Blogs

When Jonathan Erickson entered the M.A./Ph.D. program in Depth Psychology with a Specialization in Somatic Studies at Pacifica, he probably never imagined he would end up working with elephants in Cambodia as part of his curriculum. Admittedly, he has always been interested in highly intelligent animals, and he had encountered the Elephant Valley Project in Cambodia[1] during some prior travels in southeast Asia. Elephant Valley focuses on conservation and rehabilitation of elephants, maintainin

I took a trip to Istanbul soon after I finished my coursework for grad school. The first thing on my list of things to do was to visit Hagia Sophia. All I knew about it was that it was that it was a church. I was thrilled that I was going to see a historical building associated with Sophia, who was a main character in my dissertation. I couldn’t wait to get inside the church to see all the symbolism around Her. Much to my surprise when the country was invaded they installed Islamic images, the C

Lisa Pounders has always had an interest in art and poetry, and has long been inspired by the work of Joseph Campbell—even painting his directive, “Follow your own bliss” above a window in her art studio years ago.

Now pursuing her Ph.D. in the Jungian and Archetypal Studies specialization at Pacifica, Pounders has a much better understanding of the relationship between art and depth psychology. One aspect lies in Jung’s idea of individuation, a process by which there is an inner drive toward a c

Colleague and NYU psychoanalytic scholar, Michael Eigen writes in his book Under the Totem, "Are you ready for a therapy journey? . . . We are a repository of age-old trauma, catastrophic happenings and fears. Good feeling competes with bad, a balance that shifts and sometimes places us in jeopardy. One thing therapy can do, depending on luck, circumstance, and skill, is shift the balance for the better. Even a little can go a long way" (p.27).

In between patients, I often pick up a volume in dep

In the last days of 2016, politics, media and fake news were in flux, and the stench of madness within the gates was more pronounced than ever before. There was now almost no difference between politics, news and pure entertainment. Pundits debated which celebrities would perform at the inauguration – was Trump offering ambassadorships to agents who could secure major talent – would the Radio City Rockettes show up? – while over a thousand incidents of hate speech and attacks were reported.

Even

I am holding a creative workshop entitled Exploring Your Personal Myth: A Women’s Workshop. This five-day workshop will be held at Santa Fe Photographic Workshops from May 1 – 5, 2017.

Here's the link  Exploring Your Personal Myth for a bit more information. In sum, we will work with myths, fairy talks, archetypal imagery, and our own images to focus on our personal narrative landscapes. Taking a heart-centered, holistic approach, we will work together to clarify your authentic creative voice thr

It’s always about stories – and all the stories we tell are ultimately about ourselves. The American mobility story includes a south/north variant. Millions of African-Americans left the South between 1920 and 1970. Their motivation was perhaps less about the entrepreneurial spirit and more about the refugee experience. They escaped the terror of a Jim Crow society for the promise of freedom in northern cities. Many of them, like the whites moving east to west, found that freedom and new opportu

Demographic: picture of the people

Migration: change, related to mutate

We moderns take for granted the freedom to move about, visit exotic places, sell our houses, join a different church, take a job that requires moving to another city, study abroad or even become “ex-patriots.”

But consider that (with the exception of certain nomadic tribes) most people throughout history in most places, including Europe, spent their entire lives in the same place, and that place was very likely where their grea

                Almost four years ago, I walked up the Capitol steps in freezing rain to join other clergy and officiants to perform the first legally sanctioned same-sex weddings in Washington State.  Those of us who could legally perform a ceremony were invited to donate our services to any who chose to get married under, near, or around the Christmas tree in the Rotunda.  Robed clergy of many denominations, justice of the peace and others, stood in a line as couple after couple met them, chos

Say that you are going to a party, or going to the mall, or to visit your old aunt who is failing.   Say that you are going to a new place, somewhere you have never been before and you don’t know what to wear.  You put on the usual dress, the one you’ve worn so many times, perhaps it is beginning to fray a little, but never mind.  What shoes will you wear this time?

You look at all the shoes you have collected over the past ten years.  You know, the black work high heels, the sling backs.  The sp

Recount This

The recount effort that overnight mobilized over ten thousand volunteers and raised over $9 million, ended on December 12^th. Although it raised the hopes of millions, it was clearly doomed from the start. Ultimately, though it will be a tiny footnote to the broader story, it is part of the story, and a timeline of its major aspects certainly places it in the “madness” category of this essay series. Join me as, once more we enter the muck of hardball politics and media silliness.

11/2

Aaron Mason, M.A., is a freelance medical writer with an infectious laugh, whose love of depth psychology led him to make sweeping changes in his life since deciding to earn his Master’s degree in the Engaged Humanities Program at Pacifica Graduate Institute. On his desk in his West Hollywood apartment sits a Pez dispenser gifted to him by a close friend. The figure is a coyote, and Aaron has constructed a wig for it using multi-colored ribbons, and grounded its feet in magenta clay. He attached

I’ve spent zero on advertising. – D. Trump

Much of my writing circles around my basic assertion that this is one of those times in American history when great holes appear in the façades of our myths. And when they do, the oligarchs and patriarchs who most profit from their continuation go to extreme lengths to shore up those holes and re-invigorate our sense of innocence. It’s increasingly obvious that the old story no longer fits, but that we have yet to imagine the new story.

But what does it m

“Firstly, thank you to the mediator and the panel guests for providing the event as an open event for new-comers to attend, and as a 'free' event! It was very worthwhile of the time spent to attend this, albeit a Sunday morning in New Zealand.

For this posting, please accept my response to Panel member, Steve Wood [PhD], who wrote “Going Somewhere: implications of electronically inflated psychological acceleration”.

For the blog, my notes that followed Steve Wood's conversation, include the follow

An Archetypal Plan for Recovering from the U.S. Presidential Election

(Read Part 2 of this blog series here)

The U.S. presidential election has left Americans more divided than perhaps at any time since the Civil War. This is the last in a series of three blogs in which I offer an archetypal approach to understanding the forces at work both in the U.S. and around the world that produced this outcome and that threaten catastrophe, and a possible means to achieve greater unity and renew our faith in

An Archetypal Plan for Recovering

from the U.S. Presidential Election

The U.S. presidential election has left Americans more divided than perhaps at any time since the Civil War. This is the second in a series of three blogs in which I offer an archetypal approach to understanding the forces at work both in the U.S. and around the world that produced this outcome and that threaten catastrophe, and a possible means to achieve greater unity and renew our faith in our democratic system of government

 Sharing my latest audio interview and blog post...

Susan Grelock has been busy lately—albeit busy in a way that many of us have probably not contemplated in lives filled with jobs, family, and a daily dose of media, whether via Internet, TV, or on-demand series we can binge-watch at will. Susan has been speaking with artists and biologists who have an interest in wolf conservation.

During her research, she got really interested in the Yellowstone-Teton region because it's a focal point for wolf c

 An Archetypal Plan for Recovering

from the U.S. Presidential Election

The U.S. presidential election has left Americans more divided than perhaps at any time since the Civil War. In this series of three blogs, I offer an archetypal approach to understanding the forces at work both in the U.S. and around the world that produced this outcome and that threaten catastrophe, and a possible means to achieve greater unity and renew our faith in our democratic system of government

Part One: Prologue and

We stand on the brink of an epochal shift in consciousness. Just as our forefathers stood on the steps of Independence Hall and proclaimed their independence from their Father, the King of England, we are on the cusp of a historically significant moment. Our forefathers sought freedom by the sword. Our freedom will not come by way of the warrior and fear, but by the cup of truth and love.

When the immigrants streamed by boat toward Ellis Island, they were gr