The Mythic Imagination: The Quest for Meaning Through Personal Mythology [Paperback]

Stephen Larsen Ph.D. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1996

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.

Editorial Reviews

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

)

"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 Selves. )

About the Author

Stephen Larsen, Ph.D., is a practicing psychotherapist and teacher who is also co-director of the Center for Symbolic Studies in New Paltz, New York. He is the author of Joseph Campbell, A Fire in the Mind, The Authorized Biography.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Inner Traditions (March 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892815744
• ISBN-13: 978-0892815746
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #645,323 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Illuminating The Presence of Myth, December 9, 2002

By 

"poohwei" (Cranston, RI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mythic Imagination: The Quest for Meaning Through Personal Mythology (Paperback)

Stephen Larsen's Mythic Imagination guides the reader in discovering the presence and power of myth in their everyday lives, from the unhealthy stereotypical myths of society to the healthy and empowering myths that brings one's soul closer to the spiritual realm of universal connection. Using dreams, expressive therapy and creative-play techniques, he explains that by embodying mythological and archetypal powers in a serious yet playful `as-if' attitude, one can increase their level of self-knowledge and further their spiritual journey. Larsen leaves the reader with a collection of exercises that enable one to invite mythic archetypes into a more conscious role in their lives through guided visualizations, journaling, clowning, and mask making.

The most profound realizations came from seeing Larsen's combination of the mythological, psychological, and therapeutic elements at play toward individuation. I have had the notion that when we are in the presence of something transcendent, we feel and experience it on a much deeper level. Larsen connects the role of the "dark prehuman" automatic nervous system to the healing process through images and experiences that resonate with primary meaning. For me, this reinforces the concept of the collective unconscious and of the archetypal energies that inspire the mythic imagination in us all.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Explore your own myth, April 21, 2011

By 

foresthermit - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Mythic Imagination: The Quest for Meaning Through Personal Mythology (Paperback)

Delve deep into these mythic imaginings to gain perspective regarding who you really are or who you want to be so that you can LIVE YOUR OWN MYTH.