Without getting too ideational, let's explore the primitive nature of the "Wild Woman" within. When seeking to develop our defensive mindset - we are advised by the experts to reach into our primitive natures, awaken these instincts and responses, and program them into our defensive arsenal. Centuries of programming by unconscious societies have muzzled the wild woman and relegated her to dark recesses where the expressions of her primitive nature are restrained and bent into a role that is the culturally accepted "norm" of the times. Even the most "civilized" of cultures have placed restraints on the primitive sides of our natures by burying the "wild feminine" side, burying her in over-domestication, dictating her method of dress, defining her appropriate social "role" without regard to the creative impulses within. These creative impulses are intertwined with the primitive "wild woman" nature, and a relationship with this inner spirit calls alive not only the creativity, but also the most pure of sensory responses: survival instincts of safety and shelter that come naturally equipped with an innate ability to "taste fear" and "smell a predator." Isn't that the part of our primitive nature that takes over under stress? If we fail to recognize this as our most natural state, the most basic experience of survival becomes foreign and we will "lock-up" and freeze as the reality becomes too terrifying to face. If however, we can explore this wild nature within, re-discover it, feel the passion of the feelings overwhelming the senses, and know that they are always with us, we carry with us an impressive arsenal!
How do we go about re-discovering the wild woman within? Glimpses of her are evident in a woman's most primitive feelings - nurturing and protecting her young, the thrill of new life growing within, the changes of the seasons of her life. The senses give the wild-woman the food she needs to come out of her confinement, and these are experienced not by women alone! If you've ever thrilled to a sunset, been swept away by music, tasted an incredible meal, or feared for your very life, you've experienced primitive feeling that is part of who the wild-woman really is. Yet we work so hard to suppress these feelings, and if not consciously, then unconsciously! Upon waking in the morning, do we take a moment to experience the transition from sleep to active participation in the new day? Or do we slam the alarm clock - turn on a bright light almost simultaneously with turning on the television or radio? Within our first waking moments we do much to drown out any internal messages..."But I'm running late/need to hear the weather/traffic report" etc. etc. Work bombards us with the mundane realities of making a living, (unless we are fortunate enough to work in a profession that encourages our creative expression) and the wild woman is banished from that existence. Even things we do for ourselves: working out, running, etc. have ways of diminishing the wild woman within. Music blaring, artificial atmospheres, environmental conditioning, all of these are not a part of our natural nature. Do you have a fondness for a simpler, more traditional dojo without all the commercial trappings? That is the wildness within you!
This forum is a great place to explore the concepts of the wild-woman within, and she resides in men also! Feel free, all of you, to comment on this concept of finding the inner "taste of the wild." Finding and befriending your primitive nature may very well save your life one day!
Peace,
Lori
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Copyright 1998 by Lori Loftus</P></FONT></BODY>
[This message has been edited by Lori (edited 09-30-98).]
Seeking the Wild Woman Within
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moulton
Seeking the Wild Woman Within
Lori,
I thought you Uechi Uemen Uere Uild enough as it it without the endeavor to explore your primitive "inner taste of the wild" and "wild women nature."
Looks like us guys better hide for cover!
Allen
I thought you Uechi Uemen Uere Uild enough as it it without the endeavor to explore your primitive "inner taste of the wild" and "wild women nature."
Looks like us guys better hide for cover!
Allen
Seeking the Wild Woman Within
Lori,
You offer some insightful observations... for women and men.
Civilized life, especially in a harried urban environment, has a way of deadening our connection with our inner self. Mind diverting and body softening pursuits abound and encourage the "watcher" and not the "doer" in us. This further separates us from the exploration of our spirit and the development of our body.
We march to the beat of an artificial drum. We lose ourselves to the blaring sound of a Sony Walkman to create distance from others, only to create distance from our own thoughts. We don't want to be bothered by the sea of humanity and walk through it as if we are alone, not seeing or feeling the connections with others, good or bad. We work long hours at jobs we don't like, rewarding ourselves with material things we hardly have time to use. We wake up periodically at home, surrounded by our "family" members, wondering who they are and what do they really mean to us? We feel pangs of uneasy emotions, be it fear, longing, anger, and we quickly turn away and suppress them lest we disrupt our mechanical routine. We have lost ourselves and our souls.
Our practice of martial arts can reconnect our mind, body and spirit. We must learn to fight for and save ourselves. Only then can we fight for those around us.
