Myths and the Modern World
A Six-Part Symposium at the *Stayer Center, Marian University
Presented by Marian University and the Hanwakan Center
Sunday Afternoons 1:00 – 3.30pm, Feb. 15th – Mar. 22nd 2015
Myths orient people to the metaphysical dimension, explain the origins and nature of the cosmos, validate social issues, and, on the psychological plane, address themselves to the innermost depths of the psyche. - Joseph Campbell
Symposium Schedule
Week 1: Sunday, February 15, 2015
The Mythic Realm Within and Without
Dennis Merritt
Humans have always understood themselves and their relationship to nature by stories with the Big Stories being the myths and the mythic base of all religions. Myths emerge from the mytho-poetic dimension of human experience, what Carl Jung called the realm of the archetypes and the collective unconscious. Myths set the baseline for the values, ethics and patterns of relationships in a culture and the perceptions and responses to nature. Individuals and cultures get cut off from this foundation by an overly rational and overly scientific worldview, but the connection to nature and the mythic, symbolic realm survives in our dreams.