Stanley Krippner - Personal Mythology PDF

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PERSONAL MYTHOLOGY
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PERSONAL MYTHOLOGY

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Energy Psychology Press/Elite Books

Santa Rosa, CA 95403
www.energypsychologypress.com
Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Feinstein, David.
Personal mythology: discovering the guiding stories of your past—
creating a vision for your future / David Feinstein, Stanley Krippner – Third edition.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-64415-036-0
1. Attitude (Psychology). 2. Mythology–Psychological Aspects. 3. Self-perception.
4. Attitude change. 5. Self-actualization (Psychology).
I. Feinstein, David. II. Krippner, Stanley. III.Title.
155.2
© 2008 David Feinstein & Stanley Krippner
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy,
recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission from Energy Psychology Press,
with the exception of short excerpts used with acknowledgment of
publisher and author.
Book design by Chris Welch

Cover design by Victoria Valentine
Gayle Gray, the illustrator, is a freelance artist in Ashland, Oregon.
Printed in USA
Third Edition
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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: \ W W S L T L U [ H S 7 Y V N Y H T Z
HUK 4H[LYPHSZ
A three-CD audio program containing the guided imagery and movement in-
structions presented in this book, accompanied by Ann Mortifee’s powerful in-
spirational and shamanic music, is offered for $16.95 plus shipping through In-
nersource. Order online at www.innersource.net (find Personal Mythology under
Conscious Living Programs) or call 1-800-835-8332.
To learn more about Energy Psychology principles and resources, visit the Inner-
source site and click “Energy Psychology.” Innersource is also the home of
Donna Eden’s Energy Medicine books, DVDs, and classes.
INNERSOURCE
777 East Main Street, Ashland, OR 97520
www.innersource.net
800-835-8332 (24-hour order line)
541-482-1800 (Administrative Offices)

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(JRUV^SLKNTLU[Z
Discussions with Rosie Adams, Dianna Butler, Sharon Doubiago, Richard

Evans, Steve Goldstein, Joel Heller, Wendy Hill, Jerry Jud, Steve Kierulff,
Don Klein, Ron Kurtz, Danielle Light, Dana Lundin, Bill Lyon, Gene Mallory,
Rollo May, Reid Meloy, Stella Monday, Ann Mortifee, Linda Nicholls, Paul
Oas, Rod Plimpton, Tiziana de Rovere, Julie Schwartz, Rupert Sheldrake,
Katherine Yates, and Carl Young all contributed to our thinking, in ways that
are gratefully acknowledged. Dan McAdams provided catalytic suggestions
for the first edition of this volume. Peg Elliot Mayo, who has been a constant
source of perceptive and buoyant counsel through each edition, has con-
tributed more of substance to this work than is prudent to admit.The astute and
patient editing of Connie Zweig and Ted Mason in the original edition, and of
Irene Prokop and Alan Rinzler for the second edition, have been of immeasur-
able value. We also recognize and deeply appreciate the anonymous contribu-
tions of the many workshop participants, students, and psychotherapy clients
with whom we have been privileged to work.
We have been blessed to have had friends and colleagues whom we con-
sider to be intellectual giants, and on whose shoulders our own work stands.
Joseph Campbell’s profound understanding of the mythologies of societies from
all over the world and throughout history brought guidance and inspiration to
millions through his famed PBS interviews with Bill Moyers. Jean Houston and
Peggy Rubin have taught untold numbers of people how to deeply engage their
unfolding mythologies at the bodily, psychological, cultural, and archetypal

