Who Am I? The Exploratory Use of Metaphor

Therapy or counselling is an interesting topic. I quite enjoy noting people’s reactions when you admit to seeing a therapist. I’m generally met with two different scenarios. The “oh that’s great I know lots of people who have been for therapy and it’s really helped them” or the plain old “oh… really?”

Needless to say the first reaction makes me feel like I’m not actually crazy and the second reaction generally fills me with amusement, together with the underlying feeling of “you should probably go for some yourself.”

Over the last few months I have been attending psychotherapy to deal with some underlying issues that have been present in my life for a long time. To try and get some answers, help build my confidence and self-esteem and move forward in my life rather than repeatedly getting stuck in a rut.

Last week was a fairly intense session and by the end I was left feeling slightly morose. My therapist turned to me and said, “This week I’d just like you to spend some time enjoying being you.”

So, I left my session and the first reaction I was met with was, “But who the hell am I?”

The next few days I found myself pondering this question over and over again. And time and time again I was met with blankness, like the early morning stares, with no inspiration filtering into my confused brain. So I decided to leave the question alone.

This week I told my therapist the problem I’d had enjoying being myself. I mentioned how asking such a generalised question about who we are is so difficult to define. Of course I could answer with my gender, sexuality, age, profession, or even how I think others view me (the answer is always sickeningly “lovely” by the way… we’re working through that) but it’s such an esoteric question.

Who are we? What is the answer to that question?

So, then she tried a different tack. “If you were a car, what type of car would you be?”

“Well” I said, thinking, “I’d probably be an old vintage racing car, but one that is slightly rusty in parts, but loved and cared for. Quirky. Interesting. Not like a commercial brand new all gadget shiny thingy. Oh no. That’s not me at all.”

She smiled at me.

“Ohhhhhh. I see!” And thus, I saw. So I’m interesting, different, individual, not perfect, and definitely not mainstream.

We went on to discuss other things that I thought I would be. Flowers, interior décor, etc. The more I spoke, the better I felt, the more I felt defined as a person. I was beginning to realise who I was. Metaphorically speaking, of course.

So now I’ve got a few weeks off from therapy, and my homework is to design myself a “mood board” of metaphors based around what I think of myself. It’s interesting objectifying me, and whilst this might not suit everyone (perhaps it’s more of a man thing?) but I’m certainly looking forward to creating “me”.

And in my creation, perhaps somewhere I will find my voice, the ability to stand up for what I believe in, for I’m passionate about. With self-identity comes a certain sense of value and an increase in self-worth.

So I ask the question, “If you were a car, what would you be?”

Here’s to the humble metaphor.

The Liver and the Hun. Is Your Spirit affected?

So in the final part of this series, today we’re going to look at the SPIRITUAL aspect of the Liver- the HUN, otherwise known as the ETHEREAL SOUL.

The Hun is your access point to what we call the universal consciousness, or universal Shen. It is the part of your spirit to leave the body after death, those mysterious “21 grams” that disappear, and so it most closely related to what is commonly known as your SOUL.

The Hun is the only aspect of your spirit that is said to leave the body, and it does this when you go to sleep.

As you go to sleep, your Hun leaves your Liver and goes to gather the information you need to make important decisions. Have you ever heard the expression “why don’t you sleep on it?” Well, this is the reason why.

The Liver and Gallbladders’ predominant time lie between the hours of 11pm and 3am, and a sign that your Hun might be affected is waking up between those hours, especially if your mind is on hyper-drive.

As with the mental aspect of your Liver, the Hun is related to planning and organisation, imagination, and bringing into fruition. Quite often, those “mental blocks” in life (of which I have just suffered one trying to write this blog!), are due to some kind of disharmony in your Hun.

So, what can cause a problem with the spiritual aspect of your Liver?

Generally, when we start to talk about the spirit, people are divided into believers and non-believers, but what we are really talking about are feelings that are sometimes indescribable, but can be felt deep within a person.

That general feeling of discord, where things in your life aren’t necessarily going the way they should be.

For the Hun to leave the body at night, gather the information it needs, and return to the body and provide you with the necessary answers, it needs a well-rested, cool and Blood enriched Liver to return back to.

But, modern day life provides all manner of things to heat up the Liver, create stagnation and deplete its Blood.

Alcohol abuse or the long-term use of recreational drugs can cause the Hun to become restless and leave the body more and more.

The Hun opens out into the eyes, and have you ever seen someone who seems to be unattached from the world? They’ve lost their sparkle in the eyes? That is their Hun that has gone wandering.

Long-term stress is another cause of Hun disturbance. The amount of time I see people who will wake at 3am, with their mind on over-drive, because they are in a job they can’t stand, they are living with a partner they no longer have feelings for, or they feel they are forced into living a life “for the sake of someone else”, is unreal.

Emotions such as guilt, shame, jealousy and anger are all forcing us to lead lives that aren’t in accordance with out true path in life.

So, how do you change these things? How do you get you Hun feeling harmonious once again?

Well, as discussed in the previous blogs, using exercise and nutrition is important, but by this stage, some kind of THERAPY is important.

The kind of therapy at this stage would be some kind of energetic therapy, such as ACUPUNCTURE, REIKI, SPIRITUAL HEALING, or a talking therapy such as COUNSELLING, LIFE-COACHING, or PSYCHOTHERAPY. It’s actually largely unimportant, but what is important, vital even, is the CONNECTION you have between yourself and your therapist.

There are specific points in ACUPUNCTURE that help treat the SPIRIT, but whilst some practitioners will tend to treat at the physical level, others will be able to reach the spiritual level. This is the sign of not just a good practitioner, but a great practitioner.

All energetic therapists work in different ways, but to try and ultimately bring about the same response, to make you feel better.

The most important thing is to find the one that works for you.

I hope you have found some useful information over the last 3 blogs to do with your Liver. If you believe you may have a physical, mental or spiritual problem with your Liver, now is the time to get it rectified! The springtime! Any questions or advice you may need, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Wishing you all the best in health and happiness.

Phil Haxby-Thompson