THE RITE OF WRITING

The task for my psychology thesis of giving written testimony to my experiences was extremely difficult. I encountered powerful resistance. I didn't begin writing my testimony until two-and-a-half months after my incubation. Then I had the following dream.

The Meaning of My Incubation

A big flash of the true meaning of the incubation of myself. A sense of centered energy to confront communicating and writing my process.

The meaning of my incubation has developed through my rite of writing my experiences. I am learning to trust and nurture my inner voice by elaborating the messages of my dreams. The inner voice I was looking for is not just one voice but many voices. It is the voice of my inner guide Hyperion, the agonized cry of my Wounded Child, the ecstasy of my Totem Pole Carver, the acquiescence of my Pleasing, the terror of my Pit of Emptiness and the protection of my Redwood Faerie Ring. It is the voice of my creative vision of writing and of the fearful snake of my first dream. Learning to trust and nurture my inner voice means giving space in my being to the many selves that together express wholeness. Dialoguing with these inner voices enhances the innate healing function of my dreams. Writing the stories of these encounters seems to invite the message of my inner voices into a participation and marriage with my conscious personality. It is a befriending of the beasts and beings of my dreams. Writing is not my only way. Creative modalities, such as painting, clay, dance, music, photography and others, lend themselves to my expressing the tales of my inner being.

I feel I have benefited greatly from my incubation ritual. I have begun to accept the creative vision power of my Totem Pole Carver and have subsequently had numerous inspiring dreams. I can sense the presence of my inner voices in my waking life.

Letting my inner voices speak does not quell my catastrophic fears. Yet my rite of writing has given me a new way to face the disturbing and excluded parts of myself and to grow with life's natural lessons of agony and ecstasy. In order to be more conscious of my inner voices, I must be able to walk into the Pit of Emptiness with my eyes wide open. I must be open to the many deaths and mysteries that seek   to  balance   my   limited   viewpoint.   This   requires  a