“People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life. I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I think what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances within our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive.”
Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth

Does this describe how you feel about your life: Do your experiences resonate within you and create a feeling of joy? Do you feel rapture at just being alive? Unfortunately, for most of us the answer is no. We get caught up in our external circumstances, and we begin to believe this is the extent of who we are.

Campbell gave us another way to look at our lives, one that sees through the mundane and gives life meaning; that’s the Power of Myth.

Many think a Myth is an imaginary thing, such as a dragon or a fairytale without any basis in reality. But Campbell says, “Myths are clues to the spiritual potentialities of the human life.” They give voice to our suffering and imperfections, and they reveal the grandest dimensions of our being – both culturally and as individuals.

You can uncover your own Personal Mythology, that elusive story that is shaping your life, but which you have forgotten. Think of it as the treasure that lies within you; all you need to do is follow the clues you have left yourself throughout your life.

To begin, think back to a time in your life when you felt most like YOU, when you were completely and naturally you, with no fears or worries about judgment, when you did something or were something that fed your soul, something that gave you peace or even bliss. Tap into your imagination and feel it.

I was age 14 when my parents gave me my horse, a big white Morgan named St. Patrick. When I rode him, when I just thought of him, my heart soared. But it goes further back than that for me; I had loved horses from my first memories. My dad even called me “cowboy” (though I’m a girl) from a very young age. And still today, in my soul I am just that: a cowboy, riding free on my beautiful horse. That is part of my personal mythology.

What is yours? Look anywhere for a clue, a thread you can follow deep into your psyche. It could be a childhood love, like mine, or perhaps it is something in your family’s religious heritage or even an unfamiliar religion that has captured your imagination. Perhaps your cultural ancestry or some other ancient tradition sparks excitement within you, or a story or poem you read at some point that you have never stopped thinking about. Perhaps it is an archetype, like Mother or Lover, Hero or Seeker.

Now ask yourself: Do you still give yourself time to do or be whatever it is that made you feel like YOU. Have you turned away from that which feeds your soul? I did. I sold my horse when I learned to drive and my interests turned to boys. But my horse has never left me. I get emotional just writing about him now. I felt the loss of that mythological thread, but I found ways to honor it. I wrote my doctoral dissertation on the West’s changing relationship with Nature through stories about horses. While others struggled to find their subjects and their voice, my scholarly voice came easily and my research unfolded naturally, because it is literally a part of who I AM.

I haven’t had a horse in my life since St. Patrick. It hasn’t been practical, as I have been busy building a career that required travel, and building a marriage, which requires time and commitment as well. But I found a way to honor the cowboy in me nonetheless. After I defended my dissertation, my husband gave me a trip to Spain to ride horses in the Pyrenees, the most amazing trip I have ever taken. Perhaps one day I will have a horse again, but St. Patrick lives in my soul, giving my life meaning even today.

How can you honor your mythic roots? In what simple ways can you begin to reacquaint yourself with that first inkling of who you were meant to be? This is a first step in tapping into your mythic mind.