1. Introduction: Narrative Building Machines
Mythmaking and Popular Culture
Private Hallucinations
A Conjurors 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
Heros Journey
If the World Ended Tomorrow
Negative Visualisation
Taking Responsibility
Compassion, Empathy and Leadership
Gratitude and Selflessness
More Than Just a Dream
Stevens 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 Phils Oikeiosis
A Heros 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.