Symbols of Soul

Chapter V: Sigmund Freud

2010-05-16T20:05:00.000-07:00

I must begin by disclosing that I am not a fan of Sigmund Freud. Although the man had a tremendous impact on contemporary culture, his almost puerile obsession with sex as the cause of ALL psychological difficulty is almost laughable if it didn't have such a negative impact on women. For example, in Freud’s paper "The Psychical Consequences of the Anatomic Distinction Between the Sexes," Freud wrote, "Women oppose change, receive passively, and add nothing of their own." Don't even get me started on his penis envy argument… But I digress.

So I was interested to hear how Jung described their relationship and how he finally broke his connection with Freud. It appeared that Jung was initially drawn to Freud after he wrote "The Interpretation of Dreams." Jung had already begun his work on the aspect of repression as it becomes unveiled through dreams. However, even from the beginning, Jung did not agree with Freud as to the cause of the repression which Freud viewed as solely sexual trauma. Nevertheless, the two eventually met and had an instant liking. At the first meeting they talked for 13 hours. I envision Jung, who was much younger than Freud, enamored by Freud's confidence and intellect. Freud probably equally liked Jung’s intellect, but more importantly his attention and admiration. Jung writes, "Freud was the first man of real importance I had encountered; in my experience up to that time, no one else could compare with him." He was an enigma and Jung liked to unravel puzzles. You will see that he succeeds yet again to unravel Freud.

Throughout this relationship Jung continued to have reservations about the sexual theme in Freud's work, but Freud “pooh-poohed” his reservation as due to inexperience. In addition (and not surprisingly), Jung was equally concerned about Freud's views regarding spirituality. In discussing Freud, Jung said, " whenever, in a person or in a work of art, an expression of spirituality (in the intellectual, not in the supernatural sense) came to light, he suspected it, and insinuated that it was repressed sexuality." Freud was emotionally involved in his sexual theory in an extreme way desiring Jung to stand firm making a "dogma of it, an unshakable bulwark...against the black tide of mud of occultism." [Really, Sigmund?] Jung identified this fervor as Freud's identification of sexuality as a "sort of numinosum." Jung viewed Freud's obsession as equally occult, by which he meant that is an unproven hypothesis. It was Freud’s bitter obsession that kept him from the other side of his personality which was more mystical. Jung believed that unless Freud embraced his mystical side, he would remain bitter and unreconciled.

Jung describes an paranormal experience he had with Freud. There was a sound in a bookcase that Jung identified as a "catalytic exteriorisation phenomenon." Freud, of course was incredulous. Jung then predicted with certainty that another loud sound would occur which it precipitously did. Then on another occasion when Jung and Freud were dining together, Jung began to discuss some "peat-bog corpses" that were found mummified in Germany. [I know, I know...but the man was fascinated by nature.] Freud was upset by the topic of conversation and fainted. Freud interpreted the fainting as the result of Jung's death wish for Freud as based on the corpse conversation. He later fainted at another event when the conversation was about Amenophis IV and whether he had murdered his father. Obviously, the “death wish” issue was a reoccurring theme for Freud. Freud expressed his desire for Jung to be his intellectual heir, a desire that was difficult for Jung who wished to blaze his own trail. However, the final breach for Jung came when they were at a conference together and agreed to interpret each others dreams. Freud was unable to provide any insight into Jung's dreams which were highly symbolic of a collective nature. When Jung attempted to analyze Freud's dream he commented to him that it would help if he knew more about Freud's personal history. To this, Freud exclaimed, "But I can not risk my authority." Bad choice of words. Jung believed Freud was placing "personal authority above truth.”

It was during this time that Jung had a dream which ultimately lead him to his idea of the "collective unconscious." The dream contained two skulls which Jung viewed as a representation of a primitive culture. Freud, yet again, felt that it was a death wish for two unnamed individuals. He would not let this ideas go until Jung gave two people's names who he “wished” dead. Jung felt badly telling Freud a lie but made the disclaimer just to get him off his back." It would have been impossible for me to afford him any insight into my mental world. The gulf between it and his was too great." Freud was contented with the disclosure and no longer discussed it. Freud believed the meaning of dreams was hidden and beyond the understanding of the conscious mind. By contrast, Jung believed that dreams were a symbolic language to bring awareness from the unconscious to the conscious mind.

Soon Jung began to study archeology and mythology which lead him to writing the "Psychology of the Unconscious." He had a dream which had a significant personal impact and foretold the ultimate breakup of his relationship with Freud. Jung pondered the dream carefully for quite some time and realized that he had given Freud an authority over him that could not continue. From the dream he discovered that "my whole being was seeking for something still unknown which might confer meaning upon the banality of life." Jung’s unraveling of Freud described him as suffering from a neurosis, something Freud himself believed was part of all humanity. Jung was not contented with that assertion and was more interested in learning how to assist patients in escaping their neurosis rather than simply identifying it.

