David Newell: What Is a Myth and Why Does It Matter?

Spread Great Ideas: The Podcast

I'm pleased to welcome my dear friend David Newell to the show. David wears many hats—writer, philosopher, consigliere, and more. He knows more about myths, the collective unconscious, and Carl Jung's works than anyone I know. And, as he put it: "The meaning and morality of One's life comes from within oneself. Healthy, strong individuals seek self-expansion by experimenting and by living dangerously.”

David Newell Quotes From the Episode

"The redemption of the soul is not through the hero but through the savior, through Christ, through love, and through being of service."

- David Newell on true transformation comes not from achievement but from letting go of ego, embracing love, and serving others.

"The opposite of love is not hate, it’s power."

- David Newell on love as openness and growth, while power is about control and restriction.

"All life is a stage. We're almost all walking around in a Shakespearean comedy or tragedy, whichever mood you're in that day."

- David Newell on life as theater, each role we play reflecting our inner conflicts and narratives.

Additional Resources

• David Newell's website
• David Newell on Linkedin
• David Newell on Spotify
• Trauma and the Soul by Donald Kalsched
• The Red Book by Carl Jung
• Answer to Job by Carl Jung
• The Middle Passage by James Hollis

Show Notes

• 00:00:43 – David Newell on Myths, Jung, and the Collective Unconscious
• 00:01:13 – Why Myths Matter: Consciousness, Learning, and Meaning-Making
• 00:03:53 – Inanna, Cinderella, and the Archetype of Death and Rebirth
• 00:06:00 – Modern Relevance: How Myths Guide Adults in Self-Understanding
• 00:09:39 – Chaos vs. Order: Uranus, Saturn, and Life’s Defining Crises
• 00:13:35 – Myths as Moral Maps: Projection and the Power of Story Archetypes
• 00:16:23 – Synchronicity Explained: Jung’s Symbolic Coincidences
• 00:20:08 – Into the Unconscious: Jung’s Dreams, Madness, and the Inner Child
• 00:34:18 – Trauma and the Fragmented Soul: Developmental Wounds in Adulthood
• 00:40:50 – A Flower and a Lifetime of Shame: The Hidden Cost of Childhood Trauma
• 00:49:52 – Power vs. Love: Why Control, Not Hate, Is Love’s True Opposite
• 00:56:59 – Conscious Crucifixion: Pain, Healing, and the Christ Archetype
• 01:01:13 – Christianity and the Shadow: Jung’s Critique of Suffering and Integration
• 01:10:14 – Jordan Peterson’s Archetypes: Masculinity, Shadow, and the Jungian Legacy
• 01:16:25 – Parenting and Myth: Letting Children Choose Their Stories

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