1. Introduction: Narrative Building Machines.- Mythmaking and Popular Culture.- Private Hallucinations.- A Conjuror's 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.- Hero's Journey.- If the World Ended Tomorrow.- Negative Visualisation.- Taking Responsibility.
- Compassion, Empathy and Leadership.- Gratitude and Selflessness.- More Than Just a Dream.- Steven's 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 Phil's Oikeiosis.- A Hero's 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.