Tag Archives: Pacifica

OPUS Archives

Posted on by under Books, Grad School, Mythology

While I was at Pacifica’s Ladera Lane campus for the James Hillman Tribute event, I took advantage of the opportunity to attend one of the short tours in the OPUS archives. It took every effort not to walk around jaw-dropped at the collections I was seeing! I thought I had a good grasp on Joseph Campbell, with my home bookcase that shelves at least half of his published works. But now I’ve learned that those published works are really just the beginning. The archives also host materials from Marija Gimbutas, Jane Hollister Wheelwright and Joseph Wheelwright, Marion Woodman, Christine Downing, and a few others, including, as I discussed in recent posts, James Hillman. The work done in the archives is near unfathomable to me. Every scrap, every page, every photo is or has been organized, cataloged, and digitized. The attention to detail and the work to preserve these collections utterly amazes me.

Of course, what I was most amazed by was the Joseph Campbell collection. As I have mentioned before, Campbell is the driving force behind all my academic studies. As awed as I was to see how much of his material was archived at OPUS, nothing moved me as much as the newest edition: his personal writing desk. And the best part? We were even allowed to touch it. They also have his personal encyclopedia set with the custom bookshelf he built for them. Just amazing!

Just some of the boxes that house the cataloged work of Campbell

Joseph Campbell's Encyclopedias

Joseph Campbell's Writing Desk

If you ever find yourself in Carpinteria, CA, I encourage you to explore the campus of Pacifica and the richness of the archives.

Tribute to James Hillman, Pt 5

Posted on by under Grad School, Psychology

The Tribute to James Hillman closed with a tree ceremony on the sunny afternoon of Sunday, March 4. Michael Meade again led us in song. You can hear an excerpt here. The song repeats, “Away,” as the person has departed, but concludes that they are still with us. This is the part of the weekend, as Meade had discussed on Saturday evening, where we Let Go.

We sang the song in a group as we excited the lecture hall, but fell to a silence when got outside. We walked down a sidewalk lined with prayer flags that we had written quotes and thoughts about Hillman on during Saturday’s gathering. Each of us took a small pouch of compost to place in the new tree’s site. When we all gathered there, Marshall Chrostowski, Pacifica’s land manager, explained the grove he is growing to honor Hillman.

Update: Marshall was kind enough to share with me the complete details of the pouch, that I share with you now:

NOTES ON THE HILLMAN MEMORIAL OAK CEREMONY March 4, 2012 Marshall Chrostowski

THE HILLMAN MEMORIAL OAK AND OAK GROVE

The California Coastal Live Oak was chosen to memorialize James Hillman because, in part, of his focus on the acorn as epitomizing our beginnings, our character and even our fates. The live oak also was valued by the Chumash for its acorns as food and for spiritual qualities and was known to have been managed by the Chumash to enhance production and health of the trees. The oak tree and grove planted on a low rise (Hillman’s Hillock) will one day inspire future students and visitor to reflect on these matters.

I chose this particular oak with several criteria in mind: a healthy specimen, natural youthful bushiness, a good root system not over-rooted, and sourced from the same watershed as our mature oak trees. To form the future grove, I also planted a seedling started by me from acorns collected on the Lambert Campus. Five other acorns were planted nearby as well, expressing the range of “oak-ness”, so to speak.

After the weekend ceremony we scattered/planted mixed native flower seeds and potted poppies in memory of Hillman and in memory of the Institute’s 30th anniversary at the end of which participants sowed wild flower seeds nearby. At the same time I interred a dozen or so additional pouches left there by students and others unable to attend the Hillman Memorial.

In the future a cut-stone sitting wall will bound the Hillman Oak and an appropriate plaque will be installed. Additional landscaping with native plants and medicinal herbs are planned nearby.

The Hillman Oak Grove then is comprised of locally sourced acorns, most of which came from the Lambert Campus, and represents the ethos and vision of James Hillman, a lover of gardens.

