Creation's Heartbeat: Following the Reindeer Spirit

by Linda Schierse Leonard

Overview

Bestselling author of The Wounded Woman and Meeting the Madwoman, Jungian analyst Linda Schierse Leonard offers an exciting new way to understand the instinctual energies that affect us in our search for wholeness and healing and in the expression of our creativity. Inspired by a dream of a woman who runs with a herd of reindeer, she devoted years to the exploration of the reindeer in nature and as an archetype of feminine instinctual energy — a living symbol that can inspire both men and women in their spiritual development and an image of hope in the ecological dark times in which we now live.

Dr. Leonard takes readers along on her journeys to Siberia, Lapland, and Alaska, where reindeer and caribou are messengers between heaven and earth, bridges between spirit and nature. Drawing upon myths, dreams, stories, and films, she explores the reindeer's power, beauty, resilience, and vulnerability. This archetype leads us to our own inner force that is feminine, free-spirited, and strong yet imbued with a gentle and compassionate heart. Chronicling travels across the top of the world and deep into the regions of the soul, Creation's Heartbeat takes us along on a luminous pilgrimage, giving us a map of the sacred and nourishing us with unforgettable ideas.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780553375299
Publisher:	Random House Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/01/1996
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.28(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.73(d)

Editorial Reviews

Jungian philosopher Leonard (Meeting a Madwoman, LJ 2/1/93) takes the reader on a spiritual journey to Lapland, Alaska, and Siberia to run with the reindeer. Using images from a dream, Leonard conjures the Reindeer Woman, a free spirit and nonpredator image, and ties together inspirational writings, stories, fables, and legends from nomadic peoples of the north. Along the way, she interprets related poems from Auden and Rilke and modern films such as The Yearling and The Deer Hunter, which consider human interaction with deer. The deer becomes a spiritual power that can guide our lives; for example, pregnant reindeer, which travel north to deliver their young and face perils along the way from predators while constantly hunting for food, become a metaphor for the creative struggle of humans. Leonard's musings are interesting but not essential for public libraries.-L. Kriz, Sioux City P.L., Ia.

Library Journal