During this time period the ultimate break occurred when Jung expressed in writing a contradiction to Freud’s views. Jung’s book dealt with incest in which he wrote about the “significance of incest as a symbol.” “But my main concern,” he wrote has been to investigate, over and about its [that is sexuality] personal significance and biological function, its spiritual aspect and its numinous meaning.” With that he was ostracized by the community of Freudians and off again on his independent and highly individual journey.

Chapter IV: Psychiatric Activities

2010-04-13T15:23:00.001-07:00

I really enjoyed this chapter. It illuminates Jung's working style and his approach to therapy as determined during his years at Burgholzli. The question he began asking as "What actually takes place inside the mentally ill?" This was not a question that was given much thought during this time. The treatment options were limited and primitive by today's standard. The patient as an individual was not given much concern. Jung believed that a patient comes into therapy with a story that needs to be told. "To my mind, therapy only really begins after the investigation of that wholly personal story. It is the patient's secret, the rock against which he is shattered. If I know his secret story, I have a key to the treatment."

In the early 1900's, Jung became a lecturer in psychiatry at the University of Zurich. He started to teach courses on hypnosis in addition to other topics. Interestingly enough, he used hypnosis to acquire the personal history of his patients, not as a tool to uncover the unconscious, myth, archetypes or personal symbols. He had a very interesting experience with a woman who identified with Jung in a very specific way. So much so that any time he even talked about hypnosis, she entered into a deep trance. She was highly suggestible to him. She appeared to describe her dreams and unconscious state, but at this time he did not yet understand her disclosure. He had difficulty awakening her from the trance, but when he finally did he spoke authoritatively that he was the doctor and that everything was alright. In response, the woman cried out that she was cured! He didn't understand what had happened and shortly afterwards abandoned hypnosis. I think that is regrettable, for it might have been of major importance in his uncovering the unconscious mind. However, Jung gave it up because he could not quantify the results – experiential analysis was of great importance to him. He did not like to work with uncertainty. The woman came back at another time and a similar experience occurred. Later Jung uncovered that the woman identified him as her desired son (her son was mentally ill). He explained this to her and she no longer suffered any relapse. The story of Jung’s success soon got around his community and consequently his private practice became very large.

Jung was willing to stretch the boundaries of what was considered standard medical treatment, if he believed it was in the patient's best interest. In one situation an alcoholic patient had a domineering mother. He discharged the patient with a medical certificate stating that he could no longer work with his mother. The patient was then able to finally separate from his mother and experience a new and successful career.

Jung contended that while a clinical diagnosis was helpful to the physician, it did not assist the patient. To Jung, the most important factor was the patient's story which detailed the human element of suffering. A personality and life history lies behind any clinical diagnosis. His approach was to work with each patient as one human being to another understanding their motivations.

In 1909 Jung began to understand that he "could not treat latent psychoses if [he] did not understand their symbolism." These discoveries lead to his study of mythology. Jung said that the therapist must first understand him/herself. "The patient's treatment begins with the doctor, so to speak. Only if the doctor knows how to cope with himself and his own problems will he be able to teach the patient to do the same." The therapist, therefore, must keep track of himself - observing his reactions, dreams and unconscious behavior toward the patient. The therapist must look at what the patient brings to him. "The doctor is effective only when he himself is affected."

Jung was an intuitive (hence the "N" component in his INFJ personality type). He tells a story of a patient who committed suicide and how he awoke with a pain in his head at the very time of the occurrence. His dreams also proved to be instructive in the way he tailored his therapy towards individual patients. For example, one woman had a great deal of neurosis. In this instance Jung shared a dream he had of her being a goddess and within a week she was cured. He writes, "She knew only the intellect and lived a meaningless life. In reality she was a child of God whose destiny was to fulfill His secret will. I had to awaken mythological and religious ideas in her, for she belonged to that class of human beings of whom spiritual activity is demanded. Thus her life took on a meaning, and no trace of the neurosis was left." Many of his patients were people who had lost their faith. They were missing the symbolic life. I wonder how many of us are missing that very component in our lives today.

Jung writes that many neurotics would not have been neurotic in another age, because man today is not part of myth and nature. This causes a division of self. "I am speaking of those who cannot tolerate the loss of myth and she can neither find a way to a merely exterior world, to the world as seen by science, not rest satisfied with an intellectual juggling with words, which has nothing whatsoever to do with wisdom." Further he talks about how people with neurosis may achieve success and position in their lives but still remain neurotic. "Such people are usually confined within too narrow a spiritual horizon. Their life has not sufficient content, sufficient meaning. If they are enabled to develop into more spacious personalities, the neurosis generally disappears. For that reason the idea of development was always of the highest importance to me." Although Jung was working within an environment of pathology, his words remain relevant to all of us who are on the journey to individuation through personal and spiritual growth.

