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July Salon Sample

July 30, 2003

WHY WE SABOTAGE OUR JOURNEY OF ENLIGHTENMENT
PART FOUR: FEARING OUR SHADOW

During the summer of 1984 -- last century; doesn't that stop your mind for a moment? -- a wonderful friend of mine came to visit. Sally was bursting with enthusiasm over the progress that she was making with her therapist. "I’m making a lot of headway in dealing with my Inner Child.”

"Your what?" I said, in that tone of voice -- you know the one . . . respectfully sarcastic.

"My Inner Child," she replied.

"What's an Inner Child, exactly?" I asked. I knew, of course, but for the sake of polite conversation and because I wanted to hear what she had to say, at least a bit, I asked the question.

"Everyone has an Inner Child,” Sally said. “It's that part of you that recalls your early years and holds on to your early traumas. I had lots of trauma during my childhood and I want to clear it out."

"Why do all you New Agers always have to dwell on how unhappy your childhoods were?” I said. “Doesn't any of you have a happy Inner Child? I think all that stuff is just another excuse to go on and on about your tragic feelings and get sympathy. Why can't you just get on with your adulthood?"

Now, looking back -- and it is almost 20 years back, let me say in my own defense -- I fully acknowledge that my response was not the most, ah, sensitive. But that was how I felt back then. Need I tell you that I continued to carry on about how I felt the whole self-absorbed orientation of the Inner Child phenomenon was self-indulgent, accomplished nothing, and kept a lot of people judging their parents? None of which was, in my opinion, very healing. Believe it or not, in spite of all that, Sally and I still managed to have a good time at dinner. However, after she left my home (and yes, she did visit me again in case you're wondering), I began to feel enormously guilty over my behavior. I felt horrible about my reaction to her sharing her interior work, and I obviously still do or I wouldn't be writing this semi-confession. Still, I held tight to my belief that all this Inner Child stuff was nothing more than the flavor-of-the-month in therapy circles.

Sometime later I was doing a workshop for a lovely group of health professionals. I was new at my work as a medical intuitive and as a result, I did not have a large archive of case histories to draw on as examples of what I was teaching in regard to health and stress. At the time, my only focus was on the relationship between stress and illness. And, so, I had to refer to my own health history, which is not something I do comfortably even now. In describing a stress-illness balance, I said that I had just recovered from one of the most severe cases of mononucleosis that my physician had ever seen. In fact, she had said it could rank among the worst cases on record in New Hampshire, which was my home during the 1980s. I described for them the particular type of stress I was under. The publishing company I had co-founded with two other people (husband and wife at the time) represented a surrogate home and family for me. I had just moved to New Hampshire from Chicago, and had yet to make any close friends. The three of us were together constantly as we built up the publishing company. Given my background coming from a close-knit European tribe, I fell into the familial archetype as naturally as a duck takes to water.
Continued...

ENOUGH OF ME -- ON TO YOU

From that moment on, all I wanted to focus on was the archetypal domain. From my new perspective, everything else in life became the caboose, while these subtle patterns of the psyche were directing my journey. And among the many aspects of the psyche that intrigued me most deeply was the characteristic called our shadow. (Do any of you remember the radio drama from the 1930s called "The Shadow"? Now every single time -- no kidding –someone refers to their shadow, I hear the voice of the radio guy saying in this low, kind of scratchy voice, "Who knows? The Shadow knows…" Who knew that silly program was a metaphysical masterpiece?)

So, I want you to think about some characteristic of yours that gets you into trouble, something that perhaps causes a temper explosion or a mood swing, or evokes some fear that gets out of control. When I encounter that type of extreme behavior in someone, I ask them why they respond as they do, and most often, they answer by saying, "I don't know" -- usually in a "childlike" tone of voice. The Child archetype often comes to the rescue when one begins to feel intimidated by the "adult" talking -- as in a dialogue with me in a classroom. I know from years of experience that as soon as someone's Child shows up, I need to shift gears because I am not longer speaking to an adult. I am in some sense speaking to a five-year-old or a ten-year-old, regardless of the actual age of the person sitting in front of me. Back to you: Think about one of your trouble-making interior mysteries, preferably one that really pursues you. As you continue to read this Salon, keep your mystery near you.

WHY DO YOU WANT TO REMAIN YOUR OWN GREATEST MYSTERY?

How much do you really want to know yourself -- and why wouldn't you want to know all you can about who you are? Why are we so afraid of our shadows? When you ask yourself these kinds of questions, you find your Saboteur on your path to enlightenment -- or your highest potential. Questions like these bring to mind some of the comments people make when they discuss the problems in their relationships with mates or parents. "They don't know the real me," people complain. But do you know the real you? Or, "I just need to be accepted for who I really am." But who are you, and what does that mean? Most people don't accept themselves for who they are, so how can others do that?

