Mythic Mind

Boethius has lost his place in the world, and Lady Philosophy tells him that he has forgotten who he is. Fortune had given him so much that he began to expect permanence from things that could never promise it. Now those things are gone, and the muses helping him turn his misery into poetry are making his despair worse.

In this lesson on Book I of The Consolation of Philosophy, I follow Lady Philosophy's first efforts to restore his sight. Her treatment begins with recovering what it means to be human: a rational creature receptive to divine reason...

Right-wing X has been full of pro-Anakin posts, including one Elon Musk shared of an AI image of Emperor Anakin with Padme and their children in Imperial uniforms, captioned "This is what they took from us." Some of that is just meme energy. Underneath it sits a real claim: that the Jedi, read as a bloated liberal order, failed a gifted young man, and that Palpatine at least affirmed his passions and offered a path of belonging. On Mythic Mind Exploring the Psyche, Dr. Andrew Snyder asks who actually failed Anakin Skywalker. Was it the Jedi who raised him, the...

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https://mythicmindfellowship.com/kierkegaards-concept-of-anxiety-anxiety-is-not-an-ailment-to-be-removed-mythic-mind-ep-196/

Today I'm giving you a free look into my Mythic Mind Fellowship course, The Psychology of Søren Kierkegaard: Life in Anxiety & Despair, as we begin with the preface and introduction to The Concept of Anxiety. Before the argument proper, Kierkegaard's pseudonym Vigilius Haufniensis, the Watchman of Copenhagen, tells us what kind of book this is and what kind of book it is not: not a clinical study, not a self-help manual, and not a theology textbook borrowing a psychological title. He is a psychologist with theology in view, writing a...

Did the people of Middle-earth know how their story ends? Rev. Jeffrey Wade joins Andrew Snyder and Josh to discuss his master's thesis on eschatology in Arda. His question is not only what Tolkien believed, but whether the inhabitants of Arda themselves know their telos: the promise of resurrection, reunion, and the setting right of all things. Letting the text stand on its own rather than reading it through a scholar's agenda, he argues that this hope is woven into the story from the Ainulindalë onward.

One striking thread is water. The music of Ilúvatar lingers in th...

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https://mythicmindfellowship.com/the-death-of-ivan-ilyich-am-i-guilty-mythic-mind-ep-194/

We all know we will die one day. It is another thing to consider that it is I who am going to die.

In this Mythic Mind conversation, Dr. Andrew Snyder (professor of philosophy and theology) is joined by David and Jack to read Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich. We trace a man who did everything "properly," climbed the ladder, decorated the right house, and still ended up utterly alone, until suffering forces him to ask the one question he has always avoided: am I guilty?
<...

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https://youtu.be/_xltqKtCsw8

We all know we will die one day. It is another thing to consider that it is I who am going to die.

In this Mythic Mind conversation, Dr. Andrew Snyder (professor of philosophy and theology) is joined by David and Jack to read Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich. We trace a man who did everything "properly," climbed the ladder, decorated the right house, and still ended up utterly alone, until suffering forces him to ask the one question he has always avoided: am I guilty?
<...

Watch the video:
https://mythicmindfellowship.com/kierkegaard-on-mans-highest-perfection-mythic-mind-ep-193/

We are pressed to dissolve into the mass, to wear a demographic as a self, or to win identity from whatever community we most esteem. Kierkegaard’s answer cuts the other way: the glory of the human being is to recognize utter dependency on God.

In Mythic Mind episode 193, Dr. Andrew Snyder is joined by Zach and David for an Exploring the Psyche conversation on Kierkegaard’s discourse “To Need God Is a Human Being’s Highest Perfection.” They push past the easy proverb that a person needs only a lit...

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https://mythicmindfellowship.com/exploring-the-psyche-why-socialism-is-poison-to-the-soul-mythic-mind-ep-192/

Socialism is often sold as justice, necessity, or the only way to win. This Exploring the Psyche episode asks a harder question: what does that bargain do to the soul?

In Mythic Mind episode 192, Dr. Andrew Snyder takes up a live Right-wing temptation around redistribution, democratic appetite politics, and seizing power "for our side." He grants the real injustice (vote-buying, short-sighted majorities, a disenfranchised base), steelmans the classical and Lewisian fears about democracy's degeneration and spiritual leveling, then refuses the conclusion that remakes persons into instruments. The court...

