Pilgrim Mama

The Prayer of St. Theresa

2010-06-07T21:52:00.001-07:00

Evening late spring light in the maple tree, originally uploaded by annamaren.

Saint Theresa's Prayer

May today there be peace within.

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be .

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love
that has been given to you.

May you be content knowing you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing,
dance, praise and love.

It is there for each and every one of us.

Sufjan Stevens ❝ Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing ❞

2010-05-04T19:57:00.000-07:00

Climb

2010-05-04T17:51:00.001-07:00

k high up a tree, mama's daughter, originally uploaded by tudobain.

My daughter, so much like her mama.... how I love her!

Waiting

2010-04-19T06:23:00.001-07:00

Wall in Sultan's Palace, originally uploaded by Paksta.

Justyn, I know you are waiting, waiting, waiting...... hoping that you will make it home soon. Our hearts and doors are open and waiting!

Easter weekend:365: flow

2010-04-06T11:08:00.001-07:00

Easter weekend:365: flow, originally uploaded by annamaren.

Easter lessons in going with the flow, in acceptance, in willingness.
All good life lessons.

growth

2010-03-07T14:00:00.000-08:00

may i, and you, remember that in this very moment they are the new growth of our, your, family tree.

Home.

2010-03-05T17:09:00.001-08:00

So it was easier to show Biz about DDR, rather than just tell her!, originally uploaded by annamaren.

"Start by making your own home a place where happiness and love abound, through your love for each member of your family and for your neighbor. Try to put in the hearts of your children a love for home. Make them long to be with their families. So much sin could be avoided if our people really love their homes."

-Mother Teresa

Rilke. On the Poetry Doorway...

2010-02-18T17:51:00.001-08:00

Rilke., originally uploaded by annamaren.

I have painted a chalkboard on a door downstairs in my home, and I post poetry of wide variety on the door...changing it up every few weeks.

On Tuesday I posted a new poem from Rilke's Book of Hours, and L and I talked about it today. I asked L- Do you remember what God said to you as he made you?
L thought for a big and then told me God said to him "Be careful down there"!
I had no words for that... it was just the best.

Lone Winter Tree

2010-02-06T13:54:00.003-08:00

Lone Winter Tree, originally uploaded by Hero's Journey.

You See I Want a Lot

You see, I want a lot.
Perhaps I want everything:
the darkness that comes with every infinite fall
and the shivering blaze of every step up.

So many live on and want nothing,
and are raised to the rank of prince
by the slippery ease of their light judgments.

But what you love to see are faces
that do work and feel thirst.

You love most of all those who need you
as they need a crowbar or a hoe.

You have not grown old, and it is not too late
to dive into your increasing depths
where life calmly gives out its own secret.

--Rainer Maria Rilke (translated by Robert Bly)

Silver and Gray

2010-02-06T13:54:00.001-08:00

Silver and Gray, originally uploaded by Hero's Journey.

Winter Mountains

2010-02-06T13:51:00.001-08:00

Winter Mountains, originally uploaded by Hero's Journey.

I am sharing some winter love with Justyn. These photos were taken by my friend Chris Royer who works in the mountains of West Virginia where I go for Hero's Journey Foundation work.

Sweet Darkness

2010-01-12T09:14:00.001-08:00

Icicle Sunset Reprise, originally uploaded by ...escher....

Sweet Darkness

When your eyes are tired
the world is tired also.
When your vision has gone
no part of the world can find you.
Time to go into the dark
where the night has eyes
to recognize its own.
There you can be sure
you are not beyond love.
The dark will be your womb
tonight.
The night will give you a horizon
further than you can see.
You must learn one thing.
The world was made to be free in.
Give up all the other worlds
except the one to which you belong.
Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet
confinement of your aloneness
to learn
anything or anyone
that does not bring you alive
is too small for you.
~David Whyte

boys will be boys...

2009-12-27T17:30:00.000-08:00

...especially when given a roll of duct tape. The smiles they have are brightest when they have the ability to create. Even if it means taping up each other with tape & laughter.

Thank you Lord for their creativity, energy and the ability to laugh.

hammock time

2009-11-10T12:28:00.001-08:00

unable to read pages without interruption, i was not bothered. it was the laughter of my boys that caused me to lift my eyes from the pages. i watched, i smiled. i would read a few sentences more before my gaze returned to the yard where the sounds were being made.

what a blessing a 70 degree day in early november has become.

