The work of the Archives and
Research Center began with a gift. The Joseph Campbell estate
entrusted the rich works of a scholar's lifetime to this place
that they might be held, tended, treasured, and shared with
a wide audience. The Archives and Research Center, then called
the Center for the Study of Depth Psychology, was birthed from
that gift.
The Campbell archive was soon
followed by such remarkable collections as those of Dr. Marija
Gimbutas, esteemed archeologist from UCLA; Dr. James Hillman,
father of Archetypal Psychology; Jane Hollister Wheelwright
and Joseph Wheelwright, founders of the C.G. Jung Institute
of San Francisco; and most recently the promised collections
of Marion Woodman and of Robert Johnson, both esteemed analysts
who have broken fertile ground in their respective fields. The
gifts are rich with not only words, but art, music, and mythic
symbols. They invite the engagement of scholars, artists, musicians,
mystics and social entrepreneurs.
With the gifts come obligation.
The Archives and Research Center is posed to meet those obligations
and to forward the work of these eminent ancestors and elders.
As a not-for-profit corporation, the Center serves as the steward
for these precious collections, protecting and preserving them,
while allowing their use by those interested in accessing them
for expansion of the work into the broader worldscape.
As Marion Woodman points out,
without the planting there is no harvest. And cultivation requires
patience before the harvest occurs. We are currently sowing
the fields - reviewing the inventories, forming infrastructure,
gathering our resources, and visioning a wide specter of programs
to accomplish the dream.
The roots of the Archives are
deep and are held in the rich fertile discovery of those who
came before. Their harvest will seed ours, as we are inspired
and informed by the presence of their research, dreams, visions
and stories. We will glean much from the fruits of their wisdom.
The dream is for the Center to
be just exactly that…a world CENTER where:
- Prized collections are made
available to a wide audience in service to the world-through
research grants and scheduled accessibility, digitally and
on site
- Scholars may come together
for interdisciplinary dialogue, debate, and discussion
- Psyche, body, soul and culture
are examined in both the shadow and the light
- Stories can be told, sung,
danced and archived-not just those of the famous, but of elders
and youngers from all backgrounds, wisdom traditions, social
structures, and geography
- Visiting scholars and artists
are welcomed to share with a broad community, not only in
person, but via internet
- Dreams are shared and examined
from the personal, collective, and world consciousness
The quality of harvest lies in the quality of the preparation.
Thus, we are tending to details with respect and mindfulness
of our charge.
The Center, invites you to share
your vision, ideas, energy and resources. Together we can propagate
the vintage vines of the ancestors in order to imbue our planet
with consciousness-beginning with our own.
Through the gathering, we can
render fruit in a parched world.
