Goddess Archetype Questionnaire Inspired by the book Goddesses in Everywoman by Jean Shinoda Bolen, and based on the original questionnaire by Nancy of Goddess Power, this work has been updated by Rebecca Funk to reflect more positive expressions of each goddess archetype, less defined by patriarchy. A new set of questions to do with ‘Work’ has also been added.
Goddess Rating Sheet
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
A. A. A. A. A. A. A.
B. B. B. B. B. B. B.
C. C. C. C. C. C. C.
D. D. D. D. D. D. D.
E. E. E. E. E. E. E.
F. F. F. F. F. F. F.
G. G. G. G. G. G. G.
8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14
A. A. A. A. A. A. A.
B. B. B. B. B. B. B.
C. C. C. C. C. C. C.
D. D. D. D. D. D. D.
E. E. E. E. E. E. E.
F. F. F. F. F. F. F.
G. G. G. G. G. G. G.
Each category, from 1 to 14, has seven letters (A to G) beside a statement. As you read each statement, rate how true that statement is for you, currently. (At other times in life you may answer differently.) Write a rating number beside each letter in each section.
Rating Range 3 = 90% or above (mostly always) 2 = 70 - 89% (most of the time) 1 = 50 - 69% (half the time) -1 = less than 50% -2 = doesn’t fit 1. {Style} A. I love dressing up – my style is quite feminine and sexy. I love jewellery, accessories and make- up that enhance my outfit. It’s important to me that I feel beautiful – I feel powerful and playful when I look good. B. I prefer casual clothes that are comfortable, earthy or facilitate my active lifestyle, rather than dressy, or stylishly tighter-fitting outfits. I dislike feeling too dressed up. C. I don’t have a clear sense of my personal style – I’m not always sure what I like. If I’m shopping with friends, my purchases are influenced by their opinions. D. I dress up enough for the school run, for my job during the day, or to head to the park, but I don’t feel the need to dress up at home. It’s more likely that I need plain clothes in which to cook or paint with the kids – my kids don’t care what I wear! E. I prefer simple clothing that is practical rather than fashionable. I’m not often interested in attracting attention to myself with my choice of attire. I appreciate uncomplicated clothes in neutral colours. F. I dress to suit the occasion. If I dress up, it’s my partner’s attention and opinion I’m most invested in. My wedding ring is a meaningful symbol, for me. G. I prefer asexual clothing, or clothes that facilitate me in my work: a tailored suit, a uniform. I’m not so interested in the latest fashion, but I’m aware of the power of impressions, and use clothes for my success.
2. {Body} A. I’m more connected to my thoughts & plans than having a strong awareness of my body. I exercise regularly because it makes sense to, and I appreciate the convenience of utilising a gym close to my work. B. I am often told I look younger than I am. My body isn’t in my consciousness as much as my inner thoughts, dreams and fantasies. I am susceptible to the opinions of others, in terms of body- image. C. I enjoy and seek out physical touch regularly, in my interactions with those I love. Facials and manicures are fun, and massage is part of my self-care routine. A great haircut works wonders! I work out to keep myself in good shape. Tigress yoga is my favourite! D. I am impacted how my partner feels about my body. I’ve been very nourished by their affirmation of my beauty. We enjoy exercising or playing a team sport together. E. The stories of my pregnancies, birthing and mothering are written on my body. I find the physical touch I receive from my children very safe, loving and nourishing. Sometimes I struggle to find the time to exercise – life is full attending to the needs of others! F. My body does well with regular exercise – physical fitness energises and restores me. I prefer some emotional independence, but appreciate physical touch as a gateway to instinctive pleasure. G. I tend to my body diligently, undertaking daily tasks, such as brushing my teeth or going for a run, with meditative focus. I appreciate feeling clear and healthy. I enjoy touch with my partner when it occurs; however, it’s not often what I’m longing for.
3. {Home} A. I am nourished by living close to nature, rather than immersed in an urban environment. I feel the need for green around me. I have plants in my home and aspire to a garden full of food. I also enjoy travelling, exploring the world with a gypsy heart. B. My home is often filled with the smell of cakes baking or meals cooking. I prefer a house that affords a lot of room for my family and my children’s friends to visit. My home is rarely tidy, but it’s well-lived in and I always aim to make people feel welcome. C. My home is somewhat eclectic, if I live alone – there’s not a clear style. If I live with others, I am happy to flow with what kind of décor they appreciate. Home for me is defined more by the interpersonal relationships, rather than the physical things in it. D. My home is a vibrant place, with a striking colour scheme, eccentric or beautiful art work, simple flower arrangements, textured fabrics or plush rugs. It’s not always tidy, but it makes a statement. E. I enjoy city living and my orderly life. Even better if my home is near bookstores and my job, as I tend to work long hours. I run an efficient household, juggling career, kids, husband, and/or pets as necessary – a bit of a ‘Superwoman.’ You might find my laptop and papers on the dining table as I’m frequently in the midst of my work. F. My homemaker self is strong; I can become peacefully absorbed in household tasks. A house in order equates to inner harmony. I appreciate fresh-cut flowers or a crackling fire setting a warm, calm tone in my home. G. Our home is the place where my partner and I come together, even if we have been busy in the external world. We enjoy hosting friends and neighbours, planning the food and sharing in the preparations. I love our newly-added parents retreat space.
4. {Food} A. I’m not highly motivated by food and eating – I often find it hard to think of what to eat, and sometimes feel life would be simpler if I didn’t have to. If someone offers me food, I’ll often say yes, because it’s helpful to not have to create it myself. B. My partner and I share the cooking, out of mutual respect and an egalitarian values-system. Or, I see my role providing meals for the family as facilitating my partner’s success and achievement of our shared goals. C. I’m more invested in the ambiance where I dine, although I do enjoy good food. I like the sensuality of it, the experience of the variety of smells in the air and tastes in my mouth. Exquisite food makes the present moment a delight! D. I prefer eating out - I don’t always have time for or interest in cooking for myself. I’d rather eat out with a friend and enjoy stimulating conversation with each other. Or, I plan meals for the week and shop in advance. E. I prefer organic foods to traditional store-bought foods underpinned by unsustainable industrial farming practices. I eat consciously as I value a healthy body. My body requires adequate protein to fuel my physical activities. F. Meal preparation is an important aspect of my sense of home-making and preparing healthy meals is part of providing soul nourishment for myself and my household. The smell of home- baked food enhances the feeling of peace in my home. G. I love having family & children at my home, and I am often to be found preparing nourishing food for everyone to enjoy. I like to have a meal in the freezer ready to use, or give away to someone in need. I appreciate my garden and all I can harvest from it. 5. {Childhood} A. I was an ‘easy’ child, quiet yet independent. I did not seek cues from others nor was I directed by the desire to please others. I often felt I was different from those around me. I was socially adaptable, but didn’t get caught up in social drama. B. I was an independent child, and didn’t always feel like I fitted in. I wasn’t particularly close to my parents. I was proficient at various sports and enjoyed any time I had outdoors, camping or bushwalking. I loved animals and cherished the pets I grew up with. C. I enjoyed playing ‘mums and dads’ with my friends. My father was somewhat distant, and my mother struggled to exert authority in her marriage. When I was a bit older, the idea of being “boyfriend and girlfriend” was titillating! D. As a child, my mother was a significant influence in my life (and still is). I always did my homework and kept the peace. It made sense to try and please other people. Imaginary friends/animals were part of my life. E. I loved playing ‘dress-ups,’ walking around in my mother’s high heels and putting on make-up. When I was a bit older, my friends and I had fun painting our nails, listening to music and talking about boys. F. I had a strong maternal instinct from a young age, and loved playing with my dolls, feeding them, dressing them and wheeling them in the pram. I became a great babysitter pretty early on. G. I was a curious child and loved books, even taught myself to read. My father was a more dynamic presence than my mother. I was good at craft and enjoyed playing scrabble, chess and card games. I was a high achiever, academically, winning prizes and scholarships.
6. {Soul-mate} A. I’ve tended to be drawn to lovers who seek a maternal type of woman, or those who share my desire for children. I tend to give more than I receive. I appreciate my partner’s taking care of me financially, so I can be a stay-at-home parent. B. Earlier, I’ve tended to attract intense partners who weren’t a particularly good match for me. As I’ve matured, I prefer a sophisticated, sexy partner with good taste and the capacity to enjoy the moment. I am always up for a fun cocktail, or a bunch of flowers! C. I’ve tended to be attracted to successful partners who I often meet through my work life. I’m not really flirtatious or romantic, my nature is more practical. I’m drawn to partners who are cultured, ambitious and hard-working. I need to be stimulated intellectually. D. I have been attracted to competent, successful partners who are worthy of my commitment. I’ve been willing to put my personal career on hold to support and to further their success. I want a man who is devoted to me, and appreciates me. E. My partner and I have shared interests, such as talking through ideas and undertaking various physical hobbies together. We give each other a lot of emotional space, but I value feeling on the same wavelength. I tend to be more practical than sentimental. F. I tend to attract partners who are drawn to my quiet, unassertive yet self-sufficient nature, sometimes because they are not as solid in themselves as I am. We’re both fairly independent and sex is not a priority in our relationship. G. I’ve tended to attract partners to me who are my complete opposite: street-wise, tough, magnetic; sexually alluring and dominant; or those who are much older who act as my “spiritual teacher” and lover. I desire a partner who understands my inner self. 7. {Marriage} A. My desire for committed connection is strong – I feel fulfilled in my relationship with my partner. I’ve also had to accept that my partner doesn’t always match my ideals – my “knight in shining armour” dream was setting the bar a little too high! This relationship has been the context of some of my greatest pain and growth. B. I was keen to marry young and have kids. I have created a stable environment with a partner within which to enjoy raising my children, although sometimes I find myself acting as a nurturing parent with my partner! In another life, I might skip marriage altogether and just have kids! C. I’m not particularly drawn to marriage – my freedom is very important to me and I can take care of myself. However, an egalitarian relationship could appeal to me. We might decide to live together rather than to marry. In my partnership I require equality – and it’s unlikely that I will change my last name. D. Marriage in and of itself is less important than my experience of head-over-heels love and passion. I need my marriage to feel dynamic, intense and fun. I’m not all that jealous, and enjoy a bit of a flirt every now and then. E. I’m more interested in a companionable partnership than a volatile passionate union. Our relationship is mutually advantageous. We greatly enjoy communicating about events and politics, and support each other in our careers. Feelings, on the other hand, are rarely a topic of discussion. F. I’ve been persuaded to marry, or felt it was what I was expected to do, culturally. I imagined something other than what actually became fact in my marriage, or, my marriage has been a deep, intense context for growth. I believe in and yearn for a higher spiritual/energetic connection. G. Our life together may well appear traditional in terms of gender roles. I don't have many ambitions or projects out in the world. I love the peace and solitude of home. My partner may travel or work away from home, and I appreciate the autonomy this offers me – I keep the home fires burning.
8. {Sexuality} A. In my younger years I put energy into my career, and gravitated to men as friends and mentors. I’m less interested in sexual expression as compared with other forms of expression - ideas, plans, strategic success. I can be a skilful lover if I put my mind to it. B. I don’t radiate sexual energy, and tend to avoid overt sexual attention rather than “working it”. I am deeply offended if I am considered a sex-object. However, I have a deep sensual nature and value sex as an expression of my wild instinctual self. C. Sex is a valuable aspect of my connection with my partner, an expression of our love and loyalty. As a young person, I was unwilling to have sex without a sense of mutual investment in the relationship – I didn’t really sleep around, and monogamy is important to me. D. As a young person, I was interested in the idea of becoming pregnant, not just having sex. At times I’d rather cuddle than make love. The possibility of fertility and the calling-in of a new life infuses my sexuality with potency and deep delight. E. When younger I had many relationships. I am highly sexually responsive and easily aroused. Lovemaking is a necessary and vital part of life with my partner. At times, I find myself attracted to other people. F. Sex in and of itself isn’t that important to me. In fact, my sexuality frequently lies dormant in me until lovemaking is initiated. I do enjoy sex when it occurs – it’s a warm experience my partner and I share; however, I’m also fine in its absence. G. I didn’t awaken sexually until a bit later in my life, like that part of me was asleep. However, I have a deeply passionate, orgasmic nature, which is part of the richness of my interior landscape. I can feel quite nourished, sexually, by my erotic fantasies. 9. {Children} A. I provide a warm and solid home life for my family and children, providing them with loving acceptance. It’s not in my nature to push them in the world – I don’t have any great ambitions for them. I’ve become aware, however, that I may be somewhat impersonal and undemonstrative toward my loved ones. B. I feel sensitive toward the needs of my children; however, I find it difficult to discipline them, and don't always set limits very well. I don’t feel comfortable asserting ‘power’ over them. I enjoy nurturing their imagination through play and story-telling. C. I’ve always wanted to have children. Becoming a mother has been so fulfilling – my children are my life! Having an abortion, facing infertility, negotiating post-natal depression and/or the kids leaving home, have been difficult, painful experiences. I know I’m going to fall in love with my grandkids! D. I don’t have a particularly strong instinctive pull for motherhood although I do like children. I feel I’ve found my own unique way to be a mother. With my children I tend to foster their independence early, as well as protecting their unique individuality. I enjoy engaging with the natural world together with them. E. Having children is often a natural outcome of taking on marriage. I appreciate feeling like a team, as parents, even if we have differing opinions on what’s called for in a given situation. The children witness us both as strong, autonomous individuals. I enjoy the time when the kids are in bed and I can talk with my partner without being interrupted. F. I love my children’s creativity & self-expression, their sense of play and adventure. Aspects of parenting can feel boring and repetitive, though, and I can be somewhat inconsistent, warm and generous with them sometimes, and then off following my own social interests and desires at other times. G. I have chosen to focus energy into my career rather than having children. However, if I have children, I make use of nannies and household help, and look forward to the children reaching an age where I can enjoy conversations and projects with them. I find it easier if my children are curious, independent and achievement-driven, rather than easily moved by feelings.
10. {Work} A. Work is something I’m good at, but it doesn’t necessarily feel significant or meaningful. I gear my activities and hours to match my partner’s time at home, and/or have relocated when their work has called for it. B. I enjoy work where I’m helping someone, whether that’s teaching, nursing, social work, counselling, therapy of any kind, or volunteering in my kids’ kinder or school. I look after my employees and find it very difficult to fire people, because I’m concerned about their families. C. I love work that I’m passionate about – work in areas that enliven my creativity, such as dance, art, music, writing, interior design or fashion. Or work where the people are interesting to me. I don’t care so much about the money, but I hate feeling bored. D. The work I do is often unseen, whether in the home, an office, a volunteer organisation or a religious order. I don’t need much external validation. I excel at jobs which require focus and attention to detail or jobs where I create a secure, orderly environment in which others can thrive. E. I am ambitious and productive, an efficient manager, researcher, analyst or diplomat. I excel at jobs requiring linear and clear thinking, with practical, tangible results. I may also be a great teacher and mentor, or designer of innovative tools. F. My approach to work is active, focused and independent, so long as I care about what I’m doing. I work best when I’m promoting products I believe in, expressing my personal vision in any creative undertaking and/or advocating for various causes. G. I’ve had a series of jobs, some of them connected to family and friends. I have a tendency to procrastinate, and do best when the task is clear and immediate, or when working for a boss who gives clear feedback and encouragement.
11. {Activities} A. I love attending art galleries, festivals, theatre, dance and musical performances. I like doing anything fun – going to up-and-coming restaurants, seeing new films, dancing – with fun people! B. I am an avid hiker/runner/skier and love camping in pristine natural settings. I’ve enjoyed competitive sports and the fun of playing on a team. I value exercising on a regular basis and am naturally athletic. I love travelling and seeing the world. C. I love reading, writing, keeping a dream diary and engaging in spiritual practices. The unseen realm feels vivid to me. I love my garden and growing plants & flowers, and tending to my animals. Sometimes it is hard for me to commit to classes and regular activities. D. I keep up with the current political situation, and find discussions with other similarly well- informed individuals very stimulating. I enjoy museums and lecture series, but I’m often busy with work so I don’t always have time for many outings. E. I enjoy quiet time, reading, meditation, gardening, and going for long walks. I am committed to the daily practices that keep me centred and grounded. Occasionally I look forward to attending spiritual retreats, or taking time out alone. F. My time is filled with family commitments – running the kids to their after-school activities, visiting with friends, making lunches, reading stories etc. I get my other stuff done when the kids are in bed. I love holidaying together as a family. G. I am very involved in local volunteer efforts in the community – I am motivated to help those who need it, especially given the relative stability and strength of my home life. I also enjoy doing things with my partner – going to events, having dinner, seeing a movie, doing a crossword, even gardening! 12. {Social} A. I tend to feel restless at social events, impatient with what seems like a lot of conventional chatter. I’d rather get together with a group of my women-friends and talk about things that really matter. B. I delight in social occasions, enjoying the high social energy. I love to mingle and weave my way throughout the room. I definitely notice the most attractive individuals and they notice me. C. I am highly involved in my kids’ kinder/school, and enjoy the school pick-ups and drop-offs as places to overlap with other parents. I feel I have a network of families around me and enjoy having them over for play-dates, kids’ parties and other events. D. I like attending events with my partner – I feel more secure, and I appreciate the energy we bring when we go together. Sometimes I can feel intimidated by an attractive person, in case my spouse is interested in them. E. I tend to feel rather shy in social situations. I’m more likely to spend time with someone one-on- one. I’m more comfortable listening than speaking. I’ll go along with what the group wants to do. F. I am confident in social situations and notice who holds positions of influence. I am usually more comfortable in a group of men than a group of women – I feel we have more to talk about. G. I don’t care much for social occasions. I prefer to stay home and enjoy my comfortable surroundings. However, I have a socially adaptable persona when I need it.
13. {Friends} A. Many of my friendships emerged from the shared experience of becoming new parents. Others are people I’ve met through my children’s friendships or activities. We share a strong engagement with our children, and support each other through the intense times. B. On occasion I enjoy time with a dear friend or two. We offer each other a listening ear, soulful talk and centeredness. We do not engage in gossip, and intellectual, heady conversations aren’t of interest. C. I have numerous female acquaintances through my various organisation and volunteer groups, but not many close female friends, especially now that I’m married. It can be hard to overlap with my single/divorced friends. D. I tend toward sisterly friendships with women and men. I can feel a deep soul-connection with men as brothers that can feel misunderstood in our culture that often sexualises male-female relationships. I am drawn to friends with more feminist leanings. E. My friends tend to have stronger personalities than I do, and I’m mostly happy fitting in with them. I have difficulty saying ‘no’ at times. It can also be difficult to put my feelings into words. My friends appreciate my deep reflections. F. I'm drawn to more intellectually-oriented friendships, often colleagues from work. We typically discuss work, politics, and shared projects. My friends possess, as I do, strong views, and articulate them well. G. I have a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. My female friends are either similar to me in that we live and love with intensity, or they live vicariously through my love adventures. I tend to be generous with my friends when I am with them, but at times become too busy with my own life to see them.
14. {Books} A. I enjoy material offering a stimulating read – such as The Guardian, The Economist, journal articles, biographies of successful and influential people, as well as various TED talks and books on business and financial strategy and global issues. B. I have books on metaphysical subjects: spirituality, psychology, mythology and tarot. I enjoy new ideas and art. I love being transported into the other worlds of fictional lives, and very much enjoy my quiet reading time. Fifty Shades of Grey was a delicious read! C. I enjoy and have around me books on yoga, shamanism, wilderness sojourns, radical activism and social justice; travel guides; National Geographic magazines; picture books of national parks and scuba diving. I follow eco-minded blogs calling for a shift in consciousness to protect the planet and the vulnerable. D. I enjoy reading stories about the spiritual experiences of others – Pema Chodron’s take on life, people’s experiences of walking The Camino, Rumi’s musings, indigenous spirituality. I have a few books on Zen Buddhism and various contemplative practices. I dip into gardening and home- making blogs. E. My partner and I share ideas and news from what we have been reading, and I enjoy this dialogue. Books on marriage have helped us negotiate our relationship. I love the old-fashioned romance of Pride and Prejudice. F. I enjoy books on famous painters, dancers, designers and other creative souls. High-class fashion magazines are of interest, along with nude photography coffee table books and high-quality erotica. G. I frequently dip into recipe books and cooking blogs online; I have a Pinterest board of kids craft activities; I enjoy books on gardening, parenting, and working from home, and love discovering great new children’s fiction.
