Into the Heart of the Feminine: Facing the Death Mother Archetype to Reclaim Love, Strength, and Vitality QUOTES

1 " When the feminine and our vitality become lost to power drives and life becomes a wasteland, the stage is set for the mythic world to give rise to a hero to transform and revitalize the situation. They mythic hero is a metaphor for our struggle to transform our consciousness and bring new life to ourselves. "

― Massimilla Harris , Into the Heart of the Feminine: Facing the Death Mother Archetype to Reclaim Love, Strength, and Vitality

2 " The great work of our time is to bring the feminine into this culture. And it is not an easy path. How does each one of us contribute? Believe it or not, it’s done in the most personal ways. Take time to listen to your dreams. Write them down. Take time to recognize that there are things going on within you that need to be felt, or said, or lived, or grieved. Pay attention to these things both in yourself and in the people in your life. Pay attention to the authentic self. – Marion Woodman "

― Massimilla Harris , Into the Heart of the Feminine: Facing the Death Mother Archetype to Reclaim Love, Strength, and Vitality

3 " In order to bring the feminine into our world, we must begin in a personal way. It is not an easy path, and we will quickly see how readily it conflicts with the patterns of our daily lives. But in order to value the feminine and have it become reborn within us, we must take the time to reconnect with the wholeness of who we are. We have to take the time to listen to our dreams, to write them down, and to reflect on our lives. Honoring the feminine means having the patience and taking the time, like Mary in the Gospel according to Luke, to ponder these things in our hearts. We must recognize that there are many things going on within us that need to be perceived, accepted, felt, said, lived, grieved, and raged over. We need to give these things our attention, concern, and understanding. "

― Massimilla Harris , Into the Heart of the Feminine: Facing the Death Mother Archetype to Reclaim Love, Strength, and Vitality

4 " Looking at the great values of the feminine principle—relatedness, presence, an open heart, warmth, patience, and trust—I "

― Massimilla Harris , Into the Heart of the Feminine: Facing the Death Mother Archetype to Reclaim Love, Strength, and Vitality

5 " The father’s role, he says, is to provide the mother with the peace and security she needs to be a good enough mother. "

― Massimilla Harris , Into the Heart of the Feminine: Facing the Death Mother Archetype to Reclaim Love, Strength, and Vitality

6 " Or we may be caught in a cycle of frustration because we realize we are split from our authentic selves but cannot figure out how to cultivate and nourish our relationship with ourselves. "

― Massimilla Harris , Into the Heart of the Feminine: Facing the Death Mother Archetype to Reclaim Love, Strength, and Vitality

7 " From birth to death, love is not just the focus of human experience but also the life force of the mind, determining our moods, stabilizing our body rhythms, and changing the structures of our brains…Love makes us who we are, and who we can become.” These are the words of the modern brain researchers Lewis, Amini, and Lannon in their book on attachment theory and brain research, A General Theory of Love. "

― Massimilla Harris , Into the Heart of the Feminine: Facing the Death Mother Archetype to Reclaim Love, Strength, and Vitality

8 " couldn’t just tell her to go to hell and get out of my life. If I did, I felt like I would have no one, and I seemed to continue the hopeless path of trying to please her, make her see my caring for her, get her to acknowledge me or what? "

― Massimilla Harris , Into the Heart of the Feminine: Facing the Death Mother Archetype to Reclaim Love, Strength, and Vitality

9 " The first he calls elementary, and its positive attributes are to nourish and protect, to give warmth and security. "

― Massimilla Harris , Into the Heart of the Feminine: Facing the Death Mother Archetype to Reclaim Love, Strength, and Vitality

10 " But our mothers are our first contact with the world of the feminine and the world of our emotions, which are closely related. "

― Massimilla Harris , Into the Heart of the Feminine: Facing the Death Mother Archetype to Reclaim Love, Strength, and Vitality

11 " In a matriarchal society, our relationship to the group is the dominant value. Instead of being taught to succeed, children are taught to think of others first, to cooperate, and to subordinate personal goals to the general welfare. Guilt becomes the haunting terror "

― Massimilla Harris , Into the Heart of the Feminine: Facing the Death Mother Archetype to Reclaim Love, Strength, and Vitality

12 " As we put together our chronicle and highlight antidotes, dramas, and feelings, we need to disclose our story to someone who cares—someone who doesn’t know all the answers but who cares and has experienced his or her own journey through this territory. When we begin this journey, it is very humbling for all of us to admit that “I do not really know what I feel. I do not say what I mean, and, all too often, I do not do what I say. "

― Massimilla Harris , Into the Heart of the Feminine: Facing the Death Mother Archetype to Reclaim Love, Strength, and Vitality

13 " reconciliation through trying to understand them and their history and to “forgive” them, rather than hold them responsible for their behavior. We have to admit to ourselves that this instinctual hope is stronger than reason and reality. It is like a hope that never seems to die. It is romantic, consoling, and it is praised by our culture. This hope becomes a misunderstood waiting that appears patient, understanding, and wise. In reality, however, it is toxic, like pure poison, the poison of Medusa. "

― Massimilla Harris , Into the Heart of the Feminine: Facing the Death Mother Archetype to Reclaim Love, Strength, and Vitality

14 " Marion Woodman shares with us the gnawing sense of fear we may feel when we realize that we are not pleasing people or that they disapprove of us. She says it is as though our very cells were imprinted with a fear of shame, rejection, belittlement, and abandonment. Sensing these things is like seeing Medusa: We close down, becoming numb and overwhelmed with feelings. These, too, are like Medusa’s snakes and must be approached with great care. "

― Massimilla Harris , Into the Heart of the Feminine: Facing the Death Mother Archetype to Reclaim Love, Strength, and Vitality

15 " Having this love and attention "

― Massimilla Harris , Into the Heart of the Feminine: Facing the Death Mother Archetype to Reclaim Love, Strength, and Vitality

16 " But too many of us have become battle scarred and have pulled away from even hoping for love. Both in our relationships with others and with ourselves, we often find love difficult to define, to trust, and to "

― Massimilla Harris , Into the Heart of the Feminine: Facing the Death Mother Archetype to Reclaim Love, Strength, and Vitality

17 " Emotions are powerful, vital, highly significant forces that can threaten us, reveal problems, paralyze us, and turn us into stone. "

― Massimilla Harris , Into the Heart of the Feminine: Facing the Death Mother Archetype to Reclaim Love, Strength, and Vitality

18 " These feelings are especially debilitating when they are unconsciously projected on bosses, colleagues, competitors, and other people with authority. "

― Massimilla Harris , Into the Heart of the Feminine: Facing the Death Mother Archetype to Reclaim Love, Strength, and Vitality

19 " the emotional power of the Death Mother today lives in the background of our lives while our pursuit of identity dominates the foreground. "

― Massimilla Harris , Into the Heart of the Feminine: Facing the Death Mother Archetype to Reclaim Love, Strength, and Vitality

20 " Thinking about the quotations from Jung, you can see how important stories are. They represent the point of departure for “knowing” the people we are dealing with—their environment, their experiences, and their struggles. "

― Massimilla Harris , Into the Heart of the Feminine: Facing the Death Mother Archetype to Reclaim Love, Strength, and Vitality