The Mythic Masculine: The Boy Hero Must Die

It is the humility of the failed hero that allows him to truly connect with his brothers.

My man Ian has a new podcast called The Mythic Masculine. It’s a bimonthly exploration of myth, culture and the emerging masculine archetypes. On today’s episode of Life is a Festival I’m sharing our conversation from Episode 5 of his show titled The Boy Hero Must Die.

If you’ve been following my story, this conversation picks up where we left off in Episode 18 of Life is a Festival where I shared my Rite of Passage initiating with the Bwiti people in Gabon and the plant medicine iboga. On today’s show, we explore the aftermath of that self-authored hero’s journey and the Sisyphean task of the ego attempting to surpass itself. We discuss the Mythopoetic Mens Movement and the idea of using masculine archetypes for personal development, particularly the paradox of the hero archetype. We explore masculinity as non-universal, we discuss the troubles with building brands around mens work, and we share tools to cultivate a culture of trust amongst men.

Ian MacKenzie is a writer, documentary filmmaker and now a podcaster. You can check out his writing on Medium (I really loved “Home is Wherever I’m With You — And Other Modern Calamities”). He produced the films Occupy Love in 2012, Amplify Her in 2017 and the forthcoming documentary Love School about the polyamorous community Tamera in Portugal. If you’d like to learn more about the philosophy of Tamera and how they are teaching love free from fear, check out the interview Ian did with Tamera co-founder Benjamin von Mendelssohn on Episode 5 of the Mythic Masculine.

From our speaking tour in Australia, to lounging at Bass Coast in Canada, I have had many edifying conversations with this brilliant man and I’m honored to share this one with you.

LINKS:
Ian MacKenzie: https://www.ianmack.com/
The Mythic Masculine Podcast: https://www.ianmack.com/mythicmasculine/
“Home is Wherever I’m With You — And Other Modern Calamities.”: https://medium.com/@ianmack/home-is-wherever-im-with-you-and-other-calamities-db950a300202
The Mythic Masculine #5: A Culture of Love Beyond Patriarchy with Benjamin von Mendelssohn: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2WSPQRb529sK2x21k3gF59

A special thank you to Adam St. Simons, my Medici supporter on Patreon. If you have the means and the vibe, consider visiting Life is a Festival on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/lifeisafestival) and dropping a coin in the fountain.