Goddess Tally Sheet
Section Athena Aphrodite Artemis Demeter Hera Hestia Persephone
1. G. A. B. D. F. E. C.
2. A. C. F. E. D. G. B.
3. E. D. A. B. G. F. C.
4. D. C. E. G B. F. A.
5. G. E. B. F. C. A. D.
6. C. B. E. A. D. F. G.
7. E. D. C. B. A. G. F.
8. A. E. B. D. C. F. G.
9. G. F. D. C. E. A. B.
10. E. C. F. B. A. D. G.
11. D. A. B. F. G. E. C.
12. F. B. A. C. D. G. E.
13. F. G. D. A. C. B. E.
14. A. F. C. G. E. D. B.
TOTAL
List the total figures beside each goddess, below. The highest scores suggest the goddess energy you feel most comfortable with, the one which predominates in your consciousness.
The lowest scores point to the archetypes you may be least connected with on a conscious level, qualities you may be least familiar with in yourself. You may discover a desire to cultivate aspects of these goddesses.
Hera: ______Persephone: ______
Wife & helpmate »Issues of Power« Underworld/Mystery
Demeter: ______Aphrodite: ______
Mother/Nurturer »Issue of Relatedness« Love/Beauty
Athena: ______Artemis: ______
Career/Wisdom/Accomplisher »Issue of Purpose« Nature-lover/Animals
Hestia: ______
Spiritual Focus HONORING RITES OF PASSAGE IN A WOMAN'S LIFE By Jane Hardwicke Collings
When viewed as a whole, a Woman's life is divided into 4 phases Maiden, Mother, Maga and Crone.
These phases or seasons are related to and defined by the expression of her fertility and sexuality.
Maiden - birth to childbirth Mother - childbirth to menopause Maga - menopause to retirement Crone - retirement to death
With each life season there is a rite of passage or initiation, that marks the end of one season and the beginning of the next. It is a time of transformation, the woman transforms from one way of being to another, never to return again to her previous life season. What happens during and around this transition, whether by conscious creation or by default, sets the theme for a woman's experience of her self in her new role in her next life season.
The rites of passage of birth, menarche, childbirth and menopause serve the purpose of educating us of the value our culture places on our new role. They inform us of our culture's expectations of us in our new role and give us information about how we are to behave. This pertains to the culture at large and the culture within the family and close community. This effect occurs whether we are paying attention to the details of the rite of passage or not.
During the season of the Maiden there are two rites of passage. Her own birth, which begins her life and the Menarche, the initiation of menstruation. How a person is born, what happens during and around this time greatly influences their life ahead. The menarche transforms the Girl to a Woman, her fertility and sexuality become the rhythm of her life. This is the life season of Spring.
Childbirth heralds the entry to the next season- Mother, the Summer of a Woman's life. Each time a woman gives birth is another rite of passage as she deepens her experience as Mother.
Menopause, the cessation of menstruation or "change of life" marks the beginning of the season of Maga, the Autumn of a Woman's life. This is the life season that features the harvesting her life skills. Her focus shifts from her own family, as they grow up, to her community.
Retirement or withdrawal from the busy-ness of life marks the beginning of, the time of the Crone, the Winter of a woman's life.
So, what happens around the rite of passage event, how one is treated, what one is taught, consciously and unconsciously, introduces, instructs, even brainwashes the 'initiate' with the values and beliefs theire culture holds about their new role and expected behaviour. This process gives the 'initiate' information on a deep level about their new role and the value they will have. This information then defines the mindset or beliefs of how the new phase will be lived out.
In most traditional cultures, cultures that our modern, tradition lacking cultures turn to in search of meaning and understanding, the rites of passage were enacted with the seriousness and reverence they deserve.
The way the menarche and menstruation are dealt with in our culture, our families and our communities, influences how a young woman understands what it "means" to be a Woman, a cyclical sexual fertile female human being.
In many traditional cultures in which Women were respected and honoured, the Menarche of a girl was celebrated with a ceremony of huge significance. The Apache Native Americans held ceremonies for days, with the whole tribe present, to celebrate girls entering their Womanhood.
In the Nootka tribe, after a party to honour her menarche, the young woman was taken far out to sea and left to swim back to the land. Once she had done this she was recognised by her community as a woman, strong and brave and ready for the responsibilities of womanhood - marriage and rearing children.i
In modern times, some families acknowledge the menarche with a gift for the young woman, a celebratory dinner, even a party. Sometimes this happens within a circle of women who welcome the newly fertile woman to their sisterhood. They share stories of their own experiences of menstruation and make wishes and blessings for the new woman's future life.
Few of us were treated with celebration and honouring to welcome us to our next phase - Woman. At best it was ignored, at worst it was a source of shame and embarrassment.
Few of us were lead to believe that being a woman was wonderful.
Mostly, our rite of passage, our initiation to womanhood, told us not that something really special had happened, but rather that we had entered a phase in our lives where we would be dictated to by something that we could not control (unless we took the magic pill), something that is an inconvenience and usually painful. The best we could do is plug ourselves up, pretend nothing is happening and just get on with it, and most of all don't make a fuss. We were told we had entered the phase of our lives dominated by 'the curse' and then when we became sexually active we lived with the fear of pregnancy.
When women remember the details around their menarche they can often see the theme that was created, the theme that they were to live out as a woman. It's like the opening scene in your story as a woman that develops as you do.
Childbirth is the next rite of passage in a Woman's life, her initiation into Motherhood.
The way the rite of passage of birth is managed dictates to a woman her role and value as a Mother in the culture. A culture's attitude to and value of Mothers are reflected in the practices used for birth.
With the rite of passage of birth, the mother and the baby are both affected. Babies remember birth, this is well known by those who investigate this area. Babies imprint on everything that occurs during their time in the womb, their birth and beyond. Imprinting is the process by which humans and animals survive, we learn and file the reaction to stimuli and recall that to use as our learned behaviour the next time that stimulus occurs. So the baby learns from its mother by 'observing' her through her experiences during pregnancy and birth and up to seven years old. What the baby 'observes' of the mother becomes its own default reaction to the same and related stimuli.
Fortunately, giving birth is what we as women are designed to do. Birth is a normal natural body function in fact it is our primary biological purpose and our bodies are designed and equipped to perform this function. Like all normal bodily functions, it relies on good health, right attitude and a healthy safe environment, to occur without mishap or complication. Should complications arise they will be attributable to some underlying belief held about the body and its ability to function. It is important to remember that bringing fearful thoughts to birth, as with all of life, will effect how the experience unfolds. Fears are simply controlling thoughts that we hold in our minds by choice, that we can let go of. Birth is a process that can be trusted. Pregnancy and Birth are a journey deeper into womanhood.
Every pregnancy results in a birth, whether that is a natural birth at full term, an emergency caesarean, a miscarriage or a termination. How a woman experiences this birth is what contributes to her 'shape' as a mother. If she has had a disempowering experience then she starts her mothering career from a compromised position. This doesn't mean she can't heal, she can, and the healing process becomes part of her journey of Motherhood. A natural birth can be a disempowering experience if the Mother and her family are not treated with respect; and a highly technical birth can be an empowering one, even a deeply healing experience.
However the birth occurs, it will be highly appropriate for that individual mother's journey. The trick to seeing it like that is the knowing that due to our internal beliefs and attitudes we attract into our lives the experiences we need to learn from as we journey on in our lives toward wholeness. What may look like an unfortunate experience is merely the perfect next event in a person's life to have them realise (or not if they choose) what they next need 'to get'. I like the commonly used analogy of peeling an onion. The journey of life involves peeling back each layer one at a time to reveal the next, no layer can be avoided and each one leads to the next. In this process we come to know ourselves more fully learning the lessons of our life's quest.
Traditionally, Menopause, the cessation of menstruation was the rite of passage from Mother to Crone. However, we now live longer than our ancestors. In the time of the ancient Triple Goddess - Maiden Mother Crone - we had babies at 14, were grandmothers at 30 and dead at 45. Many women died even before reaching menopause. Now if we are well, we can live to 100 plus years. The ancient Triple Goddess - Maiden, Mother Crone - can now be extended to the Four Phase Feminine Way - Maiden, Mother, Maga, Crone - including the forth season of autumn, Maga, between Mother and Crone.So menopause is the rite of passage from Mother to Maga, the autumn season of our life.
Today menopause is treated as a hormonal imbalance, corrected by the medical profession with drugs, that so often prove to be very dangerous after enough women take them for long enough to see the effects!
The peri-menopause is the period of time from the first changes in a woman's cycle to when she finishes bleeding all together. She is said to be post-menopausal when she has finished bleeding for 2 years. The peri-menopause may take up to thirteen years, it may take one. Dr Christiane Northrup says the peri-menopause is another labour which results in the woman giving birth to a new self.
The severity of the symptoms within a woman's peri-menopause are related to the severity with which she experienced the premenstrual part of her menstrual cycle. Both of which are often wake-up calls for a woman to notice the detrimental effects of toxins on her health. Toxins such as stressful life styles, dysfunctional relationships and an unhealthy diet.
Peri-menopause takes as long as it takes, and mostly the woman needs support from her family and friends that what she's going through is normal. As her hormonal balance shifts she experiences all manner of symptoms and it is her time to read the messages her body is giving her to fulfil her physical, emotional and spiritual needs. If she doesn't the symptoms just get louder and bigger.
Our culture wants to eradicate peri-menopause with hormone replacement therapy, its seen as a dangerous set of symptoms to avoid. What message does this give peri- menopausal women? Maybe something like at your age 'you are not valued' ,' better avoided', or even done away with altogether. You can see these attitudes reflected in the amount of plastic surgery used and promoted to prolong youthful looks.
The peri-menopausal time of a woman's life is probably also 'complicated' with her teenagers special needs and her aging parents reaching their needy time as well. So, peri-menopausal women need all the support and encouragement possible. They need to know that they are highly capable and hugely resourceful women otherwise if they didn't realise that, they would probably need lots of prescription drugs to numb themselves.
Peri-menopausal women may have grown up children and be grandmothers or they may have younger children, or both.
And then there's the rite of passage of retirement marking the transition from Maga to Crone. Where's the 'gold watch' for our old grandmothers when they decide they want to stay home?
Crone-hood is not valued in the same way in our modern culture as it was in traditional cultures. Not too long ago, the Crones were respected and valued. In some traditional Native American cultures it was the Crones that chose the Chiefs and the Crones that gave the final say on whether to go to war or not. Our culture is 'age-ist' and our wise women can often be found sequestered into 'old people's homes'. Why aren't they sitting with the children and telling them their stories?
(i) "Her Blood Is Gold" by Lara Owen
Abstract: In this article a tentative and provisional theory is advanced on the treatment of birth-giving trauma. ‘Birth-giving-trauma’ here refers to women (and men) psychologically, physically or emotionally traumatized during birth-giving. In the first part of this article I outline anthropologist Robbie Davis-Floyd’s argument that Western medicalized birthing can be constructed as a ‘modern’ rite of passage which can negatively imprint disempowering images into women’s minds, reinforce messages of inferiority, and traumatise the birth-giving mothers. In the second half of the article I will argue that the trauma catalysed by the ‘bad’ ritual of birth may need to be therapeutically treated or rather ‘ritually combated’ with an equally powerful and reparative ‘good’ ritual. I will explore psychiatrist Stanislav Grof’s and Christina Grof’s holotropic breathwork as a pre-eminent contemporary ritual in which ‘good’ transpersonal medicine is ritually made.
1 Education for transcendence must deal directly with an experiential threshold. It must teach how one can cross the threshold of fear into a state of transcendence this education must also bring transcendence into ordinary life, and ordinary life into transcendence.
(Anthropologist Richard Katz 1976) The sound that came out of my body was just awesome, utterly awesome. It was so primordial, primal, animal, I couldn’t act it or make it again…it was as if my body and mind had become one, but it was not inside or outside, it was not named. My birth was fantastic. I suppose the best way to describe it was like an out-of-body-experience. But it wasn’t quite that, it was like the categories of outside and inside got rearranged. It was like you ‘be still and know’. It didn’t matter what anyone else was saying my body just knew, call it what you like, waves; my body just went with it all. (Research Informant Trudy 2006)
It is equally outside and inside: therefore; it has transcended the geographical limitations of the self. Thus one begins to talk about transhumanistic [transpersonal] psychology
(Transpersonal psychologist Abraham Maslow, 1969, p. 4)
Introduction
Anthropologists have shown that birth in most cultures has been a “ritual event” (Kitzinger, 1978, p. 5) enveloped in protective rites of passage and spiritual procedures that lend emotional, ‘supernatural’ and charismatic support to birth-giving women. They argue that fertility and birth are in all cultures embedded is social, psychological, cosmological and spiritual systems (MacCormack, 1982, .p 10). Furthermore, the basic pattern of biological birth serves as a “model for structuring other rites of passage” (Davis-Floyd, 1994, p.325) and ceremonial healing rituals (e.g. Turner, 1992). Traditional helpers at birth, midwives and shamans, operated as ‘technicians of the sacred’ (Potter, 1974; Paul and Paul, 1975; Kitzinger, 1982; Laderman, 1983) and it has also been noted that transpersonal visions may be part of a contemporary birth-giving woman’s reality (Lahood, 2006, 2006b) and the father’s reality (Lahood 2006, 2006a). Grof writes for example:
2 Delivering women and people participating in the delivery as assistants or observers can experience a powerful spiritual opening. This is particularly true if birth does not occur in the dehumanized context of a hospital, but under circumstances where it is possible to experience its full psychological and spiritual impact (1998, p.135).
Unfortunately the Western biomedical approach to birth-giving does not value emotional or spiritual support nor does it value visionary states (c.f. Davis-Floyd, 1992; Klassen, 2001, p.104; Sered 1991, p.15 ) and many women are traumatised by the dehumanized nature of ‘technocratic’ childbirth rituals. Moreover, in the Western world most births do not occur in domestic environments but in hospitals.
While there is an increasing literature on ‘birth trauma’ relating to the fetal person, less attention has been paid to the trauma of the birth-givers. ‘Birth trauma’ is a blanket term confusingly applied to the psychological and physical damage experienced by both women and neonates during the process of labour and childbirth. However some fathers can also suffer from ‘birth-trauma’ in the form of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). I think it would be useful to delineate between ‘birth-giving trauma’, ‘neonatal birth trauma’ and ‘witness trauma’ and the treatments for these divergent phenomena.
This paper will contrast two important contemporary ‘rituals’: modern childbirth and trans- modern holotropic breathwork.1 I will suggest that while the former ritual system begets and amplifies birth-giving trauma (Davis-Floyd, 1992) the later can be used to heal the trauma associated with birth-giving (e.g. Grof, 1985; Walden, 1993). Our aim here is to grasp the following nettle: if it is in ‘bad’ ritual where harm is caused - it may well be that it is ‘good’ ritual where trauma could be negated and healing found. The purpose of this paper then, is to offer those who suffer from birth-giving trauma; PTSD catalysed in childbirth, post-natal depression, grief and loss around miscarriage and abortion, those who feel emotionally, psychologically and spiritually impinged upon by the medical system, and those who work with traumatized persons a further treatment option …that of our species oldest healing system; ritual.
Background
1 According to philosopher Richard Tarnas, Grof’s work is “the most epistemologically significant development in the recent history of depth psychology, and indeed the most important advance in the field since Freud and Jung themselves (1991, p. 425).
3 I came to study birth-giving through a long-time interest in contemporary transpersonal rituals (e.g. Heron & Lahood, 2007). My post-graduate and doctoral studies were focused on the ritual dynamics of birthing in New Zealand and the transpersonal events experienced around birthing-giving for contemporary women and men. I have described some of these research findings in several articles dealing with, for example, the encounter with death at birth (Lahood 2006, 2006a 2006b), the transpersonal dimensions of indigenous midwifery (Lahood, 2006, 2006b) fathers near-death-experiences around child-birth (Lahood, 2006), and women’s transpersonal experience at birth-giving (Lahood, 2006b).
Another complementary strand to my research life is that of a holotropic breath-work facilitator – a ‘ritual specialist’, so to speak. I have been involved in broad holotropic breathing practice for almost two decades and this has given me an opportunity to gather data from a unique viewpoint; that of a participant/observer in the holotropic ritual itself (I also have a role as an antenatal educator in New Zealand).2
However there is another link between holotropic ritual and transpersonal states of consciousness among contemporary women I should outline. Some of the women and men I spoke to during my doctoral research had experienced ‘non-ordinary states of consciousness’ that bear a striking resemblance to what Stanislav Grof calls ‘holotropic consciousness’ (1985). These are profound ‘healing states of consciousness’ having to do with the experience of death and rebirth (Lahood, 2006, 2006a, 2006b). Let me give an example of this, not from one of my informants, but from Jungian analyst Jean Shinoda Bolen: who, in the film documentary The Goddess Remembered (1989) said this:
My experience of a woman giving birth to a child put me in touch with the women’s movement. Up until that time I was a real medical student, intern, resident, kind of a person, who felt quite different from other women because my path was different from most women’s. But once I was in labour and delivery and was experiencing at the deepest ritual level and at the deepest life level, what it is to be a woman and how it hurt … and how it was also a miracle and how none of my training prepared me for this and what I was doing at that moment was what every woman who had ever given birth
2 Various anthropologists have explored non-ordinary-states-of-consciousness, Buddhist meditation techniques or shamanistic apprenticeships and some have gone on to teach their respective techniques i.e. Joan Halifax (shamanism and Zen Buddhism), Michael Harner, Felicitas Goodman (neoshamanism), Charles Laughlin (Tibetan Buddhism), Larry Peters (Nepalese shamanism) and Terrence McKenna (psychedelic shamanism) to name a few. My own trainings and ‘apprenticeships’ have been primarily with two Western transpersonal teachers Stanislav Grof (holotropic breathwork) and John Heron (charismatic co-operative inquiry).
4 to a child has been doing through all time. I felt linked horizontally and through time with every woman that ever was.
We might note the strong link between birth and “the deepest level of ritual” and then ‘ritual’ with the transpersonal domain. Her sense of becoming continuous with all women through time and space (as a healing and empowering event) is a becoming beyond the Cartesian box of time and space, which means that she has stepped outside of Western medicine’s ‘body-as- a-machine’ (e.g. Davis-Floyd 1992) image and the foundations of Western science in general. One of my informants said this at the birth of her daughter: She was not breathing ... not energetically so I breathed into her energetically ... you are going to live! It's like I’m getting a vision … a sense of this line of women back through eons almost. It’s like connecting in with a line of all women. It had to do with the family of women through time like a line”. Such experiences are also a recurrent theme in holotropic research (Grof, 1988; Bache, 2000, Lahood 2006a).
Rites of Passage
Rites of passage and their tripartite morphology were made famous by folklorist Arnold van Gennep (1960[1908]). In his schemata a rite of passage process has three basic patterns (although a pre-initiatory phase must also be assumed e.g. the womb of childhood). They are 1) separation; the neophyte is removed from a previous social or cosmic world (1960, p.10). 2) Transition; a magico-religious space in which the initiate “wavers between two worlds” (1960, p.18) this liminal space was often a place of ordeal, chaos, and symbolic dismemberment. 3) Incorporation; a phase where the initiated is being absorbed or reintegrated into a new world.
