From the time I was a child I've been drawn to Mystery--the ultimate and immediate mysteriousness of this world, of my psyche or soul, its heights and depths, as well as of all our psyches, and of what I've come to suspect is an infinite and eternal Psyche behind, beneath, in, and as the dimensions of matter, energy, time and space. From as far back as I can remember, this intuited Beyond has impinged upon my consciousness in ways I cannot deny, and has informed, both directly and indirectly, everything I have been, become, and done. And it has infused me with the sense that all of Reality is supernatural, magical--just below the apparently mundane surface, terra incognita.
With this sense has come a passion to know as much as possible about, well...everything! I have spent a lifetime learning all I could in such fields as cosmology, quantum cosmology, evolution and paleontology, ancient history and literature, archaeology--especially of Egypt, the Classical civilizations, and the Maya--the history of human thought, history of religions, comparative mythology and religion, philosophy, theology--in particular, Christian, Jewish, and Islamic--and psychology, with an emphasis on Jungian or depth psychology. While I have a B.A. in Theater and Communications with a minor in English, a Master of Arts of Religious Studies from the University of Chicago (emphasis in Religion and Literature), and a Master of Divinity from Chicago Theological Seminary (emphasis in Religion and Psychology), most of what I have had the privilege of learning I have acquired myself through years of personal study.
My adventures have not been confined to mystical/supra-normal experiences or academics. I've filled my life with geographical and cultural adventures as well, traveling widely throughout the Near East, Europe, and Latin America--in the latter case, twenty-three trips to Mexico. In none of these excursions have I gone as a tourist in the more conventional sense, but always as an imbiber of the cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and world-view other, and as communicator with the peoples and individuals who inhabit these alternative geographical and psychic spaces. I have always had a strong desire to build bridges between human communities.
As I've gathered information and experiences, I have felt a tremendous passion to share what I've learned, discovered, explored. Equally, this has meant being shared with, being the joyful recipient of everything that others have wished to share with me.
I have expressed and offered up as much of what for me has been an extraordinary richness, bounty, and exuberance of life in avocations, such as community theater (as a writer, director, actor, set and lighting designer, set constructor, and stage manager) and in my art--painting, sculpting, custom lamp-making, and interior design, as well as in a number of vocational expressions--among these, as a counselor-therapist, a community organizer, a pastor, a teacher (both at the secondary and college levels), a guest lecturer and workshop presenter, and an author. As an author in particular, I have sought to engage as wide a community of fellow-journeyers as possible.
In all I have lived, taught, and written, I have striven to share a vision of what I believe to be our Divine origins and destinies, our struggles to integrate a kind of natural wholeness, and then launch into realms of Spirit, where we are all each other, and one with God.
The greatest of my adventures is undoubtedly my life as the husband of a wonderful woman, and the father of an equally wonderful daughter. Second only to these have been the adventures of close friendships and of the mutual inspiration and learning in the company of my many students.
I would very much like to invite you to share in my adventures into dimensions of Mystery, Wonder, and Joy by offering to you the books in my bibliography--and, if you feel so inclined, to share the richness of your adventures with me!
You can contact me through my website at www.douglasgillettecreations.com or through my Linkedin profile.
All Blessings to you!
Douglas M. Gillette
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