Episode Transcript: S1E15: Run Wild, Rise Whole – Wisdom from Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ Women Who Run with the Wolves’

Full Transcript

[00:01] Hey there, beautiful beings, and welcome back to Read, Reflect, Rise.

[00:07] I’m your host, Will Struthers-Cooper.

[00:09] I’m a wellbeing guide, a seeker in the world, and a lover of all things word-mediciney.

[00:15] If you’re here, you’re likely someone who feels deeply, seeks truth or clarity, and

[00:20] knows there’s more to life than ticking boxes and staying small.

[00:24] Each week we slow down to breathe in the power of words.

[00:28] Again.

[00:29] Each week we slow down to breathe in the power of words.

[00:33] Reflect on the wisdom of extraordinary writers and rise into who we were always meant to be.

[00:39] It’s a coming home to our true, untamed selves.

[00:45] In today’s episode, we’re diving into the wild, powerful waters of Woman Who Run with the Wolves

[00:50] by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola-Estez, a book that has stirred the hearts and awakened the souls of

[00:57] women across the globe.

[00:59] All are welcome to this fireside feel.

[01:02] There are stories, words and ways of thinking that will sink right into the marrow of your bones.

[01:09] Or awaken something primal and ancient in them.

[01:12] Yeah, Dr. Clarissa is that kind of writer and story-gatherer.

[01:17] This book is some real old world and old word magic passed down through the generations.

[01:24] So let’s get cosy, get present or switch off and let the words unconsciously wash over you.

[01:31] Let’s read Reflect and Rise together.

[01:38] Clarissa Pinkola-Estez is a writer, psychoanalyst and post-trauma specialist, a cantadora,

[01:44] a keeper of the old stories and a poet whose life’s work has focused on the wild,

[01:49] instinctual nature within women for her book Woman Who Run with the Wolves.

[01:55] It’s been called a reclamation, perhaps a resurrection, a remembering.

[02:00] If you are a woman, if you know a woman, if you want to know a woman,

[02:06] here’s a look into the wilderness that can be claimed by those whose heart is busy whispering

[02:10] to them in the dark, this is who you really are.

[02:16] This isn’t a book you read once and shelve.

[02:20] I’ve returned to it again and again, each time I’ve heard something different in it.

[02:26] It weaves myths, stories, fairy tales and archetypes with psychological insight

[02:32] and I’d say some very deep truth.

[02:35] Estes invites us to connect with our inner wild one, the part of us that knows,

[02:41] feels, intuits and refuses to be domesticated.

[02:46] Today I’ll read a short excerpt that speaks to the ache we can carry when we’re disconnected

[02:51] from that part of ourselves and what it means to begin returning home.

[02:58] Estes is an unparalleled storyteller in my opinion.

[03:01] Do seek her reading her own words and recounting tales of people long gone.

[03:06] It is time well spent to hear the magic pour forth directly from the space that she holds.

[03:12] And now here is me reading her words and words from the ages.

[03:23] Being bound to one’s intuition promotes a confident reliance on it no matter what.

[03:30] It changes a woman’s guiding attitude from what will be will be to let me see all there is to see.

[03:40] What does this wildish intuition do for women?

[03:44] Like the wolf, intuition has claws that pry things open and pins things down.

[03:50] It has eyes that can see through the shields of persona.

[03:54] It has ears that hear beyond the range of mundane human hearing.

[03:59] With these formidable psychic tools, a woman takes on a shrewd and even

[04:04] precognitive animal consciousness.

[04:07] One that deepens her femininity and sharpens her ability to move confidently in the outer world.

[04:16] So now Vasilisa, the hero of the heroine of this story,

[04:21] is on her way to gain an ember to rekindle the fire.

[04:25] She is in the dark, in the wilds, and can do nothing but listen to the inner voice coming

[04:31] from the doll. She is learning to rely on that relationship and she is learning yet one more thing.

[04:39] She learns to feed the doll.

[04:44] What does one feed intuition so that it consistently nourished and responsive

[04:50] to our request to scan our environment? Again, what does one feed intuition so that it is

[04:58] consistently nourished and responsive to our request to scan our environment?

[05:05] One feeds it life. One feeds it life by listening to it.

[05:11] What good is a voice without an ear to receive it?

[05:15] What good is a woman in the wilds of Megatropolis or daily life unless she can hear

[05:21] and depend upon the voice of Lekheseb, the one who knows?

[05:26] I’ve heard women say it if not a hundred times than a thousand times.

[05:32] I knew I should have listened to my intuition.

[05:35] I sensed that I should should not have done such and such but I didn’t listen.

[05:42] We feed the deep intuitive self by listening to it and acting upon its advice.

[05:49] It is a personage in its own right, a magical dollish sized being which inhabits the psychic

[05:55] land of the interior woman. In this way it is like the muscles of the body.

[06:02] If a muscle is not used, eventually it withers.