Mysteries, Yes

2009-11-08T21:15:00.001-08:00

Gran and L race to the water, originally uploaded by annamaren.

Mysteries, Yes

Truly, we live with mysteries too marvelous
to be understood.
How grass can be nourishing in the
mouths of the lambs.
How rivers and stones are forever
in allegiance with gravity
while we ourselves dream of rising.
How two hands touch and the bonds
will never be broken.
How people come, from delight or the
scars of damage,
to the comfort of a poem.
Let me keep my distance, always, from those
who think they have the answers.
Let me keep company always with those who say
"Look!" and laugh in astonishment,
and bow their heads.

- Mary Oliver

Joh and Flo Bjelke-Petersen

2009-11-01T19:41:00.001-08:00

Joh and Flo Bjelke-Petersen, originally uploaded by State Library of Queensland, Australia.

I just wanted to share with you Justyn, and 'Becca.... check out the smile on her face! I love this photo. The original is in her bedroom I think.
This photo came up on my flickr contact mix..... from the library of Qld.

A blessing from John O'Donohue...

2009-09-22T21:22:00.001-07:00

For Longing

Blessed be the longing that brought you here
And quickens your soul with wonder.

May you have the courage to listen to the voice of desire
That disturbs you when you have settled for something safe.

May you have the wisdom to enter generously into your own unease
To disover the new direction your longing wants you to take.

May the forms of your belonging- in love, creativity, and friendship-
Be equal to the grandeur and the call of your soul.

May the one you long for long for you.

May your dreams gradually reveal the destination of your desire.

May a secret Providence guide your thought and nurture your feeling.

May your mind inhabit your life with the sureness with which your body inhabits the world.

May your heart never be haunted by ghost-structures of old damage.

May you come to accept your longing as divine urgency.

May you know the urgency with which God longs for you.

-John O'Donohue

The world is round so that friendship may encircle it. -Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

2009-09-07T11:36:00.001-07:00

Diamond Cairn, originally uploaded by escher (waiting no longer).

For 'Becca.... this was shared with me last week....

2009-08-31T22:24:00.000-07:00

you are me and i am you.
it is obvious that we inter-are.
you cultivate the flower in
yourself so that i will be beautiful.
i transform the garbage in myself so
that you do not have to suffer.
i support you you support me.
i am here to bring you peace.
you are here to bring me joy.

thich nhat hanh

Silliness!

2009-05-28T21:07:00.001-07:00

Silliness!, originally uploaded by annamaren.

Oh, I just can't resist the silly photo.

When all is said and done, and Justyn, you are miles and miles away, I am so glad that I took a few silly photos of the farewells at the airport.

Levity brings a kind of common feeling to these moments.... anchors the bigger moments in their place within the day to day of life I guess... at leas this is how I feel. How I felt when I took the photo, and how I feel when I look at this now, and see these precious goofy faces captured in a moment last weekend, when we were getting ready for a big goodbye!

Something small and sweet!

2009-05-13T09:29:00.000-07:00

Bathtub IV from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

There is nothing necessarily spiritual about this video. I just wanted to share it, because I liked it!

Check out at minute 2:40 when the saved guy is reunited with his kids. It's so sweet!

Sharing The Soaring Impulse

2009-05-07T16:16:00.000-07:00

I found a really cool blog today.

The one quote that sticks-

We are not called to change this crazy world. We are just called to love it.

One of my spiritual teachers....

2009-05-04T05:01:00.001-07:00

mother and daughter, originally uploaded by justynrebecca.

I adore this photo that Justyn magically captured yesterday.

Although K and I are having a plain ordinary conversation about whether she can ask G to come and work the bees later in the afternoon... doesn't it look more profound whisperings than that? It looks like she is whispering the secrets of the universe to me!

K has been a spiritual teacher to me, like I was never expecting. She has connected me to the Divine in ways that propel me forward into my life. She affirms my connection on a daily basis, by forcing me to use it! My second born has done this too of course, it's just that K was first.

: )

Thank You for this photo Justyn!

Inside this clay jug there are Canyons and Pine Mountains....

2009-04-25T21:10:00.001-07:00

An empty nest we found!, originally uploaded by annamaren.

