I find myself between pleasure and pain when in the rhythms of creation. My dreams tell me when the soul in my work is dying and needs to be revived with choking baby girls. But when I’m curious and accepting of stagnation I see spirals in solar plexus’s. On a somatic level I try my best not to be taken by anger and frustration but work with it at the gym or in movement, even try to create with it.
If there is an easy “flow” to this madness I haven’t found it. What I have found is allowances and faith, with highs I cherish and emptiness I nourish. Full circle, never ending yet faithful to the process.
I appreciate the article and this comment so much. I have had a series of unfortunate events and I have been afraid to surrender to the energy of destruction. Thank you both for your words, they have inspired me to dance through my fears, and I will indeed bring curiosity, which will hopefully lead to acceptance, to my situation 🙏
Beautiful description, Brittany. The dream image of the choking baby girl is so striking. It makes me think of blocked communications and a stifled vishuddhi chakra.
I like your point on working with these dynamics somatically. I usually find myself called to the woods, to a difficult hike where I can sweat and ascend/descend hills. I often feel much clearer after I do.
I love these themes so much. The ouroboros, and the archetype of the snake in general, seem to be life long companions for me.
The last while, for me, has been very much about letting myself be balanced enough between effort and tension, between consistency and adaptability, between becoming and unbecoming... It seems that I tend to get stuck as soon as I lean into one aspect more than another... where when I remain lightly balanced, the spiral rotates gently...
Aldous Huxleys law of reversed effort also comes to mind.
Thank you for this, I love seeing content like this on my feed!
When I have the desire to create I search for any undercurrent of fear of lack that may be driving me harder than in necessary and release it the best I can. Or I find my knowing that this new thing too will end - that helps me hold it lightly, offering it up as a prayer rather than a fact.
When I’m disillusioned with the entire thing and can’t find my creativity I try to simply be aware of that feeling. I remind myself how much I love autumn and winter and try to let myself be in that place of release and regenerate. I return to receiving - letting life feed me until I’m ready to turn around and offer it back again.
To see the Ouroboros eating its tail, perhaps it represents the creative process feeding on memory. No accident perhaps, the Ouroboros is seen eating the part furthest from its head (self), or the earliest memories. No accident again, the Ouroboros is never seen at any stage further than the first devouring of itself, a representation of sustained creativity. Writing a novel requires stamina, first to get it out, then to revise it again and again, over and over until you can't see it any more, to put it away, and do something else for a while, coming back to it with a little objectivity, revising again and again, finally finishing it, sending it out, hearing nothing or something back, starting on a new novel, repeating the process, always your own method, but mostly in common with everyone who writes or composes or paints, or simply sits and thinks, with imagination harnessed to memory, descending, mining the seam of gold, the seam of silver, perhaps an opal or rarer the uncut diamond, bringing it to the surface, working there to bring out its lustre. Ouroboros may not be eating its tail, rather it may be sucking on it for comfort in the hard world where it's been placed.
What a lucid exploration of the slippery ouroboros. It feels like a very apt symbol to hold the opposites of destruction and creation, integration and disintegration and reminds me of my entire phd journey! The learning for me from this was trusting the process, something that in itself for me is also very much a work in process too.
Thank you for the kind words :) The journey to obtain a phd would certainly bring up these elements over and over! An accomplishment to succeed with many lessons learned through the process, I’m sure.
I love your posts and am going to subscribe! Of all the newsletters I get this is the one that holds the most juice for me. For the first time it struck me that the uroburos can also be a metaphor for the ubiquitous auto immune diseases going around. The body devouring itself. Having had a bout with one myself, and needing to break a cycle I was stuck in before I could recover from it. The spiral of growth and change - I doubt I could have broken that pattern without the devouring part of the cycle. The magician transforms and that doesn’t come easily - I also noticed the infinity symbol above his head. Here’s a phrase that I woke up with from a dream - “ open your mouth and hang upside down - you will find what you need on the ground.” 🙃🙏
Thanks for your support, Cindy! And welcome to the paid members community :)
Your point on auto immune issues is really intriguing, especially as a way to contextualize how this manifests more concretely and within the body. I think these ouroboric aspects can play out in many areas of life. Hopefully, by exploring the cycle in both its creative and destructive parts, we can move through them as we need.
What an interesting dream phrase! The image that came to mind was the Hanged Man from the tarot.
I find myself between pleasure and pain when in the rhythms of creation. My dreams tell me when the soul in my work is dying and needs to be revived with choking baby girls. But when I’m curious and accepting of stagnation I see spirals in solar plexus’s. On a somatic level I try my best not to be taken by anger and frustration but work with it at the gym or in movement, even try to create with it.