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levels. Stanislav Grof has collected, articulated, and further developed some of
the most potent methods in history for exploring the psyche and expanding hu-
man consciousness. June Singer has made the mythologically profound, though
sometimes esoteric, teachings of Carl Jung more accessible in such books as The
Power of Love and Boundaries of the Soul. Stephen Larsen has brought many students
and readers to the shaman’s doorway to peer in and garner the mythological
magic and technologies that lie within.Ann Mortifee’s lyrics, music, and theatri-
cal masterpieces have had great impact upon the mythologies of audience after
audience, who have been deeply stirred by the transformative power of artistic
genius.
Ram Dass helped change the myths of his generation and those that followed
through two courageous hero’s journeys—first to a holy teacher in India and,
much later, into the physical ravages and devastation of a severe stroke, followed
by a triumphant return that has brought many people a more profound apprecia-
tion of the meaning of life. Dan McAdams demonstrated academic courage and
inspired discernment in bringing a mythological perspective to developmental
psychology.Albert Ellis, founder of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, demon-
strated the life-shaping power of rational and irrational beliefs, providing a solid
foundation for the distinction between functional and dysfunctional personal
myths found throughout this book. Albert Upton, author of Design for Thinking,
provided a powerful model for engaging students in a dynamic understanding
of how the human mind operates. To each we are deeply grateful for lives well
lived, for careers that reflect those exemplary lives, and for contributing ideas
and methodologies that are the ever-ripening fruits of those careers. We have
been honored to know each of you.
A number of institutions have provided hospitable surrounding and generous
support over the years as these ideas have developed, particularly Innersource
in Ashland, Oregon; Saybrook Institute in San Francisco; Esalen Institute in Big
Sur; and Haven By-the-Sea on Gabriola Island, British Columbia.We would spe-
cifically like to express our gratitude to Rita Rohen and the late Richard Price,
who arranged for us to be able to write several chapters of the first edition of
this book in the beautiful environs of Esalen Institute.
Jeremy Tarcher has been a persuasive and imaginative force in this effort to
bring the ideas and methods presented in our seminars and professional writings
to a wider audience.
The love, understanding, and inspirational presence of our partners in mar-
riage, Donna Eden and Leslie Krippner, are appreciated beyond words.
Acknowledgments

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To Joel Elkes—pioneer, mentor, friend—

who serendipitously set our collaboration in motion

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(\[OVY 7YLMHJL [V [OL ;OPYK ,KP[PVU
Personal Mythology
"
W
e have, since the mid-1970s, had the privilege of escorting several
thousand people into the mysteries and wonders of their guiding
mythologies.Your personal mythology operates “behind the scenes”
in your psyche. It shapes your every thought, perception, and action, bringing
them to conform to an underlying story line. Most people cannot quite articu-
late this unfolding internal mythology, but it nonetheless directs the course of
their lives.
In 1988, after a dozen years of refining our initial model for cultivating myth-
ic discovery and transformation, we published the first edition of this book. But
as we continued to teach about personal mythology in ever widening circles, the
model continued to evolve.A decade later, after the momentum for further revi-
sions seemed to have abated, we published a second edition.We never thought
there would be a third.We believed at the time that in our in-depth work with
so many individuals in workshops, classes, and private sessions, we had laid out
a systematic set of procedures for helping people discover and transform their

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underlying guiding myths that was as efficient, effective, and soulful as we were
capable of formulating. So much for anticipating new developments in the world
around us!
The reason for a third edition of Personal Mythology is that the new field of
Energy Psychology hit us both by surprise. After a combined 70 years of clini-
cal practice, personal development workshops, and teaching on psychological
topics, we never expected to see a method that could bring about psychologi-
cal change as readily and rapidly. The methods have their limitations, make no
mistake, but when skillfully combined with the personal mythology model (or
virtually any established psychotherapeutic approach), that model or approach
becomes markedly more powerful and effective. If you are familiar with Energy
Psychology, you may have a sense of what we are speaking of. If you are not, we
invite you to take a little detour at this point and read the article and case studies
that can be accessed via www.EnergyTraumaTreatment.com.While that article,
in discussing the use of Energy Psychology with disaster survivors, highlights
some of the most difficult and striking applications of Energy Psychology, the
same methods can be equally as powerful and effective when applied to the more
subtle realms of the human psyche. Other free downloads you might want to
review from that site include an introduction to the field and an overview of the
existing research.
As our approach to personal mythology was increasingly influenced by
the new energy interventions in our counseling, classes, and workshops, the
question came to us of whether we needed to revise the book. Obviously, we did.
But how? If we tried to teach the reader the methods of Energy Psychology, the
book would become long and unwieldy.The approach we have taken is to add a
fourth “Support Guide” to the three found in the previous edition. In the new
Support Guide, we speak to readers who have already learned a basic Energy
Psychology protocol, and we teach them how to integrate this with the five-
stage, 12-week program presented in the book. We have not changed the five-
stage model. Its presentation is as it was in the previous edition, and the book can
be used without the methods discussed in the new Support Guide. But for those
who will apply an Energy Psychology approach, you will be able to bring about
the same changes more rapidly, more harmoniously, with less emotional distress.
The power of Energy Psychology for the person in the street (it has additional
powers for the clinician) is in its ability to greatly enhance your emotional self-
management capacities.
X
] P P PPreface to the
Preface toThird Edition
the Third Edition