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https://mythicmindfellowship.com/exploring-the-psyche-identity-and-becoming-a-self-mythic-mind-ep-191/

When Boethius lost everything, Lady Philosophy told him the wound beneath the wound: you have forgotten who you are. That diagnosis still lands. Who are you when the roles, tests, and labels fall away?

In this Mythic Mind Exploring the Psyche conversation, Dr. Andrew Snyder (professor of philosophy and theology) talks with licensed therapists Jeremy Key and Tyler Finders about identity: Myers-Briggs and Enneagram snapshots, the trap of "I am my diagnosis," agency that will not go away, and Kierkegaard's claim that the self is a relation in...

In this Mythic Mind Exploring the Psyche conversation, Dr. Andrew Snyder talks with licensed therapists Jeremy Kee and Tyler Finders about the value of home: roots and responsibility, the fear of committing to the wrong thing, hobbits who leave the Shire in order to save it, and C.S. Lewis’s reminder that pleasant inns are not the final destination.

Topics include belonging in a shifting world, establishing versus finding home, and why home still matters psychologically and spiritually.

Join us for our season of "Exploring the Psyche" at https://mythicmindfellowship.com

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Anxiety is usually treated as a disease to be eliminated. Medication and psychotherapy have their place, but what if, in our pursuit of so-called mental health, we are lobotomizing something essential to being human?

In this Exploring the Psyche conversation, Andrew is joined again by licensed therapists Tyler Finders and Jeremy Key to ask what anxiety actually is. We argue that anxiety is not an impediment to agency, but a call of the human spirit to take responsibility for our choices in the moment where what has been meets what might still be.

We talk about...

In this inaugural episode of our fall "Exploring the Psyche" season, I discuss "living well" with Tyler Finders and Jeremy Key, both of whom are clinical psychotherapists and Christian thinkers.

Keep up with all things Exploring the Psyche at mythicmindfellowship.com

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Between podcasts with professionals in the field, discussions of philosophy, film, and video games, Inkwell articles, a course on Kierkegaard, and more, Mythic Mind will be "Exploring the Psyche" this fall!

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Here are some quick updates about what is happening with Mythic Mind this month.

If you are not already a Fellow or Companion and you would like access to  Mythic Mind Academy and Readings from the Inkwell, go to https://mythicmindfellowship.com/membership/

Watch the video for this episode on YouTube or mythicmindfellowship.com.


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C.S. Lewis's That Hideous Strength is a profound, still very underread story that provides penetrating insights into the growing forces of dehumanization that drive much of our culture.

In 2025, the B.B.C produced an audio drama adaptation. Here is my review.

To get access to all Inkwell readings, become a member as a Fellow or Companion at https://mythicmindfellowship.com/

Get the book: That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis https://bookshop.org/a/129785/9780743234924

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In this episode, I discuss our upcoming Fellowship-wide seasonal theme and share a reading from the Inkwell.

If you are not already a Fellow or Companion and you would like regular access to Readings from the Inkwell, go to https://mythicmindfellowship.com/membership/

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[This episode is best as video. Watch at https://youtu.be/tFrz6G_Avg4

Starting at the beginning of August, we will begin transitioning to our new home at http://www.mythicmindfellowship.com!

This is an exciting new chapter that will facilitate deeper fellowship, more opportunities, and a better experience across the board. In this episode, I provide a tour through the new website.

Right now, we are in a soft launch period, but the full site will be available on August 1st.

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In this lecture from his "English Poems and Poets" course, classical teacher Josh Traylor provides a broad overview of literary Romanticism 19th century England.

Enroll in Josh's course with a Mythic Mind Fellowship membership: https://mythicmindfellowship.com/membership

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In this lecture from his "English Poems and Poets" course, classical teacher Josh Traylor explains what Romanticism is, what it is not, why it is ambiguous, and how we should understand it as a European cultural movement in the late 1700s and in the 1800s.

