Table of Contents

1. Introduction: Narrative Building Machines.- Mythmaking and Popular Culture.- Private Hallucinations.- A Conjuror’s Story.- A Serendipitous Discovery.- Collective States of Mind.- The Analytical Approach of This Book.- The Structure of This Book.- Stories for a Better Future.- Bibliography.- 2. The Archetypal Magician.- Transformational Spaces.- The Stage Magician.- The Enlightened Magician.- The Shadow Magician.- Trust and Authenticity.- Stories, Memories and Experiences.- Our Chattering Selves.- Scepticism of Our Stories.- Bibliography.- 3. Street Philosophy and the Stoics.- Philosophy for Flourishing.- The Dichotomy of Control.- Purpose, Responsibility and Society.- Actions over Outcomes.- Learning and Growing.- Life Skills and Lessons.- Fate and Fortune.- Stillness, Egos and Obstacles.- Habitual Humans.- Perceptions and Stories.- Inner and Outer Worlds.- Emotions and Reactions.- Domesticate Your Emotions.- Taking Back Control.- The Unlived Lives of Our Parents.- Freedom to Flourish.- That Fraudster Feeling.- Hindsight and Reflection.- Bibliography.- 4. Self-Help and Popular Culture.- An Antidote to the Self-Help Industry.- Strategic Pessimism.- The Verb of Happiness.- Our Protestant Past.- The Law of Attraction.- Blame and Failure.- Kicking and Screaming.- Self-Help and Celebrity.- The Conor McGregor Story.- Narrative, Ego and Persona.- The Outer World of Fame and Fortune.- Paradoxical Mindsets.- Trials and Tribulations.- Bibliography.- 5. Angels and Demons.- We Want Heroes, Not Gods.- Welcome to the Dark Side.- Social Compliance.- Handing over Authorship.- Conforming in Cahoots.- Can We Push Back?.- Hero Mentality.- Hero’s Journey.- If the World Ended Tomorrow.- Negative Visualisation.- Taking Responsibility.- Compassion, Empathy and Leadership.- Gratitude and Selflessness.- More Than Just a Dream.- Steven’s Homecoming.- The Wizard of Oz.- Transcendence and Individuation.- Jung, Socrates and the Stoics.- Compassion, Love and Empathy.- Bibliography.- 6. Beyond Them-And-Us.- The Rise of Tribalism.- In These Divided Times.- The Politics of Fear.- Place and Belonging.- The Overview Effect.- Connection and Empathy.- Expanding Phil’s Oikeiōsis.- A Hero’s Calling.- Dialogue Between Sides.- Fate and Perspective.- Beyond Madness and Badness.- The Human Problem.- Ethical Cosmopolitanism.- The Quest for Complexity.- Bibliography.- 7. Reflections and Transformations.- Collective Reflections.- Getting to Know Our Shadows.- Introspection and Transformation.- One Team, Many Stories.- The Changing World of Work.- A Secular Void?.- Filling the Secular Void.- Transformative Philosophy.- Communal Connections.- Transformative Mythologies.- Towards a Modern Monomyth.- The Collective Journey.- Stories to Save the World.- Collective Weaving Machines.- Bibliography.

About the Author

Darren Kelsey is Reader in Media and Collective Psychology at Newcastle University’s School of Arts and Cultures. Darren’s teaching, research and previous publications have focused on storytelling, mythology and psychology in media, politics and popular culture. Darren currently lives in County Durham with his wife and daughter.