THE POUCH

The Memorial weekend culminated in the dedication of the Hillman Oak and ceremonial planting by Steve Aisenstat and Maren Hansen, and others followed with handfuls of soil. Participants of the tree dedication placed their special pouches, now imbued and empowered with prayer and their personal energy and moisture, in a shallow trench encircling the Hillman Oak.  In time the roots of the oak will join these life-affirming gifts linking to the Chumash, to the Lambert campus and to the world at large

Think of the pouch as composed of amulets, each significant to Hillman or to our relations to place and time and looking toward a future framed by the Hillman Oak Grove.

The shell, a small Pismo clam, was retrieved from the old Chumash Hi’Lo village located in the lagoon and slough now mostly filled in and occupied by the SB Airport in Goleta. The same shells are found many miles inland under live oak trees, carried there seasonally by the Chumash for their annual acorn harvest (Sept. and Oct.) The shells added calcium and lowered soil acidity and so protected oak roots from fungus. Thus, I chose the midden shell for its connection to millennia of Chumash occupation of the landscape and the ecological intelligence of Chumash practices.

To the pouch I added a few ounces of compost made at the Lambert campus from yard, farm and kitchen waste, recycled through the composting processes and representing the land and history of the Lambert site. Nearly all the living plants represented in the compost sample were introduced by Pacifica’s efforts. My intention, then, was to “inoculate” the land and spirit of Ladera with the Lambert compost’s rich microbiological and mineralogical composition.

The final component is a product called Azomite, mined in Utah from layers of volcanic ash mixed in with 70 elements deposited by hundreds of rivers emptying into the shallow inland seas as far back as 30 million years ago. To me this material represents contributions from the world of geological processes long ago and used today to re-mineralize our depleted agricultural soils.

At the event, I captured some of Marshall’s speech on video. The visual quality certainly lacks here, as I couldn’t hold a steady position and capture Marshall’s face well through the crowd, but you get to hear his wonderful explanation of this beautiful dedication.

The tree dedication was touching, and I feel adding this piece of nature to our campus is the perfect tribute to Hillman. The speech for this final ritual of the weekend was minimal as we all enjoyed the beauty of nature in silence.

Please enjoy these final images of the event.

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Tribute to James Hillman, Pt 4

Posted on by under Grad School, Life, Mythology, Psychology

On the morning of Sunday, March 4, the Tribute to James Hillman continued as more individuals shared their memories of Hillman and the impact his works have had on their lives.

The first speaker of the day was David Miller. He was introduced with great praise by Ginette Paris.

Miller took us through a series of quotes from Hillman, as pictured above. Throughout the weekend, I heard many commenting on the density of Hillman’s texts, and more than once I heard the comment, “But you just can’t highlight every sentence!” Indeed, that’s what one feels like doing when reading Hillman. Miller’s breakdown gave us the opportunity to look at some of these great thoughts individually and to reflect on them, allowing them to speak loud and clear on their own.

Miller reflected that for Hillman, depth and soul were deeply missing from psychology and practice. He had a sense of anger, but it was on behalf of soul and soulfulness. Miller shared an old Japanese saying: The tea bowl has 2 handles; always pick it up by the other one.” He said Hillman had a knack for finding that other handle.

Miller then reflected on Hillman’s strategy, which was to introduce psyche to the underworld, view neurosis as best friends, and use the lens of the archetypal perspective. He reflected on his own time in analysis under Hillman, claiming it was “a dire psychic necessity” for him at the time.

In his final reflection, Miller noted that “everything in the dream is right. The dream wants what the psyche wants, except for the ego desires.” These dreams, of course, are important in analysis. And, in analysis, he argued that Hillman preferred the “oh shit” moment as opposed to the “aha” moment of enlightenment. When you hang your head in your hands, you’ve broken through to something.

The final set of speakers presented under the title Student & Alumni Sparks. There presentations have been made available here on the Pacifica Alumni Website. I’ll offer just a quick overview here.

Jason Butler discussed Hillman as image and emphasized the importance of things fall. Matthew Green claimed we need to individuate each moment of life and presented focused on the importance of imagining. Elizabeth Robinson emphasized archetypes, which cannot be explained but experienced. Jennifer Sandoval opened by quoting Jung: “I would rather be whole than good,” and emphasized how throwing away differs from letting go or seeing through. She emphasized that we must bear our shadow. There is “numinous beauty of a world ensouled.” Gustavo Beck discussed the importance of fears, which Hillman declared as the road to the numinous. Beck emphasized risk, love, and community.

