Category Archives: Unveiling: The Inner Journey

Those “Tower” Moments

Those Tower Moments: When Life Comes Apart (Again and Again)

Well, darling.

If you were with me over two years ago (September 16, 2014 – so make that two years and three months ago, see When Life Comes Apart), I was writing about a Tower time. My life had certainly come apart.

Those Tower moments - when life comes apart completely!

Those Tower moments – when life comes apart completely!

And I thought that the shake-up was done.

How wrong I was!

When we have a Tower moment in our lives – when everything comes apart – it’s like having an earthquake. And as with any good earthquake, there are aftershocks.

My “aftershocks” continued for another two years.

A total (over three years) of five different jobs, in four locations. Three moves, and two different states. And somewhere in there, I’m sure, there was a partridge in a pear-tree.

All of this makes me an expert (at least in my own mind) on Tower moments in our lives. And also, by no means, unique. Many, MANY of us are having Tower-moments. For some, it may seem like an unending series of Tower-times, like living on an earthquake fault.

So how to deal?

Recap: Getting the Big Picture

Let’s pull back just a bit.

If you’ll recall, I’ve been writing – for several years now – about how the Major Arcana from the Tarot show up in our lives. The underlying theme here is that we can use these Major Arcana, not so much for divination (fortune-telling), but in terms of high-level life-guidance.

In fact, I’ve got a very strong sense that these Major Arcana were put down in pictorial form so that master teachers had something like a MS Powerpoint (TM) slidedeck; something that they could take with them on journeys, and that they could use as reference points in talking with each other and with their students. Let’s keep in mind also that the first appearances of the Major Arcana (as part of the overall Tarot cards) was in the late 1400’s, and was more-or-less coincident with various Inquisitions. Let’s keep in mind also that there is a strong connection between the organization of the Major Arcana and various aspects of the Jewish Kaballah, and that the Inquisition particularly targeted the Jewish people. Major Jewish centers of learning were hugely disrupted during the resulting combination of expulsion (of those who were still openly Jewish) and imprisonment, torture, and death (to those who had converted, but were then subject to a later round of persecution). (See The Inquisition (from a Jewish historical perspective for a brush-up on the history.)

Without trying to push things too far (as I’m not a historian, nor a scholar of the Kabbalah), it is real interesting that around this timeframe, many Jewish mystical scholars were writing down materials that had hitherto been transmitted only in oral form, across many centuries. (See Index of Sages for a sense of who did what, when.)

Where the Tower Fits into the Big Picture

Thus, back to the main point.

The Major Arcana, organized into three sets of seven each. The "Fool," or the zeroth Arcana, precedes this set.

The Major Arcana, organized into three sets of seven each. The “Fool,” or the zeroth Arcana, precedes this set.

The Tower is an archetype in the Major Arcana. There are many teachers who suggest that the Major Arcana can be viewed as a set of three sets of seven Arcana each, with the “Zeroth” Arcana (The Fool) preceding all of them.

If we look at the Major Arcana this way, we see that the Tower (Major Arcana XVI) is second from the beginning of the last set of seven. The Major Arcana immediately preceding it is the Devil (XV) and the one immediately after is the Star (XVII).

Of the two cards that people hate to see show up in readings, probably the Tower and the Devil are at the top of the list – even more than Death (XIII). However, we often feel a sense of peace when we see the Star show up.

The challenge for us is that these are all related.

Things Come in Threes

We can make sense of these Major Arcana the most when we view them in the context of our overall life-journey, and not just in isolation. Thus, if we’re having a Tower time, what immediately preceded it – and often, that which was a set-up for the Tower – was a time dominated by the Devil Major Arcana. And what comes after it is that peaceful sense that we get with the Star.

This blog has been long enough already, so I’m going to defer a detailed discussion (or many detailed discussions) for further blog posts. The important point, for now, is that when we see the Devil Major Arcana show up, whether in a reading or in our lives, it doesn’t necessarily mean a for-real devil, as in a satanic personage. Notice, in that card, that the Devil figure is much larger than the persons bound at its feet.

