Hero’s Journey: Reflections
Myths taken as metaphors often can contain great wisdom and insights about our own lives. In my latter years now, I have often reflected on where my life has taken…
Working with Our Natural Ultradian Bio-Rhythms
In my previous post, I wrote about working with our 24-hour, circadian bio-rhythm. In this post, I address the other type of bio-rhythm I mentioned, ultradian bio-rhythms. Ultradian rhythms, also…
Archetypes, Spirit Guides, and Jungian Psychology
Right now I am working on continuing education workshop ideas spinning off and discussed in my Guru book.
In the Guru book, I propose that Jungian archetypes are equivalent to Shamanic Spirit Guides or allies (as in Castaneda’s Don Juan books), and introduce readers to my personal archetypes/spirit guides.
As it turns out, there is a whole group of practitioners, mainly healers of the psychotherapy/counseling professions, interested in the parallels between shamanic practices, actually neoshamanic, and their healing practices. Many of these use neoshamanistic-like approaches to help their patients. For those that are not familiar with Jungian archetypes and some of the other terms. Let us start with archetypes.
(more…)Emotional Self-Sufficiency
Old man on a bicycle tee I awoke thinking about this this morning. One of my goals at this stage and place in my life is the cultivation of self-sufficiency.…
Meeting Your Personal Archetypes
Would you like to meet and learn how to work with your very own, personal archetypes? In my Guru book, I write about consulting with my personal archetypes. We each…
Inner-Peace, Happiness & Equanimity
Inner-peace is a state of being. Happiness is an emotion. I used to say that I just wanted to be happy. But what I really was seeking was inner-peace. I…
Vision Quests, Sweat Lodges, Sesshins, and Long Bicycle and Harley Rides: A Common Denominator?
Just a short post here. For three decades plusI have been doing the above. Sunday, after I got back from my nearly 27 mile bike ride, exhaust, dripping sweat, etc.,…
Coping with Anxiety in a Coronavirus World
A Secular Version of the Serenity Prayer:
May I cultivate—
The serenity to accept what I cannot change,
The courage to change what I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.
In these times of great financial, medical, and social change, stress and anxiety are running rampant. At least I know mine is–at least some time. As someone who has had to deal a lifetime with high anxiety, I have spent a lot of time learning ways to mitigate it and would like to share some, hopefully, helpful suggestions with you, starting with the secular version of the Serenity Prayer above.
Start a COVID-19 journal and record your daily thoughts, feelings, and doings. Focus on the things you can change, control, or at least influence. Make a list of these in your journal. You don’t need to go into a list of things you can’t change or do anything about. Focus on what you can change. By putting your energy and efforts into things you can change and control, your will find yourself less overwhelmed by those things you can’t.
Social distancing adds a whole new level of stress. That is a euphemism. I refer to it as social isolation. I am by nature in my old age pretty much a hermit anyway. My introversion works in my favor here. I prefer to spend large blocks of time in solitude. However, with the Coronavirus social isolation, it sometimes is over the top for even me. So I check in via phone, FaceTime, emails, texting, etc. with friends and family. Unfortunately, humans in particular, and mammals in general, need touch. Occasionally, I have to walk down the street and get a hug from my daughter, granddaughters, and great grandson. My ex drops by about once a week for a visit. These help keep me in equilibrium. So, maintaining social contact is important for your mental health.
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