“Words, like angels, have invisible powers over us.” James Hillman

Photos © Myth Girl

Tribute to James Hillman, Pt 3

Posted on by under Grad School, Life, Psychology

On the evening of Saturday, March 3, the Tribute to James Hillman had a very special guest speaker, Michael Meade.

Before his presentation began, one of my close friends told me she had seen him speak before. She explained to me how dynamic he is, but there really is no understanding it until you witness it yourself! He is a storyteller in touch with the depth of soul and the power of community. He has the power to evoke deep emotion and the ability to speak wisely without preaching. To begin with, Meade told us the evening would serve very much like a traditional funeral, which traditionally used to take place for three days (just as this event!). He said you have to Remember, Recognize, and Let Go. We had been remembering Hillman since the Friday evening reception. Now he was having us recognize the loss, and Sunday we would see the art of Letting Go.

Meade instructed that there are three ways to help souls move in the other world: tears, prayers, and song. He defined prayer as a means of thinking of something greater than ourselves (inclusive to all religions, or no religion). Then he taught us a song to sing together. It was an ancient song, and he said we couldn’t mess up the words. He explained that the song was an honor to the elder. The meaning and feeling resonated. Also, there’s something greatly powerful about having 200 people sing in unison, being led by this great man.

Here is a brief video I took with my iPhone. The visual quality isn’t great, but the audio came through nicely and hopefully it captures some of the event for you.

As Meade reflected on James Hillman, he said he could describe James in two words: Extravagant and Irreplaceable. He defined “extra-vagant” as “to wonder outside, beyond the boundaries.” And he defined “irreplaceable” as the “job of every human being.” You want “to live life so fully that everyone knows there will never be another person like you.”

Then he told us a story through song. It was the story of a sage, a tiger, and a grieving woman finding a deep strength within herself. I believe it resonated for us all. His drumming was exquisite, and the storytelling was poignant in this collective time of grief.

Meade then reflected on Senex and Puer, a topic of one of Hillman’s books, and one that came up frequently throughout the day. According to Meade, senex and puer, ending and beginning, are inside us all. Therefore, we’re living with a split inside ourselves. Until we each heal it in ourselves, it will not be healed in the collective. Giving us some direction, Meade indicated that we can respond from the heart, which, in olden days, was considered the organ of perception. The world is in catastrophe. But it’s not the end of the world. It’s only the end of the way wethink about the world, according to Meade. We need to accept our pathologies, our cracks, and our confusions.

As we prepared for a funerary ritual, Meade explained that when you are memorializing any one person, others may come to mind. That was also part of old traditions. In other words, it’s natural and okay. Really, grief for one allows for grief of all. And finally, returning to the ideas of gratitude expressed throughout the day, Meade reflected that you can only feel gratitude when you are whole.

Then Meade led the group through a ritual. The lights were dimmed. We chanted the song he had taught us. And one by one we came up to light small candles and place them on an alter in remembrance of James Hillman.

Continue to Pt 4

Photos © Myth Girl

Tribute to James Hillman, Pt 1

Posted on by under Grad School, Life, Mythology

This past weekend, I had the privilege to attend A Gathering to Offer Tribute and Celebrate the Life and Work of James Hillman at Pacifica Graduate Institute. I plan to write a series of posts about the event, summarizing and reflecting on some of the wonderful presentations and events I participated in. James Hillman was a visionary, an archetypal psychologist, a writer, an educator, and an inspiration to countless individuals. This weekend I heard his colleagues sing his praises. He didn’t just have an impact on the academic community: he influenced the world of soul.

