Welcome to Lecture 9 (Love Potion #9) of The Red Book series with Robbie Bosnak!
Sorry about the delay in introducing this one.
Janet and I were in Los Angeles last week with Machiel completing the three year Embodied Imagination training with Robbie and Jill. It was amazing! And we graduated!! Now available for deep, embodied work with the imaginal through dreams, memories and symptoms!!
This section of the Red Book as Robbie points out is right in the middle, just where ‘Jung’ meets Ishtobar the Sun God as he moves towards ‘meaning’ and the source in the East. I love how it is said that as ‘Jung’ moves in the direction, what he moves towards starts moving towards him as well.
So much like the work with the Other in the dream world, when through paying attention to the image / Other we allow it to move towards us, reveal itself through embodiment and our participation with it.
And when they meet and ‘Jung” introduces science and measurement to Izdubar it is poison to him because not only does ‘Jung’ introduce science and measurement to Ishtobar but as he does so he is introducing Sciences notion that if something can’t be measured it can’t exist. So of course it lames him and brings him down!
No wonder that so many of us in this world have complexes, and such a difficult existing in a world that says that so much of who we are doesn’t exist!
What really hit me in this recap of session 8 is when a great paradigm shift is occurring (like now) Changed by the gods, and you bring a grand vision directly into the world it will be hacked to pieces, “the nearness of God makes people rave.”
You have to shrink it down to a manageable size that can incubate “with the magical warmth of your gaze.”
This is so much I am going to stop now and we will come to the incantations later.
Chris
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David Hartman here. No posts since May 18 - is that correct? I'm ready to begin Lecture 10.
I have re-surfaced after a two-month hiatus of work immersion, and am current with Robbie’s talks and with all the posts. I’d like to offer a couple of observations in relation to Gunni-Britt Borden’s post in Lecture 7 about assisting her class of 3 - 6 year olds to recognize imagination as 'real'.
In discussing archetypal imagination, Harry T. Hunt wrote (Journal of Analytical Psychology, 2012, 57, 76-98) that it is best tapped by measures of ‘imaginative absorption’. Imaginative absorption is the major statistical correlate of other measures of spontaneous synaesthesias, mystical and altered state experience, hypnotizability, response to meditation, lucid and archetypal forms of dreaming, as well as sensitivity to metaphor. Imaginative absorption is probably closest to Jung’s original formulations of intuition in Psychological Types, according to Hunt.
In terms of stages of childhood development of imaginative absorption, he explains that it begins with spontaneous early animism (‘poor tired cup’ for a cup lying on its side) which has largely disappeared by age six. At about that age the animism has been internalized, become unconscious, and so serves as the inner matrix for still more complex capacities (Vygotsky, 1965). Hence animism would become the inner matrix for a mid-childhood synesthetic imagination, which would in turn become the basis for metaphoric understanding, or archetypal imagination.
Higher levels of childhood synaesthesias, mystical experience, out-of-body states, and archetypal dreams correlate with adult imaginative absorption (Novoa and Hunt, 2009).
Assisting children to hold both realities at the same time is the subject of an interesting article by Pauline Stanton, a grade school teacher (http://www.wellness-institute.org/images/Journal14-2Stanton.pdf). She sets time aside (literally!) for the children in her class to “rest their brains” for about 15 minutes once each day. The children are first given a brief explanation about how their brain works hard all day and all night because they dream at night. The teacher then explains that they are going to learn how to “rest their brains.” They sit in a circle on the carpet. The blinds are pulled and the music started. They are instructed to get comfortable so their brains can rest, and then informed that their brain moves every part of their body so if they start to move then they are asking their brain to work. The teacher then takes them through a short visualization, and afterwards the children share their adventure.
She discusses how this actually results in a hypnotic trance state, which is quite natural for children when they are permitted to “set time aside.”
Novoa, D. & Hunt, H. (2009). ‘Synaesthesias in context: a preliminary study of the adult recall of childhood synaesthesias, imaginary companions, and altered states of consciousness as forms of imaginative absorption’. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 16, 4, 81–107.
Vygotsky, L.S. (1965). Thought and Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
WOW, yes, a big one!! Intense, inspiring and depressing!