[06:08] Intuition is exactly like that. Without food, without employment, it atrophies.

[06:19] The feeding of the doll is an essential cycle of the wild woman archetype.

[06:23] She who is the keeper of hidden treasures. Vasalisa feeds the doll in two ways.

[06:30] First with a bit of bread, a bit of life for this new psychic venture and secondly

[06:36] by finding her way to the old wild mother, the Baba Yaga. By listening to the doll at every turn

[06:44] and every fork in the road, the doll indicates which way is home.

[06:51] The relationship between the doll and Vasalisa symbolizes a form of empathic magic between a

[06:58] woman and her intuition. This is the thing that must be handed down from woman to woman,

[07:05] this blessed binding, testing and feeding of intuition. We, like Vasalisa, strengthen our

[07:14] bond with our intuitive nature by listening inwardly at every turn and every fork in the

[07:19] road. Should I go this way or this way? Should I stay or go? Should I resist or be flexible?

[07:30] Should I run away or toward? Is this person, event, venture, true or false?

[07:47] And it’s with that intuition represented by the doll carried by Vasalisa in the story

[07:55] that we’re going to focus on today for our practice.

[08:00] So if you’re sitting or walking, driving or doing, I invite you to just move your muscles slightly,

[08:09] allow yourself to move or stretch, tense or relax, whatever it is that you need to fully

[08:19] inhabit your body in this moment. You might be grasping, clasping, stretching, reaching,

[08:29] breathing,

[08:32] sighing. This is your invitation to fully inhabit your space and fully inhabit

[08:41] your muscles, your bones, your flesh, your body.

[08:50] Allow yourself to apply some pressure to the soles of your feet,

[08:55] perhaps moving your seat if you are seated,

[09:02] resting your head upon your neck.

[09:11] Taking an inhale and an exhale

[09:17] and again,

[09:21] allowing your rib cage to expand into a circle, filling your ribs at the back with air as well

[09:31] as your ribs at the front, allowing your diaphragm and your stomach to expand and allowing your

[09:39] breath to settle as you breathe naturally. Your body knows exactly what to do.

[09:49] Just as you know exactly what to do.

[09:57] And in your present state,

[10:01] I invite you to call to mind a situation, a situation with choices or a situation that

[10:10] feels perhaps a little tangy or tight or constrictive

[10:16] that is ready for some new choices.

[10:23] Allow that to pop into your head, allow yourself to notice and feel the substance of it,

[10:30] the way it sits perhaps in your in your mouth, perhaps there’s a taste to go with it or

[10:38] perhaps in your stomach or chest, perhaps you feel your reaction to it in your shoulders,

[10:46] perhaps you have no reaction to it and that’s okay.

[10:54] When we’re thinking of that situation, we’re not running down thoughts,

[11:01] we’re bringing yourself back to our body, to the way we’re sitting or standing or moving

[11:10] and back to our breath.

[11:15] We’re going to drop in some questions and these are not questions that need answered.

[11:23] We’ll look at our responses to them and observe the best we can and if you find yourself

[11:29] floating away down a thought, that’s okay. Bring yourself back to your body, back to your breath,

[11:39] back to the next question as many times as you need to.

[11:49] What does my body need in this situation?

[12:00] When I think about the pathways available to me,

[12:06] do I find myself leaning more towards one than the other?

[12:15] Do I have a voice in my head suddenly leaping up to give explanations and justifications for why

[12:24] one other path would be a sensible choice or the right choice?

[12:37] Is there a voice in my body whispering quietly, go this way, do it that way?

[12:59] Is there a feeling in my body, a tightening or a loosening, a tension or a joy

[13:10] pointing towards one direction more than the other?

[13:28] If you made a choice free of constraints, what choice would you make?

[13:44] If you were free to make any choice, what choice would you make?

[13:57] If it feels like a fit, place a hand on your body, you’ll know where.

[14:12] You may feel a growing

[14:16] sense of tightening or tension or perhaps affirming and strengthening.

[14:23] Perhaps when you think of one path, you find your spine elongating, your bearing becoming almost

[14:31] regal. Perhaps if you think of another path, you find your spine collapsing slightly,

[14:43] your breathing becoming more shallow, your head a little heavier.

[14:51] That’s your intuition informing your body, that’s your gut instinct giving you clues.

[15:03] Perhaps you’re in a situation where you don’t yet know the correct pathway.

[15:17] In which case, I invite you to begin moving your body as you hold space

[15:25] for the situation that you’re engaging in.

[15:30] Allow your arms to float up, to move, allow your torso begin to sway, perhaps your feet will move.

[15:42] Perhaps at this moment in time, you only have movement in your shoulders,

[15:49] perhaps you only have movement in one half of your body.

[15:55] Perhaps there’s a slight rhythm.

[16:02] Perhaps every part of the situation makes you want to lock tight.

