Dear Friend:

Great news! Each year, the Nautilus Book Awards are given to books that carry a powerful message aimed at making the world a better place. I’m honored to announce that Persephone Rising: Awakening the Heroine Within has won a gold award in category 27—books for women! Click here to see the full list. I’ve been gratified by the quality of the reviews the book has received, and now to win such a prestigious award reinforces my belief in the importance of its subject matter and the difference it can make for women and men today.

This is also a special time of the year. Here in Maryland, spring is in full bloom. I find myself saying “Great job!” to trees that were barren just a few weeks ago and now are full of green leaves, and “Keep it up!” to those profuse with blossoms. According to the Demeter/Persephone myth, spring is when Persephone returns from the Underworld and is reunited with her mother, Demeter. If that is not enough, it also is the time that she breaks free from her mother's, her husband’s, and her society's expectations of her, asserting the freedom to chart her own course. In the process, she transforms her life and then, in the Eleusinian Mysteries, teaches mortals, like us, to be happy, prosperous, and courageous.

The U.S. political season also is in full swing, with many surprising aspects to it. If you are wondering how to make sense of it all, check out my most recent blog or attend one of my upcoming workshops. These focus on developing the narrative intelligence to understand the archetypal story behind political and marketing spin, and, in your personal life, on helping participants/readers identify empowering universal narratives (archetypes), recognize those that are holding them back, and reframe limiting stories into liberating ones.

I’m looking forward to several upcoming events that I want to tell you about, as well as some other opportunities you might want to take advantage of—blogs and guest blogs, an audio book, and a solution to the challenge what to give people who are graduating from high school, college, or the School of Hard Knocks (SHK).

‍Jung Society of Washington Lecture and Workshop

‍On Friday evening, May 20th, 2016, from 7:30-9:00 pm, I’ll be giving a lecture for the Jung Society of Washington, DC, titled “Narrative Intelligence: Using the Power of Story to Transform What Happens.” This lecture is designed for women and men who want to claim or reclaim their heroic capacity to combine personal happiness with effectiveness. Click to read more about the lecture or register for the lecture.

The next day, Saturday, May 21st, from 10:00 am–4:00 pm, I’ll be moderating a workshop for the Jung Society of Washington, DC also titled “Narrative Intelligence: Using the Power of Story to Transform What Happens.” Based on my new book, Persephone Rising: Awakening the Heroine Within, the workshop will focus on archetypal stories from ancient Greece at a time when many things that significantly influence contemporary society were being invented, including drama, philosophy, and science. Such narratives, from the most revered of ancient Greek rites (the Eleusinian Mysteries), furthered deep learning then and can again today. The archetypal characters in these stories provide us with models for claiming and balancing power, compassion, creativity, and joy as we grapple with the challenges of life in the 21st century. Click to read more about the workshop or register for the workshop. I hope to see you at one or both events.

‍Omega Institute Workshop

‍I can’t wait to travel to beautiful upstate New York for a weekend workshop at the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies in Rhinebeck. The workshop begins Friday afternoon at 4:00 pm on September 23rd, 2016, and continues through noon on Sunday, September 25th. The title of the workshop is “The Heroine Within: Discover the Wisdom of Persephone Rising.” It is based on reflections from Persephone Rising. During the workshop, we will use lectures, discussions, small group and partner work, journaling, meditation, and movement to activate the archetypal energies of Persephone, Zeus, Demeter, and Dionysus in our lives.

Women and men of all shapes, sizes, ages, and backgrounds are invited to join in our lighthearted celebration of the goddess of spring. For more event information, visit Omega’s website or click to register.

‍Future Events

‍I’m in the process of making final arrangements for two more lectures and workshops next year.On Friday and Saturday, February 24th-25th, 2017, I will offer a lecture and workshop for the C.G. Jung Society of the Triangle, in Chapel Hill, NC. The lecture, which will begin at 7:30 pm on Friday, is entitled “Narrative Intelligence: Using the Power of Story to Transform What Happens.” The topic of the workshop, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on Saturday, is “Awakening Archetypal Energies.” Both will take place at the Church of Reconciliation in Chapel Hill.In addition, next spring I’ll be returning to the Houston Jung Center to do a workshop on leadership that draws from The Transforming Leader, Mapping the Organizational Psyche, The Hero and the Outlaw, and Persephone Rising. The workshop originally was planned for a weekend in October of this year, but was postponed so that I could attend an important family wedding.You can check the Events page of my website for further information on these and other events as the dates get firmed up and approach.

‍Connecting With My Blogs and Guest Blogs

‍My latest blog, “Success Rules in Flux: Evidence from a Confounding Political Year,” has just been posted on my website. In it, I consider some of the recent trends in American politics and suggest ideas for surviving and thriving during this election year related to 21st century thinking that can ease our lives for the long haul. The blog also appears on the websites of Psychology Today, under the title “The Hero Within,” and on the Depth Psychology Alliance site. I welcome your comments through any of these portals.

I recently also posted a guest blog by my good friend Pat Adson, a distinguished psychologist, teacher, author, and coach. Focusing on issues of abandonment and rejection, it is the first in a regular series of blogs Pat will contribute that apply my hero’s journey twelve archetype model to the fields of psychotherapy and coaching, addressing situations that arise in everyday life. In her blogs, Pat addresses readers as if asking them to coach themselves, offering practical ways to awaken archetypal resources they already have. I’m sure you will find them insightful and useful.In addition, I also posted a second guest blog by myth scholar Dori Koehler, who writes periodically for my website about the archetypal aspects of popular culture. In this blog, she discusses the archetypes of the Warrior and the Healer in an episode of the cable television series “Outlander.” If you’re a fan of the show, or if you’re in any way interested in how archetypes reveal themselves in all aspects of our lives, you’ll enjoy “The Alchemy of Claire and Jamie: The Sacred Marriage in Outlander’s ‘The Reckoning.’”If you have an idea for a blog that you might like to submit, please send me an email with a brief summary and I will let you know whether it is suitable for my website and, if so, what guidelines you should follow in preparing it.

The easiest way to know when a new blog goes up on my website or any of the others on which I post is to follow me on Facebook at Carol S. Pearson, PhD and Twitter @carolspearson. Posts and tweets will let you know the topic and how to access it.

‍Too Busy to Read? Audio is a Great Solution for You or Others

‍Persephone Rising is now available as an audio book. It would make a great companion on a long commute to work, while waiting for a flight, or when bored on the treadmill. You can order it from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or other booksellers.

‍Gift Idea

‍Amazon is offering a package deal: you can buy The Hero Within, Awakening the Heroes Within, and Persephone Rising—all three for $50.52. Each of these books individually, or the three together, can make a great graduation, birthday, or thinking-of-you gift to anyone starting out or starting over.

As always, please feel free to forward this newsletter to others who might be interested. In addition, I invite you to follow me on Facebook at Carol S. Pearson, PhD, on Twitter @carolspearson, and on Instagram at carolspearsonphd, and let me know what is going on with you. Just click on one of the buttons on the right to connect.

Blessings,Carol S. Pearson