Often I allude to childhood experiences unconsciously influencing emotional health in adulthood. After Googling the subject I can across this study from the Permanente Journal that supports this thought. Of interest in this study where the findings: Findings A striking finding was that adverse childhood experiences are vastly more common than recognized or acknowledged. Of equal importance was our observation that they had a powerful correlation to adult health a half-century later. It is this combination that makes them so important. Slightly more than half of our middle-class population of Health Plan members experienced one or more of the categories we studied. One in four was exposed to two categories of abusive experience, one in 16 to four categories. Given an exposure to one category, there is 80% likelihood of exposure to another. All this, of course, is well shielded by social taboos against obtaining this information. Further, one may "miss the forest for the trees" if one studies these issues individually. They do not occur in isolation; for instance, a child does not grow up with an alcoholic person or with domestic violence in an otherwise well-functioning household. The question to ask is: How will these childhood experiences play out decades later in a doctor's office? How does one perform reverse alchemy, going from a normal newborn with almost unlimited potential to a diseased, depressed adult? How does one turn gold into lead? I see a lot of posted dreams that deal with such childhood experiences and have found a remarkable pattern of these dreams stating an actual age or time period related to the emotional experiences. Often the dream will open with at an age the dreamer remembers from the dream. And most always it results in the dreamer remembering something at that age that was emotionally impressionable if not painful. This is the natural structure of dreams, to focus on such experiences in an attempt to help the dreamer realize the roots of negative adult behaviors. It is when those emotional roots are realized, confronted, and properly put into perspective that the healing process takes place. I have the personal experiences in my own childhood/adulthood to verify my thoughts and these experiences support this scientific study in this article {or should I say it supports mine}. read the article And here is article from the BBC which provides more insights to childhood/adult emotional relationships. Selfish adults 'damage childhood'. It not only lists some of the symptoms but also some preventable solutions. Although the culture in England is a bit different than in America I believe these findings fit universally. My thinking though is Americans are psychologically more dysfunctional than other parts of the world. Jung said so himself more than 70 years ago when he describe American as a neurotic nation. It is important to understand these unconscious motivations we possess in our adult lives. To change destructive behavior there has to be an understanding of what they are and the roots from which they were born. Dreams are a great tool in this process. But there has to be a real desire to 'want to' or else you end up taking two steps forward and 3 steps back. You have to learn to break the cycle of dependence. A dependence that often is unconsciously motivated. the inner child is the child you were when you were a child gerard/Jerry

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I just today purchased a few books on inner child work.

I think the negative consequences and effects of one's childhood are not recognized or acknowledged because we so many have come to accept dysfunction as normal. What else is there to believe or think when one does not know anything but their dysfunctional experience, when there is not a model of health? Lesser "appearing" forms of dysfunction are also often ignored when there are more gross examples of bad life/childhood experience to view (such as mine). Societal prgramming (the violence and dysfunction in television and other media) also has it way of numbing us, when day after day one watches, listens and reads, without feeling, wihtotu questioning. I think we all "turn off" a lot awful early in life - and continue to. I feel the truth is that we none come up from our childhood experiences without scars of dysfunction (neurosis) manifesting in our adult lives - which I see as the child inside calling for healing.

I think our nations fight wars because grown men (and women) have unloved children inside.

Kristi

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Every person has childhood issues, some not as severe as others but issues that live on throughout life. Just how those experiences affect a person depends on the individual but not necessarily the severity of the experiences {although abusive experiences usually carry a heavier burden that can adversely affect actions in later life}. Part of the inner search is to examine all aspects of life, especially childhood and see what may be hidden, or simply ignored. If you want to know why you act in a particular destructive way you can often find the answers from childhood.

gerard/Jerry

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We always hear so much about the damaging consequences and reverberations of traumatic childhood experiences and while I do believe, in general, that our childhood is the most obvious template for our lives, I'm intrigued by the value of adversity as for example, most easily perceived in nature as with trees that grow taller in a striving for sunlight or species that have learned to fly in response to scarce food. Because of adversity, destinations or heights are reached that they might not have ordinarlily been ordained for. In connection with this, I also think of experiences of pain that are not begrudged or laden with personalized meaning. In this category, for women, there is the pain of childbirth and for men, I imagine something like "sports pain". We don't personalize or blame ourselves for the pain. And I wonder if childhood difficulties are so common in general if there isn't a general purpose to them as well. And if it were so and we understood that, if it might not lighten our load a little and give us greater confidence in wrestling with them.

