Conferences and workshops for mythologists and the myth-curious
What happens if I die? Incredibly we in the West often think if instead of when. A belief in reincarnation as a series of improving lives opens the conversation, and eases fears. I will present a Western view of Eastern ideas from my dissertation “Reincarnation: A Myth of Rebirth.” We will conjure Pythagoras and maybe Krishna and ask what they think about near-death and out-of-body experiences.
We in the West often think of religion and transgender issues as being at odds. However, there are many religions in which trans-imagery and being is not only accepted, but seen as a sacred aspect of the Divine. This paper examines two examples of this phenomenon: Native American and Vedic traditions. The act of seeing oneself and of being seen, of perceiving one’s own being in the images of myth and belief, connects us to history and culture and is one way in which we construct identity. Reclamation of religious transgender imagery and history not only furthers dialogue between religious and transgender communities, but helps affirm trans modes of being. These mythological images and roles also illuminate ancient wisdom in modern day trans people’s questioning of gender assumptions and of the concretization of binary modes of being.
Elizabeth Wolterink earned her Ph.D. in Mythological Studies with an Emphasis in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute in 2017. Her dissertation, Cloaked in Darkness: Feminine Katabasis in Myth and Culture, explored the differences between male and female mythological descents to the underworld and found that female katabatic figures not only have far more agency than is traditionally granted to them, but that they hold important psychological and cultural insights into female identity. Elizabeth has presented at the Western and Midwestern American Academy of Religion as well as at the Parliament of World Religions. She has also worked with youth for over twelve years using myth, depth psychology, philosophy, martial arts, and wilderness skills as means to psychological and spiritual development. Elizabeth guest lectures on mythology and gender for high schools and community organizations and on gender identity and welcoming in churches.
City planning can benefit from archetypal psychology by offering a perspective that is absent in the process of planning cities: one that re-visions the city by activating the figural, the metaphorical, and the imaginal as crucial and essential forms of a city’s soul. My talk, and the dissertation from which is it developed, offers a multi-disciplinary, mytho-poetic perspective toward San Diego as city. Through the lens of archetypal psychology, city is approached as subjective being to inform one’s ability to understand, and to relate to, presences that are palpable but invisible in the natural and physical landscapes.
Bob holds a BA in Geography and an MA in Mythology with an emphasis in Depth Psychology. He is a PhD candidate working on his dissertation, entitled “Poiesis in the Polis: Re-imagining San Diego as Archetypal City.” In a 25-year career in city planning, Bob has observed a broken and outdated mythos toward a city planning process where economics control and where issues of aesthetics and beauty, the subjective elements that stir the soul, have no real part in the city-making process. Bob has always been intrigued by the layout of cities, the magic of natural open spaces, and understanding the psychological underpinnings of what makes a great sense of place. His academic and professional areas of interest are steering him toward a more humanistic and collaborative relationship toward the environment and city.
Once upon a time, or maybe it was many times ago, when you experienced that the sky was falling, that moment of being overwhelmed, similar to the story of Chicken Little, instead you found the courage to pause and take a deep breath, and somehow a calm came over you and insight emerged. At this moment you entered that liminal space, the land we may call OZ, where imagination took flight birthing a new call to adventure. Where would we be without the myths to guide and comfort us? Like a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter’s night, or to snuggle up to one we love, or to be captivated by a poem, a novel, a sonata, or a work of art, new insight and wisdom emerged. We become lost in the certitude of that moment, that we are not alone, and are comforted.
To care for one’s self is such an adventure. While most of us love to be pampered, few of us take the time for self care. The mythology of self care invites the inductee to explore the archetypes of the hero, the caregiver, the lover, the wounded healer, and the practice of hospitality. Travel any way you like. You can walk, hike, sit on the back of a camel, ride in a rickshaw, or sit on an imaginary magic carpet as you become a participant in a pilgrimage that is being assembled. Who are the caregivers among us? We all are, for at the heart of being human is the capacity to care, to reach out to others and to build relationships.
