1
The Mythic Sense
Mytho-Poetic Mind
To start, let me introduce what it means to see things from the mythic rather than the literal sense. Once we have a grasp of this, we can move on to our exercises in a way that leaves behind what many of us have experienced as “learning” in favor of education. To “educate” means “to bring forward,” so this mythic approach acknowledges that rather than cramming you with information, the process in this book lays out a kind of “remembering.” That is how I like to teach, serving as a guide that brings forward knowledge inherent in each student. The literal mind focuses on facts, questions the poetic, and cannot grasp metaphor. And without metaphor, there is no poetry, no music, no art, no great actor.
The mythic is tied to the collective human story, that which inspires and grounds us as individuals while connecting us to what is age old. Myths speak to our deepest dreams, fears, and wisdoms. Although the mythic is with us every day it is often ignored in our busy and sometimes soul crushing modern lives. When we access the mythic, we are aligned with our true nature and that which stirs deeply in us and to our soul’s purpose. Myths are great stories that serve as guides for us to better understand our experience of humanity. They are stories that stand the test of time because they speak profoundly through metaphor. Just as the great teachers throughout history have used parables and kōans to lead people to a deeper understanding of human experience, so too do myths through metaphor and symbols. In my work with actors, I seek to mine the mythic that is stirring in them in order to connect their work to that deeper purpose. Metaphor is key to connecting to the mythic.
It is impossible to approach Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” speech from a literal mind. The entire speech centers on metaphor to contemplate existence vs. non-existence. As actors we do ourselves a great disservice trying to understand texts from the literal. Allow yourself genuine reflection that invites twists and turns. Resist being the actor who simply wants the answer behind a text. Instead be the one who engages and dances with that text mytho-poetically and finds the mythic to release you from the literal.
The mythic approach acknowledges that we as artists have a poetic purpose and that we are all on a hero’s journey. My process as a teacher includes teaching skills for the art of acting as well as helping actors connect to that purpose. Too many of us actors go along for years without ever asking essential questions: What am I passionate about? What stories do I need to tell? Who is doing the work I am drawn to, and how do I connect with that work? We are propelled by the machine of an industry that rarely bothers to notice their audience except on the crudest level of product information gathering. We run along our busy lives, out of breath, barely able to consider who we really are. I challenge you to take time as you read these pages to reflect on what is stirring within you that you may not be paying attention to. What is your oracle trying to alert you to and how can you respond? At the end of this chapter is an exercise for you to awaken that inner oracle.
Joseph Campbell envisaged that the refusal of the call is one of the first steps on the “hero’s journey.” There is a good reason for that. Many of the things our soul guides us toward are uncomfortable. Perhaps that calling uproots us from those we love, or changes the image our loved ones have of us. Perhaps the call requires resources we do not feel we possess. I have often felt myself reluctantly answering a call and putting off a more financially lucrative idea. I have learned that the call does not go away and can come back with greater force and determination or manifest itself in destructive behavior, even illness, if ignored. One thing is certain. Although it can sometimes be difficult, answering the call is what our soul needs. Remember we are not material beings having an occasional spiritual experience but spiritual beings having an occasional material one. Much of life’s suffering comes from inverting those two ideas.
And so, the mythic asks us to turn in and contemplate, not just seek the easy answers that are fed to us. The reflection of a great text, image, music, etc. takes us to inner realms and wanderings, a kind of soulful pilgrimage.
The Dung Beetle
I like to share with my students the true story of the dung beetle. The dung beetle, also known as the scarab, is a sacred creature for the Ancient Egyptians that navigates its path on the earth by following the Milky Way. Scientific studies have found that when the dung beetle is put in a dark room with a different constellation overhead, the beetle gets lost and wanders aimlessly. When the Milky Way is reproduced above, it finds its course again. How can something so small be guided by something so large? How can the tiny beetle feel the pattern of the universe? How can we invite a similar navigation?
Elegua
Before we begin our journey together, let us turn to the Yoruban deity who opens pathways, Elegua. This deity is one of the Orishas, who came from the spirit world and then shape shifted into human form here on Earth. The Orishas’ stories, songs, and religion were carried to the Americas by people enslaved from West Africa. Elegua is represented as both an old man and a mischievous child, a wonderful playful paradox! He is the Lord of the Crossroads and a threshold guardian. His colors are red and black. It is through Elegua that humans can communicate with the other Orishas. In Cuba, where my ancestors are from, each Orisha has a Catholic counterpart. Elegua’s Catholic counterpart is Saint Anthony, the guardian of children. And so, we open ourselves to Elegua and ask him his blessing as we embark on our path together.
The Story of Lailah
In order to align with that mythic sense, we need to remember something that the Jewish tale of the angel Lailah reminds us. Before you were born, your soul was ripening on the branch of the Tree of Life. I like to imagine this tree as the sacred Ceiba tree of the Caribbean. This tree has roots that extend for miles and it is said that the souls of our ancestors exist in those roots. When a soul is fully ripe, the angel Gabriel takes the soul from the branch and carries it to Lailah, who in turn plants the soul in the womb of the mother. Just before birth, Lailah lights a candle on the forehead of the unborn child and illuminates their entire life before them. The child is able to see its life path and purpose. Then, as the child is born Lailah blows out the candle and presses her index finger to that spot just above the lip of the newborn and whispers, “Shhh.” The child then can no longer see the path that a moment before Lailah had revealed. If you place your finger on that spot above your lip and under your nose, you can feel the indentation of where Lailah pressed her finger. That is why when we are deep in thought, we often touch this part of our face as if remembering something essential, connecting ourselves to that soul’s journey. Let us now tune in and see if we can realign with what Lailah once illuminated.
