Today our VCR didn’t work when we wanted to watch Matter of Heart a film portrait of Jung that we are very fond of, so we found a Youtube version to watch instead. If you are at all interested in the man here below is the link to the video, which also includes a brief nod to some visions Jung had shortly before he died regarding the survival of mankind, suggesting only another 50 years, which would bring us to 2011. I intend to pose a question about this to Jeanne tomorrow. Here is the link to the movie; it’s an hour and forty-five minutes long and well worth it:
#573 Chuck’s Place: Daphne, The Big Baby & The Pit of Annihilation
Welcome to Chuck’s Place, where Chuck Ketchel expresses his thoughts, insights, and experiences! Many of the shamanic and psychological terms used in Chuck’s essays are defined in Tools & Definitions on our Psychotherapy website.
We are instinctual beings. As infants we are completely dependent upon the world to meet our instinctual needs of hunger, security, and love. At best we can scream, cry, smile, or withdraw to communicate the state of our needs. If you are reading this, it is a fact that your basic needs were met, “good enough,” to emerge into adulthood, capable of some level of self-sustenance. However, the quality of our adult lives rests upon our own ability to find fulfillment of our deepest instinctual needs.
In the hexagram of The Well, in The I Ching, it is stated, “we must go down to the very foundations of life. For any merely superficial ordering of life that leaves its deepest needs unsatisfied is as ineffectual as if no attempt at order had ever been made.” (From the Richard Wilhelm translation of The I Ching, page 186.) Foundationally, the quality of our early parenting sets the stage for our own ability to be good parents to our instinctual self. Our ability to nurture and soothe ourselves, find safety and security, pleasure and love, rests completely in the hands of our adult selves. No one else is responsible for our fulfillment but us, our adult selves. Our adult selves may be severely handicapped in our ability to successfully parent ourselves and meet our instinctual needs; however, we remain completely responsible for solving this dilemma.
In a dream the other night I was on vacation, yet having to baby sit a child named Daphne. Daphne, in Greek mythology, was sworn to virginity and when chased by Apollo turned into a tree rather than acquiesce to a sexual encounter. Here we have a person choosing to completely physically rigidify and refuse instinct altogether, rather than face the onslaught of instinctual energy and desire. Many of us, at least in part, become trees rather than open up to the torment of unmet needs and face the vulnerable feelings related to the failures of those who supposedly loved us. In fact, we often elect to become rigid rather than vulnerable. Actually, the decision to become a tree is driven by an over-attachment to the instinctual need of self-preservation. My dream depicts the dilemma of clashing instincts, for how does one have fun on a vacation when saddled with babysitting the overpowering dominance of self-preservation, the Daphne in all of us.
This constellation is a common dilemma for many adults. The instinct of self-preservation can so dominate the adult self that the rest of our instinctual needs become relegated, by way of compensation, to the big baby who screams for attention. In fact, the big baby is really a bundle of frustrated instinctual needs demanding, with cries of entitlement, to be integrated into our lives. Often the adult ego-self avoids this dilemma by projecting responsibility for the inner child upon the world, like the helpless infant who needs to be cared for by others. This enables the rigid instinct of self-preservation to continue to reign by blaming and lamenting the failures of others to meet its obvious basic needs. Generally, the world greets the big baby with rejection, which leads to further disappointment, bitterness, and deep sadness. Unfortunately, this approach will never solve the challenge of fulfillment, which requires the individual to assume full responsibility for life, regardless of all crimes perpetrated by others upon the self. The individual must realize that the true culprit, at this stage of life, is the adult self, the real parent to the whole self. It is the up to the adult to forge the connection to the instinctual self. No one outside the self can do this.
Jan shared a dream the other day that reflected her current recapitulation of her recapitulation as she writes her book. She and three other women stood at four equidistant points around a deep circular black pit, the Pit of Annihilation. This configuration formed a perfect mandala, the psyche’s symbol of wholeness and healing. The task was for all to descend into the blackness facing all the truths, all the traumas accumulated through life experiences. At the bottom of the pit they were to face the Truth and Reconciliation Committee, after which they were freed of the burdens and limitations of their painful experiences, in fact doing a complete recapitulation, becoming fully released, opening to a full relationship with the instinctual self.
As the women stood beside the pit, contemplating their plunge, they experienced extreme tension; this is Daphne fleeing from Apollo. What was required was for the rigid adult self to let go and take the plunge into the abyss of truth, to relive all the experiences of feared annihilation in order to release itself from the rigid hold of self-preservation, to the exclusion of all other needs. This is the path of wholeness and healing. The adult self is the only parent who can solve the dilemma of the big baby. If the adult refuses to take the plunge the individual will end up controlled by, and catering to, the deeply saddened big baby, behind whose cries lies a bottomless pit of unregulated instinctual forces demanding attention, a true pit of annihilation. Only an adult self that has totally withdrawn the expectation that the outside world parent its baby can take the journey through the pit of annihilation to arrive at truth, reconciliation, and release. From this place the personality is in a position to integrate the instinctual energies of the deepest self and achieve fulfillment in this life.