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For those who have not yet learned a basic Energy Psychology protocol (and
the fundamentals are being widely taught), the most basic methods are decep-
tively easy to master. David is one of the authors of a book, The Promise of Energy
Psychology, that is an excellent introduction and tutorial. Many other resources
can be found by surfing the website listed above.
We have always been humbled by the depth and dimension of mythological
work, and we write about it with the full knowledge that it is the reader, not
the author, who can make a book like this result in a profound journey.We also
gratefully recognize that rather than this being our model, it is a synthesis of
others’ work.We draw liberally from the explosion of knowledge and practices
that have been forged or rediscovered over the past half century in the areas of
psychotherapy, personal growth, and spiritual development. And while perhaps
our most important contribution is our insistence that a model for deep psycho-
logical and spiritual evolution can be splendidly placed under the canopy of a
mythological framework, we are walking a well-established and venerable path,
which extends back from long before the Eleusinian Mysteries of ancient Greece
and into the twentieth century and beyond, via such brilliant minds as Carl Jung,
Mircea Eliade, Jean Houston, Jean Shinoda Bolen, and our late friend, Joseph
Campbell.The confluence between personal and societal myths (see www.Social
Myths.com) is another strength of maintaining a mythological perspective.
Again, you can still go through the program as laid out in the book with-
out introducing an Energy Psychology component. The program works!
And with or without energy interventions, it is still done within a five-stage,
12-week format. If you elect to integrate the energy work into the model, we
suggest you still begin with the truly superb and complementary introductions
we were blessed to receive (from June Singer, Ph.D., for the first edition and Jean
Houston, Ph.D., for the second edition).Then:
• Read our original “Invitation” (p. 3) for an overview of and orientation

to the program.
• Go to the new Support Guide on bringing Energy Psychology into the
program (p. 299).
• Proceed through the book as it is written, referring back to the Support
Guides as needed.
Preface to the Third Edition X I

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We hope this book will empower you, deepen your appreciation of the
remarkable mythic journey that is a life on this planet, and help you find your
way to greater peace, satisfaction, and joy.We have been most gratified to hear
from so many readers over the years who have found the program to be a force
in just those directions.
David Feinstein
Stanley Krippner
July 2006
Special Note for Second Printing:

Since the first printing of the Third Edition, three significant events
have occurred in relationship to the book: 1) it was designated 2007
Book of the Year (Psychology/Mental Health Category) by U.S. Book
News; 2) it was designated Book of the Year (New Age Nonfiction Cat-
egory) at the PubInsider 2007 National Book Awards (the “Indies”);
and 3) several of our colleagues who deeply care about this book in-
fluencing our mythologically-befuddled society encouraged us to re-
turn to the book’s original title (The first edition was Personal Mythology:
Using Ritual, Dreams, and Imagination to Discover Your Inner Story). They
felt it was more personal and more accurate in describing a book that
shows people how to discover the guiding stories of their past and how
to create a vision for their future amidst the contemporary cultural
chaos. And so it is.
X Preface to the Third Edition

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Contents
"
Author Preface to the Third Edition vii

