Synopses & Reviews
Mythology is the universal tongue of human imagination. As a tool for self-discovery, mythology is also a way of gaining access to the secrets of the psyche.
The Mythic Imagination is a quest for the ancient source of vision and meaning in the world of dream, myth, and archetype. In the footsteps of Joseph Campbell, Stephen Larsen guides the reader on a journey through the mythic landscape of the psyche. His insight is that all of us, at one time or another, are engaged in creating personal mythologies that reflect the larger myths of the culture and our own deepest desires and aspirations. This book is a guide for bringing the deeper mythic structures of experience into awareness, for learning to recognize the archetypal content embedded in our dreams and daydreams, feelings, beliefs, relationships, conscious creations, and behavior.
Student and authorized biographer of Joseph Campbell, Larsen teaches us how to bring myth into our lives.
Reissue of the Bantam bestseller.
Review
"Stephen Larsen has achieved a synthesis of mythic story, psychological theory, and clinical experience that extends the work of his teacher, Joseph Campbell, toward a more practical understanding of the relevance of myth for each of us." David Feinstein, Ph.D., author of Personal Mythology
Review
"An extraordinarily rich and wide-ranging compendium of the psychological uses of mythology. Stephen Larsen has given us stimulation for the mind, a feast for the imagination, and a multidimensional road map for the soul in quest of its truth." Roger J. Woolger and Jennifer B. Woolger, Authors of The Goddess Within and Other Lives, Other Selve
Review
"Stephen Larsen has achieved a synthesis of mythic story, psychological theory, and clinical experience that extends the work of his teacher, Joseph Campbell, toward a more practical understanding of the relevance of myth for each of us."
Synopsis
The Mythic Imaginationis a quest for the ancient source of vision and meaning in the world of dream, myth, and archetype. Following in the footsteps of Joseph Campbell, Stephen Larsen guides the reader on a journey through the mythic landscape of the psyche.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 360-372) and index.
About the Author
Stephen Larsen, Ph.D., LMHC, BCIA-eeg, is professor emeritus of psychology at SUNY Ulster, board-certified in EEG biofeedback, and the author of several books, including The Healing Power of Neurofeedback and The Fundamentalist Mind. He is the founder and director of Stone Mountain Center, offering biofeedback, neurofeedback, and psychotherapy treatments. He lives in New Paltz, New York.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Foreword by Stanley Krippner, Ph.D.
Introduction: The Mythic Imagination
Part One: Psychology, Myths, and Maps
1. The Roots of Personal Mythology
2. The Relevance of Myth to Everyday Life
3. Seeing Through the Imagination
4. The Living Landscape
5. Depth Maps of the Psyche
Part Two: Dismembering, Dreaming, Remembering
6. Into the Shadowlands
7. Beasts and Birds of the Mind
8. The Inner Cast of Characters
9. The Inner Guide
Part Three: Conscious Mythmaking
10. Creative Mythology
11. Symbolic Play
12. Creative Mythology Exercises
Epilogue
Notes
Bibliography
Index