As usual, should anyone wish to write, I can be reached at: chuck@riverwalkerpress.com or feel free to post a comment.
Until we meet again,
Chuck
#572 Raising the Alarm
Jeanne Marie Ketchel
Channeled by Jan Ketchel
Dear Jeanne,
Do you have a message to guide us over the next few days as we go into the weekend?
Channel from your heart, My Dear One, so that my words may be clearly heard.
Do not allow the outer forces of darkness to usurp the light that attempts to shine more brightly upon that earth. Remain keenly aware, at all times, that the forces of evil are returning in full force, attempting a takeover. This is a worldwide phenomenon that occurs quite regularly, throughout all time, and has been historically documented.
How often does this occur?
Within a hundred year span upon that earth it can occur many times.
Why does this happen?
The forces of evil stir when awareness is low, when times are hard, and when the people of earth are troubled by the problems of daily life. When they are forced to attend to domestic and social ills their focus is outward on the world and on simple survival, rather than inward and on what is right. Such a time has been building upon that earth. Attention caught in mere survival results in energy turning bitter and angry, and this becomes the focus, projected energy of blame and discontent. This is now a season of much disturbance of energy and many are swept up in the fires of bitterness.
What should we do?
Clarity must be maintained, and this clarity must be attributed equally to compassion and right action. I have long been speaking of the need to learn what it means to attain a place of compassionate loving detachment for all beings upon that earth and to understand, by remaining in such a loving place, what steps of action to take.
Goodness must not fall by the wayside now as the darkness stirs into hatred. Despair must not instill fear in those who normally do not speak up. Even the silent ones among you have power in energetic intent. Now is a time of action for the simple fact that if you do not act and react to that which is obviously wrong in the world, then you will not have room to change things again for a long time. It does not matter where you live in the world; this is a time of stirring of the dark side. My warning is not unique. You hear such warnings all the time, but do you really understand what is happening?
I think we do, and many people are aware that false accusations and blatant lies are being spread in our own country.
The machine of denial and untruth is enormous. Do not doubt its power, for it is heard by many who live in fear and discontent. It is not a time to be ignorant of what is happening in your world, but a time to stand for justice, love, and compassion for all beings upon that earth. It is time to dismiss the so-called fears, for most of them are falsely constructed and have become contorted and used beyond all sensibility, merely as fodder for the fires.
The fires of discontent will continue to be fueled by false rhetoric because the energy of darkness understands how important an element fear is in the context of inciting and arousing anger, a most necessary aspect of its energy. Without anger there would be little progress. It is time for the good, the light, the energy of compassion and truth to use its own anger of discontent to put out the fires. The problems will not go away on their own. The fire will rage and destroy everything in its path, unless the energy of awareness attacks it with far greater force. By turning against it with a mission of truth as the catalyst, bringing waters of clarity to squelch the flames fueled by lies, one anger may control the other and hatred, fear, and the loss of love and compassion may be quelled.
But it must happen now. Now is the time to look at what will be lost if love, compassion, truth, and awareness are not brought out into the open. Do not keep your goodness locked inside you now, My Dear Ones. Each one of you has enough good energy to change the world. Each one of you has enough awareness of what it means to act with goodness. Each one of you knows what is truly right.
Alarm is my intent today, to arouse you all to the intent of the dark side to destroy the progress of goodness by gaining entry into the psyche of each individual who is caught by the fears and lies and to use such individuals for its own purposes. (See NOTE at end of post.)
This sounds very dark, almost evil.
I do not jest, nor do I threaten that which is not true. I beg you, My Dear Readers, to look around you. The world is not on a collision course toward annihilation, but it is enroute to a new phase. Either it heads straight into the darkening storm on the horizon, unable to see what is before it because of the smoke caused by the fires of discontent, and simply because someone says it is the right direction to take, that there is nothing to fear in this direction, or the world may choose to look with eyes of clarity and speak the truth, rising above the crowd, instinctively aware that there is trouble ahead if that route is taken and provisions are not made to take a new course.
Do you choose to run with the crowd, into the flames, simply because that is where the crowd is going? Look around you. What is truly the right direction? Use your awareness, your clear vision, and take action rather than follow the leaders who are attempting a takeover.
Save your energy for useful thinking, for truthful thinking, for right action. Thank you for listening to my admonition today. I seek to warn the loving gentle ones upon that earth that fear alone can change the course of history, but so can clarity.
Seek to understand the truths beneath the rhetoric. Which fears being promulgated are true fears and which are false fears? That is where you will find the answer to how to combat evil with good. Act with goodness at all times, within the self and without. Find the true answers deep within and you will find the answers to what to do without. You, by your true goodness and compassion, have the energy to change the world. Remember, first and foremost, that you are an energetic being, and so are all upon that earth!
NOTE: At this point in the channeling I was aware that Jeanne was indicating that the energy over the next few days has qualities to blanket our awareness, so that even though we are seeing what is happening, we are not alert and reactive, so it is a dangerous stratum that may help the overall dark energy. As she queries us at the end of the message, are we just cattle going to the slaughter?