The Devil is, most often, a blown-up, larger-than-life, distorted fun-house projection of our own inner beliefs and mental constructs.

When a Tower moment happens, or even a series of Tower moments, we often start getting clarity on what was going on that the Tower is now shaking apart. Usually, there was something that was just not-quite-right. It could have been a corporation built upon a flawed business plan, or with leadership that was making poor decisions. It could be a marriage that had seriously bad dynamics. It could be a belief that life would continue as it has been, in the face of mounting evidence that things are adapting and that we all need to change – to learn new skills, or take some other action to keep pace with unfolding events.

Because we all like to keep our status quo going as long as we can, it takes a Tower to shake us up. Sometimes, a succession of Tower moments. That’s absolutely what happened to me.

The thing is – once we’ve had our Tower time, we begin to see much more clearly.

The Star (Major Arcana XVII) is a time when we get clarity and a new energy flow.

The Star (Major Arcana XVII) is a time when we get clarity and a new energy flow.

The ground under us settles; the dust clears. We might be completely naked (as is the woman in the Star Major Arcana).

We might be in a situation where we have not only lost the (admittedly illusory) protection of the Tower walls, but have even lost the shirt off our backs. Totally exposed and vulnerable.

However, in this new moment, we get new juice. Things start to flow for us. In the case of the woman in the Star Arcana, we see that she is pouring from two pitchers; one onto the earth, the other back into the stream. She is kneeling, with one foot planted in the stream of water. She’s accessing flow.

Far different from the Devil and the Tower, right? And a big step in personal freedom.

More to follow …

Until next time –

with love and laughter – Alay’nya

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Alay’nya – author of Unveiling: The Inner Journey

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When Life Comes Apart (and How to Put It Together Again)

Recovery from a Major Life Upheaval

We all have those moments – hopefully not too often (or we simply wouldn’t survive) – when everything, absolutely everything, comes apart all at once.

Moving-out - very suddenly!

Moving-out – very suddenly!

Our well-ordered and carefully-structured lives take a major tumble.

This is what happened to me, six months ago precisely.

The landlord let us know that he wasn’t renewing the lease. He wanted to sell the property, and tenants were just not a part of his game plan.

We had thirty days to get out.

Thirty days – in which to disassemble a household that had been built up for over ten years.

Almost everyone who had lived there, over the previous ten years, had left something behind. Sometimes large somethings, sometimes small.

The situation was – every nook and corner and cranny was filled with someone’s stuff.

Be Careful What You Ask For

For months prior to the great lease-termination-notice, my prayer to the Universe had been that I wanted to get lighter, tighter, and brighter.

I was really sincere about this prayer.

It became the underlying chord and theme for my life.

I had no idea, though, that the answer would involve such a sweeping, overwhelming, and life-altering change.

Getting Into Agreement

The first thing that I had to do – and I would recommend this to ANYONE who finds themselves suddenly in the maelstrom of an overwhelming life-change – was to get into alignment with it.

I had to let go of any resistance, any sense of fighting against this.

Some friends – sincere and helpful friends – wanted me to find legal recourses to delay the inevitable move. I knew in my gut that putting effort into this kind of resistance would be totally out of alignment with what the Universe was offering me.

Instead, I got into agreement with this, real fast.

I said in my heart, Yes, this is painful. Yes, this is disruptive. Yes, this is scary, and most of all – just massively uncomfortable.

But this is what I’ve called into my life, this is the answer to my prayers, and I’ll receive help and guidance – at all levels – and I’ll get through.

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And I DID receive help. HUGE help.

I’ve joked with friends many times since that members of the Angelic Team for Helping-People-with-Major-Life-Transitions deserved outstanding commendation letters in their personnel jackets, and maybe some serious time off. They certainly worked hard enough!

If I’d been in resistance – if I’d put my energy into wailing and whining, and saying how unfair all of this was – I wouldn’t have been open to the help that I received.

Instead, I began to see, recognize, and give thanks for the daily miracles.

These acts of help – many acts of spontaneous support and kindness, and many acts that were way beyond simple serendipity – were my new manna-from-heaven.

