Birds Preaching to St. Francis?

There I was sitting on the back porch, drinking my tea, attempting to ‘read the tea leaves’ (so to speak) about the present creative situation, trying to discern the right path among many paths vis a vis the Golden Bough Project.  Sitting there, watching the birds thronging around our bird feeder, I was enjoying the sheer abundance and amazing variety of the birds that had decided to frequent our feeder this year — in contrast to other years where we’ve only had the usual customers (the English Sparrows, some  Goldfinches and Chickadees).  We even have several pairs of Robins, which gobble up the raisins we leave for them.  Impertinently, we have begun calling them “our” Robins, for they look at us through the window.  One of them even sitting boldly on our railing, cocking its head admonishingly at us, as if to say, “Our food tray is empty!”  But today, right now, in addition to these usual customers, we have:

1. White-Throated Sparrows whose beautiful plumage, well-proportioned form and clear voice give us so much joy,
2. Stunningly beautiful Red House Finches (which we have not seen for many, many years) who have decided, inexplicably, to return this year and grace us with their glorious song,
3. The tiny, yet so bold for their size, Chipping Sparrows (who had never before eaten in the feeder but had only hopped about in the grass in previous years),
4. Cowbirds (grrrrr!  Parasites!)
5. And, wonder of wonders, even a tiny House Wren (a bird that’s not supposed to eat seeds)! “What?  Are you kidding me?” I exclaimed.

All were zipping in and out of the feeder.  This was amazing and totally without precedent since we moved in here in 2000!  I was thoroughly enjoying watching these avian visitations — and even a tiny mouse that darted under the stonework.  At the same time I mused how all these birds (and the mouse) were — in addition to being such a joyous gift, and in addition to being very hungry creatures (!) — presented me with an apt metaphor for the ineluctable draw which the presence of an archetype has on any situation where a leap of consciousness is demanded.   For, an archetype, like the seeds in the feeder and fallen on the ground, gathers to itself innumerable ideas and images that cluster around it, like the birds to our feeder. 

 

Amidst all this activity, the thought, “But the presence of so many ‘birds’ — the creative ideas that swarm around the archetype — at a backyard feeder also attracts the ‘hawk’ of one’s personal ambition”, had no sooner crossed my mind than a real hawk suddenly swooped through our yard, scattering the birds from our feeder!  The hawk did not land or even attempt to nail one of the birds at the feeder, but I got a very good look at its shadowy back as it whizzed right through our yard and the yard next door, like a shot from a bow and arrow!  That little piece of synchronicity certainly got my attention!  It also occurred to me that not only was my shadow personal ambition a thing to be aware of, but, just as importantly, that highly creative ideas attract also the “hawks in the neighborhood”, i.e. the people in one’s environment who have huge shadow ambition, who would use the creative situation for their own self-aggrandizing purposes, rather than the archetype’s purposes.  Having had the experience in the past of others’ (as well as my own) ambition “swooping in” on me and my creative work to ‘fly off with it’, i.e., expropriate it, I have been made wary; thus, my caution in the present moment as I try to ‘read the tea leaves’ and move forward.

The archetypal situation can be read in such simple events in the backyard as this.  Now, I wonder if we might not reinterpret (or, rather, add another dimension to) the images we have of St. Francis (see blogpost of May 12, 2015, re Dr. David L. Miller lecture) preaching to the birds, the wolf of Gubbio, and other wild critters.  “Perhaps we have been missing for several hundreds of years the fuller message of the paintings we have of St. Francis preaching to the wild critters like the birds, the wolf, and the mouse,” I mused, sitting in my chair.  

Our attention to certain ideas ('birds') 'feeds' those ideas because our energy is focused on them, granting them 'validity' and 'life'.  One can't stare at them (birds or ideas) too hard, because that, of course, is what predators do.  And the ego, like a wolf, would just love to make off with the idea for its own self-aggrandizement.  So one needs to be very patient with them (birds/ideas); giving them attention but not too much.  It's a discernment process.  At the same time those 'birds/ideas' are 'speaking' ('preaching') to our souls and calling to us to 'bring them out' from their coverts into manifestation in the outer world that needs so much to hear their song.  It's a dialectic going on, a conversation.  (A small mouse darts under a wall, reminiscent of the 'mouse of the lord' that darts in and out of my consciousness.)

