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Spring 1994
Joseph Campbell
Recommitment is a word I often use in my work. So often we find ourselves needing to once again direct our energies to the positive flow of our world. How may times have we said, "I can't believe I have to go through this again!" or "I thought I was finished with this issue!"? This is the time I often observe people getting down on themselves. The demon begins to stalk. It says, "If you were getting better, you wouldn't have to go through this again. What's the matter with you? This therapy really isn't working. Why waste your time?" Lovely isn't it? So how do we rally against this attack? Recommitment. It is a gentle work that tells us we have to dedicate ourselves again to the cause of our well-being. So what if we have to go through something again? Life is difficult and our issues keep appearing on the Great Wheel. Each time we struggle with our issues we have more insight from the last time. We are stronger and yet there is more to work through. Can we help ourselves by not creating a dark place (the demon loves the dark) but rather creating light with the idea of recommitment.
Yahweh, I know I need to commit again
How many times have we heard someone say, "I have all these negative feelings inside me."? When I have explored with a person who has made a statement like that, we find that those "negative" feelings the person is referring to are feelings they think are to be feared and distrusted; they have no use and only get the person into "trouble". As a result, those feelings are ones that the person would like to ignore, to deny, to disown, to get rid of. They are regarded by the person who experiences and thinks about them that way as enemy. There are many problems contained in that way of regarding these "negative" feelings and responding to them in that manner. The first is that these feelings don't evaporate when we try to ignore, deny, disown or get rid to them. Quite to the contrary, they, instead, continue to fester inside our Selves, only to come back time and again with a vengeance, to disrupt our lives and even, at times, to be harmful to our Selves and others. And because they do these kinds of things to us, the "negative" label remains in place. This all can change if we alter how we regard them. There are two categories of feelings. Most of us know that. But because we break those two categories into "positive" and "negative" feelings, we get our Selves into considerable trouble. In fact, the two categories of feelings can have another set of labels which define and thus help us respond to them differently. Those two labels are well-being and warning feelings. Well-being feelings are those that indicate to the Self that it is in a state of well-being, of homeostasis, safety, security, etc. A feeling of joy, for instance, indicates that what is happening to the Self is a powerful affirmation and enhancer of its being. Warning feelings, on the other hand, alert the Self that danger exists and that the Self needs to take action toward the danger so that the person can preserve its Self and be restored to a state of well-being. An example of a warning feeling is anger. It can be defined as an emotional response to a perception of violation. Its function is to alert the individual to violation and secondly to mobilize the person to take action to end or defend the Self against the violation and the violator. Since all feelings fall into one or other of these two categories, all feelings have a real purpose and function. If we define warning feelings as "negative", our impulse is to ignore and disregard them. If we do that, we lose our ability, as in the case of anger, to respond and defend our Selves against violation. That leaves us very vulnerable to the world if we do that. In the next installment, we will examine why a particular warning feeling, anger, is such a difficult feeling for many of us to respond: ANGER: THE PROBLEM FEELING.
In the Winter Newsletter Jack and Fred encouraged us to "Be Kind to Yourself: Treat yourself to a Private Tesserville Retreat!" I was blessed with a private retreat the beginning of January and I too would encourage you to experience this time of "coming out of the world". My original plan was to meet with Jack for two sessions on separate days before my Creative Discovery Weekend and then meet with Jack for two sessions on separate days after the weekend. The weekend plans changed as the snow kept coming and Fred's concern for all who would be traveling increased. The weekend was rescheduled and I had six days at the Farm by myself. I met with Jack once each day and worked through "a lot of stuff". The prayer of my heart to know God's love for me became a reality. The Spirit, working through Jack and the wisdom that has been given to him by God, opened my inner eyes to see myself and experience the deep love that my Creator has for me, His creature. This unfolded during the six days I was at the Farm. The time to read and internalize chapters from Jack's new manuscript was essential. The time to be in the Studio by myself and visibly re-create my inner world was significant. The time to listen to the tapes of my sessions with Jack was meaningful. The time to walk in the snow and take pictures was important. I went with an open heart to receive whatever gift God chose to give me. He gave me Himself by revealing myself to me. The retreat setting was necessary for this to become a reality.
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