Tag Archives: shadow

Chuck’s Place: Random Acts Of Shadow?

Shootings galore. A hero stabbed. Arson in a spiritual mecca. Massacre at a peace rally. Suicide of an innocent youth.

Of light and dark are we all... - Photo by Jan Ketchel
Of light and dark are we all…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

Someone asked me what I thought about bipolar disorder. I answered that we must first consider that bipolarity is the inherent condition of the human species: beings of consciousness, beings of animal instinct; beings of light, beings of shadow.

In the light, we are socialized beings who wear the uniform of morality. In the depths of our darkness we are hunted by the repressed animal within, whose instincts are now marshaled to terrorize, disrupt, and defeat the hegemony of our light spirit self who disowns its shadow.

“It is the law of heaven to make fulness empty and to make full what is modest,” states the I Ching in the hexagram of Modesty.*

When that which is light refuses to acknowledge and integrate its own darkness that darkness will break through in random acts of shadow to recalibrate the bipolar disorder of one-sidedness. That is, nature will correct itself.

The mistake so often made is to misinterpret the cause of violence. The natural tendency is to seek safety and security from the predator “out there.” Is it not becoming clear that the terrorist is coming closer and closer to home? The shadow is blatantly coaxing us to realize that the madness we see erupting all around us is actually the collective shadow we all own.

We can no longer contain and manage this primal force by projecting it onto the black man or the terrorist who we jail and kill. As the shadow encroaches closer and closer to home we must claim ownership and strike a new bipolar balance with our disowned other who paces restlessly in the labyrinth within, awaiting its opportunity to pounce.

But how to make peace with a shadow that threatens our very survival?

Light among the dark? Dark among the light? - Photo by Jan Ketchel
Light among the dark? Dark among the light?
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

Once I sat with devout Saudi Muslims, the warmest of beings, who when speaking of Israel suddenly assumed the countenance of a sly fox. “You can never trust a Jew,” I was informed.

Once I sat with devout Jews, the warmest of beings, who when speaking of Arabs suddenly assumed the countenance of a sly fox. “You can never trust an Arab,” I was informed.

I felt such love in both meetings, but was struck by the identical perspective they shared, as they each so clearly saw mirrored their own shadow in the eyes of the other. Of course, the rule of the self-fulfilling prophecy plays out here: where there is no trust there is fear, defense, and offense. And so the endless cycle of war replays, each side desperately seeking survival, each side becoming the shadow they see in the other.

Chuck’s Rule Number One: No blame.

As they say in the 12-Step World: don’t take anyone else’s inventory; focus on deeply revealing the truth of the self to the self.

We must know, own, and reckon with the truth of our own shadow side with its deep attachments to its own instincts, hidden desires, greed, and power.

It is not possible to see clearly or speak honestly to another unless we have come to know and accept the truth of our own inner darkness. Short of that, our disowned darkness will be projected upon and reflected in the eyes of the other, be they our partner, family member, fellow citizen, or any other member of our shared species.

Chuck’s Rule Number Two: Value the darkness.

It is rejection of the darkness that has constellated the raging bull of a shadow that now tramples our lives near and far. We no longer have the option of holding back our instincts for the sake of civilization.

The only hope for civilization now is to embrace and reconcile with its full wholeness, light and dark. This is the only way to calm the storms of extreme bipolar disorder that now rock our earth. Our bipolar sides must become friends, valued for their differences, for the balance they bring.

We must abandon forever the one-sided—light—notion of perfection and embrace the dark. We are human animals after all, whose deepest instinctual needs must be addressed if we are to be redeemed from the perils we now face.

Chuck’s Rule Number Three: Compassion.

With deep self-knowledge and self-acceptance we are released to love, rather than confront, our “evil” neighbor. Acceptance of one’s own shadow leads to compassion for everyone, for all human beings are equally saddled with the identical challenge: to become whole through reconciliation with our bipolar light and dark natures.

This late bloomer shines, light and dark fully integrated... - Photo by Jan Ketchel
This late bloomer shines, light and dark fully integrated…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

Chuck’s Rule Number Four: There is nothing to fear.