(See my blogposting, 'Mouse of the Lord', March 19, 2011).   

While it may be the case that St. Francis was ‘preaching’ to the birds, etc., it may be equally valid to speculate that the reverse is also the case:  it is the birds (and the wolf, and a mouse, etc.) who preach to St. Francis!  ‘They’ (i.e., the multiple forms the archetype inhabits) are most certainly preaching to me in the current situation.  With the passage of time, I have become even more keenly aware that an archetype was responsible for the creation and production(s) of “The Golden Bough” ballet back in 1996-2003.  The same archetype has now somehow been activated yet again all these years later.  I am trying to discern what that means and the right path for me.  Clearly, a leap of consciousness is expected.  So, I have my ‘ear to the ground’ where the ‘Mouse of the Lord’ scurries about furtively, whispering truth to power.

(Woodcut by Carl Weidemeyer, 1911) (Source:  Wikipedia)

Now, about those Cowbirds …

I can’t say my behavior towards them has been civil — or even sane, since I have been seen a time or two chasing them away from the yard, flailing a broom maniacally in the air to disperse the varmints.  We’ve not had a lot of these pests in previous years, and the ones that do seem to find their way here have always left us after the migration period.  I’m hoping this year will be the same.

Their larger presence this year (and my deviant behavior towards them) gives me pause to consider their role in the current archetypal situation as I try to reach discernment.  Certainly, there seems to be a whole lot of energy swirling about not just our bird feeder but around the discernment process as well, and yesterday the flocks of Cowbirds that scattered before me on my way up to Brainerd provided me a reminder of some thoughts I had begun to chew on.  The easy pace and rolling countryside up Highway 25 gave me a good chance to reflect on these parasites of the bird world that refuse the burden of taking care of their own progeny and instead foist them upon other species to raise/feed.   

The lazy, slothful, uncaring, abandoning, 'trickster' behavior of the Cowbird, disconnected from its own creation, represents a threat to its creative production and a burden foisted on others.  And the poor little Cowbirds who are ‘orphaned’ reproduce the same abandoning behavior once they become adults — just like human babies and children who experience abandonment.  Synchronistically, I was confronted on both of the past two days with two completely separate incidents of ‘abandonment issues’ in young people.  In addition, the "Trickster" archetype seems to have been inexplicably constellated in the situation as I try to move forward and gain clarity in the present task of discernment.  The Cowbird tricks other birds into doing what it does not want to (or cannot) do for itself.

My experience of young people with abandonment issues shows that without the right attitude of the care-taking adults in their life, these youngsters may grow up just like the little Cowbirds, expecting others to care for their every need, incapable of taking care of their own nest (housekeeping), incapable of earning a living.  Frequently, the well-meaning folks who take them in are just so exhausted, or just so guilt-ridden, or just so fearful of losing the love of the child that they will simply throw money at the problems that arise.  But this method of dealing with the problems of abandonment never works out well for the abandoned child — or for the child’s well-meaning adult caretakers. It breeds dis-empowerment rather than empowerment on both sides of the relationship.  It is a disservice to allow sympathy for the abandoned child to trump preparing the child for a productive, real life.  It is a disservice to the child and to society at large to allow it to become a little tyrant and manipulator. 

Once again, the birds in our backyard have ‘spoken’ to me.  The presence of the Cowbirds provides a caution to me to be aware of the presence of a shadow tendency to foist the burden of consciousness and the burden of creativity onto others in the current situation.  The archetype that swirls around “The Golden Bough, a Fairytale Ballet” is showing signs of  'feeling abandoned’, thus its nagging persistence and the high degree of energy it is producing in the current situation.  I need to take care of my ‘Cowbird’ shadow, my laziness and sloth and non-committal attitude.  I need to get the ‘broom’ out and chase these shadow tendencies away!  Perhaps then, the ‘face’ which the archetype shows to me will change from ‘tyrant’ to ‘blessing’ from ‘parasitic’ energy-sucker to ‘cheerleader’.

