myths - Blog - SCOCO Network2024-03-28T19:09:31Zhttps://sustainablecoco.ning.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/myths
“blood, soil, seed” – “An Integrated System to Create New Permaculture & Transition Rituals & Myths” by Willi Paul, CommunityAlchemy.com
“Similar to dozens of other community “food foreshttps://sustainablecoco.ning.com/profiles/blogs/4961666-BlogPost-360362015-01-27T20:33:00.000Z2015-01-27T20:33:00.000ZWilli Paulhttps://sustainablecoco.ning.com/members/WilliPaul<div><p></p><div class="field-label"> </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item odd"><a href="http://www.planetshifter.com/node/2240" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.planetshifter.com/uploads/imagecache/standard/centerspace_91.jpg?width=496" width="496" class="align-center" alt="centerspace_91.jpg?width=496" /></a></div></div><p></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span class="font-size-4"><strong>“blood, soil, seed” – “An Integrated System to Create New Permaculture & Transition Rituals & Myths” by Willi Paul, <a href="http://www.planetshifter.com/node/2240">CommunityAlchemy.com</a></strong></span></p><p></p><p><span class="font-size-3">“Similar to dozens of other community “<a href="http://fruitcruz.org/">food forests</a>” emerging in cities such as Seattle and Portland, the intention of the orchard is to inspire the community to gather together; to provide itself with a local source of fresh, nutritious food; to put to sustainable use our natural resources of rain, soil, and sunshine; and to spread knowledge of how to bring these techniques to more gardens. Proponents of the project hope its success will help lead to other community orchards in the area, such as along the new rail to trail line, or the Santa Cruz Riverwalk.”</span></p><p><span class="font-size-3">"<a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Humans-will-always-argue-which-myth-is-better/articleshow/45977196.cms?utm_source=email&utm_campaign=toimobile&utm_medium=referral">Myth is subjective truth, your truth and my truth, not the truth</a>. ‘We communicate our truth through stories, symbols and rituals. We inherit them from our ancestors and pass them on to our children. Mythology is the study of these stories, symbols and rituals and the subjective truth they reveal. … if we value mythology, then we will value subjectivity, pay attention to other truths and expand our own truth. This is the power of myth….’</span></p><p></p><p><span class="font-size-3">* * * * * * *</span><br /><span class="font-size-3">A <a href="http://planetshifter.com/node/1914">great tree</a> has been a symbol of choice of the permaculturists, Christians and many other religions for many years: solidarity, Nature, food, shelter, resilience. Trees are prominent anchors in kid stories, forest songs, farm legends and world myths.</span></p><p><span class="font-size-3">As we grow trees, enjoy their fruits and sing their praise, supporting our gardens with green houses (or hoop houses as shown in the illustration), we seed, water and enjoy rituals.</span></p><p><span class="font-size-3">The path to <a href="http://www.planetshifter.com/node/2156">new mythologies</a> begins with each individual, where we experience life and make choices, supported by our families. <a href="http://www.planetshifter.com/node/2237">Families gather together</a> in neighborhood or civic groups for friendship and seasonal events. It is with these stages that <a href="http://www.planetshifter.com/node/2157">new rituals can be created, performed, evaluated and refined</a>.</span></p><p><span class="font-size-3">New Mythology can be created by us in this synergy.</span></p><p></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span class="font-size-3">* * * * * * *</span><br /><span class="font-size-3" style="color:#993300;"><strong>A Map to New Rituals and Myths</strong></span></p><p></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Permaculture + Transition Values</strong> – <em>love of Nature and a local economy</em></span><br /><span class="font-size-3">New values drivers and edu-accelerators that replace worn-out religious practices</span></p><p></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Person</strong> - <em>where dreams, archetypes and symbols work</em></span><br /><span class="font-size-3">Visions and pollination for a new planet start with each of us</span></p><p></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Family</strong> - <em>heritage maps and first rules to live by</em></span><br /><span class="font-size-3">We learn, test and change the generational wisdom with our parents and grandparents</span></p><p></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Neighborhood / Group / Town</strong> - <em>community growth and security</em></span><br /><span class="font-size-3">Our second family where we build the day by day online and offline</span></p><p></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Ritual</strong> - <em>celebrating the sacred</em></span><br /><span class="font-size-3">Have you enjoyed a tree planting or sharing event yet?</span></p><p></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>New Mythology</strong> – <em>universal stories, systems of value codes for how to live with the Planet</em></span> <br /><span class="font-size-3">We are the hoop house dance, the new soil generation and the sweat to see us through</span></p><p></p><p><span class="font-size-3">* * * * * * *</span></p><p><span class="font-size-3">Every night I vibrate internally</span><br /><span class="font-size-3">That's my form of prayer</span><br /><span class="font-size-3">And the angels signal me</span><br /><span class="font-size-3">"Come over here, mister</span><br /><span class="font-size-3">Stretch out your glove..."