PREFACE
The field cannot well be seen from within the field.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
In my travels, presenting workshops on dreamhealing and creative healing,
I have found that many professionals (psychotherapists, counselors, social
workers, addiction counselors, etc.) and paraprofessionals (such as hypnotherapists)
state that they came because they experienced limitation in the current
forms of psychotherapy and counseling that are available.
They all come with the sense of looking for something more, something that
goes beyond the abilities or the models that are currently available.
Many of them have been attracted to alternatives such as shamanism, through
books, articles, and interviews, describing these forms of healing.
Many came to learn more because of the sense that what they were doing
had just not been enough. Many have been drawn by an intuition sensed
while reading a flyer, feeling it had something special to offer them.
These comments are a reflection of my own frustration several years ago,
when as a Transactional Analyst and psychotherapist my clients would come
to me after we had met their therapeutic contracts. In the exit interviews
they would opt to continue in therapy, not because something was wrong,
but because they had not yet found what they were really looking for.
The solving of their problems seemed to them only a first step in a far
deeper and more profound process. It was this that led me to contemplate
and explore other forms of healing. I was seeking other forms of
answers for myself and others. This book represents the interim or
status report of my explorations. Although it does not really provide
answers, it does suggest new directions.
This book is about my personal encounter with chaos as I struggled to better
understand the nature of healing. It is a very intimate story since
the development of my work has been a personal odyssey. I share my
story because we know that first person accounts and memories have the
power to speak to the souls of others. Dreamhealing is more than
a method. It is a living process and a philosophy of treatment.
Both the fields of psychology and physics have long been interested in
the interface of psyche and matter. Another way to put that is the
interface of mind and body. Ultimately, they are not separate, but
to see that requires a shift in consciousness.
Since healing's a matter
of mind over matter,
and matter's a matter of mind...
In matters that matter
when healing's what matters,
love is the state
of the mind.
The shift in consciousness is one in which psyche "matters." And
psyche includes both order and chaos. Chaos is not an idea.
It is visceral, arising deep within. It is part of the human condition.
Each of us tends to understand, in spite of what we know about order, that
our life is full of chaos. Most of the important things in our life
seem to be random. Small changes in knowledge, insight, or experience
can impact us in tremendous ways. Things we never expect to happen
can bring irreversible change into our lives.
For me, chaos was not an idea that helped me develop a model for healing.
Chaos theory came later as an explanation for what I was noticing in the
process of healing. I do not think healing is a mechanistic thing.
I do not think we manipulate the body to heal it. It helps, and it
sets an atmosphere and stage for healing.
However, I think true healing is a matter of consciousness. Voltaire
has said that, "the art of medicine consists of amusing the patient
while nature cures the disease." Perhaps Sir William Osler was
even more succinct, noting, "It is much more important to know what
sort of patient has a disease, than what sort of disease a patient has."
Healing is not a matter of how we manipulate the body chemistry.
It is largely based on the attitude of the individual and what underlies
the structure of the body and mind. And what really does underlie
the structure of the mind and body is consciousness.
The ancient Greeks personified healing consciousness as the divine physician
ASKLEPIOS. The core of the art of healing in ancient times came from
the inner connection between the divine healer and the divine sickness.
The god sent both the affliction and the remedy. ASKLEPIOS HEALED
PRIMARILY THROUGH DREAMS.
Thus Asklepios, or Aesculapius as he was known in Rome, embodied
the paradox of healing. The idea of poison and antidote being contained
in one substance is still found in the unconscious of modern man.
It is practiced in the art of homeopathy. The therapy process which
is based solely on the imagery of the individual means that within the
problem lies the solution.
In the ancient healing temples, this psychological form of homeopathy was
applied to ailments both physical and mental. It involved coming
into a right attitude toward the affliction. Our wounds open us to
healing. After incubation of dreams within the sacred precinct, the
entire art of healing was left to the divine physician, who was embodied
in the healing dream, which was the remedy itself. It involved altering
states of consciousness.
One of the things I noticed in exploring psychology and shamanism was my
introduction to chaos, but then I did not have the words. I began exploring
my own healing through shamanism and psychology and that evolved into the
dreamwork. Then, I began drawing maps of the journeys I was going
on with people. I found particular states of consciousness repeatedly
came up spontaneously in the healing process.
I did not have a language to describe some of those states of consciousness.
I would try to describe them scientifically, and felt the reports were
flat. It was just not right. It was like using words or mathematics
to describe a symphony. I would then get into the mystical, new age,
and shamanic explanations, and get turned off by them. They also
were not right. It was like using an abstract painting as an instruction
manual.
Then a conscious awareness of the operative principle of chaos came to
me, much like the first trip deeper into dreams. In one of those
serendipitous moments, I mentioned to a client that I was getting interested
in moments of chaos in the healing process. She brought me an article,
which I read about a week later, and everything came together. I
realized I had been observing the healing process taking the sense of self
deeper and deeper into consciousness to a state that can only be described
as an experience of chaotic consciousness for healing.
A DEEP EXISTENTIAL IMAGE OF WHO AND WHAT WE ARE CONTAINS THE ESSENCE OF
OUR DISEASE. The image is revealed in the continually ongoing inner
process of imagery which is revealed in dreams, visions, and gut reactions.
Water is a natural metaphor of consciousness. This deep stream of
consciousness flows through the labyrinth of the psyche. It is the
source of dis-ease and our healing. Water played an important part
in the cult of Asklepios. In Greece the springs of the shrine were
channeled into circular labyrinths, forming a concrete metaphor of the
healing process. Healing "springs" from deep within. However,
first the old rigid images must be dissolved, and THE UNIVERSAL SOLVENT
IS CHAOS.
Clients reported encountering a place, after going through fears and pains,
that is totally disorienting, chaotic. They would, for example, enter
into a gray cloud, and become that cloud, and the mind would go totally
blank. Or they would enter into a spiral, and as they gave over to
the motion of that spiral, they became so totally disoriented that there
was nothing they could hang onto. And that is what we now define
as chaotic consciousness.
There is an essential relationship between healing and irrational consciousness.
Irrational consciousness "works" the cure. Somehow that chaotic consciousness,
the giving up of the order, the letting go of the old structure to chaos
changed things fundamentally. The next set of imagery emerging out
of that chaotic consciousness was always a healing one.
Physical and emotional changes would continue for weeks and even months
after a particular dream journey. They would come back and say, "I
don't know why I am different, but I am different. I'm behaving differently,
I'm reacting differently. I'm treating the world differently.
What used to be a physical problem for me is no longer a problem."
So chaos seems vitally important at the existential level. In psychology,
we have had the idea that we need a "strong ego," that we need a stable
structure in order to function and cope. Dreamhealing shows us we
actually need to enter a less-rigid process of flow, which increases our
adaptability, helping us evolve.
Strength is a measure of what force it takes to destroy or break a rigid
structure. True power, on the other hand, is a measure of readily-available
energy for immediate use. Strength is rigid, while power is flowing.
Empowerment flows forth naturally when we come into intimate contact with
our stream of consciousness.
We are learning from chaos theory that physically and mentally we also
need that disorder to function smoothly. We seem to need to dip into
that disorder because it shakes everything loose and allows restructuring
to occur in the direction of adaptability. All of a sudden we are
free, we are flowing again, and that is the natural human condition of
health.
WE EXIST IN A TWILIGHT ZONE BETWEEN CHAOS AND ORDER. We flow back
and forth between them and that keeps us healthy. We build a structure
and the structure begins to develop flaws and rigidities, and our illness
comes when we hang onto that old wornout, yet rigid structure. But
when we let go, we let ourselves flow back into that primal chaos and into
total freedom. It is like a heart that periodically develops a chaotic
beating pattern to renew itself. We seem to need that within our
consciousness, too.
To me chaos, healing, awareness, and consciousness are almost synonymous
terms. They are important to the human condition. They are
crucial to all of it including our health, healing, and ability to move
through life. CREATIVITY IS ALSO EVOLUTION. For example, disease
is the crisis that forces the organism to expand beyond its limits and
evolve. It is part of the evolutionary action of natural selection.
Those who adapt, survive. Still, health means more than survival.
An individual can create neurotic means of coping and surviving, but they
limit and distort the functionality of the person.
Of all the new advances to come from the various sciences, perhaps the
largest contribution will come from consciousness studies and their relationship
with chaos. Even physics has recently been saying that we cannot
go much further until we understand consciousness better. The relationship
of the perceiver and the object of perception brings us back to the mind/matter
issue.
The marriage of physics and psychology may delve deeper into the mystery.