Every single day, whatever I needed for that day was brought to me. Boxes and packing materials. Help with packing. A meal. Someone stopping by to purchase something – occasionally out of the blue.

Every single day, I received the blessing that I needed for that day.

It was a magical and blessed (and of course totally exhausting) time.

Giving It Up – More than I Ever Imagined

On the road; me and five cats going west.

On the road; me and five cats going west.

But clearing out ten years (or more) of accumulated stuff was not easy.

I gave away over 250 books, keeping only those that were part of my scientific, creative, and inspirational life – and just a few “recreational reads.”

I sold, gave away, or left behind for others about 80% of my worldly goods.

Clothes, most personal items, scientific and technical and creative books and tools – they all came.

Everyday household items and tools – anything that could be purchased at a hardware store, department store, or major lifestyle items store – they were all released to the universe.

Every several days, we took a truckload to the dump. Every single day, we took an overflowing car or van to the local thrift store.

I held a garage sale, and sold belly dance costumes, resources, and plants.

Every person who was living with me found a soft landing – a new place, just as good (and perhaps even better for them) than what they’d had in my Household.

Every plant found a home. Amazing how readily people scooped up large, healthy plants!

No one wanted a cat. I tried hard to find homes for at least two. No takers.

Thirty days after I’d received notice, I was in a 16′ Budget truck, five cats in their respective cat carriers beside me in the front seat, on a highway going west.

Several hundred miles later, I pulled into my sister’s driveway, where she graciously welcomed me (and the five cats – sign of a true cat-lover) to stay with her until I could get a restart on life.

A Real Tower Moment

Yup, taking apart a living situation that had endured for a decade was a real Tower-moment.

The Tower (from the Major Arcana) symbolizes a time when our well-ordered lives come tumbling down.

The Tower (from the Major Arcana) symbolizes a time when our well-ordered lives come tumbling down.

It was total life-disruption.

Everything that I had – infrastructure, various jobs-while-writing, my total local support system – came tumbling down.

And – as is typical after a major Tower time – I was exhausted afterwards.

It’s taken me six months to rebuild the strength for connecting back with you.

There are some things to share, though. Really important stuff – because we all have these Tower moments in our lives.

They happen again and again. Big ones, small ones – they happen to us and the people in our lives.

And with the pace of life speeding up (yes, it is), they’re happening more and more often.

So the big question is, how do we deal?

Maybe even bigger: How do we recognize when such a moment is coming? How do we prepare?

And also, how do we recover/regroup/rebuild after?

How I Got My Mojo Back

In a word – exercise.

Daily walks, starting with a mile, going up to three, settling back to two. (Writer and creativity-teacher Julia Cameron calls this a daily Artist’s Walk.)

Daily walks coupled with yoga, then adding in resistance and core.

Then – and I’m not necessarily recommending this, just telling how what I did – adding in a spurt of sword-training and karate moves.

Yup, you heard me.

I’ve been a belly dancer for the past 30-odd years. I migrated to Oriental dance from the martial arts, where I’d begun with hard-style Shotokan karate, gone through softer forms, and finally ended up (I thought for good) in dance.

Dance is good for total body integration.

In fact, dance is good for a woman’s total emotional, energetic, and body integration. (That’s part of why I wrote Unveiling: The Inner Journey; to share that message.)

Heian Shodan - the first beginner's kata from the Shotokan karate tradition.

Heian Shodan – the first beginner’s kata from the Shotokan karate tradition.

But there I was, two weeks ago, out in the back yard doing Heian Shodan – the first beginner’s kata (choreographed movement series) from Shotokan karate.

Integration is good.

But recently, I’ve needed focus.

After a life-explosion, I’ve needed to be more yang than yin, and karate is one of those things that is helping me get there.

Evidence that this is working?

Well, I’m writing to you.

For the first time, in over six months.

Just to say hello, and to give you an update.

And to let you know that the next several blogs will have insights, ideas, and practices that will help you (or your loved ones), when these inevitable Tower moments happen.

Until our next time –

With love and laughter – Alay’nya

Using Archetypes and Gaining Personal Freedom

Using Archetypes and the Power of Forgiveness to “Break Free” Forever!

