Greetings,
You can come sit by the fire. The night is dark and sure as hell feels long.
You got this email because I’ve added you to my newsletter. It’s my aim to not waste your time and get to the point, but at the same time provide you with an immersive experience, a bit different from other newsletters. But you can choose to leave at any time by unsubscribing.
If you’re still here it means you’ve chosen to sit by the campfire. Welcome. Let’s begin.
Some of you know me from the commission work I’ve done, others know me as a friend. Some of you have been honoured guests on my podcast (more on that later), and are therefore talented artists, creators and extremely inspiring humans. Others among you have read my book, or been to some of my events. Others have followed my blog on Medium.
And a few among you have known me for an entire lifetime and have been at my side on this journey of life for many years.
To all of you: welcome.
Mythology for the Modern Mind is the name of this initiative, and it’s also the theme of my work as an artist, writer, human and soul. It is about the space where mythology (ancient stories, theology/spirituality, etc) intersects with the mind (psychology, inner work, etc). And since most of you here are quite alive and well in the modern age, your minds are ‘modern’.
That is, as briefly as I could put it, the gist of it.
What’s this all about?
Some of you, as artists and creatives, will know that the origin of your ideas is shrouded in mystery. Some of you know that you create things without knowing where the idea for the art comes from. And some of you who like to read books and listen to music (I guess most of us) like it for a reason.
All Art, All ideas, and ultimately all thought comes from a place some call ‘The Unconscious’. This is either a spiritual or a psychological (in my view, the same thing) reality. It’s invisible, but it’s very much real.
You know it. Or rather, you know of it. But knowing it is the equivalent of a good fisherman claiming to know every speck of dirt and every living thing at the bottom of the sea he’s finishing in. Artists fish. And we hardly know what we’re catching until it’s in our hands.
Okay, so what?
So, well, so I’m deeply fascinated with the bottom with that pond. I want to explore it. To map it. To dig into it, knowing full well it’s impossible to map or explore, because it’s literally infinite.
And this is where the realms of philosophy and spirituality come into it. A lot of what I do is about using these realms as tools in my exploration, as well as in daily, practical life (again, one might say, they might just be the same thing).
And I would like to share those findings with you.
"The conscious mind determines the actions, the unconscious mind determines the reactions; and the reactions are just as important as the actions" (C. Jung)
As you can imagine, this level of depth requires a lot of time and no little effort. But it is the path I’ve chosen (or it has chosen me) and it goes beyond my art, but my art is the best way I can record and express those findings to you.
My attempts at this have so far manifested well in the intersection of psychology and myth available through my work on Medium. What’s that, you say? You don’t have time to read? Well, you’re in luck my friend, because even with a free subscription on the Medium app you can access their integrated AI voices that read the article for you! So it becomes like a Spotify, but for knowledge.
A few words on the Podcast
Some among you have been my guests on ‘ActiveImagine’ and some have enjoyed listening to my podcast dedicated to artists, their insights and life experiences. This is still a project I’d like to continue but last year I spent a lot of time trying to find and connect with more artists and was left empty-handed. It ain’t easy and people are busy, and I’ve been very side-tracked with other projects and life in general (which is also a project).
And so: it’s discontinued, but not dead.
I am hoping to resurrect it as soon as I get other things out of the way and the flow pushes in that direction.
And the Book?
Some of you have read (or have heard about) my first book Meliade. To my readers, thank you kindly from the bottom of my heart. And thank you for being here. Meliade is part of a huge narrative I’ve been building across many, many years.
Its followup, titled ‘Dreamwalker’ is now in the final phases of production and I’m hoping to get it out there and into your hands very soon, hopefully in the next few months.
My work with my books is a bit different. There’s the writing part and then there’s the design, where I create graphics and illustrations that go into the book, in the hopes of creating a unique physical item of great value. Also my standards for my own work are extremely high so there’s a lot involved.
But I’m really, really happy with Dreamwalker so far and I just can’t wait to show you more of it. It will be another illustrated book, bigger and better than Meliade, that will also carry forward the stories of characters you’ve met there.
A Game Recommendation
Small section dedicated to videogames. You can skip this if outside your interest.
I wanted to draw your attention to a small indie title created (initially) by ONE PERSON, which has taken me by surprise. In keeping with the theme of the Unconscious, art and the human mind, this little gem is well worth checking out. It’s called Mundaun (2021).
It’s a clunky but profoundly immersive horror-adventure game set in the Swiss Alps and featuring a captivating story about family, folklore, art, faith, time and lots more crazy things. It’s been such a fun ride. All graphics/texture are hand-drawn by its author and the love he put into this project oozes from every character design, dialogue and worldbuilding.
You have never seen anything like it. I was so impressed with it that I just had to endorse it here.
Conclusion
Hold on, let me just poke the embers a little. The fire will keep us warm long enough, I’m sure of it.
There’s more coming in the next one, but this is the setup for these newsletters: some news, some updates, some philosophy and media recommendation. And I’ll also shine a light on artworks, music or quotes that inspire me, providing captions and descriptions for their authors.
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Oh, watch out: the wind’s picking up. Shift slightly to the left. There, that’s better, smoke won’t get in your eyes. Keep them very open. Keep yourself aware. The night is long.
Blessings,
