Wednesday, August 11, 2021
8pm Eastern
On Zoom
Admission: $20
Limited to 12 Particpants
Tickets
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The name Gilgamesh in Cuneiform
Besides being one of the oldest surviving myths, Gilgamesh is a complex tale rich with imagery and heroic tropes that influenced later world myths. It mirrors the Old Testament's Great Flood and Beowulf's Grendel and Orpheus' undying love.
One of the most striking arcs of this story is the stripping of an arrogant king's ego so that by the end of his journey, he is able to return humbled by his attempts to defy Nature and marvel at his kingdom through new eyes of gratitude.
Something magical happens when we share the stories from our own modern lives in parallel with retelling the unforgettable moments from timeless myths: we develop an empathetic relationship —we feel into the myth— and its transformative wisdom is revealed to us. We come to see why even the most fantastical tales are still told thousands of years later.
In this month's gathering, you'll have the opportunity to share personally from your own life to illuminate how your own epic relates to the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest surviving myths. This saga from ancient Mesopotamia serves as both a heroic journey and a romance, one that attempts to defy death for the sake of love. Gilgamesh has had a great influence over stories from the Bible and Western mythology, including the Iliad and the Odyssey.
Storytelling is a powerful practice in itself, facilitating intimacy and community, and even healing. Come join us and tell your story!
This experience is an opportunity to become acquainted with your fellow participants through interactive storytelling. The story of Gilgamesh has been broken into its core story points, sometimes called mythogem. A way of thinking about a mythogem is an element of a story that is essential to the story; otherwise it's meaning is altered. Snow White without the apple or Hansel and Gretel without getting lost are no longer the same tales. You'll be asked to select from a list of incidents that remind you of moments in your life: "Recall a time when you fell for a stranger."
Once everyone has a moment assigned to them that they feel comfortable, we will begin telling the story of the myth of Gilgamesh. When the time comes in the story that parallels a participant's story, that person will offer up their own story. When that happens, we open up empathetically to the characters in the myth and feel into the notion that our modern selves are not so different from these timeless folks. As the myth becomes more relatable, we can view them, as Joseph Campbell has said, as handbooks for living our own lives. The evening will conclude with a group discussion. Everyone will receive a handout to help remember and further reflect on the story of Gilgamesh.
Nirmal Chandraratna is a New York City–based musician and facilitator with a passion for nurturing connection— to spirit, to community, and to one's deeper self— He has offered this storytelling series for the last 7 years, exploring such diverse stories as Sita in the Ramayana, Hesse's Siddhartha, and Orpheus and Achilles from Greek myth. He has enjoyed witnessing the ability of myth and storytelling to edify, inspire and empower people in their own lives.