Dear Sandra-

     Hello! This is Kristina Sorensen, I hope that you remember me!  I am not sure if you got my last email, which is why I am emailing you from your website (maybe I wrote to the wrong address).  Anyway, I wanted to share with you an excerpt from a book that I am reading in my class, "The Power of Myth."   It's from a book entitled, "MYTHS: gods, heroes, and saviors," by Leonard Biallas.  While I was reading the introduction, I couldn't help but think of you.  I felt like this man was you, speaking to me through the pages...it was a strange connection:)  Anyway, I hope that you enjoy it; here it is:

     "Becoming our full selves is a lifelong task that calls upon us not to avoid life's difficulties and dangers, but to perceive the meaning in the pattern of events that forms our lives.  The supreme achievement of the self is to find an insight that connects together the events, dreams, and relationships that make up our existence.  Such an insight cuts through the crusts  of externals and reveals the underlying unity and inseparability of our individual selves and the universe.  It gets us away from the assumption that our roles are our true self and that each of us is free, independent, and totally different from everyone else.    

     "Attaining this insight is never totally completed, never fully reached, because our human potential is too rich and the demands of life upon us are constantly changing and calling forth new responses.  We are continually learning to synthesize both our conscious and unconscious personalities, to relate events in everyday life to the core of our being.  Still, what it means to be whole seems to be known at the center of our selves, and from this core the process of becoming individuals is begun.  The quest for wholeness is thrust upon us by this force within us.  In this perspective, wholeness is not so much an ideal that cannot be fully realized; rather, wholeness is being aware of and consenting to the very process of attempting to achieve it."   (Intro, pg. 2)

 

And later, in a section entitled 'The Spiraling Self,'

 

     "Once we have become self-consciously aware of the boundaries of our conventionally self cultural (and religious) outlook, we can begin to appreciate the notion of an ever-expanding self.  Conscious that our vision of meaning, coherence, and value is partial, provisional, and contradicted by the visions and claims of others, we can be open to new possibilities for the self.  With growing intelligence and progressive freedom, we construct other than purely reactive ways of responding and interacting with others.  The "I" is no longer synonymous with our bodies.  We become wary of the "self."  Which self?  Today's?  Yesterday's?  The one a month from now?  Gender, race, profession, nationality, age, and status all become relative as the "I" comes to think of itself as something essentially connected to larger realities.  The understanding of the self becomes more complex.  We begin to recognize that the myths of other cultures and religious traditions can help us determine and evaluate out perceptions and experiences of what is "real."

   "Giving up early dream, ideal, or goals and taking on others is a continual process of dying and rising, of death and growth.  But in the process is not the same for all.  Some people go through life in one dimension. There is no real excitement for them, and sometimes it is a burden just to get through the day.  This is human life at its lowest.  Others are aware of the rhythms of life and enter into them.  Like the author of the biblical book Ecclesiastes, they recognize the patterns: a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to embrace and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.  Life has its ups and downs, but still no central focus of sense of direction.  Still others see a cyclical pattern in life with themselves at the center.  There is more equilibrium as they experience the ups and down, but life still seems, at times, to be a vicious circle.  There is a certain resignation to the inevitability of it all."

 

And I could go on forever, but hopefully you get the idea:)  It just sounded like your philosophy.  Speaking of which, I have a question: Why don't you teach?  You ARE already a teacher, and you love the academic atmosphere, but do you realize how much good you could do as a teacher?  Honestly, I know of lots of students who would embrace you as a professor, or a lecturer, an adjunct, etc.  I would love to have you for a teacher in the classroom. 

 

Also, do you know where I could get a copy of "The Allegory of the Cave?"  I am always hearing about it in classes, and it sounds brilliant, but I can't find a place to get a copy.  I just though that you might have some suggestions:)

 

Well, Sandra, I must turn to my studies now, but I look forward to hearing you tonight:)  Take care!:)

 

With love,

Kristina Sorensen