In closing, this is my final rule, that truly there is nothing to fear. Once we face the truth of our own shadow selves, we have faced our deepest enemy: ignorance of who we really are.

Once we have faced the truth of ourselves, there is nothing to fear in the world, and random acts of shadow evolve into an individuated wholeness, ready to take us deeper into the next adventure, as fully integrated bipolar beings of light and dark.

From both sides,

Chuck

*Quote: from the I Ching, Richard Wilhelm translation, Hexagram 15 Modesty, page 63.

Chuck’s Place: 47

What could those numbers possibly mean? - Photo by Jan Ketchel
What could those numbers possibly mean?
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

Shortly after his marriage to Alyce in 1941, Elmer Green had a “vision” dream in which he and Alyce were given golden sweaters, each with a maroon number 47 sewn onto it. Elmer came to understand that these numbers foretold that through their relationship they were each challenged to square their individual karmas with Divine Law, to be freed to end their cycles of reincarnation in this life and move on to new adventures in infinity.

The number 4 refers to the work of the ego in this life, which inherits its karma from past lives and works through, releases, or accumulates more karma in this life. Jung identified the number 4 as the 4-sided square of the mandala, the symbol of individuation and wholeness.

7 is the number of infinity, heaven, higher power—ultimate truth and reality. Jung identified the number 7 as the circle within the mandala. Squaring the circle —47— is thus reconciling our karma with Divine Law, which then frees us to move deeper into enlightenment.

Interestingly, Jeanne died at age 47. And, after a very brief return to complete her karma with her reincarnated birth mother, she was able to release herself from the cycles of reincarnation and assume the role of bodhisattva, or teacher, for spiritual seekers of 47 in this world.

When Jan and I read Elmer’s dream, I reflected on the dreams I’d encountered that day containing the numbers 4 and 7. In one dream, there was a state of isolated waiting for between 4 and 7 hours. In another, there was taking charge of an area identified as district 7. When these numbers appear they reflect the work of squaring core karma with Divine Law, that is, facing and resolving our deepest truths.

The next morning, I contemplated the significance of 47 for our greater Planetary Being, planet Earth. I was drawn to the history of Palestine. As I researched, I discovered that it was in 1947 that the United Nations officially partitioned Palestine, clearing the way for the establishment of the State of Israel.

Not having discussed this process with anyone, I was surprised that the first person I spoke to that morning introduced me to the documentary film The Edge of Dreaming, which chronicles the journey of a 47 year old woman who was told in a dream that she would die at the age of 48. I took this synchronicity as an acknowledgment from infinity that my research was on course.

Who would argue that the world’s survival hinges on the resolution of conflict in the Middle East? The assigning of 47 to the Middle East as the place where the Planetary Being, Earth, must square its karma with Divine Law is completely apropos. At that level the stakes are highest.

Of which we are all a part... - Photo by Jan Ketchel
Of which we are all a part…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

This past week, on his way to victory, Netanyahu clearly stated his position—no two state solution on his watch. I see this remarkable honesty as an advance, regardless of his subsequent backtracking. The perennial failed peace negotiations have no possible outcome in establishment of a Palestinian state. This position has been fully acknowledged.

On the flip side, I had a visitor this week from the Arab world, who shared with me that no globe or map in the Arab world is allowed to have the State of Israel on it. There we have it: the Arabs refuse the State of Israel, the Israelis refuse a State of Palestine. The mist has cleared! We see the truth: total stalemate.

However, this stalemate has resulted in the great amassing of military might by the Israelis and the equally powerful rise of terrorism in militant Islam. The increasing power and threat of these opposing forces holds the world in constant vigilance, with clear and present threats to survival. Where is the resolution?

The greater Planetary Being must resolve this paradox to survive and evolve. As a therapist, my focus has always been on the cells of the Planetary Being, that is, each and every one of us, each individual human being who, like a hologram, contains the same forces within as the overall Planetary Being reflects without. Yes, that Planetary Being reflects all of us; we are all that Planetary Being; we are all the Middle East, the Arabs and Israelis, the militants and terrorists alike.

