The Heart of Transformation: A Conversation with Michael Meade
When familiar identities, plans, or ways of living begin to fall apart, it can be difficult to see anything beyond the loss itself. Yet periods of breakdown can also raise deeper questions about who you are becoming and what may be asking to emerge.
Mythologist and author Michael Meade approaches transformation as an initiation of the soul, a process in which old forms dissolve and something more original has an opportunity to come forward. His perspective draws on mythology, depth psychology, ancient initiation traditions, and the enduring power of imagination.
In this live conversation, Jung Platform founder Machiel Klerk interviews Michael about the ideas at the heart of his book The Heart of Transformation. Together, they explore how personal wounds, uncertainty, and the shedding of old identities can become part of a deeper process of renewal.
You’ll hear a perspective on meeting chaos without losing heart, listening for the deeper intelligence within difficult passages, and reclaiming imagination as a creative force when familiar ways of being no longer fit.
Why Attend “The Heart of Transformation”
Times of personal or cultural breakdown can leave familiar identities and assumptions feeling unreliable. Michael Meade offers another way to understand these passages by approaching transformation as an initiation in which old forms dissolve and deeper possibilities begin to emerge.
His work brings mythology, psychology, storytelling, and cross-cultural traditions into conversation with the challenges of contemporary life. This perspective can be especially meaningful when uncertainty feels less like a temporary problem and more like a threshold that asks something new of you.
Rather than treating wounds, chaos, or endings as experiences to simply overcome, this conversation explores what they may reveal about imagination, destiny, and creative participation in life. Meade’s approach invites a deeper relationship with change while acknowledging that genuine transformation often includes descent, disruption, and the loss of familiar forms.
What You’ll Learn
We’ll begin with Michael Meade’s understanding of transformation as an initiation of the soul, so you can consider why the dissolution of familiar forms may be more than a simple ending. You’ll explore how these threshold periods can expose questions of identity, purpose, and the deeper direction of a life.
In this conversation, you’ll hear how Meade connects ancient initiation traditions with the image of metamorphosis, which means transformation is approached as a process that involves both breakdown and re-creation. He also explores personal wounds as places where creative energy may be found rather than experiences that must simply be erased.
From there, the discussion turns toward imagination, uncertainty, and the possibility of participating consciously in renewal. Meade considers how deep imagination can help you relate differently to chaos, so that change becomes a place to listen for what is trying to emerge rather than only something to resist.
- Why Michael Meade approaches transformation as an initiation of the soul
- How the dissolution of old forms can become part of a deeper process of renewal
- What ancient initiation traditions can reveal about periods of profound change
- Why metamorphosis offers a powerful image for understanding inner transformation
- How personal wounds can become connected with creative energy and expression
- The role deep imagination can play when familiar identities no longer fit
- How to consider chaos and uncertainty without treating them as the end of the story
- What Meade means by the soul’s innate genius and original seed of destiny
- How individuals can participate creatively in personal and cultural renewal
Who This Is For
This talk may be especially relevant if you are moving through a personal breakdown, major transition, loss of identity, or period when an old way of living no longer feels viable. It also speaks to those trying to understand larger cultural uncertainty without collapsing into despair or assuming that disruption is the end of the story.
You may also be drawn to this conversation if mythology, depth psychology, storytelling, imagination, soul, or initiation offer meaningful ways for you to explore human experience. Therapists, coaches, educators, artists, community builders, and longtime spiritual seekers may find Meade’s cross-disciplinary perspective particularly engaging.
- People navigating personal breakdown, transition, or major change
- Anyone questioning an identity or way of life that no longer fits
- Those interested in mythology, depth psychology, and soul-centered perspectives
- People seeking a more creative relationship with uncertainty and upheaval
- Artists and creators interested in the relationship between wounds and imagination
- Therapists, coaches, educators, and community builders drawn to mythic perspectives
- Readers of Michael Meade who want to explore the ideas in The Heart of Transformation
About Michael Meade
Michael Meade, D.H.L., is a storyteller, author, and scholar whose work brings together mythology, anthropology, psychology, and cross-cultural ritual traditions.
His teaching combines storytelling with interpretations of ancient myths and a close attention to the stories unfolding in contemporary life. Across his work, he draws on ancestral sources of wisdom while exploring enduring questions of fate, destiny, initiation, creativity, and the life of the soul.
Meade is the author of The Genius Myth, Fate and Destiny: The Two Agreements of The Soul, Why the World Doesn’t End, and The Water of Life: Initiation and the Tempering of the Soul.
He is also the founder of Mosaic Multicultural Foundation, a nonprofit network of artists, activists, and community builders that encourages greater understanding among diverse peoples. In The Heart of Transformation, his longstanding engagement with mythology, initiation, imagination, and the soul becomes a lens for understanding personal and cultural breakdown as part of a larger process of change.
Frequently Asked Questions
Select any question below to reveal the answer.
When and where does the event take place?
Who is Michael Meade?
What will I learn during this event?
What if I can’t attend live?
How long is the event?
Do I need any special equipment to participate?
Who is hosting the event?
Is this event suitable for beginners?
Is this event religious?
Will there be an opportunity to go deeper after the event?
What can I expect to feel during the event?
Is this event really free?
What does transformation as an initiation of the soul mean?
Why does Michael Meade use metamorphosis as an image for transformation?
How can personal wounds become creative power?
What role does imagination play in transformation?
How does the talk approach chaos and uncertainty?
What does Michael Meade mean by innate genius?
How do ancient initiation rites relate to modern life changes?
What does it mean to become an agent of creation?
The contents of this website/e-mail are for informational purposes only and are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This website does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
We are grateful to be of service and bring you these life-changing events free of charge. In order to do this, please note that whenever you click the links and purchase items, in most (not all) cases we will receive a referral commission. We may receive a listing fee for publishing this event.
Your support in purchasing through these links makes it possible for people in over 150 countries globally to attend these life-changing events for free. Thank you!
Register for this free live conversation with Michael Meade. A recording will also be available if you cannot attend live or would like to watch the session again.
- Oct 07 2026
- Expired!
- 1:00 pm - 2:15 pm
Local Time
- Timezone: America/New_York
- Date: Oct 07 2026
- Time: 4:00 pm - 5:15 pm
More Info
- Worldwide
