When you think of the word genius, what comes to mind? Who has it? Is it innate or is it developed? If it is innate why do some people have genius and others don’t? Is it that their genius is unexpressed? Do you have a genius that sometimes emerges and sometimes recedes? Why is that?
Most of what we are taught about genius is that some people have it and some people do not. Those that have it have some mysterious quality or gift. Others say that each of us has a genius, and that if it isn’t nurtured we destroy it.
I say that each one of us has a genius within us. When we learn to tap into our genius, what emerges is effortless power, effortless self-expression, and effortless freedom. Our genius is that part of us that creates some sort of magic in the world. And we know it in those rare moments when we are writing if we are writers, acting if we are actors, having insights with friends, experiencing mystical experiences, and any other sorts of breakthroughs that we create in the world.
The sacred wound is the wound that each of us has. No one is exempt. We all have the experiences of trauma, from others, by the circumstances of life, and by ourselves to ourselves. Mainly what we’re taught is how to master ourselves so that we don’t have to be with the trauma. But we’re not really taught how to both enter into the trauma and, even more significantly, create from the trauma. In order to create from any pain or any wounding, we actually first must relate with the wound, to feel it for a decent period of time, and to bring a quality of warmth or kindness to it. It is in the healing of the pain that our genius can emerge.
Sacred Journey
The healing of the sacred wound requires something known as the sacred journey. It is the journey we are all already on, but we don’t always hold our wounds with this kind of reverence, and as a result, the journey lacks a quality of reverence. And when we don’t hold our sacred wound with a quality of reverence, when we hold it as something that needs to be overcome, we essentially push it away. When we dishonor the wound, the world around us appears robotic, lonely, random, or, either mildly or very much a place of suffering. In other words, the way we regard our wounding has a direct effect on how we see the world.
When we hold the wound as sacred, as the teacher, the priest, the father, the mother, the friend, the lover, then we begin a new, sacred journey with ourselves. When we regard our suffering as good news, we don’t need to destroy it, to overcome it, we get to meet it. And by meeting and relating with it, we get to deepen, widen, and expand to include more. The wound calls us toward our evolution, and it is our evolution, our transformation that is the genius we bring into the world.
My Wound
I, personally, suffered a great deal as a young man when my brother committed suicide. That’s one aspect to my wound. And I can try to wish that wound away. I can even ignore it for a few days, but, ultimately, my work is to transform it. I know, now, that the most potent way to do that is to meet it with a sense of compassion for myself and my brother without disregarding the pain. What I am speaking of is to feel the pain simultaneously to feeling the compassion. By holding the two simultaneously, I can transform it. And when I do, the pain lessens a little bit, and a little bit more wisdom, depth, and connection occurs.
This process that follows is about creating a new relationship between you and your sacred wound. In this new relationship, you will meet your wound anew. And in so doing, discover your genius. If you follow the entries over the next few weeks, you will learn how to slow down, listen to your wound patiently and compassionately, discover an access point to your growth, transformation, and genius. Because just as your wound is your pain, it is also your access to the next stage of your journey. It is your entryway, your portal to the other side.
The sacred wound is the wound that each of us has. No one is exempt. We all have the experiences of trauma, from others, by the circumstances of life, and by ourselves to ourselves. Mainly what we’re taught is how to master ourselves so that we don’t have to be with the trauma. But we’re not really taught how to both enter into the trauma and, even more significantly, create from the trauma. In order to create from any pain or any wounding, we actually first must relate with the wound, to feel it for a decent period of time, and to bring a quality of warmth or kindness to it. It is in the healing of the pain that our genius can emerge.
Transforming the Sacred Wound Series
This is one part in a nine-part series that explores ways to heal and transform your sacred wound. Be sure to check out the other posts!