Over this past weekend, I had the opportunity to go up to Whidbey Island for a visit to Whidbey Institute, which was hosting a screening of a new documentary film called Mythic Journeys. Footage for Mythic Journeys was filmed at the 2006 Mythic Journeys conference in Atlanta (which I was unfortunately unable to attend due to being both too pregnant and too poor as a Pacifica student). The film is a combination of snippets from some of the sessions by Deepak Chopra, Ellen Kushner, and others, as well as interviews with people like Steve Aizenstat, Bob Walter, and other luminaries of the field. In addition to the "talking heads" sections, there was also a myth told in segments throughout the film, interspersed with the interviews. The myth was "The King and the Corpse", and the dolls for the animation section were designed by Brian and Wendy Froud (designers of films like Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal). Ron and the boys came with me, and we spent the night at Whidbey Institute, which was a lot of fun for all of us.
Last night, at our October meeting the round table hosted Whitney Boe, one of the filmmakers of "Mythic Journeys". She showed us an extended version of one of the sessions at the conference, on how to change the world for the better, and we had a discussion on the film and it's themes.
So, what did I think of the film? I think it's terrific. The intent of the filmmakers is to introduce the themes of mythology to a wider audience in America and worldwide. This is what I've been attempting to do in my own small way through my work with the Campbell Foundation and the round table for the past few years. They are having another showing of the film on Bainbridge Island the first weekend in November, which I look forward to attending as well. Here's hoping the film is a huge success! I know the filmmakers are hoping for a grassroots movement of the type that made "What the bleep do we know" and "The Secret" such successes. The film definitely connects with people; I hope everyone who might be interested gets an opportunity to see it.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Monday, October 05, 2009
Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming
Wow. I've really neglected this blog lately. Doesn't mean that nothing is going on here in Stiegerland, rather so much is spinning along; the days are flying by so fast that I barely get a glimpse of them before they're behind me.
Ben is getting bigger and is doing beautifully; he'll be 7 months old tomorrow. Starting to crawl, gobbling down anything we're willing to feed him.
Alex started preschool a few weeks ago, and he completely loves it. He's attending Kirkland Coop Preschool, twice weekly in the mornings. I'm there with him one day a week. We're getting closer to the finish line with the potty training issue, and (drumroll please) he's starting to learn to read! So proud of my boy-not even 3 years old yet! Of course, Ron and I were both reading by 3, so I guess it runs in the family. :)
I've been working out a lot lately, pretty much as often as I can fit it in. Swimming, weight training, and workouts with my trainer, Kellie, twice a month. Getting healthier-it feels good.
I've also recommitted to finishing my novel. I began it in early 2005, and ran into a roadblock in the story right about the time I got pregnant with Alex, and unfortunately the poor thing languished for quite a long time. However, earlier this year I decided that it was time to either finish it or give up the idea of writing a novel, and stop toying with it. So, I created a project schedule for myself (just like I used to do for software projects back in the day), and so far I've done a pretty good job of keeping the schedule. I also signed up for a Popular Fiction writing certificate at the UW, in an effort to help with the process. It started last week, and I'm really excited about it.
In the myth space, I'm still leading weekly meetings for the Seattle Mythological Round Table of the Joseph Campbell Foundation. I've also (just recently) gotten more involved with the leadership of the Foundation, which has me really excited. :)
Ben is getting bigger and is doing beautifully; he'll be 7 months old tomorrow. Starting to crawl, gobbling down anything we're willing to feed him.
Alex started preschool a few weeks ago, and he completely loves it. He's attending Kirkland Coop Preschool, twice weekly in the mornings. I'm there with him one day a week. We're getting closer to the finish line with the potty training issue, and (drumroll please) he's starting to learn to read! So proud of my boy-not even 3 years old yet! Of course, Ron and I were both reading by 3, so I guess it runs in the family. :)
I've been working out a lot lately, pretty much as often as I can fit it in. Swimming, weight training, and workouts with my trainer, Kellie, twice a month. Getting healthier-it feels good.
I've also recommitted to finishing my novel. I began it in early 2005, and ran into a roadblock in the story right about the time I got pregnant with Alex, and unfortunately the poor thing languished for quite a long time. However, earlier this year I decided that it was time to either finish it or give up the idea of writing a novel, and stop toying with it. So, I created a project schedule for myself (just like I used to do for software projects back in the day), and so far I've done a pretty good job of keeping the schedule. I also signed up for a Popular Fiction writing certificate at the UW, in an effort to help with the process. It started last week, and I'm really excited about it.
