Hello everyone,
I am currently a master's candidate in my third practicum year of an MSc in Consciousness, Spirituality, and Transpersonal Psychology at Alef Trust / Liverpool John Moores University. In tandem, I am also immersed in a rich, embodied training to become a soul-centered psychology coach with Dr. Bonnie Bright.
I am now beginning the recruitment phase for my research thesis and would love your help in getting the word out. Thank you in advance for your consideration in passing alon
Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. – Benjamin Franklin
I was married 18 years, two kids, unfulfilling work; alienated from society, heritage, creativity and former spiritual interests; never cried as an adult, rarely felt either joy or anger; had a cynical, judgmental, self-deprecating sense of humor; was more like my father than I knew, needier for maternal for affection than I knew.
Then my wife had an affair with
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Na na na nana na, nana na na na nana na na…
Why does The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down continue to move us over 50 years after The Band first recorded it?
The fact that so many people continue to debate its meaning online (see links here, here, here and here) is a mirror of America’s ongoing uncertainty about the motives of the Civil War’s opposing sides, of its resolution and of its meaning for our time. In other words, the war (and the Viet Nam war during which The Night was composed)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1U74BEkyZjPz-j3K3qfaAODsTaXBU1c86SIl2TYLd_aM/edit?usp=sharing
Happy New Year
Peace + Love Linda + Darlene
January is the time to clarify intents for the year. Notice that I did not say “make resolutions.”
For most people, resolutions are well meant, but often not achieved in practice. That is because it is widely assumed that we will accomplish them by willpower triumphing over what we actually want to do. Too often, resolutions are what we think we should do, perhaps in response to messages from others or from the media.
I don’t know about you, but my life has been enriched by partnering with a dear
Part One
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A myth never says what to do; it points out where the difficulties will arise. – Ginette Paris
The past isn’t dead. It is not even past. – William Faulkner
At this point things get far more complicated, just as they do in the unconscious mind. Pelops and Hippodamia had many children, but his favorite was an illegitimate son, Chrysippus. Hippodamia convinced her own sons Atreus and Thyestes to murder him. Pelops banished them, and Hippodamia hanged herself. The exiled brothers went to Mycen
Part One
In memory of Robert Bly
A little rest for the wounds – who speaks of healing?
(And the howl of the orphans is passed from one generation to the next, as in a relay race:
the baton never falls.) – Yehuda Amichai
Why do some stories stay with us over long periods of time? All the classic stories (Dante, Shakespeare, Melville and, of course, the Greek and Bible myths) deal with universal, archetypal themes that live to some extent in every human heart, every society and every family. Mythic fi
How old is the habit of denial? We keep secrets from ourselves that all along we know…For perhaps we are like stones; our own history and the history of the world embedded in us, we hold a sorrow deep within and cannot weep until that history is sung. – Susan Griffin
I am convinced that we would solve many things if we all went out into the streets and uncovered our griefs, which perhaps would prove to be but one sole common grief…The chiefest sanctity of a temple is that it is a place to which
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My point…is not that those ancient people told literal stories and we are now smart enough to take them symbolically, but that they told them symbolically and we are now dumb enough to take them literally. ― John Dominic Crossan
Two events in late July and early August of this year (2021) seemed very significant for me. 
The first, on July 28th, was the death of Roberto Calasso, best known for his 1993 retelling of Greek Myth, The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony.
It’s a difficult book, and I
Have you ever been in a bookstore and suddenly felt a tug toward a certain book? I’ve come to trust that as everyday magic. C. G. Jung called this phenomenon “synchronicity”, which means meaningful coincidences.
A few days ago, I was in my local library with a lovely, precocious, avid reader. I felt a book call to me, but assumed, since it was in a section for 9-14-year olds, it was likely meant for her. Wishing not to presume, I asked her if she had read it. Without looking up, she said it was b
Whenever a group, society or nation strongly believes in its own moral righteousness, superiority or entitlement, the collective shadow is present. In regards to cultural self-development, the shadow work definition defines shadow traits as usually undesirable ones based upon race, culture, politics, religion or other qualities that are disowned by a collective mass of one group and are placed onto another group or population. This communal phenomenon can exist from small groups (e.g., sports te
Some ideas to help you better identify and work with (withdraw) shadow material.
You may often be fascinated by finding images seen in the shapes and textures of clouds. Is that the profile of Gandhi or a rabbit? The well-known Rorschach inkblot psychological test works in this manner. How do you get from that cluster of clouds or blob of ink to a distinct image?
When unrecognizable images are shown to you, your conscious mind cannot logically figure them out. In order to make sense of the image y
For those new to the topic or wanting to solidify your understanding. A basic overview.
Depth psychology deals with unconscious feelings, thoughts, and behaviours. It can also be seen as the psychology of the soul. In practice depth psychology seeks to explore the underlying motives behind our behaviours.
Although depth psychology is usually associated with the founding psychoanalysts Sigmund Freud and C. G. Jung, it is found in the post-modern schools of thought of Gestalt, Archetypal and Imag
Jung and the Archetype of the Wounded Healer
“We could say, without too much exaggeration, that a good half of every treatment that probes at all deeply consists in the doctor’s examining himself, for only what he can put right in himself can he hope to put right in the patient. It is no loss, either, if he feels that the patient is hitting him, or even scoring off him: it is his own hurt that gives the measure of his power to heal. This, and nothing else, is the meaning of the Greek myth of the
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What is madness but nobility of soul at odds with circumstance? – Theodore Roethke
Divide us those in darkness from those who walk in light. – Kurt Weill
Dionysus was the ancient Greek god of wine, drunkenness, masks, frenzy, ecstatic joy, paradox, suffering, tragedy – and madness. Wherever he appeared, he subverted the classical Greek consensus of reason, exalted discourse, and refined culture. He posed annoying questions upon king and philosopher alike, tore down the walls of the isolat
There has been a lot of media attention surrounding the medicinal benefits of CBD. Some studies have shown it to be effective in treating seizures and in some cases, even curing them. The claims are not entirely true, however, and it is important for consumers to know whether they are taking a real CBD product or whether they are taking a sugar-based or sugarless version. By learning more about the experts and the science behind CBD, you can ensure that you get the most benefit from this powerfu
There has been a lot of media attention surrounding the medicinal benefits of CBD. Some studies have shown it to be effective in treating seizures and in some cases, even curing them. The claims are not entirely true, however, and it is important for consumers to know whether they are taking a real CBD product or whether they are taking a sugar-based or sugarless version. By learning more about the experts and the science behind CBD, you can ensure that you get the most benefit from this powerfu
The Power of Leadership Narrative Intelligence (NQ)
I’m inspired by Quakers who call on one another to answer the question: “What is mine to do?” They ask this not just once, but in an ongoing way. As we reenter the post-pandemic world, how can we be optimally responsive to the crucial match between outer needs and our authentic motivations? What is ours to do?
The theme of this year’s International Leadership Association (ILA) global conference calls us to reimagine leadership for our time. For
The Power of Leadership Narrative Intelligence (NQ)
I’m inspired by Quakers who call on one another to answer the question: “What is mine to do?” They ask this not just once, but in an ongoing way. As we reenter the post-pandemic world, how can we be optimally responsive to the crucial match between outer needs and our authentic motivations? What is ours to do?
The theme of this year’s International Leadership Association (ILA) global conference calls us to reimagine leadership for our time. For
