- Animomentum
- Posts
- Animomentum Newsletter - June 2024
Animomentum Newsletter - June 2024
Craig Chalquist
June 01, 2024
Animomentum
Monthly Updates, Events, and Reflections
Welcome to June, named after Juno, the Roman Hera. Although both are usually described as goddesses of marriage, they also oversee community and family. As Ginette Paris points out, Hera’s famous jealousy is more protective than personal. Not every culture is entirely fair to what its gods represent, especially when they appear in feminine form.
Mornings have been foggy in my part of Southern California, which is a soft way to start the day. I walk most mornings and exercise not only my legs but my senses.
My second dissertation is finished at last. The title is RESTORYING OUR LORE: FICTION, VISION, AND IMAGINATION AS AN EARTH-HONORING WISDOM PATH. How might our stories guide us toward inner and outer change that lasts? Here is a link to the PDF.
On June 25th at 5:30 Pacific Time, I’ll present “Mythopoetics of Enchantment: Fiction and Imagination for Lasting Change” online for the International Society of Mythology. Scroll down to “Events” for details.
I’ve been speaking with Jung Platform about offering an advanced version of my class on dealing with codependency. They also posted two recent blogs of mine, one on how the Trickster archetype has recently reappeared in cosmology, and the other on how C. G. Jung’s inner figures (he called them “the little people”) called for an “invisible church.”
Speaking of religion, Simeon, the protagonist of my novel-in-progress Heartlander, is seeking the lost original religion of humanity, mostly out of curiosity at first, the monotheisms of his day (he lives about sixty years from now) having left him cold. He is also more troubled than he realizes by the disunity of the old United States, now split into the Coastal States at the edges and the Heartland States in the middle. Simeon’s visions have taken him into the telegraph office where Lincoln spent so much time. They discuss the possibilities of knitting the nation back together.
A fictional device that enables visions allows me to bring in lots of interesting characters both fictional and historical. Jung and Jesus show up; so do Cinderella, Prince Dakkar, Queen Calafia, and Van Helsing, each with a good reason for being there as the gods wait to see what will happen. I’m done with the draft. I expect the editing to take me a few months. I enjoy that, so there’s no rush.
What might informal religion - in simple terms, collective spirituality - look like today? Ecospirituality, perhaps? Lamplight, the religion of imagination and play found in my novel Soulmapper? My inquiry is ongoing.
I really look forward to this:
I want to start making room here to endorse other people’s depth-oriented offerings in exchange for their sending around word of my work. So here goes:
If you're questioning your priorities, belief systems, definitions of success, or legacies you want to leave, and anxiety and fear might be your constant companions, Dr. Deborah Lukovich works with business owners and leaders who, despite their achievements, feel disconnected, empty, and even lonely. Here is a link to her Top 5 Resources for Relief & Liberation. It includes a guided meditation for getting immediate relief and techniques for gaining clarity by exploring dreams. You can also see what else she offers.
My most recent podcast for The Lorecast, available for free at my website and through Apple Music, Spotify, and several other venues, is on the possibility of a planetary mythology and why one might matter. You might also be interested in “Change Comes Through Relationships.” Email me if you have any ideas about a topic you'd like to hear covered in a podcast.
What I'm reading: Jung vs Borg by Glen Slater and Wendy Doniger’s translated excerpts from the Rig Veda.
Upcoming Events
June 25th at 5:30 Pacific Time: “Mythopoetics of Enchantment: Fiction and Imagination for Lasting Change” online for the International Society of Mythology. We will look at how fiction shapes reality, the power of storytelling for personal and collective transformation, and the potential of fiction to help us imagine more desirable futures and move toward them. Tickets here.
The C. G. Jung group in Eugene, OR has asked me to visit in the fall to present on psyche and place. Details soon.
I'm dreaming up some leadership courses on voice, storytelling, and inspiration for the Teton Leadership Center. Details soon.
I've been speaking with the international United Human Foundation about a series of talks focusing on shifting collective narratives away from scarcity, conflict, and hyper-individualism and toward Earth-honoring dreamings of where we want to go together and how we want to live. More soon.
