{"id":9442,"date":"2011-07-22T09:37:45","date_gmt":"2011-07-22T16:37:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/?p=9442"},"modified":"2014-02-13T15:32:28","modified_gmt":"2014-02-13T23:32:28","slug":"jung-poetry-full-embodied-living","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/jung-poetry-full-embodied-living\/","title":{"rendered":"Jung & Poetry: Full, Embodied Living"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Everything that irritates [or intrigues] us about others can lead us to a better understanding of ourselves. <\/em><\/strong>
\n-C.G. Jung<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

As we mature finding ways to relate to and communicate with the hidden, non-integrated personality traits that are \u201cin the shadow\u201d is imperative if we want to enjoy a life rich with meaning and purpose.<\/p>\n

Trying on different \u201chats\u201d and \u201cvoices\u201d can be fun and very telling! One way to form a relationship with your shadow is to read poetry aloud and play with the words. Try moving your mouth ever so slightly and then reading the poem aloud in some usual way. Some interesting personalities may jump out to greet you! Then you and your shadow personalities can really get the playful conversation going!<\/p>\n

There is a back story to the writing of this post–(and perhaps shadow<\/em><\/strong> has a hand in any edits made):<\/p>\n

This post began as a survey of \u201cCurrent Trends in Jungian Psychology\u201d. After interviewing Anne O\u2019 Reilly, Irish poet and sacred clown, on Creativity in Play, http:\/\/creativityinplay.com, I was led <\/em>to writing further about Jung and Poetry<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Anne O\u2019 Reilly shared a summer poem by Mary Oliver during our interview with her which I will share with you now:<\/p>\n

The Summer Day<\/strong>
\nWho made the world?
\nWho made the swan, and the black bear?
\nWho made the grasshopper?
\nThis grasshopper, I mean-
\nthe one who has flung herself out of the grass,
\nthe one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
\nwho is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
\nwho is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
\nNow she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
\nNow she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
\nI don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
\nI do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
\ninto the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
\nhow to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
\nwhich is what I have been doing all day.
\nTell me, what else should I have done?
\nDoesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
\nTell me, what is it you plan to do
\nwith your one wild and precious life?<\/p>\n

–Mary Oliver<\/strong>
\nfrom New and Selected Poems, 1992
\nBeacon Press,Boston,MA<\/p>\n

In my first Jung & Poetry<\/a> <\/em><\/strong>post I write:<\/p>\n

Analytical psychology at its core emphasizes the process of individuation, a life-long process of transformation. Each of us is unique and called to grow in maturity through a process of psychic integration. How can we explore and expand our creativity in the process of individuating? What are some ways we can we develop our creative, playful selves?<\/em><\/p>\n

Choose any art form and you will find your<\/strong> [dance] in the individuation process. Shadow<\/strong> is your partner as you step from the personal into places of uncertainty and magical embodiment of \u201cwhat can be\u201d when you are open to receiving into your heart.<\/p>\n

Anne O\u2019 Reilly spoke eloquently about how by following impulse and moving into invisible realms we can locate \u201ca much bigger horizon of what is\u201d.<\/p>\n

What Is<\/strong>
\nToday I bow to letters and cards
\nsoul friends touching me from far away,
\nbow to the familiar ritual
\nof the morning cup of tea.<\/p>\n

Bowing to the rain is harder though
\nuntil I see droplets
\non the glossy leaves
\nof the thirsty white camellia.<\/p>\n

When I think of the day it arrived
\nthe day of her burial
\nthe bow sticks in my throat
\nlike a swallowed sob.<\/p>\n

My shoulders hunch
\nmy back feels tight
\nand something cracks inside
\nwhen I try to bow.<\/p>\n

My exhaustion seeps into the sheets
\nand I push away the bow
\nthat accepts
\nthis need for rest.<\/p>\n

Like two great Sumo wrestlers
\ntheir solid bulky forms
\nbowing before they begin
\ntheir great display<\/p>\n

parts of my world square up
\nand face each other
\nthe one who fights
\nand the one who surrenders<\/p>\n

the moments of beauty
\nand the abruptness of death
\nmy struggling Yes
\nand my defiant No<\/p>\n

and I wonder how
\nmy life could ever become
\none long deep bow
\nto what is.<\/p>\n

-Anne F O\u2019Reilly<\/em><\/strong>
\nOn CD Breathsong\u00a0 May 2011<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Everything that irritates [or intrigues] us about others can lead us to a better understanding of ourselves. -C.G. Jung As we mature finding ways to relate to and communicate with the hidden, non-integrated personality traits that are ?in the shadow? is imperative if we want to enjoy a life rich with meaning and purpose. Trying […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2399,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[31,450,320,335,25,27],"class_list":["post-9442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-psychotherapy-practice","tag-individuation","tag-jungian-psychotherapy","tag-poetry-therapy","tag-psychotherapy-issues","tag-psychotherapy-models"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2399"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9442\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}