Folk Tales as Spiritual Guidance for Today with Allan Hunter

Why should we care about Fairy tales and folk tales? The Grimm brothers were meticulous in collecting their tales, and yet Disney and others have shamelessly softened and altered the core of these great stories. In the process the spiritual values have been lost – and so tales that were once filled with meaning have become entertainments for seven-year olds. We can, if we know what to look for, find this spiritual core, and be enriched by it. Of particular interest is the concept of the six archetypes of human development, which are evident in the tales, and which are powerful sign posts of spiritual development, available to us all, if we care to look! 

Allan Hunter’s work explores the intersections of literature, memoir-writing, ancient wisdom, and the ways of the heart.He has spent much of his professional life exploring how literature and story-telling (including soap operas) tap into the deep and unarticulated needs of society, and especially the ways of the heart. It is from these powerful influences that we shape our lives and ultimately our destiny. He is a professor of Literature and a counselor, with a doctoral degree from Oxford University. British by birth, he traveled extensively in Europe, India, Africa, and Peru before settling in Boston, Massachusetts.