Rather than conceptualize the power of ghosts that haunt us, I offer a personal narrative of ghost energies that have shaped my life for decades. In the creation of this story, I discovered the single most central archetype that has given this ghostly presence its unlimited energy. James Hollis’s illuminating text, Hauntings: Dispelling the Ghosts Who Run Our Lives, has been a major inspiration in these reflections. It led me to consider an alternative to dispelling our ghosts: inviting them in as guests. The shift from haunting ghosts to healing guests can offer a new story to live by, one that constructs our identity more fully and generously on our individuation pilgrimage. 

As our time together is short, I will pose two 10-minute writing meditations to encourage participants to recollect deeply to identify hauntings of ghosts in the rafters of their story. These ghosts have restricted our entering fully into the personal myth that orients, organizes, and shapes our lives. We will also affirm, perhaps through a growing compassion for such a ghostly presence, where it was transformed into a guest that enriched our life story.

Dennis Patrick Slattery, PhD, has been teaching for more than 50 years, ranging from elementary special-education to secondary-school to undergraduate and graduate students. He has taught at the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture for 10 years, as well as at The Fairhope Institute for Teachers in Fairhope, Ala., for seven years. He is currently Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Pacifica Graduate Institute, a Fellow of the Dallas Institute, and a faculty member of The Jung Platform, directed by therapist Machiel Klerk. He has also taught student inmates in a major California prison, using the thought of Joseph Campbell on personal myth. 

Dr. Slattery is the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of 33 volumes, including seven volumes of poetry and one co-authored novel, as well as dozens of articles, podcasts, and op-eds in newspapers and magazines. His blogs, paintings, and pottery can be viewed at  www.dennispatrickslattery.com. He has been married to his bride, Sandy, for 56 years. Two years ago, he sold both of his motorcycles after riding for 55 years.