Inside this clay jug there are canyons and pine mountains,
and the maker of canyons and pine mountains!

All seven oceans are inside, and hundreds of millions of stars.
The acid that tests gold is there, and the one who judges jewels.

And the music from the strings no one touches,
and the source of all water.
If you want the truth, I will tell you the truth:
Friend, listen: the God whom I love is inside.
-Kabir- Robert Bly

He is Risen!

2009-04-19T16:13:00.001-07:00

Easter Egg Dying in the dining nook, originally uploaded by annamaren.

Happy Easter Justyn!

Orthodox Easter was only one week off Western Easter this year.....

Now we are all Easter People.... celebrating resurrection and transformation within my own heart.... : )

Saying goodbye...

2009-02-26T21:29:00.001-08:00

Gals in line at the Passport Agency!, originally uploaded by annamaren.

I took this photo today, the S. girls in line at a pretend "passport agency" we had set up for home schooling today.

B with her sweet vintage suitcase, Little Bird looking so sweet and full of enthusiasm. And me on the other side of the camera taking in the fact that this scene will be recreated in real life in only 2 months. Those sweet faces are taking off for another country, another continent! For at least a year....maybe longer!

Oh, how dear they are, and how they will be missed!

Love!

2009-02-13T17:08:00.001-08:00

Love!, originally uploaded by annamaren.

1 Corinthians 13:13 (The Message)

13 But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

Capture

2009-01-05T21:29:00.001-08:00

Portrait session with Justyn : ), originally uploaded by annamaren.

The time I have with family feels so precious that I need to seal it in.
So I am thankful- deeply thankful to Justyn for providing some captured moments to seal the memory of the time I've shared with my family this Christmas.

Reflect::: Nourish:::

Happy Hearts.... and "goofy" faces,

2008-12-20T22:51:00.001-08:00

the expected goofy shot, originally uploaded by annamaren.

Happy hearts and happy faces,
Happy play in grassy places -
That was how, in ancient ages,
Children grew to kings and sages.

~Robert Louis Stevenson

advent

2008-11-30T18:34:00.000-08:00

For our family this time of year is a celebration of the advent season. This year we are asking in our prayers that the Lord guide our hearts to those that we are able to help and allow our hearts to receive with grace. Each night we will gather at out table for reading from the scriptures, a holiday book and prayers. These are our reading for the first week of this advent season:

Sunday ~ Isaiah 40:1-5
Monday ~ Isaiah 52:7-10
Tuesday ~ Isaiah 40:9-11
Wednesday ~ Genesis 3:8-15
Thursday ~ Genesis 15:1-6
Friday ~ Deuteronomy 18:15-19
Saturday ~ Psalms 89:1-4

*I am pretending that there are 3 purple and 1 pink, not all white. I don't think my kids will notice that I have the wrong color candles.
did you?

he still needs me

2008-11-29T10:06:00.000-08:00

He's been a climber for as long as I can remember. He climbed before he walked. He walked at 9 months. I don't have many rules, mostly guidelines, but for trees I do have a couple of rules:
1) you must be able to scale the first branch on your own before making it to the next, no boosts
2) the branches you step on need to be as big around as your arm.
This has helped keep them out of the branches that bend and sway w/ the weight of a boy and I hoped it would keep them out of really tall trees (hasn't worked for my oldest, most agile son, but works like a charm for my 2nd son). The trees he tends to climb are usually quite tall and he makes it to the top, only one big fall that I can remember.

Today I was sitting fireside, reading a new WorldPulse and Sojourners magazine, sipping coffee when I heard him. "Mommy!" "Momma, come here, please - I need you." I slipped on my flips and opened the door. To the left there he was - stuck in a little dogwood tree. I chuckled, told him to wait a quick moment and grabbed my camera. I then did what you see above, took a photo.

I needed to savor the moment. He needs me less and less as he grows, or so it seems. I needed this moment to remind me that no matter his age or height, he will always be my little boy and will always need me, even if it to help him get his feet untangled from a tree branch.

When I got him down I asked why he choose that tree. He said it had little red things growing in that were fun to write with and he needed some more. I went back inside to the fire and my new magazines with a very full heart and he went on drawing with berries on the sidewalk.

Thanks

2008-11-25T05:10:00.001-08:00

Fun underneath the dining table, originally uploaded by annamaren.

