I read this book several years ago and I found it to be a fascinating read, from back to front. May's astute analysis of the place of myth within human life, sense of self and community is very sensible and relevant. Many may find his understanding of myth to be surprising, as it deviates greatly from the conventional existential perspective.

From time immemorial, cultures have woven intricate, fantastic stories, parables, myths and guiding narratives about the world, helping them to understand the universe, carve out a unique place within it and establish values. As societies grew, cultures passed these myths and stories down to their descendants. Communal traditions developed from these myths and guiding narratives, building among participants a sense of cultural kinship, identity and solace. People derived strength and direction from their guiding narratives, and these myths unified individuals in a commonality, supplying them with a vision.

Carl Jung's influence here is distinct, as May attributes the sense of meaninglessness, isolation and disoriented alienation of modern culture largely to the human "cry" for new myths (similar to Jung's Weltanschauung) that incorporate all facets of our humanity (both spirit and matter) and address our current reality.

May defines the myth as follows: "A myth is a way of making sense in a senseless world. Myths are narrative patterns that give significance to our existence [...] myths are our way of finding meaning and significance. Myths are like the beams in a house; not exposed to outside view, they are the structure which holds the house together so people can live in it." May is also careful to address our modern misunderstanding of what myth entails: "There can be no stronger proof of the impoverishment of our contemporary culture than the popular - though profoundly mistaken - definition of myth as falsehood." Read the book for more on this and for a clearer understanding of how the traditional "myth" is distinct from things like fundamentalism, or dogma. Nowhere is myth more evident than literature and the rich, vivid literature of past cultures demonstrates this. In fact, May goes to great lengths in his analysis to amply illustrate the crucial need for literature and the arts.

As scientific rationalism has swept in and usurped the position of omnipotent "God," our sense of meaningful myth has been eroded, particularly in America, where a strong sense of rich, cultural myth has not been as rooted in our understanding of community as it has in other cultures. (May discusses an entire spate of prevalent American myths, as expressed through literature.) The technological advances of the industrial age have all but completely divorced humans from the natural world, further contributing to our schizoid sense of spirit and matter. All in all, this has resulted in a severe fragmentation of community and knowledge of self, as we believe the appreciation of myth to be beneath our superior rationality and reason.

Despite this surface disdain for myth, we are still clinging to the old, impoverished myths which play a great role in our lives ("beams" in our "structure") and how we view the world, whether we realize it or not. We have not yet created new myths and guiding narratives to help us find meaning, and so we remain fragmented, repressed and separated from ourselves, the natural world and one another.

Like Jung, May asserts that self-knowledge and communal anchor arise from the search for the spiritual and awakening of the spiritual consciousness. May further asserts that our rejection of myth has left us drifting along, leaving us prone to depression, mental illness, dysfunction and fundamentalism of all kinds.

One of the elements I most appreciate about Rollo May is his ability to elegantly write readable books, without muddying the waters or losing the reader in a fog of dense language. I think that anyone who loves classic literature will also love this book, thanks to May's thorough discussion of Faust among a number of other literary and mythical characters.

Robert Tulip wrote:. . . myth sits at the interface of fiction and non-fiction.