I will present "Inquiry with Earth in Mind" at the Twenty-second International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities, at Sapienza University of Rome. The conference is June 26-28, 2024, and I will be speaking about Terrapsychological Inquiry.
Ongoing Offerings
Free stuff first:
My book consists of 30 stories ("archetales") of speculative fiction and a number of fables, all of which trace the path of humanity's long adventure toward consciousness and maturity from early origins in prehistory up to Terrania, the Earth-honoring, ground-up world culture of inclusion, belonging, and delight awaiting us in the future.
The tales address the question: What might it look like, after all the chaos and conflict, if humanity finally gets it right? An annotated version is also available.
A man in his forties wakes in a park in San Diego with no memory of his name, his past, or how he got there. He finds a cowboy hat, black boots, an e-bike, and a gold medallion that talks. Who is he? Where did he come from?
Ride north, the medallion tells him. Visit the old missions one by one. At each, carry out a mysterious ritual. When you reach Sonoma, your memories will be restored, including those of a mysterious past. You will know who took them and why. Refuse, and I will stop your heart.
As he journeys, encountering a persistent assassin, meeting reanimated gods in his dreams, resisting being cast as a hero, and building new relationships across overheating California, he bears the potent biochemistries needed for collective survival. But his strongest medicine is hope.
My debut novel, set in the Assembling Terrania Cycle.
I created the following courses available at Jung Platform:
Journey into the World of Soul - This is a course on Jung's Black Books, which are his journals spanning 19 years of his life. An indispensable guided tour for understanding the man behind the work.
Codependence: How to Identify and Heal - Several videos drawing on my clinical experience of helping people understand and work with the chronic need to turn relationships into attempts at emotional rescue.
Your Personal Myth and Archetype - What is your deeper story, the mythic plot and basic pattern behind the details of your biography? What are you here to respond to?
Narcissism - Everyone talks about it, but few understand it. Why does it seem so prevalent? Where does it come from? What are its covert forms? How can we protect ourselves from being victimized by it?
I earn an ambassador’s fee when you purchase them. You can also view my instructor page at JP here.
These were fun to make. I packed a lot into each. Topics include
Introduction to Loreology - The craft of creating personal, social, and cultural change by examining our guiding stories and melting them down into new tales, practices, and possibilities.
Deep Teaching and Mentoring - This came from graduate students asking: How do we translate what we learn about consciousness, dreams, myth, the esoteric, etc. into terms other people can grasp?
Equalwise: The Art of Emotional Self-Defense - "The world is full of bullies," said Krishnamurti. Learn to recognize and avoid giving your power to them. Stop being taken off guard and learn the art of guarding your wellbeing.
Soft Skills for the Workplace: Being In Demand - According to Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, and other sources of business news, hiring managers like me are very interested in relational workplace skills. Learn more about these skills and how to cultivate and demonstrate them.
When the World Shows Up In Our Dreams: Decoding the Call - Not everything in our dreams is about us. Some of it reflects events around us showing up as symbols. Why do they? How do we work with such powerful beckonings?
Concentrate Your Life! A Course for the Super-Busy - This comes from two decades of teaching, administrating, publishing, and other time-intensive endeavors requiring excellent organizational skills. Take back your time.
These you’ll want to have a computer to download them onto. The prices vary.
When I finish teaching an online course, I often package it up, zip up all the audio lectures, rewrite the syllabus into a course outline, and make it available at my website.
Topics include: Healing and Nature, Archetypal Family Systems, Ecopsychology, Intro to Terrapsychology, Applied Hermeticism, Visibility for Introverts, Jung and Creativity, Depth Psychology, Alchemy and Vocation, Jung’s Red Book, Applied Mythology, Deep Storytelling, Writing with Soul, and others.
Thoughts for the Month:
What are you married to? Do you wish to be? Where do community and family (family is more than blood relatives) land in your heart? How might they call you, and what are healthy and clear ways to respond?