Van Gennep also wrote that such rituals had a strong association with pregnancy and childbirth (1960, p.41-64) and it is interesting to contemplate the relationship between van Gennep’s rite de passage template and the basic morphology of the foetal person’s journey through the chaotic ‘gauntlet’ of the perinatal passage. The child is separated from the ‘good womb’ passing into a state of constriction, followed by an ordeal-like and laborious transition and finally emerges from the dangers associated with the birth passage into the world and a new social or cosmic status (see Grof, 1977, 1985). In Grof’s schemata this perinatal process structures the psychological experience of death and rebirth and the holotropic therapeutic ritual is geared to support this transformational process.
A ‘Bad’ Rite of Passage
5
Robbie Davis-Floyd’s Birth as an American Rite of Passage (1992) is perhaps the most comprehensive study to date concerning ritual, cognition, and contemporary Western birth. She argues that contemporary hospital birthing can be constructed as a rite of passage operating tacitly within the medical birthing regimen. According to Davis-Floyd, in this context, the ritual process is deeply problematic because it is geared to indoctrinate women to its biomedical mythology by enacting its ‘body as machine’ system of authoritative knowledge in a ritualized technological apotheosis: birth as medical operation.
Renowned British anthropologist Shelia Kitzinger has also suggested that modern birthing ‘rites of passage’ do not function to provide emotional support (as traditional rites of passage would have) but rather they reinforce the established social system (1982, p.182). In the modern scenario women are routinely stripped of bodily knowing, authoritative knowledge, and the status and charisma associated with birth-givers. Birth-giving is treated as a routine medical crises indexed into a powerful structure of hierarchical power running on an ‘assembly-line’ system bent to capitalist clock-time (Davis-Floyd and Sergeant 1999, p. 8-11). Its rhythms do not sway easily to the rhythms of a female birthing body. Kitzinger writes:
In achieving the depersonalization of childbirth and at the same time solving the problem of pain, our society may have lost more than it has gained. We are left with the physical husk; the transcending significance has been drained away. In doing so, we have reached the goal which is perhaps implicit in all highly developed technological cultures, mechanized control of the human body and the complete obliteration of all disturbing sensations [my emphasis](1978, p. 133).
Using elements of biogenetic structuralism as a model (a model bound to transpersonalism e.g. Laughlin, 1988, 1994). Davis-Floyd’s analysis suggests that women birthing can engage in the same neuro-cognitive processes that produce similar states to those found among ritual participants (1992, p. 7-19). She argues that the climaxes and peaks found in ritual and meditation (after neuro-theologist d’Aquili 1979, 1985) when neuro-physiological subsystems fire simultaneously in the autonomic nervous system, are also found in birthing women (1992, p. 11-15). Once these ritual dynamics are catalysed the human cognitive system can be rendered open to gestalt perception (d’Aquili 1979, p. 173-174), and what is called “symbolic penetration”, that is, the ingression of symbols in the environment and their meaning into the opened mind of the ritual participant (e.g. Laughlin 1994) - moving toward a peak, climactic experience resulting in the long term memory storage of symbolic messages (Davis-Floyd 1992, p.15).
6
Davis-Floyd argues convincingly that it is the symbols of the Western technocratic medical system in all its hegemonic and patriarchal glory that are impressed into women’s minds at childbirth serving to reinforce its power and status over women. In other words; contemporary medicalized birthing rituals oppress women at a societal level through the use of a series of rituals that can be thought of as a dynamic rite of passage—a conversion process—it is a compelling argument. The price Western women pay for the belief in the Western hospital system’s ability to control childbirth outcomes, its routine technological wizardry, its body as a machine mythology, and its efficiency in saving lives and reducing pain; is a reduction in participation, a reduction in emotional and spiritual life, the loss of personal autonomy and authoritative knowledge, and at worst, psychological, physical, emotional, and spiritual traumatization.
The Problem with Birth
I will not attempt an exhaustive account of the trauma of birth-giving here but touch on a few key points beginning with a definition from Cheryl Beck:
Birth trauma is an event during the labour and delivery process that involves actual or threatened serious injury or death to the mother or her infant. The birthing women experiences intense fear, helplessness, loss of control and horror (2004, p. 28).
Simkin and Klaus list the following: “a sudden emergency caesarean perhaps with inadequate anaesthesia; shoulder dystocia; severe perineal damage; fetal asphyxia; vacuum extractor or forceps injuries; sever haemorrhage; newborn disabilities or death (2004, p.92). We could add: prolonged labour, decelerations of heart beat, anoxia and hypoxia (diminishing oxygen supply), meconium in the amniotic fluid, severe constriction, miscarriage, spontaneous abortion and eclampsia. Birth trauma then is physically damaging, psychologically damaging, and may result in, or at least threaten, neonates and birth-givers with death. Research shows that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as outlined by the DSM 4 can also be catalysed through birthing for mothers (Beck, 2004) and fathers as witnesses to traumatic events (Lahood, 2006a).
Explicit in Davis-Floyd’s account is a strong correspondence between modern technocratic ritual childbirth, patriarchal oppression, and women’s birth-giving trauma She refers to a process of “compartmentalization” by “the ones who were most totally effaced during their hospital births” (1992, p. 242). Often those anaesthetized had placed their birth completely
7 outside of their lives. Others awake and aware, but in “extreme terror and pain” also used this compartmentalizing process to divorce themselves from the traumatic experience. Some of Davis-Floyd’s participants refused to even talk about the subject because it had been so traumatic (1992, p. 242). Other women drive miles out of their way to avoid going near the hospital where the trauma occurred (Simkin and Klaus 2004, p.93); these behaviors are symptomatic of PTSD. However, these psychological defense mechanisms have psychotherapeutic problems since, as Davis-Floyd rightly points out (and as people-workers well understand), “unresolved traumas tend to resurface in various ways” (1992, p. 242).
So how to resolve the trauma caused by perinatal complications or technocratic rituals or a combination of both? Meaning-making verbal therapies, such as narrative therapy (White, 1980), might well be the first level of ameliorating this trauma as Davis-Floyd suggests (1992, p. 242). However, cognitive anthropologist Douglas Hollan says, that many of our engagements in the world remain “unconceptualized, unverbalized, and outside of conscious awareness until they gain conscious representation through complex symbolic processes” (2000, p.539) and that certain experiences can be so overwhelming and shattering of our normal everyday expectations, that they “never become cognitively and linguistically processed and represented at all” (2000, p.540). Furthermore, as Grof writes:
In the case of major traumas, particularly situations threatening the survival and body integrity of the individual … It is very likely that in situations of this kind, the original traumatic event was not really fully experienced at the time it was happening. [This] can lead to a situation where the experience is shut out partially rather than completely. As a result of it, the event cannot be psychologically ‘digested’ and integrated and remains in the psyche as a dissociated foreign element (Grof, 1988, p. 225).
Therefore, just as the birth-giving trauma began with a whole person, bodily, social, political, psychological, sexual, existential, and transpersonal wounding—in a ritual context—healing may need to be attended to in a counter-ritual and counter symbolic/therapeutic social milieu.3 This should be a ritual in which the creative healing potential of the woman’s own psyche and soma are brought strongly to bear on the healing process; a process that restores her personal
3 According to Hollan, recent anthropological inquiry into spirit-possession show that possession idioms are a means “by which otherwise unknowable, suppressed or repressed knowledge … is directly or indirectly expressed” (2000, p. 539). Which is similar to Lévi-Strauss’s argument that the Cuna shaman in their childbirth ritual was expressing ‘otherwise inexpressible psychic states’ (Levi-Strauss, 1963).
8 authoritative knowledge by engaging her intentional, volitional, bodily, emotional, intellectual and transpersonal knowing. A ‘good’ ritual should have the ability to bring the unprocessed material back into consciousness in a creative and emotionally intelligent environment (a set and setting) that is symbolically optimal for such a recovery.
In many rituals the human body and nervous systems are ‘heated’ through dancing, exertion, breathing, or emotional catharsis. An example would be the prolonged dancing and the !Kai trance of the Ju/’oansi (the !Kung Bushmen) of the Kalahari Desert:
!Kia can be considered a state of transcendence because during !kia, a !Kung experiences himself as existing beyond his ordinary level of existence. !Kia itself is a very intense physical state. The body is straining against fatigue and struggling with convulsion-like tremors and heavy breathing. The emotions are aroused to an extraordinary level, whether they be fear, or exhilaration, or fervour (Katz, 1976, p. 287).
Heightened motor activity, bodily metaphors, gestures, vocalizations and enactments including a full embodied re-performance of birth-giving might need to be engaged with to shift through a sense of constriction or ‘blockage’. Here the same neuro-cognitive subsystems of the central nervous system can be harnessed in the healing ritual process. In a reparative ritual process, as the autonomic sub-systems fire and open to gestalt perception, a new set of symbolic impressions, post-conceptual cognitions or transpersonal events, could ameliorate or replace the traumatic imprint. This can be conceptualized as ritual inversion: replacing the hierarchy and hegemony of the traumatic “governing system” in the psyche to a position in which it is experienced as ultimately transitory and partial in an unfolding dialectical process (see Tarnas, 1991, p. 429-31; Walden, 1993; and below). A dynamic shift in “governing system” (Grof, 1988, p. 227) can move the participant through the negative system and attune her to more positive, nurturing and healthy constellations.
The Problem with Sexuality
It is a strange situation where birth activists have to argue that birth-giving is an extension of normal female sexuality, nevertheless, due to the over-medicalization of birth they must (e.g. Davis-Floyd, 1992, p.69; Kitzinger, 1972; Klassen, 2001, p.181). Davis-Floyd sees “obstetrical rituals” as having developed in tandem with a medicalized program to “desexualize” and render the mother’s sexuality around birth-giving “tabu” and “defective” (1992, p. 69). She writes “So effective are hospital routines at masking the intense sexuality
9 of birth that most women today are not aware of birth’s sexual nature” (1992, p. 69). We should also mention the father’s presence at birth in Western cultures as symbolic of the couple’s sexual power. Brian Bates and Allison Turner say that many “childbirth rituals found throughout the world appear to be of a sexual nature” (2003, p.88)
The stimuli used in such practices are symbolic of the man who fathered the child and, in particular, of his sexuality. They may thus inculcate some form of sexual imagery in the woman, albeit at the preconscious level, which then stimulates the physiological responses normally elicited by sexual stimuli—the release of hormones and contractions of the uterus which serve to aid the birth process (Bates & Turner, 2003, p, 89).4
One of my informants spoke of her homebirth as intensely sexual, although it was a sexuality that incorporated a cosmic dimension. Frieda put it like this: “carrying a baby is such a deeply spiritual experience and giving birth is the ultimate spiritual orgasm … you tap into that greater energy, that greater consciousness”, clearly a statement reflecting transpersonal dimensions of sexuality. Nevertheless the vast amount of Western births occurs in the hospital system, a system which, according to Davis-Floyd and others, has robbed women of a vital and integral birthing energy.
However there is another serious problem to take into account when addressing sexuality and birth: the complications of childhood sexual abuse. It was matter-of-fact among some of my midwife informants that childhood sexual abuse can seriously impact birth-giving women protracting her labour and making it more exhausting and dangerous. Penny Simkin and Phyllis Klaus in their recent book When Survivors Give Birth (2004) write that some women can experience prolonged non-progressing labour and “extreme pelvic tension” (2004, p. 71). They speak of a woman whose “greatest fear was that something in labor would trigger ‘body memories’ or feelings of victimization” (2004, p. 68). Fear releases hormones (catecholamines) that are known to slow labour (2004, p. 80). Thus sexual abuse can become a vicious and problem laden cycle at the level of birth-giving because it can further constrict the women’s labouring which can then call forth further biomedical interventions.
Neva Walden’s exploration of the relationship between holotropic ritual and healing Contributors of transpersonal Perspectives to Understanding Sexual Abuse (1993) gives
4 Kitzinger notes that a man’s sweaty shirt was brought to obstructed Jamaican woman in labor - human sweat contains prostaglandins which can stimulate uterine inertia (1982:192). Prostaglandins were originally thought to reside in human semen and the prostate gland.
10 several examples of the relationship between sexual abuse, birth-giving, and holotropic consciousness. The women here are reporting on the participation in holotropic sessions:
I felt a strong build up of tension in my genitals and bladder area. As it built I got extremely angry and sexually frustrated. My body was filled with it. First it was my rage and frustration. Then my body was filled with my mother's as well. Then, my grandmother's and finally that of all womanhood throughout time (1993, p. 173).
Opening to feel the pain and suffering of that little girl within, I cry. As I cry, I fully feel the cry of a wounded animal, and also the cry of all children being raped and abused. I feel the cry of all women in childbirth. (1993, p. 170).
Walden suggests that abuse victims (like victims of birth-giving trauma) are locked into the second phase of something like the ritual dialectic and that holotropic ritual can move her through process much like completing a gestalt:
Unfortunately, many sexual abuse survivors are still living the experiences of stage two of the initiation process. They are left in the turmoil of the separation, humiliation, shame, and death portions of the passage. With healing, however, the survivor can move into the integration phase. Experiencing the full range of emotions and physical feelings of sexual energy in [holotropic] states … brings the integration that is a result of any successful initiation. It produces a profound shift in their sense of themselves.5
In the same way it could be argued that women traumatised by technocratic birth rituals or birth trauma and the frightening encounter with death are in a similar phase in the ritual process, she is ‘betwixt and between’ the traumatic situation and with successful integration. The trauma, largely unrecognized, is compartmentalized and isolated but at the same time unconsciously (psycho-dynamically) structuring her relationship with the world.
Let me give an example: Anna (25 years old) came to a holotropic session in New Zealand 5 years ago in which she replayed her birth-giving. Anna had been expecting a water birth with her partner and their friends. Unfortunately this did not happen and her dreams were dashed when her birthing became a highly medicalized event. She had also lost meaningful contact
5 This is not to suggest that sexual abuse can, in any way, be seen as any kind of initiation process. Only that the healing process, like the ritual process, can follow a dialectical pattern based on the pattern of birthing.
11 with her male partner during her birth crises. While grateful for the intervention, she said ever since she had experienced high levels of distress, anxiety and nightmares that she strongly related to the birth of her child. It was as if, she said, there was an energetic, emotional, and spiritual aspect of her experience that was not brought into consciousness and this charge had been lying dormant ever since “just below the surface”. Anna went through a very cathartic session, involving a wide range of emotions, bodily movements (very obviously linked her labor pains her own birth) oscillating with states of deep blissful relaxation and bouts of ecstatic communion with a spiritual force. What was most remarkable was her conviction afterwards that she had moved into a state of transpersonal consciousness where she somehow not only birthed all the babies in the world but all the creatures in the world and even all the forms in the world.
The Problem with Death
Some women’s birth-giving narratives also point to a frightening encounter with death during parturition. Certainly among the women (and men) I interviewed in New Zealand this was a common factor (Lahood, 2006, 2006a, 2006b). The two following narratives disclose just how potent but also how unrecognized this feature of birthing is:
I was terrified when my daughter was born. I just knew I was going to split open and bleed to death right there on the table, but she was coming so fast, they didn't have any time to do anything to me [my emphasis] (Davis-Floyd, 1994, p. 331).
During the delivery process, some women were shaken to the core by feeling abandoned and alone, as illustrated by the following quote: ‘I had a major bleed and started shaking involuntarily all over. Even my jaw shook and I couldn’t stop. I heard the specialist say he was having trouble stopping the bleeding. I was very frightened, and then it hit me. I might not make it! I can still recall the sick dread of real fear. I needed urgent reassurance, but none was offered’ [my emphasis] (Beck, 2004, p. 22).
There is a serious knowledge gap surrounding birth-giving women and the impact of the potential psychological encounter with death during parturition. Davis-Floyd, for example, does not acknowledge the encounter with death as a central aspect of the ritual process for contemporary women in her study. Furthermore, I believe Beck is in fact naming two traumas here. First the ‘primary’: an acute and dreadful encounter with death, and then a ‘secondary’ trauma occurs when this experience is not offered any social support, empathy, or
12 understanding and is left isolated. Was she shaken to the core because she was ‘abandoned’ as Beck suggests or was it because she feels she is really dying?
According to some anthropologists fear of death (like sexual abuse) plays a crucial role in reproductive crises. Carol Laderman, writes that “The prolongation of labor because of fear is associated with much higher than normal perinatal mortality rates” (1987, p. 300). James McClenon notes that, “Fear results in muscle tension, which inhibits the normal dilation of the cervix” (2002, p.53). He also suggests that fear and stress can increase the likelihood of childbirth complications, psychosomatic infertility, spontaneous abortion and miscarriage, post-partum haemorrhage, and obstructed labour (2002, p. 46-57).
It is important to note, however, that the human encounter with death, is not always necessarily a negative experience (perhaps in the same way that losing control is not always a negative experience and one often mandatory for birth giving), it can also become a part of the ritual process and a doorway into transpersonal consciousness (Grof, 1985, Lahood 2006a). Kitzinger, following Levi-Strauss, writes that “birth and death are rich with meanings which have penetrated the whole of social life. But in the West, as part of a process of ‘scientific praxis’ we have emptied birth and death of everything not corresponding to mere physiological processes (Kitzinger, 1982, p.195). For example, anthropologist Megan Biesele in her study of birth and trance dancing among the Ju/’oansi of Africa’s Kalahari Desert writes:
Daring death seems to be part of cultural maturation for the Ju/’hoansi, as it is in fact for many other groups of people. Both the men’s and the women’s daring—in trance and in giving birth—seem to function as transformational rites of passage in Ju/’hoan society (1997, p. 476).
Indeed Grof and anthropologist Joan Halifax wrote that an encounter with death is at the very core of rites of passage: “profound experiences of symbolic death result not only in an overwhelming realisation of the impermanence of biological existence but also in an illuminating insight into the transcendent and eternal spiritual nature intrinsic to human consciousness” (1977, p. 5). Women in the Kalahari have access to ritual status through the processes of transformation and self-actualization by giving birth and encountering death (Biesele, 1997). This ritual or charismatic status is denied in the Western birthing system. Good ritual, then, must be potent enough to rework the encounter with death at the somatic and symbolic level and restore ritual status and charisma to women.
13 Exorcising the Demon of Alienation
In the intersection between the three biological powers of birth, sex and death, (outlined above) with Western culture – it is isolation in its various guises (compartmentalization, separation, solitude, alienation, and obstructed relations) that are critical. As we saw each of these biological categories can be highly constricted and hegemonically controlled by Western biomedicine: women until very recently were routinely separated from their families, their husbands and lovers, even her newborn, the psychological encounter with death largely ignored or denied, sexual relationships obliterated, sexual-abuse isolated or even amplified.
According to Jeanne Archterberg this sense of “alienation” from “family, community, the environment, the self, and the spirit world” (1992, p.159) is axiomatic with illness in many tribal societies and requires transpersonal rituals for its amelioration. Yet, as anthropologist Jurgen Kremmer points out, these are the very relational fields severed by the march of Western progress (including Western biomedicine). The Eurocentric ego is “constructed dissociativly from nature, community, ancestors” (Kremmer 1996, p.46). Indeed the categories equating with alienation are the very ones associated with the demonic in many traditional societies. For example, anthropologist Bruce Kapferer says of Buddhist exorcism:
In Sinhalese cultural understandings a demonic victim approximates what I refer to as an existential state of solitude in the world. The demonic as conceptualized by the Sinhalese is similar to that which Goethe recognized from within the worldview of European culture as ultimately everything that is individual and separates one from others. Demons attack individuals who are understood to be in a state of physical and mental aloneness. Solitude and its correlate, fear, are among the key essences of the demonic (Kapferer, 1986, p.195)
We have seen already how fear plays an important part in obstructing a woman’s labor. Kapferer writes, “At the paradigmatic level and in accordance with Buddhist cosmological view and worldview, demons are at the base of a hierarchy dominated by the Buddha along with a host of major and lesser deities”[similar to Christian hierarchies of angels] (1986, p.193). Kapferer, arrestingly, links Buddhist thought to Goethe’s Romantic, participatory thought - both of which are seminal ancestors of the transpersonal movement (McDermott, 1993).
