In Greek mythology autumn begins as the goddess Persephone returns to the underworld to live with her husband Hades. It has also been believed that magically it was a good time to enact rituals for protection and security as well as reflect on successes or failures from the previous months. Animals associated with the autumnal equinox in the northern hemisphere are dogs, wolves and birds of prey. Mythical creatures associated with this time of the year include gnomes, minotaurs and the sphinx.

calendar of events | fall 2010

The issue at hand? John Petersen, of the arlington institute states it clearly: "How do you alert people to a looming potentiality that is so large that no one alive has any reasonable means of visualizing it? How do you get people to begin to consider something that could be essentially unfathomable in any conventional terms? Some friends have suggested that a more "balanced" approach to reporting would be in order here. To know that an event of this magnitude could be in the works and to pull your punches in the face of it would certainly lack integrity and set people up for failure, so that is not an option. Somehow the size and significance must be made clear to those who are willing to listen, so that they can begin to do the things that need to be done to ready themselves for when and if the shift comes."

For those of you who follow Carolyn Myss, she is saying the same thing, in the way that only Carolyn can. Listen to her Alaska keynote address.

If we recognize that (perhaps) at a soul level we chose to live now, then it is time to ready ourselves. In our professions we can begin by considering that it will not be "business as usual." Many people will not have money to pay therapists. We may not have money to pay our bills. What then?

If we start to talk honestly and openly now, if we start to build community, we could be on the threshold of a major shift in how we relate to others: our colleagues, our clients, ourselves. It is truly up to us.

Do not attend these workshops if you expect to experience or dialogue about the old ways of doing things. Instead, expect to come away "unsettled." If you don't, then I will not have done my job.

bangor, maine