Sorry if I sound depressing, Fall always triggers a melancholic side of me. But, I am learning to face and explore it.
david
You offer some insightful observations... for women and men.
Civilized life, especially in a harried urban environment, has a way of deadening our connection with our inner self. Mind diverting and body softening pursuits abound and encourage the "watcher" and not the "doer" in us. This further separates us from the exploration of our spirit and the development of our body.
We march to the beat of an artificial drum. We lose ourselves to the blaring sound of a Sony Walkman to create distance from others, only to create distance from our own thoughts. We don't want to be bothered by the sea of humanity and walk through it as if we are alone, not seeing or feeling the connections with others, good or bad. We work long hours at jobs we don't like, rewarding ourselves with material things we hardly have time to use. We wake up periodically at home, surrounded by our "family" members, wondering who they are and what do they really mean to us? We feel pangs of uneasy emotions, be it fear, longing, anger, and we quickly turn away and suppress them lest we disrupt our mechanical routine. We have lost ourselves and our souls.
Our practice of martial arts can reconnect our mind, body and spirit. We must learn to fight for and save ourselves. Only then can we fight for those around us.
Sorry if I sound depressing, Fall always triggers a melancholic side of me. But, I am learning to face and explore it.
david
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Jackie Olsen
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Seeking the Wild Woman Within
<<We march to the beat of an artificial drum....etc.>>
How eloquently expressed, David. I suspect more of us feel the same way that you do than let on. I walked away from a high-profile, great paying, hour intensive job, to discover how much "I walked asleep" throughout my day. When one is not tied to time, the world has a whole different rhythm. Days that were just morning and night began to have gradiations of light to dark. I began to take four deep breaths upon waking, giving thanks for the new day. I started to meditate first thing in the morning, and "have deep thoughts". I then ordered my day and had new-found flexibility to adapt to a change in plans that I never had.
Martial arts, which is truly a passion for me, became a daily routine instead of something that I do 3x/week. I began to feel the expansion of time as being unlimited.
It has not been without some blows to ego. I now have a "job" instead of a career. The first one in over 30 years that I was not married to. I learning a new sense of humility and what it means to serve and give without expectations. I work part-time (which does not entirely pay the bills) and use my two days off to develop my creative/passionate side to create residual income that will. (I am a PR Consultant/Writer and market nutritional product for the athlete.)
I found that in order for life to have meaning, I must choose (intend) to give it meaning .
I cried, I walked for miles on end, I ranted, I slept, I surrendered. I stopped the world and stepped into the power of silence ... then one day my soul just opened up.
How eloquently expressed, David. I suspect more of us feel the same way that you do than let on. I walked away from a high-profile, great paying, hour intensive job, to discover how much "I walked asleep" throughout my day. When one is not tied to time, the world has a whole different rhythm. Days that were just morning and night began to have gradiations of light to dark. I began to take four deep breaths upon waking, giving thanks for the new day. I started to meditate first thing in the morning, and "have deep thoughts". I then ordered my day and had new-found flexibility to adapt to a change in plans that I never had.
Martial arts, which is truly a passion for me, became a daily routine instead of something that I do 3x/week. I began to feel the expansion of time as being unlimited.
It has not been without some blows to ego. I now have a "job" instead of a career. The first one in over 30 years that I was not married to. I learning a new sense of humility and what it means to serve and give without expectations. I work part-time (which does not entirely pay the bills) and use my two days off to develop my creative/passionate side to create residual income that will. (I am a PR Consultant/Writer and market nutritional product for the athlete.)
I found that in order for life to have meaning, I must choose (intend) to give it meaning .
I cried, I walked for miles on end, I ranted, I slept, I surrendered. I stopped the world and stepped into the power of silence ... then one day my soul just opened up.
Seeking the Wild Woman Within
The’ wild woman within’ that Lori – bespeaks of, is more of a conceptual ideal than at first blush ..and a very important concept to espouse [ it did get your attention did it not?] if one is to understand how ‘ basic instincts ‘ must be taught to trigger to emerge through the repressive veneer of modern social restraints!