Well, darlings, it’s time to come clean.

I haven’t written to you for over two months – not counting the little “warm-up” exercise that I did in two weeks ago.

There’s been a reason for this.

My daddy died recently, and I’ve been hugely grieving his loss. And as I shared with some colleagues and friends earlier this week, I was grieving not only the loss of what we did have as a relationship, and also – what we didn’t have.

I’ve been doing a huge amount of processing lately. And just recently have been able to do more “cognitive” tasks – such as handling emails, balancing the checkbook and paying bills, and – of course – writing.

Now, don’t get me wrong on the family-thing. Daddy was a magnificent “protector and provider.” He was a deeply honorable man.

But emotionally – there were things that I craved, and simply didn’t get. No matter how hard I tried, or what I did.

The turn-around has come only recently, as I’ve started really working with forgiveness – as described in both A Course in Miracles and in the Lord’s Prayer. (“Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those …”)

So here’s the important thing to share. This is coming not as some abstract “word on high,” but because it’s been what I’ve been doing and working with in my own life, over the past several weeks – and it’s been making a huge difference.

Forgiveness shifts things.

According to A Course in Miracles, when we forgive, we actually alter the impact of time in our lives, and in our “reality.” Forgiveness extends back in time, and forward, and (as I’m sensing right now) into the lives of people who are connected with us and are around us.

Not that this makes it any easier, but I’ve found that forgiveness has been the one thing to release a huge logjam of “stuck stuff.”

Forgiveness is one of three core “principles” with which I’ve been working over the past few weeks, rebuilding my life from the inside-out. (And what better way to start the new year? The new B’ak’tun even?)

The most valuable books that I’m reading right now reinforce these three principles:

  • Own Your Power & A Course in Miracles – the importance of forgiving,
  • The Power (by Rhonda Byrne) – the importance of gratitude and “giving love,” and
  • Money and the Law of Attraction (Abraham-Hicks), and all other A-H materials, the importance of always “reaching for a better-feeling thought” – of how important it is to carefully culture and nurture good-feeling thoughts, and deliberately choosing our thoughts, as they set up vibrational points-of-attraction.

 

A Course in Miracles and Own Your Power

A Course in Miracles is a true heavyweight. It’s the basic “graduate-school level text” for spiritual growth. And it’s not real easy. I’ve been working through this book for over a year. (It’s designed as a one-year study program, with substantial “exercises” for each day). If I were to grade myself on this, I’d be somewhere between a C- (at my very best) and a D-. (That’s for those days where I’m cussing under my breath, being really sarcastic, and generally blowing the whole thing off.)

 

 

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The only reason that I stay with the Course?

Well really, there’s two.

The first is that there are only three people in my life right now to whom I will turn when things go really down. Only three people whom I know, and to whom I can call, who have the right “tone” when they address an issue. That is to say, they have real spiritual depth. Each of these persons has done A Course in Miracles. A couple have done it several times. One teaches it, another is getting ready to teach it. It’s not that another really substantive spiritual path wouldn’t do as well, but in my personal circle right now, those who’ve worked the Course are those who have worked their lives.

The other factor?

Well, A Course in Miracles itself states: “Everyone will answer in the end…” In fact, the Course makes it clear that once we start on this particular journey, we will finish it. We may stall about, but ultimately, we can’t drop out of this particular “Course.” It’s like being enrolled in a school curriculum required class. If we screw up, we just get to take the same class over again. And again. There’s no real “quitting.” Which is the only reason, some days, that I don’t quit.

That doesn’t make it any easier. And since this isn’t easy, I don’t go about recommending this book to all my family and friends, because it’s just a little bit of a big challenge.

What I do recommend, however, is a book that is not yet on the market – although it soon will be.

My dear intuitive friend Alice (S. Alice, or “Alicja,” Jones) is getting her second book, Own Your Power, published soon. Own Your Power is kind of A Course in Miracles-light. A “see Spot run” approach to spiritual teachings. More accessible. Be certain, I’ll let you know as soon as it’s released. I’ve been looking at a pre-release copy, and it has had a HUGE impact in my life already!