 

Lecture by David L. Miller to Minnesota Jung Association

I had the privilege of hearing a lecture by Dr. David L. Miller on May 8, 2015.  David L. Miller, Ph.D., is Watson-Ledden Professor of Religion Emeritus at Syracuse University and a retired Core Faculty Person in Mythological Studies at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara. Since 1963, Dr. Miller has worked at the intersections of religions and mythologies, literature and literary theory, and theology and depth psychology. (This, from the Minnesota Jung Assn. website.)

His lecture to the Minnesota Jung Association at Luther Seminary focused on the archetype of the Good Shepherd as it impinges on the helping professions (teaching, medicine, psychotherapy, social work, counseling, education, life coaching, spiritual and religious ministry, etc.).  Dr. Miller’s focus was on the importance of being aware of the darker aspects of the archetype.  To be conscious of the existence of the negative archetypal influences is critical for the individual in the helping professions in particular.  The task for each of us is to “be aware of the images that are using us”, Dr. Miller said.  The Shadow sides of the archetypal image of the Good Shepherd are:  the Power Complex; the Savior Complex; Single-minded Vision and Narcissism.  The following is a summary what was said, along with some additional comments/observations — and belated personal reactions after assimilating the material Dr. Miller delivered. 

One of Dr. Miller’s first quotes was from Heraclitus (535-475 B.C.):  “Don’t listen to me, listen to the logos.”  In other words, don’t pay attention to the deliverer of the message; listen to the message, the animating idea/spirit behind the words.  [Aha! I thought to myself:  the golden bird who whispers in the little girl’s ear in “The Golden Bough, a FairytaleBallet for Children”!]  The particulars of the human vehicle delivering the message are tangential except, apparently, in the case of Jesus of Nazareth, whose life was the message — which is why the writer of the Gospel of John calls him the Logos.

Pointing to the painting of 'St. Francis Feeding the Birds' projected on the screen, Dr. Miller said two things that particularly resonated with me. [“Hmmm, yet more avian ‘intrusions’ into my 'air space'!,” I thought, reminded once again of the persistence of the idea that I must do something more with my fairytale ballet which features a golden bird as the main image of the ballet.].  Miller said:  “The point should be (a) that St. Francis feeds the birds because he is contained in the aura (the halo), not, (b) that St. Francis has the aura/halo because he's [a ‘saint’] for feeding the birds.” In other words, the person is the bond servant of the idea that is forming in him or her.  The person doesn't have the idea; the idea ‘has’ the person (sometimes, by the scruff of the neck, I might add).  Our job is to discover what is living and manifesting itself through us.  We must beware of the stories that are living themselves out through us and aware of the larger ‘opus’ in which we play a part.  We need to become conscious of the archetype that demands expression:  both its positive aspects and potentials (‘good outcomes’) and its negative aspects and potentials — those aspects that present a danger to the unconscious individual.
 

Painting by Giotto (1267-1337)

Dr. Miller seemed to be describing my experience as an artist.  In creating “The Golden Bough, a Fairytale Ballet for Children”, it was crystal clear to me at the time (1996) that I was the idea’s servant, taken by the scruff of the neck and told, “Do this!”  I had some say in the matter, of course, but knowing that regardless — whether I did the work or did not bend myself to the task — I would be burned up no matter what, I might just as well manifest the intention positively in outer life!  Because if I didn't, the archetype-that-would-not-be-denied would cause much mischief, and in either case, I would be unbearable to myself and others! 

I have written about this experience in “Companion Guide to The Golden Bough, a Fairytale Ballet: the Ballet as Parable”.  What I have learned over many years of struggle is that, in addition to knowing that you are by far the weaker of the two entities in the equation, part of the ‘protective armor’ that one needs when approached by the archetype is an attitude of simultaneously knowing two diametrically opposed things about your situation:  you are necessary for the fulfillment of the idea; and, yet, you are also ultimately superfluous to the expression of the archetype, for it will be expressed one way or another. 

