Comments for poetry, dreams, and the body

Comment on saboteur by Rick

Rick — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:45:57 +0000

Ruth and Deena: Thanks very much for reading and sharing your insights on this poem. As I said in an earlier comment, I think the inner saboteur often gets an undeserved bad rap. My latest life-sucking corporate meat grinder gig has my saboteur kicking up a storm like a wild horse in a stall. I used to wonder why that guy had to bother me so much. Now I know he’s just trying to keep me alive.

Comment on A mini dreamwork primer by Rick

Rick — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:51:57 +0000

Thanks for reading and commenting. The image of the deer in your dream does seem sad, but there may be some other levels of information present beyond what seems obvious to us at first. I think the typical tendency is to expect our dreams to confirm our existing biases, whether in the form of our dearest hopes or deepest fears, when in reality the whole point of the dream is often to tell us something we don’t already know. I don’t know what that deer might have to tell you, but I hope you find out. Any dream image or event that leaves us wanting to know more usually has some good information for us.

Comment on saboteur by Deena Harbaugh

Deena Harbaugh — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:30:32 +0000

Your poem is awesome. The saboteur is like the kid who has finally gotten fed up with all the abuse and refuses to accept one more thing. I call that part the Incredible Hulk. The kid, or the kid inside, is ready to fight or die. Anything but get hurt again.

Love to read your stuff, Rick.

Comment on saboteur by Ruth Martin

Ruth Martin — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:31:10 +0000

You are the Inner Fire! Great poem, Rick-lots of power, unrefined by society! Jung talks about this. It’s hard for kids who were abused, but if the fire gets extinguished there is depression or worse. We need to help abused children to recover that part of their essence.

Best wishes to you.

Comment on A mini dreamwork primer by releasing lunacy

releasing lunacy — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:39:44 +0000

Enjoyed reading. I never thought to consider the dream from the point of view of someone or something in the dream. I recently had a dream in which a deer twisted her own neck around; presumably breaking it. In the dream, I watched this happen -quietly and detached. To me, it just seemed like a sad thing that deer did to herself. There are a couple obvious potential takeaways from the dream. But I find myself wanting to know more. Looking at things from the deer’s perspective would be a really interesting approach. Thanks. ~rl

Comment on obituary 12-11-11 by Rick

Rick — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:34:28 +0000

Thank you, Steve, and thanks to you and Rupesh for your original suggestion of the obituary exercise in our men’s group last April and your patience in creating a safe space for me to begin the process.

Comment on obituary 12-11-11 by Steve

Steve — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 06:01:02 +0000

Hey Rick,

Really good to see this! Vulnerable and naked and real and courageous and creative as ever! I like the idea of the “fulfilled late in life” piece as it sets the path to follow. May all the desires of your heart have words, energy and intention – and may all the best ones come to be!

Comment on obituary 12-11-11 by Rick

Rick — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:44:08 +0000

Thank you, Seth and Theresa, for reading and commenting. I appreciate it.

I would be remiss if I neglected to express my thanks and appreciation to the other members of my men’s group, whose positive feedback and encouragement when I shared this poem with them were instrumental in my decision to take the risk of posting it and sharing it more widely here on the blog.

Comment on obituary 12-11-11 by Theresa

Theresa — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 02:13:33 +0000

This is wonderful.

Comment on obituary 12-11-11 by Seth Mullins

Seth Mullins — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:40:38 +0000

I can understand your vulnerability, Rick, but am also glad that you shared this. I can see you in it; I can see myself, and many others. It gets down to the real points, the crucial things that one should be remembered for.

Comment on Poetry on video: “secret children” by Rick

Rick — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:11:29 +0000

Thank you, Faith, for watching and commenting on this video. I’m glad to know that you found it helpful on such a challenging day.

