Inner Spirals

Reflections from Bone:Dying into Life by Marion Woodman

“… We’re moving into another level of the spiral.” (Woodman, 2000, p. 232)

“I am going to be late, but something in me does not care. I’m doing my best and can do no more.” (Woodman, 2000, p. 234)

“Plate glass is cut-off from feeling – able to watch life, unable to feel into it.” (Woodman, 2000, p. 234)

My reflections: 

Oh my goodness … I just want to say “That damned spiral!!!” … just as you think that you have worked through some part of a shadow aspect or de-energized a complex, BAM! there it comes again … although this time at another level.  And, now that it is consciousness we know that if we don’t get some resolution to this particular aspect of ourself this time around, it will be back at the next turn of the spiral.

On being late … before I had a child I was always punctual.  Once I had a child, I was never punctual again.  Once my child had grown and left my home and no longer had any impact on my punctuality, I began to notice that often time I seemed to be the only one striving to be on time.  It seemed to matter more to me than to other people, and so I started to let go of that expectation that I seemed to have put on myself — and it was freeing … now, I just do the best I can and when I get stuck in traffic or get a last minute phone call before leaving, or whatever the interruption may be, … I know I am doing the best I can and I can do no more …. and then I can let go of the anxiety and  relax.

As for sitting and watching life through a plate-glass window …. many, many, many of us are doing just that in these days of isolation due to the Coronavirus pandemic.  I wonder what it is doing to our emotional lives …

Woodman, M. (2000). Bone: Dying into Life. Penguin Books.

*This reflection was first published in a Facebook Group entitled BodySoul Rhythms – Continuing the Legacy of Marion Woodman