Tell me a story

August 27, 2023

All stories are part of one big story. And there are a range of story tellers.

All stories are part of one big story. And there are a range of story tellers. Joseph Campbell wrote that there is only one Mono myth. That story is the Hero/Heroines Journey. George Lucas used that to create Star Wars. Then there's the 1678's Pilgrims Progress and Ulysses by Homer, which are also perfect examples. The story describes the life of a person, essentially. A life means that to grow we must leave home, journey, experience trials and tribulations, and then return. 

When a story or movie ends with an unsatisfying feeling, and in a way with no ‘return’, it is because it has betrayed the mono myth; it hasn't followed ‘type’. Ultimately, stories in the form of myths, legends and fairytales are teaching tools. They teach through metaphor and symbols – a link to life. They can be warnings, signposts, and clues for how to survive dangers in life. Think: Little red riding hood... she was onto that nasty wolf, and she escaped. Watch out for the wolf in sheep's clothing (or a wolf pretending to be a nice grandmother)... some people are not what they seem and are unsafe. These stories teach to trust your instinct and question everything, and, if in doubt, runaway! 

 

“We shall not cease from exploration 
And the end of all our exploring 
Will be to arrive where we started 
And know the place for the first time." 

T.S Elliot 


I wonder if T.S Elliot was actually referring to the Heroines journey when he wrote this in his poem. He appears to be referencing the "Return" aspect of the Journey. The Journey is about growing into a Hero or moving into a different phase of life, as Richard Rohr discusses in Falling Upward. Rohr writes about working out what to do with ourselves and links to Carl Yung's concept of the two halves of life. The first half is to create a strong healthy container (our sense of self) and the second half is transforming it so we blow apart our ego and become a wise(r) person… an elder. This is part of a person’s journey and exploration, their experience of trials and tribulations, and their learning. 

What does this have to do with my work? Why am I interested in this? I would like to collect a story for each Body point. I am beginning to realise that each point on the body that holds emotions is not a simple and straight forward single emotion point, like anger or bitterness, but more of a response to a situation or story. I will address that a bit more in another post I've called Balance.  

I have decided to start collecting stories, quotes, vignettes, anecdotes for each Body point. Well, maybe not every body point - that’s just too many! Do you have any stories, new or old, that you adore? Please share them with me. Or a book series? A wisdom book? Please share any story that has created meaning in your life. 

Much love to all of you walking this path with me, 

xx Mary-Anne

Healing as a whole person

By Mary-Anne Wielinga • January 29, 2024
One concept of health is wholeness in body, mind and spirit. Yet what I consider 'health’ as is not a ‘perfect’ whole body, mind and spirit. Perfect is not really achievable for many (and is the top athlete ever truly happy with their health? I don't know!). We need to look at health in a living state of our body, mind and spirit. The World Health organisation describes health as; "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity".

Emotional brain

By Mary-Anne Wielinga • January 15, 2024
Are you left or right brain dominant?

Beyond Butterflies

By Mary-Anne Wielinga • December 23, 2023
Transitioning to school can manifest in bodily symptoms

seeing the whole body

By Mary-Anne Wielinga • December 4, 2023
We have been looking at the links between our body, mind and spirit. The question remains: how are they linked when we are unwell? The idea that what we think and feel can make us sick has been around for a long time. On the flipside, it is very clear that sometimes we are sick independent of thoughts and feelings. Yet the emotions appear to be there anyway. How does that work? They seem to be impossible to unravel. In fact, I suspect it is simultaneous; it happens together. It may appear that one precedes the other, and perhaps that is true. My theory is that the WHOLE self changes its function and it manifests in one form, most visibly in the body. Yet, body, mind and spirit are damaged at the same time. I know this appears to be different to the comment I wrote in my last blog - that a ‘broken’ body can be whole and healthy. Perhaps the examples in my mind are people that have grown as a result of their injuries? An accident ends with a body becoming paraplegic; however, the person’s mind and spirit grow in strength and stamina. Spiritual and emotional well-being can be independent of physical health. Perhaps this is the exception? Or a goal? If we are blessed to age, we have changes in our body, markers of our life, such as arthritis in the fingers, bellies that sag, and wrinkles. These are normal. For example, corrosive thinking wears down the body, which aligns with basic histology that shows cells can take decades to change their form. The cells are eventually worn down. They function differently for a while, then change shape and become functionally different. Specific example: type two diabetes doesn't come out of nowhere; the body is attempting to cope for a long time before it can no longer work its insulin magic. Change means that time is a key factor. My limited understanding of physics suggests that the answer will eventually come from there. Give it another 50 years. There is some very cool information on simultaneous time (time appears to flow forwards and backwards) as well as quantum entanglement. We are peeking at a problem in another room through a little keyhole! In my practice, I have seen how the WHOLE self changes its function and sickness manifests in one form, most visibly in the body. However, with an ill body, the mind and spirit are damaged in a linked timeframe. We have so much more to learn. In my next post I talk about this with concrete examples.

Shifting my world view

By Mary-Anne Wielinga • November 15, 2023
My world changed

Onto the Orient

By Mary-Anne Wielinga • October 30, 2023
Digging into the details

Balance

September 6, 2023
I have used this term ‘balance’ quite a lot in my blogs, but the meaning may at times be elusive to its actual function in our bodies.

