Keeping One’s Own Authority for Self
Three Boats on Hoi An River, Vietnam 2011
I was being driven to view vegetable farming in a village near Hoi An when I say these three boats in the river. I managed to get the guide to have the driver stop so that I could take this photo. Though it seemed to crimp on the guide’s agenda and time, I finally got me way and walked back to the scene above. It only takes a bit of courage to say no to one’s guide when the guide forgets that it isn’t about the guide.
Sometimes, perhaps even often, this is the problem with counselling and therapy, the agenda is about meeting the needs of the service provider, than it is about meeting the needs of the one who comes for help and guidance. In seeking out a guide, one shouldn’t give up one’s autonomy and one’s ability to think for oneself and make decisions. One’s counsellor, therapist, analyst or shrink is not a god.
Okay, that small rant is over. I sometimes get heated because others want control that doesn’t belong to them, such as the guide that would have not stopped for me to take this photo.
this topic was a ongoing process for me, back in school. Somehow, we had to walk the fine line of having ‘god like’ energy to allow the transferences and archetypal energies without succumbing to them/ acting out on them. somehow, we had to be The Magician yet not so. Supervision was a must to keep tabs on this.
Urspo
22 Jan 11 at 12:07 PM
This image feels very Arthurian…in a simple, Asian way. It’s so beautifully peaceful. Yes, we all have our agendas and schedules. The Feminine wants us to reclaim our power so we can empower others. Because of your encounter, your guide might begin to relax a little and in the future be more accepting of an occasional off-road experience.
Please tell me the cloth covering the middle boat doesn’t say “pepsi.” I’m hoping it’s a Vietnamese word but reading upside down and the colors of the cloth…
jbj
24 Jan 11 at 10:00 AM
Yes, falling prey to “mana” and becoming swollen is the danger in this journey. As has been quoted way too many times, “if you see a guru on the road, kill him.” In other words, keep your authority for self and don’t give it away to your analyst, psychiatrist, your guru, your priest, your national leader or your soulmate. Own yourself and all that is within.
rgl
26 Jan 11 at 4:59 PM
It didn’t spell out Pepsi. That said, it was a rescued piece of advertising panel cloth. Thanks for your “resonances” to the image.
rgl
26 Jan 11 at 5:03 PM