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PODCAST

Living Myth

Mosaic presents Living Myth, a podcast with Michael Meade, renowned mythologist and storyteller. Meade presents mythic stories that offer uniquely insightful and wise ways of understanding the current dilemmas of the world we live in. Living Myth proposes that genuine solutions to the complex and intractable problems of our world require both transcendent imagination and cohering, transformative narratives.

society & culture philosophy

All Episodes

14:03

Premium Episode 175 Excerpt - The Redemptive Power of...

Living Myth ·

2026/04/02

On this excerpt from a Living Myth Premium episode, Michael Meade discusses the inherent longing for redemption and how it can be experienced as a life-seeking process rather than an end-of-life event. He explores the archetypes of creation and apocalypse, reframing the latter as an expression of the dynamic of collapse and renewal. Part of renewal involves connecting to vertical imagination, that goes deep into the unconscious, and can reveal the unique map of each soul's journey and help us become

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27:02

Episode 481 - The Path of Dreams

Living Myth ·

2026/04/01

In this episode, Michael Meade tells an old story of someone who follows a dream that leads to being stripped down and stuck, before it unfolds a path to healing and wholeness. Bringing a dream to life means changing everything and change is most often accompanied by fear and resistance. Meade suggests that living a dream requires the courage to cross not only where others fear to go, but also to enter where we fear to tread. Stories and dreams are about the mysteries of life. And

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25:41

Episode 480 - A Reminiscence Bump vs. the Eternal...

Living Myth ·

2026/03/25

This episode begins with the contemporary psychological theory of a "reminiscence bump" which attempts to explain why we remember certain songs and events from our youth, while forgetting most other things. The theory includes the idea that our sense of identity comes from an internalized story that we construct to make sense of our life. Michael Meade contrasts this kind of mainstream psychology with the ancient idea that youth is not simply a stage or a phase in life, but more of a meaningful,

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35:17

Episode 479 - Living with Emotional Upheaval

Living Myth ·

2026/03/18

This episode of Living Myth focuses upon the extreme emotions generated by the war in Iran and the many other conflicts and divisions in the current world. Michael Meade addresses the increasing flood of raw emotions that we are all subjected to and what psychologists are now calling "political depression." Although political depression can present the same sense of hopelessness and despair as traditional depression, its source is different. It does not simply come from within; but rather from the

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26:15

Episode 478 - Medicine of the Deep Self

Living Myth ·

2026/03/11

In this episode, Michael Meade examines how collective fear and overwhelm can knock the ego off balance and lead to stress and despair. Since the world will not settle soon, the unity and wholeness so sorely missing in the outer world must be found within us. As things fall apart the "knowing self" within moves closer to the surface, seeking to become more conscious to us. Despite the troubles they cause, critical turning points in life intend to change us from within, giving us access to

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27:47

Episode 477 - Living with a Whole Heart

Living Myth ·

2026/03/04

In this episode of Living Myth, Michael Meade considers the current global challenges and emphasizes the importance of living from a place of wholeheartedness. He reflects on the symbolism of an open heart and how facing personal fears contributes to living a life of meaning and purpose. Woven through this episode are poems from Rumi and William Stafford about the need for transformation and the unique role each soul plays in the world's drama. Like the Earth, the human heart bears an inner

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28:25

Episode 476 - Resistance to Change

Living Myth ·

2026/02/25

This episode considers the problem of resistance to change from psychological and mythological viewpoints. While we are facing radical changes that threaten both nature and culture, we are also challenged by the dilemma of human resistance to change at both personal and collective levels. The issue is not simply a lack of commitment to change. Rather, resistance arises precisely where we have the best intentions to change. The problem becomes all the more difficult as we may not be aware of our

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26:58

Episode 475 - How Stories Heal and Make Us Whole

Living Myth ·

2026/02/18

Michael Meade explores how stories enable us to understand the world and our place in it. Mythic narratives weave the divine and natural realms together in ways that become antidotes for our anxieties and fears. To be modern can mean to have fallen out of story or to be living in opposing stories as many people believe at this time. Yet, stories are how we understand our lives and how we make meaning of even the most overwhelming and tragic aspects of life. At each critical juncture or time

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29:06

Episode 474 - Fear of Change

Living Myth ·

2026/02/11

There are certain, critical moments that say directly to us: You must change your life. Collectively, we are in a time when great changes are necessary; yet the idea of truly changing is too fearful for most people. On this episode of Living Myth, Michael Meade tells a surprising story from ancient India in which a fearful tiger suddenly awakens to its true inner nature and becomes transformed. It turns out that learning about one's true self can be like approaching a tiger. The authentic

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25:49

Episode 473 - Finding Guidance in Your Life

Living Myth ·

2026/02/04

Michael Meade reflects on how, if we are able to stop and listen more deeply, we can connect with subtle sources of wisdom and guidance. He shares his experiences of receiving guidance that has taken the form of dreams, birds and animals, an inner voice and the realm of myth and story. Essential to the practice of hearing these vital messages is both an embrace of humility and a willingness to stand in the place of not knowing. During this time of upheaval in both culture and nature,