A definition of "shadow" is in order here: Shadow refers to that which you have not yet discovered about yourself -- the aspects of your psyche, personality, and spirit that have yet to come into consciousness and so remain in the dark. These aspects can be negative or positive, although most people associated the shadow with negative qualities. The fact is that we perceive them that way because we are both unfamiliar and uncomfortable with them. Yet both forces are equally intimidating, and for the same reason: Self-knowledge means the self has to change. But let's look at the shadow first.

I do wonder if most people who reply that they don't know why they feel as they do or why they say what they do are telling the truth. I think most people know more about themselves then they will admit, but the fear of revealing that is where the shadow can be found. We sabotage the investigation of our mysteries -- which is an appropriate synonym for shadow in this case -- because advancing in our sense of self even by micro-steps reshapes the whole of our lives, as I discovered when I met my Inner Child. The impact was overwhelmingly disturbing for several reasons, all of which most of you can no doubt relate to in some way. First of all, I experienced a replay of many moments in my life that repositioned my behavior in a way that took away my banner of righteousness. Where I thought that I had been right in the past, I now acknowledged that I had been emotionally unreasonable. I was compelled to review critical choice points in my life, in which I now recognized that I had sabotaged opportunities to express my thoughts as an honest adult. I noted with intense discomfort how many times I had abdicated my responsibilities to myself because I was too intimidated to speak up for myself. This whole replay experience was beginning to feel uncomfortably like those early days when I used to go to confession and reel off all my sins to some man sitting behind a grate.
Continued...

So here's something to focus on for the next month:

First, become seriously observant regarding how often you make excuses for anything, from being late to saying something inappropriate to having a temper tantrum. Just note all excuses and then pursue within yourself what is really going on that an excuse is covering up.
Second, observe your Inner Child in action. I didn't go on and on about the positive aspects of the Inner Child, because that archetype contributes to your conscious growth, and we are taking on the task of figuring out why you sabotage getting to know yourself better. Keep your eyes on your Inner Child. Note which circumstances cause it to take over. Pay special attention (if you can hold this all in you mind) to your body language, the way you talk, and how honestly you communicate. Remember that this archetype often takes over when issues of responsibility are involved.
If you do just a bit of the above exercise, the end product should be some potent insights into aspects of your shadow and how these fragments surface through your Inner Child. Feel free to refer to another archetype if that works better for you. The shadow side of the Warrior, for example, is a great one to follow for a month.

Okay, then. I hope you're having a great summer. Summer seems to pass in the blink of an eye, no?

Watch out for Mars...
Love and blessings,
Caroline

To register for the Caroline Myss Online Salon

I NEED A CATCHY LITTLE TITLE RIGHT HERE
(THE NATURE OF THINGS)?
Lench Archuleta
Often I wonder, what Creation would have to do if it wanted to get our attention?
Think about it.

The irony of our existence is that most, if not all of us, will come to a place where nothing we are familiar with makes any sense. Our world will completely flip upside down. It's a place you will want to run from, but there is no place to hide. It is a place where everything seems to affect you, yet you can't seem to feel anything. You may be walking and moving about, but you can't seem to focus on anything. Or maybe you can't get yourself to move at all. All you can feel is the void that has swallowed you. It is an all-consuming emptiness that defies description because the vastness is within you. Even feeling seems to be a distant memory and you wonder if the emptiness will ever end.

Pretty bleak isn't it? It is a place many of us are familiar with, and some of us know all too well. In my tradition, the Yaqui tradition, that place is known by many names, one of them is, Nomentatl. The normal laws of Reason do not apply in this place. It is a place between being and not being, and a place that challenges our sanity. It signals, for us, a time to prepare, for things are never going to be the same. In the natural rhythm of Nature, it is Creation's way of getting our attention. Some of us are pretty stubborn, but one way or another, Creation will get our attention. If we can surrender to this lesson, we will never again see life the same way, but not before we are pushed into that bottomless abyss.

Another irony of our life's journey is that we not only sense this impending change, but we also sense that there IS freedom in the horizon, if we can just get there. It is a place where everything is right, and we may even have to imagine it, but it fills us with a quiet and gentle exhilaration that is beyond words. If we can let the power of that place fill us, there are times when we are afraid to move, for fear that it will disappear. But does such a place really exist? I assure you it does.

The paradox of our lives is this, however painful, fearful, or even harmful our present circumstances are, most of us will hang on to even a strand of familiarity, because it is all that we know. To relinquish our familiarity is a fate we cannot imagine. Who would we be without it? We would cease to exist.