Some , if not most ‘conventional ‘ men and women , will always fall prey to violent attack because , even as they are’ prepared’ physically --..psychologically , they have huge ‘black holes ‘ in their personalities ! If you don’t empathize and thus understand the nature of your enemy ….if you don’t know yourself well and yet refuse to face your natural being , if you don’t draw on your dark side [ we all have one ] and make peace with it in terms of self imposed boundaries not to ever be transgressed upon , not to be held to society’s insidious controls-- but to revert to the inside ‘beast’ that you really are [ on command] to insure emotional and physical survival , then you will always remain a piece of “meat “ or “white bred” for the taking !
It is funny that many people will misunderstand the thrust of Lori’s message here , I know some of you do , actually it is tragic because it confirms all I have been saying about denial ! Like ‘ what does it have to do with martial arts or self defense’ ! the problem is that most people today are ‘ numb’ and dead from the waist up and have surrendered their inner self to the pillage of ‘ social mores’ !
Your mindset for decisive action in a potential life or death situation , is deeply rooted in your emotional intelligence ! You program your response action to fire by instinct , for better or for worse, by descending into an intense exploration of your dark side to snatch the truth as to who you really are and to define what is really important during your very short life span ! And ‘ public / friends /peers ‘ opinion be damned !
Studies and experience have shown that when it comes to shaping our decisions and actions , feelings count more than thought ! The feelings about yourself , who you are , who you would like to be and experience in life ,will map your survival strategy in a subliminal battery of preset impregnable emotional boundaries !
For example , it is from the dark side journey that women , especially, will tap the strength to cope with the most debilitating verbal attacks by a potential rapist [ 80% of the time women are totally intimidated by this] ! Women are brought up as ‘ladies’ not able to swear and build up an immunity to extreme foul language ..thus they go into shock from vile stand up verbal aggression !
A woman first line of defense is visualizing an impending fight as an emotional territorial battle , i.e., the ideals which she has brought forth from her inner journey and focused into personal bastions of her joy of life , shall not be denied by some swearing punk , and if she must , she will kill or get killed! Without this type of programming , she will freeze and die ! Once the woman has established her physical and emotional territorial rights , and reaffirmed her personal boundaries , she will have gained a positive self image , becoming comfortable with and accepting and finally and completely owning her body and mind which she will be motivated to defend at all cost !
There is much more to self defense than a few katas , punches and kicks , sparring ,traditional tinsel and some conditioning ! Especially for women , it is important that they have a very strong image of themselves and who they are ..and most karate teachers have no idea of how to motivate women … how to even talk to them emotionally for that certain ‘ inner smile’ to fuel the grueling workouts and instill the cold determination for combat !
Studies of emotional intelligence show that our appraisal of every personal encounter ..good or bad ..and our responses to it , is strongly influenced by our ancestral past , our safety valve if you will ! But , as Freud described in Civilization and its discontents, society has had to enforce from without rules meant to harness, subdue , and domesticate emotional life , totally contrary to nature’s programming for survival ! And that is the thrust of Lori’s as well as David’s posts !
Van Canna
Some , if not most ‘conventional ‘ men and women , will always fall prey to violent attack because , even as they are’ prepared’ physically --..psychologically , they have huge ‘black holes ‘ in their personalities ! If you don’t empathize and thus understand the nature of your enemy ….if you don’t know yourself well and yet refuse to face your natural being , if you don’t draw on your dark side [ we all have one ] and make peace with it in terms of self imposed boundaries not to ever be transgressed upon , not to be held to society’s insidious controls-- but to revert to the inside ‘beast’ that you really are [ on command] to insure emotional and physical survival , then you will always remain a piece of “meat “ or “white bred” for the taking !
It is funny that many people will misunderstand the thrust of Lori’s message here , I know some of you do , actually it is tragic because it confirms all I have been saying about denial ! Like ‘ what does it have to do with martial arts or self defense’ ! the problem is that most people today are ‘ numb’ and dead from the waist up and have surrendered their inner self to the pillage of ‘ social mores’ !
Your mindset for decisive action in a potential life or death situation , is deeply rooted in your emotional intelligence ! You program your response action to fire by instinct , for better or for worse, by descending into an intense exploration of your dark side to snatch the truth as to who you really are and to define what is really important during your very short life span ! And ‘ public / friends /peers ‘ opinion be damned !
Studies and experience have shown that when it comes to shaping our decisions and actions , feelings count more than thought ! The feelings about yourself , who you are , who you would like to be and experience in life ,will map your survival strategy in a subliminal battery of preset impregnable emotional boundaries !
