This is a fascinating topic! I’ve often thought about the roles of religion, myths, and traditions in our lives, but I’ve never written about them, so it will be interesting to see how my thoughts align with this discussion.
I agree that myths don’t need to be true to convey wisdom. As “The Truth of Myths” points out, myths are timeless stories that transcend literal reality, offering insights into human nature, morality, and the structure of society. Morgan Housel captures this perfectly:
“When a topic is complex, stories are like leverage.”
And
“The best story wins. Not the best idea, or the right idea, or the most rational idea.”
And
“Great ideas explained poorly can go nowhere while old/wrong ideas told compellingly can ignite a revolution.”
And another example from another great storyteller, Richard Feynman:
We have seen the same thing from another author, Yuval Noah Harari. Is sapiens entirely accurate, or is there anything new in it? The answer is No. I will quote Harari here:
“I thought, ‘This is so banal!’ … There is absolutely nothing there that is new. I’m not an archeologist. I’m not a primatologist. I mean, I did zero new research. . . . It was really reading the kind of common knowledge and just presenting it in a new way.“
This highlights an important point: the power of a myth or story isn’t in its novelty or factual accuracy but in its ability to resonate with people and convey deeper truths.
Before the advent of widespread literacy, storytelling was the most effective way to pass on knowledge. Myths—whether religious, cultural, or even modern—served as tools to preserve wisdom, instill moral values, and create order in society.
I believe that myths, religions, and traditions all serve the crucial purpose of providing structure and meaning to human life. They help create shared values and ensure societal cohesion. For example, traditions like weddings or festivals celebrating the triumph of good over evil reinforce a sense of community and continuity. These stories and ceremonies have been passed down for generations, ensuring that certain norms and practices persist, promoting order rather than chaos.
Ultimately, myths are not static relics of the past; they are living, evolving narratives that continue to shape our world. I also think that this practice of creating and retelling stories has never stopped—and likely never will—because stories are how we make sense of our lives, our communities, and the world around us.
Exactly and great additions. Recently there was a discussion between Jordan Peterson and Richard Dawkins where Dawkins couldn't get past the idea that bible stories weren't true. It explains so much about the New Atheists and why it's such a fragile philosophy and so empty.
Myths are vital in understanding what is outside or beyond our logical brain.
However in Indigenous Cultures they were tied to ritual to get their transformative power.
If myths float separately they are just stories, important yes but not transformative.
There's lots that we 'a la carte' from true cultures, and because of this, we don't get the full transmission.
We, in our 'pseudoculture', have only ceremony, which is really lip service to ritual, and so we don't get the full transformation through, for example, the stages of life.
I think that's true but not complete. Western religions still have the ritual and transformative power. Indigenous cultures weren't unique in their mythologies either. What you describe is ubiquitous across cultures. The main group who is missing the ritual are the current Atheists IMO.
Hi Michael, thank you for your reply. Myths and rituals were ubiquitous across Indigenous cultures, yes.
Western religions have ceremony not ritual. For example in the catholic religion there is the marriage ceremony. It’s not ritual because there’s no transformation, (for example, there are people who still feel single after the marriage ceremony). It’s difficult in a substack text response but in the west we have lost the dynamics of ritual. Lots of Anthropological research done on this to describe the difference.
I'd say when you look at the ritual of Catholic Mass that is often transformative. Even the wedding though, when you look at the liturgy, is two people becoming one, a new creation.
Michael, wouldn't it be great if it was this way, alas no. I've been to enough masses over the years when I was catholic to have experienced the lack of transformation. And the mass is not ritual, it's ceremony. People aren't transformed. And weddings, well the divorce rate is clear evidence of the lack of transformation.
Ideally you are correct it should all do this but it has long since lost any sense of it's original essence and is played out, quite unconsciously, as ceremony by rote now.
I really appreciate the heart and wisdom you weave into your articles, regardless of the subject. I noticed that right away in Paradox. I am just starting your second book. Paradox is one of those stories that stayed with me. It is extremely insightful and can’t help but think there are people in AI at big tech and investing firms that would benefit from reading your perspectives right now. 😊😂
That's so amazing to hear. Integration is a bit of a different read. Similar story but a different style because of the nature of AI living in computers.
I look forward to it. Am I allowed to admit that I do some of my best due diligence reading fiction? It helps unblock my imagination and see new possibilities. I am an analyst but not a conventional one. I also get inspiration from mythology. That is whether I like it or not as many mythological characters show up in my dreams. For example, Thor paid me a visit a couple of years ago. I did not know it was him at first. He showed me a rune representing the thorn of a rose 🌹and another one that was the sign for Libra. He had bright red long hair. He offered to teach me about runes. Of course, I told him to go away because I was busy studying for a test about runes (I can’t help but relate to your recent article about problems asking for help 😏). A younger version of Einstein came to visit in my dreams last week. I asked him if he were a polymath and he asked me what a polymath was. 😂😂😂
Yikes. It was not Einstein. I got confused. It was Leonardo Da Vinci. I think Einstein probably was too. I am not sure anyone that smart is tunnel visioned. They would never be able to connect the dots for big breakthroughs.
