“Māyā is the world of that rippling pond we spoke of, the fractured, sparkling image of reality that is no reality but only its broken surface…. It is when the inner light—the ultimate light that is no light, that is—Brahman-ātman—comes into manifestation that this māyā veil is passed. I once saw a kitten that found itself reflected in a mirror… and thought it was another…. It went at it and at it—and then, suddenly, it got past the mirror and there was no other animal there…. It had lost its object; it didn’t even think of itself really as a subject. And I thought, Well, good gosh, this is an image of māyā exactly.” (Campbell, Myths of Light, pp. 48-49).

“Mythology is the crop which the Old World bore before its soil was exhausted, before the fancy and imagination were affected with blight; and which it still bears, wherever its pristine vigor is unabated. All other literatures endure only as the elms which overshadow our houses; but this is like the great dragon-tree of the Western Isles, as old as mankind, and, whether that does or not, will endure as long; for the decay of other literatures makes the soil in which it thrives.”

From Henry David Thoreau, (1862) “Walking”.

In celebration of James Hillman’s birthday, here are a few of his own words:

“The great men of the past were living realities…because they personified soul’s needs for spiritual ancestors, ideal types, internal guides and mentors who can share our lives with us and inspire them beyond our personal narrowness”  (Re-Visioning Psychology 198).

Read about James’ life  and his archival collection at Opus Archives.

Also check out our latest eNewsletter to see photographs of the exhibit we curated for the Hillman Tribute weekend co-hosted with Pacifica Graduate Institute in March.

Our April 2012 eNewsletter is now available. Click here to read.

Last week Bonnie Bright, founder of Depth Psychology Alliance, and I spoke about Opus, the brilliant scholars whose archives we care for, and the treasures and unexpected finds that await the researcher. You can listen to the 3o minute interview here – The Living Archives: Stories from Opus Archives & Research Center.

Enjoy!

“One must remember the central truth…about Easter and Passover. We are all called out of the house of bondage…in the way in which the moon throws off its shadow to emerge anew, in the way that life throws off the shadow of death…. Easter and Passover make us experience in ourselves a call out of bondage. There are no horizons in space, and there can be no horizons in our own experience…. Easter and Passover offer the perfect symbols because they mean that we are called to a new life.” (Campbell, Thou Art That, pp. 103-104)