Enroll in Josh's course with a Mythic Mind Fellowship membership: https://mythicmindfellowship.com/membership

Watch the video of this episode and subscribe to my YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/kF4KsqKe7dM

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https://mythicmindfellowship.com/the-two-towers-part-2-helms-deep-and-the-palantir-mythic-mind-ep-182/

Tolkien once wondered whether a film could cut Helm's Deep. In the book it still teaches how hope arrives at dawn, and how a seeing-stone can undo the unwary.

In this Mythic Mind Lord of the Rings study, Dr. Andrew Snyder (professor of philosophy and theology) walks Book III, chapters 7–11: the Hornburg and the men of Rohan, Gandalf's dawn, and the Palantir's dangerous gift of sight after Orthanc.

Topics include battle as more than spectacle, hope against despair, and why true seeing is moral before it...

What does the future hold? What has been let go by the past? How should we view the moving horizon?

In this episode, I draw from Tolkien's letters, The Lord of the Rings, and his essays, "The Monsters and the Critics" and "On Fairy-Stories," to discuss his concept of The Long Defeat.

Take the entire course, including our recorded live meetings, with a Mythic Mind Fellowship membership: https://mythicmindfellowship.com/membership

Watch the video of this episode and subscribe to my YouTube channel here:https://youtu.be/R-1Yp1Z8dv4

Get...

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https://mythicmindfellowship.com/ai-storytelling-what-remains-properly-human-mythic-mind-ep-180/

We live amid tribal AI arguments: every machine-made frame is "slop," or every model is just a new paintbrush. This Mythic Mind conversation slows down between those poles with a technologist and a novelist.

Dr. Andrew Snyder (professor of philosophy and theology) is joined by Josh Daws (former Disney software engineer; VP of Technology at The Blaze) and novelist Michael Kane (After Moses) to ask what AI-generated media can and cannot bear as storytelling, and what remains properly human when prediction scales into myth-shaped output.

Topics...

What is the American heritage? To whom does it belong?

For this special episode of Mythic Mind, we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and reflect on some of the things that make the United States of America exceptional on the stage of history.

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We are continuing our Lord of the Rings study with the Book III, Chapters 1-6.

Take the entire course, including our recorded live meetings, with a Mythic Mind Fellowship membership: https://mythicmindfellowship.com/membership

Watch the video of this episode and subscribe to my YouTube channel here:https://youtu.be/ueNTOpwZInI

Get the book: The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien https://bookshop.org/a/129785/9780547928203

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- Mythic...

From Norse legend to Christian Anglo-Saxon poetry to the skies of Middle-earth, we are taking a look at Earendil the Mariner, the first enduring character of Tolkien's legendarium.

Take the entire course, including our recorded live meetings, with a Mythic Mind Fellowship membership: https://mythicmindfellowship.com/membership

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Get the book: The Road to Middle-earth by Tom Shippey https://bookshop.org/a/129785/9780618257607

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We are continuing our Lord of the Rings study with the Book II, Chapters 6-10.

Take the entire course, including our recorded live meetings, with a Mythic Mind Fellowship membership: https://mythicmindfellowship.com/membership

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Get the book: The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien https://bookshop.org/a/129785/9780547928210

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We continue through our 2025 course on The Lord of the Rings with a focused presentation on the character of Sauron.

Take the entire course, including our recorded live meetings, with a Mythic Mind Fellowship membership: https://mythicmindfellowship.com/membership

Watch the video of this episode and subscribe to my YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/uR4F9zEivII

Get the book: The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien https://bookshop.org/a/129785/9780547928210

Join the Mythic Mind Fellowship: https://mythicmindfellowship.com/membership

Listen to all THREE Mythic Mind...

We are continuing our Lord of the Rings study with the Book II, Chapters 1-5.

Take the entire course, including our recorded live meetings, with a Mythic Mind Fellowship membership: https://mythicmindfellowship.com/membership

Watch the video of this episode and subscribe to my YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/jBQ4_uDevx8

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We continue our Lord of the Rings study with a detour to Plato and a different ring of power.

Take the entire course, including our recorded live meetings, with a Mythic Mind Fellowship membership: https://mythicmindfellowship.com/membership

Watch the video of this episode and subscribe to my YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/Z_OfCpjFgTk

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Listen to all THREE Mythic Mind podcasts:

- Mythic Mind
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We are continuing our Lord of the Rings study with the Book I, Chapters 6-12 (The Old Forest to Flight to the Ford).