Update

August 20, 2023
Hello my friends! A little update to let you know how my project is progressing. I now have a sight on when I will finish getting the last 10% of my "scribbles" into confluence. 10th of September! thats the plan ! keep me accountable, ok? I have hit a few snags in this last bit. Firstly when I started writing down my arms work several years ago, I muddled up the drawings of the arms. It turns out if you don't draw enough land marks it is quite easy to mix the orientation of the arms.. don't ask, its a painful, irritating mistake. The result is I will need to remap the arms again. As well as being almost finished with digitising, I would say I am close to having mapped the body "completely" the first time around. Perhaps 80-90% ? ( hmmm maybe that estimate is a bit high..) As I have said earlier I expect to need to travel to other communities to complete the work fully, as well as needing about 10-20 years to finish it to a satisfactory level. What do I mean by that? Each Body point is its own story and journey within it and will need many, many datapoints over time to round it out and make it complete. Time is the only remedy for that one! I've decided to have an open day on the 10th of September (2023) if you are local and can pop in, I would love to see you. I am planning to have all my work out, with Tracy's gorgeous illustrations to be seen! I have a few hundred pages by the way! I plan to show everyone a little of how it works on the day. If you are curious, this is the day for you! xx Mary-Anne

Madness

August 17, 2023
I thought I was going mad. I have been feeling like an old typewriter... following a trail of ideas and attempting to go back to the beginning... over and over again. Do you remember the typewriters that have the lever so you can use "return" and start the next row? But rows flow? "ting!" My madness was in thinking that the way I have been creating was "wonky" or "wrong". The weird idea was that I was supposed to follow one path of ideas to completion and then start the next idea. WRONG! Instead I have been working on multiple threads of projects all at once… like a mad busy lady. I realise now, if I followed that way, I would lose so many leads of information and lose an immense amount of time (I'm guessing years, people!). Sigh. Relief. I am what I am. Those of you that know me well would be fully aware that I am a sensitive creature that tends to not care and also fret - all at the same time. I feel a sense of relief that this way of working, my way, is indeed perfect for my job. At the moment I am attempting to create a cohesive picture of the Chest. It involves about 11 paired lung points, the 6 heart points, an undetermined number of intercostal points, possibly 9 paired breast points, as well as the rib margin points. Also, did I mention the points around the collarbone? Many of these are very close to each other and may overlap. What makes it extra tricky is that mapping and recording one point this morning resulted in me working on a left foot point, in an entirely different system (wait what.. another system? Yes, I am creating 3 different systems at once… that info can just remain hidden for a few more years). Chest, breast, foot, now… where was I? So now you can see why I feel like a typewriter... I must continually return my little brain to the beginning.... "ting!". But I also need to acknowledge the threads and links… and that is where more knowledge and insights may lie.  My darling cousin R said years ago I was like a Rosella... noisy, colourful, messy and creative, and just to be myself. Slowly, slowly, I see that this insane, haphazard way of creating is just fine, thanks ! Thanks for listening! xx Mary-Anne

Divine Centre

July 27, 2023
I had such an exciting day of discovery yesterday, which I had to share. You know, when you are working on a puzzle and the border is coming together, yet it is still a long way off from becoming a decent picture. Well, I got a good insight into the picture of my puzzle yesterday, and I am thrilled. I'm nick-naming this point "The Divine Centre". Regarding location, it appears to be around the bottom of the heart, which is nice symbolically. It is over the breast. This heart point is complex. It surprised me as it has three different aspects in three different planes, like 3 axes. Each plane has a different aspect that contributes to the whole point. For the Anatomists that read this, there is a sagittal, coronal, and transverse aspect to this point, wow! Our Divine Centre is within us all and from when we are born. This heart centre links to our emotions and feeling safe. At our mothers’ chests, we were nurtured, held, adored, fed and mirrored emotionally. A developing child needs to have emotions modelled and mirrored for them. In fact, in the very early days, babies don't realise they are separate beings from their mums. This divine point addresses being listened to and being heard. When we are heard and listened to, we can feel comfortable to express our thoughts and feelings; it is like a safe house. There is an aspect of reaching up, arms out, as babes do. Arms out say: carry me, comfort me, hold me. I have called this point the Divine Centre as this seems to be part of connecting to the divine, whatever that may be for you. Symbolically, like the nurturing we receive as babes, the Divine Centre is the like a place of personal prayer – connection, communication, communion. Think about the postures involved in prayer; it is hands together at the chest or arms up, like reaching for a parent. Many will know the term ‘Namaste’ from yoga; it translates as “The Divine within me bows to the same Divine within you.” It is that special connection we have – like mother and baby. What interests me is the Divine Centre is next to a Heart point that I have called Universal Love. This is where we acknowledge that all are equal and have equal value. I must say I am surprised to find these two points in the body. Looking back I was only expecting to find emotions about our day-to-day interactions and feelings as we go about work and play. However, I knew as humans we have had a sense of spirituality for a long time, indicated by burial practises with grave offerings at least 100,000 years ago. Reflecting on the little I know of our world’s peoples, I thought about what stood out. History and customs: throughout the world there are the rituals, ceremonies, and worship practices. It is so obvious to me now, that we, as people, would have Body points that correlate with Spirit points. Dang! With this blind spot of mine, no wonder it took a while for me to piece the puzzle together! Delving into the Divine Centre over time will be so exciting; I'm confident it will be a rich and surprising point. xx Mary-Anne
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