Here is the crux of the matter; the modern European worldview as spelled out by Richard Tarnas (1991) is very much an ego-centric one and therefore according to Kapferer’s
14 Buddhist/Goethe formulation; categorically ‘demonic’. The picture Tarnas paints of the Western ego - is one of absolute solitude, solipsistic, alone, and isolated. Our “cosmological estrangement … ontological estrangement [and] epistemological estrangement [results in] “a threefold mutually enforced prison of modern alienation” (Tarnas 1991:419). Seen from the Buddhist/ Goethe/transpersonal standpoint the European mind is cathected to a flawed image of the universe. The mystery of nature is demystified through ‘objectivity’ and we are severed from participation in the sacred worlds of our ancestors. But perhaps more importantly for this article, the Western birthing system can be seen as a product of the mechanistic worldview (see Davis-Floyd, 1992; Lahood, 2006a). Thus birthing women and their partners are participants in a ritual process that can psychologically amplify isolation, alienation and fear.
‘Good’ Ritual
The antidote to the demon of isolation could be what Tarnas calls “radical kinship with the universe” (1991, p. 437) brought about by ‘good’ ritual. Or, to follow Kapferer, “the languages of ritual contain varying potential for bringing together the Particular and the Universal” (1986, p. 191). If ritual is the “foundation for transpersonal medicine” as Jeanne Achterberg (1992) claims, then holotropic breathwork is transpersonal ritual medicine- making par-excellence and one geared for our participatory times (see Tarnas, 1991; Ferrer, 2002). While the method is used for healing psycho-trauma, an approach in transpersonal research, and self exploration (Grof, 1998; Bache, 2000), it can also be conceived as a ritual and rite of passage and, for the purpose of this article, I will conceive it so.
In holotropic ritual participants can organically retrieve and ‘relive’ traumatic events, abuses, accidents, birth and birth-giving (wounds that compound a person’s sense of alienation) while in what is called a ‘holotropic state of consciousness’. These are non-ordinary states of consciousness moving toward greater sense of wholeness. This sense of wholeness is often accentuated in transpersonal states of consciousness accompanied by a shift in meaning of the traumatic experience.
The approach has been compared with other cross-cultural rituals in a growing body of literature. In the epilogue to The Passion of the Western Mind (1991) Tarnas, working from Grof’s experiential research wrote that the process of holotropic ritual and its engagement with the ‘perinatal’ level of the psyche “appeared to be essentially identical to—the death- rebirth initiation of the ancient mystery religions” (1991, p. 440). Psychoanalytic
15 anthropologist Larry Peters writes in “The Contribution of Anthropology to Transpersonal Psychiatry” (1996) that:
The Tamang healing rite reveals transpersonal elements that are present in the healing systems of many cultures and that may be useful in psychiatry … [the rite brings the patients condition to a painful crisis that is cathartic and healing. The release from social etiquette allows the free expression of emotion that may resolve interpersonal conflicts … [the healing rites involve partial or full dissociation. The therapeutic effects of dissociation in ceremonial contexts have been described in relation to numerous indigenous cultures ... [ these intense experiences are given structure and meaning through the use of potent spiritual symbols, rituals and myth … [there is an alteration in the patient’s relationship to community and cosmos. The Tamang ritual not only creates social support, but also generates what Stanislav and Christina Grof call a “spiritual emergency.” This is an intense emotional crisis that often includes themes of death and renewal but presents opportunities for healing through a deeper connection to nature, divinity and other people. A structured ritual crisis, therefore, gives the patient access to the transpersonal healing forces of community and spirit (1996, p. 208-209).
During my time facilitating holotropic rituals I have observed several thousand individual holotropic sessions in group settings in several countries around the world. Certainly the holotropic approach creates Peter’s ‘structured ritual crisis’, however, for the purpose of this paper some of these healing crises were specifically linked to an expressive re-ritualization of birth from the standpoint of the birth-giving mother. This is to say that during holotropic breathing sessions some women seem to ‘relive’ their birth-giving experience. The unconscious material coupled with the dynamic urge to re-enact birth-giving seemed to arise naturally from the women’s psyche when placed in the therapeutic holotropic environment. As Grof wrote 30 years ago:
It was frequently observed that female subjects reliving their own birth re-experienced [in holotropic sessions] the delivery of their own children. Both experiences were usually relived simultaneously, so that these women often could not tell whether they were giving birth or being born themselves (Grof, 1977, p.167).
The following statement is from a woman Leone, who participated in a holotropic setting in England last year:
16 Then I carried on sharing around my own birthing experience and the only way I could describe it, was as if my spirit had been born again and again and again, it was like I was giving birth, I was birthing my own children and I was my children in the birthing process, and I was aborting and I was being born, it was like I was coming down through the birth canal.
As we know language can fail to convey the essence of the post conceptual nature of the transpersonal condition and the lived experience of healing, no less difficult to convey are the exact healing mechanisms of the holotropic breathing ritual. Something that I hear time and time again is that a shift in consciousness happens somewhere during the process and people feel themselves cradled by a deeper wisdom, or higher power, a sacred mind, or a Great Mother and as they entrust themselves to that wisdom a profound emotional, somatic and transpersonal unfolding can begin which seems to have an intelligence all of its own. Once held by this intelligence the process is often likened to a ‘purification’ which is to say that anything felt by this intelligence to be inorganic or not healthy begins to emerge into consciousness and moves toward “a climax of expression” (Bache, 2000, p. 9) which then allows for the unconscious material to be integrated in a therapeutic/symbolic social milieu.
Healing a Traumatic Birth
Let me give a typical example: Beth, a woman of about 55 years, came to the breathing ritual. Although this occurred some ten years ago I remember her well because I was so struck by her story. During her breathing session she became extremely primitive and (as she told us later) gave birth to all her five children again. Beth told us that she had been brought up a Catholic and that ‘down there’ meaning her reproductive organs and genitals were never talked about in any positive way. Beth said she felt strong injunctions about living ‘in her body’ and in particular ‘down there’. Thus with the onset of her first labor she had been extremely overwhelmed and shocked by the depth of her biological power and process but had struggled to keep herself from occupying her lower body because of the shameful associations from her upbringing. In her words she had felt ‘split off’ from herself. Beth had not come to the workshop with any agenda about replaying her birth-giving but this where her process took her. She also had to deal with admonitions from hospital staff not to make any sound when giving birth. Indeed she was told to ‘shut up’ when she swore with pain. She described her anguish to be giving birth from a body that was held to be shameful, surrounded by strangers, who were reinforcing the denial of her physiology and her need to express pain and outrage.
17 During the breathwork ritual she actually relived the birth of all her five children and made a point of bringing her awareness into her birthing body as a sacred vehicle and with each birth she roared, swore, and labored and roared some more. At one stage I remember her powerfully discharging her anger, frustration, disbelief, and fear at the medical staff, her parents, and the Catholic Church, for the ways they had negatively contributed to her birth- giving. Thus in the course of her breathing she revisited the archaeology of her traumatic or oppressive birth-giving history and re-enacted her births with deeper awareness, with vocal expressions fitting her needs, greater sense of autonomy and power in the situation and freed- up emotional and motor responses. In my opinion, and most certainly in Beth’s, she had transformed herself by re-birthing her children and claimed for herself some of the charisma and status that she believed were rightfully hers. But more importantly, she felt she had allowed her emotional body to finally go through the process of birth; an ‘act hunger’ she had held back ever since then.
Jungian Edward Whitmont in Return of the Goddess (1983) said that, “differentiation from others, and hence self-definition occurs through struggle” and then this:
Grof has described the close association of birth and rebirth experiences with violence, upheaval, and death as they emerged in [holotropic] research. He describes the arousal of feelings and urges of violence during the passage through the birth canal. The subject experiences overcoming a state of deadlock and inertia, of feeling oppressed and hemmed in. Subsequently, urges of violence and aggression are likely to be aroused by any stagnating or deadlocked life situation which calls for the need for regeneration, a new birth. This is true collectively as well as individually (Whitmont, 1983, p. 17-18).
Another woman, Karen, 35 years of age, came to a group in Australia and relived her birth in a most extraordinary way. During her session she was lying very still on her mat and I motioned my co-facilitator over and said to her that I had sense she was conceiving. This intuition seemed to be more-or-less correct because during the course of her 4 hour session we watched her become pregnant and then gave birth. What I remember most about Karen’s session is that she had turned her sitter (her assistant during her breathing) into her husband. She appeared to be deeply engaged in birth-giving and he with her process. She was sitting, sometimes squatting or standing, other times on her hands and knees, her ‘husband’ was holding her, encouraging her and breathing with her. Sweat was pouring off both of them. It was a most remarkable thing, the magic of it tangible, and many of the other sitters in the room were drawn to their performance.
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Later she told us that the birth of her son had hurt them both and that their relationship had suffered from the trauma they had caused each other as if there had always been a very primitive and intimate anger between then. She said that the breathing had enabled her to go right back to conception and replay somehow the whole reproductive cycle. But this time she said it was like doing it all with a deeper wisdom that she felt pervading the ritual space. She said she was not hampered by fears, embarrassment, and the directives of the hospital staff (or lying on her back in stirrups) but was able to return to this defining moment in her life with the wisdom of the group and a healing intention and that somehow she had found herself re-doing birth. It was her belief afterward that she had changed a major distress pattern and that it was her hope that this would have an effect on her relationship with her now teenage son.
Not altogether sure how it works
Because of limited space I will devote another article to the ritual mechanisms in holotropic breathwork. However, I should say from the outset that since the healing is orchestrated by the breather and her integral wisdom, and is deeply idiosyncratic and unique, then I can’t ethically offer an authoritative meta-narrative about what it is that heals – other than this one. Secondly anthropologists are well aware that ritual has an uncanny way of doing magical things, this is to say that there are question-marks about how ritual really works also how the human psyche really operates (e.g. Elkin, 1945; Turner, 1992). However as a ritual facilitator and an anthropologist I have observed some things and I offer these thoughts, however modest.
I can say that if the container is co-created by the ritual participants, in an atmosphere of positive regard and the ‘inner healer’ is evoked, then healing seems to happen, but again, not necessarily in quantifiable ways. Preliminary discussions (re-mythologizing the human body and psyche) with participants describes and negotiates a broad map of possible perinatal and transpersonal experiences. Thus at the beginning of a breath-work group a contemporary ‘myth or map’ of the universe is offered which embeds the participant in an ever-widening non-Cartesian worldview and paradigm. Ritual participants then move into a liminal stage as they enter into ‘holotropic consciousness’ in what amounts to a healing ceremony. At the same time we see people often discharging very primitive levels of pain, anger, grief and fear. This appears to be similar to Victor Turner’s description of ritual:
19 Powerful drives and emotions associated with human physiology, especially the physiology of reproduction, are divested in the ritual process of their antisocial quality and attached to components of the normative order, energizing the latter with a borrowed vitality (1969, p. 52-53).
This to say that ‘negative’ perinatal energies are at some level transmuted by the group structure itself. During the liminal phase ‘breathers’ can enter into a healing ritual crisis which can include re-connecting or bonding with the wider universe, nature, society/group and something like a sacred-mind (e.g. Grof, 1998; Bache, 2000).
As participants emerge from the holotropic state they pass into a post-liminal stage. Here they make artwork of their experience and present their knowledge to the co-ritual participants. This presentational knowledge (Heron, 1998), I suggest, becomes part of the symbol system of the group and helps to canalize the psychodynamic, perinatal, and transpersonal energies into each person’s idiosyncratic symbol system. This gives the energies unleashed in the healing crisis an artistic, embodied and communal container around which meaning-making and self-reflection coalesce. During the sharing circle, or ‘reflection phase’, participants are now seen, heard, and acknowledged as being at the crest of their own transpersonal being and becoming, and importantly, ritual charisma or ‘mana’ is associated with the breathers and not appropriated by the ritual specialist (a restoration of charismatic authority).
Holotropic breathers take it in turns to breathe while evocative music is played over several hours. Each ‘breather’ has a ‘sitter’ a personal guardian who behaves (a bit like a midwife) supporting and not interfering in the unfolding process. Here are two accounts from sitters, first Glen whose breather was working with issues of infertility, and then Leone, speaking of her sitting experience:
I am sitting for a woman called Cathy and she is in some deep process and I am staying with her somehow. I do feel very ‘with’ her on some energetic level. She gets up to go to the toilet and I escort her to the door and wait outside. She is cradling something invisible in her arms and she turns to me and without words puts this invisible, weightless ‘object’ into my arms. I carefully cradle the object and while I am not sure but it feels like a baby. She comes out of the toilet and gently takes the baby in her arms and we go back to her mattress. Latter she speaks to me of how healing this gesture for her was. She tells me and the group that she wants to have a child but thinks maybe she won’t because she is in her
20 mid forties. Apparently by holding her ‘spiritual’ baby for her was powerful affirmation of her healing process.
The following morning we all came together to talk about our mandalas (symbolic drawings made after sessions) and to share, as I could not contain my excitement, I was the second person to share. I spoke about how awesome and amazing this was and that I felt like I was in a limbic state and things were coming in on many levels and there was just so much information. I went back to the sitting experience and talked about, how, I never in my wildest dreams could I encapsulate getting something like that back, which from the workshop I had, which was to do with the birth of my son. I had to have an emergency section and was not able to hold him, and this is what I was re-connecting to – a sense of being able to hold him. It was real powerful stuff.
On occasion I have been present with women working through elective abortion, miscarriage, spontaneous abortion, unwanted caesarean section, loss of fertility, the frightening encounter with death at birth, and the traumatic sense of abandonment that can occur when a woman looses contact with her partner, or when her desire or expectation of a natural birth is obliterated during medical interventions. The following three stories are from women who have experienced various reproductive crises and then relived those experiences as part of their healing in the holotropic ritual. Holotropic sessions are generally serial, and, in terms of depth, cumulative. Usually after several sessions, when the traumatic material is well managed and integrated, the ‘gestalt’ finds ‘closure’ in a full-blown transpersonal experience and initiation. Each of the following sessions can be seen as ‘a work in process’ with the final session (Jeni’s) an example of the movement toward integration.
Imam’s Story My daughter’s birth was very long. I had had a pause in the middle where I had been sent home and felt frustrated. I had felt embarrassed when a group of medical students had come to watch, I hadn’t been asked if that was ok, they asked my husband who said yes. I also tore the ligaments at the front of my pelvis on delivery.
Imam’s 3rd holotropic session: I started this session again with extreme heat in my body and lots of pain. There was intense pain in my womb, the front of my pelvis and lower back. I felt myself go rigid. Then I was visited by my
21 mischievous man. He has appeared to me several times before. We dance together and he has dragged me out of my body before [in an NDE experience during child-birth]. Although he is mischievous and fun there is also a deep side to him and an immense feeling of power, so he deserves great respect. This time I was rigid and he danced around me rattling his red rattles, his blue eyes glinting with mischief. He gave me a song to sing. When I sung it, it came straight from my womb. I was under my blanket for this. I then had to leave the room for a toilet break. When I returned I still had the pain in my back and womb and couldn’t get back into it. I felt extremely frustrated.
Then Gregg came over and asked to check in with me about what was happening. I realised that these pains related to my daughters birth. It felt like I was going through a birthing process. I wanted to go under my blanket again but talking with Gregg I realised that this shame related to the feelings I had had at the birth with the medical students. Gregg suggested I chant powerfully as a way of deliberately releasing the distress. I chanted the song given to me by the mischievous man as I pushed and sang the pain began to subside. I had another go and the pain from the womb went but some of the pain remained in my back. When I rested Gregg made a comment about having felt like rattling or drumming around me. [Gregg: I had heard from midwives that sounding during birth, especially powerful sounds were useful. They had told me that fearful sounds release hormones that can slow things up so I suggested this to her to discharge by chanting. I also had a very strong urge to grab my red rattle or a small drum and play for Imam, something I would not do during a session, and had suggested to her that I would be willing to rattle for her - but only if she thought it would support her in her birth-giving. I was not aware that in her transpersonal world she had been visited by a bearded figure who had given her a song to chant and was rattling and dancing around her. Her vision had occurred prior to my engagement with her].
Imam: The following morning I felt faint and nauseous again and went to my bed. I came round from what felt like an anaesthetic by a friend calling my name and it took a while for my body to regain feeling. We shared the mandalas from the session. I talked about my session and how I had felt strange this morning. I realised there were threads of all my experiences in my mothers, her mother’s, my fathers mother’s, my husband’s mothers’, and even my ex-husbands mother’s biographies. I also felt the abuse of the hospital system as well. It seemed to link
22 all three sessions together, like a deepening and interconnecting. The birth experiences, rejections and abuse all interwoven together in some way.
Emma’s Story: a preterm miscarriage
The following narrative comes from Emma a woman of about 30 years of age. Emma: Last year in September I had a miscarriage. I knew I was pregnant only three days, but felt very excited about the pregnancy. Later in October I had a spontaneous healing experience which began with a scream that ripped out of my body and through my throat leaving me hoarse. I knew it was not pain from my own life but from some other place. The point at which my holotropic breathing experience changed from personal to that of feeling the pain of others began also with such a scream. I cannot view life in the same way anymore. It has a different meaning. That feeling of others’ pain is still with me, though not acutely, just an awareness.
Emma’s 1st holotropic experience: Skin alive, fingers rigid and contracting back, hands and arms following, foetal comfort. Moving to music, loving the feel of my body in dance, moving, writhing, laughing, playing – with music and movement. Loving that place of dance and play, singing and laughing at myself to hear my singing, short breath followed by long, long notes held for what felt like forever. Feeling snake twisting and dancing, swan flying, graceful. But while swan-flying my arms suddenly are held back, restricted, stopped. Horror at this restriction, disbelief and confusion, why would anyone stop me, this dancing, singing woman? If you take my life, how can I breath? If you take my breath, how can I sing? More dancing but each time back to locked arms. Caged and restricted, held down, controlled, stopped. Arms tied behind me, trying and trying to untie them but never trying hard enough, always knowing I could move when I wanted to but staying tied. Fierce pride and strength and horror and pain as memories of control, violence, restriction pass through my vision and my body feels the force of each strike, each violation. Gradually beaten down to despair and exhaustion till finally giving up, no fight left, no pride. Watching my daughter still dancing, unable to stop those moving to stop her also, then her begging me to fight, to resist, break free, my total inability to do so. Despair as exhaustion and resignation immobilise me completely. Aware suddenly that even now, in this life, I am still tied but it is now only me that keeps me so. Immobility, apathy, pointless, seeing this cycle repeated over and over.
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At this point following pressure on my neck on an area of pain… Screaming, screaming, screaming just like the scream that ripped from me last year preceding the passing on of spirits of my ancestors, then uncontrollable weeping for the despair as I see children taken from me over and over. My child ripped away from my arms, my womb, my heart. Watching helpless as they are taken, die, are killed, leave home. Pain of mothers through time losing their children, pain unbearable, irresolvable. The certainty that it will continue, each life, each time, children will be lost and that pain is so strong, so acute, so all encompassing. A well of pain and grief, blue, deep, circling, tangible, despair. Birthing more, only to watch them too be lost. How do I stop this? I cannot. But yet more are born, more new life flows from me, from woman, life ever flowing, unstoppable, womb giving new life, no way this can be stopped. And this bringing hope, light, peace.
Slowly quietening, slowly lessening, fear of more grief but slowly it ebbs away. Realising this dancing woman is there, seeing her in my ancestors, seeing myself in her. Quiet, quiet, sweetness, tiredness but life back. Life back! Finally, left with images – a woman stood facing away with her hands tied behind her back, but her hands are now two doves. And a dancing woman, hair flowing back as she spins, arms outstretched. Restriction and hope, freedom and expression.
