I will be the house musician for the 2009 JCF Mythological Toolbox Workshop at Esalen.

Week of March 22-27, 2009

Once Bitten, Twice Shy: A Mythological Toolbox Workshop

Every year for more than two decades, Joseph Campbell celebrated his birthday (March 26th) at Esalen. To explain why, he told of the day that Carl Jung suddenly realized "What it means to live with a myth, and what it means to live without one." Jung asked himself, "What myth am I living by?" Finding that he did not know, he wrote "I took it upon myself to get to know ‘my' myth, and I regarded this as the task of tasks." "That's what a birthday is for," Campbell would conclude, "and that's what Esalen is about."

In March 1988, five months after Campbell's death, some of his friends again met at Esalen in late March for what had by then become an annual event, the Campbell Week: an unbroken progression of springtime gatherings.

The only prerequisites for our "playshop" are a sense of humor and the ability to play well with others. We will use an eclectic array of tools in our exploration of mythmaking. We might dance or sing, talk or sit quietly; make music, masks, altars, or medicine bundles; tell stories, decode films, unravel dreams, kindle visions. We will mix solo exercises, small-group activities, and collective projects to provide opportunities for both reflection and expression. Yet, always, our talk is of transformation: Who were you? What childhood stories were impressed upon you? What did you treasure in your youth? Who are you? What is enshrined on your mantle, hung from your rearview mirror, and what lies forgotten in the basement? Who do you aspire to be? What new adventures do you envision? What face do you hope to see in the mirror? Please bring a small totemic object that is both meaningful and expendable.

Foundation president Robert Walter will be joined by Caldecott-award-winning author and artist Gerald McDermott, Tai Ji dancer Chungliang Al Huang, and other special guests.

Go to Esalen for registration information >>