And finally, it is during this time period that Jung became interested in the writings of Freud, especially his research into dreams and hysteria. But that is food for another chapter…

Jung's Student Years - Chapter III

2010-02-25T19:30:00.000-08:00

This chapter concerns Jung's student years from teen to early adulthood. Like many his age, he struggled with discovering his identity and career path. (Heck, I know many middle age folks with that dilemma.) Young C.G. had an academic bent and was interested in many subjects especially history, philosophy and science. His path was ultimately determined after he had a significant dream which concerned nature. The dream clarified his decision to study science at the college level. From there Jung debated what area of science to study, finally settling on medicine. What is interesting is that even before Jung wrote about dreams and the importance of the subconscious mind, he intuitively knew, understood and acted upon that knowledge when received. Dreams continued to be of major concern to Jung, and some were the fore bringer of theories and concepts to come (for example, one dream in which he held a tiny light and saw a large black figure he describes as "his own shadow on the swirling mists, brought into being by the little light I was carrying. Though infinitely small and fragile in comparison with the powers of darkness, it is still a light, my only light.") Dreams were the light that clarified Jung's inner darkness.

It was also at this time, that Jung identified his "number one" personality as his primary self. Although he left "number two" behind in this integration, he did not deny it or declared it invalid. Jung believed his "number two" was the origin of his dreams and superior intelligent. The "number two" can "hold his own in the world of darkness."

Jung continued to be interested in philosophy and spirituality. His "knowing" was based on his actual spiritual experience. His father, however, became discontented with his faith, which to Jung was fairly rote and hallow. Jung pitied his father for never having had a direct experience of God and for limiting his pursuit to the realm of intellect. He tried to discuss these issues with his father but was never successful. It appeared that Jung was frustrated by his father's rote answers to his questions. Jung described it this way, "God would assuredly have sent him by way of an answer one of those magical, infinitely profound dreams which He had sent to me without being asked, and which had sealed my fate." To Jung, experience was the only thing that mattered. His father in turn appeared to be empty and tired by any such discussion.

Once in school his father visited him at a frat outing. Jung had a realization about his father's life and identified his own early love of learning. Jung sadly wondered what had happened to his father over his life time. He saw that "everything was blighted for him, had turned to sourness and bitterness." Eventually, his father's condition worsened and he died. The primarily impact of his father's death was financial. Although financing his studies was then more difficult, Jung learned the value of simplicity during his time of poverty.

At the end of what I think was his second semester in college, Jung came upon a library book on spiritualistic phenomena. He took quite an interest in this area and began his dissertation on the topic. His mother's "number 2" personality encouraged his interest, but his colleagues and friends were skeptical and unsupportive. Jung was open to psychic phenomena and believed there "might be events which overstepped the limited categories of space, time and causality." Some mysterious and unexpected events occurred in the Jung household the summer of 1898. Two objects broke with a loud crash. One was a large and substantial solid walnut table which split from rim to center. Weeks later, a bread knife blade snapped off into several pieces. No one was around and the events were never explained. He actually took the knife blade to a cutler who told him it could not have exploded and would have had to been deliberately broken. Jung kept a part of the knife blade with him throughout his life. (I wonder how he would have described the symbolism of that piece to him). He also met a young medium through a family member. Over time, Jung uncovered some fraudulent activity in regards to her “events” but continued to look for verification of her predictions.

His medical studies were good but he had difficulty with the animal dissections. "I could never free myself from the feeling that warm-blooded creatures were akin to us and not just cerebral automata."

This was a good time in Jung's life. He loved the study of stimulating topics and also had developed friendships, so he no longer wrote about feeling isolated. Earlier Goethe's Faust was extremely influential to Jung's thinking. At this time, he was also enthusiastic about Nietzsche's Thus Spake Zarathustra. Jung felt that Nietzsche only discovered his "number two" personality later in life and "did not understand himself when he fell head first into the unutterable mystery." Nietzsche, Jung said was trying to capture the attention of the world "which had sold its soul for a mass of disconnected fact." (Ain't that the truth today? The more information is thrown at us almost instantaneously through digital and other formats, the more disconnected the facts become and the more fractured and jarred we become.)

Although Jung was invited to become an assistant to a doctor in internal medicine. This was an envious appointment, but Jung turned it down to study psychiatry. In 1900, Jung began working as an assistant at the Burgholzli Mental Hospital in Zurich. He continued his study by reading through the 50 volumes of the major psychiatry text of the time. (The profession was far from being what it is today. The fact that the field was so open and mysterious may have held a special interest to Jung.) He found his colleges as interesting psychologically as his patients. Jung described his decision this way, "I saw that once again, I had obviously got myself into a side alley where no one could or would follow me. But I knew - and nothing and nobody could have deflected me from my purpose - that my decision stood, and that it was fate."

Memories, Dreams, Reflections: School Years

2010-02-02T21:59:00.000-08:00

I’ve been reading Chapter 2 for some time but my work with SoulCollage® has gotten in the way of putting my thoughts to paper until now. In Chapter 2, we find ourselves in C.G.’s school years. All of this is very interesting to me. Under the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, I am an INFJ, the same personality type as Carl Jung. While I have found the description of this type to be uncannily accurate, I had no idea how similar in tone two people with the same personality type could be. We will see if that continues as the book covers his later years.

