"Journey Mapping - Sound Archetypes and the New Mythology" with Research Questions by willi paul studio / planetshifter.com

- Contents -

- Shout Outs! -

- Soundings -

- Five Journey Maps -

- Resources -

- Some Terms in the Sound Archetype / Myth Sphere -

- Selections in Sound and New Mythology from Willi Paul -

- Research Questions -

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In the Chaos Era, we need to recognize and refresh our archetypes and their co-patriots, the sound archetypes. The following myth creation schema is offered (see illustration) supported later in this post by Five Journey Maps:

Symbols >
Environmental Archetypes >
New Stories >
Sound Archetypes >
New Myths (Film Score, Music Video & Documentary) >
New Symbols >

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- Shout Outs! -

[ 1. ] Can you think of any examples where Joseph Campbell highlighted Sound Symbols and Sonic Archetypes & Metaphors in Mythology?

Hi Willi - have thought about your question (concerning sound archetypes and Campbell's work) and nothing comes to mind. Did you ask Stephen Gerringer by any chance?
- Warmly, Dr. Catherine Svehla, Mythologist

[ 2. ] Hi. It's an interesting idea - and I guess I don't really know what you mean by (sound archetype), or what kind of person (skills?) you would be looking for? Maybe post something in the FORUM with a description and see if someone responds?
- Bonnie Bright, Depth Psychology Alliance Founder

[3. ] "The alchemical process is a physical ritual that projects an inner state onto physical elements. Yes, I believe I understand how alchemy can work in the sound and visual arts; what's just as clear is that today's technology has definitely upped the ante."
- Stephen Gerringer, Community Relations @ Joseph Campbell Foundation- Planetshifter.com Interview

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- Soundings -

Are new sound archetypes surfacing? How? How are sound archetypes called-up/ re-called, empowered and / or re-forged with reference to present day cultural traditions, rituals, images, symbols, machines and instruments, voices, costumes, drugs, initiations, untested values by a small pool of artists, protesters and eco-alchemists?

Basically, we are reaching the deeper layers of our brain, the parts of the brain that deal with raw emotions and even deeper layers, the so-called primitive brain where involuntary body functions are performed. The sound archetypes are to be found at this layer of the brain and in the corresponding layers of the mind which is the collective mind of our species. (Origins of Sound Archetypes)

We live in the Chaos Age, within a deluge of gray areas, systems fatigue and complex transmutations including psychological sparks with unseen forces at the boundary between conscious and subconscious. Archetypes, and the more mysterious sound archetypes, are important flash points of memory charging, active listening and the new myths.

Primordial sounds are Nature-borne forces that are expressed through our subconscious to the conscious. Archetypical sounds are key to human evolution and are a prime source of new mythology throughout the ages.

It is up to all of us to learn to tap the unconscious / conscious borderland for new chants, spoken poems, trance songs and sonic rituals that we desperately need to evolve.

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- Five Journey Maps –

Archetypical sound is an alchemical or transmutation process, where the recombining of elements and the interactive process is more important than the product. Also examine myth in soundscapes - or how the imagination of each listener both creates and recombines a story and how the meanings evolve as each collaboration changes the forces. These fragments can be re-mixed as each new group is created. Differing from other musical composition, here archetypical sounds are no longer in the background but in the foreground as the evolving sound collage drives the listener experience; sound can now serve as a new story that we process and interpret individually and collectively.

Consider a Journey Map as a spiritual directive, a mega meme-data set. Think: mythic compost, evol-scaffolding and a song score for a new, just world.

Journey Map 1

Symbols: Tree of Life, Permaculture logo, Yosemite, Seeds, US Gulf Coast
Environmental Archetype: A love to preserve unique landscapes for future generations. Mistrust of greedy, short-term land and energy developers.
New Stories: "Liana's Sacred Hands" by Willi Paul
Sound Archetype: Amazon Rain Forest
Sound Myth: "The Monsanto Years" by Neil Young + Promise of the Real

Journey Map 2

Symbols: GMO; Convergence and sharing expo events; neighborhood plans and new rituals
Environmental Archetype: High hope to build sustainable systems in our local neighborhoods and towns. Fear of food and fuel shortages and fights for resources between neighbors, corporations and governments.
New Stories: "East Bay Green Star Tour" - An Eden-Maker Kid's Video by Willi Paul
Sound Archetype: Crude oil on rails
Sound Myth: "Tapped Out: The History and Battle over Water in California's San Joaquin Valley" - documentary miniseries from Valley PBS

Journey Map 3

Symbols: AK-47, US Flag, Scenes, vigils, pawn shops
Environmental Archetype: A deep love for freedom to own fire arms; love for guns and killing.
New Stories: "lawyers, guns and water" - permaculture sound comic by Willi Paul
Sound Archetype: TV news coverage from mass shootings
Sound Myth: "Making a Killing: Guns, Greed, and the NRA" by Brave New Films

Journey Map 4Symbols: Rising coastal tides, coal fired power plants.
Environmental Archetype: Fear that global warming will destroy all life on Earth.
New Stories: "Bay Area Tsunami @ Doomsday Bay, CA. 2025 A.D." by Willi Paul
Sound Archetype: Melting polar ice
Sound Myth: "Before the Deluge" by Jackson Browne

Journey Map 5

Symbols: Logos of BP, PG&E, Duke Energy
Environmental Archetype: Mistrust of energy privatization and corrupt environmental practices. Supreme love for the capitalist system and blind faith in corporations.
New Stories: "Journey to Green Star - A Children's Video" by Willi Paul
Sound Archetype: Citizen protest
Sound Myth: "Avatar" - James Cameron, Director

(See Source Document)

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- Some Terms in the Sound Archetype / Myth Sphere -

