The personal mind creates suffering by taking everything personally and forming preferences about how life should be. In truth, life’s events are the outcomes of vast chains of cause and effect stretching through time and space. Suffering arises when we deny the reality of these causes and resist the events that are unfolding before us, as well as those that have unfolded in the past. Spiritual liberation comes from learning to align with reality as it is and then working to raise it as it passes before us.
Print out the PDF (double-sided) and cut them each into their own little cards. We encourage you to share with family and friends! Bring them to your New Year’s eve party or to your next luncheon with friends.
Before you select your beastie, take a few deep breaths, center yourself and do anything else that feels good to create a good atmosphere for this process (light a candle, do a few jumping jacks, stretch, sing a few bars of Dolly Parton).
Shuffle your “cards” slowly while day dreaming for a bit about your heart’s desire.
Set your intention: “I am going to select a beastie that inspires and guides me”.
Choose your card.
Look at the results.
For even more aligning affirmations you can look up your beastie in the What the Walrus Knows app (available at iTunes) which has 10 aligning affirmations for each beastie.
If you got a beastie you are not tooooo sure about- remember that with divination, we may not always get what we WANT but we always get what we NEED. I got cockroach one year for my beastie of the year and it was magnificent in every way (though I initially resisted!).
More helpful hints:
Skeptical? That is perfectly OK. To explore, just set aside your skepticism for a moment and see if your results “help” you in any way. If the answer is yes, then continue to explore and work with the beasties if it feels good. The only proof in divination is if it helps you on your path. If it serves you, then why not use it?
Ah-ha! If you received information, had an “ah-ha” moment or a new revelation from this process and it helped then, hooray! Celebrate! Bless and thank the beasties.
Take what you like and leave the rest. If one line resonates with you then forget about the lines that don’t. If the information contained in them is important then it will come back to you again in another way.
Sarah Bamford Seidelman was a physician living a nature-starved, hectic lifestyle until a walrus entered her life and changed everything. She has trained at the Martha Beck Institute and Michael Harner’s Foundation for Shamanic Studies, and is author of Swimming with Elephants (Conari Press, 2017). She lives in northern Minnesota. For more, visit followyourfeelgood.com.
Tami Simon speaks with Patricia Aburdene, one of the world’s leading social forecasters and is the author of the Sounds True audio program Megatrends 2010. Patricia discusses the rise of conscious capitalism, living your spiritual values at work, and what she calls, “the spiritual transformation of capitalism.” (46 minutes)
From yoga luminary and artist Elena Brower, Practice You, is a sacred text of your own design.
Practice You is a map to your highest self; a field guide of your own creation. The pages of this Journal are full of potent prompts and inviting spaces, awaiting your contemplation and discoveries.
Within these pages you will find a series of Explorations, one for each of nine aspects of being. Each exploration offers instructions and inquiries to help you design new attitudes, fresh perspectives, and stay on track with your intentions.
Stories, dynamic meditations, and innovative writing exercises to spark creativity and spiritual awakening.
The best writers say their work comes from a source beyond the thinking mind. But how do we access that source? “We must first look inside ourselves and be willing to touch that raw emotional core at the heart of a deeper creativity,” Writes Albert Flynn DeSilver. In Writing as a Path to Awakening, this renowned poet, writer, and teacher shows you how to use meditation to cultivate true depth in your writing—so your words reveal layers of profound emotional insight and revelation that inspire and move your readers.
Your bucket list. Quarterly objectives. Strategic plans. Big dreams. Goals. Lots of goals and plans to achieve those goals—no matter what. Except …
You’re not chasing the goal itself, you’re actually chasing the feeling that you hope achieving that goal will give you.
Which means we have the procedures of achievement upside down. We go after the stuff we want to have, get, or accomplish, and we hope that we’ll be fulfilled when we get there. It’s backwards. And it’s burning us out.
