Mythology

So, I'm home from Ireland and Scotland.  Yes, it is a rough life - certainly in St. Louis where it is 55 degrees hotter than it was across the pond!  Anyway - so my new path is mythology.  I am in love.  Currently, I am reading Karen Armstrong's "A Short Story of Myth" and it is the coolest.

Oh - did I tell you that Pacifica invited me for an interview??  That means they are 90% sure they want me...and with my present level of excitement about mythology, I think they are going to want me.  Besides the fact that I want them:)  So yes, I got in the application, references and all, and they liked it!  So Jules and I go out to Santa Barbara again, for my August 6 interview.  We are also going to meet with the esteemed Stuart Jenkins to see how he might help Jules with the employment process, and with my cousin Meriam...b/c she also knows bunches of business sorts AND has a ranch in Paso Robles.  In fact, Stuart and Meriam have offered to let us stay as often as we want!  How awesome is that?

Anyway - back to myth.  I am amazed and astounded how understanding a tiny portion of myth, gives me a completely different reading of the Bible!  You know that line about coming from dust?  It has always bothered me.  I mean, comments like "you are no more than the dust under my feet"...or "she made me feel like dirt"...these are all sort of demeaning, wouldn't you say?  but that "dust of the ground" line in Genesis is very different if read from the mythological meaning.

Ea was an original earth god in Mesopotamia and understand that the gods were inseperable from the landscape, from existence.  They were not seperate entities.  Well, Ea had a son, Marduk, and of course, there was a horrible battle and divine blood was spilled. Now you also have to know, that the gods were originally created from sacred, tho primordial "ooze"...so even the dust is sacred.  Then Marduk takes the blood of the fallen gods, mixes it with dirt and "poof"!  humans! So dirt isn't so bad!  Divine actually:)

Finally!

SO!  Had to tell you all...I have begun my doctorate program at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, CA...in MYTHOLOGY!!  Is that not perfect??  I know - took me long enough:)  Anyway - gonna be a lot of work, but mythology is awesome!  It is the basis for all religion and goes into why we have religion in the first place.  Truly - this is bliss.  Well - with homework.

I can, of course, hear you all asking...what will you do with that?  I hope to do workshops on roles in life.  There is this veteran's program that I heard about, where the guys and gals coming back from Iraq and Afganistan go through a "Hero's Journey" and how healing it is.  One guy said it saved his life.  I want to find out more about that and then look into doing it with gay people or kids or whoever wants to!  And if that doesn't work out - there's always teaching.  Teaching mythology would be cool!

So the program is low-residency.  I have to be out there 3 days a month, which works out to 5 days b/c of travelling.  I have found airports and airplanes to be ok places to do homework.  Who knew?  Jules and Katie are very excited for me...Katie has a hard time gloating that she doesn't have to do homework, but I can give her some slack:)  Jules is more than patient at listening to me talk about myth...and read my papers.  She will certainly deserve a degree at the end of this as well!

My guess is that this blog will get less and less attention.  It's already on the slow side compared to when I started it.  It has served it's purpose though - truly been a therapeutic technique that I have enjoyed immensely.  Thank you all so much for listening...check back once in a while - maybe I'll have more news at Christmas!  There is a possibility happening in Provincetown (did I mention that Jules and I went there this summer??) so hopefully we will all stay connected.