Love Letters: The Gifts of “The Work”
“Synchronicity is an ever present reality for those who have eyes to see.” - Carl Jung
As much of our writing within the Architecture of Humanity (AoH) blog is technical in nature, Emily and I decided to expand the boundaries a little with the nature of our content. In moving a bit against type, a new set of blogs will be intermittently going out that will be more personal in nature. We’ve named these blogs, AoH Love Letters. They will be categorized and hashtagged, so that you may follow along.
This will be the first post we’ve published within this prose. It comes by way of inspiration: people, texts, experiences, dreams, visions, nature, philosophy and sometimes, unabashed love. One of these beautiful intersections occurred this past weekend. Here’s some context and the love letter…
Contextually, I believe our surroundings, the people we associate with, the experiences we have, and, of course, the way we look at the world, are colored by a lens…a lens that is our nervous system. If our nervous system is in a fear state, fearful experiences will find us. If our system feels safe and grounded, we will experience a safe and grounded life. Thankfully, humans are the only animal who have some control over his or her destiny. This is what Buddha meant when he said, “All is an illusion.”
I work to stay a few steps ahead of my clients - in terms of using the work I teach - using my own body and psyche, so I may report to them what is to be expected. And what has occurred as a byproduct of the latest growth cycle of dis-equilbrium and subsequent equilibrium, might be described as a feeling of effortless magic. You see, when we utilize tools that are led by teachers who are not looking for what is wrong in us, but curious about how our body is only (ever) attempting to stay alive, even in it’s sometimes odd behavioral manifestations, they set a foundation to allow the illusionary state to shift. When those teachers hold space for us and catch the moments where our body is not only wanting to save us, but also wanting us to thrive, we begin to find safety in our bodies and also the world.
As we release the protective responses that are created by the ego, i.e., the neocortex, we begin to get closer and closer to our True Nature, our soul. At first, this appears to be random gifts in the way of synchronicity, empathy and a moving with the heart (energy) instead of the mind (literal). But, over time, as we integrate and reabsorb the exiled and fragmented parts of us that were sacrificed into unconscious territory to allow survival, we begin to understand that this is who we truly are. Empathy, psychic ability and synchronicity are not rare phenomenological experiences that are gifted to a few lucky ones. We all have the hardware and are deserving of these beautiful experiences. They are human traits, and that is what you are!
Integration is a critical part of somatic work as we move towards wholeness. It doesn’t “land” immediately or even soon. In fact, this work is slow in nature so that we can feel the shifts taking place while we peel back the protective layers. If we were to rush through the process or expect results right away, we would not be able to sustain the new pathway reference points. In fact, when we force the process, we actually risk re-traumatizing ourselves. We continue to imprint these small reference points along the way as client and therapist join together along the path to wholeness. I call this “reference-pointing.”
Practicing a “felt sense” of new behaviors is critical, but yet, very new to us westerners. As I teach clients what this is via the five senses in one-hour sessions, once a week or less, I see living their life through the lens of this new perspective as the greatest way to practice. I fundamentally, and without apology, do not agree that any therapist or practitioner is a healer. YOU are your healer. That said, the sterile four-walls of a therapist’s office are not the only foundational means to heal as we’ve been taught. The beauty of a human lies in our multi-dimensional and multifaceted nature of interfacing with this world and the cosmos. As we are both shadow and light, we all know, it can also create a beautiful mess as well if we’ve not done the work to become conscious.
This, I believe, is where art comes in to play with somatic and integration work. Art is the vehicle that gives texture, meaning, depth and understanding to the complexity of being a human. Without art we would be utterly lost. Indeed, the Avant Garde movements within history have been the means with which we have been excavated from the throes of dark periods, and that we are now in the midst of. Perhaps extreme, radical and experimental in nature, Avant Garde movements pulled us from dark ages where innovation, creativity and unorthodox thinking were censored by the powers that were.
As I come into closer relationship with my shadows and darkness, I have given myself permission to accept synchronicity, empathy and psychic abilities as human birthrights. This is the magic I referred to earlier in this post. They happen often now and I accept their gifts not because I believe I am special, but because I am human. Synchronicity is one of these phenomenons that occurred recently. In Carl Jung’s definition, synchronicity, “…describes circumstances that appear meaningfully related yet lack a causal connection.” The piece that is especially defining for me is that there is some unknown connection. This is a faith, trust and grace in a greater intelligence. This type of trust can only come from an open heart.
So, here’s my synchronicity story: My partner and I recently connected deeper with another couple. They ended up being my neighbor…just an ATV drive through the live oak trees and over the creek that runs below my property. They are lovers of living life passionately. They are givers, and are doing so softly and quietly. Patrons of all of the arts, they have begun to follow along with the conjunction of where my work (somatics and integration) and my partner’s work (music, art) meet. This past Friday, we saw them for dinner and at the end of the night, they gifted me with a book they brought back from Hawaii. They wished to dedicate the book to the group of ladies we’ve brought together in the name of Somatic Art. They met a lady there, named Mayumi Oda. Intrigued by her and her story of living in Japan post nuclear war, they bought a book she wrote. It is called Sarsvati’s Gift and it is her autobiography: an artist, activist, and modern Buddhist revolutionary.
Sarasvati is the hindu deity and patron goddess of music, poetry art, speech, science and learning and wisdom. Her name translates in literal terms to “the one who flows.” She is one of three goddesses (with Durga and Laksmi) that make up the trinity of female consorts. In her book, Mayumi mentions that, over the course of her life, she called upon Sarasvati for protection, guidance and wisdom. Knowing very little of what I’ve been studying in this attempt to stay ahead of my clients, I found it fascinating that this should fall into my lap by this beautiful couple. Over the last 8 months, I’ve begun to delve more deeply into Sri Sutka – a cluster of sixteen Vedic mantras dedicated to the Divine Feminine (Shakti). The Mahavidyas are ten aspects of the Divine Feminine that manifest as distinct wisdom goddesses. Each has different character attributes that guide us to liberation. Sarasvati’s Mahavidya forms are Tara and Matangi.
Sarasvati is mentioned in the Rig Veda, the most ancient of the world’s sacred scriptures, dating around 1500 B.C.E. It is an ancient Indian collection of Sanskrit hymns and is one of the four sacred canonical texts known colloquially as The Vedas. The extent of this complex of writings exceeds that of the Bible more than six times over. Thousands of mantras were organized into clusters. Sri Vidya Sadhana is the path of the divine feminine.
Moving back to Sri Sutka, it is a practice grounded in a non-dualistic philosophy known as Sri Vidya. The ultimate goal of Sri Sutka is to eliminate our inner poverty and move towards empowerment, so that we can experience the fullness of life. It sees us needing to cleanse and clear the inner world so that all the parts of body’s ecology are moving in harmony. Free of clutter, emptiness and loneliness.
Khila, also mentioned in the Rig Veda, translates to “the space that gives room to a newly emerging reality.” This is the work we are aspiring towards in Architecture of Humanity. We use best practices rooted in contemporary and ancient texts, practices and tools, always evidence-based. Personally, I hope to continue to speak and write about the gifts that appear as we gather and learn together. I am grateful to those people who continue to show up and offer their bespoke gifts from the heart.