Saints and sages have always claimed that the true seat of the mind is in the heart. In 1932 an American Indian medicine man told Carl Jung that white men, with their wrinkled faces and constant anger, were insane and killed so wantonly becuase they thought in their heads. Whole people, he explained, think in their hearts.
–Joseph Chilton Pearce, in Evolution’s End
I’ve always had trouble voicing things… speaking up for myself, calling out deception, and owning my own value and worth. When I was growing up, my mother would always tell me, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” I wasn’t sure that whatever I was thinking was nice, so I stuffed my…
In today’s world and political climate, art and artists are needed more than ever. Here are ten qualities of being that they give us…. 1. The arts celebrate multiple perspectives. One of their large lessons is that there are many ways to see and interpret the world. Problems can have more than one solution…
Creativity requires that we listen and notice: What is moving me? What is touching my heart? The process of discovering what we love is about letting the world in. We need to be open to it, see it, feel it, and experience it. The psychologist James Hillman passed away today. Here’s something he wrote that…
Philosophers throughout history have asserted that “the fundamental nature of the world is aesthetic” (Alfred North Whitehead, Gregory Bateson,James Hillman, Martin Foss,Donald Winnicott to name a few.) That said, it’s interesting that the word aesthetics comes from the Greek word “aisthenesthai” which is the ability to perceive. When he was alive, archetypal psychologist James Hillman…
Ivanka Trump was widely panned for suggesting that busy mothers should get regular massages, because for many of us that’s just not realistic. I myself, have never been into meditating. And if I don’t like something, I’m not going to end up doing it. A friend says that people always tell her to slow down,…
In yesterday’s class, I gave students the task of going out into the University community and finding: a) something visual that catches your eye (it can be as simple as a color), and b) some piece of writing or a phrase (such as an EXIT sign). A couple students came back with the phrase Seeing…