Metamorphosis

[Jonathan Zap]

Any trouble reading this message or seeing the several images
included? Click this link>>>Metamorphosis and see the same content
much better displayed.
Metamorphosis
text and photos © 2009, Jonathan Zap


"All things must change to something new, to something strange."
—
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Norie Huddle, in her book Butterfly, describes in poetic language the
metamorphosis of caterpillar into butterfly:

"The caterpillar's new cells [after it has built its cocoon] are
called
'imaginal cells.' They resonate at a different frequency. They are so
totally different from the caterpillar cells that his immune system
[that is the immune system of the worm] thinks they [the new imaginal
cells] are enemies… and gobbles them up… But these new imaginal cells
continue to appear, more and more of them! Pretty soon, the
caterpillar's immune system cannot destroy them fast enough. More and
more of the imaginal cells survive.

"And then an amazing thing happens! The little tiny lonely imaginal
cells start to clump together,
into friendly little groups. They all resonate together at the same
frequency, passing information from one to another. Then, after a
while, another amazing thing happens! The clumps of imaginal cells
start to cluster together!… a long string of clumping and clustering
imaginal cells, all resonating at the same frequency, all passing
information from one to another there inside the chrysalis.

"…Then at some point, the entire long string of imaginal cells
suddenly
realizes all together that it is Something. Different from the
caterpillar. Something New! Something Wonderful! …and in that
realization is the shout of the birth of the butterfly!

"Each new butterfly cell can take on a different job. There is
something for
everyone to do, and everyone is important. And each cell begins to do
just that very thing it is most drawn to do. And every other cell
encourages it to do just that. A great way to organize a butterfly!"

For there to be a metamorphosis, certain existing structures need to
be
broken down to make room for new ones. In the chrysalis, most of the
caterpillar's old body is digested and used as a nutrient source to
construct the new body. The human ego, however, fears change and
tends
to desperately cling to an existing identity. Metamorphosis can,
therefore, be interpreted as catastrophic, and the old ego-identity,
recognizing a threat to its very existence, will seek ways to defend
itself. Like the caterpillar, the old self may have an immunological
reaction to the budding of the new self. Also like caterpillars, we
have imaginal cells within us, parts of us that contain the catalytic
vision-seeds of the future.

Taken at Arkansas Rainbow Gathering, 2007

Let's ground this with a personal example. Sometime in the Nineties
an
eighty-year-old woman, who was a Jungian analyst, gave a talk I
attended in Boulder. At the end of her talk there were questions from
the audience and the first one came from a young woman. "Now that you
are an elder," asked the young woman, "what you can tell me as a
young
woman about love?" The elder woman replied, "When I was your age I
was
desperately trying to be loved. But now I know that it is better to
simply be love."
The old woman describes a profound metamorphosis that took decades.
The
metamorphosis from self-centered to selfless is one of the most
classic
and valuable. Goethe described it this way:
"Human life runs its course in the metamorphosis between receiving
and giving."

Ede Jones at the Butterfly Pavillion in Westminster, Colorado

I have been working on exactly this metamorphosis in my own life. As
a
recovering narcissistic personality type, I find that it is very easy
for me to fall into preoccupation with being loved. Many of us fall
into the common delusion that if only we can be loved by some
particular person we aspire to romantically, then everything will be
great. But if I allowed myself to focus obsessively on being loved, I
would only be prolonging adolescence into middle age. Also, trying to
be loved doesn't work all too well. If what we want from others
predominates, then most will correctly sense us as needy and
self-centered, which will likely make us less attractive to them. The
more we try to contrive and force progress with love, the more
neurotic
and desperate we become, which only helps to keep love away. A person
who has successfully moved toward being love, however, is like a
source
of love and warmth that other people want to be near.

"The story of Americans is the story of arrested metamorphoses. Those
who
achieve success come to a halt and accept themselves as they are.
Those
who fail become resigned and accept themselves as they are." — Harold
Rosenberg

As I work on the long path of metamorphosing toward
being love, I can sometimes hear frantic inferior voices within me
saying things like, But if I don't try to get love back from others I
won't get anything. or, If I just focus on being love, others will
just take that for granted and won't bother to love me back.
Even though the old identity, which consisted of an uneasy coalition
of
subpersonalities and various neurotic stratagems didn't work very
well
in the past, they still want to be in charge. They're like a
dysfunctional conspiracy of old, corrupt politicians who know that
they
have presided over famine, depression and a series of inner and
interpersonal wars, but are nonetheless determined to be reelected
and
feel entitled to lifetime terms. To the old coalition of
subpersonalities, metamorphosis appears as a looming black-robed
reaper
wielding a scythe. To a deeper self, metamorphosis appears as
sunlight
entering a smoked-filled room. As the sunlight intensifies, furtive
figures scurry away into vanishing shadows and the light exposes
crumpled masses of scribbled papers, the tawdry remnants of backroom
dealings and smear campaigns that soon become cinders trailing away
as
wisps of smoke.

The representation of a butterfly is seen against the back drop of a
large tree,
an organism that exemplifies gradual development.

The metamorphosis from trying to be loved to trying to be love
is very likely going to be something I'll still be working on when I
am
eighty, if I make it to that age. To keep such a gradual
metamorphosis
going takes continual vigilance and an ability to relinquish, to
sacrifice the obsolescent focus on getting love and the various
neurotic ways of trying to go about that. The example I gave of the
eighty-year-old woman and myself was an illustration of one type of
metamorphosis, but there are many others. The crucial thing is for
you
to know what sorts of metamorphoses are going on in you so that you
can
consciously assist these transformations.

If a caterpillar/butterfly had a human life span, then its time in
the
chrysalis would also last for decades. Unlike the
caterpillar/butterfly, most human beings cannot afford to retreat
into
a cocoon while undergoing the metamorphosis. Usually we need to work
on
metamorphosis while still functioning in the world. To succeed with
the
transformation we need great perseverance, patience and just the
right
balance of firmness and gentleness with ourselves.

Whether you are undergoing sudden or gradual transformation, consider
the
occurrence of this card as a sign that this is a propitious time for
metamorphosis.

Marshall Mesa by Phil Lewis
Go to Phillewisart.com to order some of his amazing images
Thanks Phil for permission to use this image. Here's what Phil had
to say about this painting:

"Boulder is the type of place, that whenever I leave… I'm always
happy
to return. No matter if it was a day trip to the mountains, or an
overseas adventure for weeks, the Flatirons are always a sight for
sore
eyes. This is my rendition of the Flatirons from Marshall Mesa,
looking
Northwest…(of course there's some super-psychedelic butterflies and
hairy purple flowers thrown into the mix for kicks)

This piece completes the compass for me, so-to-speak. I have drawn
the
Flatirons from the west, north, east, and now, the south… it all
tends
to come full-circle as I find myself diggin this place as much as I
did
the day I first moved here…"

Thanks, Jonathan Zap

zaporacle.com ---See images, writings, products and services by
Jonathan Zap and interact with the Zap Oracle for free.
303-596-0539