Dr. Stephen Aizenstat

On Saturday morning, March 3, Dr. Stephen Aizenstat began the day-long program, reflecting on the importance of dream, psyche, and imagination, all elements prevalent in Hillman’s work. Furthermore, Aizenstat discussed the importance of Pacifica, an educational institution founded in the ideas of Hillman. He mused that Pacifica provides “a homecoming for those who think in odd ways.” The audience chuckled, and those of you who are a part of this wonderful community understand how accurate and complimentary the term “odd” is used here. Pacifica, which offers programs in Psychology and Mythology, is a unique place, infused with soul, that is a bit off the beaten path. There is something ineffable that draws us in and calls us to study here. Though our majors and research interests vary, we are all guided by our motto: “animae mundi colendae gratia” (for the sake of tending the soul of the world). And Hillman’s work is at the heart of this motto.

In the next introduction, Pacifica’s new president Dr. Carol Pearson reflected on the impact Hillman maintains in our community. She focused on some important ideas, including: 1) archetypes help people be who they are and 2) re-souling the world begins with re-souling ourselves each day. She concluded that the best way we can honor Hillman is to hold his spirit of questioning everything — and to say it like it is!!

Next Saffron Rossi discussed the The James Hillman Collection at the OPUS archives. She spent time with Hillman before his passing gathering materials that were given to OPUS. The archiving process is lengthy, but some materials were already available for viewing throughout the weekend. Hillman took notes of his ideas whenever inspiration struck, regardless of what material he had to write on. All such items are treated with care and cataloged. The collection is invaluable for students, faculty, and researchers. So much more is provided here than you will find even between the dust jackets of Hillman’s own published works.

Hillman's Notes

During the morning conversation, Robert Walter, the president of the Joseph Campbell foundation, mused that we’re “mythic misfits.” As he continued, he emphasized something beautiful that I believe summarizes much of what Hillman did: “It’s not about you; it’s about the work.” This isn’t to undermine the importance of the individual, but it highlights that the work we do, from our research to our therapy sessions, isn’t done for singular individuation. It’s done for the collective. For the mythic imagination. For the tending of the world soul.

Continue to Pt 2

Photos © Myth Girl

Depth Psychology

Posted on by under Mythology, Psychology

A friend of mine just shared this video of one of my favorite instructors at Pacifica. What a treasure! Ginette Paris has so much insight and is just an amazing individual to learn from. Here she discusses ideas from her book La Vida Interior (Wisdom of the Psyche), which I consider one of the most profound books I’ve read. She also gives a great overview of Depth Psychology (that important underlying element in my PhD program in Mythological Studies with an emphasis in Depth Psychology).

Enjoy!

Dream Tending

Posted on by under Grad School, Life, Mindfulness, Psychology

On Tuesday evening, I had the great privilege of attending a guest lecture with Stephen Aizenstat at Pacifica Graduate Institute. Second year students, myself included, are required to attend these extra Tuesday night seminars. However, many first and third year students attended as well to have the opportunity to see Dr. Aizenstat. It was truly a transformative night.

First Steven gave a brief overview of dreams, drawing to our awareness that in our culture we have differentiated between consciousness and unconsciousness, while other culture differentiate between different levels of awareness. Ultimately, dream tending can operate very differently depending on what culture you are part of! Then Steven spent a bit of time discussing his relationship with Pacifica. He said Pacifica started with an image. Steven founded Pacifica, and he discussed how inspirational and supportive his “elders” (including Joseph Campbell and James Hillman) were as he began this beautiful venture. Fun side note: Joseph Campbell’s desk from his New York apartment just arrived to Pacifica on Tuesday and will soon be available for display!

Stephen discussed how to work with the dream image. While interpreting an image can have its uses, the images become static when we do this. The traditional person-centered questions we tend to ask of dreams are: 1) What does it mean? 2) Why is it happening? Stephen introduced us into how to go into the image. The myth living through us is expressed through dream. We can access it by asking: 1) Who is visiting? 2) What is happening?  Stephen also explained that even the ego in the dream is functioning as a dream image and that it contains an archetypal depth. To access this, we need to let the imagination take over and look for the particularity, activity, and senses in the dream.

Image alive, body alive.

Body is image; image is body.

Stephen also instructed that the active imagination is probably closer to the psyche than the dream work, and one way he works through the dream image is with active imagination.

After giving us a brief crash course on dreams, Stephen started to ask for a volunteer to work with on a dream image. The second he presented this idea, my hand involuntarily went up. I’ve been facing a recurring dream image that has been clearly asking for deeper attention.