Jeni’s story: a spontaneous abortion
The following is from Jeni, a Scottish woman who attended a workshop this year in North England: The peace of being pregnant settled within as I took every precaution to nourish my growing bundle. I sang my songs, made plans, paid close attention to the doctor’s advice and attended the scans. I smiled, seeing the fetus develop into a recognisable form my pleasure and expectation mirroring the growth. The magical nature of the following months heightened my sensitivity to the wonder of creation. I occupied a space which held my baby and I in an inviolable bond. Disaster struck just before my sixth month as I stood in the bathroom one morning. I blacked out. Coming round I crawled to the bedroom followed by my youngest daughter whose face was streaked with tears. Her distress was palpable and I was caught between trying to comfort her and the pain in my belly. My
24 husband called the doctor who came sometime later. When he examined me he told me I was miscarrying. The bed was soaked with blood and the contractions strengthened doubling my body with pain, the weakened womb pacing my mounting distress joining with the stark realisation that my baby’s life was transformed into death’s dark and still hand. My son was stillborn, my grief overwhelming as I held his small, formed lifeless body, the doctor gently mouthing his sorry. Time stood still.
Jeni’s 4th holotropic session: I remember entering the coldest blackest space I have ever encountered. My whole self shivers to the bone and beyond, as chilly fingers flex their ice laden grip stilling all hope. I curve my body as tightly as it will allow; fear transplanting the warm blood in my veins. I descend into the agony of loss, seeing my broken baby, dead in my womb. My son, his lifeless body held gently in the weakening womb, is small, formed and silent. Holding him with my mother’s love, I struggle to rise for him, for me. I am caught in a density, which threatens to overwhelm me. Pinioned by strong hands, I smell the maleness of raging desire assaulting my nostrils and stare desolation in the face [Jeni is re-experiencing a sexually abusive episode]. I flee to that place of non- identity. I know not how long I wander desolate or how I find myself again. My broken baby is no more and my womb is no longer with me.
I hear my name being called softly, it is whispering still on the wind, warming my limbs, bidding me rise. I feel a powerful presence - primal in nature. A huge yellow and black cat softly pads across my path - sinuous, lithe and, familiar. Mouth open, enormous yellow sabre teeth displayed, ears sifting meaning, tail long and gently flicking side to side. Cat stops and gazes in my direction, slanted eyes focussing. Without warning we merge and, I become Cat - savage, ancient and flushed with natural instinct. My cub has been killed and I hunt his slayer. My humanness sits inside quiescent and accepting. Tears flow inside as I roar ‘you killed my baby’. The force of my distress marked by a loss of control, warm urine rushes down my legs. I feel no shame. Our flattened tight body hugs the grass, eyes centred on my prey. A thrust of speed and claws and teeth fasten; rending, tearing, cracking muscle, sinew and bone. Life’s blood spurts, spills, soaking fur teeth and tongue. My hunger sated, I curl my body into contentment’s shape and rest. Fat Cat.
25 A huge deep orange sun hangs just above the horizon. Seven tall, tall dark men, twig thin, stand in front of this sun; their bodies glistening with effort. Startled by this image, I come to a standstill. They are moving in unison, to an internal rhythm, spears held in hands as brown as the soil they dance upon. Their heads are each decorated with four points floating just above. Fascinated by this and their primordial ways, it takes time to realise they are dancing for me, and for him - the broken woman and the broken baby. A sense of awe and a feeling of pure connection spirals within.
Summary and Conclusion
Holotropic ritual can break through the hegemony imposed on the psyche by a traumatic event, reworking the traumatic event until a new sense of self is born. The ‘data’ these women gather in transpersonal states of consciousness generated in holotropic ritual suggests that the frozen energy bound up in blocked emotional or psychosomatic symptoms is converted “into a stream of experience” (Grof, 1988, p. 166) coupled with a sense of “flow” after Turner (1979, p. 154). This ritual process has been likened to the death and rebirth mysteries of many cultures, it is a process that seems to be a universal one naturally occurring when the psyche seeks to rebalance and re-tune to its integral healthiness. The experience is also educative, after the climax of the session and the breakthrough into transpersonal consciousness, “The remainder of the session will be spent in these spaces as one’s education continues against an often ecstatic background” (Bache, 2000, p. 13). There is a feeling of community and cooperative endeavour that pervades the ritual process, which when heightened to its zenith, bears fruit as communitas - a sense of deep psycho-spiritual bonding with the universe and its particulars beyond all hierarchies. It is in the state of communitas where further transpersonal potentials open and flower.
A final word on authoritative knowledge: in holotropic ritual authoritative knowledge rests with the ritual participants. While the map and model (or myth) of the holotropic cosmology is given as authoritative and warranted - it is nevertheless a provisional map. Indeed because Grof’s transpersonal paradigm is perpetually open to revision (Bache, 2000, p. 30; Ferrer, 2002, p.149) ritual participants can contribute to this revision (as my participants have), therefore Grof’s transpersonal cosmogony is in creative flux and is not only demonstrated or legitimated in holotropic ritual but extended. Therefore holotropic breathers can participate in and share in the construction of authoritative knowledge.
26
As Anthropologist Richard Katz put it in relation to healing in non-ordinary states, “During the experience itself, cultural concepts and descriptions are not available. So, while there is conceptual clarity, there is experiential mystery [my emphasis] (1976, p. 290). Grof’s model has conceptual clarity yet the ritual’s ‘experiential mystery’ leaves the door open for idiosyncratic healing events (Grof, 1988, p. 207). That is to say that ultimate authoritative knowledge rests in the hands of the protagonist and his or her ‘inner healer’— this is a very important for persons who have been ritually robbed of their spiritual authority.
I have presented here the tentative foundations of a theory suggesting that the traumas accrued in modern technocratic birthing rituals, and reproductive crises in general, could be healed in holotropic ritual. I have offered several examples pointing in this direction that further women’s “epistemic exploration through narratives” (Davis-Floyd, 1992, p. 245) of their birth-giving and ritual healing experiences.
Ideally the original ritual where the birth-giving trauma was maximized would be changed; however, attempts to re-ritualize hospital birth beginning in the mid 1960s seemed to have (debatably) failed. Nevertheless as our exploration into childbirth and healing expands into the 21st century new possibilities and paradigms open and older ones slowly disappear. The transpersonal movement, among other movements, will continue to offer alternatives to the dominant system in the hope changing those structures for the better, or until the alternates become main-stream.
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30 Instinctive Birth: Finding The Pulse by Jeannine Parvati Baker
Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music. —Angela Monet
When I began my family back in 1969, I was studying psychology at the university. I had my ear to the ground, listening to what the Earth wanted of mothers at a pivotal time in our history. Feminism had sounded the drum and this mother's heart was pounding. At last, women had the freedom to be all we could be and, oh, how we danced!
Much to my chagrin, the focus on women's rights took a surprising turn in the 1 970s. My heart fell to the ground, and I eventually stopped dancing so wildly. Feminism became synonymous with the right to choose abortion rather than what lay central in my soul: fertility awareness, natural childbirth and breastfeeding .
From celebration to dirge, the movement had a long way to go. I got immediately to work and haven't stopped since. My work is aimed at making every baby a welcomed baby. I still remember how we danced with unbridled joy at being sisters on a journey, dancing as one, long before my daughters made me a grandmother.
Though most people moved toward abortion rights, there were some voices of which I was aware calling out from the wilderness of "instinctive birth" and natural mothering: Sheila Kitzinger, Raven Lang, Juliette de Bairceli-Levy, Karen Pryor, Suzanne Arms, Rahima Baldwin, Nan Koehler, Peggy O'Mara, Frederick LeBoyer, and my own Prenatal Yoga and Natural Birth published in 1974. Yet the overwhelming call for women's rights in the public mind was the choice to not be a mother.
From my perspective, this was the long way around for women to be liberated from the cult of the dominator: All that collective women's genius primarily going into termination rather than life-giving expression. It looked like women might lose the capacity to give natural birth altogether. The shift had already begun with natural birth defined as spontaneous with no intervention to any way a baby comes out of the mother (short of cesarean surgery).
It seemed to me that childbirth had been kidnapped from mothers and the ransom to be paid was education. In graduate school, I studied the work of the good doctors Niles Newton, Margaret Mead, Ashley Montagu, Konrad Lorenz, R.D. Lang, Arthur Janov, David Chamberlain, Joseph Chilton Pearce and many more scientists who informed me that human beings and other animals have an "instinct" to give birth. More importantly, these researchers also talked about some of the consequences when we don't birth as nature intended.
Over a quarter of a century ago, the debate was on: Is there a human instinct to give birth? The jury still seems to be out or we wouldn't have a holocaust in hospital delivery rooms throughout the world to this day. Based on the ample evidence, it was as apparent to researchers back then as it is now that mothers, especially in Western cultures, don't innately have an instinct to give birth and, thus, medical assistance is most often indicated.
The key word is "innately". Instinctive birth was no longer innate (inborn) in the 1940s when I was pulled out with forceps; it was not imprinted at my own birth. My mother, though born at home herself, as were all her foremothers, was the first to be delivered of me in hospital. So, I did likewise when I made my mother a grandmother the first time. This was my imprint. However, education paid the ransom, and I wised up and had the rest of my babies at home.
What is the "instinct”, of which birth is allegedly an expression? According to science, one mother has it and another just doesn't. The Latin root of "instinct" is an "impulse." And an "impulse" comes from "pulse," which originally meant a "grain or seed of beans, peas" (Skeat 1882).
If mothers have an impulse to give birth, perhaps it has something to do with the 'pulse' itself—that is, the seed—the baby. Perhaps this is the missing piece to the puzzle of why some mothers instinctively give birth and others think they need "support" and/or "deliverance" of their babies.
When the scientific evidence had yet to substantiate my real experience, I turned to the ample wisdom of other cultures' traditions. In this case, it was about how labor begins. All six of my babies told me that they were ready to be born and each began our labor in earnest. Metaphysical stories abound that babies choose their own birth time. It took many millennia, however, for medical science to "discover" that the fetus indeed initiates-labor and the mother responds hormonally with "love"—oxytocin—which is the pulse of all life.
By the time I began having babies in the late 1960s, we had almost lost the pulse of instinctive birth. It was as if we had reverted to the notion that the Earth was flat, forgetting that the Mother is round, even circuitous. (Yet, if flat on her back, is it any wonder her pulse likewise goes flat?) Birth was considered a one-way street, and the baby was inherently at risk for the trip. Previous to this "discovery" that babies participated in childbirth, they were thought to be inert passengers going through the passageway (a.k.a. the mother, who is also likely to be rendered inert by the time of delivery).
Likewise, the Gaia Hypothesis had yet to be popularized and the planet was thought by Western societies to be our spaceship, rather than the living being She is—our Mother Earth. Though spiritual traditions relate how the Earth is our Mother and the human mother and baby are in communication with one another even before conception (and during birth) (Parvati Baker and Baker 1986~, obstetrics has lagged far behind in applying this knowledge in childbirth (Odent 2002).
For one example, look at the so-called "lack of progress." Most birth professionals use drugs (or herbs) to stimulate delivery rather than investigate why labor has slowed down. Nowadays, who really trusts that the baby wants to be born in his or her own time and actually is the mother's main ally for instinctive birth? Instead, "lack of progress" is seen as a mechanical breakdown and therefore a fix is indicated. Yet, if mothers have an instinct to give birth, and that impulse is sustained, a "lack of progress" is seen in a way other than a delayed passenger or something that got stuck in the passageway. In my experience as mother and midwife, birth is more like a labyrinth than a runway.
When walking a labyrinth, sometimes it looks as if we are going away from the center, even backwards. Yet, eventually all of the twists and turns bring us to the destination. Progress cannot be measured in that realm. What is important is the journey because, once arrival at the center is achieved, there is the walk to get back out again. If you give up, you might feel lost, for in the Western myth of the labyrinth, the Minotaur at the center holds the secret of how to transform fear into the power to give birth.
Without meeting the Minotaur in the center of the labyrinth, that is, confronting our innermost fear, the way back may be more confusing. Tragically, when some women keep trying to avoid the Minotaur, they never make it back and postpartum depression can result.
Instinctive birth is a journey into the core of the Earth (the Underworld) rather than a flight from it. After the baby is born comes the return from the center of the labyrinth, the depths of the most interior experience possible for a woman, to the outside world again. Instinctive birth allows an instinctive mothering and this relational matrix is what the Earth needs now more than ever. I would define healing edge midwifery in the 21st century as applying the arts of labyrinthine facilitation—the Maiutic Method (inquiry in the manner of a midwife)—to each woman's return to her instinctual self.
In the last century and in our post-modern world, progress is our most important product. It is not the quality as much as the quantity that is valued in Western cultures. And speed is everything because time is money. Therefore, once a woman is taxied to the runway of hospital-managed birth, an entire support crew is necessary for lift off to be efficient and punctual.
Yet, there is no hurry to eternity. Childbirth is a timeless moment, when the mother is not only giving expression of her love in the form of a baby, but also receiving vital information from this child about how to care for her or him in the way the Earth wants now. Like the pulse of the mother's heart, instinctive birth may be inaudible to most, but it has always existed to those with the ears to hear. A way to amplify this "grain of truth”, to hear the instinct to birth is to encourage mothers to listen to their babies. The baby has what is needed within his or her "seed" self to be born and the mother has the most urgent motive to give birth. All seems to be in place for instinctive birth. What restricts this instinct is the erroneous idea that babies are not conscious participants in their own arrival.
As midwives we have the capability of deepening the possibility of instinctive birth. We are not merely flight attendants, that is, servants to the passenger in the air, set apart from the Earth. We can be educators on behalf of the Earth, who draw out and care for what is already deep inside the mother.
For example, when a mother asks how far along she is in labor, we can suggest that she ask her baby. If the mother doesn't know the answer, query her again by saying, "If you did know, what would you say?" If she persists in not knowing, we might say, "You don't have to have the right answer. Just make something up." When judgment is suspended, more often than not, out comes the self-fulfilling prophecy now made conscious and we have more data to help the mother (if needed).
If mothers have an instinct to give birth, midwives have the impulse to assist them. All we have to do is draw out the natural knowing from the mother that, if she could conceive a baby naturally, she can give birth naturally. Our presence reminds her that all she needs to give birth is already within—her baby!
Midwives find that, instinctively, mothers give birth when in trust. Can we trust that "birth is as safe as life gets," in the words of Harriette Hartigan? Now is the best time for midwives to realize this by sharing with mothers the truth: Their babies trust them to respond to their messages during labor, at birth and for the rest of their lives. The Earth will be a better place for all our relations as more families experience their trust in one another from before birth and beyond.
Let the dance to celebrate life begin.
Jeannine Parvati Baker is author of Prenatal Yoga and Natural Childbirth, Hygieia: A Woman's Herbal, and coauthor of Conscious Conception: Elemental Joumey Through the Labyrinth of Sexuality. She is also the founder of Hygieia College, a school of lay midwifery and womancraft.
References: Skeat, Walter W. (1882). Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. Parvati Baker, Jeannine and Baker, Frederick. (1986). Conscious Conception: Elemental Journey Through the Labyrinth of Sexuality. Joseph, Utah: Freestone Publishing. Odent, Michel. (2002). The Farmer and The Obstetrician. London, England: Free Association Books
First printed in Midwifery Today Winter 2003 Number 68 The Shamanic Dimensions of Childbirth Jeannine Parvati Baker Pre- and Peri-natal Psychology Journal; Fall 1992; 7, 1; Association for Pre & Perinatal Psychology and Health pg. 5
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Mike Money
Shamanismis an ancienttraditionwhich mayoffer profoundinsightsinto the healing process and to our whole understanding of health. It has an extensive historical and geographical distribution, and may contain elements essential to our understanding of humanity. This paperoutlinesthe origin andnature of shamanic practice, andconsidersitsimplications for a number of current healing issues. Several areas of potential relevance to complementary practitioners are explored. These include the shamanic concepts of illness, change and growth; illness and healing as rites of passage; death and dying; and the use of imagery in healing. This paper suggests that complementary practitioners may f|nd some shamanic principles highly congruent with their own practice. # 2000 Harcourt Publishers Ltd
INTRODUCTION our species. As Halifax (1982) remarks, ‘The lifeway of the shaman is nearly as old as human Astrikingfeature The last 10 years have seen a resurgence of consciousness itself...’. There are cave paintings of the shamanic interest in shamanism. Part of this revival is due which are said to depict recognizably shamanic tradition is that it to claims that shamanic practice is relevant to activities such as dancing, drumming and wear- many of today’s health and illness issues. This ing animal skins (Moreno 1988). This historical appears to have paper explores the relevance of the shamanic and geographical ubiquity is important. It been almost tradition to complementary practitioners. It suggests that in approaching shamanism we are universal in reviews the essential features of shamanic prac- examining something that seems to be part of human cultures. tice, and considers a number of ways in which our past, whoever we are, and tells the same the contemporary relevance of this practice is story, whatever local form it takes. It may being recognized in a variety of healing contexts. therefore be reflecting something fundamental Of particular interest is the way in which about what it is to be a human being. shamanism may offer insights into personal When you take out relatively minor cultural growth and change, its emphasis upon the differences, you find that the shamanic tradition relevance and importance of rites of passage, is expressed in a very similar form all over the and its perspective on death and dying. world. Recent studies even suggest that it was once an essential feature of the old Celtic culture which has so influenced our own (Matthews WHAT IS SHAMANISM? 1991, Cowan 1993). What is the shamanic tradition? Briefly, shamanic practice indicates Shamanism is neither a religion nor an ideology. that there are a number of possible states of Rather, it combines some of the features of a human consciousness, of which normal waking philosophy of life with a toolkit of practical consciousness is only one. Shamans suggest that techniques for exploring our own consciousness if all we experience is sleep and being awake then and our relationship with the rest of the universe. we are like car drivers who only know how to use Mike Money BA (Hons), MA, PhD, A striking feature of the shamanic tradition is reverse and first gear; second, third, fourth and Dip Ed,C. Psychol, AFBPsS, that it appears to have been almost universal in fifth gears lying unused. Shamanic technique is Centre for Health, Healing and Human Development, human cultures (e.g. Drury 1989) and to have a focused on making a voluntary and controlled Liverpool John Moores history that goes back as far as records can be transition to another state of conscious aware- University,Tithebarn Building,Tithebarn Street, found. Conservative estimates have placed it at ness which Harner (1990) calls the Shamanic Liverpool L3 2ER, UK. between 30 000 and 40 000 years old. Some State of Consciousness (SSC). Within this state, Previously published in writers have placed another zero on the end of the shaman has access to knowledge, insights ComplementaryTherapiesin that figure, suggesting that we may be able to and information which he or she cannot nor- Nursing & Midwifery (1997 ) 3, 131^135. trace back shamanic activity for half the life of mally command.