With The Desire Map, Danielle LaPorte brings you a holistic life-planning tool that will revolutionize the way you go after what you want in life. Unapologetically passionate and with plenty of warm wit, LaPorte turns the concept of ambition inside out and offers an inspired, refreshingly practical workbook for using the Desire Map process:
Yoga begins with physical well-being. But it can also transport us—through meditation, self-awareness, and movement—into a lifelong exploration of presence, elegance, and deeper life purpose. With Art of Attention, Elena Brower and Erica Jago show us the way. Distilled from their acclaimed workshops and training programs, this multifaceted book can be used as:
• A step-by-step workshop for merging movement-based mindfulness with traditional yoga
• A “tool kit” of asanas, meditations, self-inquiry questions, and healing practices for creating your own daily spiritual practice
• An uplifting source of visual beauty and wisdom teachings for inner reflection and elevation
Experience a modern classic on writing as you’ve never heard it before. With nearly one million copies of Writing Down the Bones in print, Natalie Goldberg has helped change the way writing is practiced in homes, schools, and workshops across America. Through her heartfelt personal reflections and her ingenious Zen-based exercises, Goldberg makes writing available to you as a tool for personal expression, self-exploration, and healing.
Goldberg offers new commentary about the creative, spiritual, and practical dimensions of writing. Join her as she looks back on her life, sharing the story of how her meditation studies with Zen master Katagiri Roshi inspired her to develop practices for “writing down the bones”: the essential, awakened speech of the mind. Here is a treasury of tested ideas, suggestions, and exercises that help new writers get started, and seasoned writers keep going.
In The Writing Life, Cameron and Goldberg join forces for the first time in this revealing dialogue that speaks to our common search for an everyday spirituality.
Join these two creative giants as they explode cherished misconceptions about who should write, and why they should do it, opening the door to the writer’s world for everybody, not just a chosen few. Goldberg and Cameron take us inside their personal lives as committed writers and spiritual seekers, and explore the following questions: How can writing best be practiced? What is the difference between therapeutic writing and writing for publication? How do we conquer the twin dragons of mood and time? Is it dangerous or inspirational to dabble in different arts such as music, painting, and writing? How is addiction related to the writer’s life?
Edgy, surprising, and useful for its hard-won advice, The Writing Life is an invitation to a life-transforming act that requires no more than a pen, some paper, and the will to get started.
The spiritual path is not solely about positive experiences like love and light. It involves confronting and overcoming internal blockages formed from past experiences we’ve resisted or suppressed. True spirituality involves continuously working through these obstacles, which leads to a beautiful inner state.
What does it mean to listen to the soul when it feels most exposed? In Marion Woodman’s teachings, moments of vulnerability are not interruptions but invitations to pay attention. Soul vulnerability often shows up through the body, through emotion, or through a quiet sense that something within us is asking to be heard. When we stay present, these experiences begin to reveal deeper meaning through the Jungian feminine, aging wisdom, and Jungian psychology depth.
For decades, we have been devoted to sharing the living wisdom of transformative teachers, preserving their voices in ways that remain true to their depth and presence. Our work brings forward teachings from leading spiritual visionaries, offering guidance that supports inner growth, emotional honesty, and a more embodied way of being .
Here, we look at Marion Woodman on the soul’s vulnerability and how listening to our deepest wisdom can guide a more grounded and aware life.
Key Takeaways:
Embodied Wisdom: Soul vulnerability reveals insight through the body, emotions, and inner experience.
Feminine Awareness: The Jungian feminine supports deeper listening, intuition, and connection to the psyche.
Aging Insight: Aging wisdom deepens reflection and helps integrate life experiences with greater clarity.
Marion Woodman on Soul Vulnerability, Jungian Feminine, Aging Wisdom, and Jungian Psychology Depth
What does it mean to truly listen to the soul, especially in moments when we feel most exposed or uncertain? In the teachings of Marion Woodman, soul vulnerability is not something to avoid or overcome. It is a vital expression of the psyche asking for our attention. At Sounds True, we have long been devoted to sharing living wisdom in the authentic voices of transformative teachers, preserving insights that invite us into deeper presence and self-understanding. Woodman’s work within Jungian psychology offers a compassionate and embodied path toward this kind of listening. She reminds us that the Jungian feminine lives not in abstraction but in the body, in feeling, and in the rhythms of lived experience. As we grow and change, aging wisdom begins to shape how we meet our vulnerability. Rather than turning away, we are invited to stay, to sense, and to trust that something meaningful is unfolding within us.
