Myths are always fascinating. Not just because of the often fascinating and sometimes wild characters that you find in them, also because of their narrative simplicity. When you look at the different cultural myths from across the world, spread across the timeline, you would see that the basic stories they tell are always easy to follow, some much so that at some level they are comprehensible to even children.
Another common factor among myths is a central archetype. For instance, the story that Christianity tells has Jesus as the central archetype- a symbol that emerges out of persecution who is an embodiment of compassion and forgiveness. In modern day America, you get the myth of the American Dream. The central archetype in this story is the self-made man or woman who proceeds from humble beginnings to make it big- or at least create a comfortable life in the country.
The overlapping parts of the Venn diagram of elements in your mythology are your strongest attributes
In a similar manner, you would find central archetypes in all mythologies, modern or ancient. In fact, it’s safe to say that archetypes are as intrinsic a part of a mythology as the story it tells. Going a step further, you could say that without the archetype, a mythology is impossible.
Personal mythology and the emergent crystalline archetype
The point of archetype is not relevant only to social mythologies that define cultures and nations. It’s also central to personal mythology.
Personal mythology, simply put, is the narrative that you form about yourself. It encompasses your past, your present and your aspirations regarding the future. Among the many benefits of framing such a mythology is that of forming a cohesive picture of yourself, so that you understand your own strengths that carried you through tough times in the past and on which you could capitalize on for progress in the future as well.
Further, by incorporating the future in the mythology, you also frame a picture of yourself in which you have skills and beneficial characteristics that you should acquire if you are to succeed in your future aspirations.
In other words, you now have a picture of the self that is pure in its essence. It could be considered as a diety of sorts- one that helped you overcome numerous challenges in the past, and also one which would also cut through any present and future obstacles, thereby charting a path towards the future- your vision.
This is a crystalline archetype. Pure and radiant. Like a sliver of moon, luminescent beyond any man-made material object. The more clarity your own personal mythology is ti yourself, the more crystalline this archetype would be.
Encountering the archetype with Personal Mythology session
While forming a narrative may be easy, forming one that’s cohesive from beginning to end is a tad harder. Even tougher than that is the framing of a narrative that’s not just true to your own self but which would be beneficial in charting a future path.
To create a truthful personal mythology needs expert guidance. More than that, it requires a comfortable and friendly environment in which you could explore your own self with the necessary depth of insight and spending enough time that you deserve.
Temenos Vision Lab is a unique session developed by Temenos+Agility which helps change agents and business leaders realize their True Personal Vision- a singular vision of the future that could be found inside yourself and nowhere else, and the pursuit of which gives a tangible direction to both individuals and organizations. Also, Temenos Vision Lab, or TVL as it’s also known, helps teams realize their compelling shared vision- a common goal towards which they could move as a single unit.
In the pathway to discovering your vision, you would need to frame your personal mythology. After all, without understanding your own self, you wouldn’t be able to realize what your vision is.
And the crystalline archetype is a torch-bearer who would lend confidence and insight needed to realize the vision down the line. TVL enlists some of the best leadership coaches in business to help guide you to your vision. Having had extensive experience shaping holistic change agents with their business and humanistic visions framed as a cohesive whole, they also help you frame your own personal mythology, and discover the emergent archetype, bright and luminous, the torch bearer for the future.
