This “confrontation with the unconscious,” as the Swiss psychiatrist C.G. Jung referred to it, is a vital and necessary part of any journey of depth, and requires that we come face to face with what we’re doing here, what’s most important to us, and how we’re going to make use of the sacred life energy we’ve been given.
As so many of us have experienced, there are times when things fall apart, our hearts break, old dreams fall away, and our lives just don’t turn out the way we thought they would. In one way or another, the status quo becomes disrupted and we find ourselves in unknown and shaky territory.
As so many of us have experienced, there are times when things fall apart, our hearts break, old dreams fall away, and our lives just don’t turn out the way we thought they would. In one way or another, the status quo becomes disrupted and we find ourselves in unknown and shaky territory.
We may even be surprised by unexpected experiences such as anxiety, depression, restlessness, and a profound loss of meaning.
The invitation in these moments is to collect the shattered pieces into a holy vase and place them on an altar in front of us.
The invitation in these moments is to collect the shattered pieces into a holy vase and place them on an altar in front of us.
Inside the broken shards is a light found only there, what our friends, the ancient mystics and alchemists, referred to as the lumen naturae.
In order to perceive and be touched by that light, however, we have to come down into the earth, feel, and grieve. The unveiling of the hidden light is the nature of the alchemical opus, the great work of the heart that is unique for each of us.
If we look and listen carefully - as we're waking up in the morning, falling asleep at night, out in nature, with a friend, or preparing a meal - we might see or hear or sense this light as it longs to make its way into our perception.
Photo by Kevin Schmid
