Guest guest Posted June 12, 1999 Report Share Posted June 12, 1999 Have been at my massage professional development group today. Thought I'd share one of the stories. One of the group, a single woman in her late 30s, highly competent, qualified nurse, training as a counsellor, qualified masseur. Over the last 3 years she has been working hard on herself. Lots of the usual issues – alcoholic in the family, selfish mother, low self-esteem, eating problems etc etc. All hidden below competence, earth-mother characteristics and warmheartedness (all quite genuine). Now, she has let her house, got rid of a ton of stuff, and is buying a canal boat. She doesn't like boats, isn't particularly keen on water, and got a headache the first time she stepped on to a narrowboat. It occurred to us that the symbolism was interesting: * leaving the solidity and density and opacity of earth for the fluidity, instability and clarity of water * living off-shore, tied only by bow and stern ropes with freedom to float away and most telling... * this sudden (in last three weeks) decision to live on a boat that measures 7 feet wide by 40 feet long. A birth canal? A very physical and unavoidable symbol of entering a new life? She found that resonated loud and strong, and liked it. anyone have similar stories of overt symbolism acting out inner lives? Arabella Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 12, 1999 Report Share Posted June 12, 1999 > abs <abs > > Have been at my massage professional development group today. Thought > I'd share one of the stories. Reminds me of my graduate college days (God, I just realized they went on for about 20 years!) and one night they showed the film " Sunset Boulevard " and the director was there to talk about it. One hotshot student came up with a long detailed philosophical reason as to why William Holden's body was photographed floating from below the water with the police in the background.........and asked if his interpretation were true. The director said : " Nah, I just thought it was a nice shot. " Sometimes a cigar is only a cigar. b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 12, 1999 Report Share Posted June 12, 1999 At the risk of offending Mr. Knittle, who I suppose has chosen to be amongst us as the voice of reason, although I cannot imagine why he would enjoy our irrational presence...... Yes, and sometimes a cigar is a phallic symbol. Arabella, This is an interesting story that you have presented; I am interested on several levels. Number one, I do a lot of journalling, and often journal my dreams and visions. Number two, I also do shamanic journey work, and the journeys may be filled with symbols, even the ones I take to clarify other symbols for me! I would suggest, after having read a lot on symbolism, that there are two types of symbols... individual symbols, which cannot be adequately interpreted by others or generalized, and universal symbols, the Jungian underbelly type things that everyone carries as a sort of genetic memory and is applicable to us all. Often, when a symbol emerges for me, I will consult the sources I can find in books, net, etc for reference, and see what resonates. If it does not, and sometimes even if it does, I will do a journey to clarify the symbol. That is an iffy method, as I have found that my guides will often insist I figure things out for myself! But, more often than not, I do at least get a glimmer of direction. For example, I recently had a journey with a group in which a winged lion/chimera type animal returned with me from the upper world. It took me a couple of weeks to find anything about the symbol besides pictures, but once I did, it was interesting to see how some subthread of energy chose such an appropriate companion for my current walk. If you would like some simple directions for a shamanic journey, I can post them up. Blessings, Crow " Look for Rainbows in the Darkness " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 12, 1999 Report Share Posted June 12, 1999 In a message dated 6/12/99 6:31:52 AM Eastern Daylight Time, crow writes: << Yes, and sometimes a cigar is a phallic symbol. >> and sometimes it is a rolled up hunk of tobacco that is offensive to some when burning, and to others is the euphoria of the olfactory system. yes, I do get out to the computer every couple days to catch up..it still hurts quite a lot to sit up for very long.....Blessings Song Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 12, 1999 Report Share Posted June 12, 1999 Crow, I would be very interested in your directions for shamanic journeying - please post them. Thanks! peace, seeker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 12, 1999 Report Share Posted June 12, 1999 Oh yes....having taught Jung.....you must be very careful when quoting or reading him.....he changed a lot of his definitions of things and that's why his books don't always match. b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 13, 1999 Report Share Posted June 13, 1999 Songwrit1 wrote: > > yes, I do get out to the computer every couple days to catch up..it still > hurts quite a lot to sit up for very long.....Blessings Song Hi Carol, How long before you are up and around w/o pain? Do you live with family or have a roomate/partner? Barbara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.