Women & Self-Care Tips and Life Enchantments
“Embrace Chaos & Unexpected Turmoil”!
“One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.” F. Nietzsche
My pattern has been to run away, deny, numb out, stuff down and ignore, chaos or unpleasant emotions. This was the pattern in my family of origin and I have been well trained.
I notice that this pattern is not unusual. Folks use food, booze, work, shopping, TV, adrenalin highs, drugs and sex, to name a few, to stuff down the reality of their lives. We have been taught to “be nice”, “not rock the boat”, “be polite”.
Through my spiritual practice, life long learning and coach training; I have been exposed to an alternate view point; that of welcoming chaos and using this time of emotional upheaval as a gateway for deeper spiritual connection and meaning.
Joseph Campbell is “an American mythologist, writer and lecturer, best known for his work in comparative mythology and comparative religion. His work is vast, covering many aspects of the human experience. His philosophy is often summarized by his phrase: “Follow your bliss.”[1] In his book “A Hero with a Thousand Faces”, he outlines a “hero’s journey” which is an archetypal myth found in many “narratives around the world”. A hero’s/heroines journey is one where “ A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.” (from Wikipedia)
Alexandra Amor, in her book “Cult: A Love Story” talks about her painful experiences in a cult and her recovery have ultimately brought her deeper relationships with her family and re-connected her with her “voice” and personal power.
Many ancient traditions as summarized in the 13 moon natural time calendar hold the view that dissonance or chaos is a powerful and highly positive dynamic or ‘the necessary forces of liberation evoking a release from rigid structure and format. As we release which no longer serves, we make way for new opportunities and understandings to emerge.
With the coaching process and certainly I notice this with my coaching clients (if they are courageous enough to stay present in their process) there is usually a phase in the coaching where they feel like there life is actually starting to fall apart rather than get better. I reassure them that this is a profoundly important phase, the phase that I call getting into the slimy, smelly, chaotic slippery, mucky mess of life.
If they can work through this phase, if we can acknowledge in a very light-hearted and gently respectful way, that our lives are a “full catastrophe”, if we can live in the moment and simply accept this phase, there is freedom, joy and a deep sense of well-being that emerges. Upon reflection, folks often see this chaos or crisis as an initiation into a life of deep meaning and fulfillment. It is the chaos within ourselves that allow stars to be born!
My friends, this week play around with the following recommendations from the 13 moon Natural time Calendar:
“Self-care Tips and Life Enchantments”:
1. Let go, let yourself be absorbed by life itself.
2. Welcome spontaneity, seeming disruptions and unexpected detours. Release allegiance to limitations, reliance upon format, or fixation upon control. Un-do, break-down, mix it up!”
3. Do something totally spontaneous and uncharacteristic this week!
Namaste,
In peace & mindfulness,
Zoey