Eudaimonia: Living in Alignment with Your Soul's Purpose (Pilot Episode)

What does Eudaimonia mean? The term translates to "eu" (good) and "daimon": spirit, fate, destiny...As you can see, this term is notoriously difficult to translate into modern English. However, the general idea behind eudaimonia is that of profound happiness and well-being experienced by those who are living lives in alignment with their soul's purpose. The tricky thing is that what the ego wants may conflict with the soul's deeper purpose and if you feel like you are living at odds with yourself or struggling with chronic anxiety or depression, this may be the root cause of these psychological maladies. (Please do not regard my writings on finding/reclaiming your daimon as a replacement for psychological and/or psychiatric guidance. I myself regularly see both a therapist and a psychiatrist and am working with my daimon as a supplementary measure to deepen these practices). I do, however, wholeheartedly believe that many of the problems modern society faces can be traced back to a woefully disenchanted worldview and the resultant alienation from the deepest depths of our core selves. Even mainstream psychology is woefully alienated from the original meaning of the term: logos (language) of psyche (the soul). Studying transpersonal and/or depth psychology - look at the work of Carl Jung and/or James Hillman as a start - can be a fantastic place to begin your exploration of a psychology that lives up to its name. 

I am hopeful that this podcast will also provide resources and advice for how to find and reclaim your own soul through the lens of the ancient figure of the guardian daimon. The daimon can be seen as both the guardian of your soul and the soul itself. (Re)connect with them (I deliberately choose non-binary terms here as I don't believe the daimon is gendered even if they choose appear to you in male, female, or androgynous form), and you will be well on your way to living the life your soul intended for you from your birth. This pilot episode explores the concept of the daimon through the lens of Hillman's depth psychological literature on the topic and my own personal daimonic experiences which were triggered by the sudden/unexpected death of my beloved mother in October 2012. I am dedicating this podcast to her on what would have been her 61st birthday (she was born on September 13, 1959). I love you, Mom! Happy Birthday in the Otherworld. :)