Introduction by Jean Houston, Ph.D. xi
Foreword to Original Edition by June Singer, Ph.D. xvii
( 5 0 5 = 0 ;(; 0 6 5 Renew the Dream That Quickens Your Spirit 1
- 0 9 : ; : ;( . , Identifying Underlying Mythic Conflict 25
> LLR Into Your Mythic Depths 27

> LLR The Presence of Your Past 57
>LLR Recognizing When a Guiding Myths Is No Longer an Ally 65
: , * 6 5 + : ;( . , Understanding Both Sides of the Conflict 93
>LLR Bringing the Roots of Mythic Conflict into Focus 95

>L L R Contacting Resources for Mythic Renewal 115
; / 0 9 + : ;( . , Envisioning a New Mythology 131
>L L R Working Through Mythic Conflict 133

>L L R Conceivng a Unifying Mythic Vision 153

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- 6 < 9 ; / : ;( . , From Vision to Commitment 169
>L L R Committing to a Renewed Mythology 171

> LLR The Presence of Your Past 187
- 0 - ; / : ;( . , Living from Your New Mythology 203
>L L R Weaving a Renewed Mytholgy into Your Inner Life 205

>LLR Translating Your New Mythology into Daily Life 229
> LLR Your Evolving Mythology 249
: \W W V Y[ .\ PKL : Deepening Your Experience 275

:\ W W V Y[ . \ PKL ! Working with Your Dreams 283
: \W W V Y[ .\ PKL ! If the Program Becomes Unsettling 293
:\ W W V Y[ . \ PK L ! Bringing Energy Psychology to Mythic Transformation 299
n otes 309
PU KL_ 322

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:\WWVY[ .\PKL
Bringing Energy Psychology to Mythic

Transformation
"
I
t is not surprising that the mental health profession has had a great deal
of difficulty assimilating the emerging field of Energy Psychology. Energy
Psychology in many ways reflects a different mythology from the conven-
tional mental health establishment. It is rooted in healing traditions from foreign
cultures, such as Traditional Chinese Medicine and Hindu yoga practices. It uses
strange-looking procedures. It does not rely on the stock concepts of psycho-
therapy, such as insight, incentive-based change, and the curative powers of the
therapeutic relationship. Most seasoned therapists, even upon directly witness-
ing someone who has had, for instance, a lifelong terror of snakes, calmly petting
a live snake after 20 minutes of tapping on certain “energy” points, do not know
what to make of what they have just seen.
Typically when professionals first witness such a dramatic shift (a variety of
compelling cases can be found at www.EnergyTraumaCases.com), they attempt
to interpret the new behavior in terms of familiar concepts, in terms of the my-
thology they already hold: “It was the power of suggestion.” “It was a distraction
299

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technique.” “Positive thinking can do that.” “It was mind over matter.” “It was the
enthusiasm of the therapist.” “The person believed it would work, so it worked.”
Old myths about what is and what is not possible die hard among therapists as
well as among their clients.
Both of us have spent much of our careers on the front line of therapeutic
innovations that do not stay within the established lines of conventional prac-
tice.The personal mythology model itself, when we first introduced it, seemed
vague and amorphous to many of our colleagues. It has only been as the field of
psychotherapy has attempted to embrace the spiritual aspects of a person’s in-
ner life that we are hearing from growing numbers that it is an elegant way to
integrate the biological, psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions of the
human journey.
While the initial response of the psychotherapy establishment to Energy Psy-
chology has not been favorable either, the weight of satisfied customers is trump-
ing intellectual objections. Practitioners of the new approach have also been
learning to describe the mechanisms in terms that are respected by the mental
health field. For instance, the research studies and brain scans that can be found
at www.EnergyPsychEd.com begin to support the methods within a Western
framework. A compelling argument can be made, for instance, that Energy Psy-
chology works because the stimulation of energy points on the skin sends signals
to the brain that can rapidly and permanently change the neurological patterns
that underlie maladaptive thoughts and emotions.
We have argued that children should be taught basic Energy Psychology tools
in elementary school, and we could not encourage you more strongly to incor-
porate the methods into your own life.The approach is, we believe, as important
to emotional self-care as flossing is to dental self-care. You can employ these
tools to empower yourself to better manage many of the emotional difficulties
of everyday life, from unwarranted fears and anger to excessive feelings of guilt,
shame, grief, jealousy, or rejection.And you can use them to instruct your brain
to better support you in achieving desired goals, from becoming more effective
in your work or your relationships to improving your tennis game. And once
you have mastered a simple Energy Psychology protocol, which is very easy to
do (you can get the basics in written form or from a 4-hour DVD—see www.
EnergyPsychEd.com), you can apply that protocol as you transform your guid-
ing mythology using the methods in this book.
300

