Meeting the Wild Child E-Book

Bettina Behrend

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 235

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

Bettina Behrend invites us to perceive everything as fresh and alive. Our inner child is full of wisdom. The ‚Wild Child’ in us is not brainwashed by society. It still experiences the world with pure wonder. We adult people believe to know everything. However, we are often stuck in two-dimensional concepts which we then take for real. This book is for all who want to live their life again in more playful ways. Our universe of emotions and energies can be discovered within the seven main chakras of the Indian tradition. This system of energetic flow and power is known by the name of Yoga in western culture. Chakra by chakra, Bettina Behrend guides us through fairytales of the Grimm Brothers, which relate to the same issues. We meet the archetypes in deep struggle, and at the end, we experience their salvation. We can feel like children again. Yes, we can create a whole lot of drama with our emotional body. Or we really release and free ourselves to find our potential - and celebrate and enjoy that! Bettina Behrend is an Art Coach and Healer. This book showcases her therapy of release with fairytales. You will also find a collection of supporting practical exercises. Dive into the world of chakras, fairy tales and healing! Ignite your power!

Leseprobe

Content

Pre-Preface

Preface

Part I – Returning to Wholeness

Basics

1.1 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

1.2 The Seven Chakras of Man

1.3 Release and Salvation in Grimm’s Fairytales

1.4 Own Experiences and Exercises

Root Chakra – Basic Trust –The Earth – Red

2.1 My Personal Experience – Walking Safari

2.2 Fairytales for the Root Chakra

Sacral Chakra – Sexuality, Creativity – The Lake – Orange

3.1 Own Experiences

3.2 Fairytales for the Sacral Chakra

Solar Plexus – Wisdom, Power – The Volcano – Yellow

4.1 My Own Experience: Blockages in School

4.2 Fairytales for the Solar Plexus

Heart Chakra – Love, Healing – The Glade – Green

5.1 Own experiences

5.2 Fairytales for the Heart Chakra

Throat Chakra – Communication – The River – Light Blue – Turquoise

6.1 Own Experience: The Loving Shy Child …

6.2 Fairytales for the Throat Chakra

Third Eye – Intuition – The Sky – Indigo Blue – Purple

7.1 My Own Experiences

7.2 Fairytales for the Third Eye

Crown Chakra – Spirituality – The Universe – Ultraviolet

8.1 Own Experiences

8.2 Fairytales for the Crown Chakra

Part II – Practical Exercises

Exercises for the Root Chakra

Sacral Chakra Exercises

Exercises for the Solar Plexus

Exercises for the Heart Chakra

Exercises for the Throat Chakra

Exercises for the Third Eye

Exercises for the Crown Chakra

Part III – The Wild Child’s Outlook

Pre-Preface

Writing a book, what‘s the point for me? What do I connect to as I am writing, beyond the content? I am writing this book because I am grateful for the impulses I received from practicing Zen with Prabhasa Dharma Roshi and the coaching of Sage University. They have deepened my life. I want to reach people, encourage them to leave their comfort zones and re-understand themselves. I want to make them aware of the potential that exists within them. This is how they can continue to develop and grow in new ways.

But why choosing this book as a medium?

When writing, I feel connected to my grandfather, who wrote a book 1928 that saved his life.

He was a social democrat and engaged in the shoe production of Thomas Bata in Prague. To get to know the company, he let Bata hire him as an unskilled worker. He himself experienced and studied the system, the inhumane working conditions that led to inferior products. His book “The Unknown Dictator Thomas Bata” was well received in trade union circles. Here it was known that he as an active social democrat was in danger with the Third Reich expanding all around him. The Swedish unions offered him help. Exit papers and an entry visa were prepared.

But he still stayed in Prague for a little longer. Just before the Czech Sudetenland was brought “home to the Reich”, he got a call. “Dr. SASS,” said the caller. That was all. Then the call was dropped. Immediately he understood: SA + SS … He was able to escape and leave the country. Sweden became and remained his new home – even after the end of the war.

So what saved his life? Despite being an entrepreneur‘s son, he dared to enter the world of the unskilled laborers at BATA. He found out what it means to work on an assembly line without contractual security. He realized what that meant for him as well as for the product. In his book, he was able to report directly from his own experience, and to also include interviews with trainees and former executives.

This did not only save his life, but also his humanness.