</span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Cartoon man in the real world</strong></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3">You've got to nail it down</span><br /><span class="font-size-3">You got to nail it down</span><br /><span class="font-size-3">I got to nail it down</span><br /><span class="font-size-3">That ultra unbelievable love</span></p><p><span class="font-size-3">-- <a href="http://www.robynhitchcock.com/">Robyn Hitchcock</a>: <strong>ultra unbelievable love</strong></span></p></div>“Parking Lot Love” - Interview #2 with Peter Ruddock, Transition Palo Alto by Willi Paul, Planetshifter.com Magazinehttps://sustainablecoco.ning.com/profiles/blogs/parking-lot-love-interview-2-with-peter-ruddock-transition-palo2014-10-18T16:30:00.000Z2014-10-18T16:30:00.000ZWilli Paulhttps://sustainablecoco.ning.com/members/WilliPaul<div><p></p><div class="field field-type-image field-field-image"><div class="field-label"></div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item odd"><a href="http://www.planetshifter.com/node/2221" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.planetshifter.com/uploads/imagecache/standard/centerspace_71.jpg" class="align-center" width="402" height="341" alt="centerspace_71.jpg" /></a></div></div></div><p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>“Parking Lot Love” - Interview #2 with Peter Ruddock, <a href="http://transitionpaloalto.org/">Transition Palo Alto</a> by Willi Paul, <a href="http://www.planetshifter.com/node/2221">Planetshifter.com Magazine</a></strong></span></p><p></p><p><span class="font-size-3">Enjoy my <strong>first interview</strong> with Peter: <a href="http://www.planetshifter.com/node/1999">NorCal Transition Yeast</a>: Interview with Peter Ruddock, Slow Money, Transition Palo Alto & San Mateo County Food System Alliance. (3/12)</span></p><p></p><p><span class="font-size-3">“What… is <strong><a href="http://transitionus.org/blog/reskilling-mastery-appropriate-technology">reskilling</a>?</strong> The answer to this question is not so obvious. Someone might respond by defining reskilling as the acquisition of those skills that are essential to satisfy basic needs in a localized and carbon-constrained future. That makes sense, and it is hard to dispute, but the issue with the definition is that it is circular reference. It defines reskilling in terms of skills. It also makes it sound like reskilling can stop at some point, that once a community acquires the skills to satisfy many of its basic needs in a localized and carbon-constrained way, then there is no further need to reskill. Perhaps it is better to think about reskilling as an ongoing and never ending process that evolves as conditions and contexts change. It is not a onetime affair any more than it is a fixed end state.”</span></p><p></p><p><span class="font-size-3">* * * * * * *</span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Interview with Peter by Willi -</strong></span></p><p></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>What American values are getting in the way of Transition Movement values?</strong></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3">I'm not sure that consumerism is an American value, but it is a value that is common in America and it is something we have to overcome.</span></p><p><span class="font-size-3">Individualism is an American value that has to be tempered. There needs to be a balance between the individual and the community, a healthy tension between getting your own way and doing what is best for the group, for society.</span></p><p><span class="font-size-3">Advertisers equate the individual with consumption: you should own one of these. Better for many things to share it with your neighbors, as in the new Sharing Economy, like ZipCar, or borrowing from the library, or even creating a gift economy, like Transition Palo Alto's Garden Shares and Sharing Expo.</span></p><p></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>To me, Transition means freely sharing knowledge, goods and services with each other. Is this a sustainable vision, given the dire straits that we face now? Isn’t <a href="http://www.planetshifter.com/node/1312">Goodwill</a> and <a href="http://dailyacts.org/">Daily Acts</a> already doing this work?</strong></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3">I am not sure that all knowledge, goods and services need to be shared. There is value in labor that should be rewarded. Value, as expressed by money, has over time become corrupted, with some labor valued more than others. Some labor has not been valued at all, often that which can be reproduced, like writing, music and some kinds of art. Copyrights were invented to address this, but are now corrupt. Timebanks are an interesting method of addressing labor value.</span></p><p><span class="font-size-3">We need to ensure that everyone has the basic necessities to live: housing, clothing, food, access to health care, community, perhaps more. There is a famous graph that shows that once people have the basics covered an increase in goods does not increase happiness. Once people are assured of the basics, they are free to produce knowledge, goods and services which are free, or which return other knowledge, goods and services in a gift economy. This is sustainable.</span></p><p></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>What is the <a href="http://transitionpaloalto.org/">Transition Palo Alto's</a>Action Plan (i.e. goals and objectives) for the next year, 5 years and beyond?</strong></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3">Transition initiatives have often been accused of being “talk shops.” Some talk is necessary; too much talk is stagnation. Transition Palo Alto has been trying to find the balance between talk and action.