Reflections: Encountering Mythic Characters

Lesson 1:

Inner Dragons

Many cultures have myths and stories about dragons. In some cultures, dragons are revered or seen as power allies, as in the Eastern cultures. The Western cultures view dragons more as creatures from the underground that when stirred, emerge from their habitat more likely to engage in battle than in discussions of peace strategies. Western literature – even going back to ancient times – has viewed the dragon as ominous and threatening, and so it is that aspect of this grand archetypal mythic creature that I will emphasize in this first class.

This lecture will highlight

• What creates an inner Dragon?
• Dragons are fire creatures that are capable of “burning bridges” and incinerating relationships as well as their habitats.
• How the Dragon archetype has evolved as a trusted ally.
• Identifying the elements that wake up your Dragon.
• Why and how our society has developed the Dragon tamer/Dragon-as-pet character – and is this a part of your inner journey?
• Dragon-slaying – a crash course.

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Lesson 2:

Troll Crossings

Trolls are Nordic mythic creatures that hide under bridges and terrorize travelers. There are numerous versions of troll stories. In all cases, trolls are malevolent little creatures who steal young children and sometimes even entire farms from frightened helpless farmers. They prevent travelers from completing their journeys home, particularly a vulnerable bridge crossing. Few images hold more symbolic meaning than crossing a bridge. A bridge crossing is the quintessential act of transformation, a Rubicon. It is a “no turning back” statement. We also inherently know that for all those reasons, the act of crossing the bridge means we are walking directly into the unknown. Whether the size of the unknown is the next step in a relationship activated by crossing into more honest dialogue or by making the decision to finally follow a dream, setting even the lightest foot on a bridge of transformation can potentially wake up a Troll. Trolls embody our deepest, darkest “under the bridge” fears about what horrible possibilities lay ahead for us on the other side of the bridge. Trolls stir up the “what if’s” and all the worst scenarios we ever could imagine. And when we look back, it doesn’t matter that none of those scenarios ever happened. We never seem to learn from that reality that our worst fears rarely materialize, because every time we encounter a Troll, they seem to be so real.

This lecture will include

• The many experiences in life that qualify for a “Troll bridge.”
• Identifying your Trolls.
• Conversations you’ve had with Trolls in the past and in the present.
• Outwitting a Troll – real and imagined.
• What would you like to have on the other side of some of your bridges?
• What to do when you next encounter your Trolls.

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Lessons 3:

Land of Your Giants

Giants are both mythic and they are real. We have human beings who have done giant-sized things to us and for us. These actions and the power these human beings have can seem larger than life. You might have a parent or some other figure in your life who is a giant power figure, someone you emulate. Another giant may be someone you view as an adversary that you cannot seem to defeat – a type of David and Goliath relationship. Or you may be the giant in a social structure of power. You may be the grandest, largest, most empowered person in the family, a “giant among the tribe” or the family. You may be the person that others “look up to the most.” The Giant-Ordinary Mortal dynamic symbolically asks a question about nature: Is it a matter of size or spirit?

This lecture will emphasize:

• Handling a Giant in your life: being intimidated, always looking for approval, opponents.
• You as a Giant to others.
• How to handle not wanting to be the “larger than life” human being, the Giant that people expect the most from all the time.
• Symbolic Giants: debts and other crises.

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Lesson 4:

Ghost Hunting versus Haunting

Of course ghosts are real. Ghosts are souls who remain on the Earth for reasons we can only speculate. Some say it’s because of unfinished business; others say it is because they do not actually know they are dead. It seems that most people agree that ghosts haunt while spirits communicate by more benevolent and conscious means. Regardless of whether a person acknowledges the existence of ghosts, however, everyone knows what it means to be haunted by memories of “ghosts from one’s past.” We long to be rid of the demons and ghosts that seem to emerge at night – typical of ghosts – but it seems there are few tactics to actually get them out of the “house of our psyche and psychic field.”

This lecture will highlight:

• What turns a memory into a Ghost?
• In what way do our memories “walk the Earth?”
• Finishing unfinished business with Ghost memories that haunt us.
• The experience of being haunted, included spirit-attachment.
• Can we attract actual ghosts to ourselves? (a bonus fun question)

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Lesson 5:

Wizards and Alchemy

Wizardry and alchemy are absolutely seductive. They engage the fantasy of being able to transform others rather than having to transform ourselves. One tap of a magic wand and wham, your opponent is a frog or a rock. Beyond the humor of that, however, is the truth about human nature and the actual desire we have to take a lesser situation in life and instantly transform it into a more empowered one. Such is the ever-present appetite for turning lead into gold. Those who buy lotto tickets or participate in sending those email messages that promise good things will happen to you in three days if you forward this email to ten friends are dabbling in this very form of crude alchemy – albeit very crude, but alchemy nonetheless. They are counting on an “email spell” rewarding them with good fortune for following the instructions of the spell. Wizardry. Alchemy. Pure seduction. The Wizard in you is incredibly powerful and even more so if you understand that archetype, because spiritual alchemy is a very real science, if not the most sophisticated of all sciences. It is the knowledge of the mystical laws and how they function in unison within the human psyche. The teaching that “we create our own reality” is rooted in the core truths of spiritual alchemy, which in its fantasy form is wizardry.

This lecture will include:

• Recognizing the superstitions that have authority over you.
• Understanding the meaning of “being under a spell.”
• Spell-casting in modern day language.
• The shadow side of the Wizard.
• Co-creating your reality – how do you do that?

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Lesson 6:

Taking Flight on Your Phoenix

Every one is familiar with the myth of the Phoenix rising from the ashes. And even if they do not know that specific Greek myth, they know the story in their soul. This is an archetype that pulsates in our soul’s DNA. We know that the journey of life is one in which we will face the experience of parts of our life “turning to ashes”. People have lost their homes, for example, because of the sudden turn in the economy or their businesses have failed or their marriages have ended. Any sudden change or gradual one that is painful can feel as if the whole of your life has suddenly gone up in flames. The power of this myth is that it promises – and it is a promise – that a rebirth is inevitable from any incineration. And here’s a touch of irony – even if a person does not want to rise from the ashes, and some actually do not, still they will grow Phoenix-wings. The wings will become a burden to them, should they choose to remain in their own ashes because wings are useless on the ground. So like it or not, life itself moves us forward.

This lecture will emphasize:

• The Phoenix myth – a deeper perspective on why things come to an end in life.
• Recognizing when you are growing wings and when it is time to take flight.
• Never mind the past; what’s next?
• Discerning wise choices.