There are few disciplines where one is “called” to participate and serve. In the religious setting, one often hears of individuals being called by the Spirit to serve and minister through pastoral care to a community of people. There is an element in being called including an affirmation of a force greater than you leading to a new spiritual place. This call may come in a dream, reverie or even a creative expression – poetry, music, or a lone voice – recognized or unrecognized that demands our attention. The calling is to tend to the souls of the lost and those who are wounded or simply in search of something more for their lives.
Similarly, alum of Pacifica Graduate Institute often speak of having been “called” to this place, they tell stories of finding themselves guided by a spirit which led them to the hills of Carpinteria and ultimately to a course of study designed to tend the soul in and of the world. The phenomenon, of being called has unique properties found in the stories of those who answered the calling, who valiantly stepped into luminous space surrendering to the request.
In a tribute celebrating, toasting and paying homage to Pacifica by its alum, we want to hear your stories of how you came to Pacifica. Where you called? What led you there? We are asking you to share your memories, dreams, reflections, essays, short stories, creative non-fiction, anecdotal sketches, synchronicities, any creative presentation that led you to an education for individuation and soul-making. This gathering of stories will commemorate the spirit and soul of the place in a book to be completed in April 2016, for a major conference to be held upon the 40th anniversary of Pacifica Graduate Institute.
Co-editor Dr. Jennifer Leigh Selig and I offer this opportunity for you to be part of Pacifica’s history. Present your story to us by February 15, 2016 at Mandorla Books (www.mandorlabooks.com). We will carefully tend to your stories in a compilation presenting the first 40 years of Pacifica, a benchmark of sorts for those who will answer the call in the coming decades.
Dr. Marcella “Marcy” De Veaux, alum, Pacifica Graduate Institute
