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Re: Clawed

Annika,
I understand completely the need to focus on the 'social events'. When friends/ relatives drop in you can't turn them away. With that said I have dedicated myself to eliminating as much as the social 'dragon' as possible, limiting my relationships {good friends and family only}. But no matter how hard you try it is inevitable it will be apart of life, no matter what. That is not a bad thing as long as you/I have control over it. My having to take Saturdays to work for my son {in his fence contractor business I passed down to him when I retired} is a social responsibility I took on willingly. It takes away from my dream work but 6 days out of 7 doing what I love doing most ain't bad.

I was at high school and a teacher handed me an aptitude test booklet. She told me I could take it again. I flipped through the worn booklet and I was confused about what I was suppose to do with it. It appeared to be missing parts. My sister came up to me. The teacher asked her to tell (lie)someone on the phone we had taken the test. Then out of nowhere, I heard a voice say to me...

"You need to re-channel yourself to find your life purposes"

The dream
The aptitude booklet can have two applications {if not more}. It represents a natural ability to do something. The book is the book of your emotional self. One application would likely have to do with your daughter's graduation and moving on to 'higher learning'. A second application would have to do with your own higher learning.
You mention spirituality and this is one aspect of this higher learning within oneself. In Jungian psyche one aspect we all possess is a spiritual identity that when accessed puts us on a higher level of 'knowing'. This spiritual self has less to do with religion and more to do with the laws of nature, cause and effect {also called karma}.

The confusion is reflective of your conscious attitude about spirituality. There are missing parts as how to go about finding this within yourself. To do this you will need to 're-channel' your attitudes as well as aptitude toward the spiritual. Mid-life is all about rediscovery and finding meaning. Not only about spiritual aspects but the 'meaning' of who you are and why you are that person. And because the dream is a 'natural' phenomenon the laws of nature are the truth and not necessarily those of religions {all religions are myths-exaggerated truths}. To access the true spiritual identity you have to look to and live in accord with nature and its laws. When it comes to moral issues the laws of Karma hold true.

As for meaning of life. One of my favorite quotes by Joseph Campbell {my spiritual mentor} is:
“People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life. I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances with our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive.”

There is a story he tells that goes with this quote that, for me, describes it perfectly. Here is an exert from my page 'Functions of Myth' from Campbell's interviews with Bill Moyers in The Power of Myth.


Bill Moyers: You changed the definition of a myth from the search for meaning to the experience of meaning.

Joseph Campbell: Experience of life. The mind has to do with meaning. What's the meaning of a flower. There's the Zen story about a sermon of the Buddha in which he simply lifted a flower. There was only one man who gave him a sign with his eyes that he understood what was said. Now, the Buddha himself is called "the one thus come". There's no meaning. What's the meaning of the universe? What's the meaning of a flea? It's just there. We're so engaged in doing things to achieve purposes of outer value that we forget the inner value, the rapture that is associated with being alive, is what it's all about.
_______________________________________________________
In accord with the psyche that Jung has laid out, and expounded on and articulated by Campbell, most people have to learn to re-channel their thinking about spirituality. Away from the notion that religion is the answer to one where the life is in accord with nature and its laws.

A quote by Campbell from the Power of Myth:
CAMPBELL: The reference of the metaphor in religious traditions is to something transcendent that is not literally any thing. If you think that the metaphor is itself the reference, it would be like going to a restaurant, asking for the menu, seeing beefsteak written there, and starting to eat the menu.

For example, Jesus ascended to heaven. The denotation would seem to be that somebody ascended to the sky. That’s literally what is being said. But if that were really the meaning of the message, then we have to throw it away, because there would have been no such place for Jesus literally to go. We know that Jesus could not have ascended to heaven because there is no physical heaven anywhere in the universe. Even ascending at the speed of light, Jesus would still be in the galaxy, Astronomy and physics have simply eliminated that as a literal, physical possibility. But if you read "Jesus ascended to heaven" in terms of its metaphoric connotation, you see that he has gone inward – not into outer space but into inward space, to the place from which all being comes, into the consciousness that is the source of all things, the kingdom of heaven within. The images are outward, but their reflection is inward. The point is that we should ascend with him by going inward. It is a metaphor of returning to the source, alpha and omega, of leaving the fixation on the body behind and going to the body’s dynamic source.
end quote

This is pure 'Jungian', going inward to discover the true self. And by doing that you will discover a spiritual aspect, a natural aspect of the psyche we all possess. The references we use in religion are to influence the thinking {patriarchal of course}. But they point to he inner references of the true self, and when you live a positive, spiritual {moral} life govern by the laws of Karma, like a flower life blossoms. Self discovery is an inner journey and so is spirituality. The spiritual path is a psychological journey.

So, this dream is not only about your daughter's graduation and moving on the higher education, it is also about your own education. And not only to do with religion but also learning about higher consciousness that comes by 'going inward' {psychologically}. I took this journey 22 years ago and from experience {I don't need faith, I have experience} I have seen the spiritual philosophy of Karma work time and again.