For example , it is from the dark side journey that women , especially, will tap the strength to cope with the most debilitating verbal attacks by a potential rapist [ 80% of the time women are totally intimidated by this] ! Women are brought up as ‘ladies’ not able to swear and build up an immunity to extreme foul language ..thus they go into shock from vile stand up verbal aggression !
A woman first line of defense is visualizing an impending fight as an emotional territorial battle , i.e., the ideals which she has brought forth from her inner journey and focused into personal bastions of her joy of life , shall not be denied by some swearing punk , and if she must , she will kill or get killed! Without this type of programming , she will freeze and die ! Once the woman has established her physical and emotional territorial rights , and reaffirmed her personal boundaries , she will have gained a positive self image , becoming comfortable with and accepting and finally and completely owning her body and mind which she will be motivated to defend at all cost !
There is much more to self defense than a few katas , punches and kicks , sparring ,traditional tinsel and some conditioning ! Especially for women , it is important that they have a very strong image of themselves and who they are ..and most karate teachers have no idea of how to motivate women … how to even talk to them emotionally for that certain ‘ inner smile’ to fuel the grueling workouts and instill the cold determination for combat !
Studies of emotional intelligence show that our appraisal of every personal encounter ..good or bad ..and our responses to it , is strongly influenced by our ancestral past , our safety valve if you will ! But , as Freud described in Civilization and its discontents, society has had to enforce from without rules meant to harness, subdue , and domesticate emotional life , totally contrary to nature’s programming for survival ! And that is the thrust of Lori’s as well as David’s posts !
Van Canna
Seeking the Wild Woman Within
Lori and All:
Very superb and intriguing topic to be explored in different ways and depths. What is the true intrinsic nature of the "wild woman" or the "wild man"?
Both men and women seem to be searching for this in our modern civilized society.
As Robert Bly intimates in Iron John, each man has a dark, hairy, "Wild Man" down under the ponds of his conciousness. Woman also have a reflective counterpart "Wild Woman"
This being surfaces, from time to time, or not at all, depending on the person their background and circumstances.
It behooves us to know and acknowledge that this being does exist, despite parental and societal desires to kill it! Call it up from the depths, ride on it's shoulders, walk on the wild side and feel it's hairy primal ways! Yipee ki yea!
JohnC
[This message has been edited by JohnC (edited 10-02-98).]
Very superb and intriguing topic to be explored in different ways and depths. What is the true intrinsic nature of the "wild woman" or the "wild man"?
Both men and women seem to be searching for this in our modern civilized society.
As Robert Bly intimates in Iron John, each man has a dark, hairy, "Wild Man" down under the ponds of his conciousness. Woman also have a reflective counterpart "Wild Woman"
This being surfaces, from time to time, or not at all, depending on the person their background and circumstances.
It behooves us to know and acknowledge that this being does exist, despite parental and societal desires to kill it! Call it up from the depths, ride on it's shoulders, walk on the wild side and feel it's hairy primal ways! Yipee ki yea!
JohnC
[This message has been edited by JohnC (edited 10-02-98).]
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Jackie Olsen
- Posts: 619
- Joined: Fri Sep 18, 1998 6:01 am
- Contact:
Seeking the Wild Woman Within
VAN CANNA ...
How true what you said about journeying to our shadow side. Not only do we need to take a look at it, but it must be owned and claimed as part of self. I participated in an excellent workshop called "Stalking the Shadow". It called for intense emotional as well as physical work (martial arts) in facing ourselves.
I found that in striving towards projecting an ego ideal to the world,we expend increasing amounts of energy to keep the dark side at bay.
Also, the shadow, which contains all that we experience in life, also contains everying that we cannot accept about ourselves -- including the undeveloped gifts. Even though the dark side contains all the personality elements that are considered negative ... it is within our shadows that we can find the greatest area for future growth.
For instance ... as a child I was tormented excessively by the school bully. I did not stand up for myself until it became too much for me to tolerate. So, I decked him (keep in mind I was seven years old at the time, with no athletic ability). He falls over and I get sent to the principal's office for not being a lady. Can you understand what a message that it sent me?
That set the stage for a victim mode. A lady DOES NOT FIGHT BACK.
It has taken much martial arts training, a great Sensei and training partners, reading, and personal examination for me to overcome this and not allow myself to be backed into a corner.
One thing about the dark side, though ... as you peel it away, you find it is like an onion and that there are many layers.