Dr. Miller asked for personal comments regarding how we become aware of and deal with those ‘shadow’ aspects of the archetype.  I commented to the group that as a ballet teacher, I have on several occasions told the students in my class that if I am not becoming more and more superfluous to them, I am not doing my job as a trainer and teacher of the classical ballet.  My students should become more competent and more independent of my oversight, if I am doing my job.  (Of course, there are always those in class who will resist instruction, but it is my job to cajole them by whatever creative means I can to make a dent in their resistance.  I don’t always succeed, but I succeed with the vast majority.)  Taking myself lightly but the work seriously has been my guideline in teaching.  And, in the end, being all 'used up', I shall die of superfluity.  As C. S. Lewis, I believe, said, “Satan fell because of too much gravity!”

My thoughts can be somewhat 'delayed' at times as I digest things!  Had I thought of this at the time, I would have rejoined Dr. Miller’s comment about St. Francis feeding the birds with, "And, the 'birds' (or any creative idea that comes upon an artist) come to him/her because 'they' recognize they are safe and will be fed/nurtured in that aura."  This view, the view presented by the ballet “The Golden Bough”, tweaks the focus just a little more by emphasizing the synchronistic and the independent nature of any archetype.  It also shows (a) how the individual affects the archetype and (b) how the archetype 'gathers' ideas and people to itself and 'surrounds' a situation that contains a 'positive' intention.  Certainly the latter was true surrounding the creation of “The Golden Bough, a Fairytale Ballet for Children”.  It was absolutely astonishing to watch and feel the energy this ballet generated among students and parents during the creative process!  Quite frankly, the scale of the undertaking for a small ballet school such as ours could never have been done without all that archetypal energy shoving it forward to birth!  I am absolutely convinced of that.  But the creation of the ballet also required me to confront my own shadow.  [I have written about this in “Companion Guide to the Golden Bough, a Fairytale Ballet:  the Ballet as Parable.”]

On the other hand, an unconscious intention that is ignored or rejected by consciousness will infect the entire situation with negative consequences — very much like what happens in Scene 3 of the ballet when “The Blob” threatens.  So the attitude of consciousness is, as Jung has pointed out, critical to the overall outcome.  With respect to Dr. Miller’s example of St. Francis feeding the birds, putting things this (additional) way shifts the focus a bit more away from any ascription of moral goodness or competence to St. Francis — or any of us who are artists, teachers, healers, pastors, etc. 

One always has to be aware of the “hawk” (our shadow ambition) that swoops in out of nowhere to make off with a small bird.  When one feeds birds, the gathering of so many small birds attracts the hawks in the neighborhood as well.

Still, there are discernments to be made, compromises and “deals” that one can and must make with the unconscious, because to allow the archetype to swallow one up (which it can and will surely do if some kind of ‘conversation’ with the inner voice is not initiated and maintained) results in a kind of madness (grandiosity, separation from reality, tyrannical behavior, or worse) that has no regard for one’s human limitations or one's responsibilities to others to be 'present' to them.  That is how the good/negative aspect of the Good Shepherd archetype acts — by turning into a wolf and gobbling you up!

Response of the Psyche to a Decision to Act 'Rashly'

Note:  the following dream (of 4/27/15) came after 3 days and 3 nights following my ‘rash action’ (totally out of my comfort zone) of contacting Senator Klobuchar and Representative Eric Paulsen regarding a possible re-staging of “The Golden Bough, a Fairytale Ballet for Children”* for the purpose of fundraising for organizations addressing the issue of human sex trafficking.  I have noted over the course of many years of studying my dreams that frequently (especially where there is a critical decision-making process going on) that ‘3 days’ seems to be the amount of time the psyche uses to process important events of the soul.  Presumably, it takes one day for the descent — for the message to make its way to the unconscious (e-mail doesn’t go between here and there); one day for the message to be processed, analyzed and responded to by the unconscious; and one day for the return trip to the upper world.  The 3-day motif is archetypal (e.g., something important always happens in fairy tales on the third day; poor old Jonah was in the belly of the whale for 3 days; and Jesus’ resurrection was “On the third day …”, following his “descent to the dead”).  
(For those of you who have never seen this full-length ballet, here is a 12-minute promo of Golden Bough )

The dream of 4/27/2014:

Some sort of risky operation is being performed on me, but the risk is necessary in order to save me.  The procedure is unusual and unproven.  It is not standard operating procedure and carries grave risks.  But without it, I will be crippled.