Physics and psychology have been trying to get together for years and it
has never really advanced beyond the speculation stage. This bridge
between consciousness and chaos may be more than a metaphor.
DREAMS ARE CHAOTIC BY NATURE, AND SO IS MUCH OF SHAMANIC PRACTICE.
Dream incubation, as practiced in Greece, Egypt, and Japanese Shintoism,
also involved such shamanic practices as divination, trance induction,
etc. They intentionally evoked the irrational, and of all the healing
modalities, these two reflect chaotic theory.
There are many topics to consider in applying chaos theory to consciousness.
We hope to show the underlying threads that weave together shamanic practice,
the ancient healing cults, the flowing philosophy of Taoism, and various
modern psychologies with dreams, healing, and chaos theory.
The dreamhealing experience can be used in therapy, or for self-help, recovery,
and enrichment. For those who have been through conventional recovery
groups, counseling, and traditional therapy, it is a way of creating an
intimate relationship with their own Higher Power, which is always molding
the soul through the imagery of the river of consciousness. It directly
impacts the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being of the
individual. Conventional therapy does not necessarily induce creativity,
nor open a person to the transpersonal realm. Taking our own "JOURNEY
TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH" means penetrating our depths and finding the
vast cosmos within.
The theory presented here in terms of human consciousness may ultimately
be linked with other theories about the nature of chaos and the universe
to form a supertheory, or paradigm. In this new paradigm, we are
all enfolded within an infinite field of consciousness. It means
a fundamental shift in the way we view the world, the cosmos, and ourselves.
The problem is that medical science and psychological science still operate
largely from Newtonian physics models. Healing science has not made
the leap to relativity theory yet, much less quantum mechanics, or chaos
theory. There needs to be a way to apply the theory to psychological
or other kinds of healing practice. Chaos theory may relativize many
of the old approaches, and provide a key for unlocking more of the mysteries
of existence.
THE PROCESS OF CREATIVITY IS ONE OF NEW FORMS EMERGING FROM THE VOID, NEW
FORMS THAT HAVE NOT EXISTED PREVIOUSLY. It is not merely a juggling
of existing forms or ideas into a new configuration, but is more of a quantum
leap, a disruption into new levels of consciousness and awareness.
Chaos theory provides a particularly apt metaphor for this process.
In a nutshell, CHAOS THEORY STATES THAT IN ALL APPARENT STRUCTURE IS HIDDEN
CHAOS AND THAT IN CHAOS THERE ARE HIDDEN FORMS. This is much like
the symbol of the Tao. The white YANG side contains a kernel of darkness,
and the black YIN side a kernel of light. In some sense reality is
a twilight zone existing in the interplay of chaos and form. It has
long been known that all systems eventually break down into chaos (i.e.
the third law of thermodynamics, also known as entropy). But what
chaos theory has added is the notion that chaos creates new forms.
If this sounds metaphysical it is because we are very close to the basic
creation myth of most religions--everything comes out of nothing, the primal
CHAOS. It applies to the current scientific creation myth of the
big-bang formation of the universe. In science myths are fantasized
by calling them theories. Chaos as the matrix of creation is a universal
mythic theme. It spans from Taoism (from the nothingness or chaos
was formed the Yin and the Yang and from these all other things were formed)
to Christianity (first there was darkness, nothing or absence of form,
and from this on the first day God created light...). CHAOS IS THE
CRUCIBLE OF CREATION.
In practical everyday ways, chaos theory is adding to our understanding
of processes at all levels: weather systems, social systems, traffic patterns,
animal migrations, evolutionary patterns, fluid dynamics, cosmology, quantum
flux, and on and on. Medical science has discovered that the healthy
heart periodically has chaotic or random variations. The heart with
completely regular rhythms is likely to malfunction and is subject to heart
attack. Similarly with many other physiological systems, including
brainwaves, periodic chaos seems to be a prerequisite to healthy functioning.
The implication is that form and rigidity need to periodically give way
to non-structure and chaos for renewal and recreation. Much as the
"dance of Shiva" destroys the existing forms so that new reality can be
created, we can foster the disintegration of outworn images of ourselves.
This is true on the most subjective levels of our experience also.
If you have been faced with a problem, either physical, emotional, or mental
which eludes solution, that really means that the forms and structures
present in your intellect or other ego coping systems have become too rigid
and locked into some form so you cannot see beyond them. This is
the condition of impasse, stuckness. In essence, you need a creative
solution, one beyond the ego, one emerging from the undefinable creativity
of chaos.
One way of subjectively perceiving chaos is an absence of any form or structure,
a state of no-thing-ness, and when confronted with this the human mind
perceives either total blankness, or confusion and discomfort as the existing
patterns break down. It is a little death of the old self.
For example, after pondering and working on a problem for some time that
does not yield to our usual problem-solving techniques, we become frustrated
and often confused. Just when it seems we have been defeated and
give up feeling overwhelmed, a new and original solution "pops" into our
mind out of nothingness. A complete answer, often symbolic or metaphorical
in form, represents a novel solution. It is a quantum leap in understanding
and consciousness--often a whole new way of perceiving reality.
But letting go of the old forms is frightening. We identify with
them, and to a large degree define our sense of self by them. To
forsake them is to dissolve that part of self, to let it die. Most
of us are only comfortable in the known territory within the limits of
our belief systems. These beliefs define the limits of our reality
and existence. The creative solution often exposes the limits of
our beliefs by moving beyond them, and thrusts us into unknown territory,
and that is frightening.
We try to hang on to the old limits even if it means we are destroyed or
have to hang on to our problem rather than letting go to move into a broader
awareness and reality. We mark the boundaries of our belief systems
with fear and discomfort to keep ourselves safe and enclosed. If
we, by chance, stray beyond them ,we doubt and deny the experiences by
calling them trite--lollygagging, daydreaming, stargazing. We ignore
the images thrust up by our imagination that with some further thought
might reveal the creative solution to a problem that has been plaguing
us.
So we avoid creativity, holding ourselves at bay through fear and discomfort.
The more fundamental and rigid, the more tightly we remain ringed in by
our fears. Conversely, to embrace creativity we must pass through
the discomfort of confusion, and let go of what we know and are comfortable
with. It is, in essence, a leap of faith beyond the known into chaos
and into the void.
It is an inner journey, this leap--deep within each of us. Like The
Fool in the Tarot, we stand at the edge of a precipice. Inherent
in our being and structure is chaos, just as science has shown. This
level of awareness, this state of chaos is our creative consciousness --
CHAOTIC ONSCIOUSNESS -- the crucible of our creative spirit. Only
by entering it, yielding to it, do we allow newly evolved form to come
into being--to arise out of chaos. It is a journey through fear to
a life in which each moment is an act of personal creation and freedom.
In healing, like cures like. The poison is also the panacea.
In learning to live with chaos, it becomes not something to be denied nor
gotten rid of, rather something to be embraced deeply. In embracing
the chaos, and tuning in to its self-directing flow, we feel we have remained
true to the spirit of the phenomenon itself.
In dreamhealing we move deeper into the images, then become them, rather
than interacting with them. So too with other states of consciousness
we encounter. The disorienting, dizzying surrender to the tornado
or whirlpool is a surrender to chaos, an experience of no-form and total
confusion and disorientation. It is like the whirling, twisting molecule
of water in the chaotic world of non-laminar flow.
The experience of committing oneself to the fire means becoming it, and
as the random flickering of the flames, and the torrid heat, disintegrating
into pure energy. Becoming the boiling, flowing, ever-changing body
of molten magma at the core of the earth is felt as a visceral sensation.
These are some of the personal, subjective responses to the experience
of total chaos.
Always, passing through this state, the new order of imagery, thought,
emotion, sensory perception reflected a new and less dis-eased state of
being. The deeper self image undercut the old belief system, and
began to create a new order of being, a new way of perceiving the self
and the world. Chaos provided a new image around which to order the
personality and often the physiology.
Each of these observations had a counterpart in the new science based on
chaos. Order seemed to be present in the chaotic state of mind,
just as chaos really seems to underlies even the most rigid and orderly
intellect. The images themselves that were from the chaos had their
counterpart in the strange attractors described by this radical new mathematical
model.
The images, the deep primal multi-sensual experiences and perceptions that
I was working with seemed to act like psychic magnets, attracting and ordering
the energies around them, which echoed their shapes and forms. And
like the fractal patterns displayed on a computer screen, the quantum shift
came when the attractor values were changed. The old image that lay
on one side of the chaos state gives way to a surprising new image that
arises out of the chaos.
Spirit, soul, beliefs, emotions, thinking, and behavior are all affected.
