letting myself be nonlinear
Art by Marina Marcolin
I think a lot about the different types of brainspaces I continually toggle between.
I used to think about this in terms of a right-brain/left-brain dichotomy. Sometimes I still find this a helpful framework. The work of Iain McGilchrist has been enlightening and has deeply shaped my views on this!
In recent years, I’ve adopted the notion of convergent/divergent thinking. The mental imagery that I use for this is a telescope and microscope. When I’m stuck on a problem, I often find it most helpful to zoom way out, so that I can make sure that I have an understanding of the big picture. From there, I can usually see where it makes sense to hone in on further.
When I’m expressing myself, I notice recently feel some innate pressure to make things linear, clear, grounded, and easy-to-understand for others. And I think I’m generally pretty good at inhabiting this mode, although it doesn’t necessarily come naturally to me.
But as I progress deeper into my Archetypal Pattern Analyst studies, I’m reminded time and again that the raw, natural language of the universe is archetype, image, and symbol.
And when I’m feeling blocked from expressing myself linearly, the medicine for me is to return to that archetypal, primal state: what homeopath Bill Rumble refers to as the “vibrant” layer of reality.
This is the layer where the universe communicates with us via dreams, signs and symptoms, and synchronicities. This is where I want to be hanging out more.
And guess what? We are all hard-wired to understand things on this level, even if our understanding is outside of our conscious awareness, even if it’s not a linear, connect-the-dots understanding.
Recently, I’ve been in a sort of state of decompression. I’ve been giving myself permission to experience and express things nonlinearly. Softening my focus. Exploring the edges of my peripheral vision. Getting out of my frontal lobes, as Rumble expresses. Receiving, rather than going after things with my predator mind.
My engagement on this plane is transforming me — as it should be.