The Drama of Life
“Looking back over the course of one's own days and noticing how encounter and events that appeared at he time to be accidental became the crucial structuring features of an unintended life story through which the potentialities of one's character were fostered to fulfillment, one may find it difficult to resist the notion of the course of one’s biography as comparable to that of a cleverly constructed novel, wondering who the author of the surpassing plot can have been…”
- Joseph Campbell
One of the defining features of this worldly existence is change.
Things are constantly changing, in and around us.
And it is through these changes that the different scenes of an epic life story unfold.
Through the differing tensions and trials that come from changes and challenges, conflicts and crises, latent potentials hidden in the soul are moved.
Who are we, really?
We never know until we are tested.
The drama of life issues a challenge- ascend to a higher level of wholeness or disintegrate.
And like every good story, the protagonist must have core faults and constitutional blind-spots that serve as the main arena of struggle for that soul.
These different psycho-biological-spiritual complexes that make up the individual come paired with their own set of obstacles that are necessary to overcome for the person to heal and grow.
As the great Imam Ali (may God be pleased with him) indicates in his poetry: both the disease and the cure are within.
And we know that when we rise to meet our Lord on the Day of Judgment, we will be given a book and told to read it.
And within it will be the tale of our lives.
Starting with our birth- that first victory.
Moving into adolescence and the coming into awareness of what lies ahead.
Our meeting of mentors, friends and allies, foes and enemies, and a knowledge of the mission that lies ahead.
Middle age rife with struggle, desolation, loneliness, and confusion… admixed with conquest, victory, connection, and clarity.
And the twilight years of regret, acceptance, and peace.
And everything in-between of great loves and great betrayals, sweet moments of intimacy and dark nights of the soul.
All of this is written.
And you are re-writing it with your own hand, in every moment and breath that you take.
Are we you aware of this?
Are you aware of your self?
Where are you now in your story?
What happens next?
Do you slay the dragon? Or do you wander lost in the desert?
Do you struggle for the Truth? Or do you make quiet concessions to the devil?
You must determine this for yourself.
And the first step is to know your self.
It has always been the most important criteria for the story.
We all want to see complex character development in a good drama.
Can you see all your angles? Do you know what lies in the nafs? Have you ever brought the light of consciousness down to the shadows?
You must.
It will change your life, as it has for men and women since time immemorial.
The Hikma Counseling approach is a holistic approach that brings the psychological and imaginal dimensions with the spiritual and somatic.
The Hikma approach is geared around recognizing constitutional patterns and exploring how our own life dramas and traumas have affected us.
The objective is to expand our level of consciousness of our own nafs, heal the wounds that reinforce the nafsani attachments and identifications, and help us return to connection with our embodied hearts- the true protagonist of our Story.
Visit our services to learn more about our Hikma Counseling and Naturopathic services:
www.forwardtohealth.com/services
May we all write a story that makes God pleased and all that read it strong and inspired.
———
Mazen Atassi, ND
Dr. Mazen is a naturopathic doctor, classic homeopath, and Hikma therapist. To learn more about him and his services visit: www.forwardtohealth.com/dr-mazen