Tag: Heart

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Mythologium 2023 welcomes Dr. Sunil Parab

Dr. Parab’s presentation is called “Stories of Love & Lust in Indian Mythology”

Love and Lust are two closely associated emotions of heart. Even today it is very difficult for an individual to rightly classify his / her emotion either as Love or Lust. This quest of understanding and differentiating Love from Lust and to put it in social context of morality has continued for thousands of years. How then has India being one of the most ancient civilizations and a rich storehouse of literature stay aloof from this quest? Also, what can be a better way to narrate these complicated human emotions with social moral context other than the mythical stories? Thus we find the stories of Love and Lust in Indian Mythology from Vedic Literature to Puranic Literature. Though these are human emotions; Gods also get entangled in them and thus face the consequences. This narration is so humane to understand that since even Gods can get entangled in Love and Lust; so can humans, and since even Gods have to face the consequences, so do humans.

About Dr. Parab

Dr. Sunil Parab is an Ayurveda Doctor and an Indologist by qualification. He is working as Associate Professor in Doon Institute of Medical Sciences; Dehradun. His research in Indology mainly revolves around Comparative Mythology and Folklore in regions of Maharashtra and Uttarakhand. He is associated with Sindhu Veda Research Institute as Indology Academician and Researcher. His expertise is in Classical Texts of Ayurveda, Sanskrit Language, Indian Mythology, Indian Philosophy and Indian Folk Deities.

2023 Mythologium program
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Mythologium 2023 welcomes Carole Wallencheck

Carole’s presentation is called “Valentines and Inner Shrines: The Visual and Linguistic Mythology of the Heart”

As we set out on a quest to encounter and explore the heart’s musicality and muscularity, as well as its appearance in myths old and new, we will discover that the heart has a mythos all its own. Although the anatomical organ is hidden away, it nevertheless shines forth like the gods of old in their glory. From ancient Egyptian amulets to medieval manuscripts, from iconic paintings to the ubiquitous love emoji, recurring images of the heart are always on display. Our everyday conversations are replete with words and phrases that act as oracles for the heart’s deeper mysteries. We’ll follow the pathways, clues, and guideposts of signs and symbols, and like many of our heroes and wanderers, from Odysseus to Mulan to Bilbo, we’ll return home, which (as we know) is where the heart is.

About Carole

Carole Wallencheck is a Certified Life-cycle Celebrant® (Celebrant Foundation and Institute), a Certified Group Eco-Therapy Guide (Lake Erie Institute), and a Poetry as Healer Guide (Institute for Poetic Medicine). Often seen exploring the museums, wooded parks, and cemeteries of Northeast Ohio, watching the waves of Lake Erie, or with a gothic novel in one hand and a cup of English Breakfast tea in the other (and possibly a chocolate croissant at her side), Carole has been called “a great heart detector,” “our resident soul poet,” “The Heart-keeper,” and “deliciously mischievous.” She sees the Pattern beneath, behind, and beyond the pattern, and always, always, seeks the Source, the Story, the Soul.

2023 Mythologium program
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Mythologium 2023 welcomes Dr. Dori Koehler

Dr. Koehler’s presentation is called “Returning the Heart to Te Fiti: Moana’s Mythic Message”

“I have crossed the horizon to find you. I know your name. They have stolen the heart from inside you, but this does not define you. This is not who you are. You KNOW who you are…who you truly are”

Moana

Disney princesses are a global phenomenon. They are deeply imprinted on our global psyche. Love them or hate them, we can’t ignore them. They are often the targets of criticism, often with reasonable cause. But the truth is that they are far more complex and narratively significant than what the shallow critiques of them would have us believe. Disney princesses reflect what Jungian theorists call the anima consciousness, giving image to Walt Disney’s admonition that his stories gotta have heart, and calling audiences to consider the healing potential of the myth present in each one of Disney’s princess narratives. Princesses reflect the dynamic relationship between the attitudes of the artists at the studio and the people who engage them.

In my opinion, there is no greater archetypal image of the Disney princess as a healer than Moana. She journeys deep into the psyche returning the archetypal heart to Te Fiti and through that journey, she heals herself, her island, and her people. This presentation explores Moana as a character that enters directly into the traditional space of the wounded healer, the shaman, and a character who returns with deep wisdom for her community. I begin with a discussion of the connection between Disney Princesses and the goddess Persephone. Disney’s princesses all follow the same archetypal pattern of love and death, love and transformation.

Then I will examine Moana in the light of that archetypal tradition, arguing that the film is a call to healing through an attempt to use an intersectional lens of archetypal theory and the decolonization of Disney’s myth. Specifically, I will posit the following questions for consideration: what does it mean to return the heart of Te Fiti to Disney’s mythic message? In what ways does this message speak to the absolute necessity of connecting to the archetypal heart from an indigenous perspective to begin that process of decolonization? And how does healing the collective heart prepare the collective psyche for action in this time of cataclysmic climate change?

