Mythological Toolbox™ Playshop 

The Mythological Toolbox™ Playshop is an annual workshop held at the
Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California. This year's event will be held Marh 21- 26, 2010.

Every year for more than two decades Joseph Campbell celebrated his birthday, March 26th, at Esalen. To explain why, he would tell of the day that Carl Jung suddenly realized "what it means to live with a myth, and what it means to live without one." Jung asked himself, What myth am I living by? Finding that he did not know, he wrote, "I took it upon myself to get to know 'my' myth, and I regarded this as the task of tasks." "That's what a birthday is for," Campbell concluded, "...and that's what Esalen is about."

In March 1988, five months after Campbell's death, some of his friends again met at Esalen for what had become an annual tradition, the Campbell Week. This unbroken progression of springtime gatherings was eventually re-titled A Mythological ToolBox, partly because these explorations involve retooling the myths that shape our lives, and partly because prior knowledge of Joseph Campbell is not required. The only prerequisite is a sense of humor.

There is an eclectic array of tools in our exploration of mythmaking, so no two years are the same. We might dance or sing, talk or sit quietly. We might make music, masks, altars, or medicine bundles. We might tell stories, decode films, unravel dreams, kindle visions. There is a mix of solo exercises, small-group activities, and collective projects to provide opportunities for reflection and expression. Yet, always, we talk of transformation: Who were you? What childhood stories were impressed upon you? What were your favorite games? What did you treasure in your youth? What is enshrined on your mantle, hung from your rearview mirror, taped to your refrigerator door? What lies forgotten in the basement? What's secreted in the attic? Whom do you aspire to be? What new adventures do you envision? What face do you hope to see in the mirror? What's set upon your metaphoric altar, emblazoned on your bumper, pursued in your fantasies?

If you are willing to re-vision yourself, then join this improvisational ritual of rebirth. Please bring a small totemic object that is both meaningful and expendable.

Foundation president Bob Walter will be joined by Caldecott-award-winning author/artist Gerald McDermott (www.geraldmcdermott.com), Tai Ji dancer Chungliang Al Huang (www.livingtao.org), and a special guest, storyteller/musician/poet/actor and music therapist, David Gonzalez (www.davidgonzalez.com).

Accomodations & Pricing (follow the links)