</span></p><p><span class="font-size-3">Transition Palo Alto actually does a lot: Garden Shares, Sharing Expos, Re-skilling events, small and large, movies and lectures every Fourth Friday, crafts, some of them public, supporting local institutions, conferences that Re-imagine the Future and more. There is no particular Action Plan behind this. Rather, TPA has set out to enable the people it attracts to create projects under the umbrella of Transition ideas: to create things that address climate change and other ecological degradation through building a resilient community and local economy.</span></p><p><span class="font-size-3">Some of us would like to do more – more projects that is. Perhaps bigger projects: certainly supplementing the Sharing Expo with a Reskilling Expo or a Great Unleashing would be good. And we have been discussing how to do this. We are not sure that an Action Plan, that a lot of central control, is the way to do more though. Bureaucracy can lead to inaction, rather than action. A bad Action Plan can have us working furiously on wrong things. It may be better to improve the infrastructure and let people use it to create their own projects. To use the power of the Transition Crowd to guide them in doing so. Stay tuned. I expect interesting things to develop.</span></p><p></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Why do you participate in so many organizations?</strong></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3">There are actually two different reasons that I work with such a diversity of groups. First, I think a number of different things have to be done to create the world we want to live in. We need to re-build community and build a more resilient economy. We need to educate people on why this is so ('educate' can be a loaded word, but I'll use it here to mean the dissemination of a Transition point of view). And we need to work within the system to change the policies that inhibit this new society and to create new policies which foster it instead. Transition, even with its broad umbrella, is not addressing all of these issues, while others are. Other organizations focus. I like to be the connection between these organizations, hoping to add value by looking for the commonalities between them and creating synergies by getting them to work together.</span></p><p><span class="font-size-3">Beyond that, I find that at the grass-roots level, I have overwhelmed more than one organization. I have chosen to work full-time on these efforts, at this point whether I get paid for it or not. My colleagues often work in the same grass-roots organizations a few hours per week after their paid job. By having multiple outlets for my activity, I do not work more, or much more, than anyone else in any given organization. This, of course, may change as I find something that I become passionate about focusing on.</span></p><p></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Egos, profit and self-interest dominate much of our community psyche. Can you tell us how our “collective genius” might be harnessed for a better way?</strong></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3">I'd like to say that we can educate people to see a bigger picture, teaching them that helping their community will help themselves more than acting as an individual will. But I can't say this. Many studies have shown that appealing to people with factual, scientific or other rational arguments doesn't work – more studies showing how much carbon will do what to the atmosphere are actually turning people off from addressing climate change.</span></p><p><span class="font-size-3">Rather, I think we have to do things. Things which begin to address the problems we see, at a local level. Things which have a visible effect on the people who do them. People who attend Sharing events seem to be happier. Not because they got something for free that they would have had to pay for. But because they engaged in community. And often because they gave something away that they didn't need any more, keeping it out of the landfill. They used fewer resources, but didn't really have to think about doing so.</span></p><p><span class="font-size-3">We need to tell the story of these things we do. And in such a way that the happiness and the community are played up and the resource savings are mentioned as wonderful side-effect. I think this is how we have to engage the majority of people.</span></p><p></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Isn’t building resilience both a top down and bottom up strategy? Any examples of this in the food sector?</strong></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3">I spend a lot of time working on food. It is an environmental gateway. Everybody eats. Food is tangible. Unlike climate change, which is not visible to most people, or wilderness protection, which may happen far away in places people won't ever visit, food is right in their faces.</span></p><p><span class="font-size-3">Resilience in our food system is created from both ends. From the bottom up, we start with encouraging local consumption, growing your own, sharing with your neighbors, knowing your farmers. Creating demand should have a ripple effect as producers change to meet your demand – voting with your fork. There is much you can do on your own.</span></p><p><span class="font-size-3">But there are things that are beyond our individual control. For these things we band together and try to affect policy, working down from the top. Changing laws which allow beekeeping, for example, in jurisdictions that do not currently permit it, enables more people to work from the bottom up, without fear of being held to account for breaking a law.