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Moving Through Each Stage of the Personal Mythology Model

Requires That Tasks Be Completed Which Can Be Facilitated by
an Energy Psychology Approach
The natural five-stage sequence around which the tasks and activities of the
personal mythology model are organized can be easily summarized:
1. A prevailing guiding myth (thesis) becomes outdated or otherwise dys-

functional.
2.The psyche generates alternative myths; one of these gathers critical mass
as a “counter-myth” (antithesis), and it begins to challenge the prevailing myth.
3. The two engage in a dialectic, a deep struggle between thesis and antith-
esis, largely outside the person’s awareness, but impacting (and often creating
havoc within) that person’s perceptions, feelings, thoughts, and behavior.
4. A synthesis, a new guiding myth, is gradually formulated deep within the
psyche which, ideally, incorporates the qualities of both the prevailing myth and
the counter-myth that best support the person’s positive development.
5.This new myth is reconciled with the person’s life structure and begins to
shape that person’s thoughts, feelings, choices, and actions.
At any point in your life, any of your guiding myths may be going through
any of these stages of mythic transformation. This applies both to large core
myths of the “Who am I, where am I going, and why?” or “The world is safe [or unsafe]”
variety, as well as to highly specific guiding myths, such as “I’m not good at making
conversation,” or “my daughter will be a champion skater.” The program in this book
encourages you to focus on a core area of your mythology and to bring skill and
focused awareness to its transformation. As it moves through each of the five
stages, specific tasks and activities are outlined for facilitating a successful resolu-
tion of each of the stages.
Directing the Energies of Your Brain to Transform the

Neurobiological Basis of Your Person Myths
Personal myths are stored within both the brain’s chemistry and the body’s
energy fields (introduced on pages 206–210; for a more academic treatment of
Bringing Energy Psychology to Mythic Transformation 301

i-xxiv,1-326 cx 6/19/08 11:33 AM Page 302
this unorthodox concept, download “At Play in the Fields of the Mind: Personal
Myths as Fields of Information” from www.MythsAsFields.com). Both psycho-
logical interventions and energy interventions can facilitate the evolution of your
personal mythology, and the two in tandem are a powerful combination. In this
guide, we will briefly review the tasks and activities in each stage of the personal
mythology model, and then discuss how energy interventions introduce a fresh
and highly potent way for further facilitating a successful passage through each
of the five stages of a guiding myth’s evolution.
STAGE 1: IDENTIFYING UNDERLYING MYTHIC CONFLICT
Overview. The limitations of the prevailing myth that are the most resistant to
change are rooted largely in early stresses, trauma, and other formative experi-
ences.
The Program.The Mythic Path program provides a series of personal rituals for
revisiting and healing these experiences, often reaching back to your childhood.
As you move through the program, you can use a simple Energy Psychology
protocol to clear the stress response associated with difficult memories. This
alone will do a great deal toward untethering you from the emotional hold of an
outdated mythology. After introducing you to the personal mythology concept,
the activities and tasks in the first stage of the program (Weeks 1 through 3)
include:
• a retrospective journey into the mythologies of your parents and grand-
parents
• mapping the development of your own evolving mythology to this point
in your life
• an assessment of the mythic conflicts that are currently impacting you
• focusing on a single core conflict
• an exploration of the relationship between this mythic conflict and
childhood events
Adding an Energy Component. Using any basic Energy Psychology protocol

