Current mood:	exanimate
Current music:	eric burdon & the animals, "paint it black"
Entry tags:	covenant of survival, denial of death, ernest becker, integrating the shadow, left hand path, runequest, shadow tarot, tibetan book of the dead

'pon the left hand side...
i have again been feeling the calling to travel the qlipphotic pathways... although strangely, buddhalotus & i recently missed out on a ritual at the crossroads... the next night, i had wanted to conduct an improvisational psychodrama rpg session (diceless, game-masterless rpg under sensory deprivation with themes of gothic horror, surrealism, magick and the occult in general, psychedelia, conspiracy, madness, weirdness and absurdity, etc.), but everyone was too tired or just plain mellow after the fabulous sumble that evening, so the experiment has been postponed indefinitely...

in related news, i am setting a goal for myself to complete the synthesis of the shadow tarot with my RuneQuest campaign, by this winter solstice... that should provide a good segue to take the Covenant of Survival through the Abyss... to bring illumination into the night, again!

integration of the shadow can often be intimidating for many folks raised by this still all-too puritan culture in which we live... as always, i have been enjoying many wonderful ancient traditions in which such taboos as sex and death are celebrated along with life and rebirth... lately, i have been re-reading the bardo thodol, aka the tibetan book of the dead (and its' modern companion, the psychedelic experience), and searching out connections with other shamanic cultures; which has led me to realize how much the ancient traditions have been altered in translation.

i continually return to fascination with and creation of rituals designed to process death anxiety, and i just noticed that there's a film called Flight from Death inspired by Ernest Becker's Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Denial of Death

ADDENDUM: 10/02/04 @ 03:51:00

a number of times recently, i have talked at length about integrating the shadow... maybe it has something to do with the autumn-tide? heatherthegreat has also been feeling the pull of the underworld upon her cycle ...perhaps we all feel closer to death at the harvest time?

however, each of us must find our own path to survive the heroic journey, even through dark night of the soul in the belly of the whale.

and tonight, as i gazed into the abyss of light, it stared back into me (as it is often wont to do... online, especially)... and through this exchange, i found a few curious things... this excerpt from The Heroine's Journey (Within)... as well as this page, called The Initiation and Descent to the Goddess... and i also came across this odd collection of inspirational quotes about The Shadow Self.

but maybe i'm over-dramatizing things, as usual?

shimi mentioned that he has ironically found Meditation for Dummies to be one of the most useful books he's ever found on the subject.

it also seemed to help buddhalotus & i to get out and engage in chanting and dialogue this evening at the sgi center... and hearing contentlove read amusingly erotic poetry at the lodge was titillatingly hilarious! who would have guessed that 98 Percent of the People You Know and Love Are in Dangerous Sexual Situtaions... much less, that it would be such a sexy laugh riot? ironic how satan seems to work through those xtian fundies, isn't it?

i trust that you will all take care of yourselves... no one else can do a better job.

keep up The Great Work!