How true what you said about journeying to our shadow side. Not only do we need to take a look at it, but it must be owned and claimed as part of self. I participated in an excellent workshop called "Stalking the Shadow". It called for intense emotional as well as physical work (martial arts) in facing ourselves.
I found that in striving towards projecting an ego ideal to the world,we expend increasing amounts of energy to keep the dark side at bay.
Also, the shadow, which contains all that we experience in life, also contains everying that we cannot accept about ourselves -- including the undeveloped gifts. Even though the dark side contains all the personality elements that are considered negative ... it is within our shadows that we can find the greatest area for future growth.
For instance ... as a child I was tormented excessively by the school bully. I did not stand up for myself until it became too much for me to tolerate. So, I decked him (keep in mind I was seven years old at the time, with no athletic ability). He falls over and I get sent to the principal's office for not being a lady. Can you understand what a message that it sent me?
That set the stage for a victim mode. A lady DOES NOT FIGHT BACK.
It has taken much martial arts training, a great Sensei and training partners, reading, and personal examination for me to overcome this and not allow myself to be backed into a corner.
One thing about the dark side, though ... as you peel it away, you find it is like an onion and that there are many layers.
Seeking the Wild Woman Within
Jackie-san,
I have been meaning to get this response in here for some time now - I was trying to locate a reference that your "journey into the darkside" post reminded me of...
Jung said somewhere that "God became more conscious as humans became more conscious. He also postulated, according to Jungian Analyst Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, that "humans cause the dark side of God to become struck with light when they rout their personal demons out into the light of day."
Dr. Estes suggests that in dealing with this darkness within, which she calls the "predator of the psyche," we dismember it rather than revile it or run from it. She says that this may be accomplished by "not allowing ourselves divisive thoughts about our soul-life and our worth in particular. We capture invidious thoughts before they become large enough to do any harm and we dismantle them...We dismantle the predator by maintaining our intuitions and instincts and by resisting the predator's seductions. If we were to list all our losses up to this point in our lives, remembering times when we were disappointed, when we were powerless against torment, when we had a fantasy filled with frosting and frou-frou, we would understand that those are vulnerable sites in our psyches. It is to those desirous and underprivileged parts that the predator appeals in order to hide the fact that its sole intention is to drag you to the cellar and leech your energy as a blood transfusion for himself."
Such is the "many layered onion" of darkness within! Knowledge of self and this darkness is the first step to embracing it and overcoming it - as you suggest.
Thanks for your contributions to the forum!
Peace,
Lori
I have been meaning to get this response in here for some time now - I was trying to locate a reference that your "journey into the darkside" post reminded me of...
Jung said somewhere that "God became more conscious as humans became more conscious. He also postulated, according to Jungian Analyst Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, that "humans cause the dark side of God to become struck with light when they rout their personal demons out into the light of day."
Dr. Estes suggests that in dealing with this darkness within, which she calls the "predator of the psyche," we dismember it rather than revile it or run from it. She says that this may be accomplished by "not allowing ourselves divisive thoughts about our soul-life and our worth in particular. We capture invidious thoughts before they become large enough to do any harm and we dismantle them...We dismantle the predator by maintaining our intuitions and instincts and by resisting the predator's seductions. If we were to list all our losses up to this point in our lives, remembering times when we were disappointed, when we were powerless against torment, when we had a fantasy filled with frosting and frou-frou, we would understand that those are vulnerable sites in our psyches. It is to those desirous and underprivileged parts that the predator appeals in order to hide the fact that its sole intention is to drag you to the cellar and leech your energy as a blood transfusion for himself."
Such is the "many layered onion" of darkness within! Knowledge of self and this darkness is the first step to embracing it and overcoming it - as you suggest.
Thanks for your contributions to the forum!
Peace,
Lori
Seeking the Wild Woman Within
Hello all,
Lots of inspirational thoughts! My mind's going to be mulling them over for a while.
Sensei Canna, your comment about understanding your potential attacker by exploring your dark side made me think of an interview I saw with Deepok Chopra. He believes that we are all a part of a communal consciousness. Hence his view is that the dark side of the attacker is connected to the dark side of his victim, both of which are part of a larger dark mass of consciousness which is in turn part of the all encompassing consciosness that is humanity.
I would be interested to hear any thoughts on this, or further interpretaions.
