"Word"

Years ago A number of good people took classes with me using email. A popular class was called "Word."  You may be old enough to remember the "It Pays to Increase Your Word Power" feature in the magazine Readers Digest. "Word" was a just a bit like that feature. "Word" was about definition, meaning, mind, understanding, power, and the like.

The sixty or so students interested in "Word" were of a variety of backgrounds and ages. Ages ranged from the early twenties to the  late seventies with a couple of outliers.

'Love' was a popular word among nearly all of  students. Those email lessons were not love letters, but they were sent with the aim of respectfully nurturing their readers.

Recently while thinning my archives I looked at a transcript of a "Word" lesson that was largely my response to  student responses to an earlier 'love' "Word."

I had been please by enthusiastic student response. Nearly every response mentioned feelings, but nit one mentioned emotions! There was a wide variety of takes on those feelings and their relevance. Most students agreed that there were two or more kinds of love. Words used often were: I, ego, personal, help, action, and sex. No one mentioned drugs or rock and roll. Neither did anyone mention dominance, submission, nurturence, lust, fear, God, mother, child, wife, husband, or country! Go figure. They did mention pleasure and pleasant, but not joy. I remember that nearly every one noted kinds of love without being specific, Some mentioned parts of love with out being specifying any one part. No one mentioned Christ, Jesus or the Bible. All this may say more about student attitude toward email and me than anything else.

I mention these happenings with the thought that I may post on words in the future. 'Agape' may be among those words. Any other suggestions.

Welcome Email

Just received a great email in response to the recent Campbell post. I'll quote it:
"I'm so glad to see you've gotten onto Joe Campbell and the JFC. Joe was one of my favorites. He didn't always say what I wanted to hear, but he always said good and thoughtful words. 'The Power of The Myth' could be required reading for students in your classes."
As pleased and encouraged as I am to receive such email, I would still rather see it as a comment here. If it had been a comment here I wouldn't have felt the need to recopy it and we all could have enjoyed it and benefited from it.
I agree that there is much that many of us can learn from Campbell writings.

I must add that I am not now giving face to face classes and really now longer have any students.
In order to teach or to coach anyone or to help anyone on their way I need an inter-active situation. I have hoped that I could be helped on my way through comments here and that I could perhaps help others on their way by responding here to their comments.
As grateful and encouraged as I am by your email and especially by email related to a specific post,I would prefer to receive the comment here.