There are (I think) 3 male (?) surgeons who perform the operation.  After the operation, I am doing well and the surgeons and I are meeting in a large, square room when suddenly their superior, a woman who is in charge of all staff and procedures for the hospital, storms in through a door on the right, having descended on a staircase that leads down from the higher echelons of the hospital.

She is furious that protocol was not followed, that severe risks were taken when strict procedures were flouted by the surgeons, and that her authority has been sidestepped!

“Normally, you would be quite correct,” I say, coming to the defense of the surgeons, “But in this instance, had the surgeons not operated slightly ‘off-book’, I would surely not be standing here, but would be a cripple.”

[I wake up.  Our cat is pawing me and meowing in my ear, wanting her morning milk.  And my husband is about to leave for an early morning appointment.]

Commentary:

I lay in bed, half-awake, for just a minute longer, trying to remember the dream.  As I have done before with personae that appear in my dreams, I posed a question, asking the female Head Surgeon*, “Who are you?”  With nary a nanosecond pause between formulating that question in my head, ‘she’ answers emphatically:  “Hera!”  she barks.  Seriously, no one can make this stuff up; that is what ‘she’ said!   (* The title, “Head Surgeon,” is itself an interesting, almost humorous, motif to contemplate psychologically!)

Well, of course it is Hera — Hera, the arch conservative among the Olympians, she who is always miffed, always storming in wrathfully when she has not been consulted — she who is the guardian of the status quo and the protector of standard operating procedures; she who is wrathful when those standards have been abrogated; she who is always nagging Zeus about something.  She can cause a great deal of trouble.  She is, after all, the Queen of the Olympians (i.e., the archetypes that govern human life).

For a very long time now, I have been assuming that the voice in my head that has been nagging me to do something again with the Golden Bough was simply my ego, simply my stubborn refusal to ‘get a life’ and move on to other creative endeavors.  But the fact of the matter is that I have, more than once, changed course and “moved on” — on to a great many new and totally different creative endeavors (new teaching and chorographic successes, new books and articles, new and challenging situations, like teaching in the St Paul Public School system and teaching at competition dance schools which operate on a completely different cultural and business model than artistic organizations).

Still, for many years there has been the persistence of the idea that the ballet ought to be brought out from the shadows again.  Yet, for those same 8 years, another, much louder, negative nagging voice presenting a totally opposite opinion has held sway, telling me to be realistic, that such a cockamamie idea is impossible, grossly egotistical, and fraught with a host of problems.  This nagging ‘voice of realism’ has taken pains to point out that:  (1) the dance world and cultural tastes have changed dramatically and “The Golden Bough” seems no longer wanted and no longer ‘fits’ the economies of prevailing values; (2) the world has moved on and so should I; (3) God has not shown me that “The Golden Bough” ought to be done again, nor has God shown me what I must do. Sadly, too, I cannot tell sometimes the difference between my ego and God!  (4) I don’t have a studio; (5) I don’t have dancers and the staff of an organization at my disposal; (6) I don’t have money.  I live on a small Social Security payment.  (6) I’m old and my body, though quite strong for my age, is not what it was at age 56; (7) My husband’s health issues may require more of me than I can handle while trying to stage a full-length ballet, and in that circumstance staging a ballet would not be the responsible or the loving thing I wish always to do!  What possible good would come of losing my soul in work?  None!  And, (8) there’s the question, “Why do I need all the hassle of attempting to restage ‘The Golden Bough’ at this point in my life?”  Fighting the battles of egos and special interests, not to mention the legitimate concerns of dance studios which have their own agendas and clientele expectations, might very well be insurmountable and could topple the entire effort before it even gets started.  I would need a boatload of pro-bono legal, financial, tax, logistical, and promotional help if I were to attempt this.  Where am I going to get that??  I’d be completely ‘out on a golden (i.e., $$$$) limb’.  With all these negatives (which constituted ‘Hera’s’ commanding conservative hold on the inner world of my psyche) there are a boatload of reasons NOT to do the ballet again and only one really GOOD reason to do the ballet again — supporting a movement to empower women and girls and be a part of the effort to rid the world of sex trafficking!  Sounds like a pretty good reason to me!

