CHAPTER 1
BRINGING FORTH WHAT IS WITHIN YOU
If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.
—The Gospel of Thomas
The above quotation from the Gospel of Thomas serves as a foundation for this book. It is about bringing forth what is within the soul into the light of consciousness. In this chapter, we focus on the first sentence of the quotation, keeping in mind that in this context, "save" means "to heal." Throughout the book, we explore ways to bring forth the power within the soul to heal both ourselves and the earth.
While most of the book is interactive and experiential, some key terms need to be clarified before we begin. Take soul, for instance; this is a word that has been bandied about so often that it is even used to describe a particular kind of music or food. In Greek, the word for soul translates as "psyche," and that is the way it is used in this book. It is the soul, or psyche, that gives meaning to our experiences in the outer world. If we listen to the guidance of the soul, it will reveal the spiritual lessons we are destined to pay attention to in our lives.
In Carl Jung's model, the soul (psyche) has two interconnected levels: the personal unconscious and the collective unconscious. The personal unconscious is subjective, made up of psychic material from our heritage, family of origin, and religious tradition. When we reflect on our life experiences in order to make sense of them, we are drawing on the personal unconscious.
The collective unconscious is more objective and cross-cultural in nature, a vast realm of instinctual and evolutionary trends. When we read mythological or ancient stories—perhaps about a flood that covered all the earth—we are drawing on the collective unconscious. Jung considered the collective unconscious to be the source of the archetypes.
The word archetype comes from arche, meaning ancient source (the collective unconscious), and type, meaning universal pattern. Archetypes are timeless forms or patterns that stream from the collective unconscious into the personal unconscious and find expression in images. While Jung did not claim to have discovered the archetypes, he understood their power to shape people's lives as well as the culture at large. He even wrote that when archetypal forces are activated, their power can be compared to that of an atomic bomb.
The mushroom cloud that resulted from dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945, is an example of an archetypal image. With its smoke polluting the air and its explosive chemicals penetrating the earth's body, the mushroom cloud can be viewed as an image of the lack of regard for the sacredness of the earth. Jung might say that the mushroom cloud represents man-made power gone awry, without thought of the destructive implications.
I was born three days before the dropping of the atomic bomb, and the image of the mushroom cloud has been with me all of my life. For example, whenever I exploded in anger as a child, my family would say, half jokingly, "Well, you can tell she was born with the bomb!" Perhaps I was destined to be "born with the bomb" to contribute in some way to the healing of Mother Earth. If this is true, the question I ask is: "What does Mother Earth want from me and from all of us in this age of species extinction, decimation of the ecosystems, and erratic weather patterns?"
In part, the answer may have to do with memory, the memory of the soul of the earth as well as the memory of our own souls. In a newspaper article titled "Moving toward Extinction," writer Timothy Keim compares species extinction with the memory loss that comes from Alzheimer's disease. They share a common root, Keim writes, in that there are "holes in the ecosystem of our gray matter and holes in the web of life that keeps us alive." Keim goes on to assert, "What we are losing is the memory of the miraculous mystery of Eden with which we have been bequeathed."
In response to this article, Jung would likely say that this instinctual memory, which dwells deep within the collective unconscious, is also in danger of extinction. He believed that there is a hole in the soul, so to speak, and that it is within the soul where the healing has to begin. One way we can bring forth healing from the soul is to practice the Jungian art of active imagination.
In each chapter, there is a ritual section to practice active imagination in the form of writing dialogues with animals. The purpose of writing the dialogues is to bring consciousness to the instincts, for animals represent the instinctual realm of the soul. Many people tend to repress their instinctual side because it feels shameful or selfish. Take anger, for example. We may feel angry and then feel guilty for feeling the anger! However, there is usually a powerful message behind any feeling within us, and dialoguing with the animals can help us to recover that message.
Writing the dialogues offers a safe approach to dealing with issues that might otherwise feel too burdensome to handle. You can write your dialogues with the animals I have selected, or you can choose your own. If you would like a guide for choosing your animals, you can do as I did and consult the book Medicine Cards: The Discovery of Power through the Ways of Animals by Jamie Sams and David Carson. In this book, the power of an animal is expressed as "medicine." The section titled "The Nine Totem Animals" has instructions for using a card layout to lead you to the animals that might have a healing medicine for you.
