Before the -ology was added, Psyche was a character in a story and psyche referred to soul. Long before The Enlightenment brought us the dominant modern mode of ‘intellectual understanding’, the overwhelming majority of our ancestors, without whom we would not be here, had story to keep them company in the darkness. And not just any stories, but the kind that stuck around across the passing millennia, because they spoke of common, universal truths that we all experience in one way or another during the course of a human life.

We might have different clothing on and some different words to use, but underneath that we are still made of the same blood and bone stuff; still only a step or two away from when we all lived with the wild. If that weren’t true, then why do we love the stories in which we leave the comforts of home and set out for the grand adventure we didn’t know was waiting for us and definitely aren’t sure we want, but certainly turns out to be precisely what we needed!?

Our ancestors understood themselves as existing within a grand story and that they themselves were unfolding stories; uniquely reflecting mirrors of that great and mysterious story of the Cosmos. And through time spent with story, and the Elders who carried them, our ancestors could see their own reflections in the unfolding characters and events. And with those reflections they could see themselves more clearly and know that they were not alone, but that many, many others had been down the same roads, faced the same fears and fallen into the same traps. And that, through humility, cunning, patience, courage and a lot of help from spirit, they came through the long dark night of the soul, into a state of greater wholeness within, and therefore a more joyful, loving life, with a deeper sense of belonging to the world.

I long for the time and the place where we come back together again with the stories; so that our mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing isn’t just something we try to remedy when everything feels like it’s falling apart. But instead, with the company of the really good old stories, we can sit at the feet of the ancestors wisdom and feed on what they are passing down to us. And with that nourishment we can be supported to grow towards a kind of wholeness of heart, mind and spirit that seems pretty radical in these digital and intellectually dominated times.