</span></p><p></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>“The <a href="http://www.transitionus.org/why-transition">Transition Movement</a> believes that is up to us in our local communities to step into a leadership position on this situation. We need to start working now to mitigate the interrelated effects of peak oil, climate change, and the economic crisis, before it is too late.” How do we all know when it’s too late?</strong></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3">If you give up, it is too late. Never give up.</span></p><p></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Two of my personal interests are localization and security. Many of my <a href="http://www.planetshifter.com/node/56">New Myths</a> describe the inevitable haves and have not’s, both now and in the future. Will some of us benefit from gardens and green tech water systems while others will not?</strong></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3">In a sustainable world, there cannot be haves and have-nots. If there are, we create problems. If those who have-not do not have the basics, then they would be justified in protest in order to get them. But even when everyone has the basics, those who have significantly less are justified in asking why. Some will be envious of what they do not have; envy can lead to crime. The size of inequality is one of the greatest indicators of trouble, and unrest, and health!, in any society.</span></p><p><span class="font-size-3">It is our job as part of Transition to figure out how to include everyone. And to decrease the inequality of our society. This is not something we currently do well, being a rather homogeneous group of mostly well-educated, middle-aged, white people. And it is not something that we seem well able to address. Nevertheless, we have to figure out how to be inclusive – we only win when everybody wins.</span></p><p></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Capacity issues loom large in any localization scheme. Are fences around future sustainable encampments likely?</strong></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3">Fenced encampments are not sustainable. Fences will be breached. If we are fencing off resources and creating haves and have-nots, we will eventually fail. We must rather accept the finite nature of those resources and use fewer of them. Tear down the fence! Share!</span></p><p><span class="font-size-3">* * * * * * *</span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Peter’s Bio –</strong></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3">Peter Ruddock is a sustainable food activist and business consultant. He is working toward creating a more sustainable world, by changing the way we interact with our environment and with each other. He concentrates on food systems change, because given that everyone eats everyone should be able to relate to a healthier, more sustainable food system. He believes that there are four areas where he can best work on fostering this change: educating people about sustainability; creating a resilient local economy; creating vibrant local communities; and changing policies to foster such changes. He is active in a number of grass-roots non-profits to help accomplish these goals: Slow Food, Slow Money, Transition Palo Alto, and the San Mateo County Food System Alliance and the California Food Policy Council.</span></p><p></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Connections –</strong></span></p><p></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Peter Ruddock</strong></span><br /> <span class="font-size-3">Sustainable Food Activist and Business Consultant</span><br /> <span class="font-size-3">peterruddock at yahoo.com</span></p><p></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Willi Paul</strong></span><br /> <span class="font-size-3">New Mythologist & Transition Entrepreneur</span><br /> <span class="font-size-3">newmythologist.com | PlanetShifter.com Magazine | openmythsource.com</span><br /> <span class="font-size-3">@planetshifter @openmythsource @PermacultureXch</span><br /> <span class="font-size-3">415-407-4688 | pscompub at gmail.com</span></p></div>"textsongs - sound scapes for kids" - eBook #15 by willi paul, newmythologist.comhttps://sustainablecoco.ning.com/profiles/blogs/textsongs-sound-scapes-for-kids-ebook-15-by-willi-paul2014-03-26T23:21:08.000Z2014-03-26T23:21:08.000ZWilli Paulhttps://sustainablecoco.ning.com/members/WilliPaul<div><p></p><p><strong><a href="http://communityalchemy.com/textsongs/textsongs.pdf" target="_blank"><img src="" width="423" class="align-center" height="625" alt="" /></a><span class="font-size-4">textsongs</span></strong> <br /><span class="font-size-4"><strong>sound scapes for kids</strong></span><br /><span class="font-size-4"><strong>eBook #15</strong></span><br /><span class="font-size-4"><strong>willi paul</strong></span><br /><span class="font-size-4"><strong>newmythologist.com</strong></span></p><p></p><p><strong><span class="font-size-4"><a href="http://communityalchemy.com/textsongs/textsongs.pdf">Download eBook #5</a></span></strong></p><p></p><p>* * * * * * *</p><p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>b o o k</strong></span> <br /><span class="font-size-3"><strong>i n t r o</strong></span></p><p>passports to the TV bored<br />text love-savvy</p><p>world fone generation<br />headphones blazing, encoded not</p><p>make it send it get one back<br />kid’s secret story screens</p><p>alchemic fingers<br />dice control</p><p>camouflaging memes as meaning<br />hail Mary initiation devices</p><p>killing old moons<br />spawning fresh ones</p><p>60 sec. dial ups<br />myth in clowns</p><p>digital pools<br />samples pictures tab text</p><p>signals vibes in the Transition<br />the 6th estate on fire</p></div>“Mythography & the Universal Human” : Interview with Allison Stieger, Principal at Mythic Stories (Seattle) by Willi Paul, NewMythologist.comhttps://sustainablecoco.