And so – while I’ve been reading bits and pieces of the pre-release Own Your Power, I’ve noticed some big shifts in how I’ve dealt with situations and people that were beyond irritating. Truly, this book has helped me get through some very awkward and difficult times in these past two weeks; times when I’d really have blown it unless I used Own Your Power to get re-centered. I’ll keep you in the loop for when it’s coming out.

Now I’ve told you that three principles – and three sets of books – were having a major impact and being very useful for me right now. The first was (see above) the power of forgiveness, and the relevant books were A Course in Miracles and the forthcoming (and much easier) Own Your Power, by S. Alice (“Alicja”) Jones, out soon.

The other two principles were gratitude (see The Power, which is the sequel to The Secret, by Rhonda Byrnes), and the importance of carefully aligning and shaping our thoughts – focusing our thoughts – so as to carefully establish our “vibrational point of attraction.” (See any of the Abraham-Hicks material, although I’m currently working with Money and the Law of Attraction.)

This blog contains enough to read (and enough for me to write) in one sitting, so I’ll defer the next two principles to a subsequent blog.

And then, I’ll take the “big step” and link up these principles (all three of them) to how we can work with our archetypes. Because I’ve found that our archetypes – the primary ways or modalities in which we shape our psychological core – are not something simply handed down to us at birth.

We’re not just “born with” an archetypal predisposition, as we might have thought if we’d been following a simple Myers-Briggs approach. (Please recall, as mentioned in Unveiling: the Myers-Briggs approach was adopted during World War II as a means to effectively match service people to the jobs for which they’d be most suited. The deeper, Jungian-based material on which the MBTI questionnaire was based does suggest that we access all archetypal modalities, and mature in our use of them over time.)

Now here, in brief, is what we’ll cover soon in terms of archetypes and their relation to spiritual principles, such as forgiveness.

Sometimes, we have a natural predisposition towards one archetypal mode, but have the ability to use another mode.

This is particularly true for women; I expect that we women are more psychologically flexible then men.

Sometimes, we have life events – of a variety of sorts, ranging from family influences to huge cultural surrounds – that cause us to reject an archetypal mode that would be our natural and normal “home state.” And in self-defense, we pick up another mode that we think gives us better “survival value.” (I know. Complex. More on this soon.)

When that happens, we get stuck. It’s hard for us then to make full use of all the archetypal modes available to us. It’s like having to drive a car in one gear only. Really, really tough at times.

Forgivenesss (see the reference to the spiritual stuff?) helps us break down the defenses and fears that we build up about accessing our other, rightful and enjoyable and effective and sometimes downright necessary archetypal modes. It breaks the logjam. It tears down the (often imaginary but still impactful) internal “barbed wire fence” that keeps us locked into a very small “range of motion.”

Now, as a quick overview of where this will lead us.

When we release something at the spiritual level, we release it energetically as well. When we reframe our emotional setpoints (using gratitude) and train our minds to select better-feeling thoughts (changing our “vibrational point-of-attraction”), we make it possible to have huge shifts in our physical bodies. We can release tension. We can breathe better. We can move out old, tight little nodules of pain.

But when we’ve had energetic/emotional “stuck stuff” lodged in our bodies for a long time, this physical release doesn’t come about automatically.

That’s why we need a pathway.

Specifically, we need a body/mind/psyche/energy pathway that helps move the release work that we do at the spiritual, energetic, and emotional levels into our body, and vice versa.

There are two art forms that I’ve found, in my more than thirty years of studying body-mind arts, that help us with this purpose. These are T’ai Ch’i Chuan and Oriental dance.

Yoga is good. Yoga is downright necessary, as it helps us stretch out and release tension throughout. And let’s keep in mind that yoga was designed to be a pathway. The physical yoga movements are the complement to the other spiritual disciplines of meditation, etc. So yoga can work very well.