Jung appeared to be a fairly timid, lonely child, obviously (on hindsight) brilliant, and struggling to find his way to live with his uniqueness. Jung began to recognize different parts within him very early. One was the school boy and one a rather staid adult archetype. He also identified a personality that I would classify as his subconscious intuitive nature. The fact that he could even identify these parts so distinctly at such a young age shows the beginnings of his life work. His imagination was vivid and visual; accordingly, the parts were described and identified clearly within his mind.

Jung’s father was a parson who had an elementary faith-based belief, theology. The boy, C.G., was consumed with thinking about God. Through his internal dialogue and imagery, he viewed God as encompassing both "good and bad." However, he had difficulty with the Christian duality and the idea of the devil. During a trance state, he experienced an event that allowed him to view God in a way that would be blasphemous to his community (actually to me it sounded more like a pre-adolescent boy’s daydream). Through that experience, however, Jung identified grace. At this time he believed that following the will of God would result in things turning out for the best. He knew from experience (for faith was not part of his equation) that grace was given only to those who “fulfilled the will of God without reservation.”

Questions of faith continued to plague C.G. throughout his childhood. He found God in nature more than with man, although he felt that all sentient beings contained a spark of God. At times he felt alone with God. When that occurred he “was outside time; I belonged to the centuries; and He who then gave the answer was He who had always is, was there.” These mystical experiences were significant events in Jung’s life. He struggled with the idea of a personified God, yet “I understood that God was, for me at least, one of the most certain and immediate of experiences.” The "Other" side of him (which I will identify in hypnosis terms as the subconscious) was able to have a personal experience with God. "Here nothing separated man from God; indeed, it was as though the human mind looked down upon Creation simultaneously with God." He often found himself moved beyond the events of his daily life and into the "boundlessness of God's world."

I think Jung would not have felt so much internal struggle with theology if he had the knowledge of other religions (something he was interested in but his parents disallowed). The Hindu Vedantic idea of God as being both the one and the many may have resonated with him at this time. He said, "The stone has no uncertainties, no urge to communicate, and is eternally the same for thousands of years...I was the sum of my emotions, and the "Other” in me was the timeless, imperishable stone."

Not surprisingly, Jung felt a connection to Meister Eckhart who once said: “If you seek the kernel, then you must break the shell. And likewise, if you would know the reality of Nature, you must destroy the appearance, and the farther you go beyond the appearance, the nearer you will be to the essence." Jung's inner world was large and filled with nature images. He especially loved trees and the forest (like me), and he found them both "mysterious" and the "direct embodiments of the incomprehensible meaning of life." This is where he felt close to the deepest meaning. Reading this, I wondered if Jung would have had the same mystical, reverent experience I did before the 1,200 year old tree in the rain forest of Mears Island, British Columbia.

Church, however, was problematic for Jung. And he was disappointed when his communion resulted in no discernible internal change. The relatively orthodox faith he experienced seemed to him a masquerade and he felt like an outsider. “ C.G. found school equally as boring. He had some difficulty with boys bulling. Several times when he was interested in the topic, he wrote papers far above his years and was publicly accused by the teacher of plagiarism. Although untrue, this had an effect on his relationship with his peers. It was also at this time that he decided being best in school was no longer the goal and he strove to not be conspicuous. Being number two was an easier position with his peer group.

As a teenager, his father took Jung to a mountain and allowed him to go alone on a train ride to the top. The view of the expansive vista had a profound impact on Jung. For many years afterward, he would bring into his mind the memory of this place whenever he was overworked or weary (a good bit of self-hypnosis even if he didn't recognize it as such).

More to come in Chapter 3…

C.G. Jung's Memories, Dreams, Reflections

2010-01-14T21:53:00.000-08:00

Thoughts on "Early Years"... The autobiography of C.G. Jung is not so much about the external events of his life, but rather is an exploration of his inner work. We all have memories and images of events in our life. Events that are pretty insignificant from the standpoint of life achievements or importance. I can dreg up childhood memories of embarrassment, humiliation, guilt, anger, and fear at the drop of a hat. Situations where I felt belittled or "less than." Situation that occur probably daily in the life of children, but for some reason these particular memories are significant and remain readily accessible to us. These are the memories that C.G. gives us. As he writes in the Prologue, "In the end the only events in my life worth telling are those when the imperishable world erupted into this transitory one. That is why I speak chiefly of inner experiences, amongst which I include my dreams and visions....All other memories of travels, people and my surroundings have paled beside these interior happenings." How contrary this thought is to the Western ideal, where people are judged by what they have achieved and how much money they make. What would we be like as individuals if we made the study of our inner life a priority? How would the world change?

Many of Jung's early memories focused on his mother. There was much disappointment there. She appeared to have had significant emotional or physical issues...being absent from the home - at a hospital or remaining in her room. The relationship between his parents was also not good. He discloses that "the feeling I associated with 'woman' was for a long time that of innate unreliability" (a feeling he says was later resolved). Yet, I wonder if this handicap influenced some of his later life decisions.