The 47 within all of us is the squaring with all the parts within the self. No part of the self may be left behind, just as no citizen or people can be left out of the world. Resolution must include all. Extinction was attempted in the Holocaust, which greatly contributed to the karma of now. It must be resolved, and that can only happen if everyone is willing to reveal their true cards, as Netanyahu has recently done.

How do we integrate opposing parts? How do we each deal with the shadow within ourselves? It begins with honestly revealing and facing the truth of the shadow: all cards revealed. But what will advance it from there?

I think the hint comes from infinity and its teachers, who have returned with their guidance throughout the millennia. Their constant reminder is always the same: Love. Only in revealing ourselves in our honest humanness, can we move to loving compassion. As infinity loves and accepts all its parts, all its children, so are we too guided to love even those we feel we must hate.

Are we really ready to 47? - by Jan Ketchel
Are we really ready to 47?
– by Jan Ketchel

To be able to love, we must release all karmic grudges and shortcomings; we must merge the 4 and the 7. Every time we, as individual Planetary Beings, love our neighbor and our own shadow as ourselves, we make room for all in loving kindness. Begin with the self; begin a cellular revolution of Planetary change within, that is our charge. Our greater Planetary Being is counting on us to release it from its karma, to move it forward into enlightened life!

If you protest that the opposing forces in the Middle East will never be able to love each other, I counter: Will you ever be able to fully love yourself, the full unadulterated truth of yourself, no parts excluded? The challenge is equally the same for all parts of this Planetary Being that we all are, as we seek to truly square 4 and 7.

Forty-sevening,
Chuck

Reference to Dr. Elmer Green’s vision dream comes from his book, The Ozawkie Book of the Dead.

Chuck’s Place: Breakthrough To Wholeness

The magnolia buds have survived the winter and are ready now for breakthrough... - Photo by Jan Ketchel
The magnolia buds have survived the winter and are ready now for breakthrough…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

We are beings filled to the brim with conflicting tendencies. St. Paul said it succinctly: “That which I would I do not, that which I would not, that I do.” Confronted with the opposition of his own carnal sexuality and his deep spirituality, St. Paul went the way of many a monastic tradition and chose celibacy. The challenge of truly reconciling this polarity within the self by rejecting that which is outside of the self is daunting and often misses the mark. The failure of this resolution couldn’t be more apparent than in the modern Catholic Church,* tarnished worldwide with deep involvement in sexual abuse. Clearly, merely shunning or splitting off sexuality does not make it go away—it must be reckoned with.

Carl Jung pointed out that for a tree’s branches to reach heaven its roots have to reach hell. True reconciliation of inherent human oppositions must integrate all sides of human nature into a cohesive whole. A one-sided solution to our problems inevitably sets the stage for a backlash or a breakthrough of the forsaken other—the rejected shadow self.

Times of breakthrough are exceptional times, like the breakthrough of a swollen river over its dikes. In hexagram #43, Breakthrough, the I Ching counsels resolute action in such exceptional circumstances. First, resolution must be based on a union of strengths and friendliness. The adult self must hold its own and not be taken over by the opposing tendency. On the other hand, it needs to greet it with friendliness, lend an objective ear to its point of view.

Second, a compromise with evil is not possible. If the dissociated tendency insists on taking over the personality on its own terms, it must be openly discredited. There can be no compromise with a one-sided truth. On the other hand, the passions and one-sided motives of the ego self must equally be brought into the light and openly examined.

Third, the struggle must not be carried out directly by force. If an opposing tendency has taken on a compulsive habit in the personality, labeling it evil or denigrating the self for its presence in the personality only empowers it as it weakens the adult self charged with shifting the habitual state of affairs, such as with some kinds of addictions.

It's surprising just how much nature shows us how to break through. When the time is right...Just do it! - Photo by Jan Ketchel
It’s surprising just how much nature shows us how to break through.
When the time is right…Just do it!
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

Finally, the best way to advance is to make energetic progress in new behaviors that serve the true needs of the overall personality. A dysfunctional habit may actually be holding the place of a deeper need for fulfillment. Rather than brand the habit as bad, make use of it to turn in a new direction and engage in behaviors that fulfill the deeper needs of the self. For instance, challenge the self to go into the world and interact versus retreating and soothing the self with lulling talk and substance. Or rather than seeking excessive fulfillment in the outer world, retreat into the deep vibrational experience of transcendent oneness in meditation.

