Myth in the Mojave

“It takes a long time to learn that nothing is wasted. It takes a long time, and a lot of suffering usually, to understand that there is more to life and to poetry than our conscious purposes.” M.C. Richards
  
 Is there value in the collective storms raging around us, and the ups and downs of life?

In this podcast I weave the Sufi teaching story “Fatima the Spinner” with insights gathered from the work of poet and potter M.C. Richards, to offer metaphors and suggestions for a creative response to the inevitable hardships we face.

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Outrage can be valuable spark for action in these trying times and yet there is another beautiful resource available to us as we endure the collective and personal trials—joy. 

Joy is not denial or looking away. Joy is found in mindful presence, and it can change everything.

Reading poetry is one way to unhook from the habit of dire predictions and negative news, and tap into the sweetness of the present. We need this fuel friends, to participate fully in our shared transformation.

In this program, I read poems by Mary Oliver, Robert Francis, Denise Levertov, and others. Sunrise by Mary Oliver

Waxwings by Robert Francis

The Heart by Maxima Kahn

The Sycamore by Wendell Berry

Lift Off by Constance Crawford

A Blessing by James Wright

September Afternoon at Four O-clock by Marge Piercy

Constellations by Phillip Rosenberg

Making Peace by Denise Levertov

A Blessing for the Senses by John O’Donohue

I Worried by Mary Oliver

Excerpt from This Ecstasy by John Squadra

The painting is Fuchsia and Colibri Flowers By Antonia JG Cardona.

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“Flying has it uses but walking on the ground is not as easy as it looks from up here.” Rafe Martin, from “The Gentle Heart Jataka”

Some days, the boundaries between the turbulence and change in the outside world, and what’s taking place in my own head and heart, are hard to define.  I'm called to question, re-evaluate, and revisit everything, AND to imagine new possibilities, even if my usual methods seem to work just fine.

Transformation is underway and the discomfort is collective and personal. How do we participate? What do we practice?  How can we support and encourage each other?

 My telling of “The Gentle Heart Jataka,” a story of one of Buddha’s incarnations on the path to awakening, is inspired by Rafe Martin’s version in Endless Path.

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“Life can only be understood backward; but it must be lived forward.” Soren Kierkegaard.

How do we become who we are meant to be? What lends a life its integrity and coherence? How does meeting the Baba Yaga help us along the way? A few questions to bring to a Russian fairy tale called “The Tsar Maiden.”

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In Book 11 of The Odyssey, Odysseus tells the Phaeacians how he followed the strong advice of the goddess/sorceress Circe and made a journey to the underworld to consult with the dead seer Tiresias. The ghosts that he meets there remind him, and us, of the important connections between memory, story, and life, and how honoring the past can help us stay aware of what matters most in the present.

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At the turning point in his journey, Odysseus and his men land on the island of Aeaea and meet the enchantress Circe. This is my paraphrase of Book 10 of the Odyssey, based on Robert Fagles translation.

“They found Circe’s polished stone palace in a clearing. Mountain wolves and lions roamed around the doorway like dogs, bewitched into gentleness by her drugs. They could hear the goddess inside at her loom, weaving beautiful fabrics and singing in an enchanting voice.”

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Circe, a secondary goddess in ancient Greek mythology, is best known as the sorceress in Homer’s Odyssey who turned the men into swine and later helped the hero Odysseus make a required trip into the underworld. 

Circe’s powers of seduction and evil enchantments have titillated the Western imagination for centuries. Now Madeline Miller gives us Circe’s whole story, told from the perspective of the goddess herself.

Miller skillfully handles the mythological fragments of Circe’s documented past to create an absolutely beautiful story, a story that led me to consider the importance of works that reshape the old stories, and how they can help us deconstruct the dominate paradigm of heroes and heroics and power.

Treat yourself to this book and better yet, listen to the audio version narrated by Perdita Weeks. I hope you enjoy my reflections too.

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What if looking foolish, mistakes and regret are essential to living your purpose?

This famous Arthurian tale provides an interesting backdrop to questions of seeking, destiny, and character.

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This is the 2nd of two podcasts devoted to telling and exploring the fairy tale of "The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen. We reach the end of the story with lots of questions and possibilities to consider, questions and possibilities that reflect on us, the listeners.

What was Andersen’s “happy ending” for his Little Mermaid? Can you imagine making such a bargain, simply to gain the opportunity to try to win your deepest desire? What was she after, in the end? How does our/your interpretation of the story reveal the nature of your own quest? Your expectations about women? Death?
 
 Whatever answers you find to the questions raised by this story, I hope you’ll pursue them as valuable reflections of your own heart, mind, and soul.
 
 

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Millions of little girls (and many boys and adults), fell in love with Ariel, the mermaid in Disney’s popular movie, based on a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. As is often the case, Disney’s version differs significantly from its source. Andersen’s mermaid is nameless, for example (and I won’t say more to avoid spoilers).

My version of the fairy tale follows Andersen. You may be surprised, moved, inspired, or disgusted by this story. You may love it or hate it. All and any of these reactions are opportunities to reflect on important questions with cultural and personal implications.

This is part 1 of two podcasts devoted to telling and exploring this story.

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