The Lover
It has been a while since I read all of “King, Warrior, Magician, Lover.” And I am very proud of us for going as slow as we are going.
I say this because as I read to prepare for next week’s session I was bowled over by a sense of Grace and devotion.
The authors begin the last major section of the book, the section about “the Lover” archetype by talking about the Shiva Lingam. The ancient representation of Mahadev (The Great God) in the form of a phallus.
Most of you already know that while my cosmology is fundamentally “nondual,” I surrender into this nonduality as a deist. And for almost 20 years, my devotion is to Lord Shiva, the Great One, the Benevolent Lord, the embodiment of the sacred masculine. Om Namah Shivaya is the mantra that colors my breath.
And it is only as Shiva that I have learned to worship, honor and serve Shakti, the Holy Feminine, his sacred consort, the energy that scintillates through every particle of creation. All that is manifest, that moves, that dances and changes as Her.
It has taken me too long to truly embody The Lover. The energy has been strong within me for as long as I can remember. But I had telenovelas, Salsa songs, wild uncles, and a patriarchal culture to shape and misshape it. This was directly juxtaposed against a conservative Christian upbringing that only sought to suppress it.
If you’ve been with us for a while (we are always welcoming new people to our call and to our list [even if you can’t make the calls]) you know I always say that the worst sins of my life, the times that I have brought the most shame to myself and hurt the most people around me, have been sins of patriarchy. These sins involved intoxication and a misalignment with the otherwise beautiful power that is sexual energy.
These days, as I coach, train and support the healing of dope man after dope man, I see the ways in which this misalignment seems to have an unbelievable power to trip us up and hold us back.
I would rather wait for us to be on a live, unrecorded, call together to more openly share the ways in which this energy has come into alignment in my life. And the implications of what that means for my delight in my aliveness and the fulfillment of purpose.
I can say for sure right now that we are going to spend more than one cycle just on this first subsection. Just on the introduction to the section on “The Lover.” Read it, and stop before we get to the next subsection: “The Lover in His Fullness.”
The slow pace has served us well.
As you read, first and foremost NOTICE, what you feel, what are the sensations that arise, how does your body respond to this Jungian encounter with this archetypal part of yourself. Does your chest expand? Do you shrink? Do your loins move? Do you ground or do you lift, or do you find balance in both?
Come ready to share, as boldly, vulnerably and honestly as possible:
What stands out from this introduction? Where are you hoping this goes?
When/how/where in your life do you show up as a true Lover?
Where are you challenged in showing up as a Lover?
Where are you out of integrity with this force that moves within you and that is a part of you?
Take this contemplation seriously. And come ready to show up as a man. This is going to be a good one. See you Monday, June 5, at 8:30PM East.