This 'sacred psychology', (a term coined by Jean Houston), and the Creative
Consciousness Process thus mirror not only the new models of energy dynamics,
but also the ancient dream temples and mystery schools of the healer Asklepios.
Here new physics and consciousness meet.
--Graywolf, 1992
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INTRODUCTION
Psyche cannot be totally different from matter, for how otherwise could
it move matter? And matter cannot be alien to psyche, for how else
could matter produce psyche? Psyche and matter exist in the same
world, and each partakes of the other, otherwise any reciprocal action
would be impossible.
If research could only advance far enough, therefore, we should arrive
at an ultimate agreement between physical and psychological concepts.
Our present attempts may be bold, but I believe they are on the right lines.
--Carl Jung, AION
Scientific revolutions and paradigm shifts happen in various disciplines
on a regular basis. Some practitioners in a field are quick to adapt
new models into their conceptualizations and work, while others who are
reluctant to change cannot make the leap in consciousness. Continuing
to adhere to outdated, but familiar philosophies and practices, they represent
the established order and its preference for the status quo.
The healing arts, both medical and psychological, have not been exempt
from this persistent human pattern, even though in our understanding of
the fundamental nature of reality through scientific understanding, advances
have been phenomenal.
The popularity of the alternative health movement, human potential movement,
recovery movement, and self-help has shown that a large segment of the
population is open to change in their approach to well being. A variety
of so-called healing techniques have become available with widely varying
credibility and results.
Whether they have any scientifically traceable therapeutic effect, or not,
most are rooted in the idea of treating the WHOLE PERSON, rather than mechanically
treating bodies in a maintenance factory. Alternative health practices
encourage preventive maintenance as well as physical and psychological
self-care, not just crisis management.
OLD SCIENCE/NEW SCIENCE
The history of science is one of evolution, whereby old models are integrated
into or superceded by more encompassing models which push beyond the old
boundaries. For example, in physics, which is generally considered
the base science that sets the foundation for others, the mechanical view
of reality and the nature of the universe described by Newtonian physics
gave way to the "relativistic" concepts of Einstein, which in turn became
accompanied by Quantum Mechanics, and now Chaos Theory (CDS).
Newton postulated a clockwork universe based on absolute motions.
This theory alleged that once the initial conditions and forces were known,
all future motion could be predicted infinitely. This seemed to work
well for calculating planetary motion and other large-scale phenomena,
but in the sub-atomic world the theory was superceded by the inherent uncertainty
of Quantum Mechanics.
These models have shown themselves to be functionally accurate -- that
is they account for observed reality -- but only by ignoring or denying
chaos. For centuries, science has shuttled chaotic phenomena off
to the side, because they could not define or explain it. Current
research tells us that there is chaotic fluctuation in the planetary motion
and the Universe contains several "strange attractors" of vast proportion.
In the sub-atomic reality, chaos is probably the agent behind quantum fluctuation.
So it is fundamental.
The reality is not one of a clockwork universe, but a flow between chaos
and anti-chaos which creates adaptation. Chaos begets order, and
order begets chaos (entropy). This holds true at all levels of phenomena,
macrocosm to microcosm: "AS ABOVE, SO BELOW."
This interplay of chaos and order also influences biological evolution.
Darwin could never have guessed the existence of self-organization as an
innate property of complex systems, like genes acting as self-regulating
networks. Now we are beginning to understand evolution as the marriage
of natural selection AND self-organization.
The chaos of which we speak is not totally random, but deterministic.
We can see its enfolded order now thanks to the advent of sophisticated
computer graphics with incredible calculating ability. Now we can
separate the signal from the noise, informationally speaking, and find
the hidden order. But we still can never predict an outcome for any
period of time, but we can predict parameters. And we can visually
realize the beauty of these mathematical concepts through fractals.
Chaos theory has amplified the classical and quantum worldviews into one
in which reality may be seen as a SHADOW OF ILLUSION, existing on the edge
between chaos and order. We all have direct perception in our lives
of the continual by-play between chaos and order, chaos and order.
We are taught that chaos can be catastrophic or barely disturbing, but
rarely are we taught that the experience of chaos and the letting go which
accompanies it are OK.
The interplay of chaos and order represents a fundamental, yet paradoxical
state which is a union of opposites at the boundary where they mesh.
In the past many cultures developed philosophies which embraced chaos as
a welcomed part of growth and healing.
For example, in medieval alchemy, the legendary PRIMA MATERIA symbolized
both the chaotic beginning of the enterprise and the most primal state
of being -- chaos, as initial and most fundamental condition. The
return to favor of chaos in science may herald its return in our culture.
It may mean a release for some from rigidly ordered lives of compulsivity,
perfectionism, workaholism, and rationalism toward a more balanced lifestyle.
Established medical and psychological science is still based on the theories
of Newton. The human, by and large, is seen as a mechanical collection
of parts interacting and following set rules or laws. And in psychology,
for the most part, the mechanistic model still prevails, perhaps in its
latest incarnation as the cybernetic model ("mind as computer").
Though the shamanic approach to the whole person is just as strongly rooted
in tradition, most of medical science does not recognize the role of spirit,
soul, or emotional attitudes in healing except in the most superficial
way. Alternative health practices are allegedly holistic, but mostly
use unorthodox ways of dealing with symptoms or parts of the person.
They may strike a deeper chord, yet not get to the core of the problem.
Healing science still continues the Newtonian illusion that 1). it is possible
to be outside of what is happening, as an objective observer who manipulates
the client, and that somewhere is an absolute or non-involved frame of
reference against which all can be measured; and, 2). it is possible to
understand the whole by reducing it to its parts and studying them.
As guiding philosophies, underlying principles, the foundational concepts
of the new science of chaos theory are still unknown and foreign territory.
But they speak volumes of the true nature of reality. Here lies fertile
ground, at last, for planting the seeds to heal the mind/body split fostered
by Cartesian duality.
Psychosomatic phenomena show the profound synergistic interaction of the
physical and mental worlds--which in fact are ONE WORLD. For example,
it is well-known in medicine that arthritis sufferers have a characteristic
personality profile, which can be revealed using the MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic
Personality Inventory). It is sometimes referred to as "the iron
hand syndrome." Desperate desire for a strong sense of control seems
to lead to a permanent position of "holding on" in the musculature and
skeletal structure of the hand.
Emotions can damage health since emotions and the body are inseparable.
The psyche effects the body through the glands, allowing the personality
to invite dis-ease. When not brought into consciousness, unconscious
conflicts can manifest as symbolic (though real) ailments.
BODY LANGUAGE is direct: "I can't stomach this." "It's eating
away at me." might indicate ulcers. Other well-known psychosomatic
disorders include asthma, allergies, colitis, anorexia, bulemia, panic
attacks, hypertension, certain skin disorders, and perhaps even some cancers.
A woman who longs for her unborn children may develop benign fibroids or
malignant tumors, instead. These and other diseases indicate that
there is significant emotional conflict within. The arthritic, for
example, reacts with unconscious muscular contraction, like an infant instead
of an adult. The asthmatic may be drowning in the inner sea of emotional
turmoil; the allergy sufferer holding back a reservoir of uncried tears.
THE ESSENCE OF BEING HUMAN IS EXPERIENCED AS CONSCIOUSNESS. The entire
organism and its functioning is affected by the state of consciousness.
In this context, consciousness means a field in which the entire universe
participates. In our model of consciousness, this field is described
as being not unlike Jung's concept of the collective unconscious.
We use the term to mean the essence of existence, the primal matrix of
both organic and inorganic life as a self-organizing, self-generating,
and self-iterating force.
Our essence emerges from this vast pool of force (SOURCE), and throughout
growth and development certain aspects of it enter our awareness, while
others remain subconscious or unconscious, but affect us just the same.
This field is a medium of connectivity which interacts with the time/space
field, gravitational field, and electromagnetic fields which create the
foundation of our dimension.
Thus we experience ourselves as conscious, corporeal entities existing
in three spatial dimensions plus time. This is our experience because
of the limits of our information input system--the senses. We have
extended our senses through technology from incredibly finite realms to
the edge or birth of the universe.
Our awareness cannot be limited to a view of ourselves as humans in local
time and space. Our consciousness can soar, through imagination and
creativity, like an eagle far and wide, drawing from the collective to
widen our experiential perspectives. Our larger reality is that WE
ARE ONE WITH ALL, and we can feel that when we look at ourselves that way.
Even science tells that everything in the universe is simply connected,
a seamless webwork of waves with intentionality--a sea of consciousness.