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mythography-the-universal-human-interview-with-allison-stieger-12013-09-03T15:00:00.000Z2013-09-03T15:00:00.000ZWilli Paulhttps://sustainablecoco.ning.com/members/WilliPaul<div><h2><b>“Mythography & the Universal Human” : Interview with Allison Stieger, Principal at <a href="http://mythicstories.com/">Mythic Stories</a> (Seattle) by Willi Paul, <a href="http://newmythologist.com/">NewMythologist.com</a></b></h2><p><a href="http://openmythsource.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/garden-basket.jpg"><img class="wp-image-3456 alignnone" alt="Garden-basket" src="http://openmythsource.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/garden-basket.jpg?w=450&h=338" width="450" height="338" /></a></p><p><b> </b>“<b><a href="http://www.theopinionatedartist.com/2013/06/the-new-mythology-of-life.html">Just before his death</a></b> Joseph Campbell was interviewed by Bill Moyers and that interview was later turned into the documentary, “The Power of Myth.” In this interview he postulated the idea that humanity was in need of new mythologies. Ones that were not rooted in the ancient world as all our current ones are. But myth’s that would help us navigate this new and strange world we are creating.”</p><p></p><p>* * * * * * *</p><p></p><p><b> </b><b>Interview with Allison by Willi</b></p><p></p><p><b>W: Can a community be a Hero?</b></p><p>A: I don’t think the word hero is one I would use to describe a community. When I read heroic myths, particularly from the classical world, I see an individual who leaves the community behind (separation), is changed by a descent (initiation), and returns to the community with the boon (return), which can be an actual object or an idea or mental construct. It is an individual’s pursuit to go on “the hero’s journey”. I would say that a community can exhibit traditionally “heroic” qualities, but the hero’s journey requires that stage of initiation or descent.</p><p></p><p><b>W: Can you provide evidence that classic myths are energizing the permaculture, occupy or Transition movements in Seattle?</b></p><p></p><p>A: I don’t know if those movements are being energized by myths, because I’m not a member of those communities, but I would argue that they are being archetypally energized. The hero is one archetype, and the heroic qualities of that archetype may be in play with these movements, but other archetypes should be considered. Such as:</p><p></p><p>Samaritan<br /> Messiah<br /> Martyr<br /> Pioneer</p><p>Permaculture:<br /> Teacher<br /> Father<br /> Visionary<br /> Servant</p><p>Occupy:<br /> Liberator<br /> Warrior<br /> Visionary<br /> Avenger</p><p>Transition:<br /> Teacher<br /> Father<br /> Visionary</p><p></p><p>These are only a few examples, but you see what I’m getting at. The hero is only one archetype among many.</p><p></p><p><b>W: Who or what are some of the current alternatives to Campbell’s constructs and visions? Is he still as important as ever?</b></p><p></p><p>A: I think Campbell’s work is definitely still resonating with people. In the years I’ve spent working with the Joseph Campbell Foundation (9) I’ve met many people who find a great deal of meaning in Campbell’s work, as I do myself. However, Campbell passed more than 25 years ago now, and there is exciting work being done in the field of myth. The JCF is starting to profile the work of up and coming mythologists, which is exciting. The Myth program at Pacifica Graduate Institute is training new mythologists every year. Not all of them go on to have an impact on culture, but over the next 10 years or so I predict that some of them will become well known for bringing myth work to a wider audience.</p><p></p><p><b>W: What is a mythologist? Are there common goals and trainings (or just individuals and multiple agendas?)</b></p><p><b><br /></b> <br /> A: A mythologist (or mythographer, as some prefer) is simply an expert on ancient myth. The study of myth can be approached from different perspectives. For example, one can approach the study of myth from a religious perspective, a depth psychological perspective, an anthropological perspective, or a literary perspective. The graduate program in myth at Pacifica has classes from all of those perspectives. It is also possible to educate oneself in myth without a degree program, much as Campbell did. He had an MA in Medieval Literature from Columbia, but he also spent several years after his formal education was completed reading world myths (he spent five years in solitary study during the Great Depression).</p><p></p><p><b>W: Many</b> <b>champion the Hollywood Hero these days: Iron Man, Bat Man. There seems to be a lot of testosterone flowing there! Please read and react to<a href="http://www.planetshifter.com/node/2096">my critique of Popmythology.com</a> – a blog by written by Daniel Jun Kim:</b></p><p><b><br /></b> <br /> A: The Hollywood Hero as described here is entertaining, without a doubt, but I don’t believe that this character in film can be considered mythic. There are other mythologists who would disagree with me, I’m sure. I know many screenwriters are familiar with the hero’s journey, and try to touch the points of the monomyth in their screenplays, but in my opinion it takes more than a “connect the dots” approach to heroic myth to resonate with filmgoers. Both “Ironman” and “The Matrix” outwardly conform to the pattern of the hero’s journey, but (again, in my opinion) only “The Matrix” can qualify as mythic filmmaking.