The Archetypal Artist: Reimagining Creativity and the Call to Create
A New Nine-Week Experiential Course
for Kosmos Institute
Winter 2025-26!
Please watch the Kosmos website for details
(Thanks to all who joined me in 2022 for the inaugural course for Pacifica Extension)
Depth Psychology has long maintained a paradoxical position to creativity and to the creative individual. On one hand, the artist is singled out as the one “who creates the future,” while on the other, creativity is likened to an instinct shared by all. This six-week series will explore the paradoxes, perils, and reveries of creative “making,” what the Greeks called poesis, through the insights of Jungian and archetypal psychologies, as well as through mythology, philosophy, and artmaking itself. Whether you consider yourself an “artist,” a “craftsperson,” or simply long to answer a calling that will not subside, this course will both ground and transform your understanding of yourself as a member of an archetypal lineage of world-bridgers, shapeshifters, mystics, philosophers, healers, magicians, and alchemists. What unites these figures? What is their mission in our modern world? “The creative,” according to James Hillman, “is an achievement of love,” while for novelist Franz Kafka, “art, like prayer, is a hand outstretched in the darkness, seeking for some touch of grace that will transform it into a hand that bestows gifts.” What are your gifts? How do you bestow them? What are your achievements of love?
The nine-week series features three primary areas of engagement: 1) curated weekly readings, viewings, and links to auxiliary materials; 2) weekly live Saturday morning gatherings of 90 minutes; plus 3) the opportunity to deepen and share the course content throughout the series via shared creative expression such as poetry, song, dance, film, performance, visual art, and discussion with fellow participants.
The nine-week series features three primary areas of engagement: 1) curated weekly readings, viewings, and links to auxiliary materials; 2) weekly live Saturday morning gatherings of 90 minutes; plus 3) the opportunity to deepen and share the course content throughout the series via shared creative expression such as poetry, song, dance, film, performance, visual art, and discussion with fellow participants.
Interviews & Podcasts
Speaking with Brian James for his podcast "Howl in the Wilderness" was an amazing experience! Watch the episode on Youtube.
Jon Wilson's podcast "Jung and the World" is one of the best Jungian-oriented offerings on the web. It was such a pleasure to have spoken with him on a couple of occasions, including the episode below.
Past Events
Certificate in Applied Mythology
Pacifica Extension & International Studies
I'm pleased to have contributed to the design of this highly-popular certificate which has been offered yearly since 2019. While I'll miss teaching my work on ritual and myth in this venue, check out the new version of this course with some exciting new instructors for 2025.
The Tao of Chaos/The Taos of Creativity: Inviting the "Third Mind" Through Creative Collaboration
Phoenix Friends of Jung
Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019. Phoenix, AZ
Thanks to all the wonderful folks at the Phoenix Friends of Juing who joined me for a day of interactive lecture, art making and conversation focused on the element of chance. For more information on future programs please visit the Phoenix Friends of Jung online.
Free Workshop Series for Cancer Survivors
I'm collaborating this with Alice Arnold, Ph.D., J.D. to present an ongoing series of workshops that we've entitled, "Healing Through Stories and Images." We're being hosted by the Breast Cancer Resource Center of Santa Barbara, CA. This is a FREE series for women on the Central Coast at any stage of their treatment for any type of cancer, not just breast cancers. We'll be exploring some of the world's great myths dealing with illness, loss, rejuvenation and resilience. I'll be guiding everyone as we create our own personal intuitive collages based on the week's themes.
Psyche & Image: The Wonder and Danger of Aesthetic Experience
Charlotte Friends of Jung
Nov. 10 & 11, Charlotte, NC
I so enjoyed presenting a Friday night talk along with a Saturday workshop for the Charlotte, NC Friends of Jung on Nov. 10 and 11, 2018. Thank you all for your hospitality and creativity!
2016 Talks in Ojai and Santa Barbara, CA
Many thanks to the Ojai branch of the Joseph Campbell Roundtable for inviting me to speak to their members and guests on Sunday, June 12. I presented a talk entitled "The Archetypal Artist: Creating at the Crossroads of Fate and Free Will," at the Council House on the stunning grounds of the Ojai Foundation.