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    Caroline Myss

    I thought I'd start a separate thread to discuss Caroline Myss so we don't derail LunaArtist's thread on Astral Paracites. I really just mentioned her in passing because I use one of her techniques for working with archetypal aspects of my shadow, but I really want to continue our conversation because it's a subject I'm very enthusiastic about.

    Originally posted by monsno_leedra
    It also looks like it pulls from her book Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing. Will read those two and might order a couple of her others but not sure about the cards or cd's. Found a number of the books for sell for .99 and a few dollars shipping and handling through Alibris.
    I didn't know these books were related! Anatomy of the Spirit is much higher on my wishlist actually!

    You see, back in September I discovered Joanna Devoe and started listening to her podcast 'Hippy Witch'. Those 30 minute podcasts feel like a friendly telephone chat with an old coven-mate. She gives us ideas and techniques on a particular psycho-spiritual theme, often quoting from several authors, and I get to ponder over her ideas, view them from my own personal spiritual standpoint and then decide what I'd like to explore further, and maybe incorporate into my own practices.

    The best thing about DeVoe is that she does most of the reading for me! I can just listen to her podcasts while doing housework and learn interesting new concepts without taking up my precious free time with reading books that may or may not be useful for me.

    Sometimes DeVoe will touch on an idea that really resonates with me and so I'll scribble down the author and book in my wish-list along with a short synopsis of what it is that interests me, so that when I am addressing that particular issue in my temple work, I can buy the book.

    One such author was Caroline Myss. The first encounter I had with her was when DeVoe did a 4 part series on shadow work and referenced Myss's book 'Sacred Contracts' that I mentioned in the other thread. I then discovered not only a wealth of resources on her website, but several inspirational interviews/talks that she's done that are available on Youtube (I haven't found anything directly relating to the archetype stuff though).

    Myss calls herself a 'Medical Intuitive', that is, someone who can diagnose illness by reading the body's subtle energies. This is a concept that fascinates me because the bulk of my temple work over the last 8-9 months has been exploring the chakras and in particular, their connection to the endocrine system and the way that both what we eat as well as our thoughts and actions, can affect our health. Caroline has given me a lot to think about with regards to this, albeit more the mental side than the food side.

    I think one of my favourite insights from Caroline has been making peace with a concept that is often thrown around in the Law of Attraction community, that your thoughts manifest your reality. This message makes me so angry that I can get quite animated talking about it. To someone who was having visions of themselves or their loved ones being brutally murdered, or killed in unpleasant accidents this is a dangerous and very cruel message to be sending. Having said that, I really did discover that the more positive I was becoming, the more positive experiences I was having. I even manifested certain items and experiences that I'd been visualising months earlier. So I was very conflicted.

    What Caroline Myss made me realise is that your thoughts affect the chakras which affect your health and related areas of your life. Imagining horrific scenes is not going to make those horrific things happen. However, it will almost certainly cause issues with your root chakra (because it is a feeling of constant threat that is driving those visions), which can affect your adrenals and thus manifest as a physical illness such as pre-diabetes, insomnia, high blood pressure, poor protein metabolism, weight gain around the middle, and so on... It will also create a disconnect and a feeling of unease with your home, or with your surroundings and circumstances (this is very much how I experienced it). I can kinda get behind this theory. It is inline with my own experiences and the themes I've been exploring. Caroline also points out that just because our thoughts can create illness, not all illness is the result of your thoughts. I appreciate that idea too.

    So while I have said that Sacred Contracts is on my wishlist, I won't be doing much shadow work now until the October moon-cycle, so won't be buying it just yet. However, Spiritual Anatomy is something I'd like to start getting my teeth into as soon as I finish the book I'm reading. It might take a while though because I only read I few pages at a time (I recently started doing 'Miracle Mornings' and one of the 6 activities is to read something enlightening; that's maybe for another post though!).
    Last edited by Jembru; 04 Mar 2017, 11:50.
    夕方に急なにわか雨は「夕立」と呼ばれるなら、なぜ朝ににわか雨は「朝立ち」と呼ばれないの? ^^If a sudden rain shower in the evening is referred to as an 'evening stand', then why isn't a shower in the morning called 'morning stand'?

