I From Living the New Story – Series 4
Sharon Blackie is an award-winning writer and internationally recognised teacher whose work sits at the interface of psychology, mythology and ecology. Her highly acclaimed books, courses, lectures and workshops are focused on the development of the mythic imagination, and on the relevance of our native myths, fairy tales and folk traditions to the personal, social and environmental problems we face today. As well as having authored four books of fiction and nonfiction, including the bestselling If Women Rose Rooted, her writing has appeared in the Guardian, the Irish Times, and the Scotsman, and she has been interviewed by the BBC and other major broadcasters.
Questions for ongoing reflection and dialogue
Begin to construct your own unique inner imaginarium
The ancient idea of calling suggests that each of us chose to come to this world, to this place, at this time, with a unique and necessary gift to offer, and that each individual carries inside a guiding image which is a clue to the nature of that calling. Sometimes it takes the best part of a lifetime to uncover the image and the nature of that calling.
1. Stories
Children’s biography of Sigmund Freud
Legend of Han Shan and Shih te
Chuang Tzu’s Butterfly
Particular stories: Which stories – especially any fairy tales – did you particularly love as a child? Why did you love them? Think about the following things:
Theme: What is the story about? (Not what happens, but what is it about? For example: lost love, the fall from grace, understanding the value of friendship …)
Finding one’s calling
Setting: Where does the story take place? How much does the time, landscape and culture in which the story is set affect your love of it? Why? What is it about the setting which draws you?
German academia. I was on my way to American academia.
Characters: Are there any characters in the story who you particularly love? What archetypal qualities do they possess? For example – is there a Wise Old Woman, a Bad Mother, a Warrior, a Trickster?
Images: Are there any particular images in the story that have stayed with you? – for example, a pair of red shoes? If so, what do these images symbolise for you?
2. Films
Carry out the same analysis for the films you love.
3. Poetry
Han Shan poem Roshi gave me
Find a poem which you particularly love. Why do you love it? What image(s) in the poem particularly speaks to you? What words do you especially remember? How does the poem make you feel?
4. Art
Chinese painting of pilgrim on bridge
Think of a painting which you love. What do you love about it? Think of the following things:
• the colour scheme
• the style of painting (realistic, impressionistic etc)
• the mood of the painting
• Is there a particularly potent image in the painting?
• How does the painting make you feel?
5. Dreams
Do you remember any images or characters in dreams that continue to haunt you? Try to write them down without striving to interpret what they might ‘mean’.
6. The natural world
Which trees, animals, flowers, landscapes particularly resonate with you? Try to identify the qualities which draw you to them.
Wandering in the redwoods
7. Working with your images
A. Do you notice any repeating patterns? Any themes, characters, colours, moods, visual images occurring often in the stories and works of art that haunt you? If there are, make a particular note of those recurrences; these are the ideas and images that with which you’ll want to spend a good deal of time.
The free spirit
Wandering in redwood forests
- Chuang Tzu’s butterfly story Image: Butterfly, Dreamer
- The photo of the whole earth – Image: Whole Earth
- Berry’s Dream of the Earth especially Inscendence – Image: Whole Earth, Dreamer, Shaman
- Elisabeth Sahtouris’ butterfly essay – Image: Chrysalis, Dreamer
Images
Caterpillar
Chrysalis
Butterfly
Dreamer
Whole Earth
B. Engage with your images! There are many different ways of engaging with the different types of content which make up your own unique imaginarium; here are some to get you started:
• Pick an archetypal character which particularly resonates with you – a human, animal or plant – from one of your stories, poems, films, paintings or dreams.
Han Shan
• Work with it creatively, depending on the things you love to do. Paint it, sew it, write poems about it … this contemplative practice helps you to engage.
He visits the monastery to eat in their kitchen. Realizes they seek by being independent of the institution.