In the myth space, I'm still leading weekly meetings for the Seattle Mythological Round Table of the Joseph Campbell Foundation. I've also (just recently) gotten more involved with the leadership of the Foundation, which has me really excited. :)
Sunday, August 02, 2009
To Muse or Not to Muse
I've been meaning to write about this for a while, but things have gotten away from me, as they tend to do now that Thing 2 has shown up.
I've been reading Catherynne Valente's blog for a few months now (see here for my comments upon discovering her work about a year and a half ago). About 2 weeks ago, she wrote an extended post about a lecture Elizabeth Gilbert (of Eat, Pray, Love fame) did on the topic of creativity and inspiration, particularly in writing. Ms. Valente had quite a rant about it (it was wonderful, actually, very witty). I found the lecture on YouTube, and watched it a couple of times, as this topic is very near and dear to my heart, and is the subject of my someday doctoral dissertation at Pacifica.
Watching Elizabeth Gilbert's lecture, I understood her to be saying that, essentially, writers as a group have a reputation for mental illness, substance abuse, and suicide (true). She lays the blame for this reputation on the Renaissance-era switch from attributing the creation of new work to a daimon or muse, to the author owing the creation of the work for him or herself. Ms. Gilbert seems to be in quite a state of anxiety about her own work, understanding as she does how difficult it is to follow a huge success like Eat, Pray, Love, and, for the protection of her own psyche, she prefers to lay the responsibility for her work's creation at the feet of a daimon or muse. It appears to be her way of externalizing the pressure of publishing a new work, after the worldwide acceptance of her last. I suppose I can understand the temptation in her own situation to do this, but I must say I was more in agreement with Ms. Valente, who was calling bullshit on this argument (to put it mildly).
Ms. Valente's point is that writing, like anything else, is extremely hard work, and although sometimes when the work is going well it can seem to feel like the work is flowing through the writer from another source, this is actually a function of the artist's psyche, and the whole muse business is a metaphor for this process.
I was, of course, very interested in this whole discussion, in both sides, but I would take Ms. Valente's argument a step farther. I believe that a great deal is required of the artist in the creation of meaningful work, and that true sacrifice must be made in the journey to the unconscious and back. I use the imagery of Inanna. She descends, is killed, and hangs from a meathook. Her life essence drips from her, into the ground at the lowest point of the descent, and it is only after she has given of herself that she is able to make the ascent back to the light.
I've been reading Catherynne Valente's blog for a few months now (see here for my comments upon discovering her work about a year and a half ago). About 2 weeks ago, she wrote an extended post about a lecture Elizabeth Gilbert (of Eat, Pray, Love fame) did on the topic of creativity and inspiration, particularly in writing. Ms. Valente had quite a rant about it (it was wonderful, actually, very witty). I found the lecture on YouTube, and watched it a couple of times, as this topic is very near and dear to my heart, and is the subject of my someday doctoral dissertation at Pacifica.
Watching Elizabeth Gilbert's lecture, I understood her to be saying that, essentially, writers as a group have a reputation for mental illness, substance abuse, and suicide (true). She lays the blame for this reputation on the Renaissance-era switch from attributing the creation of new work to a daimon or muse, to the author owing the creation of the work for him or herself. Ms. Gilbert seems to be in quite a state of anxiety about her own work, understanding as she does how difficult it is to follow a huge success like Eat, Pray, Love, and, for the protection of her own psyche, she prefers to lay the responsibility for her work's creation at the feet of a daimon or muse. It appears to be her way of externalizing the pressure of publishing a new work, after the worldwide acceptance of her last. I suppose I can understand the temptation in her own situation to do this, but I must say I was more in agreement with Ms. Valente, who was calling bullshit on this argument (to put it mildly).
Ms. Valente's point is that writing, like anything else, is extremely hard work, and although sometimes when the work is going well it can seem to feel like the work is flowing through the writer from another source, this is actually a function of the artist's psyche, and the whole muse business is a metaphor for this process.
I was, of course, very interested in this whole discussion, in both sides, but I would take Ms. Valente's argument a step farther. I believe that a great deal is required of the artist in the creation of meaningful work, and that true sacrifice must be made in the journey to the unconscious and back. I use the imagery of Inanna. She descends, is killed, and hangs from a meathook. Her life essence drips from her, into the ground at the lowest point of the descent, and it is only after she has given of herself that she is able to make the ascent back to the light.
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