I wrote this to Erik on the MythoSelf list who was asking about ontological and existential longing:
While I can’t answer what Joseph would say, I think of the two terms fairly interchangeably, which is perhaps not as precise as I could be. One of the main reasons clients come to see me is they are experiencing existential longing, so they are not happy with where they currently are in life, they are dissatisfied with their work life or their private life or both. What sums this up for me is the Joseph Campbell quote (or it may have been him quoting someone else) that people climb the ladder of success only to find they have placed it against the wrong wall.
For me and the clients I work with the MythoSelf process satisfies this existential longing. It’s about generating a way of being where you are aligned with what you want to be becoming.
So when you have the way of being, your ontological longing is satisfied. When you know through time what you want to be becoming, or in other words your personal mythology, your existential longing is satisfied.
I’ve also updated my FAQ’s which you may find interesting.
