Wednesday, April 08, 2009

message recieved


I've been thinking a lot lately about the core tenets of my practice as a Pagan psychotherapist.  Buddhism is currently in fashion in my profession,  mindfulness turning out to be just as useful (if even more) in creating emotional well-being as analyzing family dynamics.   Are there particular things that we earth-worshippers do that inform my profession?  Psychotherapy truly is more art than science, and it figures that many of us who are in the Craft have something to teach other healing artists of hearts and minds

This week one of my core tenets has me laughing. I believe, and try to transmit to my clients, that the world wants to be in meaningful conversation with us.  Once we accept this as true, and cock our ear towards it, the world will not shut up.  

Under great distress, of course, it's hard to listen to anything or anyone. Anxiety and fear can operate as mighty misfiring car alarms, drowning out any truth of the real threat or danger. The Buddhist gift of  mindfullness  is a damn fine tool for re-calibrating the human car alarm. But then what? That's where I think we Pagans have something to offer. We know how to carry on mytho-poetic conversations with the world, and any rich conversation like that makes human life a hell of a lot more meaningful, if not more interesting.

The other day I was with a group of friends, all stressed or beleaguered in some fashion. There were, of course, those who were newly unemployed, and those who were worried about their jobs. There also was a friend had just mid-wived her mother's death from cancer, and another friend who waiting for biopsy test results. And, I had just received a notice from the IRS that I was being audited.  Despite all the stress, there was much laughter, warmth, and gallows humor.  I left the gathering, my heart stretched with tenderness for my friends, and also beginning to contract with worry and mounting anxiety.

It only took me several steps on Cortland Avenue until the world interjected and had something pithy to say.  There, in a window of a small shop, was a big red poster with white lettering.   "Calm down, and Carry On",  it simply stated.  Yes, indeed.

Calming down, is of course, hard. Breathing helps, and slowing down thoughts. Carrying on, well, that's hard too, but it's made easier by the world carrying some of the burden of the ongoing conversation. Cock your ear, and really, the world, it just won't shut up. 

Thankfully, it's pretty darn smart. Carrying on, we would all do well to deeply listen.







15 comments:

Donald Engstrom-Reese said...

Yes, mindfulness. I'm for it. Before I had ever heard of the term mindfulness, I had be calling it simply, paying attention. And what a damn good question, what do you do when you are paying attention? I, like so many other Pagans, also decided to join in on the conversations, slowly building rich satisfying relationships with Mystery, let alone other human beings and the rest Midgard.

I laughed out loud when I read the poster message, 'Calm Down, and Carry On'. I am always amazed and delighted by how so many posters messages appear at just the right time to touch me in unexpected, unplanned ways.

Isn't it grand to be alive in a world so filled with beauty, wonder and a rich sense of humor?!

thorn said...

I've been having great "random" oracles lately!

One of them, funnily enough, I posted about the same day you wrote this!

http://yezida.livejournal.com/187247.html

clymela said...

Oh I think I love you.! I came to to your site through Hecate's site that I visit almost every morning with my very early morning coffee.
Calm down and carry on indeed!!

judy g said...

in case you need one of your very own

http://www.reformschoolrules.com/pc/barbkskpcalm/art101/Keep+Calm+And+Carry+On+Poster

judy g said...

let's try that again
http://www.reformschoolrules.com/pc/barbkskpcalm/art101/Keep+Calm+And+Carry+On+Poster

judy g said...

never mind..it won't print the whole link

Clare Slaney said...

Where do Paganism and psychotherapy meet? Curiosity about human nature, about my own nature brought me into psychotherapy first as a client and then as a therapist. Much the same brought me to Paganism. One of my psychotherapy tutors was very New Age and her example has absolutely put me off mixing Paganism and therapy, but who knows, in the future it may feel less inappropriate.

Mercury Redbone said...

"I believe, and try to transmit to my clients, that the world wants to be in meaningful conversation with us. Once we accept this as true, and cock our ear towards it, the world will not shut up."

Love that expression! Seems true to me.

Anonymous said...

What a fantastic post. We would all benefit greatly from increasing our ability to listen - and also, frankly, to see things as they are as opposed to how we expect them to be. In short, we need to cultivate openness. Not easy but definitely rewarding and hugely beneficial for our personal development and society as a whole.

Lene Andersen said...

A little late to the conversation, but had to join in. Calm down and carry on was exactly what I needed to hear today. Thanks for that.

Anonymous said...

Keep Calm - Carry On

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45443000/gif/_45443395_poster_226320.gif
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7869458.stm

Anne said...

Oh, honey. I just bookmarked the catalog page where I could buy a "Calm Down and Carry On" plaque to put in our new kitchen. A motto for all life, really.

I like the war genesis of it -- that the Brits used it during the dark WWII days.

And, like being mindful and living in the moment, it is, I think, at the essence of truth. If I'm left with nothing else than -- one day at a time; keep breathing, it's the most important part; calm down and carry on -- then I'm left with enough.

WO Cassity said...

Great post! Hope to see you write more in the future! Blessings!

Anonymous said...

Just 'dropped by' to say hi, see how you're doing. Notice you haven't posted in quite a while, hope you're okay. Love and blessings to you and yours. x

The Soccer Moms' Guide to Wicca said...

Thank you for this post. As a person with generalized anxiety and depression, it's very hard to be told by my mother "Just smile, and sooner or later your body will follow." My response is often "I don't WANT to smile, I want you to leave me alone!" Of course, when it comes from someone I'm not related to on an Erica Jong "Fear of Flying" level, it's easier to intellectualize:)

Thank you for the reminder to be mindful. It is something I need to be reminded of more often.

-Fae