Take the entire course, including our recorded live meetings, with a Mythic Mind Fellowship membership: https://mythicmindfellowship.com/membership

Watch the video of this episode and subscribe to my YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/WKnc1gWlbuU

Join the Mythic Mind Fellowship: https://mythicmindfellowship.com/membership

Listen to all THREE Mythic Mind podcasts:

- Mythic Mind
- Mythic Mind Games
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Tolkien is known to despise allegory, but he is also clear that fiction, including his own, has a relationship with the primary world that can be used as a conduit for truth. In this lesson from the 2025 Lord of the Rings study, I discuss Tolkien's approach to allegory and application.

Take the entire course, including our recorded live meetings, with a Mythic Mind Fellowship membership: https://mythicmindfellowship.com/membership

Watch the video of this episode and subscribe to my YouTube channel here:https://youtu.be/c9-2YjcmxnM

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We are continuing our Lord of the Rings study with the Prologue to Book I, Chapter 5 (A Conspiracy Unmasked).

Take the entire course, including our recorded live meetings, with a Mythic Mind Fellowship membership: https://mythicmindfellowship.com/membership

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We begin our Lord of the Rings study with the beginning of Tolkien's world: the Ainulindalë, which tells of the making of Arda and the primordial fall of the devilish Melkor.

After a presentation of the story, I briefly discuss the theology of Tolkien's world and its relationship with Tolkien's own Christianity.

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In this new series of Mythic Mind, I will be providing my lessons from the exclusive Lord of the Rings study that we did in early 2025. This is a short introduction to that study.

Watch the video of this episode and subscribe to my YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/kAvqcTcYbcE

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- Mythic Mind Movies & Shows


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Neil deGrasse Tyson told Piers Morgan that we do not need to appeal to God to answer cosmological questions because the empirical sciences have demonstrated sufficient explanatory power.

In the final episode of this C.S. Lewis and the News series, I use this exchange as an occasion to discuss Lewis's thoughts on the supposed challenges that modern science levies against theological explanations of causation.

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Watch the video of this episode and subscribe to my YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/NQ2MHTUFNbc

...

While it is certain that any number of things may be "really going on," it is not difficult to make the case that the modern internet-saturated culture is plagued by unhealthy conspiratorial thinking.

What drives these tendencies?

How can C.S. Lewis help us to stay grounded in reality and responsibility?

In this episode, I seek answers to these questions with the help of Stephen Kent, who is a political TV commentator and columnist, author of How the Force can Fix the World, and host of https://www.youtube.com/@GeekyStoics

Watch...

We were recently promised UFO/UAE files that would fundamentally disrupt biblical Christianity. In a shocking turn, these promises were not delivered, but this was a good occasion to discuss what C.S. Lewis had to say about the potential theological ramifications of discovering extraterrestrial life.

This series is a new venture that may one day become a regular show. Once we reach 100 paid members, I will give it a green light!

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In this episode of C.S. Lewis and the News, I discuss the ominous renaming of ICE to the N.I.C.E. and what our reception of King Charles reveals about our democratic ideals.

This series is a new venture that may one day become a regular show. Once we reach 100 paid members, I will give it a green light!

Watch the video of this episode and subscribe to my YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/225ii4L6KBo

Join the Mythic Mind Fellowship: https://mythicmindfellowship.com/membership

Listen to all...

In this episode, I introduce C.S. Lewis and the News, a new series (and hopefully one day new show) that examines the moving pieces of our world through the timeless writing of C.S. Lewis.

I discuss what the show is, what it is not, and I clarify what I mean when I refer to Lewis as a conservative.

Particularly as this is a new idea, I would love to hear your thoughts!

Watch the video of this episode and subscribe to my YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/3s7_eNfdQL8

J...

If God has perfect knowledge of all time, do we actually have choices to make? To what extent can our wills possibly be free?

In this final episode of Life, Death, and Meaning with Beowulf and Boethius, I discuss Book V of The Consolation of Philosophy and I tease where we are going next!

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