The Call of the Mermaid
"It is very important to go out alone, to sit under
a tree, not with a book, not with a companion, but by yourself and observe the
falling of a leaf, hear the lapping of the water, the fishermen’s song, watch
the flight of a bird, and of your own thoughts as they chase each other across
the space of your mind. If you are able to be alone and watch these things,
then you will discover extraordinary riches which can never be destroyed."
~Jiddu Krishnamurti
Legends say
sailors heard haunting singing from mermaids echoing across the seas, calling
them to the unknown. Some say it was a seductive force that meant danger, uncharted
waters that could swallow them into the vast seas. It touched a longing
deep in their souls.
The mermaid's call symbolizes a longing impossible to ignore; we can define it as our wish for happiness. Could it really be something much deeper and more profound, like a call to go deep within our inner self to find the mystic, our connection to the divine?
Are our
fears like the sailors of being swallowed up by a vast sea of the unknown? The mermaid
is a metaphor for the longing for something we don’t fully understand and
something dangerously mystical. It is the call to explore something beyond the
ordinary, dangerous, and yet very enticing.
In psychology, water represents the subconscious mind. It is a place of nightmares and fantasies. A place where we store hidden thoughts, intuition, and instinctual knowledge. It is the scary part of our souls, not in our awareness. It is like where mermaids live, dangerous and frightening. Sometimes we experience a magnetic force pulling us toward the possibilities of what is beyond our everyday ordinary routines. A path into the unknown.
Divine truth cannot be measured and logically explained; it must be experienced. Magic doesn’t come from our rational mind. A great example is an experience psychology calls a peak experience. It happens when you are overpowered by your senses. Maslow defined it as, “unusual moments of heightened joy, serenity, beauty, or wonder.” He reports that these experiences have happened across time, culture, and religion and are indescribable. If you have had one, you know it, and you know when somebody else starts to try to describe theirs. During a peak experience, you feel an overwhelming sense of being one with the world. There is a heightened sense of wonder, awe, and ecstasy. There is a sense of losing track of time.
A peak experience can lead to significant changes and serve as a turning point in living a deeper or more meaningful life. It is usually a fleeting experience. You can’t make it happen again even though you wish you could. It creates a longing for a feeling of oneness and love like you experienced. It can be scary and wonderful at the same time, like dreams and whispers from the unknown.
How do we find the mystic within? How do we satisfy longing?
We try to satisfy our longing with a new relationship, car, house, or clothing. We often find misery instead, as attachments to things and people lead to a reliance on other people's opinions of us. We rely on outside sources for what it means to be spiritual. We live a busy life, ignoring the whispers from dreams. Busy people don't remember dreams or take the time to imagine. They don't take the time to notice the messages from their senses, where we find the magic and wonder in everyday life.Some describe going through life as becoming a block of marble with layers of defenses we accumulate to survive. Inside the marble is a beautiful soul hidden. Spending time alone in meditation, in the forest, or by the river, begins the process of removing all the excess rock, piece by piece. The world of cultural expectations, rules, and borrowed beliefs is stripped as we go deeper into the self. Sometimes we meet scary memories, nightmares, past mistakes, and the truth about our delusions. Thankfully, these things are revealed when we are ready to see them in the light of self-love. The Universe uses gentle nods and subtle whispers to light our path. Love never judges, and we learn to do the same.
Practices to support our inner journey.
1. Self-love
2. Silence/ meditation
3. Awakening our senses
4. The mystical experience of hope
5. Contemplative practices