    #2
    Re: Caroline Myss

    Part of the write up I read commented on things in Anatomy of the Spirit that seemed expanded on or followed up on in Sacred Contracts. Right now can't contribute to this thread but i've ordered the two referenced books and hopefully will have them in a few days. Depending upon how large they are will determine how quick I get through them for the first read.
    I'm Only Responsible For What I Say Not For What Or How You Understand!

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Caroline Myss

      Originally posted by monsno_leedra View Post
      Part of the write up I read commented on things in Anatomy of the Spirit that seemed expanded on or followed up on in Sacred Contracts. Right now can't contribute to this thread but i've ordered the two referenced books and hopefully will have them in a few days. Depending upon how large they are will determine how quick I get through them for the first read.

      That would work out really nicely then. I can work through Anatomy of the Spirit through the spring/summer then I'll have the foundations to work through Sacred Contracts when the autumn equinox comes around!

      I ordered Anatomy right after I posted this thread, so I might just start that and return to my current book later (it's just a Phyllis Currott that I've read many times before).
      夕方に急なにわか雨は「夕立」と呼ばれるなら、なぜ朝ににわか雨は「朝立ち」と呼ばれないの? ^^If a sudden rain shower in the evening is referred to as an 'evening stand', then why isn't a shower in the morning called 'morning stand'?

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Caroline Myss

        Commenting here, so that I can follow this, and read it when I'm fully awake tomorrow - I love this idea, Jemma. Your enthusiasm makes me feel a little optimistic {yes I'm a cynical bunny otherwise}, so I'll check back in. Cheers.

        Comment


          #5
          Whered you get that podcast Jem?
          ThorSon's milkshake brings all the PF girls to the yard - Volcaniclastic

          RIP

          I have never been across the way
          Seen the desert and the birds
          You cut your hair short
          Like a shush to an insult
          The world had been yelling
          Since the day you were born
          Revolting with anger
          While it smiled like it was cute
          That everything was shit.

          - J. Wylder

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Caroline Myss

            Originally posted by Heka View Post
            Whered you get that podcast Jem?
            I think she links to it on her website but I get it direct from Blogtalk radio;

            Hippy Witch, Magick for a New Age

            My babe Joanna?? Sure! I should maybe warn you that she's not for everyone though. You might take an instant disliking to her. Personally I ADORE her cookiness (less so on her youtube channel though. I find the persona she presents there a little too much even for me), but she gets a bit of stick from certain sections of the pagan community who think she's fluffy or even think she shouldn't be allowed to call herself a witch. In fact, I'm not ashamed to admit that I'd have been seriously triggered by her in my wiccan days, but I see the fact that I can learn from someone like her as a sign that I've matured spiritually since then!

            If you can see past her fluffy exterior, and aren't put off by new-agey law of attraction stuff, then she actually has a genuine depth of spirituality that is quite obvious once you listen to a few episodes. What I like most about her, is that despite her wealth of book knowledge, she doesn't try to pass herself off as an expert or in any way superior. She sees herself as being on a journey of spiritual growth and exploration and is simply sharing whatever she is currently working on herself, with any of us who fancy wandering along the road with her for a bit. I've honestly learnt so much from our little chats!

            I'm not digging the new intro for the show though. I think it gives a false impression of her. She's also doing a lot of interview episodes at the moment too and I prefer her solo shows. It feels more intimate. Like I said earlier, it's like a cosy chat with a covenmate. I don't like some stranger popping their heads in and taking her attention from me. I guess I have jealousy issues I need to work on. ^^
            夕方に急なにわか雨は「夕立」と呼ばれるなら、なぜ朝ににわか雨は「朝立ち」と呼ばれないの? ^^If a sudden rain shower in the evening is referred to as an 'evening stand', then why isn't a shower in the morning called 'morning stand'?

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Caroline Myss

              Well, so far I'm loving Anatomy of the Spirit. It is exactly the kind of information I've been trying to put together myself over the last few months. In fact, I think whoever wrote the chakra information in deagostini's Mind Body and Spirit magazine must have been inspired by this book, because I got a lot of my information from there and it's all sounding very familiar.