If there is an easy “flow” to this madness I haven’t found it. What I have found is allowances and faith, with highs I cherish and emptiness I nourish. Full circle, never ending yet faithful to the process.
I appreciate the article and this comment so much. I have had a series of unfortunate events and I have been afraid to surrender to the energy of destruction. Thank you both for your words, they have inspired me to dance through my fears, and I will indeed bring curiosity, which will hopefully lead to acceptance, to my situation 🙏
Glad to hear the article and words are helpful at this difficult time, best of luck!
Beautiful description, Brittany. The dream image of the choking baby girl is so striking. It makes me think of blocked communications and a stifled vishuddhi chakra.
I like your point on working with these dynamics somatically. I usually find myself called to the woods, to a difficult hike where I can sweat and ascend/descend hills. I often feel much clearer after I do.
I love these themes so much. The ouroboros, and the archetype of the snake in general, seem to be life long companions for me.
The last while, for me, has been very much about letting myself be balanced enough between effort and tension, between consistency and adaptability, between becoming and unbecoming... It seems that I tend to get stuck as soon as I lean into one aspect more than another... where when I remain lightly balanced, the spiral rotates gently...
Aldous Huxleys law of reversed effort also comes to mind.
Thank you for this, I love seeing content like this on my feed!
Thank you for reading :)
I try to look for one within the other.
When I have the desire to create I search for any undercurrent of fear of lack that may be driving me harder than in necessary and release it the best I can. Or I find my knowing that this new thing too will end - that helps me hold it lightly, offering it up as a prayer rather than a fact.
When I’m disillusioned with the entire thing and can’t find my creativity I try to simply be aware of that feeling. I remind myself how much I love autumn and winter and try to let myself be in that place of release and regenerate. I return to receiving - letting life feed me until I’m ready to turn around and offer it back again.
Beautiful, love the idea of finding one within the other, dynamically linking the different poles of experience.
To see the Ouroboros eating its tail, perhaps it represents the creative process feeding on memory. No accident perhaps, the Ouroboros is seen eating the part furthest from its head (self), or the earliest memories. No accident again, the Ouroboros is never seen at any stage further than the first devouring of itself, a representation of sustained creativity. Writing a novel requires stamina, first to get it out, then to revise it again and again, over and over until you can't see it any more, to put it away, and do something else for a while, coming back to it with a little objectivity, revising again and again, finally finishing it, sending it out, hearing nothing or something back, starting on a new novel, repeating the process, always your own method, but mostly in common with everyone who writes or composes or paints, or simply sits and thinks, with imagination harnessed to memory, descending, mining the seam of gold, the seam of silver, perhaps an opal or rarer the uncut diamond, bringing it to the surface, working there to bring out its lustre. Ouroboros may not be eating its tail, rather it may be sucking on it for comfort in the hard world where it's been placed.
Enjoy these different perspectives, thanks for sharing!
Informative
Thanks!
You're welcome always God bless you and your family forever
What a lucid exploration of the slippery ouroboros. It feels like a very apt symbol to hold the opposites of destruction and creation, integration and disintegration and reminds me of my entire phd journey! The learning for me from this was trusting the process, something that in itself for me is also very much a work in process too.
Thank you for the kind words :) The journey to obtain a phd would certainly bring up these elements over and over! An accomplishment to succeed with many lessons learned through the process, I’m sure.
I love your posts and am going to subscribe! Of all the newsletters I get this is the one that holds the most juice for me. For the first time it struck me that the uroburos can also be a metaphor for the ubiquitous auto immune diseases going around. The body devouring itself. Having had a bout with one myself, and needing to break a cycle I was stuck in before I could recover from it. The spiral of growth and change - I doubt I could have broken that pattern without the devouring part of the cycle. The magician transforms and that doesn’t come easily - I also noticed the infinity symbol above his head. Here’s a phrase that I woke up with from a dream - “ open your mouth and hang upside down - you will find what you need on the ground.” 🙃🙏
Thanks for your support, Cindy! And welcome to the paid members community :)
Your point on auto immune issues is really intriguing, especially as a way to contextualize how this manifests more concretely and within the body. I think these ouroboric aspects can play out in many areas of life. Hopefully, by exploring the cycle in both its creative and destructive parts, we can move through them as we need.
What an interesting dream phrase! The image that came to mind was the Hanged Man from the tarot.
Great read as I'm beginning to study and research this themes
Thanks!