What is The Landscape of Mothers?
The Landscape of Mothers is a map.
It is a compilation of eight mother archetypes associated with ecological landscapes that we can use as a map to locate and explore our internal strengths and struggles. Unlike other groupings of archetypes, The Landscape Mothers are related to one another in a way that gives us direction and choice in how to move forward when we feel stuck.
Because the inherent truth is that we are not an archetype, we are a much more complex compilation, it is best to use The Landscape of Mothers in relation to a particular question at hand. We can consider a particular struggle that you're having in parenting, or you can look at a particular relationship, or you can explore how old experiences shaped your ability to nurture and nourish yourself. In this workshop we are going to look at the last option.
The Landscape of Mothers shows us where we are.
Western culture has a habit of labeling things as "good" (in which case just keep going as is), or "bad" (in which case it is a problem that needs fixing). There is no room for complexity, changing conditions, context, or humanity. So, what if, instead, there was a circle of possible states of being that were interconnected with different strengths, capacities, struggles, and choices that better reflected life as it is?
For this workshop I'd like to present the possibility of using this map to identify the effects your mother's perspective on life had on the growth and development of your Inner Guidance System. Most of us have/had imperfect relationships with our mothers that left a hole, or a wound, that directly impacts how we take care of ourselves. It may have been around feeling worthy, "doing it right", "being enough" (smart enough, pretty enough, quiet enough, charming enough, helpful enough... and on and on). Landscape of Mothers helps you locate the missing piece that needs your attention in order to come to some level of resolution.
This is not a framework for placing blame, but for recognizing the impact of messages you received early in your life so that your Inner Mother can take steps to care for you adequately in the here and now. It is the maturing of your inner compassionate, loving nurturer... so that you can take powerful steps toward caring for yourself in a way that is empowering and lovely.
The Landscape of Mothers indicates what is missing where we are.
Sometimes it's harder than you would think to locate the missing piece. We think it's one thing, but it turns out to be another... or a whole series of things. Often we can't see it because we've coped for so long without, that we are sure we never really needed it anyway. Occasionally we just don't acknowledge it because we don't know what we'd do about it anyway... we never had a model for taking care of that part of ourselves. We're not even really sure what that would mean or look like.
The Landscape of Mothers invites us to make some time and take a step closer in our relationship with our Self (capital Self being the true inner core of who we are, not the one we project into the world that looks - sometimes at least - like she has this handled or can do everything and still smile). I know it can feel like our inner lives already take up an inordinate amount of time and energy, especially for those of us who are dedicated to our own growth. But so much of what we do is manage that inner world. We don't really listen, feel, and respond.
This workshop is about settling in, figuring out where we really are with our ability to take care of ourselves and others. What does it mean to be in that particular place? What is missing where we are? What are our options for addressing that in a meaningful way? Who can help us get there?
It is a compilation of eight mother archetypes associated with ecological landscapes that we can use as a map to locate and explore our internal strengths and struggles. Unlike other groupings of archetypes, The Landscape Mothers are related to one another in a way that gives us direction and choice in how to move forward when we feel stuck.
Because the inherent truth is that we are not an archetype, we are a much more complex compilation, it is best to use The Landscape of Mothers in relation to a particular question at hand. We can consider a particular struggle that you're having in parenting, or you can look at a particular relationship, or you can explore how old experiences shaped your ability to nurture and nourish yourself. In this workshop we are going to look at the last option.
The Landscape of Mothers shows us where we are.
Western culture has a habit of labeling things as "good" (in which case just keep going as is), or "bad" (in which case it is a problem that needs fixing). There is no room for complexity, changing conditions, context, or humanity. So, what if, instead, there was a circle of possible states of being that were interconnected with different strengths, capacities, struggles, and choices that better reflected life as it is?
For this workshop I'd like to present the possibility of using this map to identify the effects your mother's perspective on life had on the growth and development of your Inner Guidance System. Most of us have/had imperfect relationships with our mothers that left a hole, or a wound, that directly impacts how we take care of ourselves. It may have been around feeling worthy, "doing it right", "being enough" (smart enough, pretty enough, quiet enough, charming enough, helpful enough... and on and on). Landscape of Mothers helps you locate the missing piece that needs your attention in order to come to some level of resolution.
This is not a framework for placing blame, but for recognizing the impact of messages you received early in your life so that your Inner Mother can take steps to care for you adequately in the here and now. It is the maturing of your inner compassionate, loving nurturer... so that you can take powerful steps toward caring for yourself in a way that is empowering and lovely.
The Landscape of Mothers indicates what is missing where we are.
Sometimes it's harder than you would think to locate the missing piece. We think it's one thing, but it turns out to be another... or a whole series of things. Often we can't see it because we've coped for so long without, that we are sure we never really needed it anyway. Occasionally we just don't acknowledge it because we don't know what we'd do about it anyway... we never had a model for taking care of that part of ourselves. We're not even really sure what that would mean or look like.
The Landscape of Mothers invites us to make some time and take a step closer in our relationship with our Self (capital Self being the true inner core of who we are, not the one we project into the world that looks - sometimes at least - like she has this handled or can do everything and still smile). I know it can feel like our inner lives already take up an inordinate amount of time and energy, especially for those of us who are dedicated to our own growth. But so much of what we do is manage that inner world. We don't really listen, feel, and respond.
This workshop is about settling in, figuring out where we really are with our ability to take care of ourselves and others. What does it mean to be in that particular place? What is missing where we are? What are our options for addressing that in a meaningful way? Who can help us get there?
What will we do?
In this workshop we will:
- Identify eight Landscape Mother archetypes that we can use to determine where we (and others!) are with parenting
- Locate ourselves and our mothers on The Landscape (when we locate our mothers we can more clearly articulate our childhood experiences in that realm)
- Name the Core Issue that was (and maybe still is) a struggle
- Explore the choices and commit to taking a step toward addressing what was missing
- Make a plan for conscious adjustments to the way you care for and tend to your own Self so that you reap long term benefits