THE MYTH

People love all kinds of stories, but there’s one kind of story we’re really drawn to called the hero’s journey. Something happens that calls the hero to adventure. There’s a big battle which usually includes some kind of challenge in the hero’s heart or mind. Then the hero returns home to a familiar life but with new wisdom.

The hero’s journey, also known as a monomyth, is a powerful storytelling device because of the way people use symbols to understand the world and communicate. From alphabets to wedding rings, symbols are the mind’s native tongue and in this way, a hero is one the most important symbols we have. A hero is a personal expression of who each of us wants to be. We fine-tune our best selves with every journey we go on, real or imaginary.

When you take control of your story, you take control of the person you want to be and learn how to both lead and follow yourself along the needed path.

“Man is both the marble and the sculptor.” – Alexis Carrel

In the far future, explorers from the Hudson Valley discover that all human imaginations exist in a microscopic dimension called the Imaginary Plane. In humanity’s effort to access the Imaginary Plane, people accidently open a gate to The Complex – a new and different pocket dimension between Reality and Imagination. Among the many wondrous and fascinating discoveries made within The Complex, humans learn two truly amazing things. First, there is a creative energy that flows back and forth between the Real and Imaginary Planes, and that energy can be utilized in a similar way to how we use electricity today. People establish a colony within The Complex called Rylomi which, among other things, researches and develops ways to harness the cyclical power of imagination and inspiration.

The second amazing discovery people make in Rylomi is that they can direct the energies of imagination and inspiration to all humans across all of time. By sharing the stories of Rylomi today, we tap into the creative power our descendants use to shape the future, aligning the generations and paving a path for ourselves to a long renaissance of innovation and exploration.

In the future, Rylomi is known as “Beacon of The Complex”, guiding humanity to safe harbor across oceans of space and time. Here in the Hudson Valley, fate whispers in the wind while ancestors and descendants watch over us from hidden depths beneath the river.

• The primary concepts that provide the philosophical and mythological scaffold for Rylomi are the 5 Element and Yin Yang theories, mythemes of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The Sacred Lotus website provides a well-organized and comprehensive view of these dynamic wisdoms.
• Joseph Campbell provides a thorough examination of the monomyth in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. A useful guide to monomyths can be found here. (link to an online teaching resource through UC Berkeley.)
• Carl Jung famously theorized the existence of archetypes, aspects or layers of the Collective Unconscious that are inherited and experienced by all humans.
• Phenomenology is an area and/or movement in philosophy that studies worldviews from within the human experience.
• Psychologist Lev Vygotsky stressed the importance of using “tools of the mind” and “zones of development”.
• Psychologist Viktor Frankl identifies purpose and the search for meaning as the main motivators in human life,  facilitating how we survive and thrive.
• More than two thousand years ago, the Greek poet Simonides discovered the method of loci, a mental strategy that uses fantasy and navigation to “supercharge” one’s memories.
• Fred Rogers employed imaginary friends and fantasy in Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood as a fundamental part of his advocacy for mental health and strong communities.
• Recreational therapists use roleplay as a type of “Swiss Army knife” for a range of therapeutic and educational purposes.
• Initiatives such as the Blue Zones project provide robust strategies for local community infrastructure development centered on a shared value system.
• Intergenerational living is an important aspect of community health. Environments like the Intergenerational Learning Center at The Mount provide a model for organic, holistic socialization and value sharing.
• The Nash Equilibrium is a mathematical theorem that states it is in a person’s best self-interest to develop plans that acknowledge and are in balance with other people’s plans. Put differently, even exceptional basketball players improve their chances of winning through smart teamwork rather than training to “carry the team”.