Jung taught us that "imaginary" and "fictional" characters possess their own kind of autonomy and reality. I give some examples from how I write fiction to indicate my own creative conversation with such characters as they move their stories forward along with my own. (My thanks to Nigel Calvaire and Brenda Espuma, the fictional characters who volunteered to be examples.)

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In dark and difficult times, it's easy to fall into a psychology of contraction: self-guarding, self-protection, defense, diminished influence, lowered voice. But what if such times call instead for an expansion into possibilities that can inspire us?

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In the West, self-development (self-improvement, self-realization, individuation) is a multi-billion dollar industry. It is also defined in terms of a narrowly boundaried self. What if we pushed past the introverted take on self-development long enough to bring more of its methods out into the world?

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For all its long life, SF has predicted future events. It has even done this when the events seem improbable or impossible. How does it do this? What does SF say today about where we might be headed?

Link to my novel Soulmapper, first book of the Lamplighter Trilogy.

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What do authoritarian followers, religious fundamentalists, and domestic violence perpetrators have in common? Idealization of a dual father image that alternates between violent and loving. Why is this?

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What can storytelling, visioning, mythologizing, and pleasure contribute to resisting oppression and injustice, especially when widespread? What would "the new Mythietai"--storytelling troublemakers who opposed tyranny in the ancient world--be like?

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Giantism, or Titanism, is an inflated psychology involved with building and taking over gigantic structures, organizations, and industries. In this episode we look at how deregulation and giantism have contributed to a worsening of quality in the airline industry. What might be some alternatives?

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If myths are wisdom stories and cultural dreamings rather than superstitions, what might an updated American mythology be like? One that helps us heal the crack in the Liberty Bell of the national heart? That stories how we can be together here while protecting and renewing the land itself? That helps us reach higher psychological maturity and responsibility?

Blog: "Let's Repair the Liberty Bell."

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