</p><p></p><p><b>W: Please share a few of your favorite modern day <a href="http://www.planetshifter.com/node/1908">Nature-based symbols</a>.</b></p><p></p><p>A: I’m particularly interested in the symbolism of different animals. If a certain animal or insect appears to me, I’ll take a moment to reflect on the symbolism of the particular animal, and treat the appearance as a spirit animal, in a sense. For example, on Saturday I was attending the wedding of a dear friend. She went through a difficult divorce about two years ago, and I was so thrilled that she has found a new happiness with her new husband. During the reception, a garter snake appeared where I was sitting, and it got me thinking about the symbolism of snakes.</p><p></p><p>Snakes are an ancient symbolic force, going back to pre-Christian goddess traditions. They are seen as symbols of renewal, which seemed so appropriate at the wedding of someone “renewing” her life with a new partner. </p><p></p><p><b>W: How do you use alchemy?</b></p><p></p><p>A: Myth is, at its core, about transformation. Alchemy is about the pursuit of transformation, and Carl Jung uses the symbolism of alchemy to describe the transformation of the individuation process. I’ve studied the use of alchemical symbolism as part of my education, in reading the work of Jung and Marie Louise von Franz, so I would say that alchemy has influenced my work, but it isn’t a significant aspect of it, at least at the moment. This could change in the future, but for now, I’m focusing on other things.</p><p></p><p><b>W: Please select a <a href="http://www.planetshifter.com/node/1855">new myth</a> from my work and offer a critique?</b></p><p></p><p>A: I’ve read through about a dozen of your new myths, and I now have a better sense of what you’re attempting by writing new myths. A couple of questions: What is Cascadia? Is it an imagined new country/new state in Northern California? Are your new myths an attempt to introduce a new vision for being in the world?</p><p></p><p>Reading them, it makes me think about the difference between stories and myths. From my perspective, what you’ve written are stories, and if they resonate deeply with the culture and community, they will become myths. Myths are the stories that survived, right? We don’t know about the stories from the ancient world that didn’t get told and retold. Myths speak to something deep within us.</p><p></p><p>Campbell, in his writing, mentions two different German words: “Elementargedanken”, and “Völkergedanken”. The first means, essentially, elementary ideas, and the second, ethnic ideas. (Here’s a link to a page describing <b><a href="http://www.mythicjourneys.org/newsletter_dec06_campbell2.html">both terms</a></b>).</p><p></p><p>I teach the difference between these two ideas to my Comparative Mythology students. When we look at a culture’s myths, which exist to explain an elemental function of that particular culture (e.g. stories about snow for the Inuit), and which myths speak to something that is universally human?</p><p></p><p><b>So, my question for you is, what can your stories teach us about what it means to be universally human? Those are the</b> <b>myths that have meaning.</b>“<b>What is Cascadia? Is it an imagined new country/new state in Northern California? Are your new myths an attempt to introduce a new vision for being in the world?”</b></p><p></p><p>W: Yes, exactly! Please see my vision for <b><a href="http://newmythologist.com/raw-ideas/">Cascadia</a></b>; my new myths are visions driven by the present global crisis.</p><p></p><p><b>A: So, my question for you is, what can your stories teach us about what it means to be universally human? Those are the myths that have meaning.</b></p><p></p><p><span>W: First, here are 8 elements of my new myths:</span></p><p></p><p>1. Localization – back to sustainability and community; self-sufficiency<br /> 2. Nature- Centric<br /> 3. Spiritual<br /> 4. Future-based<br /> 5. Universal themes(s) and message<br /> 6. Para-Normal in conflict or characters<br /> 7. Initiation, Journey and Hero<br /> 8. Permaculture & Transition: values and principles</p><p></p><p><b><a href="http://openmythsource.com/myth-lab/">Myth Lab</a></b> is how I combine science and myth in a tool kit to create new (stories) myths. My use of the Artifact is indeed my attempt to deliver universal messages:</p><p></p><p>A. Overcoming environmental damage from war and Capitalist greed<br /> B. Creating a new non-toxic agricultural system<br /> C. Promoting a sharing economy<br /> D. Clean water for all</p><p></p><p>* * * * * * *</p><p></p><p><b>Allison’s Bio -</b></p><p>Allison Stieger is a mythologist, writer and teacher who is passionate about myth and what it has to teach us about living a more fulfilled life. She holds a bachelors in English and Writing, and a masters in Mythological Studies in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. In 2004 she founded Mythic Stories, and since then she has been teaching workshops on myth, creativity and writing for adults. She founded the Seattle Roundtable group of the <strong><a title="Joseph Campbell Foundation" href="http://jcf.org/new/index.php">Joseph Campbell Foundation</a></strong> in 2004, and led the group until 2012. Allison also teaches yoga teacher trainees how to incorporate myth-inspired narrative structure into their yoga sequences, and will be leading a trip to Greece in 2014 with Sattva Yoga.</p><p></p><p>She blogs on topics related to mythology at mythicstories.com, and is a contributing columnist for The Creativity Post, writing on the intersection between myth, creativity and innovation.