Your Shamanic Child

On October 7 our fairy tale class went to hear a lecture by Vivien Deitz. She is a clinical social worker who uses a variety of techniques including Jungian psychology and shamanistic healing. In her lecture she addressed the tales "Aladdin" and "the Velveteen Rabbit". Claiming that "Aladdin" is a story about the transformation from depression to enlightment, while "the velveteen rabbit" was about moving from anxiety to optimism. A reoccuring theme of the "shamanic child" was present in her lecture and is what really stood out for me. I thought this concept was rather interesting and a creative way of interpretation. I do not necessarily agree with what was said but I definatly found it to be intertaining none the less. When she told us to close our eyes and locate our inner shamanic child I just kept envisioning penguins, which was quite strange. I did however really like her theory that fairy tales were a gateway into lost innocence and that everyone has an inner child, or personal genie. In one of our reading in class it mentioned a similiar concept. That children relate best to fairy tales because their adolescence most closely relates to the motifs and images present in many of the tales. I do kind of agree that fairy tales can connect you to your "inner child" in that it can bring you to remember what it was like to be a child and to let your imagination take over. Overall I found Vivien Deitz lecture to be very entertaining and although a bit fruity, it was a fun approach to fairy tales.