The image I’m encountering presents itself in different dreams under different circumstances, but this essential element is always the same: I’ll find a dead fish, and later it’s surprisingly alive and well. Each time this happens in a dream, my dream mind has no memory of it ever happening before. It’s always surprising and astonishing, and I’m always curious how it has happened. In my waking mind, I’ve come to think of this as my “resurrected fish motif.” The recurrence of the dream has recently become more frequent. Last week when I dreamed it, I thought about how I really need to start working with my dreams again. When I learned Stephen was giving a guest lecture on dream tending, I was quite excited! Which bring me back to my hand flying up when he asked for a volunteer.

Stephen reminded the audience that everything in the room is private, not to be shared with those outside of the room. I jokingly added, “Stop tweeting about my fish!” to my peers in the audience. Since it’s my fish, though, I’m privy to share it with the world! And if anyone who was with me at the lecture happens to be reading this, I welcome any comments! After working so deeply with this image, I am struggling to even put the dream tending experience into a chronological narrative. I imagine those that witnessed it might be able to describe the process more clearly.

After explaining my dream image, Stephen guided me through a type of active imagination. Fish was visible with us. (He pointed out that he removed the article so that “the fish” becomes simply “fish”). To begin with, fish was grey, swimming nonchalantly. As Stephen helped me connect more with fish, it became blue. Stephen repeatedly asked about fish’s movement and my emotional response. I was initially rooted in curiosity, coming from a head space. I felt fish had something to tell me. I then moved to a place of energy coming from a heart place. I came to recognize this energy as creative. Stephen immediately recognized this as a comfortable and familiar energy for me. He called it “home.”

To work within our twenty minute time limit, Stephen prompted me by asking if fish looked at me as I looked at it. Then fish’s eyes fixed on me. I explained fish’s big eyes. Stephen asked how it was moving. I said that fish was wavering back and forth to see me with both of his eyes. I made a motion with my right hand. Fish and I were connected, moving in sync. His fins opened beautifully.

Stephen told me to work with fish for five days. He said this image and energy is something that will probably move with me into my dissertation. He said I should invoke fish when I write my papers this semester.

Photo © MythGirl

For my five day’s work, he first assigned me to dance with fish on this first night. He said to start with that fish motion with my hand and follow it into a dance. I found this to be a rhythmic and soothing activity, perfect to embrace just before bed. For day two, I was to walk the grounds at Pacifica and invoke fish and follow him to see where he would lead me across the lush grounds. I was to be in that space with fish. I will briefly say this was a beautiful walk that lead me to an area filled with many butterflies and beauty. It was very peaceful, and really can put no other words on the experience. I am to continue invoking fish daily for the total of the five days, and then I am to do something artistic to create an image of fish. I can already feel that I will draw him (I only wish I could draw well!)

This experience was amazing and gave me so much to work with! I thanked Stephen deeply at the end of the evening. I hope to work with him again. He has some workshops coming up, but I am unable to attend them.

After this evening, it was fun to enjoy my peers’ responses and enthusiasm about what I did working with my dream image. Many shared with with me the various emotional responses they had just watching me engage in the activity. What surprised me though was how many people told me how brave I was for volunteering. I’ve come explain it wasn’t bravery but curiosity that motivated me. Also, fish was really the one that raised my and and got me up there!

Psyche & Archetypes

Posted on by under Grad School, Life, Mythology, Psychology, Uncategorized

Following is the research paper I wrote this week for Ginette Paris’ course Post Jungian and Archetypal Psychology. I followed a structure Ginette suggested, and it really helped me work the material academically and personally. Most of the papers I have written at Pacifica are not personal like this, but this material works with the psyche in such a way that I would find it nearly impossible to discuss without including personal examples.