I found humorous C.G.'s description of several near death experiences as a very young child, which he describes as a "unconscious suicidal urge" or a "fatal resistance to life." To me this statement was a reflection of two things. First, if Jung was a mother, rather than a father, he would know for certain the absurdity of that explanation. Children have a present focused existence - filled with curiosity and the desire to explore new things. This was more likely the cause of his falls and dangerous climbing around bridges. And certainly we know today that the brain's frontal lobes are not available to preschoolers. When I was five I rode a tricycle off a front porch and broke my arm. Probably more the desire for a fun leap than a death wish (and the fall kept me from wanting to become Evil Knievel). My second thought was that we are all subject to the skewed perceptions of our profession. It's something we all have to look out for. If we are lawyers we see the world and all in it as contracts to be broken and bad actors. Jung as the ultimate psychologist saw life in such a way...as neurosis and pathology. Hence his attributing to a 2 year old a suicidal urge.

Jung was a lonely child, growing up as an only child. He had an active imagination and quite a vivid dream life at an early age, with images that haunted him throughout his life. Even if these images were modified in some fashion over time, as a hypnotherapist, I can say those images would be ripe for working with the subconscious - whether for behavioral change or in a more transpersonal way for personal and spiritual growth and development. Jung obviously understood the importance of these images at a very early age and this awareness lead to his study of them. He also saw an image of a headless apparition outside his mother's room at night. (I wonder what he would attribute that to...illusion? ghost? psychosis? And would any of us classify that differently today? Was Jung an intuitive? a mystic? energy reader?) He was certainly creative, very artistic (as we will see in the Red Book) and spent a good deal of his time drawing battle scenes (as do many boys), and interpreting his ink blots (alright, a bit less common). His parents had a painting he loved that he would sit gazing at for hours. He said it was "the only beautiful thing he knew." Now, that is the soul of the artist.

C.G. liked to play with fire (I hope that was cultural). And most interestingly he created a little manikin which he made clothes for and kept in a pencil box with a colored stone. This was hidden and kept a secret. The idea of it gave him great comfort throughout his childhood. At times he would bring the manikin messages written in a made up ancient language. As an adult he discovered the manikin and stone to be very similar to those in ancient Australia of which he had no conscious knowledge. He describes his rituals with the manikin as being the same as he saw the natives in Africa doing. "They act first and do not know what they are doing. Only long afterwords do they reflect on what they have done."

And So We Begin..."2010 The Great C.G. Jung Project"

2010-01-05T22:29:00.000-08:00

Over the past few days I've been reading the Red Book and Jung's autobiography of sorts, Memories, Dreams, Reflections. Let's start with the Red Book. It is a large, bigger than standard coffee table tome, with copies of Jung's journal. I know that sounds pretty boring and it probably would be if it was my journal but it is not. This is the journal of the genius mind of C.G. Jung. The journal that contained his inner work at a time when he was having what I might think of as a psycho/spiritual crisis. The psychologist call it psychosis - but we'll quibble about that later (come on now, the man was a mystic). The images in this journal appear to be written in a script like an ancient manuscript. When you open it, you find it illuminated throughout with Jung's paintings or symbolic images that appear both mythic and primitive at the same time, and yet are so imaginative that you can only hope he will share the story that goes with it. When I opened it to the first page, I started screaming, "He's doing 'active imagination!' He's doing 'active imagination!'" (You can see how easy it is to excite me.)

Active imagination, for those who don't know, is a technique of Jung's where he imagines conversing with different parts of himself or archetypes. I can tell he's doing it in the first page because it's written in German but I can see it's like dialogue. Hence, my excitement.

My main criticism with the book is that it is difficult to use. The English translation is in the back and it would really be desirable to have it next to the German images so you can actually "follow" it. I'm sure someone will come up with a paperback translation of the text to use with the big Red Book. But until then, I guess I will move gently back and forth throughout the book.

That's all for tonight, except to say that I strongly recommend you read the NY Times story about the publication of the Red Book, "The Holy Grail of the Unconscious," and equally as fascinating is the YouTube video "The Making of the Red Book." Alternatively, listen to Professor Sonu Shamdasani as he Introduces The Red Book. In this video clip you are able to see many of Jung's illustrations. Happy reading!

Getting Ready for the Great Project

2009-12-29T17:32:00.001-08:00

I've been searching the web for Jung bibliographies to assist me in selecting the books I'm going to read. I finally settled on the Wikipedia listing. It may not be comprehensive but it appears to contain the major works. I found that out of the 47 books included, I have 7 - all unread. Unfortunately, this does not include the 18 volume Collected Works of C.G. Jung, which now appears to be out of print and selling for over $1,000. Yikes! This is going to be an expensive proposition. Later, I found I can locate most of these volumes used and in paperback so that will be my strategy whenever possible.

I decided to start with the Red Book which I do have and has been calling to me for about a month now after it arrived. I'm also going to order Vol. 1 of the Collective Works. You might ask why I don't get these at the public library. However, if you saw what I do to books I am studying - the multicolor, stickies, highlighting and border notes you would understand that at least for this project, library books at not an option.

This volume (as described at Barnes & Noble) opens with Jung's desertion for the medical degree: 'On the Psychology and Pathology of So-called Occult Phenomena, ' a study that foreshadows much of his later work and as such is indispensable to all serious students of his work."