Complementary Therapiesin Nursing & Midwifery (2000) 6, 207^212 # 2000 Harcourt Publishers Ltd 208 Complementary Therapiesin Nursing & Midwifery
... shamanic The most important feature of the SSC is the illuminatory experience. This may have been tradition places experience of ecstasy, and this may be taken sought intentionally, with the potential shaman great emphasis as defining shamanic practice. Mircea Eliade going alone into the desert or the mountains (1964), in a landmark book, characterized intent on a visionary experience. The seeker’s on the controlled shamanism as ‘archaic techniques of ecstasy’, shamanic aptitude may be marked out by visions and intentional and very recently Hultkrantz (1997) argued that or vivid dreams, or by a significant encounter nature of the ecstasy is indeed its central feature. Despite its with a wild animal. Alternatively, the shaman’s experience, vernacular use as a name for a street drug, call may have come unsought and unexpected as undertaken to ecstasy is best thought of as the opposite of a concomitant of serious illness. Whatever the gather knowledge inertia. It is a liberatory state of consciousness as critical event, their understanding of themselves opposed to one that is fixed, bounded and closed and their relationship with the rest of the cosmos and help healing. to change. Popular Western myths to the is radically transformed, and they understand the contrary, the SSC is not necessarily achieved by cosmic order as essentially sacred (Porterfield the use of psychotropic drugs but by activities 1987). such as drumming, dancing, chanting and They acquire their healing powers in the dimension dreaming. It has also been argued that the of death, and they discover those powers through near-death experience (NDE) can be considered visions; personified nature powers have whispered an ecstatic, shamanic initiation (Green 1996). to them. (Kalweit 1992) The shamanic tradition places great emphasis on the controlled and intentional nature of the They thus develop a particular intimacy with experience, underlining that it is undertaken to the plants and animals, the rivers and rocks of gather knowledge and help healing – not for their land. They may become particularly fami- recreational or hedonic purposes. Shamans are liar with the healing properties of botanical not stoned, the shamanic vision is not a trip. substances and may exercise a caretaking role for When early explorers came across shamanic the local ecosystem at their particular place activity in places like Siberia, China, Alaska, (Candre 1996, Reichel-Dolmatoff 1996); over- Africa and Australia they were at first dismissive seeing hunting, agriculture and fertility. There (Mitrani 1992). They tended to refer to the are striking similarities between the world-view practitioners they encountered as witch-doctors of shamans and those of the new physics (Wolf or juju-men, dismissing them as feeble minded or 1991) and both are highly congruent with what psychopathic. However, after 200 years of has been termed the ‘new paradigm’ in health, in comparative neglect (Atkinson 1992), there has that all three are characterized by a holistic view more recently been a strong revival of interest in of their subject. shamanic practice. This probably began with I believe that there are several ways in which Eliade’s book (1964) which demonstrated the shamanic principles might be of relevance to universal nature of shamanic practice. More contemporary health practice, especially within a recently, in an important book, Achterberg complementary matrix. I would like to list some (1985) showed how the use of imagery in healing of these and then explore their healing implica- was suggested by shamanic principles and borne tions in more detail. I believe that shamanic out by successful therapeutic practice. practice may offer the principles listed below. Since then, a number of writers have explored the definitions, distribution, principles, practices and healing implications of shamanism; both as Aparadigmforunderstandingand an effective technique within traditional cultures facilitating personal change and growth and, more significantly for us, as a set of principles which could perhaps be effectively Many writers have observed that illness and transferred to Western healing practices and change have an intimate relationship. Illness can which may be strikingly congruent with emerging be understood as an indicator of the need for Western scientific disciplines such as psycho- change, and the change precipitated by illness neuroimmunology (PNI). can have profound psychological effects. A comment sometimes heard from people surviving cancer is that they were not so much cured of WHY IS SHAMANISM RELEVANT TO their cancer as transformed into a new and HEALING? different person who did not have cancer. Change and transformation are central to In exploring the potential relevance of shaman- shamanic practice. For example, Jilek has ism, I would like to begin with some more written extensively (e.g. 1992) on the revival of general observations deriving from my under- shamanic dance amongst the Salish Indians. He standing of the tradition as it applies to health describes how the Salish have reconstructed their and healing. When someone becomes a shaman, Spirit Dance for therapeutic purposes. The it is normally as a result of some, often terrifying, purpose of initiation is no longer solely to Shamanism and complementary therapy 209
Shamanic provide entrance into a ceremonial via the increasingly rarer exceptions, we notably lack a healing ritualized cure of an initiatory illness-like state, coherent way of marking the death of an frequently entails but to treat pathological symptoms and beha- individual. The shamanic tradition may indicate viour seen as resulting from the negative effects the urgent need to re-invigorate old rituals or the use of of the white man’s intrusion into Amerindian invent new ones in order to mark important positive, familiar society. Jilek regards the Spirit Dance as a processes such as these. They may be intimately and encouraging highly-effective therapeutic enterprise (Jilek bound up with personal identity and self-esteem; imagery to 1982). A recent graphic account of participation both central to the maintenance of personal precipitate or in another Native American healing ritual – the health. facilitate the Sun Dance – and the positive nature of that An interesting practical application of this experience, is given by Wong (1996). principle is found in the work of Baker (1992). In healing process. The issue here is that the shamanic tradition the context of childbirth, she describes how she emphasizes the notion of illness and healing as has used some of the principles of Navajo times of change; and that methods of marking, shamanism in the context of midwifery, replacing facilitating and celebrating such change may be ‘...technological rituals with rituals that enact a of great importance within the healing process. profoundly different set of values and beliefs’. Shamanic healing necessitates an exploration of Baker suggests that there are seven shamanic the meaning of a particular illness for a skills that can be used to help with the fear that particular patient, and the negotiation of inter- may surround childbirth – integrity, song, vention and outcome. Such an approach is creative visualization, touch, dream-time, plant highly congruent with the holistic paradigm allies and animal totems. She has explored ways within which many complementary practitioners in which Navajo ceremonies such as the Blessing operate. Way or the Monster Way can be incorporated into her midwifery practice. Arepositoryofritesofpassagetomark changes from one point in the life cycle to another A positive perspective on death and dying One deficiency in our culture is our lack of We may be poor at handling death and dying effective rites of passage. Rites of passage are because death is now seen as universally evil; rituals by which members of a community mark repressed in our culture as vigorously as the and celebrate the transition of one of their Victorians repressed public expression of sexu- members from one social state to another. ality. Our biomedical system tends to regard all Rituals are important: they provide ways of death as failure. Dying is conceptualized as an naming and understanding experiences and the entirely negative event, never seen as an oppor- emotions they generate. They create strong tunity for illumination, transcendence or learn- bonds between those who go through them ing. A shamanic perspective would suggest together (Broch & MacLer 1993). Rites of something very different. passage may mark birth, puberty, marriage, In a popular and influential work, Castenada’s parenthood, grandparenthood and death. For benefactor comments, ‘Every bit of knowledge some, the experience of illness and recovery from that becomes power has death as its central it may itself constitute a rite of passage. In force. Death lends the ultimate touch, and traditional cultures, especially those which have whatever is touched by death indeed becomes preserved a shamanic content, a key element of power’ (Castenada 1971). My colleague Liz the shaman’s task is to conduct or facilitate a Buckley (Buckley 1993) has explored the sha- ceremony marking the individual’s transition to manic notion of death as an ally, suggesting that: a new social condition. Rites of passage confirm the identity of the individual and endorse their When viewed positively, death becomes an ally, new social status. offering the incentive and potential for maximising We still have vestiges of such rites of passage, a meaningful existence in this life as we experience such as Confirmation or Bar Mitzvah. But we it now. have no unambiguous and generally-accepted way of marking the transition to adult status. One well-known Native American healer, The former universality of 21 as the age of Hyemeyohts Storm, has observed, ‘All Shamans adulthood has become fragmented into a range know that Death furnishes all with Life’ (Halifax of ages at which various aspects of adulthood are 1982). Such a perspective has profound implica- attained. A further marker – entry into full-time tions for the patient and healer, but also for the employment and access to the pay-packet – has friends and relatives of the patient. It is some- been increasingly denied to many young people, thing that complementary practitioners might with a concomitant loss of self-esteem and all well be able to incorporate within their perspec- that implies for health. In particular, with tive and practice. 210 Complementary Therapiesin Nursing & Midwifery
Not only do we Powerful tools for manipulating imagery Shamans have commonly served as the advocate need clean air, for healing purposes of the ecosystem at their own particular spot on the planet, and this tradition continues today fresh water, In 1978, Simonton et al published an important (e.g. White 1995). Complementary practitioners unadulterated book demonstrating that the use of visual are probably entirely sympathetic to issues such imagery with cancer patients alongside more food and space as these already, and it does not require the orthodox approaches such as surgery or radia- to walk for our introduction of a shamanic perspective to signal tion therapy produced strikingly better results physical health, their importance. than orthodox therapy alone. Seven years later, However, there is another issue here, and that it may be central Achterberg pointed out that ‘The shaman’s work is that the maintenance of a healthy planet, of to our mental, is conducted in the realm of the imagination...’ biodiversity, of the opportunity to walk in the emotional and (1985). Shamanic healing frequently entails the mountains without hearing traffic or to stroll use of positive, familiar and encouraging imagery spiritual well- through a forest without hearing a chainsaw, to to precipitate or facilitate the healing process being as well. interact with wild animals rather than pampered (e.g. Crohn 1995). Much of what we call the pets may be central to health in other ways. Not placebo effect may simply be the patient’s only do we need clean air, fresh water, unadul- positive response to imagery created during the terated food and space to walk for our physical healing process. The developing discipline of health, it may be central to our mental, PNI is starting to suggest ways in which this emotional and spiritual well-being as well. In process can be understood biologically, clarify- earlier papers (Money 1993, 1994), I have argued ing, as it does, not only the dynamic nature of that the shamanic corpus furnishes us with a way the immune processes but also of the intimate of conceptualizing mental health which distin- connections between the immune system and the guishes it sharply from mental illness and central nervous system. Indeed, it may be the suggests that a key element in positive mental case that both shamanism and PNI, coming from health may be the perception of meaning in the quite different conceptual directions, may con- universe. verge in the formation of a more complete Briefly, it can be argued that some of what we understanding of the healing process. Shamanic identify as mental illness may be a consequence healing technique emphasizes the importance of of what Berman (1981) has termed disenchant- creating strong, positive images in the imagina- ment: the loss of this perception of meaning and tion of the recovering patient. PNI describes how purpose. The antidote is re-enchantment: the events in the outside world, in the patient’s mind, conversion of depression into happiness, of in the patient’s central nervous system and in the inertia into ecstasy. This is precisely the focus patient’s immune system are closely connected of shamanic practice. The shamanic path to (e.g. Solomon 1987, Irwin et al 1987, Kusnecov mental health can be relocated through a variety et al 1989). As I have argued (Money 1996), of practices which include human contact, while the intentional manipulation of positive contact with other species and a range of other imagery with concomitant immune system activities intended to celebrate a renewal of changes is not unique to shamanism – indeed, meaning. This is, of course, only one attempt it may be implicated in all successful healing to apply shamanic principles to health practice. interventions – it may be the shamanic tradition Notable work has been carried out by Ingerman that has articulated this approach most expli- (1991), who has applied the shamanic technique citly. As an approach, it can be extended and of soul retrieval to a variety of emotional as well generalized to many if not all healing enterprises, as physical diseases. It will be understood that particularly the complementary. the Cartesian division between mental and physical health cannot be maintained; that whatever increases an individual’s feelings of Ecological insight, health and healing worth, competence and purpose will benefit their In the last 30 years, ecological issues have moved whole health. from being the concern of a minority to the In short, what might complementary practi- mainstream. It is now widely accepted that our tioners in particular gain from shamanic princi- health is intimately connected to the health of the ples? I do not suggest that nurses or midwives whole planet, and that what we do to the planet who practise complementary therapies should it does back to us – that if we contaminate air, necessarily attend sweat lodges or train as hand land and sea; and if we weaken the ozone layer tremblers. Rather, I believe that shamanic and create the hothouse effect, then our own principles can be used to illuminate elements of health is threatened. It is striking that many of current practice, identify areas where practice these issues were articulated in the 1960s but did might be developed or enhanced, facilitate the not become general concerns until the health development of new research directions and issues they generate become impossible to ignore integrate specific therapies within a broader – the rise in childhood asthma, for example. research framework. However, I do not wish to Shamanism and complementary therapy 211 suggest that the transfer of such principles to our REFERENCES own cultural context would be without consider- able diffculties. I share Vitebsky’s assertion that Achterberg J 1985 Imagery and healing – shamanism and modern medicine. Shambhala, Boston & London ‘its full implications are too challenging even for Atkinson JM 1992 Shamanisms today. Annual Review of radicals to accommodate’ (Farndon 1996). Anthropology 21: 307–327 Familiarity with the shamanic tradition Baker JP 1992 The shamanic dimensions of childbirth. may be of one specific benefit. Complementary Pre- and Peri-Natal Psychology Journal 7: 15 –21 practice is sometimes not perceived as congruent Broch J, MacLer V 1993 Seasonal dance. Samuel Weiser Inc., York Beach with the positivistic, hard-science world-view Berman M 1981 The reenchantment of the world. Cornell upon which Western biomedicine is based. For U.P., Ithaca some, a therapy that cannot be replicated under Buckley E 1993 The shamanic path to mental health: laboratory conditions or within the discipline of Death as an ally. In: DR Trent, C Reed (eds) the randomized double-blind clinical trial should Promotion of Mental Health, Vol 3. Avebury, Aldershot therefore be rejected or relegated to folklore. I Candre H 1996 Cool tobacco, sweet coca. Themis Books, believe that shamanic practice, recent research Dartington into its healing potential, its congruence with Castaneda C 1971 A separate reality. Penguin, new scientific perspectives that are holistic rather Harmondsworth than positivistic, and the discovery that shama- Cowan T 1993 Fire in the head. Harper San Francisco, New York nic techniques such as imagery are compatible Crohn B 1995 A shamanic approach to surviving cancer... with the emerging new paradigm of health Shaman’s Drum 37: 49 –51 provide confirmation that healing systems do Drury N 1989 The elements of shamanism. Element not necessarily have to be wholly congruent with Books, Shaftesbury Western biomedicine in order to be useful or Eliade M 1964 Shamanism – archaic techniques of ecstasy. Arkana, London worthwhile. The shamanic tradition reminds all Farndon R 1996 (ed) Counterworks. Routledge, London healers of the importance of humility. In the Green T 1996 Journeys into the light: near-death words of one Apache shaman: experience as an ecstatic initiation. Shaman’s Drum 41: 49 –54 The patient must do seventy per cent of the work of Halifax J 1982 shaman – the wounded healer. Thames and getting well... The Creator does twenty percent, Hudson, London and I do ten, which is barely worth mentioning. Harner M 1990 The way of the shaman, 3rd edn. Harper (Mehl-Madrona 1997) San Francisco, New York Hultkrantz A 1997 Some points of view on ecstatic Western biomedicine has often been criticized shamanism, with particular reference to American for its impersonal and dehumanizing elements Indians. Shaman 5(1): 35– 46 (e.g. Illich 1976). The rediscovery of a healing Illich I 1976 Limits to medicine. Penguin, Harmondsworth system that places the individual patient and his Ingerman S 1991 Soul retrieval – mending the fragmented or her world-view at the centre of the therapeutic self. Harper, San Francisco Irwin M, Daniels M, Bloom ET, Smith TL, Weiner H enterprise need not mean that every healer 1987 Life events, depressive symptoms, and immune should become a shamanic healer. However, it function. American Journal of Psychiatry 144(4): strongly supports the complementary practitio- 437 – 441 ner’s principle of focusing on the whole person Jilek WG 1982 Altered states of consciousness in rather than the clinically-defined patient. North American Indian ceremonials. Ethos 10(4): 326–343 Let me conclude. The shamanic tradition is of Jilek WG 1992 The revival of Shamanic Dance among the great antiquity and extensive geographical dis- Indian populations of North America. Diogenes 158: tribution. Many of the world’s spiritual tradi- 87–100 tions, as well as healing technologies, may have Kalweit H 1992 Shamans, healers and medicine men. their origin in these ancient practices. It was Shambhala, Boston & London Kusnecov A, King MG, Husband AJ 1989 perhaps their antiquity which led them to be Immunomodulation by behavioural conditioning. relatively neglected as therapeutic interventions Biological Psychology 28: 25–39 within the European tradition until fairly re- Matthews J 1991 Taliesin – shamanism and the bardic cently. However, there is a growing awareness mysteries in Britain and Ireland. Aquarian, London of their relevance and potential. As Harner Mehl-Madrona L 1997 Lessons in Coyote medicine. Shaman’s Drum 44: 27– 33 (Ingerman 1991) expresses it: Mitrani P 1992 A critical overview of the psychiatric ... we are learning not only to respect this great approaches to shamanism. Diogenes 158: 145–164 storehouse of ancient human knowledge but also Money MC 1993 The shamanic path to mental health understand its potential importance to our own promotion. In: DR Trent, C Reed (eds) Promotion of well-being and health. mental health, Vol 2. Avebury, Aldershot Money MC 1994 Following the shamanic path to mental It may well be that complementary practitioners, health promotion. In: DR Trent, C Reed (eds) by virtue of their philosophy and orientation, are Promotion of mental health, Vol 3. Avebury, Aldershot particularly well-placed to participate in our Money MC 1996 Shamanism as a healing paradigm. growing understanding of the healing potential Occasional paper, Institute for Health, Liverpool of shamanism. John Moores University, Liverpool 212 Complementary Therapiesin Nursing & Midwifery
Moreno JJ 1988 The music therapist: creative arts Solomon GF 1978 Psychoneuroimmunology: interactions therapist and contemporary shaman. The Arts in between central nervous system and immune system. Psychotherapy 15(4): 271– 280 Journal of Neuroscience Research 18: 1 – 9 Porterfield A 1987 Shamanism: a psychosocial definition. Vitebsky P 1996 From cosmology to environmentalism – Journal of the American Academy of Religion LV(4): shamanism as local knowledge in a global setting. In: 721– 739 R Farndon (ed) Counterworks. Routledge, London Reichel-Dolmatoff G 1996 The forest within – the White T 1995 Pray for the water, pray for the land... world-view of the Tukano Amazonian Indians. Shaman’s Drum 38: 30–39 Themis Books, Dartington Wolf FA 1991 The eagle’s quest. Mandala, London Simonton OC, Matthews-Simonton S, Creighton J 1978 Wong SH 1996 The healing path of the Lakota Sun Getting well again. Tarcher, Los Angeles Dance. Shaman’s Drum 43: 49– 52 EXPLORATIONS
The Varieties of Vision