Every year at this time, we hang a banner in our dining nook, it simply says "Thanks". We have so much to be thankful for. I am blessed in my life in so many ways, and I feel grateful for a holiday to reflect on how my own thankfulness.

I am thankful for my family, knit together with love. I am thankful for my friends- the warm support that nurtures in so many ways. I am thankful for a warm place to live on a cold morning like this. I am thankful the sun is shining this morning! I am thankful for coffee. ; )

still there

2008-11-11T21:21:00.001-08:00

there is a sugar maple just outside the window by my desk. she is holding on to many of her leaves and continues to display her magnificent colors. i really hope she stays for a few more days.

Pilgrimage to adventure.

2008-11-07T20:38:00.001-08:00

I love sharing adentures- Devon St Chicago Nov. 2008, originally uploaded by annamaren.

When you are a nomad and you get that itch to travel, you do what you can to honor that! I love the fact that I have the opportunity in my life to nurture a spirit of adventure and travel in big and small ways. So we went to the little India district of Chicago, not really all the way to India.

It was just a day long trip but it fed my soul in so many ways!

Grateful

2008-10-23T20:39:00.000-07:00

I am grateful.
I am grateful to have a heart that has friends to hold it. I am grateful to be walking the journey of motherhood alongside some truly inspirational women. I am grateful for phone calls with dear friends, I am grateful for cups of coffee handed to me just when I need them. I am grateful for friends who let me nap on their spare beds when I feel exhausted. I am grateful for friends who brave crowds of thousands to share the inspiration of hope with our children. I am grateful for friends who share music making, art creating, scone baking, chaos embracing.......

all of it. I am so grateful.

Golden light, and one of my favorite poems.....

2008-10-18T07:39:00.001-07:00

Fall morning light, originally uploaded by annamaren.

Famous

By Naomi Shihab Nye

The river is famous to the fish.

The loud voice is famous to silence,
which knew it would inherit the earth
before anybody said so.

The cat sleeping on the fence is famous to the birds
watching him from the birdhouse.

The tear is famous, briefly, to the cheek.

The idea you carry close to your bosom
is famous to your bosom.

The boot is famous to the earth,
more famous than the dress shoe,
which is famous only to floors.

The bent photograph is famous to the one who carries it
and not at all famous to the one who is pictured.

I want to be famous to shuffling men
who smile while crossing streets,
sticky children in grocery lines,
famous as the one who smiled back.

I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous,
or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular,
but because it never forgot what it could do.

A magical idea......

2008-10-09T20:32:00.001-07:00

A link to a beautiful idea on a beautiful blog.....taking mere moments to capture the essence of a magical moment....

A Journal of Moments in a Jar

2008-10-08T19:20:00.000-07:00

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

What to Remember When Waking.

2008-09-30T20:04:00.001-07:00

Spruce Knob.... The view from the Mountain Institute down into the valley., originally uploaded by annamaren.

WHAT TO REMEMBER WHEN WAKING

In that first
hardly noticed
moment
to which you wake,
coming back
to this life
from the other
more secret,
moveable
and frighteningly
honest
world
where everything
began,
there is a small
opening
into the new day
which closes
the moment
you begin
your plans.

What you can plan
is too small
for you to live.

What you can live
wholeheartedly
will make plans
enough
for the vitality
hidden in your sleep.

To be human
is to become visible
while carrying
what is hidden
as a gift to others.

To remember
the other world
in this world
is to live in your
true inheritance.

You are not
a troubled guest
on this earth,
you are not
an accident
amidst other accidents
you were invited
from another and greater
night
than the one
from which
you have just emerged.

Now, looking through
the slanting light
of the morning
window toward
the mountain
presence
of everything
that can be,
what urgency
calls you to your
one love? What shape
waits in the seed
of you to grow
and spread
its branches
against a future sky?

Is it waiting
in the fertile sea?
In the trees
beyond the house?
In the life
you can imagine
for yourself?
In the open
and lovely
white page
on the waiting desk?

~ David Whyte ~

(The House of Belonging)

Heart in her hands....

2008-09-08T06:41:00.001-07:00

Heart in her hands...., originally uploaded by annamaren.