-Jan
#571 Put on a New Pair of Glasses
Jeanne Marie Ketchel
Channeled by Jan Ketchel
Dear Jeanne,
What message do you have for us today?
Today is the day to question your reality and your dream world alike. Do not question the truth of them, but question what they are attempting to show you. Question what you are being taught and what you are asked to open up to. The Universe supports you at all times, though you may not be aware of this. The Universe, encompassing everything seen and unseen, spoken and unspoken, clear and unclear, is prepared at all times to guide you, but it is up to you to wake up to its teachings.
In order to understand how the universe works it is most important that you accept the blurring of worlds as natural, as appropriate, and also as confusing, for the Universe, in its attempts to get your attention, must often shake you up, shattering your illusions, and creating a new world in which you are more open to accepting the gifts it offers. If you remain solidly planted in your so-called reality, your every day world of work, worry, and little enlightenment, you will not be in a position to notice that you are being offered many options for growth and shift, many gifts that have the capacity and ability to jolt you out of your daily slumber.
However, if your concrete reality, with its sharply defined rules and edges, becomes indistinct, shaking you out of your slumber simply by appearing differently, you may begin to question it, but also your place in it, and this is good. Are you really present in such a place of stability and unrelenting boredom, or are you simply passing through on the way to other worlds?
Offer yourself some questions, but do not stay stuck on the questions themselves. Instead, pose the questions and then ask the Universe to offer you a glimpse of a new reality, another reality, as perfectly viable as the one you daily exist in. In so doing you will learn that it is just a matter of shifting your perspective on life and reality that allows you to experience the magic of life upon that earth.
Accept the true fact that life upon the earth is full not only of magical moments, but of magical signs, ideas, and opportunities. Simply by shifting your thoughts from their usual well-trodden paths, you will be offered a new direction for interpreting your world and accepting new ideas. In this manner, that which is before you each day will suddenly take on new meaning as a magical place of learning, and life will shift from the mundane to the exquisite.
Experience your self differently today by allowing the Universe to show you something. Ask the question: What is reality? Then defy every known interpretation of what that means and allow the self to perceive it in a different manner. Is the world around you beautiful, or is it sinister? And why is it either? Is the Universe attempting to show you the side of the self you have neglected, or is it showing you the side of the self you have right before your eyes, but have been too cautious and afraid to trust as truthfully your reality? Is the Universe challenging you to accept something painful or something strange that you have not fully understood about the self?
The Universe is there to guide you to that which you must learn about the self. By accepting your challenges with an open mind, without attachment to worry, fear, the big baby, and the life of victimhood that so often strangles growth, you have the opportunity to open a new door to interpreting life as a journey.
Where is my journey taking me now? Where am I allowing my journey to take me? Do I go, or do I stay where I am? Do I acquiesce because I know that I must keep going? Or do I say: Stop pushing me, life!
As you learn who you are, as you accept the truths of the self, you will find that your awareness of gifts from the Universe will increase. I urge you all, My Dear Ones, to drop your old ideas of the self, of your reality, of your expectations, and adopt an open mind, a freer spirit, and step into the magic that surrounds you. Put on a new pair of glasses, so to speak, so that you will be able to see differently. And then accept what you see and experience as equally real and valid as the shoes upon your feet and the skin upon your body, the feel of which may change as you allow your self to drop all pretenses and take off in a new direction.
Do you dare? Do you dare see with new eyes, feel with new touch, sense with new senses, and accept the magic all around you? What are your challenges and your magical gifts today?
#570 Change the Self a Little Each Day
Jeanne Marie Ketchel
Channeled by Jan Ketchel
Dear Jeanne,
Do you have a message of guidance for us today?
I must remind you, once again, to stay upon your path, seeking always the truths of the self and walking always toward the light of greater good. Though I send you many words of wisdom and connection, so do I know that from one day to the next those words fall from your present attention and become lost in the dreams of yesterday. But I ask you to remember, at all times, your reason and your purpose for living that life, and if you have not found it do not judge the self harshly, but do not either forget to continually seek this true aspect of self.
Remain aware today, on this day of shift and transformation. Look always for the small shifts that you alone can make in your own life in order to transform the self in some manner each day. Do not look outside the self for signs of such transformation so much. Look instead to the self and demand greater effort for your own life’s progress. This is your challenge at all times, to transform the self so that you may grow and evolve.
Growth and evolution require that you change. They require that you continually challenge the self to become a spiritual being, in human form, to your fullest potential, wholly present in both human and energy without ego domination. Remain in perfect balance, perfectly aware, and perfectly humble as you face your truths and live your life in this state of merged balance, but do not look for perfection as your goal. Look instead always to change the self a little bit more each day. Do not treat the self harshly nor berate your progress thus far, but ask the self to continue always forward, shifting into new awareness, and utilizing it for change of the self.
Do not forget what you have learned about the self as energy, nor forget to remain aware of the energetic form of all things. As you grow bring your awareness always back to this truth of the self. This is the main feature of the self to grasp and retain as you do your work of self-discovery and evolutionary exploration: You are energy. Everything is energy. Explore that phenomenon more thoroughly!