Part One: The Ideas

“Feeling is all. Discover your feelings; trust your feelings. The human heart is the way to soul and what psychology is all about” (Hillman Revisioning Psychology 181). Depth Psychologists understand something vital: the soul needs tending. The Western world has secured itself in the medical model and is typically intent upon fixing everything. While broken bones and crooked teeth can be fixed, the soul cannot. That is not even the correct approach or language to use with the soul. Depth Psychology, including Post-Jungian and Archetypal Psychology, is the soul-tending realm that explores mythology and archetypes, leading to a richer understanding of the psyche and the soul. This is necessary for being true to and taking care of the self, to one’s very essence and being.

Everyone suffers from psychic wounds, but the cure is not in fixing them: it is in psychologizing them, to really see through the circumstances and events in life and into the archetype. Each person’s perspective, in general and towards particular situations, lies in an archetype. To access and understand these archetypes, we look to the myths because “we meet archetypal reality through the perspective of myths” (Hillman Revisioning Psychology 157). The stories in the myths resonate because they reflect the human condition. Change the time, the names, and the specific circumstances, but certain threads and attributes are universal and timeless. The myths are not to be literalized but understood metaphorically. For example, no one can literally follow his love into the Underworld as Orpheus does for Euridyce. However, one may become involved in an Underworld experience with his love. Furthermore, one will not lose his love to the Underworld by looking back once, as Orpheus does, yet one may feel responsible for the death of a loved one. There are archetypes working here that are powerful and mythological. The role of the Depth Psychologist is to aid the patient in discovering, understanding and working with that archetype.

The archetype is something individuals can inhabit psychically and physically. While the focus of Depth Psychology lies in the psyche and the soul, these elements do not exist alone; they are embodied. There is, of course, an intimate connection between the mind and the body. One way or another, psychic activity will always to find a way to express itself. As Ginette Paris specifies, “What the psyche refuses to acknowledge, the body always manifests” (xi). With the guides in Depth Psychology and mythology, one can better understand the psyche and its functioning archetypes before complexes, which “interfere with the intentions of the will and disturb the conscious performance” (Sharp 19), take over the mind or inhabit the body.

For example, individuals may unconsciously embrace the victim archetype. The perspective these individuals maintain indicates that things happen to them and that they are not in control of their life. If someone is unconscious of this functioning archetype, it may start to manifest physically, possibly through fatigue, soreness, or other aches and pains that are not related to anything that physically occurred. This can create a vicious, useless cycle of being in pain and being burdened by it, which can contribute to perpetuating archetype. Depth Psychology can be used then not to fix this problem, but to bring the patient to an awareness of what is occurring in the psyche. When a patient recognizes what is going on, the physical symptoms will dissipate. This recognition from the patient allows for deeper work to begin with the psyche, which may include a reframing of the archetypal perspective. The archetypes are “the deepest patterns of psychic functioning, the roots of the soul governing the perspectives we have of ourselves and the world” (Hillman Revisioning Psychology xix). Accessing them then becomes the most important goal in therapy or any quest of the psyche.

Part Two: Influence on My Thinking

The approach of Depth Psychology is having a tremendous effect on my psyche. I suffer from chronic pain in my rib from an injury I incurred nearly ten years ago. This injury impacts me physically and presents me with limitations and pain. Perhaps even greater though is the way it impacts me psychically. I was injured training in martial arts and because of the injury, I cannot return to my beloved sport. At times, this is intolerably frustrating. My sense of self, my ego, my pride, and my self-image all resided in my martial arts training. Since the time that my injury forced me to stop training, I have had many psychic struggles. I have seen several different therapists, and none of them really helped me. I see now that what I really need is a Depth Psychologist or Jungian Analyst, one who will tend to my soul, who will help me more carefully identify my archetypal lens and direct me in using mythology to better cope. I very carefully use the word “cope” because I know I cannot fix what happened to me nor can I fix the fact that I miss martial arts.

What I can do, however, is change my perspective, my archetypal lens. As Zeldin explains, “Nothing influences our ability to cope with the difficulties of existence so much as the context in which we view them” (13). If I view my injury from the victim perspective, then I will remain the victim; if I view my injury from the heroic perspective, then I become a hero! In Wisdom of the Psyche, Ginette Paris supplies a fitting example of living after suffering a tragedy when she discusses a man whose son killed his wife. Though this is direr than what I have suffered, her conclusion resonates with me: “There is no redeeming what happened; it will remain tragic forever” (66). I will never have the same body or the same capabilities, and there is a tragedy in the fact that I was an athlete permanently injured at a young age. I think it is good to recognize and acknowledge that; however, I do not have to go on living it as a tragedy. In paraphrasing Casey, Hillman explains that “a trauma is not what happened but the way we see what happened” (Hillman Healing Fiction 47). Changing my perspective can absolutely change the event and the way I live in its aftermath.