Praying

It doesn't have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just
pay attention, then patch

a few words together and don't try
to make them elaborate, this isn't
a contest but the doorway

into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.

-Mary Oliver

Windowsill above my kitchen sink- The prayerbeads I strung a month ago.

2008-09-03T07:56:00.001-07:00

Windowsill above my kitchen sink- The prayerbeads I strung a month ago., originally uploaded by annamaren.

My dishwasher broke a week ago.... and I have been doing dishes every day..... here my prayer beads sit, up and out of the bubbles, while I splash around, lost in thought, getting dirty things clean.

I thought I didn't like to do dishes.....I thought I would have a hard time while my dishwasher was broken. It has been a nice chance to have some quiet time though.... an unexpected bonus.

Gathering

2008-08-24T21:04:00.001-07:00

Almati Yurt, originally uploaded by annamaren.

Gathering..... it's what I like to do in all walks of my life..... I love to gather people together. I love to gather children, grown ups........ this photo is a part of my life where I get to help gather Women. I have had a good month of gathering in my life..... I am learning stronger and better ways of being a gatherer.

I honestly feel blessed and very lucky to experience the wonder of mentors in my life who have helped me into this way of it, this way of being truly alive to my own purpose. Gathering. Hmmmmm.....

The Labyrinth at the Sisters of St Joseph grounds.

2008-08-19T19:49:00.001-07:00

The Labyrinth at the Sisters of St Joseph grounds. , originally uploaded by annamaren.

As I Walk with Beauty

As I walk, as I walk

The universe is walking with me

In beauty it walks before me

In beauty it walks behind me

In beauty it walks below me

In beauty it walks above me

Beauty is on every side

As I walk, I walk with Beauty.

Traditional Navajo Prayer

Joy in the summertime....

2008-08-05T07:07:00.001-07:00

Playtime in the new pool!, originally uploaded by annamaren.

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives."
-Annie Dillard

A moment of beauty...making some new prayer beads...

2008-08-04T16:24:00.001-07:00

A moment of beauty...making some new prayer beads..., originally uploaded by annamaren.

Some stolen quiet time a few weekends ago.... this new magazine "Seeing the Everyday" is so beautiful, full of beautiful photos and stories, and NO ads.
Also, making these prayer beads was so joyful to my heart, it was just the kind of quite time I had been coveting before launching into a few busy weeks here!

Moonlit Labyrinth walk this evening, after the Julia Butterfly Hill talk.

2008-07-22T20:06:00.001-07:00

Moonlit Labyrinth walk this evening, after the Julia Butterfly Hill talk., originally uploaded by annamaren.

What you hold, may you always hold. St Clare of Assisi

What you hold, may you always hold.
What you do, may you do and never abandon.
But with swift pace, light step,
unswerving feet,
so that even your steps stir no dust,
go forward
securely, joyfully, and swiftly,
on the path of prudent happiness,
believing nothing
agreeing with nothing
which would dissuade you from this resolution
or which would place a stumbling block for you on the way,
so that you may offer your vows to the Most High
in the pursuit of that perfection
to which the Spirit of the Lord has called you.

2008-07-16T19:54:00.000-07:00

2008-07-16T19:49:00.000-07:00

A Psalm for the day....

2008-07-16T06:32:00.001-07:00

The Lady's Prayer

The Earth is my Mother
I shall not want
Her hand brings forth the green pastures
She tarries within the still waters
She leads me in fields of fruitfulness
for my Glory
Yea, as I walk through the summer of life
unto death
I will not be afraid
for You are with me
Your womb in the earth
will enfold me
You prepare a harvest before me
and bless my home with children
You fill me with milk and honey
My cup overflows
Surely, goodness and beauty will nurture me
all the days of my life
and I will become part of the earth
forever

A Mother's Daily Prayer

2008-07-13T19:01:00.000-07:00

This is the prayer that sits in my kitchen, in a place where I can see it daily. It's from "She Who Dwells Within: A Feminist Vision of a Renewed Judaism" by Lynn Gottlieb. It is a prayer to the Shekhinah- Shekhinah being the Hebrew feminine-form for God.

A Mother's Daily Prayer

Wild Mother of earth and sky,
You who nestle seed in clay
And lift up winged creatures on Your wind,
Enliven me with your morning grace
As I awake to mothering.