The bottom line is that reality is not at all like what we have been conditioned
to believe up until now. Our concepts are much too narrow, too rigid,
too mechanistic, and too confining. Now chaos theory and fractal
geometry are pushing the boundaries even further, suggesting a reality
that includes the precious component of subjective human experience in
the laws of science.
Physics has traditionally led the way for the other sciences. Chaos
theory is beginning to permeate astronomy, biology, sociology, meteorology,
and so many more fields. Researchers and clinicians are exploring
and slowly transforming these sciences to the new base, creating new practices
and possibilities beyond evenour wildest imaginings. The phenomena
of healing and parapsychology are some of the heretofore unrecognized markers
of chaotic consciousness. THE STUDY OF CONSCIOUSNESS IS A GATEWAY
FOR EXPLORING THIS NEW SCIENCE.
A NEW PARADIGM
Profound healing calls for dealing with the whole of the human condition
including the body, mind, and spirit totality. These three elements
converge deep within our consciousness at a level beyond our normal awareness.
Whole-healing is most effectively accomplished at this level.
PROFOUND HEALING INVOLVES AN INNER JOURNEY DEEP INTO CONSCIOUSNESS TO THIS
CORE OF BEING. This state of consciousness can be subjectively experienced
in the form of a multi-sensory image, In leading clients on these
healing quests, we have observed that this state of consciousness is directly
connected to the state that can only be described as PURE CREATIVE ENERGY,
or the core of our creative essence and spirit.
HEALING THE TOTAL ORGANISM INVOLVES YIELDING THE DISEASED FORM OR IMAGE
TO THIS 'CREATIVE STATE' AND SUBSEQUENTLY EMERGING FROM IT WITH A NEW,
MORE HARMONIOUS AND BALANCED FORM. The outer structure of the body
and personality soon begin to restructure, to reflect the new form.
In other words, HEALING IS AN ACT OF CREATION.
FROM THE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE OF THIS STATE, AND FROM
OUR PERSONAL JOURNEYS, IT IS A STATE OF FORMLESS CHAOS.
This description of the healing process bears a remarkable resemblance
to those put forth in chaos theory to describe complex dynamic phenomena.
The resemblance does not end there. Explorations of this healing
process and chaos theory's descriptions of natural processes show an uncanny
convergence in all respects.
THE SHAMAN/THERAPIST
There are many paths or ways to reach this profoundly healing creative
state of consciousness. The shaman/therapist model is one and represents
a gestalt, combining the powerful consciousness-altering rituals, worldviews,
and visionary experiences of the shamans with the techniques, theories,
and practices of depth psychologies.
Shamans have existed throughout human history as experts in magic, mysticism,
healing and consciousness journeys into altered states. Psychology,
based in science, knows how to manipulate and work within the ego.
This combination, this gestalt of mysticism and science creates a new dimension
in worldview and practice. It transcends the duality of mystical
vs. scientific and provides a perspective unavailable to either one alone,
one much more than the simple sum of the two.
We offer the analogy of binocular, as opposed to monocular, vision.
If you close either eye, you get a relatively complete picture of what
you are looking at, though it lacks depth. It may be slightly displaced
depending on which eye you use, and will shift back and forth as you shift
eyes. But no matter how fast you shift, if you are only using one
eye, it is a two dimensional view of reality. However, when both
eyes are open, the perspective centers, and a new dimension of depth is
perceived.
Thus, the shaman/therapist model is not just a simple mixing, or borrowing
of techniques from one to the other, but instead calls for a quantum shift
in worldview, one that moves beyond either alone. Armed with this,
we can undertake the creation of a profound healing, through and beyond
the ego to this profound and creative state of consciousness that provides
our form and the core of our being. Here, we create our healing from
within. We experience first-hand that personal power (empowerment)
arises from within.
DREAMHEALING:
A JOURNEY INTO THE HEART OF DREAMS
Dreams bridge the gap between the mystic and the scientific worldviews.
MOST WOULD AGREE THAT DREAMS ARE A TRULY CHAOTIC PHENOMENON. An object
of scientific study and a healing tool of the psychotherapist, they are
firmly entrenched in the scientific worldview, albeit on the fringe.
On the other side, most religions teach that God, or the nature of God,
is revealed through dreams and visionary experience. THIS IS THE
ESSENCE OF EPIPHANY OR APPEARANCE OF THE GOD. In fact, most religions
report that it is in this way that God communicates with us.
High roads to the unconscious, connections to God and the soul, DREAMS
ARISE FROM OUR CREATIVITY. Each dream symbol is an expression of
our creative energy, shaped by its journey through our psyche. But
no matter what its shape, the root of each symbol and THE HEART OF EACH
DREAM IS PURE CREATIVE ENERGY.
The symbol is nothing more than a doorway opening into a chain of consciousness
states that lead us to this creator--creative energy that can heal us.
Thus, DREAMHEALING IS NOT AN INTERPRETIVE OR ANALYTICAL WAY OF UNDERSTANDING
A DREAM, BUT IS AN INNER CONSCIOUSNESS JOURNEY INTO ITS HEALING HEART.
In both these models the therapist is not an objective, outside observer-manipulator
of the process. Instead, the therapist is a full participant in the
journey, a guide who enters into consciousness states and subjectively
participates in it as s/he leads the pilgrim to the healer within.
The beauty of this approach is that it empowers. There is no doubt
that the healer power is always within the patient, unlike the medical
model in which the healing is seen to be rendered to the patient by the
surgeon, the therapist, the drug, or the new age approach (where
again the healer is from the outside--a shaman, a crystal, a ritual, or
the act of a god or spirit acting through a channel). The healer
is found to be within, and that direct experience is empowering.
We call this healing method by the acronym "SECURE THERAPY." It is
a therapy based in creativity, imagination, and intuition. The letters
of the word 'secure' reflect the main results of the therapy itself:
S - Self Esteem
E - Empowerment
C - Consciousness-expansion
U - Unification
R - Re-creating
E - Experiential restructuring
These are all keywords in this system which will be amplified and reiterated
throughout the dreamhealing papers.
A TAOIST PHILOSOPHY OF TREATMENT
Through the course of developing this system of dreamhealing, certain themes
have continued to be of interest. Among them are nature, creativity,
holism, existentialism, intuition, relativity, perception, letting go and
emptiness. The same themes hold importance in shamanism, Gestalt
psychology and Maslow's personality theory. Over time Graywolf noticed
that, in retrospect, when he added all his instinctual attitudes, intuitive
understanding, mental knowledge, and philosophical speculation together,
that the mix comes out fairly close to Taoism.
It just happened that Graywolf's style came to reflect these principles
as a sort-of philosophy of treatment. In other words, this healing
model is not derivative, nor contrived around these principles. It
has just evolved over time into a certain resonance with Taoism.
Taoism places emphasis on flow, drawing primarily on the metaphor of water's
natural behavior. This certainly resonated with Graywolf's personal
dedication to the waters of the planet (also, he is a Cancer). His
commitment to the planet, and the bliss and serenity he has found river
rafting in wilderness areas has given him a profound experiential and observational
insight into this philosophy.
The Tao, itself, revealed graphically in the YIN/YANG symbol, escapes any
attempt at definition. In fact, "the Tao that can be expressed
is not the eternal Tao; the name that can be defined is not the unchanging
name." The Tao is the divine way of the universe, a path of least
resistance, the essence of all life.
In Taoism, divinity is both transcendent and immanent, without and within.
In this philosophy, the yin forces are exalted, and the creative force
is called the mother of all things. It can only be known through
mystical insight. It refers to the way we should order our lives
to flow with the way the universe operates.
The typical themes and premises of Taoism share much in common with shamanism,
Gestalt therapy, Maslow's concepts of self actualization and peak experience,
and modern chaos theory. They hold in common the principle of harmonization
with nature. They manifest as existential philosophy, nature mystic
experiences, and process-oriented therapy. The principle of "flow
as health" is fundamental to both Gestalt and Maslow's psychology.
The concept of "universe as bountiful parent" is somewhat reflected in
the Higher Power model and re-parenting.
Contrary to the schismatic, out-dated Western view, nature, man, and God
are not separate. Nature obeys the law of effortlessness, and we
can too when we tune in with our deeper essence. Taoist thought has
the principle of WU WEI, which is that through inaction and passivity (yin
forces), true results are obtained. IT IS A PHILOSOPHY OF BEING,
NOT DOING.
The aim of the wise one is ethical living (integrity), in harmony with
the Tao, by living in accord with nature. And nature unfolds or creates
through the dynamics of chaos and flow. It is a way of living which
minimizes stress, strain, and striving.
We can learn directly, experientially from nature. Not just by observing
her, but by immersing ourselves in her, becoming one with Her again.