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Julie,
Well spoken and a lot to think about. Will have to re-examine your comments this weekend and perhaps continue this line of thought.

gerard/Jerry

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You wrote: "And I wonder if childhood difficulties are so common in general if there isn't a general purpose to them as well. And if it were so and we understood that, if it might not lighten our load a little and give us greater confidence in wrestling with them."

I have a personal conviction that our childhood experiences are the soil that we grow from. And that, for all of us, it is rich and fertile grounds. Irregardless of circumstance, for even the lotus grows from the mud. When I look at life as metaphor, I see all the forces and inluences (in whatever name, fashion or form they are presented) exerted upon us as the energeis that catalize our being. Like carbon material being formed into a diamond in the earth, under great pressure. Perhaps our finding that treasure is some like needing to go back to those days (all those miles under the earth where the diamond forms) to dig up our gift. I believe we all have personal mythos, that which gives life real meaning ... that which can help the child to see and know that all those formative years (which are difficult for us all) were for a reason. And I believe finding and filling that meaning lay in the hopes and dreams and trials and heartaches of the children we were, the one full of 360 degrees of possibility, that waits only for us to recover him/her.

Kristi

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For every seed that is planted there is a tree that is capable of growing. The seeds in childhood are like the seedlings of a tree. If they take hold they are there until the end. And they are capable of controlling the growth of the individual, an oak tree coming from a particular seed and an elm from another. Which seeds become dominate in childhood are the seeds that unconsciously determine the growth of the individual. To understand the roots to those seeds is to understand the roots of how a person acts, thinks, becomes as an adult. A fairly simple equation that so few people take time to understand.

So what is the value of looking back and reliving those childhood experiences? The value is much of what transpired during those experiences are lost, forgotten, repressed. That is consciously ego at work, not willing to confront the shadows. Unconsciously they remain and can be a controlling aspect in ones life. I can't help but remember the terrible experiences of those Catholic children who were sexually abused by their priests. After the first one found its way into the headlines many, many more began to come forward. And what we see are lives ruined, depression, suicides, additions. Few if any understood why. But it became quite obvious there were the same common motivations; the childhood abuse by trusted adults, an abnormal childhood that manifests itself into an abnormal adulthood. The seeds were planted when the psyche was most vulnerable. And they remain, dormant in their memory but so very active in their unconscious control. There are those who doubt this association. But the overwhelming reality, the facts show otherwise. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand the connection. It does take courage for those children, any child, all children to confront the darkness within. Some may not survive the dark side. Those that do and receive help not only survive but find new life, new meaning, if that guidance is truly proper and thorough. I can attest to that from my own experience and I feel so fortunate that I discovered Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung. It changed my life and I knew from that very moment the Power of Myth program ended it to be true. I do feel it was a Synchronistic event. Whether it was per-ordained or a happenstance will never be known. But it happened and I believe there is purpose in it. If nothing else the purpose has been the birth of Myths-Dreams-Symbols and the creative sense that I possess.

Could it be there is a pre-ordained event waiting for every soul? In Joseph Campbell's the Monomyth {often referred to as the hero's journey} there is the 'The Refusal of the Call'.

Campbell: Refusal of the Call – "Refusal of the summons converts the adventure into its negative. Walled in boredom, hard work, or 'culture,' the subject loses the power of significant affirmative action and becomes a victim to be saved."

