"The world is different today from what it was 50 years ago but the inward life is exactly the same...the story of the spiritual quest...the quest to find the inward thing that you basically are..."
I copied this quote from Joseph Campbell's The Power of Myth onto an index card last week.
You see, I'm preparing for a huge, momentous manifestation of my desire to step fully into the next greatest version of myself. With the help and support of loved ones, I'm preparing a safe, magical space for private practice AND I'm putting together a workshop that introduces Personal Musical Mythology. During this time, I've experienced moments of extreme anxiety, absolute bliss, pensiveness and power; none in that particular order.
Reading Joe's quote this morning brought me into a relaxed focus. It says so much.
Things in our world are indeed changing quickly; quantum leap advances in technology, floods, erupting volcanoes, political atrocities; just to name a few. If one allows themselves to be completely caught up in the observation of these things, one can easily lose their way. What follows is a sense of hopelessness, anger, anxiety; a questioning of what the heck am I supposed to be doing here? Which side should I be on? What is expected of me? What do I have to do to feel worthy? Accomplished? Loved? These are the important questions that point us inward. This is the quest; to find clarity and purpose within so that we may positively impact our world.
The basic soul desire is to know oneself. Some may consider this to be a selfish statement. And perhaps it is. But the longing to know oneself has always been part of the human experience. Evidence of the inner quest is found in every cultures stories and mythologies. The great Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung and his contemporaries made it their live's work to develop methods of individuation; ways of becoming oneself by transcending the everyday experiences and observations by shining a light on the inner experience. They believed that the only way to heal the world is to become who one truly is because every single person has a unique and powerful gift that only they can offer. Furthermore, it is the individual's inherent responsibility to humanity to do so! Whew.
This may seem intimidating to some. Buzz words like trigger and trauma can be frightening enough to keep deep self-exploration at arms length. However, behind those notions is exactly where the treasures are! Let me be clear that I'm not encouraging retraumatization by rehashing bad experiences, I'm offering ways of integration through exploration and inner adventure.
It is with humble anticipation that I offer to help you find the path, road, highway, river or skyway to knowing yourself.