According to some Native American legend and myths, the Raven plays an essential role in creation. One myth - perhaps my own, or yours - tells of how the Raven once lived in a dark world where nothing could be seen. Because there was no light anywhere, save the moments when the moon was full, the people were unable to see the beauty in nature or in each other, and their ignorance grew. Heartbroken by her own visions, Raven searched deep within herself for a solution. One day, while flying across a full moon winter's night, Raven -surprised by the pure luck of it all - caught a glimpse of her own reflection in the lake below. She saw for the very first time what she had known in her heart all along: that her feathered skin was as black as the darkest of any nights she had ever known. So black and shiny that it shone like iridescent purple jade. That is when she realized that she, and she alone, could fly anywhere in the blackness of the universe because that darkness would embrace her as its own. So she flew and she flew in search of the light. After many long years, weary yet still determined, Raven saw a glint of light far, far away at the very edge of darkness. A tiny, sparkling glimmer, a twinkle so barely visible that she had to look twice, then three times. She then heard a voice mocking, "There is no light, you ugly fool! Others laugh at your wandering." | That is when Raven shed her first tears. That is when she remembered the dark world behind her, and anger, as well as compassion, fueled her trust in the visions within her own heart. She flew and she flew toward the glimmer of light and finding it saw that, indeed, it was lustrous…and magical…but, oh my, so very small. Curious, Raven gave it a peck, then a few tugs, then tore at it with her talons until the opening widened. Beams of light spilled out as Raven opened wide the dark void that held but a sparkle, and everywhere light streamed forth into universes, galaxies and solar systems. Smiling mischievously, Raven stole some of the light for her own world far away, swallowed it up, as much as she could hold, and flew home. When she arrived, she opened her mouth and set the light free. Suddenly, everyone could see everyone else and everything. At first it was quite disturbing, for there were sores and wounds that needed tending to, and the people who had grown accustomed to living in darkness and Self neglect needed time and patience to relearn how to love themselves. But it happened quite quickly, and people grew in caring, and compassion, and gentleness toward all living creatures. |
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After the writing below, and before publishing it this evening, I received an email from a good friend conveying sadness over the diagnosis of terminal cancer of her brother. I dedicate this post to my warrior sister Ann.
"In this time of managed care, more emphasis seems to be placed upon medication and the quick amelioration of symptoms, short-term work and privatized, profit-making clinics, than upon the lovely and mysterious alchemy that comprises the cords between people, the cords that soothe some terrors and help us heal. " Lauren Slater Most of us know the story Alice n Wonderland. Containing numerous parallels to our own individual and collective modern-day circumstances, Carroll's novel of fantasy adventures could be read as a predictive interpretation of the conditions within our system of mental illness/health diagnoses and treatment in the United States today. We have become a people driven to distraction by boredom, plagued by self-absorption, addicted to entertainment, estranged from nature and the environment, and most of us live our lives fueled by non-stop busyness that we mistake for true connection. Proportionate to our fascination with the increasing speed of life is our preoccupation with sickness, which has become epidemic. In fact, the treatment of illness is the number one profit-making health system that we have created to entertain ourselves. Thomas Szaz similarly alerted us to this emerging catastrophe of modern psychiatry in his compelling, though controversial book, The Manufacture of Madness. But just how sick are we, mentally speaking? Go ask Alice. Her adventurous slide down that rabbit hole into Wonderland is an appropriate description of the experience of many patients within the mental health system today. Into this rabbit hole of modern-day medicine we discover the proliferation of diagnostic nomenclature and treatment recommendations, whose research is fundamentally based upon the quick amelioration of emotional, psychological distress (also known as evidenced-based treatment or best practices). We forget that distress is often a warning signal, a sane response to a harmful, threatening situation. Or call is depression. Or Anxiety. Or choose another of the nearly 300 diagnoses of mental illness. Please do not simply take my words for truth. You can read the book yourself: The DSM-V. The latest edition published by the American Psychiatric Association in May 2013, The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-V (DSM-V) is the authoritative standard used by mental health professionals within the United States. It is the mental health clinician’s 443-page bible for identifying symptoms and criteria of every mental illness. Thorough and elaborate, using complex pathological phraseology to describe and codify just what’s wrong with you and me, this big book is the penultimate tunnel into wonderland. Open it, peek in, and suddenly you are its patient: slip sliding through mind-altering adventure, wandering glassy-eyed among the alluring gardens of diagnostic codifications, and questioning, like Alice, if you really are the same person you were before or will ever be again. Perhaps I’m too short? Oh, no, now I’m too big. Should you question your own reality (or that of your family, society, or your culture) or begin to actually feel with some intensity what it is like to really live your own wild, authentic life, you are given a referral to Dr. Caterpillar. He has the medicine to make you just the right size. AND it’s covered by your insurance (that is, if you have health insurance). In fact, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, marriage counselors, and mental health providers are required to give YOU (the patient) one of the 297 diagnoses in their book in order to get paid by insurance companies. Simply drink the medicine, eat his pills, and you will fit in quite nicely. Just remember to read the invisible print: In order for there to be a doctor, there must be a patient. Ask Alice. (Excerpt from Birth Cry: The Journey and Triumphant of the Spirits of Fire, edited for Raven Heart Blog.) |
Aíne Nevar, LSCSWAuthor, psychotherapist. Categories
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