(such as the EFT tapping approach presented in Chapter 2 of The Promise of En-
ergy Psychology), give a 0 to 10 SUD rating (Subjective Units of Distress) to each
difficult memory you identify.Treat them one at a time, beginning with the one
that has the greatest charge. Correct for energy imbalances and psychological
302

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reversals (it is a major piece of work to affirm, while stimulating an appropriate

energy point, “Even if I continue to organize my life around…, I deeply love and
accept myself.”). Bring the SUD down to 0 for each memory, using a reminder
phrase with a standard tapping sequence. Be alert for other dimensions (aspects)
of the issue and psychological reversals you had not originally identified.
STAGE 2: UNDERSTANDING BOTH SIDES OF THE CONFLICT
Overview. Fresh mythic direction, in the form of a “counter-myth,” emerges

spontaneously from deep in your psyche. It is a creative integration of your
hopes and dreams, your most treasured childhood experiences, significant role
models, spiritual guidance, and the inspiration offered by your culture, its lead-
ers, its literature, and its most notable triumphs.
The Program. The Mythic Path program provides a series of personal rituals
for examining the counter-myth’s solutions to the problems created by the old
myth, and for reaching deeply into the psyche for fresh perceptions and guid-
ance. The activities and tasks in the second stage of the program (Weeks 4 and
5) include:
• Creating a metaphorical story about the creation of your old myth (Fairy
Tale Part 1)
• Finding the wound that is central to the story and healing it using pow-
erful imagery
• Ritualistically saying goodbye to the outdated guiding myth
• Taking an imaginary journey into your past to find the seeds of mythic
renewal
• Creating a story that dramatizes these resources from your past (Fairy
Tale Part 2)
• Exploring within your own body the conflict between the old and the
emerging myths
Adding an Energy Component. Stage 2 of the program focuses on both the

old myth and the counter-myth. As with Stage 1, wherever you uncover memo-
ries or emotions that need healing, you can apply a basic Energy Psychology
protocol to facilitate that healing.When working with the counter-myth, energy
interventions can also help you cultivate receptiveness to deep, intuitive insight.
This can focus on the psychological reversals that are inevitably involved with

i-xxiv,1-326 cx 6/19/08 11:33 AM Page 304
mythic change, using statements such as, “Even though I feel trapped in my old
mythology, I choose to open myself to fresh insight and direction.” It can also use
energy points and methods such as the neurovasculars, hook-ups, and radiant
energies (described in Chapters 6 and 7 of The Promise of Energy Psychology) to
energetically open yourself to deep inner guidance.
STAGE 3: ENVISIONING A NEW MYTHOLOGY
Overview. The old myth and the counter-myth engage in a deep, dialecti-
cal struggle. This dialectic occurs naturally and organically, without conscious
intent, and largely outside of conscious awareness. Yet even from “behind the
scenes,” the conflict strongly impacts thought and action, often leading to uncer-
tainty and chaos.
The Program. The Mythic Path program provides a series of personal rituals for
bringing the inner conflict into awareness and lending it conscious support and
guidance.The activities and tasks in the third stage of the program (Weeks 6 and
7) include:
• Mapping the ways your mythic conflict is impacting your life
• Dramatizing a dialogue between your old myth and your counter-myth
• Identifying and transforming within your psyche the obstacles to the
resolution of the conflict
• Creating a sense of resolution of your mythic conflict in your body
• Creating a sense of resolution of your mythic conflict in your psyche
Adding an Energy Component. Beyond the energy methods already dis-

cussed for healing emotional wounds as they reveal themselves, and for open-
ing your psyche to greater inspiration, Energy Psychology methods during this
third stage of the program can be invaluable for helping you accept and become
creative about mythic turmoil you do not know how to resolve.The new direc-
tion may seem appealing but unreachable; the old, dysfunctional myth is familiar
and may still bring comfort.A statement for accepting the conflict while moving
toward its resolution might be, “Even though I can’t see the resolution of this
conflict, I choose to know that forces deep in my psyche are already mobilizing
toward a new and creative solution.”