I look all around and see a world that has lost the power of 'affirmative action' and victims to be saved. How many have had the opportunity presented to them for self realization only to turn away and become one of those victims?
A synchronised event? It happens at the right time, at the right place and for the right reasons. And it is positive. Nature has its ways, not supernatural but natural. All that is needed is to answer the call. Otherwise:

Because I have called, and ye refused ... I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. ... For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.

Principles to live by. Learning to live by principles, within nature.

gerard/Jerry

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Hi, Jerry, I'm replying to this, first to say thank you because much of what you say has personal value for me.

I would also like to offer some thoughts on the topic of the "Hero's Journey" as well as the "The Refusal to Answer The Call" because I don't want anyone reading this thread to be afraid or intimidated.

The public heroes are so because they were given the wherewithal to be so. They charted a path or surmounted a barrier or discovered something new because THEY could. And to do so was their private hero's journey. Jung explored the psyche and at times he went in not knowing if he could make it back. But Jung like all our public heroes, be it Columbus as an explorer, or Einstein or Ghandi or whomever, stood on the shoulders of those who had also labored before them. In actual life as in politics, I've noticed that the one who breaks down the door is almost never the first one through it.

I often think about the first caveman to leave the cave and the enormous amount of courage it must have taken. But I know it took an equally enormous amount of courage for the second one to do so and for any other thereafter.

No matter who we are or what our situation is, if we can take a deep breath and step forth to meet whatever personally requires courage of us, then we will help another to do so. Our names will never be known, our efforts never perceived but one day it will be our shoulders that someone visible is standing upon.

I would not be here writing this if someone before me had not had courage and who knows but maybe it is someone reading this that my thanks should go to.

As to "The Call", well the Call strikes me much more as a birthright waiting to be claimed. It never goes away, we never lose it. It is not a one-time offer. Some have claimed it early and some have claimed it on their deathbed. It holds the same value either way. It is we who mock ourselves for our lack of faith and trust. We are destined to succeed and we know it. And yet for a very good reason we are afraid when the moment comes to begin the step and trust what we have already seen and know. No matter what we think our reason is, it is not good enough. What stops us is that we can't understand how we could possibly succeed and that is because the 'how' of it is beyond what we know in this world. We cannot map the 'how' of it or project it the way you can, for example, track a building from its foundation to the floors upwards. The 'how' is beyond what we can think of or grasp in the conscious realm. And the trust required is to continue to have faith in the presence of something and the possibility of something that is not tangible or comprehensible to us when we are awake, that is, not sleeping or in the unconscious realm.

Or to put it another way--we should all just suck in and take the plunge.

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julie,
I like your description of the 'Call as a birthright waiting to be claimed. In that light I have to repeat something Joseph Campbell has said, a quote that fits with my experience of the call.

Said Campbell {not a direct quote}:
You have two opportunities in life to discover your bliss. One is when you are young, contemplating your career, late teens, early twenties.
The second chance comes at mid -life, when life is in transition and the inner search beacons for meaning.

I missed the first opportunity. I have always had that great interest in psychology and if things had been different in my childhood I do believe I could have taken that path {psychology}.

How does one determine their bliss. here is general rule of thumb that may help:

1. Your true potential. We’re all good at some things in life. Some of us are good with people, some with tools and others with information. When we understand where our true potential lies, we begin to access our calling. If you’re not sure about your talents, there are excellent resources available that can help you identify them. E-mail me if you would like to receive a list of my recommendations.

2. Your passion. Once you discover your potential (most of us have natural ability in several areas) the next step is to identify one specific field that you feel passionate about. This is where you get to love what you do.

3. Dedication. When you have identified your potential and passion, the last piece is to resolve to work hard and be the best that you can be. Because you’re tapping into your true potential, you will most likely excel at what you do. And because you love it, chances are you won’t mind the hard work.

My second chance came at the age of 42 by the synchronistic event of just happening to turn my television on to PBS as Joseph Campbell's popular series The Power of Myth was being presented. A 'birthright' that I believe nature does present at various times in life. Sychronicity may be as real as there are 24 hours in a day.

gerard/Jerry

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What a fascinating discussion. Looking back on my childhood and teenage years it suggests a fair bit to me about the 'why' I was the way I was.

