“Myth is the system of basic metaphors, images, and stories that informs the perceptions, memories, and aspirations of a people; provides the rationale for its institutions, rituals and power structure; and gives a map of the purpose and stages of life.” PeopleGivingStoriesPurposeMemoriesStagePerceptionInstitutionsStructureMetaphorMythMythologyAspirationMapsRitualRationaleStages Of Life Book:The passionate life: stages of loving Source: The passionate life: stages of loving
“I think that critiquing the myths of our society and helping people find their way through them is a very important thing. It's a theme that goes through all of my work.” PeopleThinkingWayImportantHelpingImportant ThingsMythThemeOur SocietyHelping People Author:Sam Keen
“I think there are families that are very kind and supportive of people's ability to change. People who come from such families may go through life without dipping into the dark night.” PeopleThinkingKindMayNightDarkAbilitySupportiveDark NightAbility To Change Author:Sam Keen
“To a large extent, the aged in our society are ghettoized. Old people are seen as useless, bypassed by history, old-fashioned, in the way. So, not surprisingly, when we reach the official mark of old age, we're supposed to go gently into that good night, to get off center stage and hand over the spotlight. Old age is also surrounded by shame - the myth of impotence and inability.” PeopleWayHandsAgeNightStageMarkShameMythOld AgeUselessOfficialsOur SocietyOld FashionedOld PeopleInabilitySpotlightGood NightImpotenceCenter Stage Author:Sam Keen
“Without reverence we [people] will gradually descend into ecocide. In the degree that the imperatives of the market - the temple of the Mall - govern our lives, we are in escalating danger of destroying the commonwealth of all sentient beings - bugs and bees and buntings - on which we depend for a luxurious life on planet earth.” PeopleEarthOur LivesDangerPlanetsDependsDegreesTemplesDestroyingReverenceBeesBugsImperativesPlanet EarthMallsCommonwealthSentient BeingsLuxuriousEscalatingBunting Author:Sam Keen
“We [people] may enjoy this fleeting beauty [of life] for such a brief instance. And then we are compost. G - , the creator-destroyer, certainly has a strange sense of humor!” PeopleMayEnjoyStrangeCreatorInstanceSense Of HumorFleetingBeauty Of LifeDestroyersCompost Author:Sam Keen
“The traditional gender ideals of the strong-silent man who plays his cards close to his chest and the mysterious woman who disguises her feelings with coyness go so far as to make a virtue of being unavailable and secretive. But wholehearted intimacy can develop only where two people are equally forthcoming and self-revelatory. To take the risk of loving, we must become vulnerable enough to test the radical proposition that knowledge of another and self-revelation will ultimately increase rather than decrease love. It is an awe-ful risk.” PeopleMenTwoSelfEnoughPlayFeelingsStrongVirtueRiskIdealsTestsIncreaseSilentGenderTraditionalCardsMysteriousVulnerableRadicalIntimacyRevelationsAweChestsDisguisePropositionsDecreaseSecretiveForthcomingSelf RevelationSilent ManMysterious Woman Author:Sam Keen
“There is no easy formula for determining right and wrong livelihood, but it is essential to keep the question alive. To return the sense of dignity and honor to manhood, we have to stop pretending that we can make a living at something that is trivial or destructive and still have sense of legitimate self-worth. A society in which vocation and job are separated for most people gradually creates an economy that is often devoid of spirit, one that frequently fills our pocketbooks at the cost of emptying our souls.” PeopleStillsSoulSelfJobsSpiritEasyEconomyAliveReturnHonorCostEssentialsDignitySelf WorthDestructivePretendingFormulasManhoodVocationLivelihoodPocketbooks Book:Fire in the belly: on being a man Source: Fire in the belly: on being a man
“A society in which vocation and job are separated for most people gradually creates an economy that is often devoid of spirit, one that frequently fills our pocketbooks at the cost of emptying our souls.” PeopleSoulJobsSpiritEconomyCostVocationPocketbooks Book:Fire in the belly: on being a man Source: Fire in the belly: on being a man
“Wise people are able to give themselves gracefully to seemingly contradictory experiences, because they know that they belong to different seasons of life, all of which are necessary to the whole. Spring and winter, growth and decay, creativity and fallowness, health and sickness, power and impotence, and life and death all belong within the economy of being.” PeopleKnowsGivingDifferentWholeWisdomAbleGrowthCreativityEconomyWiseSpringSeasonsWinterSicknessLife And DeathDecayContradictoryImpotenceWise PeopleSeasons Of Life Author:Sam Keen
