Episode 205 - A Ritual for Each Other
This episode of Living Myth recounts the process of shaping a ritual in the high desert to bring healing and unity to a painfully divided group of younger and older people. Making analogies to our currently divided culture, Michael Meade sets the scene: “In the realm of myth, as in the territories of ritual, there are no accidents. So, this story of feeling exiled and being lost, of feeling victimized and caught in resentments doesn't appear accidentally. It appears because at this time I feel aspects of my own inner exile, and because so many people are trying to figure out how to reach across the current divide to those on the other side.” Stating that there can be no simple or clever solutions for that kind of problem, Meade turns to the old idea of being wounded healers. “I imagine that if we're going to turn out to be wounded healers who help each other find unity, we're going to have to find both stories and rituals that allow us to honestly feel and truly express the ways in which we are all wounded and feel exiled. For, only in places of deep sharing and mutual compassion can we find ourselves all in the same story, and in the age-old ritual of painfully uncovering the wounds, speaking the truth from those wounded places, and then allowing the beauty of the world, and the healing powers of nature to set us back on the paths of our dreams.” Thank you for listening to and supporting this podcast. You can hear Michael Meade talk more about myth and ritual by joining his new online series “The Arc of Transformation” that continues this Friday, Dec. 11. Register and learn more at mosaicvoices.org/events. You can save 30% on this series, receive additional podcast episodes and further support this podcast by becoming a member of Living Myth Premium. Learn more and become a member at patreon.com/livingmyth. On behalf of Michael Meade and the whole Mosaic staff, we wish you and your loved ones continued well-being, protection and deep community connection during this period of great challenge, change and transformation.
