Clarissa Pinkola Estes, the internationally
known poet, psychoanalyst, and
author of the seminal classic, “Women
Who Run with the Wolves” )
touches our lives anew, rendering in the
strong and lyrical voice for which she has
become known a powerful and for
her precious and amazing
series of her signature healing stories.
As you may know reading my narratives
that I like my father, love to tell jokes
and stories of our lifetime. The
elegantly interlocked tales of Los,
survival, and fierce rebirth center
around Dr. Este’s uncle, a war-ravaged
Hungarian peasant father and refugee.
Many authors are know for a bestselling
book, but many of the other charming
and enchanting books are not read.
Dr. Estes, book, “The Faithful Gardener,”
is on of them. Her book tells the story
of a faithful gardener, and a many
more stories of the "dancing fools,
wise old crows, grumpy sags, and
“almost saints” that made up the old
people" in Este’s childhood.
Told with grace, deep feeling,
generous humor and profound
spiritual optimism ,“The Faithful”
Gardener" who crew up to remember,
to bear witness, and to remind us
and listeners of all ages of “that
Magisterial life force within us all
things that strengthens us in times
of turmoil or transition:”that faithful
force which can never die" Post
graduate school as part of continuing
education classes, I attended lectures
by this brilliant Jungian psychoanalyst
and keeper or old stories in the Hispanic
tradition. As an undergraduate @UCLA,
I spend hours at the Jungian institute
in Los Angeles reading books and stories
written by many authors like Marie Van
Franz who writes brilliant stories
about the unconscious and brilliant
fairy tales. For the first three years,
I majored in Spanish and Latin Studies
and took courses is Italian, Portuguese
and other Hispanic Stories. Our brain
for three years is open to all languages
and when hiring nannies to take care
of my Son Kevin after I moved my office
into my house, the hispanic employees
who wanted to be hired said they spoke
English and drove to get a job. In my
case, to their surprise I said that I did
not want them to speak a work of
English and my son spoke mostly
Spanish and some English because
my husband was not as literate in
languages. When he went to pre-school
at three, this adorable young boy protested
when his teacher, Bonnie told him to
use crayon to draw on a white piece of
paper. Kevin said, NO!!, Esta papel
es BLANCO, Y no puedo escriber
con “crayons” since in his mind they
were crayolas. It only took him a
few months to become fluent
in English and now like me speaks
fluent Spanish, less so as he grew
older. The teachers were so amused
and some aids spoke Spanish to
him as did his grandparents and father.
The psychology major was focused
on science including statistics,
experimental psychology, where I
protested about shocking the little
white mouse with a pink nose and
feet training us classical conditioning that
like playing Slot Machines in gambling
casinos is intermittent to keep the mouse
or people to keep pressing or
pulling the bar to win money. When
I was ten and my parents took me
to Las Vegas when the Vegas strip
was so different where we could go
to performances of great Frank Sinatra,
Sammy Davis Junior, Dean Martin,
Elvis Presley etc. and my old time
favorite before she tragically died
Judy Garland in her early 40’s.
She was the most amazing performer
and I wore out several copies of her
outstanding and phenomenal recording
of her performance at Carnegie Hall
In New York City!! I watched her
T.V. show religiously and like many
other famous entertainers, I was
stricken when they died. Now Las
Vegas is more like Disneyland, not
the glorious days when music of
the 50’s was astonishing crowding
the theatres to see these amazing
musical artists perform the classics
that inspire me to this day. I was
fortunate to see many plays on
Broadway as well as the fantastic
performers of the 50’s. Today,
Cirque De Solei is an amazing experience
and is honoring the Beatles in this
season’s amazing experience.
not using animals to abuse, but
people to entertain. I graduate with
a BA in Spanish and Psychology
and a minor in English. Like my
father who was a journalist when
he was young and my mother
who without a college degree
wrote a book and had a keen
intellect and creative and imagination
spirit. When she had a stoke, like my
beloved grandmother before her,
my heart was shattered in shards of
glass (other photo), and I spent
many months in bed suffering
from severe depression. Watching
this vital woman struggle for
eight years not being able to
read or write, two of her greatest
passions was traumatic for
all our family. It is important
to know that although people
are offended by the “F” or" S" words,
the vitriolic words and foreign
languages are stored on the
right side of the brain allowing
communication possible. Dr.
Estes books are translated into
eighteen languages that touch
our lives anew, rendering in the
strong and lyrical voice for which
she has become known, a powefrul
series of her signature healing stories:
“What is this faithful process of
spirit an seed that touches empty
ground and makes it rich again?
It’s greter workings I cannot
claim to understand. I only know
that in its care, what has seemed dead
is dead no longer, what has seemed
lost, is no longer lost, that which some
have complained impossible, is made
clearly possible, and what ground
is fallow is only resting-resting and
waiting for the blessed seed to arrive
on the wind. And it will”

Recommended reading:
“The Faith Gardner
The Gift of Story
Women who Run with the Wolves”
possible
Style: Stone Abstract
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