Looks like as good of a place to start as any. And we are off...2 days and counting.

Living On the Edge

2009-10-28T12:04:00.000-07:00

I have in my office a rather funky postcard with a quote from Lou Whitaker, "If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space." While I love this quote, I've been ruminating on what it means. In our world of duality - light and dark, positive and negative, what is the duality of "living on the edge"? Could it be that we are either living on the edge of hysteria or living on the edge of greatness?

Let's start with the idea of hysteria. When did America become a culture of hysteria? I can't pinpoint the exact date but it seems to be sometime before the year 2000. In the year 1999, we had the Y2K scare (remember that?). Since then we have had the avian flu pandemic; red, orange and amber alerts; elections depicting candidates as the anti-Christ; the collapse of our economic and financial systems; and the Denver boy off in the hot air balloon. Some of our fears have been for naught, since the actual event never occurred. Other fears, although real enough, have been expanded beyond the current reality. Our news media has moved from a fact-finding, truth mode into a editorial, divisive, confrontational mode that seeks ratings over accuracy. We have allowed those fringe thinkers with money to have the center stage. What does this type of media blitz do to us? I contend that it leads us to "living on the edge" of hysteria.

Andrew Weil recommends a media news fast in his book "Eight Weeks to Optimum Health." He states that research shows that the emotional content of news can affect mood and aggravate sadness and depression. "I'm not asking people to become uninformed. I want them to discover they have a choice as to how much they let in so they don't fall into this unconscious, habitual pattern of letting it in all the time," Weil has said. When I raise this idea to my friends I usually get some resistance. Many express concern that they will not be a "good citizen" if they aren't informed. My question is how does watching or not watching news change your behavior? Do you join activist groups, march on the capital, contribute funds to lobbyist arguing your cause? For most of us, the answer is no. If that's the case, I challenge you to a 2 week news and media fast. See if your life is calmer, with less hysteria, and more emotionally centered without news. Should you wish to expand your civic duties, contact a local nonprofit group and volunteer your time and talents to feeding the hungry, reducing illiteracy or visiting the ill or dying. If we take even a portion of the time we spend in media "hysteria," and spend it instead on helping others; our lives, the lives of others, and our world will actually improve. Fear then will become productivity.

Let's end this entry with the idea of greatness. We can chose to "live on the edge" of our greatness, of our personal growth, and of our service to others. Living on this edge is euphoric rather than hysteric. It takes us to a place of expansion where in Star Trek terms "no one has gone before." If you're not living on THIS edge, you're truly taking up too much space. Move over.

Hypnosis for Stress Management? How Not to Burn Your Candle Out at Both Ends

2009-10-03T23:29:00.000-07:00

How have you been feeling lately? Out of sorts? Anxious? Irritable? Fatigued? Do you have restless sleep? A recent CNN survey found that 80% of all Americans are experiencing stress over the economy and personal finances. Of those, 30% identified themselves as experiencing extreme stress. Living through the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression is enough to set most of us on edge. Add to that two wars and our individual concerns about our families, careers, or health and we are over the top. Stress appears to be a natural and unavoidable consequence of the life we live today.

By definition, stress is the mismatch of the demands we face in life and the resources we have to meet those demands. Some stress is external– the economy, accidents, crime… Other stress is internal. It is our intolerance to our own mistakes, our overly high self-expectations, feelings of worry, guilt and fear. Obviously, stress is unique to each individual. We all know people who face adversity calmly and with equanimity. Stress is not inherent in our circumstances but rather in our perception of these events. Stress is the gap between how the world is and how we want it to be. For most of us, our perception of the “gap” may be quite large.

Researchers have identified two kinds of stress: acute and chronic. Acute stress is what we experience during times of danger. It is our prehistoric response to a life or death event and is known as the “fight or flight” response. Chronic stress is what we experience when there is no imminent danger, yet the stress continues even after the initial stressful event is over. We all know that some stress is good. It allows us to meet deadlines and keeps us alert, motivated and observant so we can avoid danger. But chronic stress can lead to serious health issues. A negative stress reaction may occur when our hormones fail to shut down after a stressful event - resulting in a feedback loop of distress. For some, chronic stress may become permanent.

Stress effects us both physically and psychologically. Physical symptoms include aches, pains, muscle tension, fatigue, exhaustion, shortness of breath, insomnia, constipation, ulcers, asthma or elevated blood pressure. Studies have also found that many chronic conditions, genetic conditions, and major diseases are either brought on or worsened by stress. The most sobering finding is that 80-90% of all disease is stress related! The psychological symptoms are equally disruptive and include anxiety, depression, mental confusion, irritability, anger, panic attacks, worry, fear, indecision, negativity, feeling overwhelmed and addictive behavior patterns. Obviously stress has a major impact on our lives, our productivity and our relationships with others.

