Greetings everyone…
Hard to believe it is already September and that two thirds of the year 2020 is behind us. What a year this is turning out to be! But, as most of you know, we turned a huge corner in the evolving nature of the Myth Salon this year – moving from my home to cyberspace, where we are now reaching people throughout the world every other week. And, our presenters are coming to the Myth Salon from places all across America. Frankly, it is impossible to pull any joy from the spirits of the times. The fact is, we passed the 6-million mark in Covid cases this week – coupled with more the 180,000 Covid-related deaths – who can possibly comprehend the insanity of how this pandemic continues to persist? Yet, we must find the means to develop our perspectives and sustain our skills of compassion and empathy. Indeed, we must. And, there is some joy in this!
So, this week, Thursday September 3 at 5PM Pacific time, the Myth Salon will be graced by Dr. Roger Walsh, with whom we’ll explore the nature and substance of wisdom. What exactly is wisdom? It is certainly not just knowledge, nor is it beliefs or feelings. Wisdom, I suspect, comes dressed in the garb of humility adorned with an acute sense of timing. But, let’s see… I’m confident Dr. Roger will take us on a deep dive in the mysteries and character of wisdom. Each year our technological powers increase and, like the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, humankind now possesses massive power yet little wisdom, and that is proving now to be a recipe for disaster. Has the need for wisdom ever been greater? Clearly understanding and cultivating wisdom is one of the great needs of our time. This presentation will offer information, meditation, dialogue, and reflections drawn from diverse sources – East and West, ancient and modern, contemplative and scientific – to explore the nature and varieties of wisdom, and ways we might cultivate it individually and collectively. Roger Walsh MD., Ph.D. DHL is professor emeritus of psychiatry, philosophy, & anthropology at the University of California. There he researches virtues such as love and wisdom, practices to cultivate them such as meditation, and possible responses to our contemporary global crises. The books of Dr. Roger Walsh include The World of Shamanism and Essential Spirituality: The Seven Central Practices, and his work has received over twenty national and international awards. In his other lives, Roger is a lama in the Tibetan Buddhist Dzogchen tradition and was formerly a circus acrobat and world record high diver. Recently he graduated from the San Francisco Comedy College and had an extremely brief and unsuccessful career as a standup comedian. Maybe we’ll be able to breathe some life into this feature of Roger’s personality portfolio.
Here’s the Registration Link for the Myth Salon with Dr. Roger Walsh on Wisdom:
Having just finished our Creative Encounters with Dr. Dennis Slattery, Will and I are enjoying a little breathing room – even as we are preparing for a very active fall with other zoom related programs. We are thrilled with our fall lineup!
In a little over two weeks, on Thursday September 17 at 5PM Pacific time, the Myth Salon will turn the corner toward the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Dr. Ashok Bedi will launch us into an exploration of Patanjali – who he was and what exactly Patanjali yoga is. The timeless wisdom of Patanjali’s 196 prescriptions forms the Prima Materia from which every Hindu intuitively constructs a Tantra – a practice to achieve individuation, transcendence to Brahman awareness and Moksha. This brief presentation will give a broad overview of this Hindu ancient text and its underlying Sankhya theme of Hindu creation cosmogony. Time permitting, a few strands of the Yoga Sutra will be amplified from Jungian, Hindu and Neuroscience perspectives. Dr. Ashok Bedi is a Jungian psychoanalyst and a board-certified psychiatrist – and his experience in medicine, psychiatry, religion, healing, and public speaking is vast and far reaching. I urge you to investigate who he is and how his work serves humanity.
Here’s the Registration Link for the Myth Salon with Dr. Ashok Bedi on Patanjali:
Some of the most exciting studies in myth and depth psychology are found at the intersection of the sciences, philosophy, and studies of the archetypes. David Bohm has touched many – if not all – of us. His books, Wholeness and the Implicate Order and Thought as a System, are simply impossible to find at a discount – even on Amazon. People read him and rarely part with the books.
We are immensely grateful to Corinne Bourdeau for working with us to create a special screening of the Paul Howard film, Infinite Potential: The Life and Ideas of David Bohm, after which we will spend time with a panel that includes the director, Paul Howard, Dr. David Edmund Moody, author of An Uncommon Collaboration: David Bohm and J. Krishnamurti, and Dr. Tayria Ward, live from North Carolina – who has developed a unique course of study using Bohm’s work. The screening will take place on Wednesday September 23 at 5PM Pacific time. Details about the screening and panel discussion will be forthcoming, and likely, we will send a separate link for you to watch the screening yourself.
Here’s the Registration Link for the David Bohm – Infinite Potential film and panel discussion:
And then, we’ll be into October…
Will and I thank you for your continued support of the Myth Salon. We are grateful to our panelists: Drs. Dennis Slattery, Zaman Stanizai, Vorris Nunley, Selina Matthews, and Connie Zweig. The feedback we are receiving is immensely gratifying – and in spite of the seemingly endless cultural turmoil, we feel we are making the most of these challenging times.
To view any of the Myth Salon video recordings or the scholar talks, please visit either Mythosophia.net or The Mythology Channel on YouTube. And, even if we have a very full dance card now through the end of the year, it isn’t always the case. Do you have someone you’d like us invite into the Myth Salon? Let us know – we have already begun work on 2021!
We’ll see you soon,
Dana
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Dana C. White, PhD
Host – The Myth Salon
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