This thread is for those who wish to explore the more trans personal aspects of the Wounded Healer archetype, and the Soul making process.

[B]Michael Mead writes.. "Despite the chaos of the times, the soul longs for a life fully lived,...including accepting the limits of ones faith as well as finding the threads of ones destiny.. each soul is imbued and broadened with an inner story that tries to live its way into the world....The uniqueness within individuals becomes the source of unifying imagination and meaningful change....Spirit may offer "peak experiences", but soul would lead us down, past the"bottom line", into the real depths of life. Soul makes us deeper in order to make us wiser. Secretly our souls seek wisdom and wisdom is a darker knowledge found in dark places and in hard times."

I would love to start an ongoing discussion of the unique qualities of wisdom gained from our dark places/ wounds, the life fully lived, despite suffering, the light found in our dark times. This thread can offer a place to focus on the timeless qualities destiny introduces. Rather than how the illness manifests in opposition to our personal view of how our life should look. This paradox is rich with meaning for Soul, on the personal and collective levels.

I look forward to introductions to how others share their 'mythic journeys' within their own soul making process. To get the ball rolling... for fun and soul-fully serious at the same time...

What is your soul journey like? Have you been able to see yourself in the role of mythic hero on this path? If you could imagine this role and inhabit it with awareness, can you describe fully who would it be? How would relating to the illness change for you if you identified with this image? What would change in your significant relationships?

Hope others are as interested and will enjoy sharing! Thanks! Tinglytoes

Ok to get the ball rolling, I will share how I see my own process as it relates to the mythic journey of my own soul.

My personal archetypal image is based on Hindu philosophy. An aspect of the Divine Mother named Kali, sometimes Durga. She is the epitome of the fully aware feminine quality of fierce love. She loves unconditionally yet carries a sword which she uses to cut away the ties of delusion whuich sometimes bind me. The negative aspects of ego/mind which identify with the lower self, the 'mistaken identity' of my mind affected by anger, pride, jealousy, greed, and desire. Especially cutting away the grasping for shallow aspects of personality over the more permanent, deeper, qualities of spiritual soul evolution. She offers the conscious ability to accept my limited views of reality with compassion.

She is feared only if She is refusing to allow the indulgence, and seduction of my base nature-born qualities. When I refuse her wisdom and take my own ego -based path, I suffer the consequences. She is the voice of my conscience and intuition. The completely impersonal arbitrator of my destiny and fate. I can get it this lifetime, or not, completely up to my free will as I am the co-creator of everything. If I choose to go the wrong direction, she will not judge. She will present lessons and learning,(Karma), in order to "trim my sails" or correct my course, toward the best options toward my higher self. This is most often painful in the beginning and much sweeter in the end.

She is unconditionally loving if I allow the wisdom of her Divine knowledge to show me how little I know myself, or what is truly best for my evolution. Durga would invite me to embrace my more vulnerable self with courage. The Feminine principal of honoring feeling alongside the intellectual mind. She rides a lion, which represents control of passions. She holds her hand in a blessing gesture and has a total of eight hands. Each holding a symbol of her most powerful attributes.

How my illness story relates with Durga is an ongoing transformation to a more surrendered attitude of accepting my human qualities, my lack of control and surrender to what IS. She helps me create a renewed relationship with my injured instincts and intuition. She is able to discern and discriminate between that which truly helps, and that which hurts/harms. I can sometimes catch myself before falling into my passions, and simplywatch them instead. Especially whenever I abandon/deny my deepest self-care and my deepest feelings and intuitions. With her help, I reclaimed my feminine way of knowing myslef and the world, Able to withstand the tendency of patriarchy to insist on power over others, while still claim my inner power. When there is opposition I am able to stand up and remain fairly calm yet assured. A major change in my life where I was always "pathologically nice" by modeling what I was taught as completely opposite in my family. Nowadays, I don't have the desire to please everyone all the time. Even writing here takes a level of courage I am aware of having new access to.

Durga is fiercely protective of my inner child and spiritual, soul integrity. Also very protective of my psychological and physical health in relation to others. When someone is feeling 'off' to me, she shows her fierce side and sometimes offers feedback and observations which can sometimes feel rather "cutting" to the recipient. She sometimes has me simply walk away and let that person go on her own path. She often shows me her unconditional loving side which is wonderful, and completely nurturing..

