woman…

Does your own myth beckon to you?