Thanks,
Melanie
Lots of inspirational thoughts! My mind's going to be mulling them over for a while.
Sensei Canna, your comment about understanding your potential attacker by exploring your dark side made me think of an interview I saw with Deepok Chopra. He believes that we are all a part of a communal consciousness. Hence his view is that the dark side of the attacker is connected to the dark side of his victim, both of which are part of a larger dark mass of consciousness which is in turn part of the all encompassing consciosness that is humanity.
I would be interested to hear any thoughts on this, or further interpretaions.
Thanks,
Melanie
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Jackie Olsen
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- Joined: Fri Sep 18, 1998 6:01 am
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Seeking the Wild Woman Within
Melanie ... I, too, hold that everything is related and that we are all part of a huge web of life. What affects one part of the web vibrates over to another part. And we also have our individual webs or matrixes with relationships (friends, lovers, co-workers, spiritual groups, etc.).
Interesting enough, I first became aware of this idea when my son was very young and he used to watch She-Ra, the Warrior cartoon show. The cartoon was veiled with many metaphysical/mystical references that were beyond my understanding at the time. However, it often referred to that collective evil energetically flowed to the "dark river of knowning" where it would overflow back into humaniity.
Pretty heavy for a kid's show, but it made an impact on me then as well as my son.
jackie...
Interesting enough, I first became aware of this idea when my son was very young and he used to watch She-Ra, the Warrior cartoon show. The cartoon was veiled with many metaphysical/mystical references that were beyond my understanding at the time. However, it often referred to that collective evil energetically flowed to the "dark river of knowning" where it would overflow back into humaniity.
Pretty heavy for a kid's show, but it made an impact on me then as well as my son.
jackie...
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Jackie Olsen
- Posts: 619
- Joined: Fri Sep 18, 1998 6:01 am
- Contact:
Seeking the Wild Woman Within
Lori-san
THanks for your comments on Jung and Dr. Pinkola Estes -- She's quite a remarkable woman! Have you ever listened to her Theatre of the Imagination tapes?
In one of them, I think, she refers to the Descent to the Goddess by Sylvia Brinton Perera. It is an excellent resource for women (and men who desire to understand the feminine side) who are descending to the depths of their soul from their old role-determined behavior into the "depths of their instincts and image patterns" in order to heal the feminine aspect of self.
The implication for women is that only after experiencing the full range of emotions (as Van Canna reinforced in his post) of the dark feminine is felt and claimed can there every be a true soul-felt relationship with others and self.
As Van Canna says, this arduous path is not for everyone. And I feel that karate does help bring out both the shadow of the feminine and masculine to transmute into pure, flowing energy.
"Technical knowledge is not enough. One must transcend techniques so that the art becomes an artless art, growing out of the unconscious."
---Daisetsu Suzuki
In beauty...
Jackie
[This message has been edited by Jackie Olsen (edited 10-21-98).]
THanks for your comments on Jung and Dr. Pinkola Estes -- She's quite a remarkable woman! Have you ever listened to her Theatre of the Imagination tapes?
In one of them, I think, she refers to the Descent to the Goddess by Sylvia Brinton Perera. It is an excellent resource for women (and men who desire to understand the feminine side) who are descending to the depths of their soul from their old role-determined behavior into the "depths of their instincts and image patterns" in order to heal the feminine aspect of self.
The implication for women is that only after experiencing the full range of emotions (as Van Canna reinforced in his post) of the dark feminine is felt and claimed can there every be a true soul-felt relationship with others and self.
As Van Canna says, this arduous path is not for everyone. And I feel that karate does help bring out both the shadow of the feminine and masculine to transmute into pure, flowing energy.
"Technical knowledge is not enough. One must transcend techniques so that the art becomes an artless art, growing out of the unconscious."
---Daisetsu Suzuki
In beauty...
Jackie
[This message has been edited by Jackie Olsen (edited 10-21-98).]
Seeking the Wild Woman Within
Dear Melanie,
You wrote "He believes that we are all a part of a
communal consciousness."
Again , I refer to 'the gift of fear' wherein it is reflected that there is no mystery of human behavior that cannot be solved inside your head and heart ! Dr. De Becker further states that in order to succeed at this , we must work at becoming 'natural psychologists ' , we must have to know 'what is like to be human ' !