All this being said, I have ‘a tribe’ — an amazing group of people that God has allowed me to know, love, serve, and be with on this journey I call ‘my life’ but which is not ‘mine’ at all.  I know that where I may be inadequate or insufficient or wanting, they are not.  I would not be attempting this alone.  I could not and cannot do this alone — especially now.  But the fact is, I have never ‘done it all alone’.  Never!

Last Thursday, for the first time I had asked myself:  What if I have been wrong about the persistent voice in my head that frequently keeps me awake at night?  What if I have misidentified the voice?  (See blogpost January 21, 2015:  "Don't Believe Every Thought that Comes Into Your Head"   )  (Recall that Hera is an inveterate negative nagger!)  What if, by assuming that the ‘nagging’ is ‘just my ego’ that wants to feel important and be in charge, I have in fact been rejecting what may possibly be a genuine call of the soul to do the work again — this time for a greater cause?  Those questions provided the impetus for me to change my s.o.p. and send out the emails to Klobuchar, et. ali., the following day on Friday.

I hold a healthy degree of skepticism about any ‘nobility’ of my personal motives.  I am not at all sure, nor, I suppose, can I ever be entirely sure — until the psyche or the universe responds (actually until both respond) — that I might be doing the right thing.  But by stepping outside of my comfort zone to send out my email on Friday (to Senator Klobuchar, Representative Paulsen, Breaking Free, and the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota), I am testing the waters, so to speak.  As I told friends, we shall at least find out whether or not this is the right thing for me.  If the thing doesn’t ‘grow legs’ then I have my answer, and I can dispose of the quest to bring back the ballet and turn myself towards other creative endeavors and more important life tasks before me.  It may be that my task is not to re-stage the ballet but to actually live its message.  As fraught with challenges as re-staging the ballet would be, the difficulty of actually living its message — attending to the 'fairy tale'/story/myth/opus that is living itself out in oneself has been — and is — infinitely more challenging.  There are actually many similarities.  However, there are far more serious consequences for not attending to the living out of one's real-life opus than there are for not mounting a ballet.  I do not, however, see the one as precluding the other.  The two may, indeed, be linked together.

My conservative self wants nothing more at this time of my life than regularity, order, peace, yet I am hounded by irregular sleep, by disorder and ‘war’ within, between the rational and the creative irrational that breaks in.  I feel pulled, ‘crucified’ between these opposites within my soul, and I don’t know how I can survive the conflict if I cannot sleep!!

With this dream, however, the psyche has responded (much quicker than the humans who have email capabilities, I might add).  So, in responding to ‘Hera’, I have actually ‘said’ and say now to her, “Yes, Hera, Queen of the Olympians, you are correct.  My actions have been completely insane and quite possibly egotistic.  My actions were also insane and egotistic way back in 1978, when I created my first large ballet (“Totentanz”) for St. Mark’s Cathedral, and again in 1996 when I first created “The Golden Bough” which ran for 6 seasons.  I know that this new endeavor — if by the grace of God it is begun — will upset the comfortable status quo.  It will most certainly upset life as I know it and may cause innumerable difficulties for me.  But you, Queen Hera, who are the preeminent protector of children and women, are needed here and now to help save many millions of them, and in saving them, save culture and civilization, which, as we all know, is your special area of concern.  Do not leave your servant a cripple.”  

Through this dream, the psyche shows me its view of the soul’s situation.  The soul has responded to the action I took on Friday, April 24.  The ‘masculine’ element of the psyche (the 3 operating surgeons in the dream) has intervened to fix the ‘crippled’ personality by changing the ‘standard operating procedures’ of the frightened, limited ego that fears to step out of its comfort zone.  The question is now:  How will the universe respond?  Perhaps a little bird will tell me.