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<v Speaker 1>This fall, we're doing something at Mythic Mind that we

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<v Speaker 1>haven't done before. Over the years, Mythic Mind has grown

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<v Speaker 1>in a lot of different directions. We talk about philosophy

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<v Speaker 1>and theology. We read Tolkien and Lewis and other great

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<v Speaker 1>works of literature. We talk about myths and stories across

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<v Speaker 1>books and movies and video games. We publish essays and

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<v Speaker 1>offer courses, and we gather together for conversations in the fellowship.

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<v Speaker 1>And all those things are going to continue, but beginning

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<v Speaker 1>this fall, we're going to start bringing them together in

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<v Speaker 1>a new way. For the first time, we're organizing Mythic

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<v Speaker 1>Mind around a common seasonal theme, a question or a

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<v Speaker 1>set of questions that we can pursue across all these

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<v Speaker 1>different worlds. And for our first organized season, we're turning inward.

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<v Speaker 1>Mythic Mind is Exploring the Psyche. At the heart of

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<v Speaker 1>this season is a simple question that may seem strange

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<v Speaker 1>if you've never heard it asked before, if you've never

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<v Speaker 1>encountered it. And that is, what does it mean to

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<v Speaker 1>be a self? What does it mean to be this

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<v Speaker 1>strange kind of creature who not only exists, but knows

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<v Speaker 1>that he exists? Who thinks about itself, tells stories about itself,

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<v Speaker 1>worries about itself, tries to understand itself, and wonders... Who

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<v Speaker 1>it is that he might become, that he ought to become.

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<v Speaker 1>What is anxiety? What is despair? What do our desires

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<v Speaker 1>reveal about our nature and what it is that we

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<v Speaker 1>are for? What does freedom actually mean? And how are

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<v Speaker 1>we shaped by the stories that we tell ourselves? Those

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<v Speaker 1>are some of the philosophical and theological questions that we

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<v Speaker 1>are asking. But they're also the questions at the heart

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<v Speaker 1>of some of our greatest stories. And that's exactly why

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<v Speaker 1>I think there's such a natural fit for mythic mind.

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<v Speaker 1>One of the convictions behind mythic mind has always been

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<v Speaker 1>that we can pursue wisdom through both primary and secondary worlds. Indeed,

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<v Speaker 1>that we must pursue wisdom in this way. And so

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes this means we are reading a philosopher or a

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<v Speaker 1>theologian directly. Sometimes it means that we're encountering the same

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<v Speaker 1>problem in a novel or an ancient myth. Or we're

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<v Speaker 1>seeing it embedded in a character on screen or We're

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<v Speaker 1>experiencing it from the inside through a story-driven video game.

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<v Speaker 1>Different worlds can approach the same human mystery from different directions,

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<v Speaker 1>and that's exactly what we are trying to do this fall.

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<v Speaker 1>In the Inkwell, we'll be publishing essays that explore the

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<v Speaker 1>psyche through philosophy, theology, literature, and storytelling of various kinds.

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<v Speaker 1>Across the Mythic Mind podcast, we'll follow these questions into stories, films, games,

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<v Speaker 1>devoted conversations with professionals in the field, and we'll be

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<v Speaker 1>dealing with thinkers who have tried to understand the human

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<v Speaker 1>person across the ages. And so in the fellowship, we'll

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<v Speaker 1>be continuing these conversations together through our live discussions and

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<v Speaker 1>our ongoing community. But there's one thinker who's really going

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<v Speaker 1>to play a particularly important role in this season, and

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<v Speaker 1>that is Soren Kierkegaard, the great Danish Christian existentialist and

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<v Speaker 1>the focus of my doctoral dissertations. I've already begun a

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<v Speaker 1>series in the Inkwell on Kierkegaard's psychology, and beginning in October,

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<v Speaker 1>we're going to be going much deeper with a new

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<v Speaker 1>Mythic Mind Academy course, The Psychology of Soren Kierkegaard, Life

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<v Speaker 1>in Anxiety and Despair. Kierkegaard is one of the great

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<v Speaker 1>explorers of the inner life. He writes about anxiety and despair,

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<v Speaker 1>freedom and possibility, identity and self-deception, faith and the difficulty

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<v Speaker 1>of becoming the person we were created to be. And

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<v Speaker 1>one of the things that I find so compelling about

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<v Speaker 1>him is that none of this is merely abstract psychology.

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<v Speaker 1>For Kierkegaard, the problem of becoming a self is ultimately,

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<v Speaker 1>it's a religious and deeply existential problem. The self can

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<v Speaker 1>only finally be understood in relation to God, or as

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<v Speaker 1>Kierkegaard says in The Concept of Anxiety, the power that

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<v Speaker 1>established the self. And so Kierkegaard will give us one

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<v Speaker 1>of our major paths into the season, but he won't

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<v Speaker 1>be the whole season. And that's really the idea that

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<v Speaker 1>I want to emphasize here, that Exploring the Psyche isn't

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<v Speaker 1>just the name of a course, and it isn't simply

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<v Speaker 1>a series about Kierkegaard. It's a question that we're going

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<v Speaker 1>to be living with for the entirety of our lives,

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<v Speaker 1>and particularly so within the next few months. We'll be

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<v Speaker 1>approaching it through philosophy, through theology, literature, movies, games, and

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<v Speaker 1>through the conversations that we have with one another. Some

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<v Speaker 1>of those connections will be obvious from the beginning. Others

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<v Speaker 1>may surprise us along the way as we take some

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<v Speaker 1>unique directions with this. That's part of what excites me

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<v Speaker 1>about organizing Mythic Mind in this way. Instead of treating

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<v Speaker 1>all of these different things as separate projects, we can

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<v Speaker 1>allow them to speak to one another in this cross-media direction.

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<v Speaker 1>A philosopher can help us understand a story. A story

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<v Speaker 1>can reveal something that is difficult to express philosophically. And

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<v Speaker 1>both can send us back to the fundamental questions of

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<v Speaker 1>who are we, what are we for, and what does

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<v Speaker 1>it mean to become a self? If you've been following

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<v Speaker 1>Mythic Mind for a long time, then I hope that

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<v Speaker 1>this gives you a new way to experience everything that

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<v Speaker 1>we're doing. And if you've only recently found us, then

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<v Speaker 1>this is a particularly good time to come along. You

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<v Speaker 1>don't have to participate in everything. You can read an essay.

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<v Speaker 1>You can listen to a podcast. You can join us

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<v Speaker 1>for the Kierkegaard Study. You can come into the Fellowship.

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<v Speaker 1>and take part in the conversation through whatever doorway most

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<v Speaker 1>interests you. Or you can simply follow this question that

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<v Speaker 1>we're asking, wherever it leads, and we're providing a number

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<v Speaker 1>of pathways to do that. And so, this fall, we

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<v Speaker 1>are exploring the psyche, and I hope that you'll explore

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<v Speaker 1>it with us. Whether you want to become an active

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<v Speaker 1>participant in these conversations, or you just want to follow

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<v Speaker 1>along with what we're doing for free, then in either case,

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<v Speaker 1>head over to mythicmindfellowship.com. and join the fellowship today. And

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to seeing you on the inside as

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<v Speaker 1>we explore the psyche together.