i-xxiv,1-326 cx 6/19/08 11:33 AM Page 305
STAGE 4: FROM VISION TO COMMITMENT
Overview. The new guiding myth emerges as a synthesis of the prevailing myth
and the counter-myth.
evaluating, refining, and strengthening this new mythic direction.The activities
and tasks in the fourth stage of the program (Weeks 8 and 9) include:
• Dramatizing an inner dialogue for further resolving your mythic
conflict
• Rewriting your history through the emotionally corrective daydream
• Using an object of nature as a metaphor for refining your vision
• Envisioning how your new myth might unfold in the world (Fairy Tale
Part 3)
• Condensing into a single image a symbol that represents your
new myth
• Evaluating and refining your new myth via both intuition and logic
Adding an Energy Component. As always, identifying and making cor-

rections for energy imbalances and psychological reversals will help you move
through each stage of the program with greater clarity. Methods for energetically
anchoring your visions and affirmations, as discussed in Chapter 4 of The Promise
of Energy Psychology, are particularly useful in this fourth stage of the program.
Finally, muscle tests (also called “energy tests” or “energy checks”) can be used
to determine whether the wording of the new myth is in harmony with your
energy system. While this is a more advanced method than those taught in the
simplest Energy Psychology protocols, it can be invaluable to have a way of as-
sessing your wording before mobilizing your will to implement your new myth
in Stage 5 of the program. Simply state the new myth as someone checks your
energy using an indicator muscle (instructions can be found in David Feinstein’s
Energy Psychology Interactive and Donna Eden’s Energy Medicine). If your energies
appear to be thrown off by the statement, revisit the activities in Stages 3 and 4
to further refine the statement.

i-xxiv,1-326 cx 6/19/08 11:33 AM Page 306
STAGE 5: LIVING FROM YOUR NEW MYTHOLOGY
Overview. Weaving your carefully-formulated new myth into the structure

of your life is the final stage of consciously transforming your personal myth-
ology.
beginning to live from your new myth, including the use of affirmations, focused
visualization, changes in self-talk, behavioral rehearsals, managing your environ-
ment, and behavioral contracts.The specific activities and tasks in the fifth stage
of the program (Weeks 10 through 12) include:
• Translating your new myth into its physical, emotional, and imaginal
components
• Translating your new myth into habitual internal statements that sup-
port it
• Translating your new myth into patterned behaviors through ritual
enactments
• Changing conditions in your environment and lifestyle to support your
new myth
• Projecting your new myth five years into the future to find what needs
to be adjusted
• Specifying and implementing changes that firmly establish your new
myth in your daily life
Adding an Energy Component. The most important Energy Psychology

resource for this stage of the program is to have in your back pocket a tapping
routine that you can apply whenever you are in a situation that calls for the new
myth but which instead evokes the old myth, the corresponding old behaviors,
or simply a sense of distress. First, use the tapping routine to decrease any dis-
tress or self-judgment.This will usually bring back the option of responding to
the situation according to your new myth.You can also take this as an opportu-
nity to use energy methods to further affirm the new myth. Integrating energy
methods into the daily personal ritual that is part of the contract discussed in
Stage 5 can also be invaluable. Tapping and other energy interventions can be
paired with affirmations, focused visualization, and rituals for anchoring your
new myth into your body and your psyche.
306

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While this is only a brief overview of ways Energy Psychology can support
deep mythological change, it describes the basic principles we have formulated
to date.We hope it will encourage you to learn about Energy Psychology if you
have not yet introduced it into your life, and once you have learned a basic en-
ergy protocol, that it will accompany you on the rich and lifelong journey we
think of as your unfolding mythic path.

