Читать книгу Close to the Bone - Jean Shinoda Bolen - Страница 33

There are crucial times when health or death are held in delicate balance and could be tipped in either direction. It is at these times that heeding what the soul knows or the body needs may make all the difference. There is an inner wisdom that knows such matters, which comes through to us as strong intuitions, as gnosis or felt knowledge, as an interior certainty beyond logic, or even as an audible voice; it is what we know in our bones.

Myths and symbols are in the language of the soul. A myth helps us to take a situation to heart and know what we must do: if it is to see the truth and act upon it, then the image of Psyche with her lamp and knife provides a mythic perspective. A symbolic object can then be a talisman that helps us do what we need to do. For example, I have a beautifully crafted sword with a silver hilt and a clear crystal shaft that is only about two inches long.

I can hold it in the palm of my hand and mentally review what it symbolizes and then take it with me into a situation where I need to call upon those very qualities. When I gave a similar sword to my friend to carry with her, it came with my support for what she needed to do. When a symbol is presented with words that convey the intention of the gift, the moment and the object are imbued with ritual significance. Like passing a literal torch, these are rituals that empower us by infusing an act with a deeper meaning. To think and act this way is magical, metaphoric thinking that can call forth the qualities we need from within ourselves and may also tap into sources of help that lie beyond us, as prayer does.