..though there are patterns, even in the tangledness....

This idea of DiscoverRing Vocation has been a learning experience from the first moment for me, and I am opening as much as possible to the learning and asking for more. On that note, as one member put it, it’s like herding cats, and as another suggested, there seems to be some confusion around intentions for the group.

Indeed!

I am, in fact working from two places, though I think in my addled MBTI Intuitive brain, the two threads do come together somewhere in the future.

My own action step to muse on “being vulnerable to panic” has revealed that, at least in part, I feel a lot of urgency around helping others (while helping myself) work toward being resources for people as the world undergoes profound changes in coming years. I believe “Depth Psychology As a Vocation” can be (already is) a central pillar of the Alliance, as likeminded people who are increasingly becoming conscious of the needs for our planet and culture and feel called to engage. And, it can’t happen fast enough. 

1. Because of my own background and education in depth psychology, I understand that in order to be a resource for anyone, we need to all do our own work first and foremost (like putting the oxygen mask on ourselves first in the airplane). If we don’t, I think the shadow can be fairly prevalent and will eventually cause trouble in our respective paths. Therefore, I am inclined to think that having conversations about our fears, our desires, and our shortcomings, while not typical in the usual business world from where I came a few years ago, are absolutely important in this particular work. The same goes for conversations about storytelling, dreamwork, mythology, and ways of listening to psyche to understand where what is wanted from us.

2. On another level, of course, some of us who already have a better idea of where we WANT to go and are feeling similar urgency to me are more eager to dig into the how-to of sharing the work, collaborating on tangible projects, and executing them. How to find the balance? IS this two different groups, or is it the same? Can we together fulfill both these sides of the work by meeting 2-4 times a month (EVERYONE who responded to the survey wanted more than once a month, by the way, so that’s telling).

I am going to take Donna’s suggestion to do some writing on “What do I Want?”—followed by “What does IT want?”—meaning the group, or the soul of this group in particular and see where that leads for me personally. I would like to encourage you all to do the same.

In the meantime, I’d like us to meet again for those who are willing and interested and see if we can come to some ideas about how to best continue. Perhaps the group will split into two tracks, one focused on depth work and one focused on technical stuff where we can all choose to attend either or both. OR, perhaps smaller groups of 2-3 will take shape and decide to continue in a certain direction, or to collaborate on their own projects, while the larger groups continues to focus on the whole package over the course of time (there’s only so much we can do in an hour or so twice a month, so obviously we will get to some topics sooner than others). OR—maybe will continue meeting and focusing on each individual for part of each call and try to see what they need most and how we can all support them, while offering technical or learning sessions once a month, and open them to a larger group who are interested in learning this.

The short answer is: I don’t have the answers—but then, I don’t consider myself the leader of this group. We are all the leaders; we are all equal participants. It’s a Collaborative Inquiry among people who have similar and vested interest in a burning question. Sometimes, though, what we thought was the “burning question” is not that at all, but rather only the first obvious question and the work that is being done—the real depth work—is to answer a question with more questions.

If you would like to continue exploring as a group, I invite you to a call next Tuesday at 4pm PT for those who can make it (I know some of you can't). The agenda will be for us to each say what we want or hope for in our individual work, and what we want and wish for from the Vocation group. All perspectives will be brought into the circle and witnessed, I expect a lot of cross-talk and ideas—I really loved when a couple of you gave Donna some feedback and ideas at the end of our last call—and we’ll try to establish what the map should be moving forward to best serve each us all in our journeys. What do you think?

Please RSVP, one way or another. For those who can't attend but still feel they want to continue in some way, maybe we will set another meeting time, depending on how many there are. Or, if you prefer to opt out of this group and just want to do the technical sessions when they are offered, let me know that as well. No attachment on my part, and everyone has a different path—just follow what your heart and soul are saying