              I've only read up to her description of the root chakra but it's really striking true for me. She said the root chakra affects the immune system, but I had the heart chakra connected to the immune system because of its association with the thymus gland (Caroline also makes this connection). She does begin this section by stating that we're to draw our own conclusions about the chakras, so right away I was ready to disregard this connection, but then she goes on to make a pretty compelling argument for it. I love it when a book makes me question my own beliefs and conclusions about things like this. I should have bought this book ages ago!
              夕方に急なにわか雨は「夕立」と呼ばれるなら、なぜ朝ににわか雨は「朝立ち」と呼ばれないの? ^^If a sudden rain shower in the evening is referred to as an 'evening stand', then why isn't a shower in the morning called 'morning stand'?

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Caroline Myss

                I just got both books in but hadn't decided which one to read first. Maybe will read Anatomy first since your reading it that way can discuss it. Besides it's the thinner of the two books he he he
                I'm Only Responsible For What I Say Not For What Or How You Understand!

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Jembru View Post
                  ... deagostini's Mind Body and Spirit magazine...
                  Omg I have 8 folders of this 🙈
                  ThorSon's milkshake brings all the PF girls to the yard - Volcaniclastic

                  RIP

                  I have never been across the way
                  Seen the desert and the birds
                  You cut your hair short
                  Like a shush to an insult
                  The world had been yelling
                  Since the day you were born
                  Revolting with anger
                  While it smiled like it was cute
                  That everything was shit.

                  - J. Wylder

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Caroline Myss

                    Originally posted by monsno_leedra View Post
                    I just got both books in but hadn't decided which one to read first. Maybe will read Anatomy first since your reading it that way can discuss it. Besides it's the thinner of the two books he he he
                    I didn't order the other one in case I wasn't keen on her writing after all. I'm pretty much sold though, so I'll buy the other one soon.

                    You might find you have to wait for me to catch up mind. I'm only reading a few pages a day!

                    Originally posted by Heka View Post
                    Omg I have 8 folders of this ��
                    I collected it when I was at uni and always looked forward to the monthly bundle! Unfortunately, I lost 4 issues because I moved home and they'd posted them before I changed my address. They refused to reissue the missing magazines and told me I'd have to order them and pay separately. I didn't, and now I don't know the numbers that I'm missing (although I know the pages I don't have so could maybe work it out).

                    I also don't have the chakra cards that came with it anymore (they fell down the back of my bed at my mum's place and were ruined by damp). I couldn't tell you how much I'd love to still have them!
                    Last edited by Jembru; 13 Mar 2017, 15:44.
                    夕方に急なにわか雨は「夕立」と呼ばれるなら、なぜ朝ににわか雨は「朝立ち」と呼ばれないの? ^^If a sudden rain shower in the evening is referred to as an 'evening stand', then why isn't a shower in the morning called 'morning stand'?

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: Caroline Myss

                      Originally posted by Jembru View Post
                      I didn't order the other one in case I wasn't keen on her writing after all. I'm pretty much sold though, so I'll buy the other one soon.

                      You might find you have to wait for me to catch up mind. I'm only reading a few pages a day! ..
                      That's not a problem as I am only reading a bit at a time. Got in the habit of reading a book and then going back and reading it again but slower. Sort of do the Evelyn Woods speed reading thing the first time through then the second read is where I tend to make notes and go looking at references and such. Since this one deals with Chakra's and such wondering how it will compare to Wheels of Light.
                      I'm Only Responsible For What I Say Not For What Or How You Understand!

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: Caroline Myss

                        Originally posted by monsno_leedra View Post
                        That's not a problem as I am only reading a bit at a time. Got in the habit of reading a book and then going back and reading it again but slower. Sort of do the Evelyn Woods speed reading thing the first time through then the second read is where I tend to make notes and go looking at references and such. Since this one deals with Chakra's and such wondering how it will compare to Wheels of Light.
                        That's why I read so slowly. I actually can read faster, but I retain much less compared to when I imagine the author's voice in my head, and pause to take notes. When I read books in Japanese, I always read them twice. Once slowly, looking up words I don't know as I go (I mark unknown words with a pencil then look them all up when I reach the end of the page). Then again but much faster to train my recognition of the bouma of the words. I never thought to do this with English books, but if I reversed your method, and read the book again but at a faster pace, I might be able to learn to read faster while not losing comprehension!

