The Lorecast

Imagination. Just for kids? Just for fun? Or the foundation of all human powers, perceptions, and achievements? What is the difference between imagination, fantasy, creativity, and innovation? What prevents us from using our imagination? What are some examples of how imagination can change how things are? 

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Record numbers of people are abandoning membership in religion. Why? What options are they left with? What does it look like to move away from monolithic systems of authority (always attractive to zealots possessed by disavowed doubt) and belief to inspirational paths of ecospiritual direct experience of the sacred abroad in the world, in between us, and within us? 

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Being adopted has taught me that the issues we face - of identity, belonging, kindred, family - are a microcosm or dramatization of the issues most people face. In this podcast I discuss some of the myths of being adopted, what growing up adopted us like, a few suggestions for adopting parents, and the thought of how we are each much more than where we came from. 

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It beeps, badges, bubbles, and buzzes at you. Why do we design tech to simulate friendly if intrusive humans? Who tells tech support to give us unwanted emotional support? What's up with smart speakers saying "uh huh" or repeating back what we just asked them to do? What's going on with all "service" unconsciously? 

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What do you need to let go of? Why do you hang on to it? Or what about the things we don't know we're still keeping around that no longer serve? Some reflections on these and other issues related to making room for the new. (See the podcast on grief as a complement to this one.) 

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A few remembrances of my conversations with maverick depth psychologist James Hillman along with some of his wit and wisdom and some comments about his presence and impact. I remain grateful for what I learned from him. 

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"Follow your bliss," said and wrote Joseph Campbell. A number of critics have advised against it, arguing that bliss doesn't make a reliable guide, vocationally in particular. Instead, they say, follow what you're good at, what's practical, what pays the bills. But what did Campbell mean by his famous phrase? What actually happens when we pursue our fascinations?

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According to social science, we are the way we are because of upbringing, physical limitations, socioeconomic conditions, and other conditioning factors. But what about the dimension of choice? What about the creative uses we can make of what we were given or came in with? We are more than where we came from. 

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Van Gogh: one of the world's greatest artists. What was the relationship between his creative genius and the madness that took his life? Can his work be attributed to what ailed him? Or is the relationship more complex than that? What can it tell us about struggling with our own creative demons? 

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Ever feel like there's a larger story behind your personal story? C. G. Jung wrote in a letter about a "personal myth," a story we are born into. How might we become aware of this story and its possibilities? How is myth more than an archaic explanation for weather? What was Jung's myth? I draw in this podcast on material from my classes, my workshops, and my book STORIED LIVES: DISCOVERING AND DEEPENING YOUR PERSONAL MYTH. 

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