Bly and Woodman on Men and Women is a must-have resource for your spiritual journey! This six-hour video presentation is the perfect catalyst for soul-making by individuals and couples. The tapes take you to a workshop led by Robert Bly, the men's movement activist, and Marion Woodman, a Jungian analyst known for her sensitivity to woman's issues. The experience is guaranteed to spark self-understanding and renewal.

Bly and Woodman use an ancient Russian fairy tale, "The Maiden Tsar," as a basis for this journey toward "inner balance, personal fulfillment, and deeply rewarding relationships." Live tabla and sitar music provided by Marcus Wise and David Whitstone add texture to their dramatic telling and enactment of the story.

Bly and Woodman celebrate storytelling, imagination, and intuition as passports to wholeness and community building. They challenge us to use myths and the texts of our own experience as meaning makers. Workshop participants share their ideas, feelings, and discoveries via dialogue, drawing, voice work, and body movement. And our appreciation for the universality of the themes explored here is enriched by Bly and Woodman's use of poetry from Rumi, Kabir, Rilke, Emily Dickinson, and T.S. Eliot.

Filmmaker Ann Petrie, who won an Emmy for her documentary feature Mother Teresa, conveys the emotional undertow of the workshop experience using fresh visual techniques. Ronald S. Fellows, president of Applewood Communications, Inc., and executive producer of this video series, is to be commended for the top-drawer technical and thematic quality of this project.

Episode 1 - The Pin

Robert Bly and Marion Woodman circle around the essential theme of the fairy tale — how the soul is affected when we "lose touch with our heart's desire." Many of us succumb to addictions, the need for approval from others, or a lack of self esteem, and so we fall asleep. Others have their special voice or inner aliveness taken or squelched by parents, teachers, or authoritarian institutions. Yet the yearning persists to keep our souls alive.

Episode 2 - The Betrayal

In order to take control of our journey, we must disavow those destructive inner demands for power. Robert and Marion lament the loss of deeply meaningful initiation rites for young men and women in today's society. Eventually, in one way or another, we must tap our "warrior energy" to protect what is most precious inside us.

Episode 3 - The Descent

All of us have experienced this period of wandering which Robert and Marion call "a critical time of descent and ashes." Whether it results from a divorce, loss of a job, illness, or a mid-life depression, the feeling is one of grief, isolation, loneliness, and failure. However, this breakdown can lead to breakthrough. Or as Marion notes, "It is only out of descent that new life comes."

Episode 4 - Baba Yaga

The journey toward wholeness always involves testing and a coming to terms with truth-telling. Oppositional thinking is of no help in this situation. We must use our imaginati-n and learn how to stop judging others.

Episode 5 - The Firebird

Developing the creative energies within us is a challenge. But first we must release the grief and anger which weigh us down. The wisdom of the ages is there to assist us if we will only heed the call.

Episode 6 - The Sacred Marriage

"The soul tries so hard to be seen and heard," Marion notes. We can hear its whispers as we reconnect with beauty and retrieve lost parts of ourselves. The inner marriage of masculine and feminine powers is the key to renewal and the transformation of relationships in our lives.

Problems and Challenges

Bly and Woodman on Men and Women opens doors to deep reflection and dialogue on the following widespread problems:

*dysfunctional families where love is masked;

*absent fathers and smothering mothers;

*anger and hurt feelings between men and women;

*marriages where women can't express their creativity and men are unable to communicate on a feeling level;

*the harmful consequences of educational systems which are hostile to imagination;

*the negative fallout on contemporary culture resulting from oppositional thinking and a lack of initiation rites for young men and women.

In addition, this video series gives individuals and couples the opportunity to do inner work on the following challenges:

*waking up the soul;

*getting in touch with the inner child;

*learning the difference between false tutors and true mentors;

*identifying different aspects of your lost self;

*dealing with blocked energy, stagnation, and depression;

*meeting the inner masculine and the inner feminine;

*coping with grief and anger;

*expressing love in intimate relationships.

A study guide is available for use in discussing these problems and challenges while screening the video series. Bly and Woodman on Men and Women, a six-part series of one-hour videotapes, is available for $149.95 plus tax, shipping, and handling cost from Applewood Centre, Box 148, Belleville, Ontario, Canada K8N 5A2, or call 1-800-361-0541. The purchase price covers unadvertised private use only, but licenses for public performances are also available.