Psychology and Mythology

On Iroquois Land

On November 12, 2019 / My Land and Home, Psychology and Mythology / 36 Comments

“Why don’t you write about the Iroquois?” my son Anthony said. His eyes gleamed with enthusiasm. “The people who lived here had a Matriarchal Democracy. Perfect!” “Good idea,” I said. “It’s embarrassing how little I know.” Five

Marion Woodman and the Princess Who Said No

On October 29, 2019 / Psychology and Mythology / 13 Comments

“Why are you giving a lecture?” a woman in the audience said as she stood up. Her voice was hard and defiant. A few others joined the chorus. They wanted intimate groups, creative exercises, and art, not

Inspired by Artemis, Lured By Joy

On October 15, 2019 / Family and Friends, Psychology and Mythology / 28 Comments

My friend Barb Cook shared a video of six squirming black puppies. I watched as a vet checked each one before handing it to an assistant for comfort. I’d wanted a pup for a year, but it’s

Let Everything Happen to You

On July 9, 2019 / Psychology and Mythology, Spirituality / 26 Comments

Let everything happen to you Beauty and terror Just keep going No feeling is final ~ Rainer Maria Rilke, “Go to the Limits of Your Longing,” The Book of Hours: Love Poems to God, 1905 (trans. Anita

Witnessing: Life, Death, and the Wisdom of the Crone

On June 11, 2019 / Nature, Psychology and Mythology / 19 Comments

I love the promise of eggs laid by songbirds in nesting boxes on my land. I should have learned by now that it’s foolish to get attached. Life is fragile and precarious, especially this cool wet spring.

Hearing Our Determined Hearts

On May 28, 2019 / Creativity, Health, Psychology and Mythology / 29 Comments

“I need help,” I said. I was a mother pleading for her child. The deaf child in me felt isolated and abandoned. I struggled to hear friends or a phone call. Constant vertigo and a roar in

Sorting Seeds: Psyche’s First Labor Gives Us Lessons for Life

On April 2, 2019 / Health, Psychology and Mythology / 19 Comments

“Is this easier or harder?” my audiologist asks. “Raise your hand when you hear a beep. Do you prefer program 1 or program 4? You made great progress in a week, so keep going.” It feels impossible,

Relighting The Vital Fire

On March 19, 2019 / Health, Psychology and Mythology / 35 Comments

The day before cochlear implant surgery, I lifted weights and took a long brisk walk. Five weeks later, I feel a flickering flame of vitality, fragile and easily snuffed out by stress or restless sleep. Arctic weather

Persistent Memories and Psychological Descent

On March 5, 2019 / Psychology and Mythology / 29 Comments

Anxious memories broke into consciousness when I was almost three. They stuck like glue. The article “Memories of Trauma Are Unique because of How Brains and Bodies Respond to Threat” by Jack Debieck explains how the body’s

The Wisdom of Descent in a World Addicted to Ascent

On February 19, 2019 / Psychology and Mythology / 32 Comments

We imagine heroes as willful and disciplined. The hero wins with a smart positive attitude. We accept the top part of this diagram, the “known” part, where we’re consciously working a problem and following our plan. But