This is one reason Graywolf prefers to conduct sessions on the river, an
experience we call "whitewater and dreams." The river teaches us
about the nature of flow, and has a spontaneous healing influence.
Just being on the river with the intent of inner transformation brings
about many changes in clients which would be much more difficult in a sterile
office setting.
Nature provides many natural metaphors which parallel, evoke, and mirror
human transformation. Taoism reveres the virtues of water first and
foremost as exemplifying the Tao, itself. Parallels with process-oriented
psychology are easy to find in Taoist literature.
The natural phenomena which the Taoists saw as bearing the closest resemblance
to Tao itself was water. They were struck by the way it would support
objects and carry them effortlessly on its tide. The Chinese character
for swimmer, deciphered, means literally "one who knows the nature ofwater."
Similarly one who knows the nature of the basic life-force knows that it
will sustain him if he will only stop his thrashing and flailing and trust
it to buoy him and carry him gently forward.
...Water, then, was the closest parallel to Tao in the natural world.
But it was also the prototype of WU WEI.
...Yet despite its accommodation, water holds a power unknown to hard
and brittle things. In a stream it follows the stones' sharp edges
only to turn them in the end into pebbles, rounded to conform to its streamlined
flow. It works its way past frontiers and under dividing walls.
Its gentle current melts rock and carries away the proud hills we call
eternal.
...Infinitely supple yet incomparably strong--these virtues of water
are precisely those of WU WEI as well. The man who embodies this
condition, says the TAO TE CHING, works without working." he acts
without strain, persuade without argument, is eloquent without flourish,
and makes his point without violence, coercion, or pressure. Though
as an individual he may be scarcely noticed, his influence is in fact decisive.
...A final characteristic of water that makes it an appropriate analogue
to WU WEI is the clarity it attains through being still. "Muddy water
let stand," says the TAO TE CHING, "will clear." ...Clarity can come
to the inner eye, however, only in so far as man's life attains a quiet
equaling that of a deep and silent pool.
In Taoism, nature is befriended. Taoism seeks to be in tune with
nature. Joseph Campbell was fond of quoting D.T. Suzuki on western
religion. To paraphrase, it went something like "God against man,
man against God, man against nature, nature against God...hmmm...strange
religion!" The division of spirituality from instinctuality is
fundamental in conventional western religion (though not in paganism).
It is the source of much psychological distress. Taoism's approach
is basically ecological, an organic philosophy of nature.
Taoist philosophy just turns out to closely resemble the view modern science
has been forced to adopt after three centuries of mechanical materialism.
Taoist naturalism combines with an inclination for naturalness to emerge
as simple living in touch with nature, nature without and within.
Extravagance, honors, prestige, and consumption are of little importance
in this philosophy.
THE ESSENTIAL THING IS AN EXISTENTIAL RAPPORT WITH THE TAO. The Taoist
is concerned with a sort of immediate, inner, intuitive enlightenment.
Fundamental to this is the relativity of all values and perceptions, rather
than polarized opposites which can never meet. The Tao symbol graphically
depicts the paradoxical union of opposites, as discrete yet conjoined,
as yin and yang. They express the nature of continuous transformation
within the Tao.
Taoism shuns all clear-cut dichotomies for a paradoxical union of opposites.
The great Mystery transcends polarity. No perspective in this relative
world can be considered as absolute. Polarity sums up all life's
basic oppositions: good-evil, active-passive, positive-negative, light-dark,
summer-winter, male-female, etc. But though its principles are in
tension they are not flatly opposed. They complement and counterbalance
each other.
Taoism follows its principle of relativity to its logical limit, regarding
life and death themselves as relative phases of the Tao's embracing continuum.
This bears on our attitude towards our own mortality, and our ability to
feel and express grief. We have all known those who have gone through
life as the "living dead," just going through the motions of life, with
little or no connection to their bodies or the greater whole.
Also, our attitudes when confronted with catastrophic illness reflect our
philosophy of life. The motto for the terminally ill has become the
question, "Will you live your dying, or die your living."
Living each day anew, as a unique experience, means living with a "beginner's
mind."
Taoism is a way of PERCEIVING with a blank mind, which therefore knows
nothing of limitation. There is a story of Chuang Tzu, the foremost
popularizer of philosophical Taoism. (He is the one who dreamed he was
a butterfly dreaming he was a man...) While strolling on a bridge
with Hui Tzu, the Confusianist, he observed:
"Look how the minnows dart hither and thither at will. Such is
the pleasure fish enjoy."
"You are not a fish," responded Hui Tzu. "How do you know
what gives pleasure to fish?"
"You are not I," said Chuang Tzu. "How do you know I do
not know what gives pleasure to fish?"
The nature of perception was also revealed experientially in esoteric Taoism.
This phase arose as the Chinese mind was first discovering its inward dimension
and was captivated by it. This still happens on the individual level
when we come in contact with our process. It is fascinating and captures
our attention and creative interest. We become intrigued with our
inner drama, the flow of the stream of consciousness.
Esoteric Taoists believe that successive deposits of toil and worry had
so silted up the soul that it was necessary to work back through their
layers until "man as he was meant to be" was reached. Pure consciousness
would then be struck; at last, the individual would see not merely "things
perceived" but "that by which we perceive."
The Tao is ineffable and transcendent, yet also immanent. It is eternal
and immediate. It is an infinitely generous fountain, flowing, driving
all of nature as the ordering principle behind all life. It is the
way of the universe, of ultimate reality. It can be approached through
magic, mystical experience, philosophical rapport, and the intuitive existential
openness. It manifests as "creative quietude," paradoxically combining
supreme activity and relaxation.
Every artist has discovered that genuine creation comes from the release
of the infinite resources of the deep self. It requires a certain
dissociation from the surface self, and most artists have rituals for creating.
The unconscious mind must relax, let go, and creativity flows spontaneously.
When the artform is therapy, the creative result is healing.
Personal ego and conscious efforts yield to a power not their own.
Then behavior flows spontaneously; ACTION FOLLOWS BEING. Lao Tze
said, "The way to do is be."
Another key element in Taoism is the VOID, or empty space, or emptiness.
Taoist skill is seldom noticed, for viewed externally WU WEI--never forcing,
never under strain--seems quite without effort. The secret here lies
in the way it seeks out the empty spaces in life and nature and moves through
these, like water. Tao, as the inexpressible source of being, is
spoken of in some sense as non-existence. It is the power of passivity.
The Taoist mystic chose to empty his mind, gaining inner perception of
the Tao, attaining a oneness with the Eternal.
This emptying, non-attachment, or non-involvement was echoed later in humanistic
psychology and Gestalt therapy. Like Zen philosophy, Taoism encourages
us to grasp the moment before it flies and use it to enter the great Emptiness,
that Void from which all the ten thousand things have sprung, and to which
they still, and forever, belong. Fritz Perls considered the person
who had no fixed character to be the most flexible and adaptable.
Dr. Suzuki refers to the everyday mind as the Tao. By that he says
he means the unconscious, which works all the time in consciousness.
He makes a distinction between the "purely instinctive unconscious"
as found in children and animals and that of a mature, "trained unconscious."
By this later term he implied the kind of awareness proper to a really
mature human being in which the unconscious experiences gone through since
infancy are included as constituting a part of the whole being. He
spoke of the proper use and understanding of the unconscious as "the
fountainhead of all creative possibility," and without denying the
importance of the mind, he uttered some warnings against the modern tendency
to disconnect the brain from the larger field of man's total humanness.
Elsewhere Dr. Suzuki has said, "The function of human consciousness,
as I see it is to dive deeper and deeper into its source, the unconscious.
And the unconscious has its strata of variable depths; biological, psychological,
and metaphysical. One thread runs through them, and Zen discipline
consists in taking hold of it in its entirety."
THE TAO IS UNFATHOMABLE, INEXHAUSTIBLY DEEP, AND UNFATHOMABLE.
So many modern scientific and psychological principles are contained in
this simple philosophy. It anticipated Einstein's concept that "all
is relative." It echoes the ecological philosophy of shamanism
and the modern green movement. It speaks directly to the "here and
now" perspective of existential philosophy, Gestalt therapy, and humanistic
psychology. The pleasure in the simple is a criteria for Maslow's
self-actualizers. One of Jung's major themes was the paradoxical
union of opposites, and their synthesis in a grander, harmonizing symbol.
Taoism is one of the root philosophies of world-wide culture which shows
the importance of the intuitive, creative, and reverie states--of letting
go to experience our primal being as emptiness or the Void. This
consciousness is part of the return of the lost Feminine to western culture.