In one of the sessions of Post-Jungian and Archetypal Psychology, Ginette Paris led the class through an exercise where we wrote the story of our lives. I focused my story around my injury, and when I re-wrote it from the archetypal perspective of the victim, I found it very easy to sink into it. I actually found that by the end of writing it, I was slouched as low in my chair as I could be. I felt defeated. I absolutely embodied victimhood. Everything had been taken from me, and I felt sorry for myself.

Something magical happened though when I re-wrote it again from the archetypal perspective of the hero. I was soon rising up in my seat and sitting tall. I was proud as I looked at all the things I have accomplished in spite of the injury. Though I was removed from my chosen athletic lifestyle, I did not stop my experience of life. I persevered through the pain and limitations, first through an undergraduate program, then through my English master’s degree, and now with my degree at Pacifica. I have absolutely embraced academia by being a successful student and becoming a college teacher. I have made a new life for myself, and that is quite a different story from the one told by the victim archetype. This exercise really brought the ideas home for me and gave me a true appreciation and understanding of the power the archetypal perspective possesses.

I think I have oscillated between these two archetypal perspectives since my injury, sometimes feeling victimized, especially when I really am in great physical pain. At other times I do feel heroic and have a great sense of pride in my new life. If I only felt sorry for myself, I would not have managed all my academic accomplishments. Nevertheless, it has been a continual battle with one step forward, two steps back. Despite my successes, I still embody this injury and maintain a sense of loss. I have learned something very interesting from Hillman, however: “In your symptom is your soul, could be a motto” (Hillman Healing Fiction 100). This is something I want to explore more, to understand not only intellectually, but to feel resonate in my psyche. I now wonder in what ways I can transform this physical symptom and experience through an archetypal perspective.

As I have wavered between the victim and hero archetypes, I think the very thing that has prohibited me from any lasting progress is that I have been lost in the why question. I often wonder why I cannot let go of what happened to me and just “move on.” I have sometimes blamed myself for the injury, which leads me to ask why I allowed myself to train with a dangerous partner that night. This has been problematic. Depth Psychology reveals the proper approach: in looking at the archetypes, individuals leave behind the why question and look into the who question: “We look to archetypes for the formal meaning and purpose in events rather than their causal origin or material base” (Hillman Revisioning Psychology 176). Personally, I can now see that asking why has provided me with no answers, no substance, and no use. From James Hillman and Ginette Paris, I have learned an invaluable lesson: I need to ask who?! Who is the archetype here? Who is the black shadow I have seen when I have performed active imagination? By looking into this, I can name the archetypes and begin to work with them, leaving behind any questions of why.

Part Three: Remaining Questions and Review

Depth Psychology and mythology, which are inherently intertwined, are extraordinarily rich, multi-layered, and soulful. In completing this first year of course-work, I see how beautifully all the courses relate to one another and build upon each other. This course was a wonderful compliment to the completion of the spring quarter course Jungian Psychology. Through all these courses, I am building more than a path to academic success; I am on a journey of the soul. I know I have yet to firmly grasp and integrate all this material, and I look forward to the following two years of course work at Pacifica. I know I have much to learn.

I am not left with any specific questions, but with a sense of awe and excitation. Furthermore, there is one specific archetype that I look forward to exploring in depth: the wounded healer. Chiron was first introduced to me in the course Dreams, Myth and Symbol, and I was immediately captivated. The idea of the wounded-healer came up again briefly in this course. I think this is an archetype that is functioning in me, and I really want to get my hands on all the related material I can. Hillman indicates that “The healer is the illness and the illness is the healer” (Revisioning Psychology 75). This powerful idea resonates with me, and I know I am truly just beginning to digest it.