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i-xxiv,1-326 cx 6/19/08 11:22 AM Page i

282697-ELITE-txt-personal 6/19/2008 11:54:20 AM 1 Front ${SEPARATION}

282697-ELITE-txt-personal 6/19/2008 11:54:20 AM 1 Back ${SEPARATION}

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Energy Psychology Press/Elite Books

© 2008 David Feinstein & Stanley Krippner

Book design by Chris Welch

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282697-ELITE-txt-personal 6/19/2008 11:54:20 AM 3 Front ${SEPARATION}

Discussions with Rosie Adams, Dianna Butler, Sharon Doubiago, Richard

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To Joel Elkes—pioneer, mentor, friend—

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(\[OVY 7YLMHJL [V [OL ;OPYK ,KP[PVU

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282697-ELITE-txt-personal 6/19/2008 11:54:20 AM 5 Back ${SEPARATION}

• Read our original “Invitation” (p. 3) for an overview of and orientation

Preface to the Third Edition X I

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Special Note for Second Printing:

X Preface to the Third Edition

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Author Preface to the Third Edition vii

( 5 0 5 = 0 ;(; 0 6 5 Renew the Dream That Quickens Your Spirit 1

- 0 9 : ; : ;( . , Identifying Underlying Mythic Conﬂict 25

> LLR  Into Your Mythic Depths 27

: , * 6 5 + : ;( . , Understanding Both Sides of the Conﬂict 93

>LLR  Bringing the Roots of Mythic Conﬂict into Focus 95

; / 0 9 + : ;( . , Envisioning a New Mythology 131

>L L R  Working Through Mythic Conﬂict 133

282697-ELITE-txt-personal 6/19/2008 11:54:20 AM 7 Front ${SEPARATION}

- 6 < 9 ; / : ;( . , From Vision to Commitment 169

>L L R  Committing to a Renewed Mythology 171

- 0 - ; / : ;( . , Living from Your New Mythology 203

>L L R   Weaving a Renewed Mytholgy into Your Inner Life 205

: \W W V Y[ .\ PKL : Deepening Your Experience 275

282697-ELITE-txt-personal 6/19/2008 11:54:20 AM 7 Back ${SEPARATION}

282697-ELITE-txt-personal 6/19/2008 11:54:20 AM 8 Front ${SEPARATION}

282697-ELITE-txt-personal 6/19/2008 11:54:20 AM 8 Back ${SEPARATION}

282697-ELITE-txt-personal 6/19/2008 11:54:20 AM 9 Front ${SEPARATION}

282697-ELITE-txt-personal 6/19/2008 11:54:20 AM 9 Back ${SEPARATION}

282697-ELITE-txt-personal 6/19/2008 11:54:20 AM 10 Front ${SEPARATION}

282697-ELITE-txt-personal 6/19/2008 11:54:20 AM 10 Back ${SEPARATION}

282697-ELITE-txt-personal 6/19/2008 11:54:20 AM 11 Front ${SEPARATION}

282697-ELITE-txt-personal 6/19/2008 11:54:20 AM 11 Back ${SEPARATION}

282697-ELITE-txt-personal 6/19/2008 11:54:20 AM 12 Front ${SEPARATION}

282697-ELITE-txt-personal 6/19/2008 11:54:20 AM 12 Back ${SEPARATION}

282697-ELITE-txt-personal 6/19/2008 11:54:20 AM 13 Front ${SEPARATION}

282697-ELITE-txt-personal 6/19/2008 11:54:20 AM 13 Back ${SEPARATION}

282697-ELITE-txt-personal 6/19/2008 11:54:20 AM 14 Front ${SEPARATION}

282697-ELITE-txt-personal 6/19/2008 11:54:20 AM 14 Back ${SEPARATION}

282697-ELITE-txt-personal 6/19/2008 11:54:20 AM 15 Front ${SEPARATION}

282697-ELITE-txt-personal 6/19/2008 11:54:20 AM 15 Back ${SEPARATION}

282697-ELITE-txt-personal 6/19/2008 11:54:20 AM 16 Front ${SEPARATION}

> LLR Into Your Mythic Depths 27

>LLR Bringing the Roots of Mythic Conﬂict into Focus 95

>L L R Working Through Mythic Conﬂict 133

>L L R Committing to a Renewed Mythology 171

>L L R Weaving a Renewed Mytholgy into Your Inner Life 205

: \W W V Y[ .\ PKL : Deepening Your Experience 275