“There is more than meets the eye, This study is the first evidence that a trauma, stroke, or some other medical Watson.” sensory cell can process an alternative sen- condition. 1 —Sherlock Holmes sation, said coresearcher Pascal Barone of Blindsight provides some of the stron- the Faculté de Médecine de Rangueil in gest evidence for the existence of an “un- Toulouse, France. This discovery may ex- conscious.” Some experts suggest that hat does it mean to see? Con- plain the very fast reactions of many ani- blindsight may also exist in people with ventional neuroscience assigns mals, including humans, when multiple intact brain function. It might come into sight to the visual pathways in senses are stimulated simultaneously— play when we need to act quickly, without the brain, which are stimu- W whether from a rustling predator in the consciously analyzing our need to do so. If lated after light enters the eye. Specific au- bush or a honking, speeding auto. so, it would be a fascinating function be- ditory pathways likewise register sound. cause, being entirely unconscious, when These separate stimuli are then shuttled This phenomenon is not believed to be we employ it we would be completely un- to higher cognitive centers in the brain, related to synesthesia, in which multiple aware we are doing so. Unlike all the other where they combine to provide us with a senses seem to overlap, as when people senses, it would not leave a hint of aware- composite impression of what is happen- hear colors or taste sounds. In synesthesia, ness when it kicked it, vanishing without a ing in the world. Recent discoveries, how- multiple sensations are believed to com- trace like tracks in a windy desert.4,5 ever, suggest that the brain can use sound bine at later stages of brain processing, not to see and light to hear—that we can “hear in lower, primary centers as in the above light” and “see sound.” research. FIRST SIGHT Barone believes this research may help Throughout human history, certain indi- explain why some blind people who do viduals have claimed the ability to “see” SEEING SOUND, HEARING LIGHT not use the visual system to see have a things at a distance in space and time. In August 2008, researcher Ye Wang of the highly developed sense of hearing and These purported abilities are called telep- University of Texas Medical School at why deaf people often possess superior athy, clairvoyance, and precognition. In Houston and his colleagues trained mon- sight.3 the 1920s, legendary researcher Joseph keys to locate a light flashed on a screen.2 Banks Rhine coined the term ESP to col- When the light was very bright, they lectively refer to these abilities, which have found it easily, but when it was dim, it BLINDSIGHT long been called “second sight,” implying took quite a long time. But if the dim light Blindsight is a condition that has been in- that they are of a kind of backup to normal made a brief sound, the monkeys found it vestigated extensively by neuroscientists vision and are of secondary importance. quickly—more quickly than can be ex- in recent years. In blindsight, individuals In recent columns, I’ve discussed the plained by old neurological thinking. The have no awareness whatsoever of any vi- views of psychologist and consciousness researchers recorded activity in neurons sual perception. However, if pressed to researcher James C. Carpenter of the responsible for the earliest stages of activa- guess at the location or movement of a Rhine Research Center in Durham, North tion. When the sound accompanied the visual stimulus, they can do so with an Carolina, who believes the term second dim light, the neurons were activated as if accuracy at levels significantly above sight is misleading. I’ll briefly summarize. the light had been strong, at a speed that chance. This is evidence that they are “see- In two seminal papers published in could only be explained by a direct con- ing without seeing.” Blindsight most often 2004, Carpenter proposed calling the hu- nection between the lower auditory and occurs following injury to the normal man ability for distant and future knowing visual centers in the brain. visual pathways in the brain following “first sight”—a fundamental, innate ability
Explorations EXPLORE March/April 2009, Vol. 5, No. 2 63 that everyone has and that transcends our conscious awareness is paradoxically ex- omists until William Harvey described it visual sense.6(pp217-254),7(pp63-112) panded, according to typical reports of in 1628? Why was the rotation of the earth First sight can be conveniently thought NDEers who have been there. In this state, around the sun concealed for most of hu- of as psychic antennae or mental radar says Ring, mindsight kicks in, making pos- man history? History is studded with “in- that sweep our world in both space and sible the acquisition of distant and future visibles” that escaped notice, which, fol- time, acquiring information that we use information, unrestrained by space and lowing their discovery, seemed obvious. every moment of our existence. First sight time. These instances remind us of the folk say- permits us always to exist “a little beyond Ring and Valarino’s work contradicts ing, “If you want to hide the treasure, put ourselves in space and ahead of ourselves those who claim that remote knowing in- it in plain sight.” in time,” as Carpenter puts it. First sight is volves some subtle, highly sensitive exer- We see what we can see, and what we not limited to short distances and brief du- cise of normal vision. To emphasize, not can see is determined largely by our be- rations; if the need arises we can significantly only do Ring and Valarino’s congenitally liefs. According to Lawrence Blair in 7(p90) expand the reach of our knowing. blind subjects not have normal visual Rhythms of Vision: The Changing Pattern of When you think about it, first sight pathways and have never had them, but in Belief, the natives of Patagonia could not resembles our other senses. You can’t many instances there is no visual stimulus, see Magellan’s ships when the ships ar- taste tasting, hear hearing, feel feeling, or because the things that are seen are out of rived at the tip of South America in see seeing. You just taste, hear, feel, and sight for even normal individuals. In spite 1520.11 To the aborigines, the shore party see without forethought or analysis. Once of this, conscious perception takes place appeared out of thin air on the beach. The these senses kick in, we don’t intellectual- anyway. shamans eventually discerned a faint im- ize about them by thinking, “I am touch- Carpenter takes things further. He be- age of the tall ships anchored offshore. ing something now.” We aren’t fully aware lieves that first sight, Ring and Valarino’s After they pointed out the images and ev- of them, even while they are operating. At mindsight, operates continually—24-7, no eryone concentrated on the concept of gi- this moment I am touching the keys on letup—and not just during NDEs, but nor- ant sailing ships for a while, the galleons my computer keyboard while writing this mally. Moreover, it functions so effi- materialized. Michael Polanyi12 reports a sentence, and although my touching the ciently and subliminally that we are sel- similar incident when Darwin’s ship, Bea- keys gives me neural feedback, it is so sub- dom aware of it. gle, anchored off Patagonia in 1831. The tle I don’t pause to register it consciously. SEEING WHAT WE CAN SEE natives could see the tiny rowboats but In the same way, we usually don’t think could not detect the mother ship. Their If first sight is fundamental, why is it not as about first-sight abilities as they happen. belief system had a place for small craft They just occur, as a knowing that is out- obvious to us moderns as it is to tribal but not for large vessels. side of full awareness. But there is, of peoples? Perhaps it is not surprising that All of us, including scientists, have course, a fundamental difference between first sight goes undetected. Human func- blinders built into our worldview. As as- first sight and our physical senses. Our tions—and dysfunctions—sometimes exist tronomer and author David Darling puts physical senses are body bound; first sight unnoticed, right under our noses. An ex- it, “If science searches the universe—as it is not. ample is congenital color blindness. English chemist John Dalton first de- does—for certain kinds of truth, then these scribed this condition in 1798 after recog- are inevitably the only ones it will find. MINDSIGHT nizing his own colorblindness four years Everything else will slip through the 13(p158) Psychologist Kenneth Ring of the Univer- earlier. He discovered that he confused net.” Blindsight, first sight, and sity of Connecticut and Evelyn E. Val- scarlet with green and pink with blue, in mindsight may be cases in point. arino, his research colleague, believe that common with his brother—a tipoff that When we use these faculties, we don’t even blind people possess first sight. Ring this was an inherited condition. Dalton reason, we simply act. People who a skilled and Valarino8 report that congenitally supposed that the vitreous humor, the liq- in exercising these abilities are often de- blind individuals who have had near- uid inside his eye, was colored blue, caus- scribed as being lucky or having excellent death experiences (NDEs) or out-of-body ing him to selectively absorb longer wave- reflexes or good intuition. experiences sometimes give detailed re- lengths. He left instructions for his eyes to A combat pilot knows when to veer ports, later confirmed, suggesting that be examined after his death, but the vitre- right or left to escape antiaircraft fire be- they have remotely “seen” a particular per- ous humor proved perfectly clear. Years fore it arrives. A martial-arts adept knows son, event, or scene during the NDE or later, DNA extracted from his preserved his opponent’s moves before they happen. out-of-body experience. But if they have eye revealed that he had a deficiency in Great battlefield commanders know the been blind since birth, how is this possi- certain photo pigments in the retina.9 Af- enemy’s moves ahead of time. A gifted ble? Ring believes the congenitally blind ter he published his famous paper “Ex- running back sees holes open up in the who see things at a distance during NDEs traordinary Facts Relating to the Vision of defense before they occur. A skilled re- do so because they have entered a distinc- Colors,”10 people woke up to the exis- searcher “just knows” the right path to fol- tive state of transcendental awareness he tence of a malady that occurs worldwide, low to produce results. As Paul Drayson, calls mindsight.8 including around 7% of males and 0.4% Britain’s minister of science, whose back- This realm of transcendental awareness of females in the United States. ground is in robotics and biotechnology, is barred to us during the normal waking Why was the circulation of the blood says, “In my life there have been some state, Ring says. But as one nears death, throughout the body undetected by anat- things that I’ve known and I don’t know
64 EXPLORE March/April 2009, Vol. 5, No. 2 Explorations why. . .like a sixth sense.”14 These actions nication without sensory involvement. an Algerian city near the Libyan border, to often take place without the interference Clairvoyance is literally “clear seeing,” or Timbuktu, in Mali. The route involved of the rational mind, on the spur of the the acquisition of information about a large expanses of sand dunes and danger- moment, for reasons that are obscure to place, event, or object without sensory ous quicksand, mountains, rocky volcanic the individual experiencing them. mediation. When clairvoyance involves a areas, and deep valleys. The available First sight is not always correct. Some- future event, it is called precognition, fu- maps were not specific, and it would have times it is embarrassingly wrong and mis- ture knowing, or a premonition.) been foolish to attempt the journey with- leading. This isn’t surprising. No human One day, while driving across wasteland out a guide. faculty is perfect, including those auto- in the Sahara desert, Gersi encountered a Gersi met the head of the military out- nomic processes that normally operate be- single Tuareg nomad sitting by his camel. post in Djanet, who recommended a man yond our awareness. Our heart skips beats Judging from the tracks, Gersi deduced named Iken as the best guide for the trip. even when it is not stressed; our blood that he had been occupying the same spot Gersi should not be concerned, the com- pressure gets out of whack, even without for several days. The location seemed to mandant said, that Iken was blind. an external stimulus; our bowel can be- be in the middle of nowhere, with no dis- Iken, in his 50s, had spent his child- come sluggish or overactive, even without tinguishing features—just featureless sand, hood and adolescence with his father, who obvious provocation. But it’s the overall stone, and rocky hills. Intrigued, Gersi led caravans throughout the Sahara. He pattern of activity—how a function serves stopped and shared tea with the man. then became a caravanner himself and was us in the long run—that matters most, not The nomad explained that he was wait- eventually hired as a guide by the French whether a system functions perfectly all ing for a friend. Seven months earlier, the time. Foreign Legion. Around age 30 he con- while in a town called Gao in Mali, 600 tracted trachoma, an eye infection, which If I sail a boat from San Francisco to miles away, he had made a pact with his Honolulu, I will be off course nearly all eventually led to blindness. friend to meet at this particular place, at “Have you made this trip before?” Gersi the time, because it is impossible to steer this specific time. Each of them was on a asked him. my craft perfectly without deviation. I’ll journey and would be converging on the “Not exactly . . . but I see very well what arrive at my destination not through per- spot from different directions. you want to do,” Iken replied. He ex- fect steering but by constant course correc- Looking around, Gersi was dubious that plained that it was necessary for him to sit tions. These variations of seeing are like anyone could pick this place out of the on the spare tire that was strapped to the that. They don’t need to provide us with a surrounding immensity. The possibility perfect picture of the world; a simple hood of the Land Rover. “I need to that two people could converge here, from heads-up or gut feeling will often suffice, breathe the smell of the desert,” he said, opposite directions, defied his imagina- alerting us to pay closer attention than “ . . . and hear the different noises the tires tion. usual to what is happening. This may make on the ground; that tells me a lot “Can’t miss the place,” the nomad said, present itself as a general sense of forebod- about the terrain.” He could do neither of while giving names to everything that sur- ing, as a fragmentary image of a future these things from inside the car, he said. rounded them. The only problem was that event, as a symbolic or metaphorical pic- the nomad’s water was about to run out; if He added, “Don’t talk while driving, but ture, or in some instances a highly detailed his friend did not arrive in the next three look carefully at the landscape all around vision. days, he would have to move on. you . . . . That, too, helps me see where The next morning the Tuareg told Gersi I am.” It was as if blind Iken could absorb in- SEEING IN TRADITIONAL CULTURES that things were on schedule. He had com- formation about the surrounding land- Most premodern cultures are at home municated with his friend during the night scape from others. If they knew what with these variations of vision. Although and that he would arrive in two days. things looked like, so did he. Iken’s guid- anthropologists doing fieldwork encoun- “Did you dream about him?” Gersi ance was all the more remarkable consid- ter these phenomena routinely, they are asked. ering that Gersi’s party often drove at often reluctant to acknowledge them be- “No, I didn’t dream about him. He just night without headlights. cause they conflict with the Western as- told me where he was,” the nomad said. sumption that all valid information is He explained that his friend had informed Iken turned out to be one big human gained through the physical senses. There him that he had had to make a detour to sense organ that functioned on every level are exceptions, however. fill his water bags. except the visual. He would often stop the Douchan Gersi is an adventurer, ex- “But how did he tell you?” Gersi asked. vehicle, kneel, caress the sand, and con- plorer, and filmmaker who has spent most “He told me that in my mind,” said the template its texture. He would breathe of his life in some of the most isolated nomad. “And in the same way I answered deeply and smell the desert for long peri- regions on earth documenting those he him that I will be waiting for him.” Still ods. Once, when water ran short, he calls “people of tradition.” In his captivat- skeptical, Gersi waited to see the outcome. stroked the branches of a large dried bush, ing book Faces in the Smoke, he describes Two days later, right on schedule, the Tu- smelled all around, and indicated new di- how premonitions, telepathy, and clairvoy- areg’s friend arrived.15(pp84-86) rections. Several hours later the group ance are employed in a natural, seamless way On another occasion, Gersi and his col- found water. With Iken’s help Gersi’s in everyday life in these cultures.15 (As a re- leagues were facing a treacherous, 800- group made it to Timbuktu without minder, telepathy is mind-to-mind commu- mile drive across the Sahara from Djanet, incident.15(pp86-91)
Explorations EXPLORE March/April 2009, Vol. 5, No. 2 65 Gersi had similar experiences with Ab- gullible Westerners? Rose tested Lizzie, an Gersi believes that we all have an ability origines in the Australian desert and Bush- Australian Aborigine over 70 years old, for nonlocal knowing; after all, most of us men in the Kalahari. He finds it difficult to with the help of a pack of Zener cards, the describe such an event at some point in pigeonhole their faculties into the West- sort that psi researchers use in laboratory our life. But for most of us, this talent ern categories of telepathy, clairvoyance, experiments. Zener cards have one of five atrophies because, Gersi suggests, it is not or premonition, and winds up using “in- different symbols. Each pack has 25 cards, crucial for our survival. These abilities tuition” to describe them. I favor the gen- five of each design. Of 1,700 trials, Lizzie may become even rarer in the future be- eral term “nonlocal knowing”—acquiring was able to correctly guess the correct card cause we have a bewildering number of information in ways that transcend the symbol 488 times, when only 340 would ways to gain information quickly. Why limitations of space and time—without ag- have been expected by chance, an astro- bother with communicating nonlocally onizing over whether something is techni- nomical result. When tested again years when we can call anyone, anywhere, on a cally an example of telepathy, clairvoy- later when she was 79, she again scored cell phone? Why intuit where we are when ance, or premonition. millions to one against chance. Other Ab- a GPS device can pinpoint our location, within a meter, anywhere on earth? But Native tribes the world over take first origines also scored significantly above what happens when the batteries run sight for granted. Josiah Gregg (1806- chance.13(p277) down? 1850) was an explorer, naturalist, and au- Bishop Henry Callaway, an Anglican With premodern people, the situation thor who traded on the Santa Fe trail dur- priest, missionary, and medical doctor, is different. They cultivate nonlocal ways ing the 1830s. On one occasion he lived among the Zulu of South Africa dur- of knowing because, as with the Tuaregs, watched a Comanche arc an arrow that ing the second half of the 19th century. killed a prairie dog out of sight behind a their lives depend on them. Urgency, sur- Those Zulu youth who aspired to become vival, life and death—this is the context in hillock, a trick Gregg could not duplicate diviners were tested for their skills of clair- 16 which their nonlocal abilities are rooted. with a rifle. voyance (“clear seeing”). They had to When Victorio, the Apache leader, Perhaps it is no accident that nonlocal prove themselves capable of finding hid- wished to know the location of the enemy, knowing often surprises us in similar situ- den objects, such as identifying under which often included the U.S. Cavalry, ations—in times of danger, a health crisis, which of a number of pots a particular Lozen, his shaman and sister, would stand or when a loved one is in trouble. During object was concealed.20 with outstretched arms, palms up, and these life-and-death moments, our minds Anthropologist Stephan A. Schwartz, pray. As she turned slowly to follow the become concentrated. Like a Tuareg who who writes the SchwartzReport column must find water soon or die, our mind sun’s path, her hands would begin to tin- for Explore, describes in his book The Secret focuses without distraction, and nonlocal gle and the palms change color when she Vaults of Time a custom of the Montagnais, knowing makes an appearance. faced the foe. The intensity of the sensa- a tribe of the Algonquin people, who lived tion indicated the approximate distance of in eastern Canada. If they wished to get in the enemy.17 contact with a person far away, even up to Seers: Swedenborg and Goethe David Unaipon, a native Australian, de- hundreds of miles, they would go into the The German philosopher Immanuel Kant scribed in the early 1900s how the use of (1724-1804) is considered one of the most smoke signals depended on a nonlocal forest and set up a log shelter the size of a telephone booth, get inside, and carry influential thinkers of the Enlightenment. function of consciousness. Westerners Kant lived at the same time as Emanuel who witnessed this custom assumed that on a two-way conversation. If the contact failed, the distant person had died. West- Swedenborg, a Swedish intellectual giant some sort of code was involved in the sig- who was a master mathematician, philos- ern observers of this custom reported that naling. Not so, said Unaipon; the function opher, astronomer, and economist. Kant, when this process was going on, the shelter of the smoke signal was simply to get ev- a profound rationalist, knew Swedenborg, would shake.21 eryone’s attention so that distant, mind- and he was troubled by a talent Swedenborg “Shaking shelters” during native cere- to-mind communication might then take apparently possessed: “second sight”—what 18(p34) monies were commonly reported by place. later generations would call clairvoyance te- Forty years later, anthropologist Ronald French Jesuit missionaries as soon as they lepathy, premonitions, or ESP. Rose was told the same thing during his arrived in Canada in the 17th century. The In the 1740s, when his reputation was investigations of the psychical practices Jesuits were eager to prove that the phe- already established, Swedenborg believed and beliefs of Australian Aborigines. nomenon was due to fraud. The medicine “heaven opened to him,” and he began “When we see smoke we think, and often man inside the shelter, they claimed, was having visions in which angels, he said, we find clearness,” one native said. The manually shaking the teepee. Often, how- conversed with him. As historian Brian In- smoke, Rose was informed, was of a differ- ever, the lodge shook so violently that one glis states, Swedenborg was quite aware ent kind from that which rose from a individual could not possibly have done that they existed only in his mind, be- campfire. Its function was to alert the re- it, and sometimes the thick lodge poles cause no one else could hear them. And ceiver to assume the same mental channel. were seen to bend from the top at such an because they spoke his language, he rea- “I am thinking, too, so that he thinks my angle that no man could accomplish it. soned that it was not really the angels thoughts,” said the Aborigine.19 Giving up on fraud, some Jesuits settled doing the talking, but himself by inter- Are these unsubstantiated anecdotes on the explanation that the devil made the preting them. No one could say that Swe- that have been stretched beyond belief by teepees bend and shake.22 denborg was going crazy, because his awe-