It is Her voice that has been missing for so long, drown out by patriarchal
culture. Our culture is now becoming one big, chaotic mix.
INTRODUCTION
Psyche cannot be totally different from matter, for how otherwise could
it move matter? And matter cannot be alien to psyche, for how else
could matter produce psyche? Psyche and matter exist in the same
world, and each partakes of the other, otherwise any reciprocal action
would be impossible.
If research could only advance far enough, therefore, we should arrive
at an ultimate agreement between physical and psychological concepts.
Our present attempts may be bold, but I believe they are on the right lines.
--Carl Jung, AION
Scientific revolutions and paradigm shifts happen in various disciplines
on a regular basis. Some practitioners in a field are quick to adapt
new models into their conceptualizations and work, while others who are
reluctant to change cannot make the leap in consciousness. Continuing
to adhere to outdated, but familiar philosophies and practices, they represent
the established order and its preference for the status quo.
The healing arts, both medical and psychological, have not been exempt
from this persistent human pattern, even though in our understanding of
the fundamental nature of reality through scientific understanding, advances
have been phenomenal.
The popularity of the alternative health movement, human potential movement,
recovery movement, and self-help has shown that a large segment of the
population is open to change in their approach to well being. A variety
of so-called healing techniques have become available with widely varying
credibility and results.
Whether they have any scientifically traceable therapeutic effect, or not,
most are rooted in the idea of treating the WHOLE PERSON, rather than mechanically
treating bodies in a maintenance factory. Alternative health practices
encourage preventive maintenance as well as physical and psychological
self-care, not just crisis management.
OLD SCIENCE/NEW SCIENCE
The history of science is one of evolution, whereby old models are integrated
into or superceded by more encompassing models which push beyond the old
boundaries. For example, in physics, which is generally considered
the base science that sets the foundation for others, the mechanical view
of reality and the nature of the universe described by Newtonian physics
gave way to the "relativistic" concepts of Einstein, which in turn became
accompanied by Quantum Mechanics, and now Chaos Theory (CDS).
Newton postulated a clockwork universe based on absolute motions.
This theory alleged that once the initial conditions and forces were known,
all future motion could be predicted infinitely. This seemed to work
well for calculating planetary motion and other large-scale phenomena,
but in the sub-atomic world the theory was superceded by the inherent uncertainty
of Quantum Mechanics.
These models have shown themselves to be functionally accurate -- that
is they account for observed reality -- but only by ignoring or denying
chaos. For centuries, science has shuttled chaotic phenomena off
to the side, because they could not define or explain it. Current
research tells us that there is chaotic fluctuation in the planetary motion
and the Universe contains several "strange attractors" of vast proportion.
In the sub-atomic reality, chaos is probably the agent behind quantum fluctuation.
So it is fundamental.
The reality is not one of a clockwork universe, but a flow between chaos
and anti-chaos which creates adaptation. Chaos begets order, and
order begets chaos (entropy). This holds true at all levels of phenomena,
macrocosm to microcosm: "AS ABOVE, SO BELOW."
This interplay of chaos and order also influences biological evolution.
Darwin could never have guessed the existence of self-organization as an
innate property of complex systems, like genes acting as self-regulating
networks. Now we are beginning to understand evolution as the marriage
of natural selection AND self-organization.
The chaos of which we speak is not totally random, but deterministic.
We can see its enfolded order now thanks to the advent of sophisticated
computer graphics with incredible calculating ability. Now we can
separate the signal from the noise, informationally speaking, and find
the hidden order. But we still can never predict an outcome for any
period of time, but we can predict parameters. And we can visually
realize the beauty of these mathematical concepts through fractals.
Chaos theory has amplified the classical and quantum worldviews into one
in which reality may be seen as a SHADOW OF ILLUSION, existing on the edge
between chaos and order. We all have direct perception in our lives
of the continual by-play between chaos and order, chaos and order.
We are taught that chaos can be catastrophic or barely disturbing, but
rarely are we taught that the experience of chaos and the letting go which
accompanies it are OK.
The interplay of chaos and order represents a fundamental, yet paradoxical
state which is a union of opposites at the boundary where they mesh.
In the past many cultures developed philosophies which embraced chaos as
a welcomed part of growth and healing.
For example, in medieval alchemy, the legendary PRIMA MATERIA symbolized
both the chaotic beginning of the enterprise and the most primal state
of being -- chaos, as initial and most fundamental condition. The
return to favor of chaos in science may herald its return in our culture.
It may mean a release for some from rigidly ordered lives of compulsivity,
perfectionism, workaholism, and rationalism toward a more balanced lifestyle.
Established medical and psychological science is still based on the theories
of Newton. The human, by and large, is seen as a mechanical collection
of parts interacting and following set rules or laws. And in psychology,
for the most part, the mechanistic model still prevails, perhaps in its
latest incarnation as the cybernetic model ("mind as computer").
Though the shamanic approach to the whole person is just as strongly rooted
in tradition, most of medical science does not recognize the role of spirit,
soul, or emotional attitudes in healing except in the most superficial
way. Alternative health practices are allegedly holistic, but mostly
use unorthodox ways of dealing with symptoms or parts of the person.
They may strike a deeper chord, yet not get to the core of the problem.
Healing science still continues the Newtonian illusion that 1). it is possible
to be outside of what is happening, as an objective observer who manipulates
the client, and that somewhere is an absolute or non-involved frame of
reference against which all can be measured; and, 2). it is possible to
understand the whole by reducing it to its parts and studying them.
As guiding philosophies, underlying principles, the foundational concepts
of the new science of chaos theory are still unknown and foreign territory.
But they speak volumes of the true nature of reality. Here lies fertile
ground, at last, for planting the seeds to heal the mind/body split fostered
by Cartesian duality.
Psychosomatic phenomena show the profound synergistic interaction of the
physical and mental worlds--which in fact are ONE WORLD. For example,
it is well-known in medicine that arthritis sufferers have a characteristic
personality profile, which can be revealed using the MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic
Personality Inventory). It is sometimes referred to as "the iron
hand syndrome." Desperate desire for a strong sense of control seems
to lead to a permanent position of "holding on" in the musculature and
skeletal structure of the hand.
Emotions can damage health since emotions and the body are inseparable.
The psyche effects the body through the glands, allowing the personality
to invite dis-ease. When not brought into consciousness, unconscious
conflicts can manifest as symbolic (though real) ailments.
BODY LANGUAGE is direct: "I can't stomach this." "It's eating
away at me." might indicate ulcers. Other well-known psychosomatic
disorders include asthma, allergies, colitis, anorexia, bulemia, panic
attacks, hypertension, certain skin disorders, and perhaps even some cancers.
A woman who longs for her unborn children may develop benign fibroids or
malignant tumors, instead. These and other diseases indicate that
there is significant emotional conflict within. The arthritic, for
example, reacts with unconscious muscular contraction, like an infant instead
of an adult. The asthmatic may be drowning in the inner sea of emotional
turmoil; the allergy sufferer holding back a reservoir of uncried tears.
THE ESSENCE OF BEING HUMAN IS EXPERIENCED AS CONSCIOUSNESS. The entire
organism and its functioning is affected by the state of consciousness.
In this context, consciousness means a field in which the entire universe
participates. In our model of consciousness, this field is described
as being not unlike Jung's concept of the collective unconscious.
We use the term to mean the essence of existence, the primal matrix of
both organic and inorganic life as a self-organizing, self-generating,
and self-iterating force.
Our essence emerges from this vast pool of force (SOURCE), and throughout
growth and development certain aspects of it enter our awareness, while
others remain subconscious or unconscious, but affect us just the same.
This field is a medium of connectivity which interacts with the time/space
field, gravitational field, and electromagnetic fields which create the
foundation of our dimension.
Thus we experience ourselves as conscious, corporeal entities existing
in three spatial dimensions plus time. This is our experience because
of the limits of our information input system--the senses. We have
extended our senses through technology from incredibly finite realms to
the edge or birth of the universe.
Our awareness cannot be limited to a view of ourselves as humans in local
time and space. Our consciousness can soar, through imagination and
creativity, like an eagle far and wide, drawing from the collective to
widen our experiential perspectives. Our larger reality is that WE
ARE ONE WITH ALL, and we can feel that when we look at ourselves that way.
Even science tells that everything in the universe is simply connected,
a seamless webwork of waves with intentionality--a sea of consciousness.
The bottom line is that reality is not at all like what we have been conditioned
to believe up until now. Our concepts are much too narrow, too rigid,
too mechanistic, and too confining. Now chaos theory and fractal
geometry are pushing the boundaries even further, suggesting a reality
that includes the precious component of subjective human experience in
the laws of science.
