The alchemist and the goddess

by Misha Norland

I pencilled the first jottings on the theme in 1988 in order to clarify my thoughts. As the essay began to unfold, itself I found myself in the grip of an 'internal logic' which drove towards an uncomfortable conclusion. I would like to write about this and also make some further observations.

The concluding sentence of the essay stated: we may be dependent on matter and bound by inner and outer necessity (for example karmic imperatives) to work with nature, but also to work against nature, participant creators and destroyers of the earth, of our very selves, to contain, transmute, transform the base material into something that is finer and more able to sustain our evolving consciousness. Enshrined within these statements are ideas which are reminiscent of alchemical processes, and of the opus itself, that is to say, the concept of  transformation. In the field of psychotherapeutics this concept is often exhumed from the grave of, dare we say, outmoded ideas, in order to offer up a justification of the most uncomfortable, facts which could not be faced, in this instance the implication is that the destruction of nature, internally (psychologically) and externally (of the earth) is part of a 'natural' growth process. Although this may be related to anabolic and catabolic physiological processes, to decay in autumn and renew in spring and may thus be seen to be biologically founded, the concept cannot vindicate the wholesale destruction of species and habitats, it is inimical to moral as well as common sense. Yet this destruction exists and has always occurred. We are caught upon the horns of an ontological dilemma; whether it is better to live and by so doing harm other life forms or to exercise compassion and risk annihilation. This latter, Buddhist view, leads in the direction of the de-hierarchising of 'kingdoms in nature' for it places all sentient beings at parity. It is non-confrontational. It gains ground by giving up ground, by maintaining a posture of non-attachment. It pays homage to the void and in so doing is  antipsychological in its approach, an opus contra naturum.

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Tags: Misha Norland | The Homoeopath Magazine | Homeopathy

This entry was posted on 01 September 2006 at 13:17 and is filed under Homeopathy.