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by Gay Wolff Daily life is a symphony created by the melody of our conscious living and the harmonies and cacophonies of our unconscious living. Despite our intentions and will power, much of what happens in our lives seeps up from some uncontrollable place, and often yields chaos. While it is natural to choose who we want to be, Carl Jung warns us against completely denying our shadow parts and says that our unconscious seeks to communicate even when we try to ignore them. He advises that we embrace the parts of our psyche that we bury in the shadows, so they do not start pushing their way into our lives uncontrollably. By bringing them out into the light of our conscious acceptance, we honor and balance them.
Our unconscious frequently reaches out through our dreams, but it also reaches out in our waking life. We are living a personal myth, and with a little help, we can read the bleeps and burps of our unconscious to understand its cryptic messages before it must scream out in big ways to get our attention. Have you noticed certain patterns, like repeatedly losing or breaking things, seeing similar shapes, hearing similar sounds? Did some image catch your attention? Those weird repetitions and oddities that draw our intense awareness are Soul Speak: essentially a divine code. When you begin to take notice of patterns and attention-catchers, then you can begin to hear what they want to say.
For example, for some time I have had dishes break in half. I finally recognized the pattern and began a dialogue and soon recognizing an imbalance in my life with constructiveness. My normal focus is holding things together, building, creating, or healing, with no room allowed for the natural and necessary energy of destruction. I suddenly felt a powerful need to destroy something, grabbed my reading glasses and began a ritual that included tearing the glasses apart. With each snatch, rip, and crack of the lenses I felt a bubble of energy ripple through my body. It was glorious, like popping bubble wrap through me. Later, we designed a plate breaking ceremony (breaking was optional) for a family dinner, using our outdoor fireplace. It was surprisingly thrilling, freeing, and reverent.
This healing resonated in my life as my children leave home. Breaking helped me honor the role that dying plays in growth and change—helped move the energy within me so that I could release my fear of the dismantling force at play as my family evolves. I did not need to break all of my possessions in order to honor the destructive archetype, as that would be letting it become dominant. I do not want it to lead, but I embrace it and accept it as part of life. Acknowledging it, allowing it a voice, is enough.
The same kinds of archetypes and symbols that show up in dreams will also show up in life and for many Soul Speak situations, symbol dictionaries and dream tending techniques can be applied, as well as familiar meditation or active imagination techniques, or you may want to try the techniques suggested below. Remember this is a symbolic, energetic, and intuitive process. Seek insight rather than answers.
1. Become aware of repetitive patterns or potent images. When something arouses unusual interest or confusion for us, we want to target that for a dialogue.
2. Dialogue with the pattern or image (suggestions):
• Journal writing (or meditation): begin a conversation with the pattern or with yourself or your guides by asking simple questions. Write whatever seems to flow, over one or more sittings.
• Artistic expression: paint, draw, play music, write a story, or any other form of artistic expression that you love. Set your intention and then enjoy your art.
3. Devise a healthy and safe ceremony or act that allows you to interact with your insights. This may be a one-time or periodic ritual, or it may need to be a regular part of your life.
• Write or draw something on a piece of paper and burn it in a flame.
• Make an outdoor sand painting (mandala), which can be made out of rocks, sticks, or anything you find. Choose a place, open sacred space with prayer, create a circle type boundary for your painting, and then place objects symbolically within the space. Honor the painting for its teachings and blessings, checking on it and rearranging objects as needed until it feels finished.
• Make an altar, just a small space on a shelf can work, where you honor the archetype. Use similar techniques as for a sand painting, opening sacred space and checking in periodically.
4. Express self-love: Honor yourself in a small but significant gesture, embracing your wholeness.
Previously published in the Oracle Magazine, Atlanta. |