                        I've never read Wheels of Light but from the descriptions, it sounds quite similar.
                        夕方に急なにわか雨は「夕立」と呼ばれるなら、なぜ朝ににわか雨は「朝立ち」と呼ばれないの? ^^If a sudden rain shower in the evening is referred to as an 'evening stand', then why isn't a shower in the morning called 'morning stand'?

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by Jembru View Post

                          I collected it when I was at uni and always looked forward to the monthly bundle! Unfortunately, I lost 4 issues because I moved home and they'd posted them before I changed my address. They refused to reissue the missing magazines and told me I'd have to order them and pay separately. I didn't, and now I don't know the numbers that I'm missing (although I know the pages I don't have so could maybe work it out).

                          I also don't have the chakra cards that came with it anymore (they fell down the back of my bed at my mum's place and were ruined by damp). I couldn't tell you how much I'd love to still have them!
                          I bought it complete from someone on gumtree. I worked out its missing 2 editions and i never got the crystals or any consumables (candles, insense etc) but i have plenty of these. I did have a folders worth from as a teen but i gave this to a cousin a long with the second set of tarot.

                          Soz ill stop detailing this thread now haha
                          ThorSon's milkshake brings all the PF girls to the yard - Volcaniclastic

                          RIP

                          I have never been across the way
                          Seen the desert and the birds
                          You cut your hair short
                          Like a shush to an insult
                          The world had been yelling
                          Since the day you were born
                          Revolting with anger
                          While it smiled like it was cute
                          That everything was shit.

                          - J. Wylder

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: Caroline Myss

                            I was hoping to get back to this thread before now but, well.. life and all that!

                            Well I'm up to the second chakra now and thought I'd share a few of my thoughts on the first chakra from her book.

                            On the whole I agreed with much of what she said, although I think this could be because of Mind Body and Spirit magazine as I've already said. I was in my late teens/early twenties when I first read what it had to say about the chakras and accepted what it said without question. It stands to reason then, that I'd still be influenced by those early ideas, and it is therefore no surprise that Caroline's thoughts on the first chakra line up with my own notes.

                            It might be easier then, to just talk about where we didn't quite match up. The first I have already mentioned, and that is the connection between the first chakra and the immune system. She makes a pretty good argument for her claim, and I was almost swayed. I decided in the end that for me personally, the heart chakra is still the main chakra concerned with the immune system, because I place such an emphasis on the chakras' relationship to the glands and the thymus gland is such a vital component of the immune system. That's not to say that I disagree with her reasoning. I just feel that the chakras are too tightly interconnected the easily separate them into boxes the way both Caroline and myself are attempting to do.

                            Something Caroline doesn't mention (that I noticed at least), but I have noted in my own research is that the root chakra is probably the most influential of all of the chakras. What I mean is, it is possible to have say, an imbalanced throat chakra, and yet the others be relatively sound, but an imbalance in the root chakra will tend to throw all the others off kilter. It may well be then, that an issue with the root chakra will typically send the heart chakra off, and thus result in the immune issues that Caroline witnesses in such patients.

                            There was something else. This is actually something I've been pondering over for many years and I'd actually like to know what others think about it. Caroline repeats two famous quotes just pages apart; 'Opposites attract' and 'Like attracts like'. In certain magical schools of thought, 'like attracts like' is thrown about to explain the use of sympathetic magic, or why when you put negative energy out into the world, you get negativity back (sometimes claimed to be multiplied by 3 because.. I dunno.. never managed to get my head around the 3-fold-law). The Law of Attraction community likes this quote too. Even if you hate your job, find something to love about it, because the universe will send you more of what makes you happy because 'like attracts like'.

                            I try to take at least a vaguely scientific approach to my spirituality. While I accept that there are probably many natural laws we're yet to discover, I do like to think that my magic works within nature and not outside of it. In physics, we tend not to observe like attracting like so much. Even where similar particles are huddling together, it tends to be because their oppositely charged regions are coming together. It makes me wonder then, can these two laws really exists simultaneously? Can Like attract like, while opposites attract? How do others reconcile this? (we can start a new thread if that would be better).