Preface

Meeting the wild child. That‘s what this book is about. Why should I do that? Who is the wild child? So you may ask. The wild child lives in us, it is said. Why is it wise compared to the adult? It has not yet been trimmed and influenced by all the beliefs of our culture. This child is still able to experience the world with original, direct amazement. We adults believe to have seen it all and know almost everything. Yet our knowledge consists of two-dimensional concepts in a multidimensional world.

For whom did I write this book? It is for all who want to create playfully in their lives. If you think something in your life is not going well and you want to change it, read on. You know the saying: “Do not dream your life. Live your dream”. I have taken this seriously and learned that only a life lived in flow is really, truly living. I would like to point that out; point to experiences that have the power to change and deepen our lives. This is not about the flow of our own life from point A to point B. You change in the course of the process. Your perception, your energy body, your organs – everything continuously changes.

I connected the different possible levels of being and experiencing ourselves to our seven main chakras. Then I matched these chakras with fairytales of the Brothers Grimm. In these examples, you initially experience the level of being in its unredeemed state. The happy ending of the fairytale then goes along with the release and integration that is typical for this chakra!

Be courageous and say ‚yes‘ to yourself! Let the wild child take you by the hand! Yes, immerse yourself in the world of chakras and fairytales.

Then this book will be a small change allowing for big impact in your life!

This book can be used like a COOKBOOK. Wherever something jumps out to you, sparks your curiosity, start reading right there and practice the exercises. The sensations in your body and the way your energy feels will guide you while reading. The wise, wild child is the curiosity that drives you, yes, the fun of trying new ways!

Have fun with this book! Try it out! Rediscover yourself … Yes, start the journey of discovery NOW.

Part I – Returning to Wholeness

The Root of all Evil – The Fox in the Box – Brown – Clotted Blood

“There they go, there they go!

There is blood on her shoe;

The shoe is too small,

Not the right bride at all!”

Children discover the world through play. They set up and create their games in ways that are fun for them, without concepts! Somehow, they build their castle and love it.

It is by trial and error, without a construction plan to follow along.

Then an adult tells them how a house has look like and children start building it accordingly … In this copying, the free play now comes to an end. Children are now mimicking a norm … and are proud about it!

They copy everything they “UNDERSTOOD”. Children who are not good in copying are therefore considered dumb…

Wearing a shoe that does not fit … voluntarily!? Why do children do that? Why did I do that? Probably out of love … Out of love I did what was expected of me. I grew into the form that was predetermined for me. As long as I fit into this form, I was “a good girl” … Through deliberate withdrawal of love, I was raised into my normality.

The desire to fit in! That’s what drove me! And this desire is based on a misunderstanding. We mistake the love messages aimed at us for actual love. We do not want love to be withdrawn. We want to belong.

But are we really happy in this comforting group? Probably not … Wearing this shoe that is too tight for our build, every single movement hurts. Out of fear of pain we let go of our free impulse to move. We start believing that every independent step of ours will generate pain. It is really just the shoe that hurts – only less so when we hold still …

“There they go, there they go!

No blood on her shoe;

The shoe’s not too small,

The right bride is she after all.”

Anyone who knows the fairytale Cinderella knows that only the owner of the shoe will be happy. For her, the shoe fits like a glove. She marries the prince. She lives a life in happy flow … But what happens to the ambitious stepsisters? Are there perfectly fitting shoes, just the right living conditions, for every human being? Or are there only a lucky few?

One way to encounter the inner child is through coaching or meditation. The basis of the unfolding of a happy life is unbiased, innocent openness. It is curiosity without preconceived answers. Pure vision without concept. To really recognize a tree, smell it, taste it, feel it. We can regain this original experience. The wild child can once again grasp its environment in wonder. The curious child may play again. It can come back to experiencing all of life as his or her own game.

When did I start asking the important questions? The questions about myself: the question for the one posing the questions? Yes, ‚who asks?‘ is just as important as the question itself …

What is real?

Not anything, nothing about which I could say “that‘s it” …

And in this experience, the contours of normality dissolve …

What’s the deeper order of the world? When is the world in order, just right? It is my truth … And then when I got it that I am the measure of all things in the infinite cosmos, the perspective shifts.

The all-including perspective no longer seeks the norm! The right shoe, the one calling, the one partner begin to lose their contours …

Yet in every moment contours show up anew – with a fresh eye, a fresh seeing. What has changed? Outwardly not much …

I am taking off all kinds of shoes to continue walking barefoot. And I am free! Frightening? Wonderful!

