The Joseph Campbell Foundation Mythological Roundtable of Ojai presents an evening at the Ojai Foundation on Sunday, March 17th at 5pm. The topic this month is "An Archetypal Arboretum: The Mythology of Trees," led by Dr. Evans Lansing "Lans" Smith, current chair of the Pacifica Graduate Institute's PhD program in mythological studies.
The labyrinth of subterranean roots under the mythical arboretum will be entered beneath the Teaching Tree, which has long stood as an axis of learning and wisdom in Southern California. Krishnamurti, Aldous Huxley, Black Elk, Thích Nhất Hạnh, Houston Smith, Joan Halifax and Joseph Campbell are few among the many profound teachers who have spoken above its roots and beneath its branches.
Bearers of treasure and knowledge, symbols of mortality and resurrection, axes of earth and sky, Trees are recurrent anchors to wisdom and mythology. Remembering Krishnamurti’s dictum, “all paths lead to truth,” and Campbell’s love for the pathless entry into a darkened wood, join us down a fresh path, before sunset on St. Patrick’s day, as Lans leads us from the Sumerian Huluppu tree to Yeats’ “Song of Wandering Aengus.”
When: Sunday, March 17 | 5-7 PM
Where: The Teaching Tree at the Ojai Foundation
9739 Ojai-Santa Paula Road | Ojai, CA 93023
Donations: Optional
Links: Ojaifoundation.org | JCF.org | Facebook.com/Ojaimyth
Contact: Ojaimyth@gmail.com
Who: Dr. Evans Lansing Smith received a B.A. in English from Williams College, an M.A. in Creative Writing from Antioch International (London and Dublin), and a Ph.D. in Literature from The Claremont Graduate School. He traveled with the late Joseph Campbell, on study tours of northern France, Egypt, and Kenya, and he studied literature in England, at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Since then, he has taught at colleges in Switzerland, Maryland, Texas and California where he is currently the Chair of the PhD Mythological Studies Program at the Pacifica Graduate Institute in Carpinteria, CA. He has published ten previous books, and numerous articles, on comparative mythology and literature. He was nominated for "International Writer of the Year 2003" by the International Biographical Centre in Cambridge, England.
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