Physics has traditionally led the way for the other sciences. Chaos
theory is beginning to permeate astronomy, biology, sociology, meteorology,
and so many more fields. Researchers and clinicians are exploring
and slowly transforming these sciences to the new base, creating new practices
and possibilities beyond evenour wildest imaginings. The phenomena
of healing and parapsychology are some of the heretofore unrecognized markers
of chaotic consciousness. THE STUDY OF CONSCIOUSNESS IS A GATEWAY
FOR EXPLORING THIS NEW SCIENCE.
A NEW PARADIGM
Profound healing calls for dealing with the whole of the human condition
including the body, mind, and spirit totality. These three elements
converge deep within our consciousness at a level beyond our normal awareness.
Whole-healing is most effectively accomplished at this level.
PROFOUND HEALING INVOLVES AN INNER JOURNEY DEEP INTO CONSCIOUSNESS TO THIS
CORE OF BEING. This state of consciousness can be subjectively experienced
in the form of a multi-sensory image, In leading clients on these
healing quests, we have observed that this state of consciousness is directly
connected to the state that can only be described as PURE CREATIVE ENERGY,
or the core of our creative essence and spirit.
HEALING THE TOTAL ORGANISM INVOLVES YIELDING THE DISEASED FORM OR IMAGE
TO THIS 'CREATIVE STATE' AND SUBSEQUENTLY EMERGING FROM IT WITH A NEW,
MORE HARMONIOUS AND BALANCED FORM. The outer structure of the body
and personality soon begin to restructure, to reflect the new form.
In other words, HEALING IS AN ACT OF CREATION.
FROM THE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE OF THIS STATE, AND FROM
OUR PERSONAL JOURNEYS, IT IS A STATE OF FORMLESS CHAOS.
This description of the healing process bears a remarkable resemblance
to those put forth in chaos theory to describe complex dynamic phenomena.
The resemblance does not end there. Explorations of this healing
process and chaos theory's descriptions of natural processes show an uncanny
convergence in all respects.
THE SHAMAN/THERAPIST
There are many paths or ways to reach this profoundly healing creative
state of consciousness. The shaman/therapist model is one and represents
a gestalt, combining the powerful consciousness-altering rituals, worldviews,
and visionary experiences of the shamans with the techniques, theories,
and practices of depth psychologies.
Shamans have existed throughout human history as experts in magic, mysticism,
healing and consciousness journeys into altered states. Psychology,
based in science, knows how to manipulate and work within the ego.
This combination, this gestalt of mysticism and science creates a new dimension
in worldview and practice. It transcends the duality of mystical
vs. scientific and provides a perspective unavailable to either one alone,
one much more than the simple sum of the two.
We offer the analogy of binocular, as opposed to monocular, vision.
If you close either eye, you get a relatively complete picture of what
you are looking at, though it lacks depth. It may be slightly displaced
depending on which eye you use, and will shift back and forth as you shift
eyes. But no matter how fast you shift, if you are only using one
eye, it is a two dimensional view of reality. However, when both
eyes are open, the perspective centers, and a new dimension of depth is
perceived.
Thus, the shaman/therapist model is not just a simple mixing, or borrowing
of techniques from one to the other, but instead calls for a quantum shift
in worldview, one that moves beyond either alone. Armed with this,
we can undertake the creation of a profound healing, through and beyond
the ego to this profound and creative state of consciousness that provides
our form and the core of our being. Here, we create our healing from
within. We experience first-hand that personal power (empowerment)
arises from within.
DREAMHEALING:
A JOURNEY INTO THE HEART OF DREAMS
Dreams bridge the gap between the mystic and the scientific worldviews.
MOST WOULD AGREE THAT DREAMS ARE A TRULY CHAOTIC PHENOMENON. An object
of scientific study and a healing tool of the psychotherapist, they are
firmly entrenched in the scientific worldview, albeit on the fringe.
On the other side, most religions teach that God, or the nature of God,
is revealed through dreams and visionary experience. THIS IS THE
ESSENCE OF EPIPHANY OR APPEARANCE OF THE GOD. In fact, most religions
report that it is in this way that God communicates with us.
High roads to the unconscious, connections to God and the soul, DREAMS
ARISE FROM OUR CREATIVITY. Each dream symbol is an expression of
our creative energy, shaped by its journey through our psyche. But
no matter what its shape, the root of each symbol and THE HEART OF EACH
DREAM IS PURE CREATIVE ENERGY.
The symbol is nothing more than a doorway opening into a chain of consciousness
states that lead us to this creator--creative energy that can heal us.
Thus, DREAMHEALING IS NOT AN INTERPRETIVE OR ANALYTICAL WAY OF UNDERSTANDING
A DREAM, BUT IS AN INNER CONSCIOUSNESS JOURNEY INTO ITS HEALING HEART.
In both these models the therapist is not an objective, outside observer-manipulator
of the process. Instead, the therapist is a full participant in the
journey, a guide who enters into consciousness states and subjectively
participates in it as s/he leads the pilgrim to the healer within.
The beauty of this approach is that it empowers. There is no doubt
that the healer power is always within the patient, unlike the medical
model in which the healing is seen to be rendered to the patient by the
surgeon, the therapist, the drug, or the new age approach (where
again the healer is from the outside--a shaman, a crystal, a ritual, or
the act of a god or spirit acting through a channel). The healer
is found to be within, and that direct experience is empowering.
We call this healing method by the acronym "SECURE THERAPY." It is
a therapy based in creativity, imagination, and intuition. The letters
of the word 'secure' reflect the main results of the therapy itself:
S - Self Esteem
E - Empowerment
C - Consciousness-expansion
U - Unification
R - Re-creating
E - Experiential restructuring
These are all keywords in this system which will be amplified and reiterated
throughout the dreamhealing papers.
A TAOIST PHILOSOPHY OF TREATMENT
Through the course of developing this system of dreamhealing, certain themes
have continued to be of interest. Among them are nature, creativity,
holism, existentialism, intuition, relativity, perception, letting go and
emptiness. The same themes hold importance in shamanism, Gestalt
psychology and Maslow's personality theory. Over time Graywolf noticed
that, in retrospect, when he added all his instinctual attitudes, intuitive
understanding, mental knowledge, and philosophical speculation together,
that the mix comes out fairly close to Taoism.
It just happened that Graywolf's style came to reflect these principles
as a sort-of philosophy of treatment. In other words, this healing
model is not derivative, nor contrived around these principles. It
has just evolved over time into a certain resonance with Taoism.
Taoism places emphasis on flow, drawing primarily on the metaphor of water's
natural behavior. This certainly resonated with Graywolf's personal
dedication to the waters of the planet (also, he is a Cancer). His
commitment to the planet, and the bliss and serenity he has found river
rafting in wilderness areas has given him a profound experiential and observational
insight into this philosophy.
The Tao, itself, revealed graphically in the YIN/YANG symbol, escapes any
attempt at definition. In fact, "the Tao that can be expressed
is not the eternal Tao; the name that can be defined is not the unchanging
name." The Tao is the divine way of the universe, a path of least
resistance, the essence of all life.
In Taoism, divinity is both transcendent and immanent, without and within.
In this philosophy, the yin forces are exalted, and the creative force
is called the mother of all things. It can only be known through
mystical insight. It refers to the way we should order our lives
to flow with the way the universe operates.
The typical themes and premises of Taoism share much in common with shamanism,
Gestalt therapy, Maslow's concepts of self actualization and peak experience,
and modern chaos theory. They hold in common the principle of harmonization
with nature. They manifest as existential philosophy, nature mystic
experiences, and process-oriented therapy. The principle of "flow
as health" is fundamental to both Gestalt and Maslow's psychology.
The concept of "universe as bountiful parent" is somewhat reflected in
the Higher Power model and re-parenting.
Contrary to the schismatic, out-dated Western view, nature, man, and God
are not separate. Nature obeys the law of effortlessness, and we
can too when we tune in with our deeper essence. Taoist thought has
the principle of WU WEI, which is that through inaction and passivity (yin
forces), true results are obtained. IT IS A PHILOSOPHY OF BEING,
NOT DOING.
The aim of the wise one is ethical living (integrity), in harmony with
the Tao, by living in accord with nature. And nature unfolds or creates
through the dynamics of chaos and flow. It is a way of living which
minimizes stress, strain, and striving.
We can learn directly, experientially from nature. Not just by observing
her, but by immersing ourselves in her, becoming one with Her again.
This is one reason Graywolf prefers to conduct sessions on the river, an
experience we call "whitewater and dreams." The river teaches us
about the nature of flow, and has a spontaneous healing influence.