Excellent. The non-dual teacher Joan Tolifson recently put it something like this here on substack: I believe in the resurrection of Christ spiritually but not literally.
Jordan Peterson was discussing this with Jonathan Pageau recently too. When we don't make it literal it's easier to do as he commanded and be like him. So much more meaning and agency for us.
That is an excellent point, and one I didn’t realize until you articulated it in the post. I’ve been intuitively living it out without putting it in those exact words.
Of course, I do think it’s worth acknowledging that this approach would be considered heresy by most of Christendom, for whom the resurrection of Christ is not symbolic but a literal act of God’s mercy for a fallen world. This starts with St. Paul and continues to the present day. I get a bit worried that we overlook that.
But that does not mean the spiritual — rather than literal — path is not, in my view, preferable.
Fantastic! So many people have made it heresy, but what I find interesting is even Jesus didn't speak literally; he spoke in parables/analogies. We recognize that he did this and then turn and try to force it to all be factual. I dug into that angle a few months ago if you're interested. I found that I unlocked a lot more meaning and value by letting go of the literal.
So glad you wrote about this! I find mythology super interesting. I was introduced to this idea that fiction and myth are in fact abstracted meta-truths, which arise from a compilation of multiple stories, to distil the principles which we find interesting in them... so amazing!
Myths are fantastically useful, and in a very real sense, the moral lesson they pass along to us is there whether or not the event actually happened. The trouble arises, of course, when someone insists that they know the myth happened.
I really do appreciate the ancient wisdom embedded in religious practices, particularly since all types of thinking (including so-called spiritual thinking) was much more closely related "back in the day." Once upon a time, we were all polymaths.
Myths fascinate me, especially through a Jungian lens as windows into the collective unconscious. This perspective inspires quite captivating journey :)
Great topic. I completely agree—myths are powerful precisely because they transcend the literal, offerring us truth-laden narratives that resonate across time and space.
And funnily enough, just yesterday I found myself streaming words into a poem (not typical for me at all!) on the very topic of returning to Eden.
This is a fascinating topic! I’ve often thought about the roles of religion, myths, and traditions in our lives, but I’ve never written about them, so it will be interesting to see how my thoughts align with this discussion.
I agree that myths don’t need to be true to convey wisdom. As “The Truth of Myths” points out, myths are timeless stories that transcend literal reality, offering insights into human nature, morality, and the structure of society. Morgan Housel captures this perfectly:
“When a topic is complex, stories are like leverage.”
And
“The best story wins. Not the best idea, or the right idea, or the most rational idea.”
And
“Great ideas explained poorly can go nowhere while old/wrong ideas told compellingly can ignite a revolution.”
And another example from another great storyteller, Richard Feynman:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=N1pIYI5JQLE
We have seen the same thing from another author, Yuval Noah Harari. Is sapiens entirely accurate, or is there anything new in it? The answer is No. I will quote Harari here:
“I thought, ‘This is so banal!’ … There is absolutely nothing there that is new. I’m not an archeologist. I’m not a primatologist. I mean, I did zero new research. . . . It was really reading the kind of common knowledge and just presenting it in a new way.“
This highlights an important point: the power of a myth or story isn’t in its novelty or factual accuracy but in its ability to resonate with people and convey deeper truths.
Before the advent of widespread literacy, storytelling was the most effective way to pass on knowledge. Myths—whether religious, cultural, or even modern—served as tools to preserve wisdom, instill moral values, and create order in society.
I believe that myths, religions, and traditions all serve the crucial purpose of providing structure and meaning to human life. They help create shared values and ensure societal cohesion. For example, traditions like weddings or festivals celebrating the triumph of good over evil reinforce a sense of community and continuity. These stories and ceremonies have been passed down for generations, ensuring that certain norms and practices persist, promoting order rather than chaos.
Ultimately, myths are not static relics of the past; they are living, evolving narratives that continue to shape our world. I also think that this practice of creating and retelling stories has never stopped—and likely never will—because stories are how we make sense of our lives, our communities, and the world around us.
Exactly and great additions. Recently there was a discussion between Jordan Peterson and Richard Dawkins where Dawkins couldn't get past the idea that bible stories weren't true. It explains so much about the New Atheists and why it's such a fragile philosophy and so empty.
Myths are vital in understanding what is outside or beyond our logical brain.
However in Indigenous Cultures they were tied to ritual to get their transformative power.
If myths float separately they are just stories, important yes but not transformative.
There's lots that we 'a la carte' from true cultures, and because of this, we don't get the full transmission.
We, in our 'pseudoculture', have only ceremony, which is really lip service to ritual, and so we don't get the full transformation through, for example, the stages of life.
I think that's true but not complete. Western religions still have the ritual and transformative power. Indigenous cultures weren't unique in their mythologies either. What you describe is ubiquitous across cultures. The main group who is missing the ritual are the current Atheists IMO.