Breakthrough encounters are part and parcel of the individuation process. Breakthrough encounters are necessary guideposts in recapitulation as well. Through these encounters we are afforded the opportunity to integrate our opposing tendencies into a holistic being, truly capable of a new mantra: “That which I would, I do;” the ultimate conscious breakthrough, in consummate wholeness.

Breaking through,
Chuck

* It is interesting to note that an ancient papyrus has broken through the sands of time and been validated by modern scientific method to challenge this one-sided position of the Catholic Church. At least some early Christian communities documented that Christ spoke of having a wife. Here is an excerpt from the NYT regarding the words that have fanned some controversy: “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife…’ ” Too convenient for some, it also contained the words “she will be able to be my disciple,” a clause that inflamed the debate in some churches over whether women should be allowed to be priests.

Read the entire report in The New York Times.

Chuck’s Place: Project Inward

From Deng Ming-Dao's Everyday Tao, Living With Balance and Harmony...
From Deng Ming-Dao’s Everyday Tao,
Living With Balance and Harmony…

Perhaps Jung’s favorite story was Richard Wilhelm’s “rainmaker” experience. While in China, Wilhelm—who translated the I Ching—visited a province that had suffered a long drought. Nothing that was done brought rain. Finally, an old Taoist man, known as the rainmaker, was brought in from a faraway province to break the spell. After sitting alone in a hut for three days, it began to rain. When Wilhelm inquired of the old man what he had done to make it rain, the old man said that when he’d arrived he was immediately infected by the disorder of the place and so he had to sit in seclusion until he restored himself to the Tao, to the order of nature. In so doing, the Tao of nature around him was likewise restored, and then it naturally rained.

Look what happens when a Catholic Pope sits in his own quiet meditation. This rainmaker emerges to proclaim that his church has been too “obsessed” with gays, abortion, and contraception. Let’s see how one person’s revelation contributes to realigning with the Tao.

The physicist David Bohm used the holographic metaphor to illustrate the true nature of quantum reality: every particle of the whole has within it the entire whole. Within every person is the entire universe. If we restore ourselves to the Tao, the universe restores itself to the Tao as well.

If we look outwardly, at the macrocosm, we can’t help but see a world of great imbalance. Traditionally, America has projected its shadow self elsewhere in the world and marshaled the troops to subdue the terrorist “out there.” With Syria, the world drew a line. Putin suggested that it’s time for America to get off its exceptionalist kick and face its own shadow. This week, once again, we experienced another mass shooting at home. Indeed, that “shadow” is very active in our homeland. It’s time for us, nationally, to own our shadow, just as, internationally, all are charged with facing the terrorist within themselves as well.

A Buddhist Master, Heng Ch’au,* states: “Other’s faults are just your own—Being one with everyone is called great compassion.”

The essence of true compassion without is acceptance of one’s own inner darkness. From the holographic perspective we are all the terrorist and the victim alike. From the Taoist wisdom, if but one of us can face the truth of our own shadow’s play in our lives then we are in a position to align ourselves with the Tao, with the truth, with the universe—and all is righted.

Harvest Time... in Tao everything is acceptable, life and death, beginnings and endings and all that comes in between... - Photo by Jan Ketchel
Harvest Time… in Tao everything is acceptable, life and death, beginnings and endings and all that comes in between…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

In the microcosm of the universe within each of us lies the disorder and imbalance that we see in our world without. What is needed is that we suspend judgment and accept the full truth of the attitudes and beliefs that dominate and control our lives.

What impulses within cry for life, yet are held in check by restrictive, fearful, judgmental attitudes? What deep needs are being disavowed, calling for a terrorist overthrow within to right the extreme imbalance of self? What regrets, resentments, bitternesses, hatreds and angers do we harbor in refusal to accept the truth of our own deepest secrets, deepest truths, and deepest disavowed selves? If we can face these mighty truths, fears and imbalances within, in full acceptance, then we arrive at the compassion to restore the Tao within, and vastly right the Tao without.

