I named this blog for a phrase in the opening stanza of T.S. Eliot’s, The Four Quartets, in a passage about visiting the imaginal realms where memory and imagination meet: ”Through the first gate, into our first world, shall we follow the deception of the thrush?”
Later it became The First Gates, plural, as I discovered other related gates. The First Gate, is the name of the first of several passages you go through to reach a traditional Korean Buddhist temple. It’s a dangerous test for the young hero, Atreyu, in The Neverending Story in his effort save the realm of imagination from “The Nothing” – a parable for our times if there ever was one!
This blog is no longer About what it was in the beginning. My initial focus was fiction and the process of writing. Later I included spiritual topics, but from my current perspective, the thread animating all these posts is imagination. Not only artistic “creative imagination.” I use the word in the wider sense employed by psychologist, James Hillman, an influential post-Jungian thinker:
“By soul I mean the imaginative possibilities in our natures…that mode which recognizes all realities as primarily symbolic or metaphorical” – James Hillman, Revisioning Psychology, 1977.
That is my focus now – a ramble through many topics, linked by my curiosity to find, “the reality in our fantasies and the fantasy in our realities.”
Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you will do so again! - Morgan
Thank you for visiting my blog today. I hope you enjoyed your stay.
Hiba<3
What a great title for your blog and equally great reason for doing so. I wonder if many bloggers give their titles such thought. I like that you will touch on spirituality in your blog. I will have to come back for a visit.
Thank you for stopping by, Margaret, and thanks for your comment. I hope you will return.
I’m wondering whether you read ebooks and would you review one. Finally how could one send it to you for review?
I do read ebooks and do book reviews. You can click the tabs on the home page to see what I’ve done and see if you like it. If you click my gravitar image you’ll see my email and you can send info on what you would like me to review. I’m not up on how to file transfer the various formats.
Really enjoyed my visit to your blog today, and look forward to reading more!
The Neverending Story was a childhood favorite of mine. It opened up the window to my imagination. Neat blog title.
It is a great story. I had a psychology professor who claimed the story was about “our culture’s war on imagination,” and I think there’s something to that. All ends well, however. Thanks for visiting my blog, and please stop by again.
Òla meu nome é Alcineide sou estudante de pedagogia estou conhecendo um novo mundo na qual não conhecia e estou adorando,gosto de aprender coisas novas.
The Neverending Story reference caught my attention. One of my favourite movies of all time….I actually reference it often
Cheers!
Love T.S. Eliot. A bit of a cynical, but who isn’t?
Great blog by the way
Loved it.
I loved reading those lines by T.S Elliot. Felt like meeting an old friend. I’ve never heard of the Neverending story before this – fascinating. What a curious challenge, not of courage or character – which is what so many fables, old and new, are about, but an understanding and appreciation of one’s own worth….
I like your blog. Nice dog-easy to walk.
Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you visit again.
What a great blog you have.
Thank you. Please stop by again!
I just wanted to let you know that I really love your blog, so I have nominated you for the Versatile Blogger Award. Please visit, http://livinginthenow.net/2012/04/01/versatile-blogger-nomination/#more-1062, if you would like to see a post I wrote regarding it.
Thank you for the time and effort that you put into this blog.
Take care,
Jason
Thanks for your kind words and the award, Jason.
And…. We have nominated you for the Beautiful Blogger Award.. yaaayyy!! Congrats
http://easyondeyes.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/were-beautiful-d/
Thanks very much, I appreciate the vote of confidence!