Along with all the other exciting things that have happened this fall, I also had accepted and published a manuscript that I’d like to share with you.
In it, three men—Jung, Buber, and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi—are invited to dinner with me in my active imagination. Each devoted their lives to healing the collective psyche, decimated after two world wars, and to preventing worse devastation in the future. Each provided a body of knowledge and a path. And each steadfastly rejected the paths the other two recommended.
Meanwhile, I’ve devoted my life to these three paths, simultaneously. The conflict among these men had become an inner struggle demanding resolution, and I decided to write about it.
You can read the manuscript here.
Wow, thank you so much for sharing this manuscript. I found it very intriguing, informative & helpful. You wrote about states of consciousness that I hadn’t referenced in a while and it allowed more clarity and peace for the journey I am on.
I have the sensory processing sensitivity trait and hadn’t meditated prior to October 2008 when I experienced a prolonged period of spiritual awakening. This was a state of bliss where the veil between the physical and non-physical realms were very thin. I experienced physical and emotional healings during this 5-6 week time period. There was such peace in my mind, vitality in my body, nothing upset me, my attachments to my mother & best friend dropped (not love, just need for regular contact) and I was gratefully aware of how different I was responding to my then 7 & 9 yo highly sensitive children- unconditional love. There was no “thoughts” of God during this experience or Jesus (was a member of a Catholic church), just an absolute knowingness that all was truly well and that life is abundant, eternal and unified (connected). The trajectory of my family’s journey took some wild turns as my heart & soul became what was guiding me and not the previous pausing, assessing & logical mind. Needless to say my sensitivity traits returned with what felt like a vengeance and my quest became to understand what happened, who was I and what is the basis for life. So meditation became something I began practicing after to bring me back to that state of bliss and peace, to realign me with that Pure Positive Love Energy that I knew to be the truth of who and what I really was.
This manuscript described details that allowed me to understand some of the things that have been occurring with me over the last 7 years which have been painful and confusing. And thank you for all of this amazing work you have been doing and currently are doing in the field of Highly Sensitive People. Discovering your work has brought so much understanding and acceptance into my life and my loved ones. I have three hsc (16, 14 & 3yo) and an HS partner (my former husband of 20 yrs is non-HSP). The key points that I really appreciated too were “When a meditator is engaged in thoughts or feelings while in a quiet state, he or she is releasing some of their hold on the nervous system. Thus thoughts and affects arise as vital aspects of the process.” This was extremely helpful and very true for me so it has allowed more ease. Your additional comments of “You are right. In transcendental consciousness, those moments when the mind is without thoughts and feelings—we can only think about this state when our ego returns and notices there was a period of deep quiet, apparently without thoughts or feelings. What it is aware of is that it was part of something huge and without content.” Again, very true for me. And “My view is always through a distorting lens, as is the case with every human being. None of us can know.” until we have an experience and do know but it doesn’t necessarily mean the distorting lens is totally gone as in my experience. My experiences have demonstrated that it really is about living in the moment, accepting what is, and trusting that further guidance and wisdom gets revealed in the perfect timing. Again, so much gratitude for what you have prepared and shared. You are an amazing gift to the world, especially Highly Sensitive People and raising awareness to the trait is so transforming for those of us who do have it. Eternally grateful. Peace & Blessings Abound ~ Infinite Possibilities ~ Much Love & Light
Thank you for so much help and information on sensitive people. It has personally helped a lot and it gives me more opportunities in the long run. I am in the USA, in the field of psychology, and I am a yogini. I enjoy seeing ways of life and beliefs that are spiritual reinforced by scientists; the best of both worlds brings true understanding of human behavior and inner workings. Thank you again!
I was intrigued by the idea of a conversation among you four; you and your mentors Elaine. And I am currently reading the works of Alice Miller and longed for her input on these matters of soul and collaboration in the work of healing our psychic and soul wounds. She too has dedicated her life’s work to the healing and resolution of these matters of indifference to the thoughts, even the feelings and welfare of others in analysands and leaders of the world.
I think she might have added a new dimension to the discussion or perhaps… you might have a one-on-one with her, Elaine.
In her writing Alice Miller often talks about the sensitive child and it seems to me that she is differentiating (without the work of neuroscience) the experience of these children from that of others who seem not to process things on such a deep level. She consistently respects and acknowledges the inner experience of these children and with analysands tries to reconnect the unconscious memories with the primary caregivers in order to relieve the compulsion to visit their own childhood experiences on their children and others and to thus break the cycle.
FYI: at the bottom of page 7 there are two apparent typos that you might want to correct. For example in the last line on that page it reads “…had no fear that I BE would be brainwashed…”
Marvellous, sincere thanks for sharing yourselves (and o/Other/s) – it is a very rich, and even “enlightening”, document ;-)
Beautiful! Buber and Jung would be at my fantasy dinner table as well! I would love your thoughts on HSP outliers some day. My teenager is the most sensitive person, physically and emotionally, I’ve ever encountered, to the point at which it causes her some distress. I’m aware of a lot of controversy over whether Sensory Processing Disorder should be a category in the DSM, and was wondering where you stand on this?
Thank you so much for sharing your insights. As someone who practiced TM and has a strong interest in the Maharishi and Jungian thought, i really valued this. There doesn’t seem to be much written comparing the two’s world visions and how they may combine to form a sort of worldly truth.
I loved your idea that the upper world and lower world of the Shamanic realms could well influence the areas of consciousness that both men were accessing for there perspectives ideologies.