What can you do to managed your stress? Start by taking a personal inventory. Seek to discover the stressors in your life. Look for ways to reduce your stress by learning healthy ways to relieve stress or reduce its harmful effects. Remember 90% of all stress is self-inflicted. There are many ways to manage stress from active pursuits such as exercise or yoga, creative activities or hobbies, watching funny movies, spending time with family, friends and pets; to more reflective activities such as massage, deep breathing, mediation, spirituality, journaling and relaxation. Adding one or more of the activities into your life may help you keep your stress at a manageable level.

Although any of these methods will provide some relief, there are times when our stress is so high that we find it exhausting to even think of adding a new activity. Any behavioral change requires "will power," and when you are depleted, "will power" may not exist. Hypnosis provides you with just the push you need to alleviate the stress surrounding you. Hypnosis is not based on will power. It instead works with the power of the subconscious mind. This is the part of your mind that speaks in symbols, stores all your knowledge, learning, and memories, and works with the power of suggestion.

Hypnosis is a safe and easy way to bring about a behavioral change (such as adding more exercise or meditation to your daily routine) or changing how you perceive stressful situations. A hypnotherapist can work with your subconscious mind to provide suggestions leading to a more relaxed state, when in a stressful situation. You experience the desired change naturally and easily. A hypnotherapist can also teach you self-hypnosis and other techniques such as progressive relaxation or working with affirmations. Hypnosis will teach you the hidden power you have within your subconscious mind. It is a highly successful means for dealing with anxiety and stress. Physician Andrew Weil has said, "In general, I believe that no condition is out of bounds for trying hypnotherapy on."

Acceptance

2009-08-13T20:27:00.000-07:00

Most of my life I've struggled with acceptance. I could be happy at just about any time, if I'd only accept what was going on. But I can't because the person or situation does not fulfill my expectations, or do what I'd like. What a waste!

The most recent example of this occurred only a few weeks ago. I was "supposed" to be on vacation but the Friday afternoon before it started I got a call from my daughter. My toilet was overflowing (OK, stop with looking for universal symbolism here). Someone flushed a sock, or a washcloth and before I knew it I had 5" of water in about 1/3 of my house.

The situation quickly went from bad to worse, my daughter slipped and fell on the wet tile and ended up in the ER. My insurance told me I had a high deductible and the adjustor couldn't come for a week to look at the damage. Meanwhile, mildew and mold were growing in the summer air.

Fortunately, my daughter had no injury (hurting but nothing broken). That should have been enough to keep me grateful for quite some time; but instead I found myself pulling up carpet, fixing the flooring and feeling sorry for myself for not getting a real vacation. That lasted until about Wednesday when I finally got that if I could only accept "what was," I could be at peace (and maybe even happier, if not actually happy).

I don't know why acceptance is so hard for me. I don't know why my mind so rigidly clings to what I believe and want. But I do know that when I can let go, even a little bit, I feel better. It's like a cool breeze on a hot summer day. It brings relief even when you are busy pulling up carpet.

Change of Mind

2009-03-24T12:29:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking recently about changing my mind. Ever since I've become a hypnotherapist I've started to watch my words and my thinking. I notice my emotions more and that incessant inner chatter. I notice how I give "reality" to my thoughts. If I believe something to be the truth, then it's the truth. If I think something is going to happen then "By God, it's going to happen." Or at least that 's how it used to be. Right now, I'm starting to see a crack appearing in my thoughts. An opening and a knowing that I need to leave a lot of space for things to unfold and spirit to work. I've started to notice how most of us jump to negative conclusions. Maybe jump is too mild a word - leap is probably better. We do that when we judge others, but we especially do it when we judge ourselves.

Most of my clients are incredible people: accomplished, educated, thoughtful, spiritual... They come to hypnosis for stress relief or weight loss - the standard things. Looking at these people externally you would never image how little self esteem they have. All that mental chatter, all the negative self-talk, that inner critic that eats away at our internal image year after year. Why do we do that to ourselves? It's our thoughts that hold us prisoner, not our "reality." Hamlet was right when he said, "Why, then, 'tis none to you; for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."

So such is my personal and professional struggle to try to find a chink in our mental armour and a way around the prison of our thoughts. In our society we support the embracing of negativity. It's as if we are in one big support group, whether around the water cooler or the soccer field. Who has the worst story? Who can find the most fault with themselves or others? We are comfortable in this negativity. It surrounds us like a baby blanket and we wallow in its darkness. We love our "shadow side." It never threatens others and it keeps us one with our clan. Yet I can't help thinking if this lack of self-esteem and refusal to face our "beauty," is the result of fear.

As Marianne Williamson once said, "“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

And isn't that enough to make you want to change your mind too?

The Continuing Power of Myth

2009-02-13T06:53:00.001-08:00

This week I was listening to an NPR story about the Persian Poet, Abolqasem Ferdowsi, who wrote an epic poem called the Shahnameh (translated as "The Book of Kings"). The poem is a combination of myth and history as it describes the wars and rulers of the great Persian empire. I was impressed by the continuing knowledge of this poem in the lives of those in Iran - how the mythic stories had significance symbolically to them. I was especially impressed by how dominant this work is within their culture.