[16:08] In which case, I invite you to start shaking out the smallest part of your body,

[16:13] the part that feels the safest.

[16:25] You have an inner knowing. This is your space to listen to what guidance your body has to share with you.

[16:42] Allow your instinct, your intuition to complete the sentences.

[16:51] My path is.

[16:59] Perhaps you want to say it aloud and whisper it to yourself.

[17:04] Perhaps it’s still forming.

[17:10] Complete the sentence.

[17:13] I am going to.

[17:25] And lastly, complete the sentence. I am.

[17:36] And if this work is new to you, if listening to your intuition is a first for you or a first for you in a very short time,

[17:45] a very long time, I want you to layer some compassion on top of that.

[17:54] I choose to be kind to myself.

[18:05] And bringing yourself back into your body.

[18:10] If you’re not already there.

[18:16] Noticing where in your body.

[18:18] Feels solid.

[18:21] Feels firm.

[18:26] Knowing that you are.

[18:29] At one with your body.

[18:31] And you can return to it.

[18:34] To listen to its guidance.

[18:36] To hear that gut feeling.

[18:39] That instinct, that intuition.

[18:49] Perhaps saying a word of thanks.

[18:56] Bring your focus back to your breath.

[19:03] Releasing any tension or excitement if you feel the need to in an exhale or a sigh.

[19:13] Bring your focus back to your toes.

[19:15] To your feet.

[19:18] Adding some pressure or movement into your fingers.

[19:25] Realigning any part of your body that wants to move.

[19:33] Opening your eyes if they were closed.

[19:37] And resting your eyes and your gaze on something nearby.

[19:43] Allowing your lips a slight curve.

[20:00] Bending your horizontal neck.

[20:07] Do horrible Areas.

[20:15]

[20:15] For me, Estes words take me into,

[20:20] take me into somewhere else.

[20:23] They take me into somewhere else

[20:24] where I can hear these ancient stories

[20:27] and listen to the characters

[20:29] and hear parts of myself and the different characters,

[20:34] the scenarios and the story arcs.

[20:37] Feel familiar, they seem to echo different parts of life

[20:41] from different ages and stages of my own life.

[20:45] Our hearts, the things we long for,

[20:49] even the things that cause us to absolutely sit down

[20:51] and gape in wonder.

[20:56] They’re shared experiences,

[20:59] but they’re shared experiences

[21:01] that perhaps are unfamiliar to us now.

[21:05] We maybe even view them as obstacles,

[21:08] but really they’re invitations,

[21:11] invitations to listen to the wild,

[21:15] to reconnect with the wise parts of ourself

[21:19] that might have become buried under the roles that we hold,

[21:23] the routines, the labels,

[21:25] or maybe even just rules that just don’t fit anymore.

[21:33] And this isn’t about wilderness or wildness

[21:37] that’s reckless or loud for the sake of it.

[21:40] It’s about remembering that we’re part of nature,

[21:43] part of this earth, we are not separate.

[21:47] Our instincts are there for a reason

[21:49] and they are older than the biggest bit of knowledge

[21:52] we have ever learned.

[21:55] Our instincts are here and they can be revered.

[22:00] That’s our inner kenning, our knowing,

[22:03] our gut instinct and intuition

[22:05] and it deserves to be listened to.

[22:09] Because that wildness within, it doesn’t need fixing.

[22:13] It needs freeing.

[22:20] Here’s our affirmation to rise together.

[22:24] Let these words rise up through your body

[22:26] and settle in the very marrow of your bones.

[22:33] I choose to honor the wilderness within me.

[22:37] My path is full of sacred doors.

[22:41] I listen to my intuition.

[22:44] I walk with courage and come home to myself.

[22:52] I choose to honor the wilderness within me.

[22:57] My path is full of sacred choices.

[23:02] I listen to my intuition

[23:05] and I walk with courage to come home to myself.

[23:13] Repeat that one aloud, as loud as you feel like it

[23:15] or into your heart again and again

[23:19] until it starts to feel less like a whisper

[23:22] and more like a roar from inside of your heart.

[23:32] Thank you so much for joining me today.

[23:34] If Dr. Clarice’s words stirred something in you,

[23:37] I invite you to sit with it, journal about it,

[23:40] talk to the part of you that knows, that remembers

[23:43] and hold space.

[23:46] If you loved this episode, please take a moment

[23:49] to follow, rate and share Read Reflect Rise.

[23:52] Your reviews and shares help this medicine reach more hearts,

[23:55] more souls and more seekers like you.

[23:58] You can also sign up at www.readreflectrise.com

[24:02] to receive weekly affirmations, meditations and resources

[24:06] straight to your inbox and get a collection of meditations

[24:09] featured in earlier episodes.

[24:12] And always remember, there is magic, medicine and power

[24:16] in the words that we weave and wield.

[24:20] Until next time, dear friends, keep reading,

[24:23] keep reflecting and keep rising together.