There are native tribes that have creation stories that
involve a turtle. A bit of earth was brought up from the depths of the water on
the back of the Turtle. This Turtle Island became the stage for all the various
stories of spirit, animal, and human kind. The Iroquois extend this creation story to tell of Twins that were born to the Daughter of Sky woman and the West
wind. The twins were associated with bounty and love and conflict and evil. And
so goes the world influenced by the twins from creation. Today we often
vacillate between expressions of good and evil in our own ways. Many religions
teach us to avoid, purify ourselves of, and condemn conflict and evil, but what
if we recognize that conflict and evil are essential parts of our existence?
When I guided in Virginia, we had a favorite pastime of
saving box turtles from their treacherous journey across the winding back roads
that cut through the Appalachian Mountains. Often we would stop and pick up the
turtles that were slowly crawling to safety and freedom. We would transport
them like gods to the other side and step back proud of our ability to help
this one little turtle on its way. The good moments. Yet there were moments
when we witnessed cars or trucks swerving to hit the turtles. When we drove up
on turtles already crushed in the road. We had been too late. We had not been
fast enough to save them from the mean people of the world. We were sad for the
turtles. We were mad at the mean people. But this was human nature; people were
just trying to have fun, relieve some stress, not paying attention, or get somewhere fast. The good
mixed with the bad.
Another game we would play with the turtle was to put it on
its back and see how fast it would be able to flip itself over. It never failed
they always seemed to do it. They always struck me as such stubbornly
inspirational animals, admittedly like most of the plant and animal world. So
do we also have the capacity to right the wrongs...change the bad moments to
good. Or is there something else entirely that we are missing in just being
good. Do we gain something from facing our challenges and our difficult moments
and stubbornly insisting on improvement, development, or progress?
There is a kabbalistic concept where the true nature of the
universe is to fulfill our deepest desires. A symbol of this is a bowl that is empty. An empty bowl is not fulfilled, but it has the greatest potential to be
so. The greatest good from the greatest bad? Even further as the bowl is
filled, if the elements of the bowl are given away and shared, the fulfillment
of the bowl never ends. When we gain loving consciousness of our human
potential not just as empty bowls, but for our capacity for good and giving and
sustenance, we are fulfilled. The challenge is making this a reality. The
challenge is not following a false or fake idea, but one that resonates with
the development of the self. What does it look like? How do we know what our
desires are? How do we share them effectively? How do we become conscious and
aware of our own fulfillment?
Often we need to empty our schedules, our commitments, our
minds in order to be quiet enough to listen. Empty is often associated with not
having, emotional overload, and lack, but perhaps that emptiness allows us to
be aware of what we truly possess. Identifying the conflict and the lack leads
to the desire to change and the drive to fulfill. I recently had a conversation
with a parent whose child has a rare form of cancer. With the right treatment,
everything should work out, but it is interesting to hear the process of a
parent being so helpless, so empty of emotion from the immensity of the
situation that they are left numb. It is in this emptiness that friends and
family provide meals, and rides, and a ear, and hugs. The network of service is
so overwhelming to those who have faced such tragic challenges as childhood
cancer, yet they are buoyed by hope and support. Humans create amazing networks of
compassion and empathy when they desire to do so.
So how do we navigate this dynamic modern life in a
fulfilling way? How do we acknowledge
the conflict for what it is and seek progress and development? There is another Jungian psychological practice called a symbol stone. You reflect on a person, an idea, or conflict
that you want to address in some way. The stone becomes a representative of
that person, idea, or conflict. You can project and or think about your
symbolic person, idea, or conflict as the stone so as to put the good, bad,
draining or supporting energy into the stone and as an extension your symbolic
representation. This practice can give us focus and guidance to connect to,
engage with, challenge, wrestle, or be mindful of or with the symbolic element within the
stone. It can help make real the universal love that is the wellspring of our being, the
sharing with the person or idea, and the fulfillment of our emptiness in times
of struggle.
Frank MacEowen discusses the eco-psychological Irish Spirit Wheel that
provides an acknowledgement of the four directions (inherent in the Irish Cross) and the power of guidance it
gives to us. Many cultures have very similar references to the cardinal
directions, but have slightly different symbols or representative powers or
energies. The Irish Spirit Wheel resonates with me as a way to help navigate
the noise of modern life, the dynamics of society, and the challenges of self.
To the east we have the energy of home and bounty and self-expression. I think
about who are we and how are we comfortable. This gives us a vision to
connecting to self, our home base. To the south is outside ourselves, society and nature,
music and art, waterfalls and the expressions of the natural world. I think
about what does the world have to say? How does this situation, idea, or
conflict affect the earth, society, those around us? This gives us a vision to
the social and environmental resonance of the world. How does it reflect the
good and evil the conflict and the fulfillment? To the west is the spirit
world. The Celts believed the gateway to the afterlife was in the west. So what
spiritual awareness, teachings or stories resonate, are relevant, teach us
something, provide a larger perspective, or even give us inspiration and
empowerment to have hope, confidence, and faith to face the conflicts,
challenges, and process? This gives a vision that our work is bigger than
ourselves and even of this world. This also empowers us to connect to ancestor
traditions, effort, and spirit as inspiration. To the north is the battle, the
fight, and facing the challenge until you gain enlightened knowledge. What is
the challenge that you are facing?What is the trouble that you are battling?
How does that effect you? What is gained by engaging in this battle? When you
overcome it, what knowledge do you gain? This gives us a vision, or the final position, the Sovereign center, that we can
gain from challenge, fulfill the empty, develop good from the bad, in such a way that we are given direction and guidance
through this process of life.
So instead of avoiding the challenges, if we meet
them head on with the awareness of the four directions, the meaning of a symbol
stone, the emptiness of a bowl, or the creative potential of a turtle, we
become powerful creative beings. We are empowered to navigate this world with
respect, integrity, and character.
L’chiam.
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