About Dr. Koehler

Dori Koehler, PhD is a cultural mythologist and scholar of American popular culture. She is a professor of Humanities at Southern New Hampshire University. Her research focuses on Disney, rituals, fandoms, and myths in the American cultural diaspora. Her book The Mouse and the Myth: Sacred Art and Secular Ritual is available through Amazon. She is a regular presenter at the Popular Culture Association’s regional and national conferences where she continues to ask questions about popular culture and American mythic identity in this time of enduring change. She lives in Santa Barbara, California, USA with her husband, Bruce, and their cocker spaniel, Sorcha.

2023 Mythologium program
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Mythologium 2023 welcomes Kristina Dryža

Kristina’s presentation is called “How the Myth of Sisyphus Can Unlock Our Heart Forces“

What can the myth of Sisyphus teach us about the heart? Is it possible to love the drudgery of fruitless labor? Can we develop a heart relationship with the boulder so that it’s no longer a futile task, but rather a process of deep connection and thankfulness? And if we open ourselves up to the presence, beauty, and power of the boulder, might it potentially reveal an even more enriching message and purpose? Can it even become an object of wonder?

About Kristina

Kristina is an author, TEDx speaker, ex-futurist and archetypal consultant.

2023 Mythologium program
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Mythologium 2023 welcomes Allison Stieger

Allison’s presentation is called “The Archetype of Dionysus and the Heart in Balance: Following Ariadne’s Red Thread”

Ariadne’s path through her own story provides a wonderful archetypal resonance of the loving and growing heart. Her myth begins in the court of her father, where she is treated as an object to be owned and traded for wealth and power. Her partnership with Theseus allows her to escape, and he captures the heart of her youth, then leaves her behind on the beach in Naxos, allowing her to meet and marry Dionysus.

This paper will examine the labyrinthine turns of her journey, and the heart guidance that allowed her to move from a place of stasis governed by the toxic masculine into a place of balance and wholeness in her marriage with Dionysus. The archetype of Dionysus holds a beautiful balance between masculine and feminine energies, and between love and ecstasy. Ariadne’s journey provides wonderful guidance for modern women on how to achieve such a balance in our own lives, whether partnered or not.

About Allison

Allison Stieger, M.A., is a writer, speaker, coach, and workshop leader, focusing on the movement of archetypal energies in modern life and working with women on how to understand and change their narratives. She lives in Seattle with her husband of 20 years and two teenage sons.

2023 Mythologium program
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Mythologium 2023 welcomes Corinne Bourdeau

Corinne’s presentation is called “The Enchanted Storyteller: Weaving Heart and Myth into Films”

Storytelling is the language of the heart. Powerful environmental storytelling anchors the heart’s connection to nature and the environmental world. For centuries, storytellers from J.R.R. Tolkien to Beatrix Potter have woven the natural world into their storytelling. Today, modern day filmmakers such as James Cameron and Louis Schwartzberg are crafting cinematic masterpieces that celebrate the heart’s connection to the eco world.

In this presentation, Corinne Bourdeau will show the power of storytelling to touch the heart and embrace environmental hope. Focusing on modern day filmmakers and storytellers who are bringing these stories to the big screen, she will showcase current real-life examples of storytelling that touch and engage the heart.

Examples will include:

*An Academy award nominated filmmaker that uses mythical elements and metaphor to craft a compelling story of climate change.

*A leading blockbuster filmmaker taps into indigenous myth to tell a powerful story for the environment that is one of the most successful films of all time.

*A world-renowned filmmaker uses imagery and symbols to celebrate the natural world and the mycelial network and, in the process, encourages us to protect what we love.

This presentation will conclude with suggested films and reading to enhance the environmental heart.

About Corinne

Corinne Bourdeau is the founder and president of 360 Degree Communications, a leading boutique entertainment marketing company that has worked on films with strong environmental and social justice themes, including Free Solo, Biggest Little Farm, The Cove, and Fantastic Fungi.

2023 Mythologium program
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Mythologium 2023 Theme

The 2023 Mythologium will be held July 28-30, 2023, and the theme will be Myth and the Heart.

Myth and the Heart

“I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the Heart’s affections and the truth of the Imagination.”

– John Keats

Your physical heart beats the rhythm of your life. Your metaphorical heart beats the rhythm of your soul. We speak of broken hearts, open hearts, heavy hearts, full hearts. Metaphorically, the heart represents love, warmth, courage, passion – and a machine-like pump. The literal heart, however, is a muscle, which means it is strong. It creates an audible beat, which means it’s musical. The heart changes tempo in different situations, which means it is responsive. 

What does myth say about the heart’s presence and powers? What ancient and contemporary myths help us take the heart seriously, heeding the heart and practicing heart care? How do myth and the heart relate to current events and life challenges? Following James Hillman, what archetypes visit when we inhabit heart space? Following Martin Buber, how might we meet the heart not as an it but as a thou? 

Areas of Focus

We are especially interested in presentations about myth, the heart, and: 

- social justice & BIPOC voices
- environmental issues
- technology
- feminism
- gender
- politics
Register today