1 Basics

1.1 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow studied human needs as a psychologist. He described human needs and motivations in a hierarchical structure and tried to explain them. He comes to the following conclusion: He described how the lower needs must be satisfied before the next higher individual needs can be considered. He distinguishes six different needs.

Physiological Needs, Survival

Above all other needs, there is the need for basic survival through food, clothing, housing, and sexuality.

Safety Needs

Next level of needs is those about safety, such as protection, law and order, and reliability.

Need for Love, Affection and Belonging

This is what then the social needs such as belonging, affection and love are based on.

Need for Self-Esteem

Within the social context, the need for self-respect develops as self-expression.

Need for Self-Actualization

This is an individual need that means authenticity. The need for authenticity can be at odds with the social group that I belong to. Here, we often consider compromising.

Need for Transcendence

Only now, the realization of the need for transcendence becomes possible.

These needs are represented in similar order in the seven main chakras of the human being.

1.2 The Seven Chakras of Man

We humans are pure energy. Energy surrounds us and flows through us. The energy is perceived differently by our emotions. The system of the seven major chakras exemplifies that. It became known mainly through yoga in the West. In addition to the Indian and Tibetan chakra system, there is also a teaching of chakras in ancient Mexico. Here, I refer to the teaching of the seven main chakras from Indian culture.

Through the chakras, each person can bring their energy into harmony with the cosmos. The chakras are like seven openings of a tunnel – our body. The blockade of one chakra impairs the flow of energy throughout the tunnel. The different chakras stand for different forms of perception, which are linked to different emotional topics. Through our life experiences, the flow of energy can be blocked. Here, we take a closer look and search for solutions.

The Chakras and their Meaning

Chakra

Location

Color

Element

Meaning

Root Chakra

Between anus and genitals

Red

Earth

Connection to Earth, safety, life force, success, survival

Sacral Chakra

A hand’s width under the belly button

Orange

Water

Connection to creative flow of life energy, pleasure, creativeness, sexuality, basic emotions

Solar Plexus Chakra

On the Solar plexus

Yellow

Fire

Personality, power, mental processing, beliefs, intellect, the subconscious

Heart Chakra

In the middle of the chest

Light green

Air

Higher Love, gift, compassion, joy of the heart

Throat Chakra

On the throat

Light blue

Ether

Communication, higher truth, expression of wisdom and individuality

Third Eye Chakra

Between the eyebrows

Blue – Violet

Time

States of consciousness, interpretation, opening to the expression of the soul

Crown Chakra

Crown of the head

Ultraviolet

Space

Connection of body and soul, cosmic consciousness

1.3 Release and Salvation in Grimm’s Fairytales

In fairytales, inner processes are expressed. These become understandable to humans through archetypal fairy-tale characters. In the Hindu tradition, therefore, a mentally ill person was recommended to meditate on a fairytale that embodied both the oppressive bottleneck and the way out. From what the fairytale told about despair, hope and overcoming, the solution to one’s own problem could be found. But not only that, even the self-discovery of a mentally ill person is possible through fairytales.

Just like the Hindu tales, the fairytales of the Grimm Brothers cover primeval themes with archetypes. Even though chakras are not known in the German-European tradition, deep human needs and problems are addressed in fairytales. I recognized the same emotional themes of the chakras, of their blockages, and the theme of their salvation in many of the Brothers Grimm‘s fairytales. It also occurred to me that many of their fairytales are mainly about just a single chakra. Therefore, I will draw on different fairytales of the Grimm Brothers for our consideration. Through the corresponding fairytales, you as the reader can build a bridge to your childhood and thereby emotionally immerse yourself in the topic. The different fairytales can be divided into different basic types:

The threatened existence and the test of courage

Creative and sexual integrity

The Hero’s Journey

The curse and redeeming love

The path to self-expression and truth

The path to selflessness

The path to transcendence

1.4 Own Experiences and Exercises

For each emotional theme of the chakras, I will share experiences I made throughout my own life. It is important for the credibility of the book to show what kind of a person I am, and how I experienced the needs and problems of each energy center. In the second part, I will introduce practical exercises and applications to unblock the energy flow of each chakra. I know them all from my own experience and have been able to gain more experience with many of them from patients. There are both mental and physical exercises to unblock and free the physical and mental energy.