</p><p></p><p><b>Connections –</b></p><p>Allison Stieger, Principal</p><p><b><a href="http://mythicstories.com/">Mythic Stories</a></b></p><p>Allisonstieger at yahoo.com</p></div>“Mythography & the Universal Human” : Interview with Allison Stieger, Principal at Mythic Stories (Seattle) by Willi Paul, NewMythologist.comhttps://sustainablecoco.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mythography-the-universal-human-interview-with-allison-stieger2013-09-03T15:00:00.000Z2013-09-03T15:00:00.000ZWilli Paulhttps://sustainablecoco.ning.com/members/WilliPaul<div><h2><b>“Mythography & the Universal Human” : Interview with Allison Stieger, Principal at <a href="http://mythicstories.com/">Mythic Stories</a> (Seattle) by Willi Paul, <a href="http://newmythologist.com/">NewMythologist.com</a></b></h2><p><a href="http://openmythsource.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/garden-basket.jpg"><img class="wp-image-3456 alignnone" alt="Garden-basket" src="http://openmythsource.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/garden-basket.jpg?w=450&h=338" width="450" height="338" /></a></p><p><b> </b>“<b><a href="http://www.theopinionatedartist.com/2013/06/the-new-mythology-of-life.html">Just before his death</a></b> Joseph Campbell was interviewed by Bill Moyers and that interview was later turned into the documentary, “The Power of Myth.” In this interview he postulated the idea that humanity was in need of new mythologies. Ones that were not rooted in the ancient world as all our current ones are. But myth’s that would help us navigate this new and strange world we are creating.”</p><p></p><p>* * * * * * *</p><p></p><p><b> </b><b>Interview with Allison by Willi</b></p><p></p><p><b>W: Can a community be a Hero?</b></p><p>A: I don’t think the word hero is one I would use to describe a community. When I read heroic myths, particularly from the classical world, I see an individual who leaves the community behind (separation), is changed by a descent (initiation), and returns to the community with the boon (return), which can be an actual object or an idea or mental construct. It is an individual’s pursuit to go on “the hero’s journey”. I would say that a community can exhibit traditionally “heroic” qualities, but the hero’s journey requires that stage of initiation or descent.</p><p></p><p><b>W: Can you provide evidence that classic myths are energizing the permaculture, occupy or Transition movements in Seattle?</b></p><p></p><p>A: I don’t know if those movements are being energized by myths, because I’m not a member of those communities, but I would argue that they are being archetypally energized. The hero is one archetype, and the heroic qualities of that archetype may be in play with these movements, but other archetypes should be considered. Such as:</p><p></p><p>Samaritan<br /> Messiah<br /> Martyr<br /> Pioneer</p><p>Permaculture:<br /> Teacher<br /> Father<br /> Visionary<br /> Servant</p><p>Occupy:<br /> Liberator<br /> Warrior<br /> Visionary<br /> Avenger</p><p>Transition:<br /> Teacher<br /> Father<br /> Visionary</p><p></p><p>These are only a few examples, but you see what I’m getting at. The hero is only one archetype among many.</p><p></p><p><b>W: Who or what are some of the current alternatives to Campbell’s constructs and visions? Is he still as important as ever?</b></p><p></p><p>A: I think Campbell’s work is definitely still resonating with people. In the years I’ve spent working with the Joseph Campbell Foundation (9) I’ve met many people who find a great deal of meaning in Campbell’s work, as I do myself. However, Campbell passed more than 25 years ago now, and there is exciting work being done in the field of myth. The JCF is starting to profile the work of up and coming mythologists, which is exciting. The Myth program at Pacifica Graduate Institute is training new mythologists every year. Not all of them go on to have an impact on culture, but over the next 10 years or so I predict that some of them will become well known for bringing myth work to a wider audience.</p><p></p><p><b>W: What is a mythologist? Are there common goals and trainings (or just individuals and multiple agendas?)</b></p><p><b><br /></b> <br /> A: A mythologist (or mythographer, as some prefer) is simply an expert on ancient myth. The study of myth can be approached from different perspectives. For example, one can approach the study of myth from a religious perspective, a depth psychological perspective, an anthropological perspective, or a literary perspective. The graduate program in myth at Pacifica has classes from all of those perspectives. It is also possible to educate oneself in myth without a degree program, much as Campbell did. He had an MA in Medieval Literature from Columbia, but he also spent several years after his formal education was completed reading world myths (he spent five years in solitary study during the Great Depression).</p><p></p><p><b>W: Many</b> <b>champion the Hollywood Hero these days: Iron Man, Bat Man. There seems to be a lot of testosterone flowing there! Please read and react to<a href="http://www.planetshifter.com/node/2096">my critique of Popmythology.com</a> – a blog by written by Daniel Jun Kim:</b></p><p><b><br /></b> <br /> A: The Hollywood Hero as described here is entertaining, without a doubt, but I don’t believe that this character in film can be considered mythic. There are other mythologists who would disagree with me, I’m sure. I know many screenwriters are familiar with the hero’s journey, and try to touch the points of the monomyth in their screenplays, but in my opinion it takes more than a “connect the dots” approach to heroic myth to resonate with filmgoers. Both “Ironman” and “The Matrix” outwardly conform to the pattern of the hero’s journey, but (again, in my opinion) only “The Matrix” can qualify as mythic filmmaking.