66 EXPLORE March/April 2009, Vol. 5, No. 2 Explorations some intellectual powers persisted in a anybody has ever perceived in me an in- bility of doubt,” he wrote.23 But what variety of fields.18(pp130-132) clination to the marvelous or a weakness would people think of him if he favored Swedenborg’s visions were connected tending to credulity,” he protested, play- such obviously impossible things? “It will with verifiable facts. In one celebrated ex- ing to the skeptics.24,25 In fact, Kant probably be asked, what on earth could ample, the widow of the Dutch envoy to seemed somewhat tormented by Sweden- have moved me to engage in such a con- Stockholm received a bill from a silver- borg’s ability. He wrote a treatise about temptible business as that of circulating smith for a silver service her deceased hus- him, called Dreams of a Spirit-Seer, which stories to which a rational man hesitates to band had purchased from him. Her hus- has two opposing threads—a skeptical at- listen,” he wrote to a friend. band had been a very precise individual, tack on Swedenborg’s faculty of second “To protect himself,” states Inglis, “he and she was certain he would not have left sight and a simultaneous respect for Swe- adopted a device which was later to a debt unpaid, but she was unable to find denborg as a serious philosopher.24 come into common use . . . . [I]n 1776 the receipt. Because the sum was consider- Kant, like everyone else who knew he . . . had decided, he wrote, ‘to do the able, she asked Swedenborg to intervene. about it, was particularly fascinated by the ridiculing myself’; his method being to His method was to consult the spirit of her most famous example of Swedenborg’s expose and mock the flaws in individual deceased spouse. After conversing with second sight. The event occurred one accounts of the supernatural, which was her dead husband, Swedenborg told her evening in 1759 after Swedenborg had ar- not difficult because of their frequent the debt had been paid months prior to his rived in Gothenburg after traveling from absurdities, and also because of the un- passing, and that she could find the receipt England. He went to the house of his intelligible theories attached to them.” in a secret compartment in an upstairs bu- friend William Castel, where around 15 Kant seemed to realize that this involved reau where he kept his private correspon- guests were gathered. As Kant describes it: acertaindegreeofdishonesty,for,Inglis dence. Accompanied by many witnesses, adds, “[H]e felt bound to make ‘the she did as instructed and found the com- About six o’clock in the evening common, though queer, reservation that partment, whose existence was known to Baron Swedenborg went out, and re- while I doubt any one of them, still I 18(pp130-132),23 turned to the company pale and dis- no one, and the receipt. have certain faith in the whole of them Swedenborg predicted the date of his turbed. He said that at that moment there was a terrible conflagration rag- taken together.’” What did Kant really death. In February 1772, he wrote theolo- believe about these matters? He ac- gian John Wesley, the founder of Method- ing in Stockholm, and that the fire was increasing (Gothenburg lies 300 knowledged that, in time, it would be ism, the following letter: miles from Stockholm). He was un- proved: “I do not know where and easy and frequently went out. He said when—that in this life the human soul Great Bath-street, Coldbath Fields, that the house of one of his friends, stands in an indissoluble communion February, 1772. whom he named, was already laid in with all the material beings of the spiri- Sir: I have been informed in the ashes; and his own house was in dan- tual worlds; that it produces effects in ger. At eight o’clock, after he had world of spirits that you have a strong them, and in exchange receives impres- again gone out, he said joyfully ‘God desire to converse with me. I shall be sions from them, without, however, be- happy to see you, if you will favor me be praised, the fire is extinguished, the third door from my very house!’ coming humanly conscious of them, so with a visit. 26 I am, sir, Your humble servant, This information occasioned the long as all stands well.” Emanuel Swedenborg. greatest excitement in the company, Today, many scientists and philoso- and the statement was carried to the phers would probably accept the reality of Governor the same evening . . . on Mr Wesley received and read the letter nonlocal knowing but, like Kant, they are Monday evening there arrived in in the company of several of his preachers. concerned that their reputation might suf- Gothenburg a courier who had been fer if their belief became known. They are One of them, Reverend Samuel Smith, re- despatched by the merchants of corded what happened. Wesley acknowl- Stockholm during the fire. In the let- torn by what they refuse to accept, but edged that he had strongly desired to see ters brought by him the conflagration cannot deny. This attitude is dressed up by Swedenborg and converse with him, and was described exactly as Swedenborg calling it skepticism. Authentic skepticism that he had never mentioned this to any- had stated it.24 is invaluable in science, which could not one else. He proposed a date to Sweden- progress without it. But too often, as in borg, who replied that it would be too late, Kant was riveted. But, not wanting to be Kant’s case, it morphs into public postur- as he would enter the world of spirits on thought gullible, he asked a highly edu- ing and ridicule. It sometimes degenerates the 29th day of the coming month, never cated British friend, Joseph Green, who into a blood sport in which anyone who to return. It was as he predicted; Sweden- was traveling to Sweden, to verify the disagrees is labeled a traitor to science— borg died March 29, 1772.23 event, which Green did by talking to ac- one who has “gone mystic.” Examples of Swedenborg’s second sight tual witnesses. Twenty-four years after Swedenborg’s became well known among Europe’s intel- Kant conceded there could be no vision of the Stockholm fire, a nearly iden- lectual elite, including Immanuel Kant. doubt about the accuracy of the event. tical event happened to Johann Wolfgang Although these instances intrigued Kant, “The . . . occurrence appears to me to von Goethe (1749-1832), the great Ger- he was concerned that his reputation as a have the greatest weight of proof, and to man polymath whose work spanned po- rationalist would be tarnished if he ap- place the assertion respecting Sweden- etry, literature, drama, theology, and sci- peared too interested. “I am not aware that borg’s extraordinary gift beyond all possi- ence. The account was published in 1836
Explorations EXPLORE March/April 2009, Vol. 5, No. 2 67 in Conversations with Goethe by young Jo- famous, and in 1755 there was no better late the confinements of space, time, and hann Peter Eckermann, a German author candidate in London than Sir Isaac New- the bodily senses. We now know that this and scholar who was Goethe’s editor, ar- ton. And so it was said throughout the city assumption is simply wrong. Several ex- chivist, and friend.27 that Newton had known all along that the periments, now replicated in laboratories In 1783, Goethe once rang his valet in Lisbon disaster would happen. If the event worldwide, have demonstrated beyond the middle of the night. “Listen,” he told was knowable, it could not completely be reasonable doubt that it is possible to him, “this is an important moment; there a matter of randomness or bad luck. Since acquire information nonlocally. One is now an earthquake, or one is just going Newton knew and his prediction held, rea- variety of these studies is the presenti- to take place.”27 When Goethe related his son was restored and Londoners could ment experiments of Radin, Bierman, observations the next day at the Weimar breathe easier. and others, recently reviewed in this court, the courtesans mocked him, whis- But there is no evidence that Newton column.32(pp83-156,83-90) “In my opinion,” pering, “Listen! Goethe is dreaming!”28 knew anything of the sort. This was a feel- says psychologist and experimentalist When news arrived a few days later that good attribution that reduced tension and Stanley Krippner of San Francisco’s Say- part of Messina, on the island of Sicily, possibly guilt, which is seen wherever di- brook Graduate School, “this is currently had been destroyed by an earthquake, the saster strikes, as survivors question why the most important experiment in psi re- 33 whispering stopped. Over the next five they were spared while their friends per- search.” weeks, four more earthquakes struck the ished. The tide of belief is already shifting. In region around Messina.29 The idea that someone knows about di- one survey of more than 1,100 college Swedenborg and Goethe were recog- sasters before they occur continues to ease professors in the United States, 55% of nized in their day as superb naturalists. It anxiety today, just as it did during the 18th natural scientists, 66% of social scientists was no doubt comforting to many that century. Our Swedenborgs and Goethes (psychologists excluded), and 77% of aca- someone of their intellectual caliber knew are the National Hurricance Center, the demics in the arts, humanities, and educa- when disasters such as urban conflagra- National Weather Service’s Pacific Tsu- tion reported believing that ESP is either 34 tions and earthquakes would occur, be- nami Warning Center, and several other an established fact or a likely possibility. cause this nailed things down and took organizations. “Every man takes the limits of his own Newton may not have known about the field of vision for the limit of the world,” away some of the randomness and capri- 35 ciousness of these horrible events. Lisbon earthquake, but Swedenborg knew Schopenhauer said. Today our field of But no celebrated thinker predicted the about the Stockholm fire and Goethe vision has expanded to include the entire knew about the Messina earthquake, as cataclysmic earthquake, tsunami, and fire earth. Videophones, videoconferencing, careful accounts from multiple witnesses and Skype have reshaped our view of what that destroyed Lisbon, Portugal on No- document. it means to link visually with someone. vember 1, 1755. The destruction of the Remote seeing, mediated electronically, city, one of the most elegant in Europe, has become a daily reality for millions. was total, and 60,000 lives were lost. A VISION OF THE FUTURE The irony is that this basic phenomenon is News of the event arrived in London six If you want to raise eyebrows at faculty ancient, as seers and visionaries have days later. The tragedy caused Londoners meetings, just talk about the variations of known throughout human history. Their to think back to 1750, when their city was vision that are a part of everyday life in ability to see remotely was innate and was shaken by five temblors. Could they be in traditional cultures and in the experiences not susceptible to battery failure. store for a repeat earthquake on the scale of individuals such as Swedenborg and The strangeness of remote vision is di- of Lisbon’s? Had the citizens of Lisbon Goethe. I’ve often underestimated the dis- minishing. Someday soon, somewhere, sinned terribly, bringing down Jehovah’s dain many scholars have for these matters. someone will discover to her surprise that wrath? Did they deserve to be punished? For some, this subject can be a matter of a remote image popped into her head be- Deciding it best to play it safe, the Lon- life and death. Cognitive scientist Daniel fore she hit the “on” button of her video- doners seriously set about cleaning up a Dennett of Tufts University, for example, phone. She will have rediscovered what few wanton behaviors. Thus Horace Wal- has said that if ESP is real he will commit our ancestors did routinely. She’ll get 31 pole lamented in 1762, seven years after suicide. So perhaps it’s best not to bring good at it. She’ll tell a friend, and word Lisbon, that several changes took place in up these matters at the faculty club, at least will spread. And one day our descendants public life. “We have never recovered mas- until after a couple of cocktails. will speak of the era when we discarded the querades since the earthquakes of Lis- No matter. Science is drifting slowly but gadgets and simply tuned in. bon,” he grumbled. “All sorts of frothy inexorably toward a wider concept of vi- things went out of fashion,” complained sion. Not so long ago the neuroscience —Larry Dossey, MD 30 another observer. underlying the seeing of sound and the Executive Editor Cleaning up one’s act was one way of hearing of light would have been dis- reducing anxiety about natural disasters; if missed as the stuff of science fiction. they sinned less, there would be less rea- Blindsight would have seemed equally REFERENCES son for the Almighty to punish them by weird, and mindsight would not have 1. More than meets the eye, Watson. BNET. sending calamity their way. Another way been given a hearing. March 11, 2000. Available at: Stashower D. of lessening their worry was to attribute The Great Stumbling Block for skeptics http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3724/ knowledge of natural disasters to someone is the assumption that seeing cannot vio- is_/ai_n8880579. Accessed October 9, 2008.
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Explorations EXPLORE March/April 2009, Vol. 5, No. 2 69 Birthing as Shamanic Experience By Leslene della-Madre
Giving birth naturally, according to Vicki Noble, is a "peak shamanic experience" for a woman (Shakti Woman). When women give birth in wide-awake consciousness, we are given the opportunity to know how we are in relationship with the mysterious creative life force. Birthing as Shamanic Experience OurBy Leslene body-wisdom della-Madre knows how to birth a baby. What is required of the woman who births naturally is for her to surrender to this body-wisdom. You can't think your way throughGiving birth a birth, naturally, and you accordi can't fakeng to it. Vicki Noble, is a "peak shamanic experience" for a woman (Shakti Woman). When women give birth in wide-awake consciousness, we Inare some given spiritual the opportunity practices, to much know atten howtion we aris egiven in relationship to the process with of the the mysterious rising kundalinicreative life at theforce. base of the spine when one enjoys various "openings" in the pursuit of enlightenment. Barbara Walker refers to kundalini as the "Tantric image of the female serpentOur body-wisdom coiled in the knows lowest how chalks to birth of the a baby. human What body, is inrequired the pelvis." of the woman who births naturally is for her to surrender to this body-wisdom. You can't think your way Givingthrough birth a birth, is one and of you the can't most fake profound it. human experiences of that "opening". It is kundalini moving through the birthing body, rising with every rush of energy that opensIn some the spiritual cervix. practices,Not only ismuch the opening attention felt is givenduring to these the process rushes, ofbut the also rising in-between. Thekundalini opening at the experience base of the has spine a deep when resti oneng place enjoys where various the "openings"body and soul in the of thepursuit of birthingenlightenment. woman Barbara gather strength Walker torefers accept to kunda the cominglini as wavesthe "Tantric of the imageawesome of the kundalini female asserpent it continues coiled into themove lowest through chalks her, of culminating the human body,in the inbirth the of pelvis." a new life.
Giving birth is one of the most profound human experiences of that "opening". It is kundalini moving through the birthing body, rising with every rush of energy that opens the cervix. Not only is the opening felt during these rushes, but also in-between. The opening experience has a deep resting place where the body and soul of the birthing woman gather strength to accept the coming waves of the awesome kundalini as it continues to move through her, culminating in the birth of a new life.
WhenGiving I birthgave isbirth, one Iof had the the most experience profound of hu feelingman experiences that I was theof that All, "opening". and the All It was is me,kundalini and that moving we were through in this the ecstatic birthing dan body,ce together. rising with I was every the createdrush of andenergy the thatcreator atopens the samethe cervix. times Notthe dreameronly is the and opening the dream felted, during the breather these rushes, and the but breathed. also in-between. There wasThe noopening question experience about "where" has a deep my spiritualityresting place was; where it was the not body in andthe sky,soul itof was the in the body.birthing It tookwoman every gather ounce strength of "great to accept pure effo thert" coming -- a buddhist waves of teaching the awesome of what kundalini it takes toas achieveit continues enlightenment to move through -- to show her, upculminating for the process in the thatbirth was of amoving new life. through me.
IfWhen I chose I gave to spend birth, timeI had complaining, the experience th eof birthing feeling energythat I was refl theected All, that. and It the was All was immediateme, and that cause we were and effect.in this Itecstatic was not dan thatce together.I had to deny I was pain, the createdbut I was and supremely the creator challengedat the same totimes frame the it dreamer in a way and that the woul dreamd allowed, the safe breather passage and for the my breathed. baby. I was There askedwas no by question the Goddess about to"where" surrender my completelyspirituality towas; the it experience, was not in andthe sky,let it it take was over. in the Whenbody. ItI felttook the every energy ounce of birthingof "great kundalini pure effo asrt" painful, -- a buddhist my midwives teaching compassionatelyof what it takes guidedto achieve me enlightenmentto interpret it in -- a to different show up wa fory, thewhere process I could that integrate was moving it as throughsomething me. that would take great courage and strength, but that I had it in me to open to it and takeIf I chose it in. to spend time complaining, the birthing energy reflected that. It was immediate cause and effect. It was not that I had to deny pain, but I was supremely Mychallenged midwives to framewere mothersit in a way too, that and woul had dbeen allow through safe passage the experience. for my baby. They I knewwas whatasked they by the were Goddess talking to about. surrender This completelymade a big todifference the experience, in how andI could let itcreate take over.a safe passageWhen I feltfor mythe energychild. of birthing kundalini as painful, my midwives compassionately guided me to interpret it in a different way, where I could integrate it as something that would take great courage and strength, but that I had it in me to open to it and take it in.
My midwives were mothers too, and had been through the experience. They knew what they were talking about. This made a big difference in how I could create a safe passage for my child. To have compassionate mirrors telling me I could do this made it possible for me to do it. I trusted them. I had to learn to feel the energy of creation as intense rather than painful, and trust that my body was capable of handling this intensity.
In giving birth, I also learned about the nature of surrender.
May spiritual teachings tell us that surrendering is essential to spiritual well-being. We need to learn that we are not the center of the universe, and to be open to outcome. When a woman gives conscious birth, she experiences this teaching directly. I did not know if I was going to live or die, nor did I know if my baby would live or die. Entering the unknown in full surrender, the mother is in a deeply spiritual relationship with the All.
For women in patriarchy, this sacred connection is not acknowledged. What women are told is that we must go to the hospital -- the place where people go when they are ill. And what happens to us there? We are told how to give birth by a male mind (whether it be mouthed by women or men). And in these directives, we are made to feel dependent on what the male mind knows.
The male mind says that women need to escape the experience, and take numbing drugs. When a woman is drugged, her baby is also. In that state, she does not get the opportunity to experience birth as a process of enlightenment -- as an awakening of her soul. Patriarchy does not want women to know this power of birth, because men will not be able to control women if women know this power inherent in our beings.
It is my prayer that women will be able to come together and find our "tend and befriend" ways. For some strange reason, or reasons, men fear this power. How very odd, since it is where they come from? Men wind up fearing where they come from, and spend lifetimes trying to be better than this power, trying to control this power, being jealous of this power, fabricating male birth myths to prove they have this power. In the process, they have developed amnesia about what this power is really about and how they are part of it. Until this changes, unless there is transformation at the core, there is little hope for a peaceful existence here on this planet. Changing the faces of the cast of characters in this drama does not create a new play.
The experience of my birthings also showed me the incredible power of sisterhood. My guiding sister-midwives became the embodiment of the priestesses of the Goddess. They completely cared for me and loved me through a most difficult passage. They watched over me like angels, and took care of all my needs. Apprentice midwives stayed with me after the births, and I could just stay with my babies and bond. I was tended to by people who came and cooked, and looked after things until I was ready to resume my regular life.
I was lucky to live in a place where women and children were loved. The sacredness of the time during and following the birth was honored by the entire community. Everyone had respect for a woman who had just given birth, and everyone knew that I was in an altered state. My male partner was able to witness the love of women, and the love of the mother and child. He was able to surrender to the process, and not be concerned about being the star. He was able to be of service. And, he was able to bond with our babies as well. He was not afraid to love them, and did not feel shame when showing tenderness. Witnessing this miracle changed him and opened his heart. He was grateful to be a part of it, and humbled by the magnitude of what women do in birth.
The Goddess was everywhere. It was Her face tending me, guiding me, and feeding me. It was Her face looking back at me through the eyes of my babies, and it was Her arms that held these new beings and it was Her breasts that nourished them.
The Birthing Woman as Original Shaman-Goddess
Women were the first shamans.
In Shakti Woman, Vicki Noble refers to Geoffrey Ashe, a noted British scholar of shamanism, who has written that shamans were originally women, and that the oldest form of the word "shaman" refers to "female shaman." Vicki writes, "Ashe is very clear about one thing that especially interests me: He says that ancient shamanism was not an individual phenomenon but something that was practiced by the female group. And the power of the female group is biologically rooted in menstruation and the blood mysteries of birth." (p 13)
A shaman is one who flies between the worlds, and who has a foot in both worlds -- that of the seen and unseen. When a woman bleeds, she enters the world of the unseen, the world of dreams, intuition and spirits. Because we, in the west, are not educated in these ancient ways of seeing, we do not know how to embrace them. But with Goddess re-emerging, our memories are returning, and we are re-membering.
With the female group bleeding together, the collective vision is deep and profound, with far reaching affects on the community. In matrifocal societies, it was probably true that tribal life was guided by the visions of women who bled together. Women accessing healing and wisdom in the unseen realms through their blood, in rhythm with the moons together, was a primal shamanic art. And giving birth was also a primal shamanic art.
Monica Sjoo clearly gives her perspective on women's shamanic art in New Age and Armageddon: "The ancient Goddess was the birth and death Goddess and fertility wisdom and shamanism are about crossing between the worlds. The birthing woman is the archetypal shaman as she brings the soul from the other realms into this world, forming and incarnating it within her body. She is mediator between the worlds and magically converts bread and wine into flesh and blood in mysteries of transformation." (p 194)
Birth is certainly messy and bloody. It is intense, fierce, vilely and loud, but not violent. It is bloody from shamanic transformation. Birth-blood is the primordial ocean of life that has sustained the child in utero, the giving of this blood in birth is the mother's gift to her child. The flow of blood is the first sign, following the flow of waters, that signals that new life is on the way, just as it is the first sign of a young maiden's initiation into a new life at her menarche. The blood of transformation is miraculous. In Spanish, the phrase "dar a la luz", to give birth, literally means "to give to the light". Giving to the light -- mothers giving birth are giving light to new life through blood. The messiness and bloodiness of birth are the gift of the Earth-- elemental chaos coming into form.
Honoring mothers as the first shamans honors all of us. Recognizing that without our mother's love, nurturance and healing wisdom we would die, shows us how to be in cooperation with the web of life. Respecting our mothers teaches us respect for the Great Mother.
Men do not have to be jealous of not giving birth. Instead of focusing on what they don't do, they can focus on what they do. Men can rejoice that they emerge from such sacredness, and are tended to, nourished and loved by Her. They don't need to wage war against Her because they don't do what She does. She has provided them with other mysteries to unravel.
Men need to spend time figuring out what these mysteries are, instead of what they are not, and not blame women or the Mother for their own internalized perception of inadequacy they have developed as a result of fear and competition and the dreadful teaching of "separation."
It is essential for women to return to the wisdom of our bodies and to reclaim our power and our wisdom inherent in our femaleness in order for global transformation to occur. It is essential for all humans to surrender the fear of Her and allow Her to once again guide our lives. For without Her, we are clearly headed for extinction -- the only outcome of denial of our Mother.