She refuses to ignore 'red flags' which show up as problem areas needing attention. Whether related to my own process or to others. She also is fierce and bold enough to fully forgive and forget. She does not ever intend to cause discomfort in myself or others for any reason. her intention is to bring focus back to the heart over the clouded, disconnected or delusional beliefs in myself or others. She has the ability to love all creation, even those unconscious parts. Durga encourages me to remember to consciously own my stuff, and forgive myself and others. She does not suffer fools easily. sDurga prefers to avoid the superficiality of sentimental feeling pretending to be real feeling, and embraces authenticity and integrity. She warns me of these qualities to watch out for,(inner and outer), when I encounter them by the small voice within. And she helps me to concentrate my mind when something needs getting done, or needs to be expressed.

Whenever I think she must be 'wrong', I am later shown to have discounted her value and sorry for this confusion as events invariably develop to prove she was right all along. She has always been with me, despite my innumerable errors in not heeding her small still voice within. She is in my dreams as the Great Mother figure symbolizing the earth, my physical body and my union with spirit symbolized by the beloved in divine marriage.

With Durga in my life, I have learned it is OK, and even appropriate to have positive, healthy self regard and to believe I am worthy of love and good things in life. Along with enough self-esteem to say 'No' to when others are unable to celebrate these positive qualities in me. I find more often in my my life, a reflection of the Divine Loving Acceptance of all of my humanity. Especially more compassionate acceptance and tolerance for my own and others wounded parts. I feel her courage to confront injustice, to care more deeply. I wish for more intimacy, feel more vulnerable, and am able to embrace my inner child and honor her message. I am becoming less disconnected inside and more congruent outside and inside.

At the same time she allows me to use inner resources and connection with fierce energy, to gain mastery over my negative tendencies. My relationships are shifting toward bringing in more compassionate, courageously, authentic folks who also share my core beliefs. I find myself no longer able to tolerate "normalizing the abnormal" patterns of dysfunction in groups or individuals. I have been able to find more like- minded folks to do devotional singing, (kirtan), on a regular basis. She brings in more bhakti ,(devotion) and added a flowing sense of a deeper dimension of faith, joy and peace in my life. I have less need to control the outside world, and more acceptance of the disappointments and challenges in every day living. In short I am in touch with my inner child but paradoxically also more adult. I can embrace the dark humor more easily which is fun. And can laugh at the irony of this play more often.

I no longer take things so personally, which is a great relief and burden off my heart and mind. Life does not hurt so much the way it used to. In short I trust myself more,Trusting my process, intuition and alignment to be closer with a 'higher' will. Rather than relying my own limited version of how my life should look, I have faith that "all will be well". No matter how it appears to my comparative, judging mind.

When I forget these qualities in moments of fear or pain, whether physical or emotional, I know there are others who will hold this place of awareness for me until I can move through the dark times and return to my true self once again. I believe we are here to do this for each other on the personal and collective level .This is the essence of what creating Soul means to me. I doubt I would have come so far without illness and the wounded healer process to create the opportunity to learn.

My health/life challenges have shown me who I have access to best and the worst parts of humanity. And it is all potentially part of my inner/outer life. Nothing to resist completely, nothing to grasp too tightly. Durga helps me to realize nothing will prevent the experiencing of human nature as it is. All I can control is my choice in how I respond. I am grateful to have learned to refuse to ignore the suffering in front of me, or inside me, and to see others and myself as Souls/True self, rather the collection of presenting conditions or appearances. I am grateful for those who first showed me how to do this, because they made it a career choice to serve in the helping professions. I am grateful I do not live in a country with no social welfare system. I am grateful that there are those who are willing to share their abundance, on whatever level, others with less resources. I am grateful for the many blessings in this life today, a nice apartment in a great town, a working vehicle, a few good friends. I am grateful to have the opportunity to take the time to value what is permanent and loving in myself and others.

There is so much to be grateful for, and despite this sometimes lonely journey, it is with gratitude and grace that I can say truly that I am a warrior of the body, mind, spirit whose aim is to be fully human in this lifetime. I am grateful for this site as a place to express the best that is within me. Fully realizing how many people are suffering, yet continuously finding ways to cope. Claiming the best for themselves despite overwhelming odds. The amazing and courageous qualities here, and everywhere which help the world learn these lessons as Wounded healers and even Shamans gives me hope in our humanity.

Thank you all for sharing your journey. I hope you might also be inspired to share your soul journey along with me on this site. Have a great Thanksgiving celebration, With Gratitude and Blessings TT.