Just being on the river with the intent of inner transformation brings
about many changes in clients which would be much more difficult in a sterile
office setting.
Nature provides many natural metaphors which parallel, evoke, and mirror
human transformation. Taoism reveres the virtues of water first and
foremost as exemplifying the Tao, itself. Parallels with process-oriented
psychology are easy to find in Taoist literature.
The natural phenomena which the Taoists saw as bearing the closest resemblance
to Tao itself was water. They were struck by the way it would support
objects and carry them effortlessly on its tide. The Chinese character
for swimmer, deciphered, means literally "one who knows the nature ofwater."
Similarly one who knows the nature of the basic life-force knows that it
will sustain him if he will only stop his thrashing and flailing and trust
it to buoy him and carry him gently forward.
...Water, then, was the closest parallel to Tao in the natural world.
But it was also the prototype of WU WEI.
...Yet despite its accommodation, water holds a power unknown to hard
and brittle things. In a stream it follows the stones' sharp edges
only to turn them in the end into pebbles, rounded to conform to its streamlined
flow. It works its way past frontiers and under dividing walls.
Its gentle current melts rock and carries away the proud hills we call
eternal.
...Infinitely supple yet incomparably strong--these virtues of water
are precisely those of WU WEI as well. The man who embodies this
condition, says the TAO TE CHING, works without working." he acts
without strain, persuade without argument, is eloquent without flourish,
and makes his point without violence, coercion, or pressure. Though
as an individual he may be scarcely noticed, his influence is in fact decisive.
...A final characteristic of water that makes it an appropriate analogue
to WU WEI is the clarity it attains through being still. "Muddy water
let stand," says the TAO TE CHING, "will clear." ...Clarity can come
to the inner eye, however, only in so far as man's life attains a quiet
equaling that of a deep and silent pool.
In Taoism, nature is befriended. Taoism seeks to be in tune with
nature. Joseph Campbell was fond of quoting D.T. Suzuki on western
religion. To paraphrase, it went something like "God against man,
man against God, man against nature, nature against God...hmmm...strange
religion!" The division of spirituality from instinctuality is
fundamental in conventional western religion (though not in paganism).
It is the source of much psychological distress. Taoism's approach
is basically ecological, an organic philosophy of nature.
Taoist philosophy just turns out to closely resemble the view modern science
has been forced to adopt after three centuries of mechanical materialism.
Taoist naturalism combines with an inclination for naturalness to emerge
as simple living in touch with nature, nature without and within.
Extravagance, honors, prestige, and consumption are of little importance
in this philosophy.
THE ESSENTIAL THING IS AN EXISTENTIAL RAPPORT WITH THE TAO. The Taoist
is concerned with a sort of immediate, inner, intuitive enlightenment.
Fundamental to this is the relativity of all values and perceptions, rather
than polarized opposites which can never meet. The Tao symbol graphically
depicts the paradoxical union of opposites, as discrete yet conjoined,
as yin and yang. They express the nature of continuous transformation
within the Tao.
Taoism shuns all clear-cut dichotomies for a paradoxical union of opposites.
The great Mystery transcends polarity. No perspective in this relative
world can be considered as absolute. Polarity sums up all life's
basic oppositions: good-evil, active-passive, positive-negative, light-dark,
summer-winter, male-female, etc. But though its principles are in
tension they are not flatly opposed. They complement and counterbalance
each other.
Taoism follows its principle of relativity to its logical limit, regarding
life and death themselves as relative phases of the Tao's embracing continuum.
This bears on our attitude towards our own mortality, and our ability to
feel and express grief. We have all known those who have gone through
life as the "living dead," just going through the motions of life, with
little or no connection to their bodies or the greater whole.
Also, our attitudes when confronted with catastrophic illness reflect our
philosophy of life. The motto for the terminally ill has become the
question, "Will you live your dying, or die your living."
Living each day anew, as a unique experience, means living with a "beginner's
mind."
Taoism is a way of PERCEIVING with a blank mind, which therefore knows
nothing of limitation. There is a story of Chuang Tzu, the foremost
popularizer of philosophical Taoism. (He is the one who dreamed he was
a butterfly dreaming he was a man...) While strolling on a bridge
with Hui Tzu, the Confusianist, he observed:
"Look how the minnows dart hither and thither at will. Such is
the pleasure fish enjoy."
"You are not a fish," responded Hui Tzu. "How do you know
what gives pleasure to fish?"
"You are not I," said Chuang Tzu. "How do you know I do
not know what gives pleasure to fish?"
The nature of perception was also revealed experientially in esoteric Taoism.
This phase arose as the Chinese mind was first discovering its inward dimension
and was captivated by it. This still happens on the individual level
when we come in contact with our process. It is fascinating and captures
our attention and creative interest. We become intrigued with our
inner drama, the flow of the stream of consciousness.
Esoteric Taoists believe that successive deposits of toil and worry had
so silted up the soul that it was necessary to work back through their
layers until "man as he was meant to be" was reached. Pure consciousness
would then be struck; at last, the individual would see not merely "things
perceived" but "that by which we perceive."
The Tao is ineffable and transcendent, yet also immanent. It is eternal
and immediate. It is an infinitely generous fountain, flowing, driving
all of nature as the ordering principle behind all life. It is the
way of the universe, of ultimate reality. It can be approached through
magic, mystical experience, philosophical rapport, and the intuitive existential
openness. It manifests as "creative quietude," paradoxically combining
supreme activity and relaxation.
Every artist has discovered that genuine creation comes from the release
of the infinite resources of the deep self. It requires a certain
dissociation from the surface self, and most artists have rituals for creating.
The unconscious mind must relax, let go, and creativity flows spontaneously.
When the artform is therapy, the creative result is healing.
Personal ego and conscious efforts yield to a power not their own.
Then behavior flows spontaneously; ACTION FOLLOWS BEING. Lao Tze
said, "The way to do is be."
Another key element in Taoism is the VOID, or empty space, or emptiness.
Taoist skill is seldom noticed, for viewed externally WU WEI--never forcing,
never under strain--seems quite without effort. The secret here lies
in the way it seeks out the empty spaces in life and nature and moves through
these, like water. Tao, as the inexpressible source of being, is
spoken of in some sense as non-existence. It is the power of passivity.
The Taoist mystic chose to empty his mind, gaining inner perception of
the Tao, attaining a oneness with the Eternal.
This emptying, non-attachment, or non-involvement was echoed later in humanistic
psychology and Gestalt therapy. Like Zen philosophy, Taoism encourages
us to grasp the moment before it flies and use it to enter the great Emptiness,
that Void from which all the ten thousand things have sprung, and to which
they still, and forever, belong. Fritz Perls considered the person
who had no fixed character to be the most flexible and adaptable.
Dr. Suzuki refers to the everyday mind as the Tao. By that he says
he means the unconscious, which works all the time in consciousness.
He makes a distinction between the "purely instinctive unconscious"
as found in children and animals and that of a mature, "trained unconscious."
By this later term he implied the kind of awareness proper to a really
mature human being in which the unconscious experiences gone through since
infancy are included as constituting a part of the whole being. He
spoke of the proper use and understanding of the unconscious as "the
fountainhead of all creative possibility," and without denying the
importance of the mind, he uttered some warnings against the modern tendency
to disconnect the brain from the larger field of man's total humanness.
Elsewhere Dr. Suzuki has said, "The function of human consciousness,
as I see it is to dive deeper and deeper into its source, the unconscious.
And the unconscious has its strata of variable depths; biological, psychological,
and metaphysical. One thread runs through them, and Zen discipline
consists in taking hold of it in its entirety."
THE TAO IS UNFATHOMABLE, INEXHAUSTIBLY DEEP, AND UNFATHOMABLE.
So many modern scientific and psychological principles are contained in
this simple philosophy. It anticipated Einstein's concept that "all
is relative." It echoes the ecological philosophy of shamanism
and the modern green movement. It speaks directly to the "here and
now" perspective of existential philosophy, Gestalt therapy, and humanistic
psychology. The pleasure in the simple is a criteria for Maslow's
self-actualizers. One of Jung's major themes was the paradoxical
union of opposites, and their synthesis in a grander, harmonizing symbol.
Taoism is one of the root philosophies of world-wide culture which shows
the importance of the intuitive, creative, and reverie states--of letting
go to experience our primal being as emptiness or the Void. This
consciousness is part of the return of the lost Feminine to western culture.
It is Her voice that has been missing for so long, drown out by patriarchal
culture. Our culture is now becoming one big, chaotic mix.
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