However, for women who desire to include emotional expressiveness as part of their total life-integration and healing, Oriental dance works much more, because once we get a certain amount of technique down, the dance is all about emotional expression. Not fancy choreography. Not virtuoso technique. But rather, Oriental dance gives us the opportunity to tap into how we feel as we listen to music, and listen to our souls listening to the music.

I’ve had all my “big breakthroughs” in my body associated with dance. However, yoga, and healing therapies – Reiki, massage, Rolfing, a number of things – they have all been very powerful in helping to do “logjam releases” at the physical level.

For men, and for women who simply don’t have an affinity with Oriental dance, I continue to recommend T’ai Ch’i. It allows the same physical release and integration work to take place. And I’ve taken a number of Principles from T’ai Ch’i and applied them to Oriental dance, so that at the core, these two arts come from the same place. (At least in how I express them, and teach them to my students.)

In the next few posts, I’ll round out the spiritual principles of gratitude and deliberately shaping our “vibrational point-of-attraction.” I’ll start the new year with a survey of the major archetypes; how we can use them, and how we can move from one to another. Also, we’ll look at how we can draw archetypal complements into our lives; this allows us to primarily invoke one state, and yet get the benefit of others.

In the related blogposts for the Alay’nya Studio, I’ll develop specifics of how we can use Oriental dance as our body/mind/psyche/energy integration pathway. I’ll include specific techniques and general exercises. I’ll provide links to music, DVDs, and other resources, and I’ll share how we are structuring our quarterly curriculum.

By combining spiritual release work with the energy-cultivation and physical practice, any of us can create a much more powerful – and happy and fulfilling – way of living. Here’s to a joyous 2013 and beyond!

Cultivating Our Core Power Archetypes: First Stage in Becoming a "Master of the Universe"

Six Core Power Archetypes: First Step in Mastery

Mastering ourselves is the first step in becoming a “Master of the Universe.”

The Kabbalistic Tree of Life: A Roadmap for Personal Mastery

Several millenia ago, some very insightful mystics and seers somehow discerned that the “roadmap to God-consciousness” (and complete mastery of who they were as human beings) could be described as traversing through various “centers” or “realms of existence.” They called these “centers” Sephiroth, and organized them in a map that has been called, throughout the ages, the Tree of Life.

There are ten Sephiroth. (These are the circles on the Tree of Life to the left.) Each Sephiroth represents something very specific – not only a “plane of existence” but also an aspect, or emanation, of God.

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The Kabbalistic Tree of Life

These aspects (Sephiroth) are organized in a logical manner. The “softer, gentler, kinder” ones comprise the Pillar of Mercy (on the right), and the “harsher,” more rigorous ones comprise the Pillar of Severity (on the left).

There are, potentially, 10×9/2 different connections between them. (Each one of the ten can connect with each of the remaining nine, and then these total paths need to be divided by two, so that they aren’t counted twice.) This means that there are potentially 45 different “connection paths.” In the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, though, only half of these paths – twenty-two of them – are actually defined and used.

This means that getting from one “center” (or state of consciousness, or realm of existence) to another is not just a “random-jump” sort of thing, but more like an ordered progression. Each step in this ordered progression has a certain meaning, and that meaning corresponds to an aspect of human experience. In fact, it corresponds to a significant step in our adult life journeys.

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The Three Adult Life-Journeys

The last blogpost discussed this Tree of Life, and how the Major Arcana (from the Tarot) relate to the pathways between the Sephiroth.

We identified three sequences of seven steps (Major Arcana) each. Each of these sequences is a major adult life journey. From the previous blogpost, we recall that these are:

  • The Worldly Sequence: We access and cultivate each of six Core Power Archetypes, and integrate them – we are able to use each one as appropriate.
  • Turning Inwards: We begin to release our ego. At the end of this sequence, we start to access and cultivate intrinsic life energy, or ch’i.
  • The Great Journey: A time of destroying the last of the old “structures” that keep us imprisoned, leading to full realization of our life’s purpose and being released to do our “great work.”

