Has the notion of vanity become a bit quaint? We are in the age of selfies and botox, of bling and bottom implants. This is strange. Don’t you think? That we do such things.Excessive belief in one’s own greatness used to be frowned upon.

Or is vanity so intrinsic to the human experience that in our carnal age we barely notice it anymore?

The Greeks warned about vanity in the myth of Narcissus. So gorgeous was Narcissus that when the nymph Echo first ‘sees’ Narcissus she falls in love with him ‘at first sight.’

But Narcissus rudely dismisses Echo rejecting…

Prophecies present two paths. Do this or else. One path leads to salvation and the other to destruction. You take the high road or the low road. High vibe or low vibe. It’s the hero’s decision. But there is always a choice.

“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”
- Joseph Campbell

Monomyth

Joseph Campbell wrote The Hero’s Journey in 1949. He explores the concept of the monomyth pervading myths, legends, and religious tales. That all stories are offshoots of the one universal story.

The universal theme of a hero having a need; spurring him away from…

One thing is for sure, no one gets out of here alive. Life demands so much of us. The last words from my dying gran were, “life is a series of challenges to be overcome.” At the time I thought, what an odd and slightly negative thing to say — but it is true.

You don’t have to accept the challenge. Maybe it is not for you like ballet or climbing mountains, yet just like the ballerina and the mountaineer, you are going to need a measure of grit and grace.

Grit. I like the word. It represents resiliency and…

Do you know how the flight attendant says put your oxygen mask on first? There’s a reason for that. In the unlikely event of an accident if you’re dead to the world if you’re slumped unconscious who will save the metaphorical baby?

Give yourself oxygen first. You may not realize it but you are running on empty. Not just air — but love — big love. You’re a mother, sister, brother, husband, boss, friend. And everyone needs your attention. They deserve attention. In some cases, you’re all they’ve got. You take your responsibilities seriously and you’re there with a full…

Rituals to facilitate and mark our transition from one state or group to the next are nowadays, practically extinct. We have baptisms, weddings, a 21st party where the birthday boy has to scull a yard glass of beer, we have little western celebrations but mostly — we let significant transitions slide by unnoticed.

Tribal rites of passages from around the world for a boy-to-man may involve piercings, pain, fasting, and unconsciousness. He may be tossed and caught by his male relatives. He may be sent into the jungle, alone, for the night.

The girl-to-woman rites of passage may have her…

To a woman who understands, a crying man is a turn-on. We, the good women, want you to cry. We want to see emotion crack your face. We want your body to shake and tears run like a broke-banked river down your cheek. We want you to cry like a song to the wound, we want you to heal. We want you to cry over your regrets and failures and for how hard it can be, just being. We want to taste the salt of your tears on our tongues to lick them and treasure them. We want you to…

Wild womanly writers. It’s time one and all to rise up to the call. It’s time, sisters, wild ones, daughters and mothers, old and young — to use our wild words for the sake of others.

Let’s cut to the heart of the matter and use our voices to raise the vibe of the collective consciousness to tell our tales our legends our trials, to speak the stories of the underdogs. The unwashed and unloved. Write about higher vision and values and morals, of compassion and pity. The path of the womanly warrior.

Write to unveil, reveal and seek the…