The more "civilized" our culture becomes on the surface - and the more sophisticated and complex our technology grows - the greater the extent to which fantasy's imagery and themes permeate our literature, films, music and visual arts. Is there a relationship between these two developments? I believe there is.

Fantasy has always arisen in response to a deep need within our collective psyches, to connect with the strange and unfathomable worlds that lie just below our waking consciousness. The greatest works of fantasy are built upon archetypal images that exist within all of us, at the very roots of our being. Modern men and women can ignore these life-enriching motifs only at the great detriment to their souls' nourishment.

Consider classical mythology. People are oftentimes disenchanted when they're first exposed to it, because it seems like a childish explanation of reality - the manner in which our universe was formed, and the purpose of life. The mistake lies in assuming, in the first place, that myths exist to explain how the world works.

Rather, these tales from antiquity have always served to remind us that LIFE IS AN UNFATHOMABLE MYSTERY. This is a crucial point to grasp. When we consider the world as a known thing - something defined and fully grasped by our wonderful intellects - then we lose our sense of wonder.

And without wonderment we join the general malaise of modern humanity. Frustrated and bored, quietly desperate, we come to believe that nothing in life has deep meaning or significance - and we seek escape; we try to fill the resulting emptiness with countless addictions.

Our artists, our fantasists, seek to rouse us out of this limiting and life-deadening stupor.

Seth Mullins is the author of "Song of an Untamed Land". Visit his complete blog at http://www.writingup.com/blog/seth_mullins