The Sacred Act of Becoming
What hurts the Soul?
To live without tasting the Water
of its own Essence.
~Rumi
When viewed from a holistic
perspective, we always exist in a state of wholeness. Like the magical
transmutation of the caterpillar to the butterfly, we mature through
developmental phases that compel us toward a fuller expression of our authentic
nature. Albert Maslow, the founder of
humanistic psychology, referred to this innate drive as “self-realization”,
where one is motivated “to become everything that one is capable of
becoming”. Yet, each stepping stone is
valued and necessary in this process. By realizing our fundamental nature,
innate gifts, and relationship to the whole, we are
motivated to strive for our full
potential.
Core to our spiritual nature, we are endowed with vital, intangible life forces
that move within and around us, assisting our journey to authenticity. These forces are not unique to humans but are
woven within the fabric of the universe. I simply know these energetic entities
as Body, Heart, Spirit, and Mind. None is more divine, relevant, or powerful
than another but rather, each is a fundamental part of the collective oneness.
When we harmonize our thoughts, feelings, and actions to their rhythms, our
consciousness expands and we transcend into a more integrated way of perceiving
ourselves and the world around us.
Body is the essence of Mother Earth
whose life-giving energy feeds and nourishes us. We share her creative powers and through our
bodies, we have the potential to birth beauty, harmony, and love into the
world. Heart carries the essence of the moon, the living waters, and the Divine
Feminine. Heart flows naturally with compassion and gratitude and pulls us
deeper into life’s great mysteries. Spirit is the essence of the heavenly realm
where a vision of unity and fulfillment is actualized, waiting for us to step
further into this truth. Mind carries the essence of fire and the Divine
Masculine, as embodied in our sun. Mind illuminates darkness, within and
without, and provides wisdom to navigate the obstacles and challenges present
in our lives.
The Center, our Soul, is our sacred
place in the universe. It is where we infuse Body with Spirit and balance Heart
and Mind. The Center is where we remember our inherited divinity and the
interconnected nature of all life. The Center is where we release the
identities and preconceived notions that no longer serve us and compassionately
heal the old wounds that weigh heavy
within us. The Center is where we become empowered to be a student of life
rather than a victim of our circumstances. The Center is where we give freely
of ourselves and express gratitude for all we receive. The Center is where we
live without fear, allowing love to define our reality.
There is no greater gift we can give
ourselves than to awaken the beauty, love, and fullness that resides within
each of us. For when we do, we begin to see our world with new eyes and welcome
into our being a newfound sense of freedom, joy, relatedness, and inner peace.
In the words of Carl Jung, “The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you
truly are.”
The Sacred Act of Becoming was first published in the August 2013 issue of WNCWoman.
Bob
Hanna, PhD is a psychologist in private practice in Asheville, North
Carolina. He provides holistic
integrative psychotherapy to adults, couples, and parents who desire to live
more fully in their lives and to move beyond anxiety, stress, depression, low
self-esteem, anger, trauma, addiction, conflict or unhealthy behaviors. Dr. Hanna is mesa carrier of the Pachakuti
Mesa Tradition, a Peruvian shamanic practice with cross-cultural applications,
rooted in the Peruvian spiritual methods of sacred relationship with the Earth.
Visit www.bobhannaphd.com to
learn more about Dr. Hanna or to schedule a session.
