Mauri ora/Vital force greetings to Kristan and everyone. I've been reflecting on 'The Mother' tool for a while and wondering whether to share this with you. Appreciating this core tool as a gift from Phil & Barry and acknowledging that we can adapt and individualise the tools. My comment as wahine Maori, as Indigene woman (on my Mum's side), is that my sense of the 'Mother' and my knowledge of the 'Mother' is of grounded force, Papatuanuku/Earth Mother. Not a force that floats out of the sky, or ether, but a feminine force that embraces me from below, from my contact with the ground and through material that supports me, e.g., a chair, a rock, etc. That expands as a sense of being held that began in the womb. And I try and use my out-breath as a conscious grounding to Her in the very first instance whenever I feel triggered. Also, I notice that 'lowness' and 'lower realms' have a bad rap in the Tools, which I guess comes from Euro-centricity. Maori wisdom and cosmology hold that knowledge and positive forces are to be found above AND below, e.g., the separation of Papatuanuku/Earth Mother and Rakinui/Sky Father, or when Hine Titama/Dawn Maiden, upon learning her husband was her own father, fled the world of light to become Hine Nui Te Po/the Great Lady of the Night and receive the spirits of the dead. I guess this illustrates the unitariness of the 'I' in industrialised world paralleling monotheism that Barry and Phil talk about contrasting with the power of 'other' world views. I'm still working on what to call my 'higher self', maybe the 'flow self' as inspired by the Maori word for 'I', 'ahau', or 'au', also meaning current, vital essence, breath, mist. Aro ha nui, great breath focus/love, Tiaho.
Tiago, this is beautiful and inspiring. Thank you for all the insight. I am going to do an audit of my Western bias and revision my options for imagining these cosmic forces. Thank you!
Kristan, thank you for your graceful reflection. Being immersed in Western colonial culture with strong pressure to assimilate, I too, have much Western bias that I'm continually discovering and working on. Dare I say that the impacts of living with this wound, the maligning and attenuation of the feminine principle and the supremacy of masculine power, stretches back into the mists of time and is not confined to Western culture. There is so much joy for us all in recovering our relationship with Her and the rebalance our dynamic relationship with Him, the masculine principle, that will bring more peace to this cosmic dance of life.
Yeah, the 'Realm of Illusion' is like mistaking living in an art gallery for real life, instead of eating mussels and finding the pearls (turds) there too.
These shrinks are the best. Phil is a genius. Don't laugh at his funny little drawings, they can change your life. The Tools really work.
This is so great! I love seeing and hearing the guys here. Can’t wait for more!
Mauri ora/Vital force greetings to Kristan and everyone. I've been reflecting on 'The Mother' tool for a while and wondering whether to share this with you. Appreciating this core tool as a gift from Phil & Barry and acknowledging that we can adapt and individualise the tools. My comment as wahine Maori, as Indigene woman (on my Mum's side), is that my sense of the 'Mother' and my knowledge of the 'Mother' is of grounded force, Papatuanuku/Earth Mother. Not a force that floats out of the sky, or ether, but a feminine force that embraces me from below, from my contact with the ground and through material that supports me, e.g., a chair, a rock, etc. That expands as a sense of being held that began in the womb. And I try and use my out-breath as a conscious grounding to Her in the very first instance whenever I feel triggered. Also, I notice that 'lowness' and 'lower realms' have a bad rap in the Tools, which I guess comes from Euro-centricity. Maori wisdom and cosmology hold that knowledge and positive forces are to be found above AND below, e.g., the separation of Papatuanuku/Earth Mother and Rakinui/Sky Father, or when Hine Titama/Dawn Maiden, upon learning her husband was her own father, fled the world of light to become Hine Nui Te Po/the Great Lady of the Night and receive the spirits of the dead. I guess this illustrates the unitariness of the 'I' in industrialised world paralleling monotheism that Barry and Phil talk about contrasting with the power of 'other' world views. I'm still working on what to call my 'higher self', maybe the 'flow self' as inspired by the Maori word for 'I', 'ahau', or 'au', also meaning current, vital essence, breath, mist. Aro ha nui, great breath focus/love, Tiaho.
Tiago, this is beautiful and inspiring. Thank you for all the insight. I am going to do an audit of my Western bias and revision my options for imagining these cosmic forces. Thank you!
Kristan, thank you for your graceful reflection. Being immersed in Western colonial culture with strong pressure to assimilate, I too, have much Western bias that I'm continually discovering and working on. Dare I say that the impacts of living with this wound, the maligning and attenuation of the feminine principle and the supremacy of masculine power, stretches back into the mists of time and is not confined to Western culture. There is so much joy for us all in recovering our relationship with Her and the rebalance our dynamic relationship with Him, the masculine principle, that will bring more peace to this cosmic dance of life.
Hi Tiago im also maori but living in Denmark, following the tools
Yeah, the 'Realm of Illusion' is like mistaking living in an art gallery for real life, instead of eating mussels and finding the pearls (turds) there too.
Please post lots of drawings!
The drawings are too small even though I have my glasses on. I love Phil and Barry !!!
lol. No pankakes. I don’t do carbs! 🤣