Important note about the exercises:

The exercises reflect my experiences and views. They have been extensively tested and researched. However, they are not a substitute for medical and therapeutic treatment or seeing a doctor or other health professional. The author accepts no liability for individual damage, real or perceived, by the exercises contained in the book. Before self-treatment, consult a therapist or doctor, especially if you have a chronic condition, take medications regularly, or are pregnant. The aids contained in this book do not replace care and examination by doctors or therapists. The recommended exercises are usually very promising. Nevertheless, no guarantee can be given for their success in individual cases.

2 Root Chakra – Basic Trust – The Earth – Red

The color of the root chakra is red, its power comes from the earth. It is the power of nature to germinate. The power of the root chakra is great foundational trust. It is a deep serenity, yes, the feeling that everything will be well. We draw this trust from being deeply rooted into the earth, in nature, of which we are a part. Of course, we also know fears, but we see them as a challenge that we can face. That is why dangers electrify us instead of paralyzing us. Inner strength and our foundational trust are our guides. The root chakra stands for the will to bare survival, the will to exist, to be. The opening of the root chakra does not mean that nothing can happen to us anymore. What we experience is the absolute certainty of being able to master all danger. We experience the serenity of those who know that everything has its meaning and passes: all beauty, and also all bad. In order to be in our power here, we must face our fears, and indeed get to know them.

2.1 My Personal Experience – Walking Safari

That sounded exciting to me! That was my test of courage …

First, a week of training, walks in rough but safe terrain, and getting accustomed to the nature at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro, and to the vastness of the country. And what else is important: unconditional oneness with the situation, discipline …

Finally, after this week, we went to the nature reserves for a real walking safari.

With our binoculars, we spotted buffalo herds, groups of elephants hidden under trees, giraffes, zebras … We also learned to read tracks, from broken branches and fresh dung … It was very interesting, but not yet exciting.

But then it happened: When we were already on the way back from our excursion, there they were! All at once we felt, smelled and saw the presence of a herd of elephants. Only a little shrubbery was between us and them.

Right now, our guide Elli walked up to a tree to get out of the way. And of course we wasted no time asking why but ran right after her. Immediately we saw how brilliant her reaction was, because the herd veered off – and went right past us … a herd of about 40 elephants! And there we were standing: insignificant and astonished, three little human beings seeing the true primal force of the giants – our older siblings!

Something similar happened in the Tarangire Safari Lodge. We lodged in small tents on the edge of a steep slope. From above, we could see elephants passing by. We were up here – the elephants down low. Or so we thought … But at night, the elephants became active and climbed up the slope … they can use their springy feet very well for climbing! Yes, and then they passed by our tents, walking directly between two tents while almost touching the fabric of our tent … I smelled, heard, saw them!

It’s dead-scary, yes! But the fascination and the joy outweighed everything – the joy of getting in contact with something awesome. Oh wow! That is basic trust!

2.2 Fairytales for the Root Chakra

The fairytales for the Root Chakra have the theme “the threatened existence and the test of courage”. The protagonists face existential threats with basic trust and overcome all dangers.

Hansel and Gretel Fairytale Text

Near a great forest there lived a poor woodcutter and his wife, and his two children; the boy‘s name was Hansel and the girl‘s Gretel. They had very little to bite or to sup, and once, when there was great dearth in the land, the man could not even gain the daily bread. As he lay in bed one night, thinking of this, and turning and tossing, he sighed heavily, and said to his wife, “What will become of us? we cannot even feed our children; there is nothing left for ourselves.”

“I will tell you what, husband,” answered the wife; “we will take the children early in the morning into the forest, where it is thickest; we will make them a fire, and we will give each of them a piece of bread, then we will go to our work and leave them alone; they will never find the way home again, and we shall be quit of them.”

“No, wife,” said the man, “I cannot do that; I cannot find in my heart to take my children into the forest and to leave them there alone; the wild animals would soon come and devour them.” – “O you fool,” said she, “then we will all four starve; you had better get the coffins ready,” and she left him no peace until he consented. “But I really pity the poor children,” said the man.

The two children had not been able to sleep for hunger and had heard what their step-mother had said to their father. Gretel wept bitterly, and said to Hansel, “It is all over with us.”

