At times I almost dream...
I too have spent a life the sage's way and traveled once more familiar paths,
Per chance I've perished in arrogant self-reliance an age ago,
And in that act, a prayer for one more chance went up so earnest, so...
Instinct with better light let in by death that life was blotted out not so completely,
but scattered, wrecks enough of it to remain, dim memories, as now.
One sees once more, the goal in sight again...
- Robert Browning, Paracelsus
- read by David Duchovny, the X-Files episode The Field Where I Died

Since childhood I have had an instinctive passion for the hero quest, identifying with the hapless yet noble warrior-poet who enters the forest alone and frightened, yet thrilled and enlivened with courage and commitment. Fueled by insatiable curiosity, a romantic love for paleoanthropology, a bent for Jungian understanding, a need for beauty and wild spaces, and a gift for recognizing repeating, symbolic patterns, world mythology became the encompassing source and foundation for my skills and interests while nourishing my spiritual longings.

Created as a reflection of my roles as mother and home educator, OneWomansMind.net includes content from my former web sites, The Anthropology of Mythology and The Anthropology of Mysticism, in addition to new and forthcoming articles, curriculum and consulting related to world mythology, women's studies, children's literature, fairy tales and folklore. Research, writing and teaching are my joys and I am thrilled to pursue them in life and career.

I am passionate about sharing my knowledge and understanding of story as a binding, connective, spiritual force within humanity. Within story exists the living minds and spirits of our ancestors and their indigenous, authentic experience and wisdom of life surrounded by and in rhythm with nature. Story is the golden thread that heralds the door to mystery as well as the guidepost pointing to the sacredness of children, women and men - as individuals, genders and entitities sharing space within a vast and magical universe that continually offers gifts and blessings, both ecstatic and devastating. Story soothes, salves and inspires - it is the root of who we are.

My domestic life is spent with my beautiful husband and best friend, John, a brilliant novelist, poet and Lotus Notes genius and our enchanting, gifted, precious daughter, Roan Grace. We have created a wildlife habitat nestled in suburbia that continually nourishes our souls, joining and guiding us through the changing seasons through wonderous birds, butterflies, flowers, trees and various hidden folk.

All of these loves - these joys - are my Grace - unearned gifts that infuse my life with hope and meaning. My joys are my gifts to you.

I wish for all compassion, peace and wholeness. We are in this together. Paula Vaughan Contact Paula Vaughan Education and Consulting Services Let's Go Home

Education:
B.A. Summa Cum Laude
Oglethorpe University
Independent Major
World Mythologies/Cultural Anthropology

Research Focus:
Worldwide Evolution of Story
Women's Studies
Heroic in Women and Men
Story as Healer

Special Interests:
Indigenous Peoples
Women's Rights and Stories
Sacredness of Children
Children's Literature
Human-Animal Relationship
Wildlife Sustainability

Favorite Myths and Stories:
King Arthur and the Holy Grail
The Kalevala
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Myth of Amaterasu from the Kojiki
Mary and the Annunciation
Faery stories from the old ones
Goddess stories worldwide
Poetry by Rumi and Kabir
The Bone People by Keri Hulme

Inspirations:
My Husband and Daughter
First Peoples Worldwide
Those Who Overcome
Clarissa Pinkola Estes
Joseph Campbell
Louise Erdrich
Jan Hunt
Marija Gimbutas
H.H. the Dalai Lama
Terry Tempest Williams
Henry David Thoreau