Symbolic life
Dear Reader,
I may have mentioned to you that I’ve written more in the last three months than I’ve written my entire life. Most of it is for my work, and the rest is the writing I do for myself and what I share here. I think about my lifelong, very obvious fascination with words. It’s as though I can spend a lifetime just pressing my ear against words and hear what they say or even better, feel their message with each beat of my heart. I knew I liked reading. I knew I liked to write and yet, I didn’t make any connection between words, and what I wanted to do with my life. It was right in front of me and yet, perhaps just by its very ubiquity, it was invisible to me. Or maybe it was just that I was young and did not realize the significance of a love that was right in front of me. In any case, I lost it and found it again, and that has been the source of so much joy. And so, I’ve been thinking about clues, signs, and symbols. I’m always fascinated with this topic. I think we all are. Sometimes we anxiously look for them as a sign of reassurance from an otherwise inscrutable universe, and at other times, the universe (or something within us?) is apparently sending what might be clues and we are oblivious!
In his book, The Symbolic Quest, Basic Concepts of Analytical Psychology, Edward C. Whitmont writes about Jungian depth psychology and the individuation journey, and he talks about the importance of symbols and symbolic life. He gives the example of a woman who collects objects that are shaped like butterflies. She is fascinated by them. Whitmont suggests that she may want to look at this fascination and explore the reason for her interest. Is it because something within her wants to leave the cocoon behind and develop into a butterfly? Sure, she may just like butterflies and butterfly-shaped objects, but it’s worth exploring if it is an inner call for some growth.
I had an experience where for a period of nearly two years, I was fascinated by circles. I spotted them everywhere. I remember being totally gripped by this painting by Gustave Caillebotte that I came across on one of those internet rabbit-hole searches. It’s called The Yerres, Rain. The colors are gorgeous, but look at those circles!
Finally, I found a small circle stamp and started stamping circles in my journal. One lazy Sunday afternoon, I sat at my desk, creating yet another page of circle art in my journal and out of nowhere, a sudden quiet realization arrived. The circle represented wholeness and it felt like some part of me was calling for more wholeness. I didn’t know what part or where. I would have to explore more to understand what this was about, but it was one of those moments that you feel in your chest and in your belly, and as goose bumps on your arms.
And, so, I want to ask you what you think of this. What is your experience of looking for signs or experiencing symbols or on symbolism?
Best,
Priya
First of all, I absolutely love the way you talk about pressing up against words, trying to understand their message. I love that image--like asking words what they're saying. It's so inviting! Thank you for that image.
I am also fascinated by signs. I see them everywhere, all day long and I track them. I believe they are breadcrumbs, letting me know that I'm on my soul's path. Once, I was out walking, talking on the phone with a friend I've known since high school. He and I have always connected deeply to trees, and he said, "Do you remember that time we were at Annabelle Taylor hall, and we were talking about how much we loved trees?" I did! That hall is a gothic stone building at a nearby university. We were standing in the entrance--a huge stone tower with a black baby grand piano in the center. And as we were talking about trees and their magnificence, one, gorgeous green leaf floated down from the top of the tower, and landed on the black piano. Both of us were stunned. Where did it come from? When we looked up there was a window open just a crack a few floors up, but the leaf would have had to work very hard to come through. Maybe it did!
Anyway, we were talking about this on my walk 30 years later, remembering not just that moment, but how long we have loved each other and the world.
When I came home, on the stone step to my house was a single leaf. The pigment in the center of it had darkened to make the perfect shape of a heart.
I could not believe it was real! But it was. I have a picture I would send you if I could figure out how to post pictures in the comments section. But I take that kind of thing very seriously. I believe it is the Universe letting me know that everything is talking and listening and this whole world loves to be alive. I don't care if this is real or not, I love the process of keeping track and engaging with being on planet earth this way.
Thank you so much, Priya, as always, for sharing your words, your heart, and your curiosity with me. I love all of it!
I love symbols and the idea of symbols. In dreams I rely on certain objects or situations to be symbols for something else that is going on in my life. Sometimes I make my own symbol like things as little altars, of special things I've found, both natural or commercial. I worked for an Asian company many years and my boss was a bit obsessed with symbols, especially feng shui. When our new offices were built, he put a lot of energy into perfecting the feng shui. I had a picture window and one afternoon a bird flew into it. When I told him, he could barely hide his horror--then composed himself and said, 'that's a good symbol,' when i truly believe he felt it was not. The ultimate symbols to me are tarot cards. I haven't thrown my cards for quite a while bc they are so potent. Sometimes I just like to go in cold ):