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Many indigenous societies believed that the dead were always close by at the times of the greatest celebrations. The festivals of mid-winter, as well as the November first celebrations in the Celtic world, looked forward to the annual restoration of the … Continue reading →

Spiritual and mystical literature often speaks of the need to pay full attention, to be present moment to moment. In addition, what we might call “soul-work” asks us to focus our awareness of both the outer and the inner worlds … Continue reading →

Part Seven: Dionysus, and a Worm I’m going to stick with one of the themes of my book – the return of the repressed – and my most compelling image: Dionysus, the Loosener.  What is the knocking?
 What is the … Continue reading →

Part Six: Mythological Speculations What the hell is going on? One thing is clear: conventional political analysis can take us only so far. We need to think mythologically. Vera de Chalambert articulates some popular mythopoetic thinking. In August, 2015, well before … Continue reading →

The Local Level: Policing in America Let’s clear up one issue quickly. If mental illness (you know, the old “single shooter” trope) were the sole cause of these actions, people from all over the political spectrum would be committing them. … Continue reading →

Government Actions – and Inactions This behavior, of course, did not occur in a vacuum. The federal government and several state governments, sometimes quietly and more often quite publicly, were actively broadcasting the new state of permission and removing the … Continue reading →

Specific Acts of Hate: Demagogues understand that they don’t have to exhort their followers directly to violence. They are masters of the art of innuendo and coded messages – and of American mythology. Chip Berlet says: …history tells us that … Continue reading →