Beyond conscious purposes

Search

The Study of Myth

A collaboration between the Joseph Campbell Foundation, OPUS Archives, and Pacifica Graduate Institute. Join the conversation, create the vision, deepen the study of myth.

Find Me

CURRENT MOON
moon phase info

In Print

Good Books About Myth and Culture

Ginette Paris: Wisdom of the Psyche: Depth Psychology after Neuroscience
Paris provides a wonderful explanation of the intersection between personal life story and collective myths and the way myth shapes perspective.
James Hillman: We've Had a Hundred Years of Psychotherapy--And the World's Getting Worse
Hillman is a central figure in the field of archetypal psychology, which provides a theoretical base for work on cultural mythologies that I find very useful. This collaboration with Michael Ventura is an accessible and stimulating introduction to some of Hillman's ideas.
Michael Meade: The World Behind the World
"The world," Meade writes, "despite it's disasters, tragedies and villainies, can't end unless it runs out of stories." Useful reflections on these changing and frightening times--I especially like the story of the Old Woman, the black dog, and the loose thread.
Carl G. Jung: The Undiscovered Self (Mentor)
C.G. Jung and Sigmund Freud first articulated the existence of the unconscious (which became depth psychology) and understood the ongoing relationship between human meaning and myth. In this book, Jung discusses the moral obligation to become self aware.
Joseph Campbell: The Hero with a Thousand Faces (Bollingen Series)
Campbell writes, "It would not be too much to say that myth is the secret opening through which the inexhaustible energies of the cosmos pour into human cultural manifestation." An important and influential book that links the mythic narrative of "the hero's journey," found across cultures, to contemporary life.
Barry Mills, editor: Kali's Kites: Essays From The Mythological Imagination
This book is both a beautiful and provocative collection of essays about myth, soul and the depths of the imagination. Each author is a graduate of Pacifica Graduate Institute, a unique institution dedicated to animae mundi colendae gratia (for the sake of tending soul in and of the world). Two of my essays are included: "Euripides' Women: The Role of the Feminine Other," and "The Myth of Actaion: Archetypal Image of Buddhist Enlightenment."
Theodore Roszak, editor: Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind
This anthology is a good introduction to some of the themes and thinkers in the field of ecopsychology, which involves the intersection of human ideas about self and world, and the natural, biological, and ecological. Given the current environmental crisis and modern alienation from the natural world, including our own bodies, it is crucial that we deepen our understanding of the cultural myths that govern these relations.
Dennis Patrick Slattery: A Limbo of Shards: Essays on Memory Myth and Metaphor
In this collection of essays, Slattery explores the related themes of memory, myth, and metaphor, drawing material from literature, poetry, and current events. In "The True Terror of Terrorism," he suggests that the loss of Trust, necessary to maintain "civilized space," may be the greatest loss. "Trust is a virtue," he writes, "security its pale shadow."

« Ba and the ba-bird | Main | JT Music festival and ICC Aesthetics of Change »

May 11, 2010

"It takes a long time to learn that nothing is wasted. It takes a long time, and a lot of suffering usually, to understand that there is more to life and more to poetry than our conscious purposes."--M.C. Richards

from Centering: In Pottery, Poetry, and the Person. Based on emails and comments that I received about some of the poetry posted here, I think some of you would really like this book.

Some pots I threw eighteen years ago that are all still in use as far as I know. I eat half of my meals from the flat brown one (actually, it's coil constructed). The small cup is raku glazed, which is a lot of fun if you ever get the chance to try it.

Posted on May 11, 2010 at 11:29 AM in Art, Books, Soul | Permalink

Technorati Tags: Centering, MC Richards, pottery

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00e55503899c88340133ed7a4c02970b

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Beyond conscious purposes:

Comments

Download Blisters on the Way to Bliss

Explore Campbell's bliss and the hero's journey through some of his favorite stories. Free.
Download Blisters-Bliss-Hero FINAL.pdf (792.6K)

High Desert Mythological RoundTable (R) Group

Come share the power of myth, as a source of truth, beauty, and insight. If you love a good story, please join our entertaining and thought-provoking conversations. We meet the last Tuesday of every month.

Transmission

Check out the schedule for other creative empowerment workshops at the Red Arrow Gallery in Joshua Tree.

Papers

Promised Land

September 1998, Sacramento, CA "The seat of the soul is there, where the outer and inner worlds meet." ---Novalis