The Hero’s Journey
Thought of the Month
May 2012
Transforming meaning
by Reg Harris
Copyright © 2012 by Reg Harris. All rights reserved. Apart from properly cited quotes and short excerpts, no part of this article can be copied or used in any form without written permission from the author. For permission, please contact me.
Often our journeys require us to venture beyond our current horizon of understanding, our current “personal narrative,” so that we can see the greater story unfolding in our lives. This process makes us more resilient by forcing us to reinterpret the meanings we have given to past experiences.
In the terms of narrative psychology, this process of reinterpreting or reframing meaning is called a “redemption sequence.” A redemption sequence involves transforming “an emotionally negative or bad scene [in our narrative or story] to an emotionally positive or good outcome” (McAdams et al, 2001, p. 5). The negative or limiting meaning we have given to an experience is “redeemed” by revising its meaning so that it contributes constructively to our lives rather than festering like an untreated wound in our psyche.
As part of this process, we must acknowledge what we can and cannot control in our lives. In The Resilient Spirit, Jungian psychologist Polly Young-Eisendrath, writes:
When we allow meaning and possibility to emerge, we begin
to feel freer and calmer, as long as we acknowledge and accept our limitations. We do not unilaterally control how anything turns out, and so we can never “get it right.” Our control resides in our own subjectivity―our attitudes, decisions, emotional life. The Buddhist idea of “dissolving negative karma” refers to an ability to transform a negative complex, something that is re-created out of emotionally driven dissatisfactions, into compassion and new meaning (1996, p. 151).
According to Young-Eisendrath, to be resilient and responsive in life we must be able to redirect meanings. She suggests that a first step toward doing this is to help others. By helping others, we are drawn out of our own narrative, with its limitations and defenses, and into the greater story. We will be able to let our old self die and to create a flexible, responsive identity that can deal creatively and effectively with the difficulties and suffering we will encounter.
This is not an easy process, however, because it requires us to revisit the old experiences so we can see how they have contaminated our narrative and our lives. Psychologist Jean Houston (1987) writes that, “…you may need to re-vision and re-member your own wounding so that its larger pattern is revealed” (p. 107). To do this, we must externalize the story by writing or telling about it. We must put the experience that wounded us back “in play,” where its meaning can be revised and redirected, where the wounding can be redeemed.
This is a difficult, often painful process, but it is essential to revitalize our individual journeys and to build the resilience we need to live fuller, happier lives. This is not to say that we can live a pain-free existence or that we can avoid hardships. Life is not like that. What resilience does mean is that we can learn to use our struggles in a positive, “redemptive” way to expand our horizons and deepen our compassion and understanding.
This transformation or redemption of meaning is an integral part of the journey process, so the journey pattern gives us a map, a broader perspective that we can use to step back from the emotion and drama of the moment. From this perspective, we can see the greater story unfolding in our lives and how our current challenges contribute to that greater story. Through the understanding offered by this broader perspective we will be better able to transform old meanings and deal successfully with the challenge of the moment.
Houston, J. 1987. The search for the beloved: Journeys in mythology and sacred psychology. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam.
McAdams, D, R. Josselson and A. Lieblich. 2001. Turns in the road: Narrative studies of lives in transition. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
Young-Eisendrath, P. 1996. The resilient spirit: Transforming suffering into insight and renewal. New York: Da Capo Press. (p. 151)
Your feedback is always welcome. Contact me.
The Hero’s Journey: News
The Hero’s Journey
Thought of the Month
May 2012
Transforming meaning
by Reg Harris
Copyright © 2012 by Reg Harris. All rights reserved. Apart from properly cited quotes and short excerpts, no part of this article can be copied or used in any form without written permission from the author. For permission, please contact me.
Often our journeys require us to venture beyond our current horizon of understanding, our current “personal narrative,” so that we can see the greater story unfolding in our lives. This process makes us more resilient by forcing us to reinterpret the meanings we have given to past experiences.
In the terms of narrative psychology, this process of reinterpreting or reframing meaning is called a “redemption sequence.” A redemption sequence involves transforming “an emotionally negative or bad scene [in our narrative or story] to an emotionally positive or good outcome” (McAdams et al, 2001, p. 5). The negative or limiting meaning we have given to an experience is “redeemed” by revising its meaning so that it contributes constructively to our lives rather than festering like an untreated wound in our psyche.
As part of this process, we must acknowledge what we can and cannot control in our lives. In The Resilient Spirit, Jungian psychologist Polly Young-Eisendrath, writes:
When we allow meaning and possibility to emerge, we begin
to feel freer and calmer, as long as we acknowledge and accept our limitations. We do not unilaterally control how anything turns out, and so we can never “get it right.” Our control resides in our own subjectivity―our attitudes, decisions, emotional life. The Buddhist idea of “dissolving negative karma” refers to an ability to transform a negative complex, something that is re-created out of emotionally driven dissatisfactions, into compassion and new meaning (1996, p. 151).
According to Young-Eisendrath, to be resilient and responsive in life we must be able to redirect meanings. She suggests that a first step toward doing this is to help others. By helping others, we are drawn out of our own narrative, with its limitations and defenses, and into the greater story. We will be able to let our old self die and to create a flexible, responsive identity that can deal creatively and effectively with the difficulties and suffering we will encounter.
This is not an easy process, however, because it requires us to revisit the old experiences so we can see how they have contaminated our narrative and our lives. Psychologist Jean Houston (1987) writes that, “…you may need to re-vision and re-member your own wounding so that its larger pattern is revealed” (p. 107). To do this, we must externalize the story by writing or telling about it. We must put the experience that wounded us back “in play,” where its meaning can be revised and redirected, where the wounding can be redeemed.
This is a difficult, often painful process, but it is essential to revitalize our individual journeys and to build the resilience we need to live fuller, happier lives. This is not to say that we can live a pain-free existence or that we can avoid hardships. Life is not like that. What resilience does mean is that we can learn to use our struggles in a positive, “redemptive” way to expand our horizons and deepen our compassion and understanding.
This transformation or redemption of meaning is an integral part of the journey process, so the journey pattern gives us a map, a broader perspective that we can use to step back from the emotion and drama of the moment. From this perspective, we can see the greater story unfolding in our lives and how our current challenges contribute to that greater story. Through the understanding offered by this broader perspective we will be better able to transform old meanings and deal successfully with the challenge of the moment.
Houston, J. 1987. The search for the beloved: Journeys in mythology and sacred psychology. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam.
McAdams, D, R. Josselson and A. Lieblich. 2001. Turns in the road: Narrative studies of lives in transition. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
Young-Eisendrath, P. 1996. The resilient spirit: Transforming suffering into insight and renewal. New York: Da Capo Press. (p. 151)
Your feedback is always welcome. Contact me.