To write an active imagination dialogue, begin by greeting your animal with a friendly word, such as hello. Then ask your animal a question or write a statement that will evoke a response from the animal. If your dialogue seems phony or uptight or if you are feeling uncomfortable with it, try using humor and wordplay. The playful use of language can help to lighten you up so your soul can enlighten you. Once you have made a connection with your animal, it will offer a message. Be sure to thank your animal for the message, and then ask if it has anything else to say. Let the animal have the last word so it can provide the final insight.
It is also helpful to look up information about your animal's instinctual attributes. If Bear is one of your animals, you should know its hibernation habits. If Snake slides into your dialogue, find out how and why it sheds its skin. If Dragonfly hovers over the waters of your unconscious, consider the large compound eyes that make its eyesight exceptionally keen. An animal's instinctual gifts can reveal much about the essence of its medicine.
And don't be surprised if your animal comes to you in real life because writing about animals can attract them into your energy field. When I was writing about Groundhog Day, for example, I spied a groundhog perched in my garden as if to invite me to go underground with him. The appearance of the groundhog illustrates Jung's concept of synchronicity. Synchronicity can best be explained as a meaningful coincidence in the outer world that corresponds to an unconscious state of mind. When you experience a striking synchronicity in the outer world, such as meeting the animal in real life just as you are writing about it, this usually indicates a need to bring forth the message of the synchronicity into the light of consciousness.
Perhaps you have heard of power animals from the shamanic tradition. In tribal communities, the shaman journeyed into other dimensions with a power animal to bring back healing messages for the community. In keeping with the shamanic tradition, you can call your animals "power animals," or in keeping with the Native American tradition, you can call them "totem animals." I have chosen to call them "spirit animals" because the dialogues are intended to spiritualize (bring consciousness to) the instinctual realm of the soul.
The body is another aspect of the instinctual realm of the soul. Whenever we hear the word body, we usually think of only the physical body, but in a wider sense, body can refer to fields of energy that hold guidance from the soul. The emotional body, for example, can point you to an emotion that is trying to get your attention. When we ignore the emotional body, we may experience headaches or other bodily symptoms until we get the message. Related to these bodies, or energy fields, are the chakras, usually described as "wheels of light." The chakras are psychic power centers connected to the endocrine system of the physical body.
Many of you may be familiar with the seven main chakras, which have come into Western culture through yoga. The first chakra is located at the base of the spine; the second chakra is in the pelvic area; the third chakra is at the level of the solar plexus; the fourth chakra is at the level of the heart; the fifth chakra is in the throat area; the sixth chakra is between the eyebrows; and the seventh chakra is located at the top of the head. An evolving belief—and one I've applied to this book—is that there is an eighth chakra located several inches above the head, as well as a ninth chakra that forms an aura around the physical body.
It is a common practice to apply a color on the rainbow spectrum to each of the seven chakras: red for the first chakra, orange for the second, yellow for the third, green for the fourth, blue for the fifth, indigo for the sixth, and violet for the seventh. For the purposes of this book, I have applied white to the eighth chakra and the entire rainbow spectrum to the ninth chakra. This is not to suggest that the chakras are literally these colors; rather, each chakra corresponds to a frequency on the light spectrum. As you interact with this book, you will have an opportunity to experience the particular quality of each chakra color. So that they are in rhythm with the natural world, I have aligned each of the chakras with a cycle on the Celtic Wheel of the Year.
Chapters 2 through 10 provide the seasonal timeframes for the Celtic cycles; note that they pertain to the northern hemisphere and can be reversed in the southern hemisphere. For consistency, the equinoxes and solstices are celebrated on the twenty-first day of the month in which they fall, although in actuality, they will vary a day or two from year to year.
Here's how the wheel turns:
• Chapter 2—The first cycle begins on February 1 with the celebration of Imbolc and ends on March 21 with the spring equinox. In this chapter, you will have an opportunity to sow the soul seeds that you will work with throughout the following cycles.
• Chapter 3—The second cycle begins on March 21 with the spring equinox and ends on May 1 with Beltane. This chapter is about tending the garden of the soul seeds.
• Chapter 4—The third cycle begins on May 1 with Beltane and ends on June 21 with the summer solstice. In this chapter, the sun is honored as a source of power for the seeds.
• Chapter 5—The fourth cycle begins on June 21 with the summer solstice and ends on August 1 with Lughnasadh/Lammas. In this chapter, the seeds blossom in the heart.
• Chapter 6—The fifth cycle begins on August 1 with Lughnasadh/Lammas and ends on September 21 with the autumn equinox. In this chapter, the soul seeds find a voice.
