Sisters of the Forest
Sapiens are storytellers and story-hearers. It is a trait that decidedly differentiates us from other organisms. Indeed, we are the sole animal on the planet with this sacred ability. We are in love with fables, parables, allegories and fairytales. The (oftentimes) gross over-characterizations of human traits, personas and roles that are depicted in these stories allow us to feel connected to the inner Self, and maybe, the parts of us that we have fragmented, hidden and suppressed over the terror of showing our true self to the world.
The isolation and aloneness that is collectively smothering the spirit and causing neurosis, even psychosis, may well be alleviated if our society gently returned to the majestic ritual of connecting back to – as Campbell deemed it – the literature of the spirit. He goes on to say in The Power of Myth, that contemporary society seems to… “be solely interested in the news of the day and the problems of the hour.” Nary would an old world scholar allow the news of the day to impinge on the hermitically-sealed off conversations about the inner life and the magnificent human heritage we have in our tradition…a communication speaking to the centering of the Self. What happened to these literary cowboys? Why did these conversations go extinct? When and how did 24/7 scripted news replace this critical-to-our-aliveness tradition, ritual and ceremony?
On the metaphysical and mystical realm, we might be able to infer that we are all seeking to bring our bespoke dramatis personae to life on the illusionary stage we call “life.” When we use the phrase, “we all want to be seen, felt and heard,” what we are likely referring to are those fragmented parts of the self that are living in the unconscious. They seek to be brought to the light, to come out of dormancy from the darkness and to be lead to the land of the awakened. What better way to do this than through story-telling? And, what better medium to be inspired than through myth?
Sisters of the Forest is the new name the team at Architecture of Humanity has given the women’s groups we have been hosting for the last two years. The name is derived from an 1812 German tale, The Handless Maiden, collected by the Grimm Brothers. In true backwards design (my favorite way to work), we focus on the desired outcome first, then scaffold from there. I am a trauma therapist by trade, but if we’re doing it in right-direction, trauma work is inexorable from spirituality. On the Spiritual Path, we are ultimately seeking wholeness via growth of consciousness. The gift of the work on this path is access to the Soul, that is to say, the life we were meant to live. Our desired outcome in our gatherings is to find these access points and portals to the soul.
As our state creates our story, so too, does our life parallel art. The individual frames within the film of my life that served to create the curriculum we use in our gatherings is called Relationshipping. The darkest period of my life and it’s subsequent awakening, inspired this psychological software that allows us to find a common vernacular, and understand via cognition, the roadmap we will take to the homecoming of our soul. Somewhat forced into a vision quest 9 years ago - the curriculum that is Relationshipping and the gatherings that are Sisters of the Forest - appear to be the soul foodstuff that was meant to be brought back to the tribe, back to ordinary life and in service to something far greater than me. It has taken me nearly a decade to find the organization and courage to share with those who are willing to venture into the forest.
Feeling cellularly alone during that time in the “forest” 9 years ago, I resonate with Jungian scholar Marie-Louise von Franz’s view of the protagonist in The Handless Maiden: “She is driven into nature. She has to go into deep introversion. The forest is the place of of unconventional inner life, in the deepest sense of the word. “ Alas, we must do this work alone, in introversion. What I seek to provide, however, within our Sisters of the Forest tribe, is a common communal truth-seeking, so that we do not need to feel alone in our aloneness. The curriculum will provide additional support; it is both evidence-based (on my 10 + years of formal education) and empirically-based (on my 8 years of private practice therapeutic work).
In the tale, the Handless Maiden finds that her work is not in complete solitude, for she is taken in by the “folk of the woods,” i.e., The Sisters of the Forest. She stays the Shamanic requisite 7 years with the Sisters of the Forest. And, in that time, her hands grow back. In retrospect, if I’d had this type of support 9 years ago, I would have been saved from incredible amounts of pain and suffering. My proverbial hands would have grown back far sooner. To be in tribe is hard-wired in our bodies. We feel safest and most alive when we are within a group of others who are moving along the same path, speak a similar language and, especially, when we can re-negotiate past ruptures allowing an integration of the Self…encountering emergent selves that have been patiently waiting for us. You no longer need to go into the forest alone.
Our first Sisters of the Forest gathering is Saturday, March 12 in North County San Diego. Click here to learn more and purchase tickets.