Turning In and Listening
The Oxford English Dictionary defines an oracle as “a priest or priestess acting as a medium through whom advice or prophecy was sought from the gods in classical antiquity.” In the yearly Greek initiation known as the Eleusinian mysteries with roots in pre-Greek Minoan Crete, participants went through a series of rites and ended their journey in front of a priestess who was the “Oracle.” That Oracle gave them the knowledge and guidance they needed to continue on their path. Many ancient Greek plays end with the Oracle deciding the fate of the characters on stage. It is the Oracle that leads humans to truth, no matter how painful or joyful.
George Morrison led his acting class through many guided meditations that helped his students rely on those inner Oracles and voices the imagination sends us. It was always extraordinary to me the surprising visits these guided meditations led me to. I found myself embedded in memories that emerged to help me answer questions and offer knowledge and advice. Taking time to tune in and turn towards those inner promptings is essential for the actor. It is also important to allow for the surprises. Our gold is in what the imagination chooses to bring forth, which is always connected to the unconscious, to our dream state. This means surrendering and allowing for the idiosyncratic to emerge. You do not have to try to make this happen. It will come. The floodgates open when the imagination is invited in. Getting the body, mind, and spirit ready for the imagination takes just a little bit of time and focus.
Here is a Centering Exercise I have learned that can be done before each exercise in this book. There are many versions of this so feel free to adjust, as you need to. We will follow right after centering with the Oracle Exercise. It is valuable to hear the words of the exercise guide you. Have someone read to you the steps or record yourself reading the exercises before you dive in. Have pen and paper ready beside you to jot down anything that speaks to you. Later in the book there is a chapter on personal artistic visioning that can guide you to realizing some of the things your inner Oracle reveals to you. These revelations can be used while working on a role, while creating your own project, or to find deeper meaning in a text. When we open up and invite wisdom in, the deeper parts of ourselves come forward and take charge.
Centering Exercise
I invite you to breathe and take a moment right now to set the reading down, close your eyes.
Sit on a chair where you can feel your sitz bones making contact. Allow yourself to have an elongated spine. Feel your shoulder blades connected to your back, where your wings are. Imagine those wings expanding wide. Feel your heart center, the breastbone area, open and free. Let your neck be free. Feel your head bobbing easily at the top of your spine. Relax your jaw. Relax your face. Breathe. Breathe. Notice your breath as it travels in and out of your body with ease. What do you feel expand on the inhalation, what do you feel on the exhalation? Breathe. Take a few minutes just noticing your breath with ease.
Now expand that awareness to the sensation of your heart beating and your blood pulsing throughout your body. Nice and easy. Effortless. Keep the breath free, jaw and face relaxed.
Now imagine yourself at the top of a mountain or building. You are safe there. You are perfectly balanced in space. You are perfectly balanced in space.
Take a moment now to connect with that which you are most passionate about. Maybe it is a person or a place or an idea. Whatever it is, take a moment to connect with that which you are most passionate about. Where does that live in your body? What stirs and awakens, and where do you sense that stirring when you connect with that which you are most passionate about? Breathe. Nice and easy. No effort.
Now send what you are most passionate about throughout your body and radiate it 360 degrees around you, so that the other objects in the room, the very walls and beyond are now affected by what you are passionate about. Take a few minutes to be in this connected state. Open your eyes when you are ready. Take in the room; take in others in the room. You are now centered and ready for your practice.
Oracle Exercise
Find a quiet area that is a place of refuge for you. It can be in your home or in nature. Be sure you can feel at ease and without people peering at you. Have your journal nearby. Go ahead and create an invitation to the Oracle. It can be as simple as closing your eyes and saying, “I invite you, Oracle, to come and speak to me.” It can also be more involved. Perhaps you want to create an altar and offer at that altar something in particular for the Oracle. You can think of your altar as something like backstage dressing room spaces. It is always fascinating to see how we actors use those little squares of table and light given to us to get ready before our shows. Notice what you tend to place around you. Perhaps a picture of a loved one, or the playwright, or an image that is related to the play you are doing. That is an altar of sorts. Start with that idea and see where it takes you. Once you have invited the Oracle, close your eyes and breathe deeply. Give yourself time to listen, don’t just hear. When you are ready, open your eyes and write down what the Oracle offered you. If you came up blank or don’t trust what you heard, try again. It may take some time for you to open yourself up to this kind of practice. Remember we get better at what we practice.
When you have completed this exercise take a moment to write in your journal. It is best to feel free when you write and to know that this is something just for you, no need to share with anyone. So, go ahead and make grammatical errors, exclaim, and let yourself go. Put pen to page and write from your heart and soul. Let the images flow. Take a moment to read what you have written and take the words in. Notice any surprises, ideas, etc. that jump out at you. See if there is anything from this exercise that you’d like to put in to further practice.
These exercises will open the pathway to our deepest creativity and mythic sense. There is no way of muscling ourselves through that. We need to work towards being an open and receptive channel. When you get in that practice, new inner terrain opens up and you will be surprised by the messages and promptings you receive. Many studies have been done that prove that our most creative time is not when we are “trying” to problem solve, but during walks, taking a shower, or other moments that let our minds and spirits wander. Let us embrace that wanderlust and see where our imaginations take us.
