Edward’s talk is called “What Have I Done to Deserve This? Are the Gods or God Punishing Me?”
My intention in this discussion is not to go into a psychospiritual or philosophical discussion about the meaning of suffering. Rather, I want to focus on the fact that this question still resonates to this day, a question steeped in the human experience of the ancients and in their mythology. Somehow, we inherited the notion that only the gods or God heals. No wonder we ask the above question. I want to explore with you these ancient mythologies and how they affect us centuries later. I will also bring into perspective some of the depth psychologists that have addressed these issues.
About Edward
Edward M. Smink, PhD defended his doctoral thesis, “Thresholds of Afflictions: The Heroic Journey of Healing,” at Pacifica in May of 2010 and graduated with a PhD in Depth Psychology. He has over forty years of experience in healthcare as a nurse, crisis and pastoral counselor, executive leader, facilitator of mission, ethics, value and leadership formation and community health. Since his last presentation at the Mythologium in 2019, titled “Who Hugs the Hugger, A Mythology of Self-Care,” Edward has reached out to caregivers suffering from compassion fatigue as a life coach, presenter, and speaker, and promoted his book The Soul of Caregiving, A Caregiver’s Guide to Healing and Transformation. He has been a guest on several bogs on Caregiving and is in the process of coming out with a revised edition of his book and creating an on-line webinar course. More about him and his work can be found on his website.