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27:24

Episode 472 - Moments of Truth

Living Myth ·

2026/01/28

This episode begins with the recent shooting in Minneapolis in which an intensive care nurse named Alex Pretti was shot ten times by ICE and border patrol agents. There are fateful occasions when a tragic event becomes a moment of truth for both individual life and the collective meaning and core values of a culture. Michael Meade suggests that: "We are now, and may be for some time, in a collective tragedy that involves a battle for truth and meaning, but also the need for a transformation of

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29:17

Episode 471 - The Importance of Creative Practice

Living Myth ·

2026/01/21

On this episode of Living Myth, Michael Meade turns to the realms of art and practice as ways to avoid overwhelm and find coherence in an increasingly chaotic world. Since the world will not settle soon, the unity and wholeness so sorely missing must be found within us. Fortunately, as fears and uncertainty grow, a balancing imagination and healing energy tries to awaken within our souls. The creative arts and spiritual practices are the traditional paths that can lead us to the deep resources and

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26:02

Episode 470 - Lifting the Veil

Living Myth ·

2026/01/14

This episode begins with the differences between paradigm shifts that replace old theories with new ones and a shifting of the archetypes that can transform all levels of life. The origins of apocalypse involve an archetypal shift that begins with a period of chaos and collapse before it leads to creation and a renewal of life. The initial phase of an apocalyptic period also involves a "lifting of the veil" that reveals what has been concealed behind closed doors and uncovers what has long been

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23:42

Episode 469 - World Upside Down

Living Myth ·

2026/01/07

This episode looks at the shocking beginning of the new year in which the U.S. government invades Venezuela, extracts the sitting president and announces that it will be "running the country" that has the largest reserve of oil in the world. A dream that follows what appears to be the dissolution of the international order, that has mostly prevailed for the past eighty years, depicts the confusions and fears of a world turned upside down. It also shows how in the maelstrom of reckless conflicts

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39:41

Episode 468 - The Soul's Great Adventure

Living Myth ·

2026/01/02

Michael Meade explores how the soul's great adventure tries to surface throughout life, so that any moment can become a true turning point if we leave the maps that others have made, follow the soul's original calling and enter life more fully and more meaningfully. He suggests that ultimately it involves a "gnosis," a deeper way of knowing that uncovers our inner resources and reveals the unique powers and gifts of our soul. We are repeatedly asked to choose: either we accept the life that has been

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18:24

Episode 467 - How Healing Songs Began

Living Myth ·

2025/12/24

This episode of Living Myth begins with a Native American story of the origin of healing rituals. In telling the tale Michael Meade emphasizes a remarkable point in the story when knowledge, healing and songs all enter the world at the same time. The songs become central elements in the original healing ritual which brings those that are sick or wounded to the center of the community. Having established the importance of healing songs, Meade introduces an excerpt from Mosaic's recording "A Song is a

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23:48

Episode 466 - Bringing Back the Light

Living Myth ·

2025/12/17

This episode of Living Myth begins with a review of how cosmology used to refer to all of the ways that humans could imagine the creation of the world and the subtle connections of the human soul to the living cosmos. "As above, so below" is the ancient mantra that places humankind in the middle of the cosmic story as an essential link in the chain of being. As individuals we may properly feel frail and small; yet we belong to more than one dimension of life. And the dark time of the year is the

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39:20

Episode 465 - The Spell of Perfectionism

Living Myth ·

2025/12/10

This episode brings a focus to the problem of perfectionism and how it can silence our natural spontaneity, turn our innate passions into stone and cancel the imagination and creativity that are natural to our souls. Perfectionism can be paradoxical in the sense that it can foster an egotistical sense that we are better than others or plunge us into feelings of inferiority and inadequacy. Michael Meade uses an old tale to show how the quest for perfection is a hopeless endeavor that

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21:53

Episode 464 - The Importance of the Otherworld

Living Myth ·

2025/12/03

This episode brings a focus to the importance of recognizing that we live in more than one world. Before modern times, it was commonly understood that there was another world next to the daily domain of facts and figures and that this other world is real in its own way. What traditional societies called the Otherworld turns out to be the primordial center, the place of origins and the essential source for changing and healing the daily world. Thus, the problem is not simply that damaging things

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24:01

Episode 463 - Gratitude and Grace

Living Myth ·

2025/11/25

On this episode, Michael Meade considers the sources and meanings of grace and gratitude, two words that are connected and come from the same ancient roots. Gratitude is like a flower rooted in the heart that seeks to blossom from within us. Grace is a state of awe that can fall upon us unexpectedly and reveal the hidden beauty and wonder of creation. The instinct to give thanks seeks moments of wholeness that help bring a sense of grace back to the world. The presence of grace brings

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