</p><p></p><p><b>W: Please share a few of your favorite modern day <a href="http://www.planetshifter.com/node/1908">Nature-based symbols</a>.</b></p><p></p><p>A: I’m particularly interested in the symbolism of different animals. If a certain animal or insect appears to me, I’ll take a moment to reflect on the symbolism of the particular animal, and treat the appearance as a spirit animal, in a sense. For example, on Saturday I was attending the wedding of a dear friend. She went through a difficult divorce about two years ago, and I was so thrilled that she has found a new happiness with her new husband. During the reception, a garter snake appeared where I was sitting, and it got me thinking about the symbolism of snakes.</p><p></p><p>Snakes are an ancient symbolic force, going back to pre-Christian goddess traditions. They are seen as symbols of renewal, which seemed so appropriate at the wedding of someone “renewing” her life with a new partner. </p><p></p><p><b>W: How do you use alchemy?</b></p><p></p><p>A: Myth is, at its core, about transformation. Alchemy is about the pursuit of transformation, and Carl Jung uses the symbolism of alchemy to describe the transformation of the individuation process. I’ve studied the use of alchemical symbolism as part of my education, in reading the work of Jung and Marie Louise von Franz, so I would say that alchemy has influenced my work, but it isn’t a significant aspect of it, at least at the moment. This could change in the future, but for now, I’m focusing on other things.</p><p></p><p><b>W: Please select a <a href="http://www.planetshifter.com/node/1855">new myth</a> from my work and offer a critique?</b></p><p></p><p>A: I’ve read through about a dozen of your new myths, and I now have a better sense of what you’re attempting by writing new myths. A couple of questions: What is Cascadia? Is it an imagined new country/new state in Northern California? Are your new myths an attempt to introduce a new vision for being in the world?</p><p></p><p>Reading them, it makes me think about the difference between stories and myths. From my perspective, what you’ve written are stories, and if they resonate deeply with the culture and community, they will become myths. Myths are the stories that survived, right? We don’t know about the stories from the ancient world that didn’t get told and retold. Myths speak to something deep within us.</p><p></p><p>Campbell, in his writing, mentions two different German words: “Elementargedanken”, and “Völkergedanken”. The first means, essentially, elementary ideas, and the second, ethnic ideas. (Here’s a link to a page describing <b><a href="http://www.mythicjourneys.org/newsletter_dec06_campbell2.html">both terms</a></b>).</p><p></p><p>I teach the difference between these two ideas to my Comparative Mythology students. When we look at a culture’s myths, which exist to explain an elemental function of that particular culture (e.g. stories about snow for the Inuit), and which myths speak to something that is universally human?</p><p></p><p><b>So, my question for you is, what can your stories teach us about what it means to be universally human? Those are the</b> <b>myths that have meaning.</b>“<b>What is Cascadia? Is it an imagined new country/new state in Northern California? Are your new myths an attempt to introduce a new vision for being in the world?”</b></p><p></p><p>W: Yes, exactly! Please see my vision for <b><a href="http://newmythologist.com/raw-ideas/">Cascadia</a></b>; my new myths are visions driven by the present global crisis.</p><p></p><p><b>A: So, my question for you is, what can your stories teach us about what it means to be universally human? Those are the myths that have meaning.</b></p><p></p><p><span>W: First, here are 8 elements of my new myths:</span></p><p></p><p>1. Localization – back to sustainability and community; self-sufficiency<br /> 2. Nature- Centric<br /> 3. Spiritual<br /> 4. Future-based<br /> 5. Universal themes(s) and message<br /> 6. Para-Normal in conflict or characters<br /> 7. Initiation, Journey and Hero<br /> 8. Permaculture & Transition: values and principles</p><p></p><p><b><a href="http://openmythsource.com/myth-lab/">Myth Lab</a></b> is how I combine science and myth in a tool kit to create new (stories) myths. My use of the Artifact is indeed my attempt to deliver universal messages:</p><p></p><p>A. Overcoming environmental damage from war and Capitalist greed<br /> B. Creating a new non-toxic agricultural system<br /> C. Promoting a sharing economy<br /> D. Clean water for all</p><p></p><p>* * * * * * *</p><p></p><p><b>Allison’s Bio -</b></p><p>Allison Stieger is a mythologist, writer and teacher who is passionate about myth and what it has to teach us about living a more fulfilled life. She holds a bachelors in English and Writing, and a masters in Mythological Studies in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. In 2004 she founded Mythic Stories, and since then she has been teaching workshops on myth, creativity and writing for adults. She founded the Seattle Roundtable group of the <strong><a title="Joseph Campbell Foundation" href="http://jcf.org/new/index.php">Joseph Campbell Foundation</a></strong> in 2004, and led the group until 2012. Allison also teaches yoga teacher trainees how to incorporate myth-inspired narrative structure into their yoga sequences, and will be leading a trip to Greece in 2014 with Sattva Yoga.</p><p></p><p>She blogs on topics related to mythology at mythicstories.com, and is a contributing columnist for The Creativity Post, writing on the intersection between myth, creativity and innovation.</p><p></p><p><b>Connections –</b></p><p>Allison Stieger, Principal</p><p><b><a href="http://mythicstories.com/">Mythic Stories</a></b></p><p>Allisonstieger at yahoo.com</p></div>