If you wish to comment about your religious upbringing and more on the spiritual self we may discover more about yourself {in the dream} and perhaps new avenues to your spiritual identity and path.

Jerry




Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 64 Cocoa, Fl

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Re: Clawed

Annika,
I'll provide a response in the morning {Sunday}. Have a long day ahead of me serving the dragon {social responsibilities}.

Jerry

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 64 Cocoa, Fl

Have You Posted Before? Date of Last Post {Use Search and Your Post Name to Help Find Last Post} Male

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Re: Clawed

Hi Jerry,

Thanks for taking the time to help me out. I really appreciate it. :)

I was raised in a strict Catholic home. About 8 years ago, I had a series of events that led me to become a born-again Christian (on my own). I have read the bible thoroughly, many times. I have given up religion in favor of a spiritual connection with God. I have some difficulty reading the bible and I abandon it at times, as my interest in God feels as more of a "as one" kind of feeling with the Holy Spirit. I say short prayers daily, but mostly I keep an ongoing inner dialogue with God. I don't believe in organized religion and it's perversion of what I see as the "truth." God wants all of his people back. We are made whole in our belief and in our furthering ourselves to be of a higher conscience.

I, too, believe in Karma and I try to live by the Golden Rule. I try to limit the negative influences in my life. I grew up in a very critical and controlling household and it can be easy to fall back on negative thoughts about certain family members. I limit the amount of time I spend talking to my parents, as I feel they are very self-centered and "punishers."

I think it is sometimes hard for me to "let go." I understand that I need something more. I need to re-connect to the person I am or meant to be. I don't see a job, business, hobbies, etc as fulfilling that right now. I have the time and the inclination, but I don't know where to begin. I feel there is something I am meant to understand, but I feel blocked. Does this make sense to you?

Thank you for sharing information about your journey and insight into the psyche. Reading this stuff is helpful for me.

It's funny because I usually have a spot-on innate understanding of people and situations. My daughter is the same way.




Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 48 raleigh, nc

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Re: Clawed

Annika,
I too have forgone religion in favor of spirituality {spiritual connection}. My belief system is based more on deeds more than faith. Good deeds toward others as well as limiting and controlling the negatives in my personal life. The laws of Karma, cause and effect, not allowing negative forces to happen and letting the positives to guide my actions limits the possibility of anything negative to occur. What happens in a person's life usually is caused by their own actions. A simple equation is applicable for everyone {and thus a natural law}.

As for God, I look within myself to find my highest qualities and live from that. It is not something I need to bring in but instead to bring out. My formula is to live life by WWJD. What would Jesus do, but not in selective occasions but in every action. Most religious people talk the talk but don't walk the walk. It is by our deeds we are defined, not by the faith we follow. Faith in what? Oneself. To live a life of good deeds, walking in the footsteps of what Jesus would do and not by the instructions of a preacher or priest or rabbi. You are not living by the limitations of what others perceive as truth.

Joseph Campbell says we should have teachers but not a guru. By following a guru or person who proclaims to know the 'truth' is follow a path that is limited as far as that person has progressed.

In psychological terms it is living to your fullest potential. Achieving 'Buddha consciousness' {Buddhism is not a religion, it is a psychology}. Jung discovered a 'spiritual' aspect within the psyche {to go with the anima/animus and the shadow}. The spiritual aspect is a natural aspect related to nature, being in accord with nature and the laws of nature. All religions are myths {myths are exaggerated truths}. Myths reveal universal truths but we must distinguish the metaphorical references from literal facts. Jesus' death and resurrection is symbolic of what must happen to the individual. Death to the egocentric self and a resurrection {rebirth} to the spiritual Self. That involves an inward journey to discover the foundations to why we are who we are and what motivates us to be that person. From earliest childhood to the present time, the emotional experiences that define who we are. Understanding those issues and removing the barriers so we can be whole is what Jungian psyche is about. And it is in our dreams the motivations are revealed. Once the barriers are removed we discover a spiritual identity and find meaning in life. Usually we also discover a creative aspect, or that thing in life we love doing most. That is where meaning in life comes from. Living a spiritual life {in accord with the laws of nature} and a creative life. Fulfillment in the outer life depends on wholeness in the inner life. Think psychologically and living spiritually is my formula for life. In the past 22 years of living by these laws I have found them to be true. I am pretty much living my conscious 'dream' having discovered my true self from my unconscious dreams. This what Jungian psyche is about.

Jerry

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 64 Cocoa, Fl

Have You Posted Before? Date of Last Post {Use Search and Your Post Name to Help Find Last Post} Male

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Re: Clawed

Thanks for the insight, Jerry. :)

I think it would be helpful to me to study Jung. I believe it would be of benefit to me on my journey moving forward.

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 48 raleigh, nc

Have You Posted Before? Date of Last Post {Use Search and Your Post Name to Help Find Last Post} female

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