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The Worldly Sequence: Cultivating and Integrating Our Six Core Power Archetypes

Our first adult life journey takes us through the Worldly Sequence. During this time, we learn to cultivate each of the six Core Power Archetypes, plus a seventh step (integration):

  • Magician (Major Arcana Card I): Power to create “something from nothing.”
  • High Priestess (Major Arcana Card II): Contemplative inner wisdom.
  • Empress (Major Arcana Card III): Nurturing and caring; runs on oxytocin, the “bonding hormone.”
  • Emperor (Major Arcana Card IV): Strength, stability, structure, and order; the perennial “Program Manager,” thrives on building and maintaining structures and things (ranging from a business process to an actual empire).
  • Hierophant (Major Arcana Card V): One of the least understood but most important archetypes, this is the mentor/teacher/guide, typified by fictional characters ranging from Albus Dumbledore (in the Harry Potter series) to Mr. Miyagi (in the Karate Kid) to (of course) Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi (in Star Wars).
  • Love-Goddess (Major Arcana Card VI): All about pleasure and play; romance, love-making, sensual pleasure in all its forms; she runs on dopamine, the “ecstatic pleasure” hormone.

Various blogposts, as well as sections in Unveiling: The Inner Journey, have described these various archetypes, as well as the seventh step, integration.

Most MOST Popular Post on the Six Core Power Archetypes and Integration:

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Z Helene – Dancer, Choreographer, Teacher – Reviews "Unveiling"

Z Helene – Noted Dancer, Choreographer, Teacher, “Herstorian,” and Spiritual Visionary – Reviews Unveiling: The Inner Journey

The newest 5-star Amazon review of Unveiling – posted just last evening – is by noted dancer, author, choreographer, teacher and “herstorian” Z Helene Christopher.

Z Helene’s review is absolutely wonderful! Not just because it’s a glowing endorsement (it is), but because she so adroitly summarizes the thoughts, themes, and interwoven concepts and sources for Unveiling: The Inner Journey.

By reading her review, you’ll get a great sense of Unveiling’s nature – and also learn how a creative dancer, thoughtful researcher, and spiritual leader such as Z Helene applies Unveiling to her own life.

Z Helene writes:

Alay’nya has created a cohesive and enlightening gestalt that is both relevant and extremely useable, and this, I believe, is her true gift as an authoress. Potentially difficult information is presented in a way that is digestible and immediately accessible. We get practical hands-on exercises throughout the book (and at the end of each chapter) to guide us on our quests towards individuation. From tips on posture, poise, and presence to breathing and journaling techniques, Unveiling can also be considered a workbook to be used for small group study, akin to Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way.

 

 

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To read Z Helene’s review, please go to Amazon’s Unveiling page, and then scroll down and click on “See all 19 customer reviews”:

 

 

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Kindle

 

 

If you’ve already read Unveiling, please go to the Amazon page and “Find Helpful” Z Helene’s review. (Also, please “Find Helpful” other 5-star reviews by noted scholars and author such as Morocco (writing as Carolina V. Dinicu), Donald Michael Kraig, Julie Rahm, and others.)

Then, go to Z Helene’s own site and read her excellent papers! I particularly like her one on Middle Eastern Dance: The Emergence of the New Sacred Temple Priestess. I’m finding what she writes is true in my own life, and you may find that you resonate with this as well. (Note also that Z Helene has produced some excellent instruction and performance DVDs; check them out – she’s received widespread accolades and respect for her work.)

If you haven’t yet read Unveiling, first read Z Helene’s review – which makes now for a total of EIGHTEEN 5-star Amazon reviews (yippee!!!), and then order your own copy as either a trade paper or Kindle edition.

Or if you’d like to get a dated, numbered, and signed copy, the Unveiling website gives info on book signings, radio and TV appearances, and other events.

You can purchase signed copies of Unveiling at these great independent bookstores:

North Virginia: One More Page Books in Falls Church, VA, offers books (with an emphasis on local interest/local authors), interesting wines, and exotic chocolates. What better combination for a sensual weekend of reading?

Tantalizing chocolates – right near the check-out counter at One More Page Books in Falls Church, VA.

(And just for fun, read Arlington Magazine’s recent feature article about One More Page Books.