The poem begins beautifully, "In the name of God of soul and wisdom, than whom thought cannot reach higher. God of name and God of space, God [who is] sustenance-granting and our guide. The God of "universe" and of the revolving sky, the kindler of Moon, Venus, and Sun."

Other cultures have similar mythic poem and sacred texts. The Hindus have the Ramayana, the Western world has the Greek and Roman myths, the Jews and Christians have the stories and parables in the Old and New Testament. But although these stories still exist in the Western world, I wonder how many of us actually use them as a source of wisdom in our daily lives.

In the NPR story, a Tehran journalist was interviewed. He opened his copy of the Shahnameh to one of its most poignant stories. It is the tale of Rostam a warrior who kills his son thinking him to be an enemy. It is the great story of mistaken identity, miscommunication and pride. The journalist used Rostam's life as an metaphor for the lack of communication between his country and the U.S.

How often do we hear others use the characters, stories and events in our myths and sacred texts within our daily conversations? How often do we think of the sacred stories and parables within our traditions as guidance for our lives? What have we lost in our education and culture - within the world of constant entertainment? How do we communicate the wisdom of our lives to others? Do we say, "I'm struggling to discover my truth just like Daniel in the lion's den?"

Joseph Campbell in his epic PBS television series with Bill Moyers, The Power of Myth, once said, "Myths are clues to the spiritual possibilities of the human life." Without these clues what have we lost? How can be best reclaim them?

All the Good/ Jana Stanfield & Doug Ellis

2009-02-07T15:17:00.001-08:00

What's Up With the World?

2009-02-07T14:46:00.000-08:00

Life is hard. We know that. The Buddhists say "life is suffering." But I prefer what Christ said better, "I come to bring you life and life ABUNDANT." Nevertheless, we are living in trying times, let's put that, scary times. I'm coping by living in denial. I put my 401K statements in a folder unopened. I refuse to get caught up in the consciousness of lack. I know my life and my material surroundings are not dependent on the world. I know they are mine by the grace of God. Still the news and the chatter leads us to fear and from fear we quickly leap to insanity.

I like to remember that we are blessed living in the good ol' U.S.A. True suffering is unknown for most of us here and whether we lose our IRA or our 401K we are still better off than most of the world. This week I saw a reference to an article in the New York Times by Ben Stein entitled, "They Told Me That Madoff Never Lost Money." The part that grabbed me was the conclusion.

"We are more than our investments. We are more than the year-to-year or day-by-day changes in our net worth. We are what we do for charity. We are how we treat our family and friends. We are how we treat our dogs and cats. We are what we do for our community and our nation. If you had $100 million or $100,000 a year ago and now you have a lot less, you are still the same person. You are not a balance sheet, at least not one denominated in money, as was explained to me recently.

Losing and making money are not moral issues so long as you are being honest. You may have a lot less money as this year ends than you did two years ago. But you are just as good or bad a person as you were then. It is a myth that money determines who you are, and if you have gotten over that myth by now, then 2008 will have been a very good year."

This is how I chose to view life. There is a lot we can do "out there" for good. A lot of folks need help and we can still help them. Whether it is recycling, donating unneeded items, volunteering to take meals to shut-ends, feed the hungry, teach reading... We don't need a lot to help a lot. So I'm warning everyone, don't come whining to me. When you feel sorry for yourself, just start helping someone with less. As one of my favorite musicians, Jana Stanfield wrote, "I can not do all the good that the world needs, but the world needs all the good I can do." Amen, Sister!

Book Study

2009-02-05T11:21:00.000-08:00

My friend Amy and I recently started a book study group. While I'd love spending time with Amy anyway, discussing books is just the icing on the cupcake for me. We are currently reading two books - alternating between them. Could be a bit disjointed, I guess, but because they are nonfiction it works well. One of the books is the Dance of the Dissident Daughter by Sue Monk Kidd. The other is Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Tool by Lauren Artress.

I have had this book on my shelf for a couple years (I actually have a labyrinth in my back yard). I just never got around to reading it. What a nice surprise! I am enjoying reading Artress' analogy of the labyrinth as an archetype (shouldn't that be a metaphor?). And she discusses the value of the symbolic and the need for rituals in our spiritual life. She writes, "To walk a sacred path is to discover our inner sacred space: that core of feeling that is waiting to have life breathed back into it through symbols, archetypal forms like the labyrinth, rituals, stories and myths. Understanding the invisible world, the world of patterns and process, opens us up to the movement of the Spirit." I continue to find myself surrounded by symbols and discussions of the same. What a trip that is, synchronicity at it's best. Jung would be proud.

And So It Begins

2009-02-04T21:45:00.000-08:00

Finally. I've spent the past two weeks doing and redoing my website for Symbols of Soul. Very frustrating. Some error in FrontPage that I was not able to decipher. This week I just caved and created a whole new template. Tonight it is finished! All but the proofing that is. And so I can begin my blog happily without the specter of the website hanging over my head.

So why a blog? I'm a "journaler" by nature and I enjoy reading artist and "thinker" blogs and I thought it might be interesting (if for no one but myself) if I chronicled this new endeavour as I journey more into the language of soul.