12 Elements of Modern Myths - 1. Sci-Fi & Para-normal 2. Universal struggle 3. Journey, Initiation, Community as Hero 4. Permaculture and Transition Values and Symbols 5. Eco-Alchemy 6. Nature is Sacred 7. Threat of apocalypse 8. Symbols & Artifact Initiated 9. New rituals and traditions 10. Rewilding 11. Resilience 12. Sound Archetypes (W. Paul, updated 2017)

Archetype - "According to Jungian approach of psychology, some highly developed elements of the collective unconscious are called 'archetypes'. Carl Jung developed an understanding of archetypes as universal, archaic patterns and images that derive from the collective unconscious and are the psychic counterpart of instinct. They are autonomous and hidden forms which are transformed once they enter consciousness and are given particular expression by individuals and their cultures. Being unconscious, the existence of archetypes can only be deduced indirectly by examining behavior, images, art, myths, religions, or dreams. They are inherited potentials which are actualized when they enter consciousness as images or manifest in behavior on interaction with the outside world."

A myth is a traditional story consisting of events that are ostensibly historical, though often supernatural, explaining the origins of a cultural practice or natural phenomenon.

Mythic Imprinting is a two-way interaction with a selected Artifact that has generates synergistic meaning for both participants and the Artifact. Called "mythic imprinting" in the Myth Lab, this iterative and transmutative process is grounded in the initiation, journey and hero work from Joseph Campbell and is one way that neighborhood artifacts can help neighbors generate new songs, poems and myths. (W. Paul 2013)

Ouroboros - The alchemists, who in their own way knew more about the nature of the individuation process than we moderns do, expressed this paradox through the symbol of the Ouroboros, the snake that eats its own tail. The Ouroboros has been said to have a meaning of infinity or wholeness.

Mantras are those mystical sound symbols, or words of deep significance, which serve to protect the person who chants them and reflects upon their meaning. Mantras are minute 'word-capsules' filled with knowledge.

Sound Archetype (sound-infused archetype) generate audio and psychological support to archetypes, often enhancing the meaning and pleasure of the story or song. The current theory is that archetypes reside in the subconscious and couple with sound to become archetype sounds in the conscious. (W. Paul 2017)

Sound Effects - artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. In motion picture and television production, a sound effect is a sound recorded and presented to make a specific storytelling or creative point without the use of dialogue or music. The term often refers to a process applied to a recording, without necessarily referring to the recording itself. In professional motion picture and television production, dialogue, music, and sound effects recordings are treated as separate elements.

Urban - Nature Artifacts mimic (or mirror) a natural space in an urban setting, like a pond (i.e. - swimming pool) or a farm field edge (i.e. - neighborhood street planter strip), that is designed, built and maintained by humans and supported by local utilities. An Urban - Nature artifact can also be understood as a "eco-metaphor" (i.e. - barn owl) for a specific nature - human interaction (i.e. - small vegetable garden). Urban - Nature artifacts are man-made and often unsustainable and/or cosmetic. There are no natural or "Nature" artifacts. (W. Paul, 2017)

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- Selections in Sound and New Mythology from Willi Paul -

"sound myth - journey 1"

"Sound Myth - Journey 2" - video

Building a new sound symbol library for global community storytelling. Videos (3) + Lesson Planning + PDF"

"5 Proposed Permaculture & Nature Archetypes and their Symbols (2014)"

"Kids, Rewilding and the New Mythology" - A conversation with Dan De Lion, ReturntoNature.us and Willi Paul

"Big Bang Mythology" - "Steve Tibbetts and 7 Sound Archetypes"

"Of Noise and Nature" - Essay by Nick Miller, Nature Sounds Society (Re-Post)

"Sound Archetypes and the Four Seasons" - Children's Video and Documentation

"Pre-Mythic Symbols and Archetypes" - Biomimicry and the Hunters and Gatherers - Lecture Outline

"Sounds, Samples and Songs" - Tuning New Mythology with Permaculture, Transition and Nature. eBook 29.

"Leopard Noise - What happens when we use sound samples instead of human speak in Nature cartoons?"

"water sound symbol myth: building new nature-based myths" (video)

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- Research Questions -

How do Nature Sound Archetypes compare to Human Sound Archetypes?

Are sound effects instinctive?

How are sound symbols, sound archetypes or songs connected to memories and / or new feelings?

How to produce and integrate a sonic-inspired component to a new myth?

How do spoken poems use sound archetypes?

How does the transition (semi-consciousness) inbetween conscious and unconscious facilitate the production and recognition of sound archetypes?

Is this a 2-way street? Can new sound archetypes be deposited into the unconscious?

How do sound archetypes contribute to the initiation, journey and community hero from Campbell?

What components in rock music utilize sound archetypes vs. metaphor?

Can sound archetypes die-off? How?

If we can feel the power of myth from storytellers, then why not from media pulsed by sound archetypes?

Can a "Sound Myth" be a series of integrated Sound Archetypes that have a universal theme and message?

How do we translate or transmute sound archetypes into visual cues, messages, initiations and global meanings?

How do rituals work with sound archetypes?

How do you know when you hear / feel a sound archetype?

Are sound archetypes connected to memories and new feelings?

What is a mythic experience?

When can a sound archetype help to create a new language, code, or painting?

Can silence be a sound archetype? Is silence a sound symbol?

Can we interpret an integrated set of sound symbols as a sound myth?

Can sound archetypes support meditation?

How do Nature sounds support social initiation? Ritual?

Are there Universal Nature sounds / meanings / experiences?

How do we choose the Source for Nature Sound Samples? Where do you retrieve your samples?

Best example of Nature's storytelling via sound?

How does sound covey emotional and rationale meaning?