[Stephen Gerringer]

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Norland Téllez for once again coming to spend a week with us in Conversations of a Higher Order. Norland, your generosity of spirit, especially considering all the time and attention to detail you’ve devoted to this discussion, is much appreciated.

Of course, even though the week Dr. Téllez agreed to give us is long up, that doesn’t mean the conversation needs to end here.

Norland’s essays shine a light on the deep, dark underbelly of “living myth,” very much in sync with Campbell’s mythological perspective. There is all too often a tendency to gloss over the dark deeds of our mythic past (and present) in favor of Happy Happy Joy Joy prescriptions of bliss. That one-sided approach, however, was not Joseph Campbell’s way. Joe was not afraid of the dark; whether discussing myth, psychology, or art, he never ignored the shadows (even “following your bliss” calls for a willingness to endure much suffering and pain to stay true to one’s path – something generally overlooked by those who promote it as a form of wishcraft).

Those shadows are all part of being human – we can’t just ignore or banish them by an act of will. Norland’s contributions to the discussions of his December, January, and February MythBlasts these forums offer invaluable clues on how to acknowledge, understand, integrate, and transcend those energies.

But this is not just the domain of myth scholars: those new to this thread are invited to add your thoughts and observations and continue the conversation (I suspect artists, in particular, might have much to share).