When we came to the end of this section I remembered the first time I heard it and remembered my experience of the incubation, creation and opening of the egg when I created (from the inpsiration of a dream) a performance art /ritual piece in 1995, Eartha Madre Lights Your Fire - a musical, a fire ceremony with your 'drag queen shamaness Eartha Madre. (this was many years before I had studied shamanism or knew about LGBT people as people of 'medicine' in Native American cultures). It was based on Hindu homa/yagna - fire ceremony so I had indeed "...overthrown all the Gods, broken the laws, eaten the impure. I have thrown down my sword and dressed in women's clothing" (285) The whole audience was invited to come forward to the fire and offer their greatest vision of who they could be as Eartha (I) tended the fire and after, Eartha took a running leap over the fire in her flowing gowns as four male attendants caught her. It was a grand success with people still telling me they remember it and it changed their life. As for Chris? I entered a deep depression (nigredo?) that lasted for years and only after years of study of shamanism, embodied imagination and research into two-spirit people and our place in the world did Eartha reappear in Eartha Madre Rises from the Ashes in 2010. (see photo)
Now, I have entered academia with my continued research into LGBTQ peoples place in the world as "gatekeepers" between the world, healers etc. with intention of a Phd dissertation and book publication, a grand vision. Well I guess that the purpose can't be for the "fruits" (other that rotten ones) of this vision for me (probably have another nigredo to look forward to) so really it can only be to contribute something to the world. (Most of you don't know me well but that is not my usual MO, usually it's all about me of course :) )
Although I must say, that letting go (trying to anyway) of the all about me-ness is a relief in a way. Now I can just get down to work without all the worry about me.
Of course as I write this I do realize I am the main subject matter here! :)
So I look forward to seeing what the journey into hell and the nigredo have for us all.
Good morning Ric - I certainly can imagine the sound of your inner child laughter! I am not a Jungian analyst, so....we need to ask our leading experts to comment upon your understanding. However, I do believe one can be unduly influenced in a relatively short period of time (thought reform) - indoctrinated for words/themes are powerful and can hurt/heal, and then, I also believe that 'what one thinks is' secondary to wave phenomena (energetic fields, thought-forms), so I return to Jung's own words that his way is not our way, hence generalizations (taking his experience out of context) and applying it personally is experienced with difficulty by me for his fantastic experiences originated from within his mind (mental framework) and surviving my 6 NDE's involved all 3 dimensions of my being, so I do not intentional 'mess with' my essence as these surreal experiences were more than enough.
As I have often asked 'do we have to almost die to get it.'
I look forward to feedback/insight from our leaders.
Have a beautiful day. Peace + love Linda
OK, Jung incubated using incantations (spells/rituals of magic) and gives birth to a mist; the spiritual making of his new god, healed at his expense/depleted of his core life energy. His created work departs to the spiritual realm. Jung then believes he has separated himself from his "God, the sun and sinks into the emptiness of matter and obliterates the image of my child in me" and "through my engendering force, I henceforth animate the emptiness of matter from which the formation of evil grows."
The thought of obliterating the 'magical child within' (cheerful play) to get into the polar opposite - a state/place of emptiness within (void/hell - cold horror) is not something I would even entertain. Sounds like 'inner child' homicidal ideation to me - scarey!
All I can do say at this point is I would like to share a Youtube water commercial with all of you, so we can get a video glimpse of our cheerful play place within before Jung takes us into his own hell experience in Lecture 10:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/pfxB5ut-KTs?rel=O
Have a pleasant evening. Peace + love Linda
Good afternoon Ric - taking a different way home to avoid running into a child murderer, what connection Jung experienced after his egg was opened - this got to me, I responded, however, tried to send and resistance (very interesting) simply did not allow it - so I will try to re-post later. Regards Linda
Good evening Chris + Janet - I also would like to extend heartfelt congratulations on completing/graduating (along with Machiel) the 'amazing' Embodied Imagination training with Robert + Jill. How fortunate we are to have you all with us on this journey with Jung/TRB. Regards Linda
Good morning Ric - thanks so much for providing/inspiring us with an opening photo, which I appreciate and look forward to seeing with each new Lecture. The wise men, from the east, travel across the desert, guided by the star, to find the birthplace of the new god - a fulfillment of ancient prophesy. Jung travels to the east, meets his light source (giant sun God - wise man at midway, but lames him with scientific knowledge, however, Jung convinces his sun god to transform into the lightness of a feather, which Jung can place in his pocket/carry and go to the source - the egg (creation of a new god/Christmas story - to find the Jesus/plus the resurrection story that we all can come to him - all who are burdened - for his yolk is light).
Ah, to find/see the light (so to speak), get to the end of darkness - the struggle/burden from carrying all that was/is so heavy within - that is a good find! Have a great day. Peace + love Linda