Valerie Harms

This season I worked in the fragrances department of Macy's in order to earn some needed money. I learned a lot. For instance, how to operate their cash register but I flubbed often with complex returns and coupons. The best part were the other "associates", the women dedicated to their shifts. The team ofwomen talked to each other in downtime and worked hard the rest. The cosmetic "specialists" are really worth talking to for advice as they are specially trained and know their products. Managers were rarely seen and hardly heard from. I had to look hard to find out any information after the initial hiring. Pay was low. Too much time is spent just waiting on one's feet for a customer to arrive. Then much engagement takes place. I'm one of those shoppers who doesn't want to be helped but that's not Macy's policy. The question arises why do people buy things? What prompts them to spend money? That's true for books one authors as well as perfumes. The only way I survived Christmas Eve was to watch two movies. Thank heavens, my son's family called.  Read More 

Ted Roszak’s Voice of the Earth; James Hillman, Animal Dreams; Roszak, Hillman, et alia, Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind; Linda Buzzell, Ecotherapy: Healing with Nature in Mind; Bill Plotkin, Nature and the Human Soul; C.G.Jung, The Earth Has a Soul: Nature Writings; Michael Cohen, The Web of Life Imperative;plus Joanna Macy’s “Council of All Beings” and Sarah Conn’s (clinical psychologist at Harvard Medical School) teachings.  Read More 

This year I will be offering courses in nature, writing, and psychology. Other words that describe what I want to offer are: ecoliteracy, soul journeys, web of life, nurturance, kinship, fields of light, waters of life, deep writing whether fiction or non.
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As Stanley Kunitz says in a poem, "We are partners in this land/co-signers of a covenant.

Let me know if this resonates with you... Read More 

This book is Carl Jung's private journal--with incredible paintings and inner dialogues. See Sara Corbett's article about it in the Sunday New York Times Magazine, Sept. 20, called "Holy Grail of the Unconscious."

This site has superlative images of myths and symbols of all cultures throughout history. You can view the images in person at the C.G. Jung libraries in New York City and Los Angeles. You can also subscribe to view the collection online. For a smattering see the journal at info@aras.org

1. Duncan, Isadora, My Life. Published in 1955, facsimile, illustrated, ppk.
2. Watts, Alan, Time. Celestial Arts, 1975, pbk.
3. Goldsmith, Joel, Consciousness is What I Am. 1976, Hardcover
4. Khan, Hazrat Inayat, Tales, Sufi Order Publications, 1980, ppk
5. Hoff, Benjamin, The Tao of Pooh, Penguin, 1982, ppb
6. Lyfshin, Lin, Ed., Lips Unsealed, Confidences from Contemporary Women Wrtiers, Capra, 1990, ppk
7. Lauter, Estella, Women as Mythmakers, Poetry and Visual Art by 20th century Women, Indiana U Press, 1984, ppk
8. Metzger, Deena, Skin: Shadows, Silence (a love letter in the form of a novel). Ppb., autographed.
9. Virginia Woolf issue, winter 1977, pub by New York Public Library. Essays by eminent scholars on her work.

Contact me for further info - valerie@valerieharms.com
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1. Do more research
2. Get out your special pen and paper
3. Free writing for 5 minutes, no stopping or editing
4. Write as if a letter to a friend.
5. Make yourself do it.
6. Understand your structure.
7. Make a list of characters and situations, cut into strips of paper and put in separate bags; pull out 2 characters and situation and construct a story. (Play.)  Read More 

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On Facebook, befriend me or look for Valerie Harms Books & Events.

www.thedailybeast.com: I find it snarky but well-designed.
www.thehuffingtonpost.com: comprehensive
www.charlierose.com: I watch his program every night. Is this a fantasy love?
www.jerryruhlrobertjohnson.com: good psychological advice by the author of He, She, We, Inner Work, The Unlived Life.