If I have time to say these words
And You have time to listen,
Keep my children safe from harm,
Bless them with healthy bodies and minds.
Let them flourish.

Winsome Mother of sea and stream,
You who move it all along,
Grant me humor, patience, and compassion
To flow with the day that beckons me now
To fix breakfast, check homework, and answer the phone.

Cosmic Mother of stars and destiny,
Who juggles time and child,
If I have not yet been interrupted
I pray also for these things:

[Add your personal prayers]

Wise Mother who gives and takes away,
Who sets the boundaries of work and play,
May we all love and forgive each other
Yet another day.
And grant me the stillness of quiet hours
To renew and refresh my mothering.
Amen.

2008-07-10T06:01:00.001-07:00

Love the whole world as a mother loves her only child.
Buddha

2008-07-10T05:58:00.001-07:00

What I wanted to do here….. my mission statement.

2008-07-09T20:57:00.000-07:00

On a personal level......
I have been kind of deep in thought about how for me motherhood has been both practice and path. It's the greatest spiritual task you may ever have in your life- to hold the privilege and responsibility for ushering forward life itself, the universe giving you itself in a form that is not yourself. Why do we as women ignore the depth of the spiritual side of motherhood? I mean, what a realization it is to think about the fact that bringing forth life is a Divine act!

Why are there a million books about nursing and sleeping, and 9 months of protein recipes, but if you want to read and prepare your heart for motherhood, most of what is available is pretty Western Christian. (Not that this is bad, but it’s not the wide open conversation that I desire.)
Why do we shy away from speaking of motherhood as a profound and transformational experience? There seems to be a deep lack of support and wisdom in how we grow and cherish our own spirit as mothers, and how motherhood and deep spiritual experience are not separate things, for me they have been one and the same. How can I support other women in this way of things? Well, starting a blog with my dear friend seems like a small step on the path.
Naïve and inspired, I sit here at my computer, imagining my friend and I digging a well of nurture, a space that may eventually expand to other women with a similar longing. I am creating for myself what I deeply long for, the recognition that motherhood is a spiritually incredulous and incredible thing, and I am called to name myself pilgrim on that path.

2008-06-26T06:54:00.000-07:00

2008-06-25T12:49:00.000-07:00

"All the great traditions talk about this idea that somehow the ideal thing would be for every moment to be a revelation, every moment to be a mystical experience- but not because you're having visions, but because of the beauty of the moment. The beauty of this moment is very, very great. This is a very great opening. Every microsecond of the conversation has the temptation for us to almost get lost in it. So these are good things...hugging the dog, walking outside, or seeing the real mysticism is here"
Frances Tiso, 2002

Within each moment is the gift to a mother of being fully present to that exact moment. This is a gift that my children have given me.....every moment being a mystical experience, but not because I am having visions, because of the awareness of the beauty of the moment!

2008-06-20T06:03:00.001-07:00

” I have found the paradox that if I love until it hurts, then there is no hurt, but only more love." – Mother Teresa

The Mother As Hero - From Joseph Campbell's conversations with Bill Moyers

2008-06-18T13:14:00.000-07:00

The Mother As Hero

Moyers:Don't you think we've lost the truth in this society of ours, where is deemed nore heoric to go out into the world and make a lot of money than it is to raise children?

Campbell: Making money gets more advertisement. You know the old saying: if a dog bites a man, that's not a story, but if a man bites a dog, you've got a story there. So the thing that happens and happens and happens, no matter how heroic it may be, is not news. Motherhood has lost its novelty, you might say.

Moyers:That's a wonderful image, though- the mother as hero.

Campbell: It has always seemed so to me. That's something I've learned from reading these myths.

Moyers:It's a journey-you have to move out of the known, conventional safety of your life to undertake this.

Campbell: You have to be transformed from a maiden to a mother. That's the big change, involving many dangers.

Moyers: And when you come back from your journey, with the child, you've brought something into the world.

Campbell:Not only that, you've got a life job ahead of you. Otto Rank makes a point that there is a world of people who think that their heroic act in being born qualifies them for respect and support of their whole community.

Moyers:But there's still a journey to be taken after that.

Campbell:There's a large journey to be taken, of many trials.

Moyers:How is consciousness transformed?

Campbell:Either by trials themselves or by illuminating revelations. Trials and revelations are what it is all about.