Edward M. Smink, PhD defended his doctoral thesis, “Thresholds of Afflictions: The Heroic Journey of Healing,” at Pacifica in May of 2010 and graduated with a PhD in Depth Psychology. He has over forty years of experience in healthcare as nurse, crisis and pastoral counselor, executive leader, facilitator of mission, ethics, value and leadership formation and community health. He served on local, regional and international committees of value formation in the United States, Australia, Korea, England, Spain and Italy. Edward likes to claim that along with his academic credentials, he has learned most from his experience with colleagues who care for others and from those who needed his services. Edward’s focus includes an emphasis on the development of strengths and the integration of values in personal and professional practice. He is passionate about the universal values and archetypes that unite humankind and with his background in mythological studies, enjoys discovering the unique personal stories of each client that contribute to successful outcomes.
“Who Hugs the Hugger: A Mythology of Self-Care” is gleaned from Edward’s book, The Soul of Caregiving: A Caregiver’s Guide to Healing and Transformation. Learn more at www.soulofcaregiving.com.
Pacifica Graduate Institute Alumni Association (PGIAA) is delighted to help sponsor the first Fates and Graces Mythologium, August 2-4, 2019, in Morro Bay, California.
PGIAA, a distinct, 501(c)3 non-profit organization, seeks to provide alumni and the global community with opportunities for personal and professional growth and to serve as a path for making positive changes through service and education.
Ongoing programs include the PGIAA tête-à-tête® conversations, our annual New Year’s A Toast Heard Round the World, and regular Coming Home reunion weekends, including our Alumni Authors’ Spotlight.
PGIAA also offers a Buddy Program, scholarships, professional development, the PGIAA Community Network Help Desk and Training Series, the PGIAA Support Network, including the Ambassador Program and Project Pay it Forward.
Our numerous Regional Chapters hold local Gatherings around the country. Look for upcoming happenings in Los Angeles, Chicago, Salt Lake City, San Diego, and New York.
Watch for these PGIAA Coming Events:
Dianne Travis-Teague facilitates ongoing collaborations between Pacifica’s Office of the Chancellor and the Pacifica Graduate Institute Alumni Association. Dianne and the Office of Alumni Relations maintain an ongoing and constantly evolving package of alumni benefits in the form of hotel and airline discounts, auto and home insurance discounts, and member discounts to Pacifica’s bookstore and Retreat.
PGIAA strives to live up to its mission of developing a “different” type of association: one that focuses intently on “tending the soul of the world” as enshrined in the Institute’s motto of animae mundi colendae gratia. For more information, visit our website at http://www.pgiaa.org/
For several thousand years, students have eagerly devoured the tale of the wandering Odysseus making his way home from the war at Troy. In the world of smartphones, paperless classrooms, and Project Based Learning, does this ancient myth fit today? Absolutely. This presentation seeks to explore how one may teach myth through Homer’s epic poem, the relevance of this text for students seeking a path through all their wanderings, and how to engage students with an ancient text. With two paths, students advocate for their desired level of involvement either through examining “what is your Ithaca” or “how does myth inspire art.” While this project is constructed for secondary education, it may easily be scaffolded for junior high or college level courses.
Olivia Happel, PhD is a Latin, Mythology, Theory of Knowledge, English, and Film Studies teacher at Dos Pueblos High School where she has worked since 2014. There she serves as the Extended Essay Coordinator (a four thousand word research essay comprised by IB students over the junior and senior year). She has created her own curriculum for both the Mythology and Film Studies course at DPHS. Her doctoral dissertation is titled, “That Which Is Not Yet Known: An Alchemical Analysis of Michael Maier’s Arcana Arcanissima.” She has presented at the American Academy of Religion Regional Conference as well as the Pop Culture Association Regional and National Conference. Her academic interests include myth, religious studies, alchemy, and classics. She seeks to pursue the #immutablediamondbody throughout her life, scholarship, and career.
Psychological androgyny is a term introduced in 1974 by psychologist Sandra Bem that describes one of four possible constructs of gender identification. Through an exploration of gender identity presented in Eastern myth, Japanese theatrical performance, and contemporary Anime/Manga pop culture, Lynlee examines the subtle differences between “psychological androgyny” and “non-binary” gender identification, and why this distinction matters, especially in terms of the shapeshifter as shamanic “genderless being with suprahuman powers” who appears in times of significant cultural distress and upheaval.