Understanding Soul Vulnerability Through Jungian Feminine, Aging Wisdom, and Jungian Psychology Depth
Soul vulnerability often appears at the edges of our comfort. It may arise through loss, illness, transition, or moments when our usual ways of coping no longer hold. Within Jungian psychology, these moments are not seen as failures. They are invitations into a deeper relationship with the psyche.
Soul Vulnerability as an Opening to the Jungian Feminine
The Jungian feminine speaks in a language that is often quiet and symbolic. It is present in dreams, in bodily sensations, and in the subtle shifts of emotion that move through us. When we allow ourselves to experience soul vulnerability, we begin to soften the barriers that keep us disconnected from this inner voice. Woodman taught that the body is not separate from the psyche. It carries memory, truth, and intelligence. When we listen closely, we begin to recognize how the Jungian feminine guides us toward wholeness through feeling and presence rather than force or control.
Aging Wisdom and the Deepening of Jungian Psychology Depth
With time, our relationship to vulnerability changes. Aging wisdom brings perspective, allowing us to see how earlier experiences have shaped our inner life. Within Jungian psychology, this is part of the individuation process, a gradual unfolding of the self. Soul vulnerability becomes less overwhelming and more meaningful. We begin to trust that even difficult experiences carry insight. This trust does not remove pain, but it creates space for reflection and integration.
Soul Vulnerability and the Jungian Feminine in Aging Wisdom and Jungian Psychology Depth
As these elements come together, we begin to sense a different way of being with ourselves. There is less urgency to fix and more willingness to understand.
The Body as a Guide in Soul Vulnerability
Woodman’s work consistently returns to the body as a source of wisdom. Physical sensations, fatigue, or tension can reflect deeper emotional truths. When we approach these experiences with curiosity, we open a pathway into soul vulnerability. The Jungian feminine supports this process by inviting us to feel rather than analyze. Aging wisdom allows us to recognize patterns and respond with greater care. Over time, we learn that the body is not an obstacle but a guide.
Integrating Experience Through Jungian Psychology Depth
Integration within Jungian psychology depth involves holding complexity. We are not asked to eliminate contradiction but to remain present with it. Soul vulnerability allows us to acknowledge both strength and fragility. The Jungian feminine encourages us to stay connected to our inner experience, while aging wisdom reminds us that understanding unfolds gradually. This integration creates a sense of groundedness that supports authentic living.
There is a natural rhythm to inner work that cannot be rushed. Woodman’s teachings invite us to honor that rhythm and to trust the unfolding process of the psyche.
The Role of Relationship in Soul Vulnerability
Relationships often bring our vulnerability into focus. They reflect aspects of ourselves that may remain hidden when we are alone. Through connection, we encounter both our capacity for love and our fears of being seen. The Jungian feminine encourages openness in these moments, while aging wisdom helps us respond with patience and understanding. Within Jungian psychology, depth and relationships are understood as essential to growth, offering mirrors that reveal where healing is needed.
Trusting the Unfolding of the Psyche
The psyche moves in cycles rather than straight lines. There are times of clarity and times of uncertainty. Soul vulnerability is part of this movement. The Jungian feminine invites us to remain present with what is emerging, even when it feels unclear. Aging wisdom supports a longer view, helping us recognize that meaning often appears over time. Within Jungian psychology, this unfolding is part of becoming more fully ourselves.
The Jungian Feminine, Soul Vulnerability, Aging Wisdom, and Jungian Psychology Depth in Practice
Bringing these insights into daily life can begin with small, intentional shifts in attention. We do not need to change everything at once. We can begin by listening more closely.
Take time for quiet reflection each day, allowing space for inner awareness to arise naturally
Notice bodily sensations without judgment, recognizing them as expressions of the psyche
Record dreams or images that stay with you, honoring their symbolic meaning
Engage in creative practices that allow feeling and imagination to take form
Reflect on life experiences and how they have contributed to your growing aging wisdom
These practices are gentle invitations. They support a relationship with soul vulnerability that is rooted in care rather than pressure. Over time, they help cultivate a deeper connection to the Jungian feminine and the insights of Jungian psychology depth.
