Discover the Heroes and Heroines In You
Every culture has evolved its own Mythology defining its character and offering a way to understand the world. Mythology illuminates creation, god, nature of the world, nature of humans. The themes in great myths are universal. Myths from different cultures have striking similarities. Though great myths concern gods, heroes and monsters, much of their fascination lies in how they illuminate the human values and human nature. Archetypes are life models and ideas, that guide the direction of our life toward our soul's ultimate destiny. Mythical stories is full of Archetypal themes and Archetypes.
We all have divine potential within us. Mythical stories and Archetypes in them serves as a guide and role model to manifest our divine potential. In his book - Spontaneous fulfillment of desire, Dr Deepak Chopra talks about Mythology and Archetypes. He says in his book that "Each individual soul has mythical quest. Individual soul will not be fulfilled unless it completes its mythical quest. Inside every human being there is an overarching theme, a template for heroic living, a god or a goddess in embryo that yearns to be born. Archetypal themes are born of the representations of our collective soul's yearnings, imagination and deepest desires, but the themes are enacted by individual souls."
In India everyone is exposed to mythical stories from their childhood. Two great Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, which are popularly read even today is full of Archetypal themes and Archetypes. These Archetypal themes provide us something to aspire for in our own life. Greek Mythology, Roman Mythology, Egyptian Mythology and even Bible has lot of Archetypal themes we can learn from. We can use the Archetypes from these stories as our role models.
In recent times Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King Jr, have raised to greatness - fulfilling the longing of collective souls. In the modern times, archetypal themes are played in movies like Star Wars and Company brand identity like Harley-Davidson. Movie stars and Celebrities also archetypes in a way, but they are second class, compared to real life Heroes and Heroines. You can find Heroes and Heroines in your local community who have risen to greatness fulfilling the need of the collective consciousness. In the community where I live, I see many Heroes and Heroines who provide volunteer services and raising above normal, providing as an role model for others to follow
When I was in India I didn't realize the value of mythology. After exploring spirituality, came to realize the treasures hidden in mythology to guide our life.
How can you awaken the Heroes or Heroines lying dormant within you?
Find answers to the soul questions - Who are you?
What do you want?
What is the purpose of your existence?
What are your deepest desires?
These questions will help you to discover your Archetype and Archetypal themes that you want to manifest. Relationships in your life, situations/events in your life, time period in which you are living also provides context and meaning to play out your archetypal themes.
You can also read more about Mythology and Archetypes from the following books
a) A Mythic Life by Jean Houston
b) Sacred Contracts by Caroline Myss
c) The ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology
Sponsored by:
Venkatesh Anandasayanam is a Chopra Center Educator, trained and credentialed by Dr. Deepak Chopra M.D to teach Primordial Sound Meditation, Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga and Perfect Health programs. . He has been offering Yoga, Meditation and Ayurvedic classs and workshops for nearly 8 years in Peoria, IL, USA. He raises funds for a non-profit organization Aim for Seva - that supports childrens in rural areas of India (http://www.aimforseva.org/) and Chaitanya Educational Foundation (http://www.cefoundation.org/) - a non-profit school in Banglore, India that trains and supports mentally disabled children.