In the Darkness
By Nancy Ging, LCSW
As much as we love and honor the
light, great richness is found when we go into the darkness. Divinity, great love and wisdom can be found
therein. Wholeness requires that we go deeply into our inner world and find our connection with the Cosmic Mother.
The Earth has treasures of healing to bestow upon us when we enter the darkness.
Many years ago I learned from Matthew Fox, author of Original Blessing (and several
other wise books), founder of Center for Creation Spirituality, that "any form of spirituality that does not include
the darkness is a fake spirituality." Truly, dark and light are meant to be the partnership
which the cycle of day followed by night could remind us of continuously if we did not have a cultural prejudice about the
darkness. Going within has rarely been encouraged in western civilization and at what cost! Indigenous
peoples honored the darkness -- Yin, the Feminine Principle - in ways that the modern world forgot. The
dark road, one of the roads to wholeness, has been ignored and this has caused a massive disembodiment in our culture. Experiencing
our own emotions is not possible if we are not embodied. If we do not experience our emotions we cannot truly "love one
another" in healthy, wholesome ways from the space of real integrity.
Descending into our bodies, our own personal plot of earthiness, is what this season in particular calls for.
Our psyche and our body longs for us to drink in the energy of the Earth and let it move through us.
We are not to hold on or hoard this Yin energy, but let it flow in and out, doing its healing work as we
invite it into our body. Where tension is present we are hoarding the energy. LET GO of it. Holding on,
hoarding energy, is hazardous to our health - mental and physical.
Recently I
attended a weekend workshop led by Reginald Ray, PhD, author of Touching Enlightenment (2008) and SoundsTrue
CD's on "Meditating With the Body." From Reggie I learned a 10 point meditation.
To experience this, lie down on your back (I recommend you put a nice eye pillow over your eyes to darken
and protect you for a few moments from the outer world. Notice how soothing this feels). Now
bend your knees and put your hands on your lower abdomen. (It is extremely helpful and comfortable to tie a cloth belt around
your bent legs just above your knees during this process). With your knees together place your feet comfortably
apart -- several inches. Now slowly focus on 10 points: each foot, the two sides of your derriere (delicate
French word for buttocks), the mid-back, the two shoulder blades, the two elbows and the head as you let go of tension. Simply
feel the earth under you. Absorb the earth into each of the 10 points. Feel each sensation that arises
within your body. Notice the feeling of your clothes or whatever is making contact with your body. Stay
with this process of feeling your body and noticing any emotions that arise for as long as you like knowing that Mother Earth
is loving you, healing you, blessing you.
Nancy
S.B. Ging, LCSW, is a holistic psychotherapist, poet, author, columnist, teacher and consultant. She has been in private
practice in Hinsdale since 1981 and also at Clarus Center since 2006.
