Exploring Depth, Intuition, and the Sacred in Everyday Life
Roberta Bassett Corson reflects on the role of the medial woman, embracing spirituality, intuition, personal transformation, and creativity while offering timeless wisdom for today’s culture and its challenges.
Roberta Bassett Corson embodies a life rich with purpose, depth, and creativity. A retired clinical depth psychologist and United Methodist clergy, she brings a unique blend of academic achievement, spiritual insight, and artistic flair to her pursuits. Having grown up in Palo Alto, California, and now residing in Saratoga, Roberta’s educational journey spans a B.A. in English Literature, an M.Div., and a Ph.D., reflecting her profound engagement with both the intellectual and the spiritual. As a writer, artist, pastoral caregiver, and long-time advocate for exploring the deeper layers of human experience, Roberta’s work resonates with those seeking meaning beyond the surface.
In this illuminating interview with Reader’s House Magazine, Roberta delves into the concept of the “medial woman” as explored in her book—a work born from passion, personal reflection, and an unwavering devotion to naming and freeing this archetype in contemporary society. From the profundity of her spiritual practice to her reflections on poetry, dreams, and the transformative nature of the medial archetype, Roberta shares insights that inspire and challenge us to embrace intuition, interconnectedness, and the sacred within everyday life.
What inspired you to explore and write about the concept of the medial woman in your book?
I discovered Toni Wolff’s feminine archetypal model in a class reading and heard my true name, “Medial,” for the first time. Ten years later in a doctoral class, a lecturer hostilely undercut the work of Toni Wolff, and I was so incensed that I decided right then and there that I would write my dissertation on “The Wounds of the Medial Woman in Contemporary Western Society.” Writing brought me pleasure as I reclaimed parts of mediality, but I also felt the rigidity of a dissertation was not in line with the nature of mediality. So, I promised the topic that I would re-write what I had learned in a medial way. But years passed, and I didn’t do this. I shared with my dream group the repeated dreams that I had not finished my dissertation and that I was a fraud. I finally put my completed dissertation under my bed to remind me that I had actually finished. After some years of this recurring dream, they encouraged me to write the book I had promised. And like the dissertation, the book almost wrote itself, as it was so deeply embedded in my soul. My hope in writing it was that it could name and free other medial women.
“Roberta Bassett Corson’s heartfelt wisdom and transformative insights inspire us to delve deeper into intuition, spirituality, and self-discovery.“
How do women today recognize and embrace their medial nature in a culture that often dismisses the intuitive and irrational?
Women from many parts of the world have written me to say that they experienced being named for the first time as they read my book. Our common experience is that we are at heart so different from this culture that we shrink and don’t dare to honor our uniqueness. Using the name “Medial” is a helpful first step in claiming our being, for names contain power and meaning. Most people have never heard of our name, so this is new even to medial people.
What advice would you give to someone who feels disconnected from their spiritual or intuitive side?
Many people feel disconnected from their spiritual and intuitive nature today, not just medial people. We live in a materialistic culture, but most of us have within us a deep place that longs for relationship with that which is invisible and ineffable. We all have some pull from the medial archetype deep inside, whether or not it is dominant. To connect with the spiritual, we must listen closely to our inner nudges, fears, tears, joys, losses, and longings. This listening is in itself is a link to the spiritual and intuitive. Dreams draw us near, if we pay attention. Also, groups with like-minded people can deepen our relationship with the holy and intuitive. If we are alert to moments when the holy penetrates the ordinary, we are in relationship with the divine. Awareness.
How do you see the role of the medial woman evolving in modern society, especially in the context of increasing awareness of spirituality and mental health?
Present Western culture needs a deep transformative voice amidst social crisis and change, and the medial woman is often this voice. It is she who picks up what goes on beneath the surface of a group or society and voices it. It is she who senses what is happening in the environment. It is she who offers a balance to logic and rationality and challenges the mechanistic materialistic world-view. The medial can lead people to new vision and see through that which has been assumed to be true. It is she who knows that “when human nature falters, the gods intervene” (Eleanor Wilner). She is a vital part of a healthy culture, but she must claim her “Medial” name and have a strong and flexible ego in order for this to happen.
Can you share a personal experience or story that shaped your understanding of the medial archetype?
A profound experience in my life was at the trial of our daughter’s rapist. She was not allowed to be present, but I was. The month of this devastating trial left me with one gift I cherish. It was the beginning of my transition from identifying with the mother archetype to being claimed by the medial. Though I was clearly in the mother role in the courtroom and in my heart, it was the medial archetype that allowed me to be present and to stay there. Others saw me as Mother, but I knew I was Medial. Both were at play there, and the two actually worked together. However, they were not equal. I envisioned the medial as a basket that held the mother, and as I allowed the mother role to be enfolded within the medial archetype, I found power and insight. I was never the same.
How does your poetry reflect your relationship with the Lord and your understanding of the spiritual and intuitive realms?
Though I majored in English at the university, my writing was highly stilted. I did not believe I was creative, nor did I trust what I had to say. Years later, after a silent meditation retreat, I came home to write a prayer for the next day’s worship service and was astonished that it came out as a poem. Since then, I take time in silence as I jot down wandering thoughts and then see how they will come together. I don’t consider myself a poet, but I do write stories and prayers guided by my intuition and that which is beyond my rational understanding. Writing is grounding and the result is always a surprise. Others respond that it is inspirational.
