Carl Greer - Change Your Story, Change Your Life: Using Shamanic and Jungian Tools to Achieve Personal Transformation

PRAISE FOR
CHANGE YOUR STORY, CHANGE YOUR LIFE

a rich guide to shedding old limiting stories and dreaming a new world of being.

ALBERTO VILLOLDO , author of Shaman, Healer, Sage

Carl Greer has written a wonderful and compassionate guide for seekers of psychological and spiritual growth. He introduces the reader to basic shamanic and Jungian concepts to link timeless ritual methods with modern active imaginal techniques. His clear explanations provide perspective, and his suggested exercises support personal exploration. A lovely book.

SYLVIA BRINTON PERERA, LP , Jungian Psychoanalyst and author of Descent to the Goddess: A Way of Initiation for Women

We live our own story, and, if we change it, we can change our lives. When we rewrite our story, we also rewire our brain to live by a new manuscript. Researchers call this the Neuroplasticity of the brain. In his compelling book, Jungian Analyst and Shaman Dr.Carl Greer invites us to be a storyteller in our own narrative: one who has the Imaginatio, or creative vision, to create a new story to live our true destinyour teleos. He offers a brilliant synthesis of Jungs Analytical psychology and the ancient Shamanic practices and rituals, such as Journeying into and Dialoguing with our multiple worlds to go beyond personal life experiences to the source, the Unus Mundus, to rework our story. Hands-on exercises and case examples make this treasure trove accessible to the reader in practical ways to implement in their life story. The purpose of this personal transformation is to live a life that honors our true skills, potentials and spiritual purpose, and in turn deploy these in service to our family, our community, and our worldrevitalizing them for generations to come. This is a timely book for individuals who wish to live an informed life based on the timeless wisdom of the past, and to deal with contemporary challenges in order to claim a purposeful future.

ASHOK BEDI, M.D. Psychiatrist and Jungian Analyst, author of Path to the Soul and Crossing the Healing Zone

C HANGE Y OUR S TORY ,
C HANGE Y OUR L IFE

U SING S HAMANIC AND J UNGIAN T OOLS TO
A CHIEVE P ERSONAL T RANSFORMATION

C ARL G REER , P H D, P SY D

Carl Greer 2014

The right of Carl Greer to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998.

Published in 2014 by Findhorn Press, Scotland

ISBN 978-1-84409-464-6

All rights reserved.

The contents of this book may not be reproduced in any form, except for short extracts for quotation or review, without the written permission of the publisher.

A CIP record for this title is available from the British Library.

Edited by Nicky Leach

Cover and Interior design by Damian Keenan

Printed in the USA

Published by

Findhorn Press

117-121 High Street,

Forres IV36 1AB,

Scotland, UK

t +44 (0)1309 690582

f +44 (0)131 777 2711

e

www.findhornpress.com

CONTENTS

Disclaimer

The information contained herein is provided as a public service. It is included for educational and informational purposes only, is not a substitute for professional advice or treatment, and should not be used for diagnosing or treating a medical or emotional problem or condition. Always seek professional advice with any questions you may have regarding a particular medical or psychological issue. Reliance on any information provided in this book is solely at your own risk; the publisher and author assume no responsibility for your actions. Workshop participants stories have been used by permission and without attribution to protect confidentiality. In cases where clients material has been used, personally identifiable details have been altered to protect confidentiality.

Thanks to Alberto Villoldo, PhD, author of Shaman, Healer, Sage, for permission to adapt his sacred space invocation and the journeys to the lower and upper worlds.

Acknowledgments

S ome years ago, when I was asked to teach classes about shamanism, I decided to teach how shamanic practices can be used to deal with everyday life issues. This book is an outgrowth of my shamanic teaching, as well as my Jungian training, experiences, and perspective.

I am indebted to many people for helping make this book possible. My shamanic mentors and friends have given me gifts of friendship and companionship as we have joined each other in using shamanic practices. Alberto Villoldo started me on my shamanic path and has been a mentor, teacher, and friend. We have explored some fascinating and mysterious frontiers together. Theo Paredes has taught me much about Andean shamanism and shared his wisdom and many adventures with me. Marv and Shanon Harwood have shared their Blackfoot traditions with me, and our experiences together have been spiritual, provocative, and fun.

Many Qero shamans, and shaman Don Martin, have initiated me into their traditions, for which I am grateful. I thank the shamans in Australia, Mongolia, and Ethiopia with whom I have spent time and worked.

Those who attended my workshops and those for whom I have been a shamanic practitioner or Jungian analyst have taught me much, and I am grateful for those who shared their experiences for inclusion in this book. Your generosity will help others better understand how to use various practices and techniques to change their own stories.

I acknowledge my Jungian colleagues, with whom I have shared friendship and exploration of the transpersonal realms. Special thanks to Murray Stein, Lee Roloff, Mary Doherty, James Wylie, and Judy Shaw, who were important parts of my Jungian journey.

Charlotte Kelchner has given me invaluable editorial assistance and helped me organize a large amount of often seemingly disjointed material. Nancy Peskes insights and editorial guidance were very useful in helping me to get the book ready for publishing and in navigating the world of book publishing. Gladys Burow, my administrative assistant for 46 years, has helped me with numerous drafts of this book. Devra Jacobs, my agent, has been diligent in finding me a publisher.

I want to acknowledge my children, Caryn, Michael, and Janet, and my stepchildren, Michael, Susie, and Jeannie, as well as their significant others, Rudy, Jenny, Joe, Leslie, and Mike, who have all been part of my journey.

I want to acknowledge Patmy love, my wife, and my partner in exploring the symbolic and the literal realms of our lives. She has supported my shamanic journey and my devoting time to writing this book. Her careful reading of the drafts and her comments helped make the book better.

Finally, I am thankful for being part of lifes plan and having the opportunity to write this book.

Dedication

To all the spiritual seekers who use the wisdom they gain
from their experiences to choose a new story.

Foreword

W hen I first began to study the wisdom teachings of the ancient shamans of the Andes, I struggled to understand what my mentors were trying to explain to me. It wasnt a language barrier that stood between them and me so much as a barrier of perception. I had plenty of academic knowledge, but a Western way of thinking and perceiving kept me frustrated until I learned to turn on my intuitive mind and quiet my analytical mind. Only then could I access wisdom and energies hidden from my awareness and use them to create a new path for myself.

Years later, when I was asked by my mentors to bring their teachings to the West, I was humbled and, frankly, intimidated by the challenge. I remembered how long it had taken me to let go of my need to have validated all that Id learned in years of school and hard work at a prestigious university. How was I going to explain to others the process of tuning in to the wisdom of the collective unconscious we all share? How could I help them travel to realms of consciousness where past, present, and future all flow together, and tap into the archetypal energies that allow us to dream a new world into being? I wasnt excited about facing rooms full of people who would be as skeptical as I had been years before and urging them to leave behind what they had been taught and embrace a new way of looking at their lives, each other, and the world we inhabit. But my mentors warned me, If your people do not change their ways, our people will no longer be able to survive. With their prodding, I decided to do the best I could to teach other Westerners the wisdom ways that honor Earth and all her inhabitants.