Somatic Perception

"Somatic perception is the capacity each one of us has for knowing what is best for our own body.  When we awaken somatic perception we take the ownership of healing away from an expert and give it back to our own body.  We let our own wisdom tell us what and how much to eat, how to exercise, when to rest, how to heal.  Healing begins when we realize and rediscover our instinctual somatic perception.   this can happen only when we stop trying to control or fix or transcend the body and instead let the animal of the body lead us into healing."  Marion Woodman

Coming Down to Earth

"In the East and the West, there is a deeply rooted desire or need to transcend who we naturally are.  Some higher power, some God, finds us unacceptable as we are.  We've spent thousands of years learning the art of self-transcendence.   But life is a matter of of incarnation.  The soul is an entity that lives within our human body.  The problem is too many people in our culture try to skip over this step and go straight up into spirit.   Over-spiritualization is a real danger but usually the body starts to scream.   If we can learn to listen to our body's symptoms or to our addictions or to the symptoms of the planet, we can start coming down to earth again.  If you want to heal - heal your body and your soul - you have to surrender; you have to give up control; you have to stop trying to be perfect, because eventually you have to face the fact that you are not God and you cannot control your life."  Marion Woodman

Integrity

"There's no sense in talking about being true to yourself until you are sure what voice you are being true to.  It takes hard work to differentiate the voices of the unconscious."  Marion Woodman

Moon

"Whereas sun rhythm would nourish into action, moon rhythm meditates, ponders, keeps the feeling in harmony with the thought."  Marion Woodman

Waiting

"It takes a strong ego to hold the darkness, wait, hold the tension, wait, waiting for we know not what.  But if we can hold long enough, a tiny light is conceived in the dark unconscious, and if we can wait and hold, in it's own time it will be born into full radiance.  The ego then has to be loving enough to receive the gift and nourish it."  Marion Woodman

Silver, The Moon and the Feminine

"Silver is he metal of the moon and because women's biology is connected to the moon, silver is associated with the feminine.   The luminous glow of moonlight lacks the sharp clarity of sunlight, but it's gentleness unfolds, synthesizes, brings together as one.   Feelings and intuition that remain hidden from the sun surface in the moonlight."  Marion Woodman

Consciousness

"Initially, matter does not want to become conscious, nor does spirit want to be embodied.  Only gradually do body and psyche push toward consciousness, and only when they are sufficiently grounded in love, can conscious matter be penetrated be the light of the spirit.  The Divine Child, the new consciousness, is born of that union."  Marion Woodman

Shadow Work

"Until we recognize the shadow, we project the problem out.   They manifest too in the heartbreak of recognizing that if we accept the old-fashioned projection, our relationship can continue.   If we reject it and bring shadow to consciousness, the relationship may break.   Most painful of all perhaps is facing our shadow in the person of our husband's mistress."   Marion Woodman

Women's Bodies

"Women's body has carried the man's shadow of lust, greed and sloth.  Consciousness is also absent that neither recognizes the rape of the body soul.  Neither considers it a moral issue.  Neither hears the voice crying out from dis-eased genitals.   Each goes to the doctor for pills and salve."  Marion Woodman

How Many?

How many people who believe they never dream are sleepwalking in their marriage, in their job, in their church, blindly adhering to ideas they never question, with no heart in what they are doing?"  Marion Woodman

Feminine Body

"Until the feminine is firmly connected to the musculature of the body, it lacks the visceral affirmation that says,"This is of value to me.  This is who I am." Marion Woodman

Storytelling

"Storytelling is at the heart of life."  Marion Woodman

Healing

"Healing does not mean wallowing in or identifying with injury.   Nor does it mean defensive inaction.   It means having the courage to see, acknowledge, grieve, and repair the holes ourselves (with, if we are fortunate, loving help from others).  It means moving on, patches and all."  Marion Woodman