“Myth can make what is transparent, what is transcendent, into the somatic process. The body uses its brain to make images of itself and the world. These organized experiences relate us to our own bodies and to others. This is what I call bodily reference and what literature calls Mythic Thinking.” ~Stanley Keleman & Joseph Campbell (emphasis added)*
I am a resident Mythic Thinker in Austin, Texas. I stumbled upon Mythology one day at Borders Books in Houston when I felt compelled to purchase a copy of Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth, edited from the television mini-series with Bill Moyers. While reading this book, I felt a calling to study Myth and began a Master’s degree at the Union Institute and University (Vermont College) in Comparative Mythology. By the end of my first semester, I was studying Harry Potter and exploring myself through the hero’s journey. My Final Document, Searching for the Golden Snitch: The Fairy-myth and American Mythology was completed in October 2006. Since that graduation, I have been working diligently to explore approaches to myth in contemporary popular culture, hoping I can save the world one myth at a time.
At the core of my philosophy lies the belief that we (Americans) live in a world of confused and overwhelming messages and absent myth-systems. I think we are living in a time that is longing for a rediscovery of mythology, and that rediscovery begins with the individual. It is my hope to make Mythic Thinking available to all who seek it, so that we can all awaken to its possibilities.
Credentials
Education
2007-Present
Pacifica Graduate Institute
Pursuing a Doctorate Degree in Mythological Studies with emphasis on Depth Psychology.
2004-2006
The Union Institute and University
Master’s Degree, Humanities with concentration in Comparative Mythology
2000-2002
University of Houston
Bachelor’s Degree, Anthropology with Film Studies minor
Publications/Papers
2007
Navigating the Forbidden Forest: Harry Potter and Mythic Thinking, presented at Prophecy 2007 A Harry Potter Symposium, Toronto, Canada, August 3, 2007
2006
Searching for the Golden Snitch: The Fairy-myth and American Mythology, Master’s Final Document
The Hero’s Journey of Harry Potter, presented at Lumos! A Harry Potter Symposium, Las Vegas, NV, July 28, 2006
Organizations
2005-Present
Joseph Campbell Foundation
RoundTable Leader
2007-Present
Jung Society of Austin
Board of Directors Member
*Available for presentations, lectures, and workshops.*
