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She who no longer howls

Somewhere around the age of 5 she looked into her caregiver’s eyes and saw something different.

A questioning.

Hesitation.

Disapproval.

And she learned what it meant to be “other’d.”

She may have still been the apple of his/ her eye, but she was now awakened to the inescapable truth that she was a distinct and separate being whose autonomy now clashed with what was expected of her.

The carefree and powerful intuition inside her was quieted ever so slightly…

The girl becomes a student, leaving her playthings behind for 8 hours a day; exchanging her caregiver’s perceptions on appropriateness for her educator’s. What she “learns” is that her vivacious airs are for the uncultured and should be left outside.

And the carefree and powerful intuition inside her was quieted ever so slightly…

The girl becomes a teen, more aware than ever of desires…to become and to connect.  She is taught that her appearance and interests do not measure up to the standards of her peers who too suffer under the weight of their own perceptions of societal falsehoods.

And the carefree and powerful intuition inside her was quieted ever so slightly…

The girl becomes a lover, having met a boy who says he will love her just as she is. He embraces her edges and kisses every curve. Willingly she submits.

Until she finds out the edges and curves alone were what he was after. And once he explored hers, he then took another. The girl learns her passions cannot be trusted.

And the carefree and powerful intuition inside her was quieted ever so slightly…

The girl becomes a woman. The marionette strings to her spirit are handed over now to her employer. Cubicles and glass ceilings tell her she’s a commodity to be contained. Straining is futile. Her ideas and visions will not be celebrated here.

And the carefree and powerful intuition inside her was quieted ever so slightly…

The girl becomes a mother. Her spirit now reflected in the eyes before her.

Ceilings shatter, strings are cut.

Visions return…and with them, whispers and echoes…”Remember…it’s time…to REMEMBER…”

Like a limb awakening from slumber…her intuition feels shaky at first, but the tingling sensation cannot be ignored, nor would she ever want to even try. She has missed this feeling of being ALIVE.

The girl becomes the wolf. Fierce, loyal, and FREE. She howls at the moon and voraciously defends her own. She will die before she abdicates her power ever again.

And the carefree and powerful intuition inside her was unleashed…


From My Couch

The women who work with me nearly all share a common wound – feeling “other’ed.” How she learns to adapt or cope depends on a plethora of factors, but the tell-tale signs of a lost connection to her spirit remain regardless.

If any of this resonates with you, then it is my heart’s sincerest prayer that you nourish the neglected or even abandoned child inside. Remind her that she is absolutely EVERYTHING she should be. Ask her what else might make her feel free again.

As Shakespeare’s Polonius once said, “This above all: to thine own self be true.”


Epilogue Inspiration

One of my absolute favorite metaphors is the she-wolf. Depth psychology and art have much to offer the woman looking to embrace her untamed side. I offer you this resource that stirs my own soul.

Within every woman there lives a powerful force, filled with good instincts, passionate creativity, and ageless knowing. She is the Wild Woman, who represents the instinctual nature of women. But she is an endangered species. In Women Who Run With the Wolves, Dr. Estés unfolds rich intercultural myths, fairy tales, and stories, many from her own family, in order to help women reconnect with the fierce, healthy, visionary attributes of this instinctual nature. Through the stories and commentaries in this remarkable book, we retrieve, examine, love, and understand the Wild Woman and hold her against our deep psyches as one who is both magic and medicine. Dr. Estés has created a new lexicon for describing the female psyche. Fertile and life-giving, it is a psychology of women in the truest sense, a knowing of the soul.

Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype” by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

counseling pensacola fl Tamara Powell, LMHC is a licensed therapist, university psychology instructor, and empowerment coach who believes life should be lived as a journey that is “anything but ordinary.

Her private practice is specialized to help individuals break free from toxic cycles of distress, dysfunction, and dissatisfaction with life that are created when trying to live according to someone else’s rules. Only by living what she calls radical autonomy, can one obtain soul nourishing relationships and a sense of true life purpose and inner peace.

If you’re interested in working with her, either in person or online, you can learn more about her services here.

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