The last quote from Johnson's
Inner Work was a little weird, I'm the first to admit. I strongly believe there is something to this whole 'unconscious' phenomenon, but "Lady Ingrid" is a little much for even me. The book as a whole is challenging, bizarre and more than a little disconcerting at times, but I thought I would risk another quote which I found much more concrete and helpful.
Ritual, in its true form, is one of the most meaningful channels for our awe and sense of worship. This is why ritual came spontaneously into being among humans in all parts of the earth. This is why modern people who are deprived of meaningful ritual feel a chronic sense of emptiness. They are denied contact with the great archetypes (ie. the Holy Spirit1) that nourish our soul-life.
- Inner Work, Robert A. Johnson. pg. 102
1Parenthetical mine
The last quote from Johnson's Inner Work was a little weird, I'm the first to admit. I strongly believe there is something to this whole 'unconscious' phenomenon, but "Lady Ingrid" is a little much for even me. The book as a whole is challenging, bizarre and more than a little disconcerting at times, but I thought I would risk another quote which I found much more concrete and helpful.
2 comments:
What makes a ritual? Would my tinkering around with things be a ritual for me?
I was talking with a woman in class on Monday night who's always rushed. I asked her if she's able to take time for herself to breathe, and she laughed. She laughed but I hurt for her.
According to this author, James, ritual is anything that helps integrate your unconscious and conscious selves. In a more conventional context, it would be anything that leads to a willing interaction with something we cannot grasp. It is giving voice to the 'other' in your life, if that makes sense? These concepts are still new for me and slippery by nature, sorry I'm so vague.
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