Lynlee Lyckberg, Ph.D. completed her doctorate in Mythological Studies with an Emphasis in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute in 2016, and her MFA in Arts and Consciousness Studies from John F. Kennedy in 2005. Her doctoral dissertation, The Visual Image, Creativity, and the Role of Memory in Healing, examines the potential for healing and transformation latent in the emergent visual images of contemporary culture. Lynlee has presented papers derived from her dissertation at the Jean Gebser conference in Seattle (2017), and at the Jung Conference in Portland (2018), and she shows her paintings nationally in juried exhibitions. She has several pieces in private university collections, including Cal State University East Bay and Pacifica Graduate Institute, and she is currently working on a book of dreams and the transformational process.
Exploring images, music, science, and the wisdom of depth psychology, this presentation discusses adolescence as a phase we all transit on our way to adulthood. Our adolescent bodies initiate the prima materia. Neurologically, hormonally, musculoskeletally, one’s body begins a transformation into physical maturity, bidden or not. Wrapped in uncomfortable, even painful bodies, possessed by a mélange of hormones, confused by rapidly morphing neurons, we feel a need at some point to mourn the loss of childhood or the dreams of innocence. With or without the permission of adults, we feel compelled to delve into the sad, dangerous, and even horrible aspects of life. The nigredo rules adolescence. Through art, music, movies, gaming, as well as fashion, body markings, and adventure, we learn at adolescence to express our experience of grief, disillusionment, and exhilaration. Adults can provide understanding and guidance through modeling, mentoring moments, and practicing the art (and terror) of letting go.
Beth Anne Boardman, RN, MA, PhD lives in California and New Hampshire. She travels and lectures on the Mythology of Sport; Women and Myth; and the Alchemy of Adolescence (her dissertation topic), in addition to consulting as a writer to websites. Recently, Beth has served on the board of the Pacifica Graduate Institute Alumni Association and as Regional Coordinator for local alumni. Her career spans work as a registered nurse, grant-writer, the study of world dance and music, and the profound joy of raising two children.
Beth’s writings may be found at http://otherworldpoetry.blogspot.com and https://mythmuse.wordpress.com.
Passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years, oral histories told by Plains Indian peoples – Lakota, Dakota, Arapaho, Blackfeet, Cheyenne, and many other tribes – account for the origins of how things came to be, the animals, people, plants, and the natural forces of the world. Expressions of a cultural stream of ancestral memory, oral histories are interwoven with a people’s sacred ceremonies, dances, and songs, affirming their cultural significance. The Lakota speak of The Buffalo People, Sacred Beings who live below the surface of the earth and became the four-legged, shaggy-haired creatures we know today as tatanka, the buffalo, or wild bison. Hunted and slaughtered to near extinction by end of the 19th century, wild bison continue to endure, yet their existence as wildlife remains in peril, confined to a landscape we know today as Yellowstone National Park. Leon’s talk will explore the oral histories of Plains Indian peoples, the presence of wild bison, and the influence of Western Christian heritage with respect to how human beings see themselves in the natural world.
Leon Aliski holds an M.A degree in Mythological Studies with an emphasis in Depth Psychology and is a Ph.D. candidate in the same field. He is a writer, researcher and consultant for the tourism industry and has recently traveled to Yellowstone National Park, the Black Hills, Wind Cave, the Platte River, and First Peoples Buffalo Jump near Great Falls, Montana.
Classical Greek mythology includes the story of King Minos of Crete, son of Zeus and father to the infamous Minotaur. Minos was born of privilege, destined to be King, yet his insecurities and actions guided him to use bravado and deceit to secure the throne. The consequences of these actions resulted in a monster son and bad relations with neighboring city states. Dr. Bailes will share aspects of the story to expose the Minos archetype and reveal glimpses of its constellation in the current U.S. political psyche.
Katherine J. Bailes, JD, PhD is a practicing attorney and an adjunct professor of mythological studies at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas. Dr. Bailes holds a BFA in painting from the University of North Texas and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Kansas, School of Law. She later obtained a master’s degree and Ph.D. from Pacifica Graduate Institute, Santa Barbara, California. Her dissertation topic entitled “The Themis Principle: Mystery and Irrationality in the U.S. Legal System” focused on the mythological aspects of the law as expressed in ancient cultures through goddesses such as Athena, Themis, Inanna and Maat. She has received numerous awards and served in a variety of leadership positions in art, law and teaching, successfully combining these fields through her understanding of story and the human capacity for myth making.