To project inward is to take responsibility for our holographic selves, to truly take responsibility for our interdependent wholeness.

Sign up for Project Inward!

From within the hologram,
Chuck

P. S.: After I had completed this blog, I posed the following question to the I Ching: How do we restore the Tao? I received the answer in Hexagram #30 Fire, with moving lines in the first, second and third places. The resulting future is Hexagram #4, Youthful Folly.

Fire attains duration by not overshooting its bounds; it burns in proportion to the wood that fuels it. Wood is yin, the darkness. The flame that illuminates is yang. Together yin and yang work in perfect harmony to produce the light of consciousness and the warmth of security. Such is the path to Tao that the I Ching proposes for now, for the individual, the nation, and the universe.

Wednesday evening's Harvest Moon rising over the neighborhood... - Photo by Jan Ketchel
Wednesday evening’s Harvest Moon rising over the neighborhood…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

The reading goes on to highlight the first three lines of the hexagram, offering pragmatic counsel for morning, noon, and night that together complete the full cycle of a day, of a life, of an era.

The early morning is the time before ego arises, before world is formed. It is the time for communion with spirit. We awaken with dreams and impressions from our deeper selves. When the spark of consciousness awakens, arise. Ever so gently sit with the messages that came in the night; write them, contemplate them, sing them, draw them. These are the seeds of spirit for the day. Open a meaningful book, or any book, at random. The message you need will appear. Contemplate it. Engage in breathing, candle meditation, yoga, or any spiritual practice that suits your predilection. Take full advantage of the time before the demands of the day kick in. It’s the best time for direct spirit connection.

The midday sun is the height of power. The sun achieves this brilliance because it does not deviate from its path. It does not seek to go beyond itself, and it graciously begins its descent from the zenith. We are advised to align our ego selves with the true needs of our body and spirit selves. Perhaps this means not altering our body chemistry with another cup of coffee to forego our tiredness or push beyond our exhaustion and mental capacity to achieve some ego ideal not suited to the true needs of the self. The operative words here are modesty and balance, as we carry ourselves through the day.

As evening sets in the I Ching warns that we not attempt to extend the day with ecstatic exuberance, be it with substance or entertainment that deprive us of the replenishment needed to be freshly reborn the next day. The I Ching, as well, warns not to slip into melancholy and regret for tasks not accomplished or life not lived during the day. Time instead to prepare for sleep and its journeys, the journeys that hold the seeds of the morrow.

Innocence in Tao... is Tao... - Photo by Jan Ketchel
Innocence in Tao… is Tao…
– Photo by Jan Ketchel

The accompanying future hexagram, Youthful Folly, is the right attitude for us to take forward as we go through our full cycle days and lives. Folly, in youth, is appropriate. It is innocence that approaches new life with curiosity and excitement. Its teacher is life itself, the reactions of the Tao to a being discovering new life without judgment. This is how we should always live our lives, in alignment with life itself. There will be lessons, hard lessons, as life moves in new directions, but there will also be new life as the Tao responds to youthful folly. Let the games begin!

* Buddhist quote from C. G. Jung’s Psychology of Religion And Synchronicity, p. 197

Chuck’s Place: Where Should I Go?

In a recent NPR Alternative Radio podcast, Dark Ages in America, Morris Berman proposed a deeply unsettling identity at the core of the American psyche responsible for the endless wars America finds itself in. A young, thoughtful listener on the brink of deciding where to settle and launch his career is disturbingly affected at the prospect of remaining in America. He asks the question: “Where should I go?”

Berman himself had come to the conclusion that there was no place in America for a peaceful, truth seeking person, though he’d heard of people forging monastic sanctuaries in the midst of hostile territory.

Evil other?

The conclusion of Berman’s exhaustive analysis is that the American “SELF” is actually a composite self, an amalgam of “I the rescuer/savior” and “evil other.” His analysis suggests that America conceives itself as the righteous savior of an evil world. That evil world has been encapsulated by many countries throughout our 200 plus year history, beginning with Great Britain to most recently Iraq, Afghanistan, and Iran. America has always been symbiotically defined by its role of defeating the evil other. America does not have an identity without the evil other. America therefore is a perpetual warrior nation that can’t exist without a war to wipe out “the bad guys.”

