I am so grateful to the Joseph Campbell Foundation for publishing my book, The Practice of Enchantment: MythBlast Essays, 2020-2024. Thank you, JCF!

This book is a collection of fourteen short essays I wrote for the Foundation about how myth and the work of Joseph Campbell enchant my life.

I define enchantment as the feelings that accompany experiences of fun, blessing, luck, charm, beauty, awe, and wonder. To maximize enchantment, however, those feelings require attention, appreciation, and amplification. Enchantment doesn’t necessarily happen by itself. It takes practice.

My enchantment practices

I titled The Practice of Enchantment long after I wrote most of the book. The phrase had been in my mind for awhile, but I didn’t think it would find its way onto a collection of personal, myth-focused essays. The more I thought about it though, the more it seemed appropriate in a poetic kind of way.

As I thought more, I realized that there actually is a practice implicit in these essays. First, I notice something awe-inspiring or amazing or mythic or beautiful—whatever catches my attention for any reason at all. Second, I write about it, meaning I re-enter the experience through imagination and creativity.

For more along those lines, here’s the recording of a webinar the Foundation hosted in part about The Practice of Enchantment. There’s good stuff all the way through the video, but the enchantment section begins at 26:45 and includes a reading I did from the book:

Your invitation to enchantment

Enchantment takes practice. And the more difficult it is to practice, the more important it is to try. Difficult experiences have the most to teach and potentially the greatest reward as a result of enchanting them.

Even for people blessed with extraordinary good fortune, enchantment is not a foregone conclusion. Lucky people face the same questions around mortality, meaning, and purpose as anyone else. And I have yet to meet anyone for whom enchantment is perfectly continuous. We practice, we mess up, we practice some more. But the thrill of the times when enchantment works can be wonderful enough to carry you through the setbacks.

Practice with me!

I hope The Practice of Enchantment will sail out into what can seem like a disenchanted world and help readers like yourself strengthen your own personal practices of enchantment. Meanwhile, I hear the publication of this book as an invitation to walk the talk, to focus on enchanting my experience, and to share whatever works because enchantment loves to be the topic of conversation.

I will say that enchantment is intensely personal. I can share how I practice, but it’s up to you to craft your own approach. What works for me might resonate with you and give you ideas to try, or it might not. That’s great! It’s all information to help you practice in whatever way works best for you.

So I’ll write blog posts here on my website, post articles and videos on The Practice of Enchantment Facebook page, and email reflections and reading recommendations in my monthly newsletter, to which you can subscribe here. I hope you’ll join me in practicing enchantment!