This episode begins with Socrates’ idea of the difference between two types of lies. The first type of untruth is the “noble lie” best understood as stories or myths that are not factual, yet are foundational because they reveal important truths and wisdom. The other kind of untruth is the “lie of the soul” that is taken into a person's being and becomes treated as if it was the truth. This is the most dangerous kind of lie because it has a destructive effect on a person's core being and soul.
The rise of political strongmen in many parts of the world is typically based upon lies of the soul that cause wide divisions and great animosities amongst people. Unfortunately, many modern people have become infected with lies of the soul, which then become like a collective poison that can corrupt people in positions of power as well as entire institutions. Just as the lie of the soul separates a person from any kind of inner truth, it can also separate a society from the very truths upon which it was founded.
Currently, we are living through our own harrowing version of the loss of essential truths and the rise of lies that divide people and threaten the stability of the world. As a partial antidote to the spread of lies that damage the soul, Michael Meade turns to the epic myth of Churning the Milk Ocean from ancient India. We all are caught in a tug of war that keeps dividing people and threatens to pull everything apart. Yet, one of the functions of myth is to show that this has happened before and further reveal that the increased tension of the opposites can also generate the energy and consciousness needed to raise forgotten truths and generate the healing needed to restore balance and meaning to life on earth.
Thank you for listening to and supporting Living Myth. You can hear Michael Meade live by joining his new online series “The Creative Middle Way” that begins on Thursday, March 28. Register and learn more at mosaicvoices.org/events.
You can save 30% on this series and further support this podcast by becoming a member of Living Myth Premium. Members receive bonus episodes each month, access to the full archives of over 600 episodes and a 30% discount on all events, courses and book and audio titles. Learn more and join this community of listeners at patreon.com/livingmyth.
If you enjoy this podcast, we appreciate you leaving a review wherever you listen and sharing it with your friends. On behalf of Michael Meade and the whole Mosaic staff, we wish you well during this challenging and uncertain times and thank you for your support of our work.
Episode 345 - Your Calling Keeps Calling
Episode 344 - The Thread of Life
Episode 343 - The Right Trouble
Episode 342 - A Climate of Overwhelm
Episode 341 - A True Path in Life
Episode 340 - When Men Are Lost
Episode 339 - On Not Being Perfect
Episode 338 - Waves of Change
Episode 337 - Original Mind
Episode 336 - A Divine Wake-Up Call
Episode 335 - A Clash of Worldviews
Premium Episode 116 Excerpt - The Subtle Ground of Imagination
Episode 334 - Living in the Shadow of Doubt
Episode 333 - The Forgotten Language of Myth
Episode 332 - The Deep Self Within
Episode 331 - The Depths of Renewal
Episode 330 - Surviving Catastrophe
Episode 329 - What We Love is the Cure
Episode 328 - Fear of Change
Episode 327 - The Song of the Earth
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Modern West
강유원의 책담화冊談話
The Art of Manliness
The Gray Area with Sean Illing
Dear Hank & John
Overthink