I am very curious about illness and pain, especially chronic pain, and their relationship with the psyche. Since the rib injury, I have also developed carpal tunnel (another chronic injury) and interstitial cystitis (a chronic bladder condition, which my mother also has). I wonder what it is in me, physically and/or psychically, that leads not to simple broken bones or head colds but to these chronic conditions. I want to understand the archetype of the wounded-healer, how it applies to me, and how it applies to others. The archetypes have become very important to me as I have come to recognize what a vital role they play in the psyche, in each individual’s perspective, and in every person’s interactions with the self, each other, and the world. Ultimately, I hope to use my wounds to heal not just myself, but others. I believe my role as an educator will provide me with this forum. Though I still have much to learn about mythology, archetypal psychology, my own symptoms, my own archetypes and my own complexes, I feel I have a strong foundation for continuing on this journey.

Works Cited

Hillman, James. Healing Fiction. Barrytown, N.Y: Station Hill Press, 1983. Print.

— Re-Visioning Psychology. New York: HarperPerennial, 1992. Print.

Paris, Ginette. Wisdom and Psyche: Depth Psychology After Neuroscience. London: Routledge, 2007. Print.

Sharp, Daryl, and C. G. Jung. Jung Lexicon: a Primer of Terms & Concepts. Toronto, Canada: Inner City, 1991. Print.

Zeldin. An Intimate History of Humanity. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1995. Print.

Summer School, Day 5

Posted on by under Grad School, Mythology, Psychology

What a freaking amazing week!!!!
In our fourth day in Ginette Paris’ course, we continued to discuss the father archetype and, in general, mythological perspective. The word gravitas came up a lot, and I now have a special affinity for it.
A couple things I came away from the final day with:
Depth psychology doesn’t pretend to be scientific; it sees through.
Believe the myth and sometimes you can change the reality. For example, “Anyone can be president,” was something we believed in that wasn’t necessarily true. Barrack believed it and changed history.
A dear classmate shared this quote with us: “Not everything can can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted.” Albert Einstein.
We talked about things to keep in mind for dissertations, ways to approach our research paper for this course, and we even got to see a play from some Pacifica alumni. An enriching day.
I will admit though that this is the first time I’ve completed a course without a paper topic in mind!! But, then again, it’s also the first course I’ve had that was 4 days instead of 3 months! There was so much information I think I might be a bit overloaded right now. There are a million ideas I’m absolutely fascinated with and I had quite a few personal revelations in the course. I think I just need to let it all sink in over the weekend and hopefully I can wake up and be brilliant on Monday. ;)

After class finished, I took my husband up to visit the Vedanta Temple. Then we visited some of the shops in Carpinteria, and then had a final farewell dinner with my classmates. It was a beautiful night! A great end to a very inspirational week.

Summer School, Day 4

Posted on by under Grad School, Mythology, Psychology

Things continue to go well here at my summer session at Pacifica! Ginette Paris’ course has been so dynamic!!
On Thursday, we started the morning off discussing Life Stories and how we come at things from varying archetypal perspectives. We did some personal writing and then some small group work that really helped us see where these things are active in our lives. We talked about how each archetype has both its destructive and divine aspects, a dark side and a positive side.
In the afternoon, we continued discussing archetypes, looking at the film Karakter. It was a very powerful film that exemplified the Zeus archetype. Ginette would pause and discuss important elements while we were going through it, offering great commentary. Due to time constraints, we did skip some scenes, so I would like to go back and watch it in complete.
I completed the day with these thoughts from Ginette at the forefront of my mind:
The psychic house always has to be cleansed, just like how the dishes always have to be done.
Be active in your destiny. Plunge and take the risk.
Then we got out of class a little early because Thursday was the formal dinner and dance. It was a beautiful celebration and a goodbye to the third year students. It was emotional indeed, as this was the cohort I originally began with before taking my leave of absence. My husband was able to come and join us for the event, which was wonderful! Especially now that he is here with me, I would be happy to stay right here at Pacifica! Who needs to go home?? Oh, wait, I do have those two pups waiting for me!! I have missed them this week. ;)
Have a beautiful Friday, everyone!