by C.S. Thompson

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When myth incarnates in the waking world, the result can be a revelation. Explore the philosophy of Mythorealism, a new vision for the modern world- as sharp and flexible as tempered steel; as insightful as poetry. Poems and essays by CS Thompson:

From Myth Stepping into Matter: Notes on Mythorealism - The implication of Mythorealism is that there is something more, a magical reality behind reality. What that means, exactly, is up to the individual, but the Mythorealist as an artist will bring this other reality to the forefront, incarnating it in the waking world.

From The House of Silence:

The House of Silence
Slumbers by the pit
From which the waking world
Once had its start.
Its windows glitter
Like the distant stars,
But silence,
Always silence
Is its heart.

From Reaching up Toward the Fullness: Art Manifesting the Mythic - Even the horror of nightmare leads us upward to the Fullness, awakening our spirits with its magic- but only if it is embraced. Mythorealist art confronts horror and wonder fearlessly, seeing both of them as pathways. These things do not corrupt the spirit- they help set it free.

From The Mythic Ascent - The spiritual experience, of any kind, is a relationship with the Beyond, with that which cannot be expressed in words or contained in logic. It is a relationship with the unknowable.

From Another Way to Know the Gods - The world we live in is the world of magic- a world where the divine lurks behind every shadow, peers out from between the lines of the ancient stories, reveals itself in random comments and the seemingly mundane, and always retains its mystery because Mystery is what It is.

From Between Somewhere and Nowhere - The whole basis of my thinking is mythopoetic. Myth and poetry, in my view, represent a more profound level of truth than reason, and one to which our reason has no access. In the Eleusinian Mysteries there were two types of secret- those things which initiates were simply forbidden to repeat (such as the details of the ritual) and those things which could not be expressed in words in the first place, the things that actually transformed the initiates into men reborn. It is those greater mysteries we touch in myth.

From Pen and Sword: The Practice of Swordsmanship and the Pursuit of Poetry- It's about living beautifully and also spiritually, experiencing all of life as an expression of grace. It's about being at home in the chaos of the world, moving fluidly through its changes with dignity and humor. It's about learning to see and to say the truth, and being genuinely alive every single day.

From Claymore Diary- Staring out a Greyhound window in the middle of the night, looking out at the lights as they float by. Glowing creatures at the bottom of an ocean trench; passing cars. The music on my headphones is the sound of outer space- vast emptiness and coldness, a sense of distance. I feel like I’m a thousand miles away from everything, and yet I’ve only just begun.

About the Author: CS Thompson is a poet, writer and historical fencing instructor. He is the author of the Noctiviganti series of dark fantasy novels, and his collections of poetry include Ghost Shadows from Wildside Press and City at the Edge of Night. CS Thompson lives with his wife Cicely in Portland, Maine.