• Chapter 7—The sixth cycle begins on September 21 with the autumn equinox and ends on November 1 with Samhain. Here, you begin to perceive through the eyes of the soul.
• Chapter 8—The seventh cycle begins on November 1 with Samhain and ends on December 21 with the winter solstice. This chapter attunes the soul to higher inspiration.
• Chapter 9—The eighth cycle begins on December 21 with the winter solstice and ends on January 6 with Epiphany. This chapter heralds the coming of a new soul consciousness.
• Chapter 10—The ninth cycle begins on January 6 with Epiphany and ends on February 1, where we began. In this chapter, you have an opportunity to synthesize the soul insights that have come to you throughout the journey around the Celtic Wheel of the Year.
Depending on where you live, you may not experience the distinct change of seasons that we have in North Carolina. To this, I say use your imagination and adapt. In other words, if it's snowing during the spring equinox cycle and you can't quite resonate with my description of azaleas and dogwoods, notice what is there before your eyes and give thanks for nature's beauty and bounty in whatever form. You can even create your own Wheel of the Year to correspond to the seasons in your location.
In each cycle, you will learn how to set up an altar of meaningful images. For example, on my first cycle altar, I have an image of a Black Madonna. Black Madonna is an archetypal image of the hidden light of the soul that dwells in the darkness of the unconscious. Also in each cycle, there are sample affirmations, or short statements, that influence the perceptions of the conscious mind. Affirmations are not meant to be mindlessly repeated in order to ward off negative influences but to serve as a reminder that the wisdom of the affirmation is already within you waiting to be brought forth into the light of consciousness. Although I have modeled several affirmations, be sure to add your own so that they come from your soul.
Since the soul thrives on storytelling, both personal and collective, I have included fairy tales for you to interact with and embody. Fairy tales are powerful archetypal stories that can bring forth what is within you. In "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," for example, the dwarfs can represent the seven chakras, whose wisdom is mined from the deep layers of the unconscious. The Wicked Queen in this story can represent a roadblock that obscures the purity of the soul (as depicted by Snow White). The queen's "mirror, mirror on the wall" can be viewed as a psychic tool that reflects messages back to you from the hidden or shadow aspects of the soul.
Interactions with the fairy tales can range from responding to the questions that follow the stories, writing about their symbolism in your journal, or dressing up as one of the characters. I suggest setting aside a specific part of the day to interact with your chosen fairy tale, preferably when you are alone or at least have some time to yourself. You might want to devote one day a week to your fairy tale in order to integrate its archetypal message.
If you would like a guide for choosing your fairy tales, you can do as I did and consult the book Inner Child Cards: A Journey into Fairy Tales, Myth, & Nature by Isha Lerner and Mark Lerner. Like the animal medicine book, it has a set of cards with suggested layouts that can lead you to the fairy tales that might have something to say to you. The plot summaries in this book are particularly helpful for bringing forth the symbolism within the fairy tales.
As you go through each cycle, you will likely have profound and sometimes confusing experiences. This is a good sign and indicates that Eros is at work. Although Eros has come to be associated with "erotic," it actually means relatedness. As an archetype of interconnectedness, Eros plays an important role in initiating the individuation process. With Eros, opposing psychic energies—such as those of the Wicked Queen and Snow White—begin to come together and you reach a new attitude. Without Eros, there is no individuation.
Contrary to popular belief, the word individuation does not come from "individualism" but from "undivided." In the individuation process, the split-off parts of the soul are brought into harmony with the conscious mind. As the longings of the soul come into the light of consciousness, you are developing what Jung called the "true self." Like the knot that adorns Celtic art, the true self interweaves the dark and light forces of the soul, bringing forth what is within you for healing and wholeness.
When you come to chapter 11, you will have an opportunity to explore the second sentence of the quotation from the Gospel of Thomas: "If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you." This chapter shows how to revisit the cycles on the Celtic Wheel of the Year, not as a circle this time but as a spiral. A spiral ascends and descends and curves and curls without being closed. By spiraling deeper into each cycle, you can relate more consciously to the destructive forces within the soul that may block your spiritual path.
Chapter 12 offers a creative outlet for the psychic forces in the form of writing. As you will discover, writing is an effective tool for tapping into the hidden facets of the soul. My hope is that the writing pieces in this chapter will be an inspiration for you to write your own. Above all, may you be guided by the light, and the dark, within your soul as you search for the spiritual path that is waiting for you and within you!