“Do be quiet, Gretel,” said Hansel, “and do not fret; 1 will manage something.” And when the parents had gone to sleep, he got up, put on his little coat, opened the back door, and slipped out. The moon was shining brightly, and the white flints that lay in front of the house glistened like pieces of silver. Hansel stooped and filled the little pocket of his coat as full as it would hold. Then he went back again, and said to Gretel, “Be easy, dear little sister, and go to sleep quietly; God will not forsake us,” and laid himself down again in his bed. When the day was breaking, and before the sun had risen, the wife came and awakened the two children, saying, “Get up, you lazy-bones; we are going into the forest to cut wood.” Then she gave each of them a piece of bread, and said, “That is for dinner, and you must not eat it before then, for you will get no more.” Gretel carried the bread under her apron, for Hansel had his pockets full of the flints. Then they set off all together on their way to the forest. When they had gone a little way, Hansel stood still and looked back towards the house, and this he did again and again, till his father said to him, “Hansel, what are you looking at? take care not to forget your legs.”

“O father,” said Hansel, “lam looking at my little white kitten, who is sitting up on the roof to bid me good-bye.” – “You young fool,” said the woman, “that is not your kitten, but the sunshine on the chimney-pot.” Of course, Hansel had not been looking at his kitten, but had been taking every now and then a flint from his pocket and dropping it on the road. When they reached the middle of the forest the father told the children to collect wood to make a fire to keep them, warm; and Hansel and Gretel gathered brushwood enough for a little mountain j and it was set on fire, and when the flame was burning quite high the wife said, “Now lie down by the fire and rest yourselves, you children, and we will go and cut wood; and when we are ready we will come and fetch you.”

So Hansel and Gretel sat by the fire, and at noon they each ate their pieces of bread. They thought their father was in the wood all the time, as they seemed to hear the strokes of the axe: but really it was only a dry branch hanging to a withered tree that the wind moved to and fro. So when they had stayed there a long time their eyelids closed with weariness, and they fell fast asleep.

When at last they woke it was night, and Gretel began to cry, and said, “How shall we ever get out of this wood? “But Hansel comforted her, saying, “Wait a little while longer, until the moon rises, and then we can easily find the way home.” And when the full moon got up Hansel took his little sister by the hand and followed the way where the flint stones shone like silver and showed them the road. They walked on the whole night through, and at the break of day they came to their father‘s house. They knocked at the door, and when the wife opened it and saw that it was Hansel and Gretel she said, “You naughty children, why did you sleep so long in the wood? we thought you were never coming home again!” But the father was glad, for it had gone to his heart to leave them both in the woods alone.

Not very long after that there was again great scarcity in those parts, and the children heard their mother say at night in bed to their father, “Everything is finished up; we have only half a loaf, and after that the tale comes to an end. The children must be off; we will take them farther into the wood this time, so that they shall not be able to find the way back again; there is no other way to manage.” The man felt sad at heart, and he thought, “It would better to share one‘s last morsel with one‘s children.” But the wife would listen to nothing that he said but scolded and reproached him. He who says A must say B too, and when a man has given in once he has to do it a second time.

But the children were not asleep and had heard all the talk. When the parents had gone to sleep Hansel got up to go out and get more flint stones, as he did before, but the wife had locked the door, and Hansel could not get out; but he comforted his little sister, and said, “Don‘t cry, Gretel, and go to sleep quietly, and God will help us.” Early the next morning the wife came and pulled the children out of bed. She gave them each a little piece of “bread –less than before; and on the way to the wood Hansel crumbled the bread in his pocket, and often stopped to throw a crumb on the ground. “Hansel, what are you stopping behind and staring for?” said the father.

“I am looking at my little pigeon sitting on the roof, to say good-bye to me,” answered Hansel. “You fool,” said the wife, “that is no pigeon, but the morning sun shining on the chimney pots.” Hansel went on as before, and strewed bread crumbs all along the road. The woman led the children far into the wood, where they had never been before in all their lives. And again there was a large fire made, and the mother said, “Sit still there, you children, and when you are tired you can go to sleep; we are going into the forest to cut wood, and in the evening, when we are ready to go home we will come and fetch you.”

So, when noon came Gretel shared her bread with Hansel, who had strewed his along the road. Then they went to sleep, and the evening passed, and no one came for the poor children. When they awoke it was dark night, and Hansel comforted his little sister, and said, “Wait a little, Gretel, until the moon gets up, then we shall be able to see the way home by the crumbs of bread that I have scattered along it.”

So, when the moon rose, they got up, but they could find no crumbs of bread, for the birds of the woods and of the fields had come and picked them up. Hansel thought they might find the way all the same, but they could not. They went on all that night, and the next day from the morning until the evening, but they could not find the way out of the wood, and they were very hungry, for they had nothing to eat but the few berries they could pick up. And when they were so tired that they could no longer drag themselves along, they lay down under a tree and fell asleep.