Susanne van Doorn's Posts

"The message is unmistakable our own healing proceeds from that overlap of what we call good and evil, light and dark. It is not that  the light element alone does the healing, the place where  light and dark begin to touch is where miracles arise. This middle place is the mandorla" Robert A. Johnson

I had the pleasure of interviewing author Jean Benedict Raffa about her book “Healing the sacred Divide”. You can watch it on the Mindfunda YouTube-channel. Jean is a keynote speaker at the annual conference of the International Association of Dreams (IASD). Healing the sacred divide got the Wilbur Award, recognizing excellence in the communication of religious issues.

Jean and I talked about how in this day and age we seem to be addicted to war. Inner disagreements and outer arguments where we seek and emphasize the differences between ourselves and “the other”.

In a previous interview I had with Ralph Metzner, I discussed how Europe was taken over by warrior tribes and how this inheritance changed mythology. Jean Raffa describes how our religion is based on those old warrior mythologies. Masculine, with a God image outside of us. Her book Healing the sacred divide is divided in two parts, just like a mandorla.

Mandorla consciousness #1

The first part tells about the eight mistakes in our current concept of God. This part analysis how culture has emphasized one part of the continuum: creating a masculine God, that is outside of us and that really lacks a female touch. With female I mean the qualities our culture has marked feminine like empathy, intuition, acting based on an inner knowing instead of facts. Qualities that both male and female posses and express. It is a clear statement how we need both sides: we need to combine facts with intuitive insights.

Mandorla consciousness #2

The second part tells about the nine wisdom gifts of integrating the divided God image. She builds up the second mandala of consciousness fout of nine stones of wisdom. A nine folded lapis lazuli. Holistic consciousness, transforming light, acceptance of the shadow, emotional integrity, partnership, balance, sovereignty, meaning and the mandorla consciousness.

Mandorla consciousness #3

In the interview Jean Raffa shares a dream about her shadow that she has never shared before. It is a clear example of how valuable working with dreams can be. To out value on your dream images is a sure step towards more inner peace and acceptance. Like Robert Waggoner explained to us in his interview with me about Lucid dreaming plain and simple: dreams can provide key insights towards integrating your own shadow. those parts of yourself you are used to project on somebody else.

Mandorla consciousness #4

In the interview Jean Raffa told me that the key to a happy live is the ability to unite opposites. Her book holds valuable keys to make that work much easier. I wish I read this book years earlier. It would have saved me a lot of pain and mistakes. But then again, I might have missed out on a lot of wisdom…

Other Books from Jean Benedict Raffa:

Dream Theaters of the soul (clck the image for the kindle version)
What are your dreams telling you? Dr. Raffa believes that “dreams show us who we are and what we can become.” In this fascinating book of how to analyze dreams, explore the feminine aspects, and use dreams to grow emotionally and spiritually, Raffa combines the metaphor of a theatre with the practicality of a handbook to provide a practical guide to understanding your dreams.

Dream theaters of the soul kindle version

Bridge to wholeness

Bridge to Wholeness, ” describes an inner feminine way where one makes peace with dragons instead of fighting them. This moving account of a mythic journey from humility to strength, through darkness to light, carries a powerful message of unity and balance for seekers everywhere.”

If you purchase the book using this link, you will support the good work of Mindfunda

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Watch the complete interview here. Please sign up for my YouTube channel to enjoy all the beautiful Mindfunda interviews with inspiring people. People like Jean Benedict Raffa, Anne Baring, Connie Kaplan, Ralph Metzner. I got an interview with Stanley Krippner coming up soon!

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I was re-reading Well of remembrance this weekend. In 1994 Ralph Metzner wrote this magnificent book. It tells you about how the mythology of Europe got integrated in America. You learn about Odin. Odin/Wotan was not only the one-eyed wanderer. He was a shaman. A changeling. He understood the energies of nature and could tape into its source. Traveling to different realms he could take the form of any creature. He was a changeling…

Well of remembrance

I remember when I was a child. My older brother used to play LA woman. On that record there are two songs that indicate that Jim Morrison was “begeisterd” with the Odin spirit. Listen to his song…

Odin represents the energy of inspiration, he is the creator of the word. By sacrificing himself hanging in the world tree he mastered the language of the runes and became the master of the power of speech. Jim was a poet, a perfect person to be susceptible for this ancient energy. Odin was the inspirator of poets.
Odin also is a symbol for the power of divination. He was like the “spirit in the bottle”. Unfortunately in Jim, the energies where so much unbalanced that the bottle got the better of him.
A third aspect that is typical about Odin we see also reflected in the songs of Jim. Odin was “walking through the World Wind forming speech through his breath”. The wind could take on a stormy forecast like the black depressing song Riders on the storm. The song is devoted to the wind. The song is based on a legend of a cowboy seeing oxen with red eyes being chased by the spirits of death men on horses. It was the last song Jim would ever record with the Doors.

If you want to read more about Jim Morrison here is a book that portrays him as a wisdom seeker just like Odin who sacrificed his eye to the well of wisdom:

Jim Morrison, friends gathered together

I will be interviewing Ralph Metzner soon and putting it on my Youtubechannel so be sure to sign up!
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