Comment on Poetry on video: “secret children” by Faith McDaniel

Faith McDaniel — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:02:22 +0000

Thank you for sharing this Rick. You have no idea how much I needed to find this today, especially after having to deal with hearing the words come out of the mouth of a parent of a registered sex offender. I had to turn and walk away while trying to keep my anger in check and the contents of my stomach where they belong as I listened to the words “it was just some kind of family conspiracy thing.” To hear these words after holding 2 of those he abused was…I still cannot put the entire experience into words. Again, just thank you for sharing and looking forward to more from you. The healing journey continues…

Comment on Some thoughts on forgiveness by Rick

Rick — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:45:13 +0000

Kathy: So sorry to hear that you’re dealing with that kind of pain, but pleased to know that this post was helpful to you in some way. It’s so easy for us to stumble back into that old familiar territory we knew as children. Hopefully this most recent experience, painful as it is, will prove to be the last of its kind for you.

Comment on Some thoughts on forgiveness by kate smitty

kate smitty — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 04:22:59 +0000

i’m recovering (or trying to) from a recent inadvertent descent into my childhood wounds via an extremely toxic relationship that energetically mimicked the original abusive relationship of my childhood. im struggling with forgiving this person, who is clearly lost himself. i feel pressure to “let it go” but it’s still so raw and inflamed. i really appreciate your perspective and your validation that it’s something you have to inhabit, not wave a crystal at. as always, i give you a round of applause, rick, for holding that space.

Comment on Poetry on video: “little iron man” by Rick

Rick — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 15:46:21 +0000

Thanks for reading and commenting, Jeff. I’m glad you found this post meaningful.

Comment on Stepping out from the shadow of the father by Rick

Rick — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 15:34:58 +0000

Thank you for reading and commenting on this post, Pauline. There remains a stubborn part of me that still struggles with and resists that “great existential painful reality” as you put it, that still holds fast to the conviction that doing what I believe to be the right thing will yield what I believe to be the right results, even though I have plenty of experience that there is often no correlation between the two in terms of outcome. Another work in progress for me.

Comment on Stepping out from the shadow of the father by Pauline Gaines

Pauline Gaines — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:31:24 +0000

I found this piece very moving. I think your acknowledgement that acting from our own integrity is essential to growing up but doesn’t guarantee any tangible “rewards” is one of the great existential painful realities — befalling women as well as men.

Comment on Poetry on video: “little iron man” by Jeff & Friends

Jeff & Friends — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 18:17:27 +0000

Very meaningful to us, hitting the nail exactly on the mark. We even sat down at the age of thirteen and willingly devoted ourselves to the task; for 15 years the ‘Iron Man’ ruled (he was our interior teenager; an alter and our host for so long.) HE became the iron man – that was his favorite song, by the way, “Iron Man” from Black Sabbath (another fitting tribute in there). We even did a computer graphic of the thing – the death of the Iron Man – or “The Machine” as we called him, or ‘it’, or what have you. In was in an effort to shut our emotions down; becoming a totally logical being. And it ‘worked’ for a while – but it caused us pain – and in the end . . . it was destroying us, so we destroyed the thing. The teenager has (in some fashion) never forgiven us that thing; but on the other hand perhaps he does. For he well remembers the pain and isolation and loneliness – ‘we’ have a letter he wrote us – knowing he was ‘dying’ inside; his Machine was ruined; all he had become . . . lost in the dust and burning desert of our mind.

It was a lonely time. And maybe we should write about it one day. And we did; at least the part about the 3 children who came to save us – pulling us out in the end – when the youngest one, an abused boy, looked in our eyes with love and we beheld him – him loving us and it meant . . .
we could be loved again.

Comment on scapegoat’s cross by Rick

Rick — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 16:27:10 +0000

Kathy,
What a wonderful surprise it was to see this comment from you. People go in and out of my life with such frequency that almost no one I know now knows who I was five years ago, much less twenty or more. It was therefore quite touching to read your remarks and realize that there is some continuity of relationship in my life, even if I’m not always aware of it.

I was also moved by the perspective you expressed on my work, then and now, as well as your connection to this piece. In some ways, I wish you didn’t resonate so strongly with this one, because I know from personal experience what that means. But I’m glad I could express that element of your experience in a way that gave you some sense of validation because that’s a large part of my intention in sharing these things as I do.

I remember the time we spent all those years ago with great fondness and hope you are well and happy.

Comment on my heart is a church by Rick

Rick — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 16:12:53 +0000

Thanks to both of you, Kath and Jan, for your very kind comments. You’re both doing very wonderful work as well and I’m grateful to have made your acquaintances in 2011.