The Voice of Reason: Monitoring morons looking for new myths and lies to believe in

Wednesday, 25 March 2026

Monitoring morons looking for new myths and lies to believe in

3:00 Sapiens by Yuval Harari

4:00 Martin Shaw

BRAVE

Martin Shaw is an acclaimed mythologist, storyteller, and author who defines myth not as fiction, but as a sacred story that reveals a deeper reality beyond simple facts. He argues that humans are biologically tuned for symbols and metaphors, and that engaging with myth is a transformational encounter essential for navigating uncertainty and finding meaning in modern life.

Shaw's work emphasizes mythmaking as the correct response to uncertainty, urging people to subvert voices of certainty and open to mystery. He teaches that myths provide the architecture of tempering needed to balance opposing forces, such as the "mud" (grounding, discipline) and "holy breath" (improvisation, spirit) found in stories like the Genesis creation narrative. His approach encourages individuals to locate their specific "great task" through service and sacrifice, rather than self-absorption or generic achievement.

Key aspects of Shaw's mythological framework include:

Navigating Mystery: Reframing "living with uncertainty" as "navigating mystery" to embrace the unknown as a source of depth and cultural creation.
The Cinderbiter Archetype: Using Celtic folklore, such as the story of the boy who steals from a serpent to create islands, to illustrate how unconventional, "sacred transgression" can solve impossible problems.
Rites of Passage: Drawing on ancient traditions, like the Irish king's challenge of a chariot pulled by two wild horses, to teach the creation of a "third way" through tension and paradox.
Christian Mythology: Shaw, now an Orthodox Christian, views the life of Jesus as the ultimate collision of mythic patterns with historical reality, where "all truth is God's truth."
His extensive bibliography includes the Mythteller trilogy (A Branch from the Lightning Tree, Snowy Tower, Scatterlings), Liturgies of the Wild, Wolf Milk, and Cinderbiter. He founded the Westcountry School of Myth in the UK and previously established the Oral Tradition and Mythic Life courses at Stanford University.