Aging Wisdom, Soul Vulnerability, Jungian Feminine, and Jungian Psychology Depth in Inner Work
Inner work asks for honesty and patience. It is not always comfortable, yet it is deeply meaningful. Aging wisdom brings a willingness to reflect rather than react. Soul vulnerability becomes a guide, pointing toward areas that call for attention. The Jungian feminine supports a compassionate approach, one that honors both the body and the emotions that arise. Within the depth of Jungian psychology, this work is essential to individuation. It invites us to engage with unconscious material and bring it into awareness. As we do so, we begin to experience a sense of coherence within ourselves. We are no longer divided between what we show and what we hide. Instead, we move toward a more integrated way of being.
Soul Vulnerability and Aging Wisdom Through the Lens of Jungian Feminine and Jungian Psychology Depth
As we continue to listen to the soul, vulnerability begins to feel less threatening. It becomes a source of guidance. Aging wisdom allows us to recognize patterns and approach them with greater openness. The Jungian feminine deepens our connection to feeling and intuition, helping us navigate the complexities of inner life. Within Jungian psychology, this transformation reflects a growing relationship with the self. Soul vulnerability is no longer something to resist. It is something to honor.
Integration is a living process that unfolds over time. It asks for attention, patience, and a willingness to remain open. Soul vulnerability remains at the center, inviting us to stay connected to our experience. The Jungian feminine offers a way of understanding the body, emotion, and imagination as sources of wisdom. Aging wisdom deepens our capacity to reflect and integrate what we have lived. Within Jungian psychology depth, this movement toward wholeness is ongoing. As we continue to listen, we begin to sense a quiet alignment within ourselves. It is not something we force. It emerges through presence, through care, and through a growing trust in the intelligence of the soul.
Final Thoughts
Soul vulnerability invites us to stay present with our inner experience, even when it feels uncertain. Through the lens of the Jungian feminine, aging wisdom, and Jungian psychology depth, we begin to recognize this vulnerability as a source of insight rather than something to overcome.
Over time, this way of listening deepens our connection to ourselves, shaping a more grounded and attentive way of being.
Frequently Asked Questions About Marion Woodman and Soul Vulnerability
What is Marion Woodman best known for in spiritual psychology?
Marion Woodman is known for her work in analytical psychology, particularly her focus on embodiment, the feminine psyche, and the relationship between psyche and soma.
How does Marion Woodman define the soul in her teachings?
She often describes the soul as a living presence expressed through the body, dreams, and emotions rather than something abstract or separate from daily life.
What role does the body play in Jungian psychology depth?
The body is seen as an essential messenger of the unconscious, offering signals that reflect deeper psychological and emotional realities.
How is the Jungian feminine different from traditional ideas of femininity?
The Jungian feminine refers to an archetypal energy present in all people, emphasizing receptivity, intuition, and connection to inner life rather than gender roles.
Why is aging wisdom important in inner development?
Aging wisdom brings perspective, helping individuals reflect on life experiences and integrate lessons that support emotional and spiritual maturity.
How can someone begin studying Jungian psychology depth?
Many begin through books, guided courses, therapy, or lectures that introduce core concepts like archetypes, dreams, and the unconscious.
What makes Marion Woodman’s teachings relevant today?
Her emphasis on embodiment and emotional honesty resonates in a time when many feel disconnected from their inner lives and physical experience.
Can soul vulnerability support creative expression?
Yes, being open to vulnerability often allows deeper emotional material to surface, which can enrich creative practices like writing, art, or movement.
How do dreams relate to soul vulnerability?
Dreams can reveal hidden emotions and symbolic messages, offering insight into areas where the psyche seeks attention or healing.
Is Jungian psychology’s depth connected to spiritual practice?
While rooted in psychology, it often intersects with spirituality by addressing meaning, purpose, and the experience of the inner self.
Michelle Cassandra Johnson is an author, activist, spiritual teacher, racial equity consultant, and intuitive healer. She is the author of six books, including Skill in Action and Finding Refuge. Amy Burtaine is a leadership coach and racial equity trainer. With Robin DiAngelo, she is the coauthor of The Facilitator’s Guide for White Affinity Groups. For more, visit https://www.michellecjohnson.com/wisdom-of-the-hive.