                            Finally. I had a kind of revelation while working through the section on the base chakra. It wasn't from anything she said as such. I work with an energy that I call 'Unity' or just 'God Energy' and that I guess others might call 'universal energy', 'the source', 'god' whatever. I see this as being unaware until it meets with a living mind. After musing over the qualities of the base chakra, the 'All is One' as Caroline puts it, I realised that at the base, Unity is almost whole. It is the point at which it first enters the body and so is still very much about connectedness and yeah, all being one. Then as it travels through the chakras it goes on a journey, being shaped by the human experience, learning as it goes, gathering wisdom to take back to Unity. Until it reaches the crown and becomes one again. At that point of course, it is a different kind of Oneness that is experienced, but it still feels like it has gone full circle. I wonder if that is why people see the crown chakra as the place of enlightenment. Is that because it is there that we are able to glimpse the full knowledge of Unity? Maybe an insight only relevant to me, but I thought it was worth sharing.

                            - - - Updated - - -

                            I almost forgot to add..

                            If anyone is interested in further exploring the concept of ailments beginning in the mind, there is a book I've added to my wishlist that looks ideal. Someone on the Miracle Mornings facebook group shared a page from the book and it has a reference section where you can look up various symptoms and see what the underlying emotional issues might be.

                            The book is called 'Feelings Buried Alive Never Die' and is by Karol K. Truman.

                            I'll be ordering it in time for finishing my current book.
                            夕方に急なにわか雨は「夕立」と呼ばれるなら、なぜ朝ににわか雨は「朝立ち」と呼ばれないの? ^^If a sudden rain shower in the evening is referred to as an 'evening stand', then why isn't a shower in the morning called 'morning stand'?

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Re: Caroline Myss

                              Just sort of flying by at the moment but Caroline Myss is missing one thing in her Chakra system that I hear lots of eastern systems go into that western systems ignore. The chakra system is built upon greater wheels and lessor wheels. The greater wheels align along the spine and are the main wheels that carry what might be called spiritual energy upwards through the body and downwards from Spirit. Thus you have Kundalini (serpent) rising or falling. When the wheels are aligned and open the spirit energy rises and awareness is opened and awakened or enlightenment is received from a higher source and received into the body. Kundalini and the serpent rising and awakening is often seen as being similar to the old Bryzatine art depictions where the enlightened person has the golden halo around their head as they have received enlightenment or wisdom and the crown chakra has opened.

                              Yet there are also the lessor wheels that actually move the physical energy of the body. These are located at the joints basically, ie ankles, knees, hips, wrists, elbows, hips, shoulders, etc. A few charts I saw sort of align them with Chi charts and acupuncture charts as well though not sure if that was just a particular authors attempt. But anyway since they are lesser chakra's they feed and move the actual energy currents and status of the body and are actually what feeds into the root chakra. In essence they are the actual energy of the physical body.

                              Where it gets a bit difficult and to be honest not sure I fully understood or agree was that the greater chakra's also sit over and somewhat allow for monitoring the underlying system. So while the total system feed goes into the root chakra juncture points influence and can be observed at overlay points. But the overlay points can not specifically be influenced to affect / effect the underlying lessor wheels at that point. You can only loosely monitor the point actual change and influence would be at the root level or at the lesser chakra juncture point. Sort of the acupuncture point.

                              She's using the idea of the spiritual chakra body and influences upon the body but ignoring the lessor wheels which influence the physical body. In many ways its the mind over matter concept. The companion systems she's comparing it to are also using spiritual bodies of though.

                              That's part of what is slowing me down. I recall the chakra system is companioned to the lesser wheels, The Caballa system I don't recall what or if there is a physical companion system, The Christian system of the Sacraments and body equations I really do not know. She doesn't really use a Buddhist system but recall aspects of it tie to acupuncture points for what connects to what parts of the body and how it is affected.
                              I'm Only Responsible For What I Say Not For What Or How You Understand!

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