Fortunately for us, there is a way out. Remember I told you that Creation is trying to get our attention. Well, it is. Always. It is our constant companion. It is the one thing that we all seek, no matter who we are or where we are. Whether we are in the mountains, the woods, the ocean, the city, we all seek that little corner of the world that feeds us. That nurtures us. So sooner or later, we go outside, into Nature. Because it is in Nature that Creation nurtures us. All Native people know this…and so do I. Nature is all I know. I have to be around it all the time. As far back as I can remember, it has fed my soul. It is my greatest friend and teacher and the reverence I have for it is beyond words. If you have ever sat alone in nature, or had a profound experience in Nature, you know what I am talking about. There are places on the Earth that are so powerful that they cannot be spoken about. They can only be experienced. We call these places…Sacred.

The Desert is such a place. I live in the desert. It is my home. The desert is still intimidating enough, and isolated enough, that you can find places that have not been inundated with human debris, or even the energy of human interaction. In fact, you may not see another human being for days at a time. The result of this is that there are still places where the energy is very powerful, and very sacred. I now understand why Holy men, like Christ and Moses, mystics and sages, medicine men and women of all times and ages, went into the desert to find their Spirits…to walk into their power…to walk into their Sacredness. The energy of the Desert is unlike any in the world.

Nature cannot lie. It can't. To walk into it is to face your self. It is the ultimate reckoning. The Old Ones say that the light of the desert "heats us up," with the truth of ourselves. And anything you heat up will bring forth all that is buried, no matter how deep it is. Then real transformation can take place. It is the "nature" of things to transform, whether we want to or not. Understanding this, and honoring the sacredness of this transformation is what I do. There are ways to honor these transitions, our Rites of Passage. Most of us have forgotten these things. I think it is time to renew this old Wisdom. I suspect there are those that would honor these things as I do. This is what I have to offer.

Aho Maheo,
Lench Archuleta
muse@primenet.com

About Lench Archuleta

Lench is a Yaqui Indian from Southern Arizona who has worked with individuals and small groups in the Sonoran Desert for more than twenty years.

His background includes work with numerous Native American Nations, as well as fifteen years as an advisor for Department of Defense on Ethnic and Human Relations with an emphasis on Native American traditions and philosophies. He is a decorated Viet Nam veteran and the Arizona representative for the Bamboo Bridge, a national organization dedicated to the emotional and spiritual well-being of combat veterans through facilitated workshops. Lench, lectures at Medical, Military, Educational and Correctional Institutions, as well as Traditional Native Gatherings throughout the United States and abroad.

In fall of 2000, Lench represented Native American Peoples at the World Mission Conference at the Vatican in Rome, Italy along with delegates from 126 countries. Two weeks after the events of September 21, 2001 Lench was invited by a group in New York to assist Manhattan residents in a workshop dedicated to the healing of emotional and spiritual trauma, which concluded with a ceremonial healing circle held at Ground Zero. Lench works with numerous medical doctors, health practitioners, therapists and traditional healers as a counselor, consultant, advisor and spiritual guide.

He is featured in the book Coyote Medicine by Dr. Lewis Mehl-Madrona who has been referring patients to Lench since 1980.

Checklist of Health Issues and Illness The purpose of the CHII is to allow you a fast and easy way to identify your own personal blocks and to allow you to work on removing these blocks should you care to do so. You will receive an individual profile that shows your score for each chakra as well as for three themes: vitality, relationships, and spirituality. You will be given specific ways to address issues for each chakra.

Personal Nutrition Provider The purpose of the PNP is to allow you a fast and easy way to identify your personal chemistry. You will receive an individual profile that shows you your score for each area and then a food plan with selected foods that support your well being on all levels: physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual. We sampled over 500 adults in the United States, both people who are familiar with Susan's work and people who know nothing about it. We will continue to work on researching the PNP based upon the information we receive from this web site. Your individual responses will, of course, be totally confidential and held in strictest confidence as with a counselor or doctor.

View Video Samples of the CMED Institute!
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March 29-30, 185 people took part in the inaugural workshop of the CMED Institute held in the Chicago area. Judging from individual responses over the course of the weekend, it was a profoundly rewarding experience for all involved. Workshops ran from nine in the morning until after 10 P.M. Friday and Saturday and until 4 on Sunday afternoon. Caroline led students step by step through the entire process of selecting their archetypes and casting a Chart of Origin. Peter Occhiogrosso showed students how to use journaling to further explore the influence of archetypes in their lives. And Jim Curtan explicated the archetypal imagery in two recent popular movies. Joined by Peter & Gail Shaw, who has taught with Caroline in Australia, Peter, Jim, and the entire staff worked individually with members both during and between sessions. The intensive hands-on approach led many students to say that the weekend brought them to higher levels of personal insight than they had ever experienced with Caroline in the past. CMED INSTITUTE