Reflections from Bone:Dying into Life by Marion Woodman
“In my hours with analysands, one of my strong points has been my capacity to filter irrelevancies, to listen for their essence.” (Woodman, 2000, p. 237)
“… when soul is living its essence — being seen, being heard.” (Woodman, 2000, p. 237)
“… this civilization is breaking up.” (Woodman, 2000, p. 238-239)
“rainbow as connection between Earth and Heaven; subtle body as connection between matter and spirit.” (Woodman, 2000, p. 239)
My Reflections:
I somehow sense some sort of creative cycle in the first two quotes that stood out for me in these pages. As if Marian’s being able to “listen through” to hear the essence of her analysands, in turn allows that essence to come through in the very act of being heard (and seen). It comes across to me almost as a “which comes first, the chicken or the egg” scenario. Is the essence present and then is able to be heard/seen, or does it become present because there is someone to hear/see it? Leads me to ponder for myself, do I allow my essence to be present if I do not feel there is an appropriate receiver to hear or see it? At this point in my life I would have to say no … I am reluctant to express my essence without a trusted receiver — and I recognize that that trust is very hard to come by for me.
“… this civilization is breaking up.” – written 25 years ago … and here we are today …
Well before the pandemic I had been pondering whether the economy existed in service to humanity or humanity existed in service to the economy. Globally, we seem to be in the midst of grappling with just that question. Do we sacrifice the economy so that people may live or do we sacrifice people so that the economy lives? Humanity seems deeply divided on this. I wonder, what if we were able to hold the two – humanity and the economy – as opposites in tension and were able to wait long enough to see what third might arise. What new form of civilization may be born?
Finally — the rainbow connecting heaven and earth and the subtle body connecting matter (body) and spirit …. I have no words to add to this and think it is an absolutely lovely way to end the journey through this book.
Afterword: I did not pull out any quotes from the afterword written by Marion’s husband, Ross. I thought it a wonderful conclusion to see through his words and a wonderful testament as to who the two of them were together and the life they shared.
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
Soul Tending 