The Non-Ordinary – Part IX: Connecting With Our Interior Selves – The Many That We Are

Connecting With the Many

Becoming fully human, according to Carl Jung, has to do with discovering, exploring and embracing the many individual aspects of the “self.” In part this has to do with the process that young people go through in declaring to their parents, “I’m my own person…I’m not you!” And it goes much deeper than that. It’s a process of coming to the knowledge that “I am this, I am that and I am also this other. I am many.” Some of these many “selves” are hidden. There may even be ones we would rather not see or acknowledge. Understanding this is key in becoming whole.

Our capacity to interact with our own interior landscape, which is how we grow, depends on our familiarity with the terrain. Carl Jung, the founder of analytical psychology, spent a lifetime discovering and recovering aspects of self that were residing in his own unconscious and he helped others to do the same. His concepts of individuation and integration are processes of discovery involving our individual blueprint, that resident part of our selves already present at birth, as well parts of ourselves that we are integrating and crafting as we develop.

There some tell-tale signs that one or another of our rather hidden selves are peaking through, times we flare up in anger over something small and wonder to ourselves, ”Where did that come from?” Or a “fluke” of some kind like bursting into tears unexpectedly, or even the recurring haunt of false humility, showing itself by refusing to accept compliments. These incidences may be cautionary flags, hailing us to slow down and be extra observant of the road we’re traveling. Perhaps a “raging bull is seething just below the surface, or a “wounded child” is hiding in the shadows.

How do we proactively access and interact with this interior landscape in order to grow and develop as humans and to gain the Big Wisdom that we need to live our best lives? Rather than look to a particular “Silver Bullet” answer, it’s probably better to look in a general direction, that of being “Awake.”

In his book Soulcraft: Crossing Into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche, Bill Plotkin suggests four tools for living an awakened life or what he calls integrating soul-rooted experiences. He suggests putting the following into place – practices, projects, powerful one-time actions and purposeful ceremonies.

Regular practices such as meditation, nature walking, journaling and creating certain kinds of art like mandalas or zentangle provide a threshold into a more interior way of being.

Long-term projects may take months or even years and require a series of steps. They reflect our authentic selves and cause us to employ the gifts that flow out of our soul’s essence. Writing a book, building a substantial structure, starting an organization are examples of long-term projects that can support our wakeful way of living.

Powerful actions that mirror our inner transformation reinforce wakefulness. Saying yes to an invitation that challenges us, leaving a soul-crushing situation, saying no once and for all to something that is stifling us all help us become more awake.

According to Plotkin, purposeful ceremonies or rituals marking the milestone of awakenings in our lives “empower [our] soul path” and enable us to engage in an ongoing conversation with our interior landscape.

How will you chose to travel the interior landscape of your many selves?

Writing Prompt for the Week: Tell-tale Signs