It’s interesting to note that a large portion of the American electorate now seem poised to embrace a Mormon president. The driving force in Mormon history was to establish Zion, a Utopian society of the righteous here in America. Zion is actually Jerusalem, the holiest city in Judaism. Mormon narrative identifies with a Jewish narrative, with the building of the New Jerusalem here in America. Americans, from this perspective, can be seen as the true Israelites, the chosen ones charged with freeing the world of the evil other.

Berman argues that America is indeed imploding, turning its warrior identity against itself. The case for this is abundantly clear in the obvious unleashing of warrior energy upon Obama, branded the Muslim infidel, the Muslim other that must be brought down at all costs. This is not a battle based on reason, this is a battle fueled by an almost religious fervor—a battle of Exodus seeking to liberate Americans from the bondage of the infidel, to be restored to its own Zionist roots. This is a battle cry that speaks to the American psyche. A large part of the American electorate appear ready to anoint the Mormon liberator to bring down the “Muslim Infidel.” This is the American Civil War reignited.

Even China now seems ready to call our bluff. In the midst of our deadly infighting we’ve taken our eye off the ball. The truth is likely that it’s not a matter of years before we are surpassed as the dominant economy in the world. The truth is it’s already happened. What is more important to the American psyche at present, despite lip service to the economy, is war, the destruction of perceived evil.

Psychologically, America is an extraverted nation. That means the playing field, that which is considered real and valuable in life, is outside of us in the concrete world. That is why we cling so tightly to unbridled capitalism: the accumulation of objects is the supreme value, the core of how we value ourselves. We are, largely, not an introspective people. Hence, we do not know, value, or reckon with the contents of our own psyches. As a result, we do not know our true nature, with all its contradictions. We do not undertake the mature process of inner reconciliation. To the contrary, when we encounter an evil thought or impulse within ourselves we project it outward, onto some evil other in the world as it becomes our playing field of reconciliation. We then rally around the mission—shock and awe—to subdue the evil other. Meanwhile evil runs rampant and unchecked, wreaking havoc within our own shores, from Wall Street to Main Street.

My response to the question “Where should I go?” is: nowhere. America needs to sit still and face the truth of its own identity. America must take responsibility for its own evil side. We must evolve into a nation that reckons with its own evil versus projecting it and attempting to destroy it somewhere else in the world.

Face the truth?

On a personal level, every American is challenged to face the full truth of who they really are. Where is the Sadam, the Ahmadinejad, the bin Laden—the evil dictator, the terrorist within the self that puts its own self-interest above the needs of the rest of the self? Who within seeks to hoard and control? What attitudes and beliefs rule the self? Is the ego self in full charge? What about the nations of the body self and the spirit self, are they known and included in the governance of the self?

On a collective level we are challenged, as a country, to face the imposition of our own self-interest over the needs of the world and the planet. Who is the biggest consumer of fossil fuels? Who is the greatest backer of big oil? And lest we look to Wall Street to blame, how many of us base our pensions on the success of big oil? Where is our conscience if the stock market affects our income?

Personally, I view the American experiment as I view the human experiment: a work in progress. America is the orphan child that detached itself from its ancient European roots. That rebellious child said it could do it better, as it freed itself from the dying governance of monarchy. America ushered in freedom and new possibility, democracy on a grand scale. This act of defiance advanced the world, but the shadow side of this hubris has been the illusion that we are perfect, as we cast our personal evil outward onto all the other evil empires in the world. Couldn’t get more immature! But with true humility and ownership of our true identity, we can grow into mature adulthood, as a nation and as individuals.

The actual complete answer to “Where should I go?” is nowhere, and then within. Discover and reckon with the full truth of the full self. Change the self; change the country. Mature the self; mature the country.

Though hopelessness has its rightful place in the economy of emotions, is it really a path of heart? This song comes to mind, sung in the 1960s musical HAIR, Where do I go?. Listen to this version from the original Broadway soundtrack: Where do I go?

Staying put,

Chuck

NOTE: No longer available as a free podcast through NPR, here is a link to Alternative Radio’s website should anyone be interested in Morris Berman’s speech.