Virginia Nemetz - Stone Childs Mother: A Jungian Narrative Reflection on the Mother Archetype

STONE CHILDS
M O T H E R

A Jungian Narrative Reflection
on the Mother Archetype

VIRGINIA NEMETZ

iUniverse, Inc.

Bloomington

Stone Childs Mother

A Jungian Narrative Reflection on the Mother Archetype

Copyright 2012 by Virginia Nemetz.

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Cover Design: P. Moller / Egg Press Co.

ISBN: 978-1-4620-7294-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4620-7296-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4620-7298-9 (ebk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011962704

Printed in the United States of America

iUniverse rev. date: 01/12/2012

Contents

For my Mother

In this beautifully crafted and wise book, Nemetz humbly and honestly, through the vehicle of the mother archetype, shares her quest for wholeness, and, in the process, will certainly help other women understand their personal spiritual journey.

Nellie A. Rodomsky, MD, PhD, author of Lost Voices: Women, Chronic Pain, and Abuse

... beautifully written language rich in emotional metaphor as the author guides us through lush pathways of archetypal imagery, we uncover a journey of spiritual struggle, awakening, and consciousness. Her graceful blending of art, literature, poetry, and Jungian psychology creates a narrative that at once nurtures the soul and stimulates our intellectual curiosity.

Janet Gold, PhD, author of Clementina

Is there anything new to say about mothers? Yes, there is, and Virginia Nemetz has shared it with the readers of her remarkable book, Stone Childs Mother. Grounded in Jungian psychology, Virginia introduces us to the loving mother, the nurturing mother, the transformational mother, the dark mother, and several other facets of the mother archetype. Indeed, there is a mother for all seasons, and Virginia has written a book for all the right reasons.

Stanley Krippner, PhD, coauthor of Personal Mythology

Virginia Nemetz has the unusual gift to write about the mother archetype in its personal and symbolic aspect. Her own lifelong quest is beautifully interwoven with the universal background. Fluently written, her book will capture the longing of so many who yearn for union with the female core of the journey in tune with the ever changing and life-giving mother energy in its dark, light and spiritual aspects, which guide the lives of women. This beautiful book touched me deeply. It is genuine and shares Virginias journey in a generous way.

Kathrin Asper, PhD, author of The Inner Child in Dreams and The Abandoned Child Within: On Losing and Regaining Self-Worth

This book is about mothers. It begins with the Buddhist tenet that we have all been mothers at one time. It is autobiographical because I am the stone child in the title. I have been a mother and I have struggled in my relationship with my own mother. Most likely I will continue to do so until I die. Struggles are good endeavors. From our struggles to understand we learn.

There is an American Native myth that goes like this. In the beginning, Sky Father and Earth Mother united. From their union Stone Child was created. When Stone Child was born into this world, she looked around and realized it was up to her to transform herself. This is where my story begins. This effort at transformation has been a life long task. I believe we are all capable of transformation and that we are all created for this experience. Because I have gained so much from my efforts, I hope that everyone who reads this book will feel motivated to undertake their own personal quest.

To sculpt a refined form out of stone takes patience. A piece of unconscious and amorphous stone that is chiseled into awareness and form goes through a re-creation. It is a process that we cultivate to find our purpose in life and to acknowledge who we are.

As a psychologist with a specialty in analytical psychology, also known as Jungian analysis, my perspective has grown out of work with the writings of C. G. Jung. Prior to my study of Jungs work, I became acquainted with Swami Sivananda Radha and her work with light and the practice of kundalini yoga. To my surprise Jung had also been influenced by the study of kundalini yoga. So I took my understanding of archetypes and their function from Jungs writing and from my study at the C. G. Jung Institute in Kusnacht, Switzerland. At the same time I realized the importance of kundalini yoga, as explained by Swami Radha, as an applied understanding of archetypes and their manifestations in daily life. Since archetypes are soul imprints, the mother archetype is the first archetype we encounter, even before our birth some would insist. Today, the word soul seems to be interchangeable with self. To understand the mother archetype, therefore, is to begin to understand ones self.

The importance of Jungs work in the field of psychoanalysis is far reaching. It can be said that he was the first psychologist to acknowledge the spirit. Not only did he acknowledge the importance of the spirit, he insisted that the basis of most neurotic behavior had its origin in the restless and unattended spirit or soul. In other words, the source of most sorrow and dis-ease in this world had to do with a distraught spirit. In my practice I am confronted with this phenomenon on a daily basis. Once the domain of Mother Church, the soul has been left behind in our fast paced world.

I have come to value this soul work because it is so important to our welfare. I see great changes in those who acknowledge their spiritual nature. I have come to this realization not only through observing the lives of my clients as they unfold and flower but also through my own spiritual practices and experiences. In a practical sense I recognize archetypes in the dreams, fantasies, stories and personal myths of those around me. Everyone has a story. Every life is unique. Therefore, our spirits manifest differently in reaction to each experience. Transformation is possible in every one of us.

Since most readers will never have been in analysis, my approach to the mother archetype will appear novel to some and cumbersome to others. Before I go any further into my own story, I must remind those of you who are sitting quietly and reading my book that the process of awareness is not acquired in a chronological manner. Neither is the process logical. It is random and, in this case, mine. As you read, be patient. Your own moments of insight may eventually occur to you or they may not. Some of my insights are shared and common; others are individual. My meandering process is my own. The subject of mother is a global and complex one. Despite my tendency to wander or to halt to catch my breath, I do realize it is my responsibility to communicate my insights as clearly as possible.

In other words, I have done what any analysand is expected to do in the course of their own psychoanalytical treatment. The process is rich and fulfilling and gives meaning to our efforts to find purpose in life. If some of these reflections seem aimless, that is because they reflect the course of my own process. Mine has not been a straight path.