The interesting point of this is that there is no 'safe realm ' of US and THEM , we all have traits in common with the assassins of the world , everyone's mind is criminal sharing criminal fantasies and thoughts with the assassin ! Einstein an Freud concluded that " man has in him the need to hate and destroy " !
More specifically , Freud said : human instincts have two categories , "those who seek to preserve and unite , and those who wish to destroy and kill " Then he wrote that the phenomenon of life evolves from their acting together and against each other !
Proving these theories right , the book "demonic males" says that modern humans are 'the dazed survivors of a continuos 5-million -year habit of lethal aggression "
We live in space age time , but with stone age minds , competitive , territorial and violent ! We have lots in common with the man who killed a cow with an ax , then climbed inside the carcass to see what it felt like , then later , he uses the ax to kill his eight year old stepbrother !
The point being that for survival /defense to be effective , martial arts technique is only a very insignificant component …….the best way is to cultivate intimate recognition of someone's sinister intent , which fires up intuition upon which your survival depends ! So you would be more apt to recognize the rapist who tries to warm his way into your house or heart, the child molester who applies for a baby sitting job , the spousal killer, the assassin in the crowd , the serial killer, the stalker etc.
That takes some doing and not very many people are willing to pay the price of such an intense study .They prefer to listen to their "sensei' who says "anyone who violates your sanchin , is dead"
Good luck !
Van Canna
You wrote "He believes that we are all a part of a
communal consciousness."
Again , I refer to 'the gift of fear' wherein it is reflected that there is no mystery of human behavior that cannot be solved inside your head and heart ! Dr. De Becker further states that in order to succeed at this , we must work at becoming 'natural psychologists ' , we must have to know 'what is like to be human ' !
The interesting point of this is that there is no 'safe realm ' of US and THEM , we all have traits in common with the assassins of the world , everyone's mind is criminal sharing criminal fantasies and thoughts with the assassin ! Einstein an Freud concluded that " man has in him the need to hate and destroy " !
More specifically , Freud said : human instincts have two categories , "those who seek to preserve and unite , and those who wish to destroy and kill " Then he wrote that the phenomenon of life evolves from their acting together and against each other !
Proving these theories right , the book "demonic males" says that modern humans are 'the dazed survivors of a continuos 5-million -year habit of lethal aggression "
We live in space age time , but with stone age minds , competitive , territorial and violent ! We have lots in common with the man who killed a cow with an ax , then climbed inside the carcass to see what it felt like , then later , he uses the ax to kill his eight year old stepbrother !
The point being that for survival /defense to be effective , martial arts technique is only a very insignificant component …….the best way is to cultivate intimate recognition of someone's sinister intent , which fires up intuition upon which your survival depends ! So you would be more apt to recognize the rapist who tries to warm his way into your house or heart, the child molester who applies for a baby sitting job , the spousal killer, the assassin in the crowd , the serial killer, the stalker etc.
That takes some doing and not very many people are willing to pay the price of such an intense study .They prefer to listen to their "sensei' who says "anyone who violates your sanchin , is dead"
Good luck !
Van Canna
Seeking the Wild Woman Within
Dear Sensei Van Canna,
Thank you for your response. It certainly is a frightening thought to allow that you have the same "sinister" potential as your potential violator. I wonder what makes some people completely succumb to their dark side?
Nature or nurture? Or more likely a combination of both? Deepok Chopra's theory unfortunately does not really seem to address the existence of individuality apart from saying that the notion of individuality is an illusion. In your opinion does the individuality and, thus differences, in the pathos of the attacker make a difference in your ability to be prepared for all types of attacks; that is attacks with an infinite amount of motives and intents? Does the difference between my dark side and that of my attacker put me at a serrious disadvantage?
Dear Sensei Jackie,
It is interesting that a children's show can have such a profound message. It is also amazing to me how much power such messages carry, especially on young minds.
Perhaps the message in this show could be viewed in a negative light. Negative thoughts in a dark river seem to stress the need for removal of the dark side rather than successful incorporation of it into your personality. A common theme in contemporary childrens cartoons. The good guys versus the bad guys. they don't seem to teach that we all have aspects of light and dark in all of us. Thus when a child first encounters his dark side his first impuse is to hide it away, because he doesn't want to be a bad guy.
Or maybe i am taking cartoons too seriously!
Thank you both for your ideas!
Looking forward to hearing more!