For me my childhood did not have any strong conscious 'adverse experiences'. I had good, sound parents. I cruised my way through school (literally, I had the strong intellectual grounding that allowed me to get away with not doing my homework almost ever but still recieve passing marks - which lasted all the way up until my final year at university) and never had any real hangups, at least until my teenage years.

I feel that this adversity to homework was critical in developing who I am, as I played with my toys, and worked my imagination allowing me to be strongly in tune with my creative side, and also allowing me to establish my creative arts. I figured out my passion from a young age. At first I thought I was terrible at it though, writing that is, but I have since discovered that this was because my handwriting is terrible, and I need to do drafts, something I didn't do till my final year of university. Hence my marks for creative writing and essays has always been very low.

But what raised alarm bells in this discussion is that I remember getting depressed from time to time in my teenage years, and never understanding why. I remember thinking to myself though "Its as if there's some immense tragedy or adversity in my life that I am supposed to overcome, but there is no adversity there at all". I think my childhood may have been too easy, or in retrospect, I was not conscious of the adversity I was to face.

I say this because I now know the great adversity that I did face, perhaps the one failing of my parents which was to assume that I was the same as my older brother, and that which he enjoyed I would enjoy as well. Because of this I was subject to years of 'wasted saturday mornings' out in a cricket field bored to bits. Cricket did not suite me one iota. But my protestations were 'brought into line' and unless I could name there and then some other activity to do I had to play cricket. Of course, not having explored the other sports, I hadn't found my sporting 'passion' so had no answer.

This was the adversity I had to face. Gaining my independence, the 'mother' complex of Jung. My parents were quite controlling in my academic pursuits. I had to have direction, I was not given freedom to explore I guess. Again during high school the same thing happened. I was too special to go into normal school, I had to be some part of a special curriculum. And I had four choices. Fashion design, art, cricket, or aeronautics. My brother had done aeronautics, and despite my complete lack of interest in aeroplanes, I was again forced to choose one of these paths, none of which appealed. Unfortunately I was accepted into the aeronautics course and the control continued. Had I not been accepted I would have gone to school and instead of every year studying flight, I would have explored a range of interesting subjects.

This even followed through to university. I had to get a degree. I wasn't sure what I wanted to be, but I had to do something. Instead of doing a multidisciplinary science degree my mother repeatedly recommended geology as I enjoyed geography (the reason I enjoyed geography - good teacher, didn't make us work hard, ie not the work but the lifestyle I enjoyed).

But although I am now several thousand dollars in debt because of this decision, it did lead to my discovery of that which I should have been doing, and facilitated my first step in my rebellion to my mothers control and my first step into gaining independence. I went what I felt was 'behind my mothers back' and changed university courses without her knowledge. I didn't tell my parents until the paperwork was all done.

The irony? They didn't mind and were supportive. The feeling of being controlled really is just an unconscious projection of my own lack of control over my life. I feel this is the adversity I have to overcome. Now that I say this perhaps this is the significance of the 'raft' symbol in my own dreams.

The point of all this though was that I felt the need to overcome some kind of childhood adversity, even though I could not see what that adversity was. Thus I feel there is some purpose to childhood adversity.

As for the call, I think that there is definately some 'calling' in life. Finding that bliss is important, and the freedom of youth is a key time to try to discover that, as you have the freedom to explore your interests, within the confines of your 'guardians' be it parent or school teacher.

Now that I have a family I don't have time to do this, but I am young, and feel I know my passion, and just need to get there once I have overcome the other 'dragons' that block my path.

At this point I can also refuse the call as well, if I turn my back on my passions, and fall into the pattern of getting home from work and switching off, watching tv or playing computer games after all the chores are done. It takes a lot of effort currently to dedicate time to these passions, as I do also need mental rest.

On that note, I picked up a good phrase that I like to apply when I am feeling overwhelmed, a phrase I picked up from my horoscope.

"Be the lightning"

I feel this helps push me to follow the call.

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