Hi Michael, thank you for your reply. Myths and rituals were ubiquitous across Indigenous cultures, yes.
Western religions have ceremony not ritual. For example in the catholic religion there is the marriage ceremony. It’s not ritual because there’s no transformation, (for example, there are people who still feel single after the marriage ceremony). It’s difficult in a substack text response but in the west we have lost the dynamics of ritual. Lots of Anthropological research done on this to describe the difference.
I'd say when you look at the ritual of Catholic Mass that is often transformative. Even the wedding though, when you look at the liturgy, is two people becoming one, a new creation.
Michael, wouldn't it be great if it was this way, alas no. I've been to enough masses over the years when I was catholic to have experienced the lack of transformation. And the mass is not ritual, it's ceremony. People aren't transformed. And weddings, well the divorce rate is clear evidence of the lack of transformation.
Ideally you are correct it should all do this but it has long since lost any sense of it's original essence and is played out, quite unconsciously, as ceremony by rote now.
I really appreciate the heart and wisdom you weave into your articles, regardless of the subject. I noticed that right away in Paradox. I am just starting your second book. Paradox is one of those stories that stayed with me. It is extremely insightful and can’t help but think there are people in AI at big tech and investing firms that would benefit from reading your perspectives right now. 😊😂
That's so amazing to hear. Integration is a bit of a different read. Similar story but a different style because of the nature of AI living in computers.
I look forward to it. Am I allowed to admit that I do some of my best due diligence reading fiction? It helps unblock my imagination and see new possibilities. I am an analyst but not a conventional one. I also get inspiration from mythology. That is whether I like it or not as many mythological characters show up in my dreams. For example, Thor paid me a visit a couple of years ago. I did not know it was him at first. He showed me a rune representing the thorn of a rose 🌹and another one that was the sign for Libra. He had bright red long hair. He offered to teach me about runes. Of course, I told him to go away because I was busy studying for a test about runes (I can’t help but relate to your recent article about problems asking for help 😏). A younger version of Einstein came to visit in my dreams last week. I asked him if he were a polymath and he asked me what a polymath was. 😂😂😂
Lol. That's awesome. At least you could answer Einstein! 😏 I actually don't know if he was a polymath. Brilliant yes, but also very specialized.
Yikes. It was not Einstein. I got confused. It was Leonardo Da Vinci. I think Einstein probably was too. I am not sure anyone that smart is tunnel visioned. They would never be able to connect the dots for big breakthroughs.
I really love this
Glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent. The non-dual teacher Joan Tolifson recently put it something like this here on substack: I believe in the resurrection of Christ spiritually but not literally.
Jordan Peterson was discussing this with Jonathan Pageau recently too. When we don't make it literal it's easier to do as he commanded and be like him. So much more meaning and agency for us.
That is an excellent point, and one I didn’t realize until you articulated it in the post. I’ve been intuitively living it out without putting it in those exact words.
Of course, I do think it’s worth acknowledging that this approach would be considered heresy by most of Christendom, for whom the resurrection of Christ is not symbolic but a literal act of God’s mercy for a fallen world. This starts with St. Paul and continues to the present day. I get a bit worried that we overlook that.
But that does not mean the spiritual — rather than literal — path is not, in my view, preferable.
Fantastic! So many people have made it heresy, but what I find interesting is even Jesus didn't speak literally; he spoke in parables/analogies. We recognize that he did this and then turn and try to force it to all be factual. I dug into that angle a few months ago if you're interested. I found that I unlocked a lot more meaning and value by letting go of the literal.
https://www.polymathicbeing.com/p/antifragility-and-the-bible
I will check it out!
So glad you wrote about this! I find mythology super interesting. I was introduced to this idea that fiction and myth are in fact abstracted meta-truths, which arise from a compilation of multiple stories, to distil the principles which we find interesting in them... so amazing!
I can support that idea. My science fiction just novelized science facts.
Myths are fantastically useful, and in a very real sense, the moral lesson they pass along to us is there whether or not the event actually happened. The trouble arises, of course, when someone insists that they know the myth happened.
I really do appreciate the ancient wisdom embedded in religious practices, particularly since all types of thinking (including so-called spiritual thinking) was much more closely related "back in the day." Once upon a time, we were all polymaths.
On the one hand, there are people who force myths to be true
On the other hand, there are people who won't see the value unless they are true.
On the third hand, I want more polymaths.
I want a third hand!
Thanks for a great article!
Myths fascinate me, especially through a Jungian lens as windows into the collective unconscious. This perspective inspires quite captivating journey :)
Exactly right. They're so full of wisdom that we just inherit with our culture.
Great topic. I completely agree—myths are powerful precisely because they transcend the literal, offerring us truth-laden narratives that resonate across time and space.
And funnily enough, just yesterday I found myself streaming words into a poem (not typical for me at all!) on the very topic of returning to Eden.
Oh fun. I'd love to see it when it's done!