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James Hillman on world change and political polarization
James Hillman, 1926-2011 For decades, James Hillman brought us unique observations on modern life from the perspective of a depth psychology that embraced soul as its highest value. Recently, I’ve...
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Queen Bothildur: an Icelandic Christmas folktale
I found this story in a beautifully illustrated book of Icelandic folktales for children, Tales of the Elves, that I brought back from that country after a visit in 2012. One Christmas Eve, a richly...
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Jung’s Tower: simplicity and the inner life
Jung’s Tower House, Bollingen, Switzerland by Andrew Taylor, 2009. CC BY-SA-2.0 Recent news of technological incursions into consciousness itself (virtual reality and altered memories); almost daily...
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Help wanted, heroes and heroines: must be civil and adroit
This unusual job description comes from the opening lines of a Grimm’s fairy tale I recently read for the first time. Fairy tale characters never get more than a word or two of description, and most...
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More notes from the Wasteland
Joseph Campbell considered the Wasteland and the quest for the Grail that heals it to be a core myth for our time. During “The Power of Myth” series at the end of his life, Campbell said the...
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Guarding the mind
One summer when I was working in high-tech, I had the following experience for several weeks: I’d leave the house, enjoying the fine weather. After a pleasant enough commute, I’d grab some coffee at...
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On this day a hundred years ago
“One day the great European War will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans.” – Otto von Bismarck, 1888. “To have to go to war on account of tiresome Serbia beggars belief.” – Queen Mary...
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TED Talks on happiness
#133580610 / gettyimages.com Last Friday, August 15, the theme of National Public Radio’s “TED Radio Hour” was “Simply Happy,” and carried the message that “finding happiness may be simpler than you...
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The Devil’s Sooty Brothers
Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm, 1855. Painting by Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann “People think stories are shaped by people. In fact, it’s the other way round.” – Terry Pratchett “The Devil’s Sooty Brother” is...
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100 Years Ago – The Battle of the Somme
Cemetery at Poziers, France, in the Somme River Valley “I’ve never met a grandson of someone who fought on the Somme, or a granddaughter, who hasn’t said to me, ‘My grandfather never recovered.'” – Sir...
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What would James Hillman say about all this?
James Hillman (1926-2011) James Hillman, a genius in the field of psychology, is largely unknown to the general public. Only one of his many books, The Soul’s Code (1997), is widely known, and only...
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The White Snake – An Enigmatic Tale from the Brothers Grimm
Illustration for “The White Snake” by Walter Crane, ca. 1886, Public Domain I once had a professor who made an extensive study of world folklore and said the greatest predictor of success for a...
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Cycles, Gyres, and Yugas, Part 1
Turning and turning in widening gyres Over the last year, I’ve thought a lot about the idea of cyclical time, time without beginning or end, as opposed to the view time as linear, which implies a start...
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A Contemplation of Heroes, Toilet Paper, John Wayne, and John Ford.
Paramahansa Yogananda told a story of two families, one Hindu and one Muslim, who were neighbors during the violence that preceded Indian independence in the late 1940’s. Food was scarce due to...
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Anti-vaxxers, mask-slackers, and maybe pessimism is good for you.
Dr. Serizawa in Gojira, 1954 When I was a kid, scientists were a big deal, almost as important in the movies I watched as cowboys. At the Saturday matinees, we learned that when you’re under attack by...
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