| There are many references in literature, art, history and psychology to "the wound" and the concept of "the ancient wound." It would seem that the mention of this phrase stirs something inside us that is essentially human, deep within our psyches – archetypal in its nature. We have all been wounded in some way. Perhaps the process is physical, or emotional... It is likely that there is at least some spiritual element to the concept of the wound. Calling the wound "ancient" gives it a universal quality, connects us as a species to the trauma (and joy) of birth, and even further back to the emergence of Homo Sapiens and of the evolution of consciousness itself.
The original wound for an individual may be the moment of conception – the piercing of the egg by the sperm. For a civilization, it may be coming to terms with balancing the masculine and feminine in culture and government. The ancient wound could be considered the separation from God, the fall from grace, being cast out from the Garden of Eden, or the sacrifice a soul makes to incarnate. The wound is a turning point, an opportunity, a facilitator of karma, a process without which healing and growth may not be possible, or at least not as poignant and rich.
Some of us can relate to the idea of having personal ancient wounds in terms of our early childhood or adolescence. There are issues of abuse for many of us, physical and emotional, that often manifest throughout our lives in various ways. Sometimes we can recognize this, sometimes not. The body may never forget... On a cellular level we store the imprint of all our experiences. This cellular memory is coded into our nervous system and manifests itself through our tissues. At the level of DNA we see the cellular memory of the species. The ancient wound is imprinted into us physically as well as metaphysically.
For others, this wound may first manifest as the angst of our teen years – a typical example of the pain of transition. We experience many such cycles of transition and growth in our lives, including the childhood developmental stages, separation from the parents, the emotional and psychological growth into adulthood, the changing of motivations and goals, the acceptance of our mortality, the maturing into wisdom and the process of death. At each stage we may find the end of relationships – with co-workers, friends and lovers ...and from ourselves as we go through these periods. |