Albuquerque, New Mexico: Bookworks is a locally-owned, locally-operated, independent bookstore that was founded in 1984. “We were indie before indie was cool.”

If you’re out-of-town, or can’t make it to either of these events (or to one of Unveiling’s much-loved indie bookstores), you can STILL get a specially-inscribed (dated, numbered, signed) copy of Unveiling through Cleopatra’s Closet. (Order your copies now and stockpile as Christmas presents!)

If you’re teaching dance, consider using Unveiling as “recommended reading” for your students. And if you’re a member of a book circle, consider using Unveiling as one of your selected readings.

If you’re truly feeling ambitious, follow the Seasonal Study Guide with Unveiling, using the references for each chapter to augment your own self-discovery and unfolding.

Have a lovely, wonderful, and blessed day!

Yours in dance – Alay’nya

Book of the Month: Dr. Christiane Northrup’s "The Wisdom of Menopause"

Dr. Christiane Northrup’s The Wisdom of Menopause – Now Richer than Ever!

You probably already know that the women involved in dance tend to be a little above-the-average (sometimes a LOT above-the-average) in terms of intelligence. Emotional intelligence, body-intuitive intelligence, expressive and movement intelligence, and good, old-fashioned, intellectual intelligence.

If you’re like me, you’ve been taking little imaginary “mini-vacations” using books lately. (That’s using our intellectual intelligence and creative, imaginative intelligence in tandem.)

Are you nearly over your “beach reads”?

I’ll confess – I’ve been doing a little “staycation” this week. Still “clocking in” to work (at my home office) every day – but have ripped through two totally “beach-read” novels in past two days alone. (Yes, that means staying up real late.)

But within a week or so, I’ll be over this, and interested in something more “solid.” Which brings me to Dr. Christiane Northrup’s books. Her loving endorsement of Unveiling (see below) has me re-reading her works again.

Dr. Christiane Northrup, author of the New York Times best-sellers Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom and The Wisdom of Menopause .

Dr. Christiane Northrup, author of the New York Times best-sellers Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom and The Wisdom of Menopause .

We have something in common, Dr. Northrup and I. We’re both professionals – she’s an Ob/Gyn practitioner, and my Ph.D. is in theoretical physical chemistry. She’s done a lot of mainstream medical work over her career, and I’ve been an inventor, with four patents in computer science and a book about neural networks (the computer sort; think the android “Data” from the later Star Trek series, with his “neural network brain”). But both of us have examined our inner worlds – gone on our own “inner journeys” – and have observed and inquired into what other people have been learning. And we’ve each put what we’ve learned in book form.

We’re similar also in that our “writing voice” is very warm, intimate, and personal. Somehow, we’ve each managed to escape from the dry, distant “academic voice” with which we were taught, and learned to write in a way that makes you – the reader – feel connected.

And you know what? I’m really enjoying reading her book, The Wisdom of Menopause. It feels like we’re having a cup of coffee together, and she’s telling me about her life.

Dr. Christiane Northrup’s recently revised and updated The Wisdom of Menopause (Jan., 2012) is worth our time. (And I’m rereading it – and loving it more than ever!)

Her book is available in trade paper form from Amazon, and also as a Kindle download.

Dr. Northrup just sent me an email describing Unveiling as “delightful,” and saying that it brings “divine sensuality to women.” (Hooray for her! And hooray for me! So thrilled to get this accolade from an author as respected and loved as her!)

I reference The Wisdom of Menopause in Unveiling:

As described by Dr. Christiane Northrup in The Wisdom of Menopause, we become attuned to new pathways opening up for us at this time. With the monthly cycle of hormones diminishing, we have a more steady and consistent “baseline” for our self-observations. (Unveiling, p. 125)

If you’re just beginning your “inner journey” – or are well into the midst of it – Dr. Northrup’s book(s) and my own Unveiling make great hand-in-hand reads. Check us both out!

And as you make the transition from purely a “beach read” to something more substantial – what are you reading now? And what’s “in your bag” for Labor Day weekend?

Comment below – nominate your favorite reads – and I’ll select one to blog about the few days before Labor Day – so others will tune in to your favorite book!