Melanie Little
Thank you for your response. It certainly is a frightening thought to allow that you have the same "sinister" potential as your potential violator. I wonder what makes some people completely succumb to their dark side?
Nature or nurture? Or more likely a combination of both? Deepok Chopra's theory unfortunately does not really seem to address the existence of individuality apart from saying that the notion of individuality is an illusion. In your opinion does the individuality and, thus differences, in the pathos of the attacker make a difference in your ability to be prepared for all types of attacks; that is attacks with an infinite amount of motives and intents? Does the difference between my dark side and that of my attacker put me at a serrious disadvantage?
Dear Sensei Jackie,
It is interesting that a children's show can have such a profound message. It is also amazing to me how much power such messages carry, especially on young minds.
Perhaps the message in this show could be viewed in a negative light. Negative thoughts in a dark river seem to stress the need for removal of the dark side rather than successful incorporation of it into your personality. A common theme in contemporary childrens cartoons. The good guys versus the bad guys. they don't seem to teach that we all have aspects of light and dark in all of us. Thus when a child first encounters his dark side his first impuse is to hide it away, because he doesn't want to be a bad guy.
Or maybe i am taking cartoons too seriously!
Thank you both for your ideas!
Looking forward to hearing more!
Melanie Little
Seeking the Wild Woman Within
Melanie wrote:
"Perhaps the message in this show could be viewed in a negative light. Negative thoughts in a dark river seem to stress the need for removal of the dark side rather than successful incorporation of it into your personality. A common theme in contemporary childrens cartoons. The good guys versus the bad guys. they don't seem to teach that we all have aspects of light and dark in all of us. Thus when a child first encounters his dark side his first impuse is to hide it away, because he doesn't want to be a bad guy.
Or maybe i am taking cartoons too seriously!"
I think this attitude of completley shunning the dark side comes from the fact that we live in a binary culture where everything is viewed as good-bad/yes-no/
right-wrong/us-them/black-white/
rich-poor/masculine-feminine and so on. It's my understanding that the Eastern view has the extremes as polar concepts and notes that reality lies somewhere in the middle. That's the whole yin-yang thing. The truth is that we will never be at an absolute balance of yin-yang, because, hey, we're human and we will always have a preference for one over the other, even if the preference changes over time. I would caution people to not go too far over the deep end in their attempts to find their darkside and end up engaging or condoning behavior that's just sado-maschocistic with no real self-defense benefit.
One last thing: I for one don't think that you're taking kids shows too seriously.
Cecil
[This message has been edited by Cecil (edited 10-28-98).]
"Perhaps the message in this show could be viewed in a negative light. Negative thoughts in a dark river seem to stress the need for removal of the dark side rather than successful incorporation of it into your personality. A common theme in contemporary childrens cartoons. The good guys versus the bad guys. they don't seem to teach that we all have aspects of light and dark in all of us. Thus when a child first encounters his dark side his first impuse is to hide it away, because he doesn't want to be a bad guy.
Or maybe i am taking cartoons too seriously!"
I think this attitude of completley shunning the dark side comes from the fact that we live in a binary culture where everything is viewed as good-bad/yes-no/
right-wrong/us-them/black-white/
rich-poor/masculine-feminine and so on. It's my understanding that the Eastern view has the extremes as polar concepts and notes that reality lies somewhere in the middle. That's the whole yin-yang thing. The truth is that we will never be at an absolute balance of yin-yang, because, hey, we're human and we will always have a preference for one over the other, even if the preference changes over time. I would caution people to not go too far over the deep end in their attempts to find their darkside and end up engaging or condoning behavior that's just sado-maschocistic with no real self-defense benefit.
One last thing: I for one don't think that you're taking kids shows too seriously.
Cecil
[This message has been edited by Cecil (edited 10-28-98).]
Seeking the Wild Woman Within
Dear Cecil,
It is important to find a balance. I think perhaps the thrust of this particular thread deals with how to successfully attain this balance. For example how can we attain balance if we are unaware of an aspect of our personality? If all we are aware of is yin how can we ever attain a balance between yin and yang?-hard and soft?-masculin and feminin?
Melanie
It is important to find a balance. I think perhaps the thrust of this particular thread deals with how to successfully attain this balance. For example how can we attain balance if we are unaware of an aspect of our personality? If all we are aware of is yin how can we ever attain a balance between yin and yang?-hard and soft?-masculin and feminin?
Melanie
