Listening To Logos: Eros, Psyche And The Culture Of Singles

One of my heart songs that I hope humanity will soon sing is that it is imperative that we become deep listeners. Unless that happens we only ever participate in a society who listens for the purpose of arguing. Talking heads are all the rage. From the news, to social media influencers, to preachers our world is in a crisis for listeners. One of the greatest wisdom teachers of all time, Jesus, said, “Therefore take care how you listen. For whoever has, more will be given to him; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him.” This can be found in Luke 8:18 for Bible readers. The Amplified version (which is one of the more accurate translations of the Bible) breaks down the original meaning further by clarifying His words saying, “So be careful how you listen; for whoever has [a teachable heart], to him more [understanding] will be given; and whoever does not have [a longing for truth], even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him.” Reiteration: Be careful HOW you listen. In the presence of only answers no wisdom can be gained. The understanding is that a teachable heart can receive more revelation, more insight. But, if there is no aspiration for being teachable, no value given to a discerning heart than whatever there is there, even that will be taken away. Whether you are a Christian, Muslim, Jew, Spiritual hippy dippy or atheist this is applicable. If even lesser versions, lower vibrational versions of teachableness exist than even those lesser versions are too good for a person who has no intention of better understanding the world around them. The condemnation for bruteness is one that isn’t recognizable to the brute but it does determine their trajectory to be a confused and argumentative one. There is no life in that. Understanding gives life. And, we get that by deep listening, ponderance, and silence.

In light of this I have decided to feature some of my favorite wisdom teachers and discuss their profound insights but also discuss the points at which I diverge with their philosophy. Not as one ungrateful who hasn’t listened. Not as one who hasn’t sat in ponderance. But, as someone who is hungry and open for proofs of the purpose of life. Now, what does all of this have to do with Logos, Psyche or Eros and the culture of unmarried individuals who are looking for love? One of my favorite psychologists, Dr. Maureen B. Roberts specializes in schizophrenia and is one of my favorite writers as well. Recently, she posted this to her Facebook page: Maureen B. Roberts: Interweaving Soul with the World, and said this, “

Psychology, as a ‘Logos of psyche’, has contributed little to the understanding – and nothing to the experience – of soul. Mythically, Psyche as ‘soul’ is married to Eros as divine Love – not to Logos – and Eros flees from her when she attempts to cast light on him, to subject the unfathomable mystery of love to scrutiny. Likewise, psychology perversely attempts to subject soul to dissection and rational theory – and lunar luminescence to the harsh light of control and solar analysis. In place of ‘psycho-logy’, then, we need an Eros of psyche which nurtures, celebrates and honours soul as interwoven with the web of life – and earthed within the deep roots of the World Soul.”

When I initially read this post I felt swoony. Words are my thing. And when I read about myths, archetypes, metaphor, spirit, psychology I am in the zone. This kind of language. The language of metaphor and myth has a rapturous effect on me. I may not be laying in a bubble bath laden with rose petals and patchouli incense wafting through the breeze but I certainly feel like I am! These concepts carry me. They remove me if only for a moment from the banal, the practical, the grind, the soul-sucking work culture that is America. Naturally, when I read anyone who writes like this I feel an immediate kindredness and my heart opens to the profundity that they wish to offer. But, I am careful of HOW I listen. I quickly discern if the concept being relayed by aesthetic articulation is one that has positive or negative implications. So, I wish to backtrack here and examine the overall concept stated.

Essentially, she is trying to convey that Divine Love cannot be dissected, understood or…..received by anyone who operates in logos. In other words there can be no objectivity or scrutiny cast upon love or Divine Love without it forsaking you for ever questioning it. While I agree about her assertion of how little psychology has served the soul of humanity I do not believe that Divine Love cannot exist where there are questions. So, here is what I hear. If you have someone in your life that you romantically love or claims to romantically love you and you don’t understand their behavior to be in line with how you understand love then you can never question it because the moment you do you guarantee that love leaves you. We see in dating culture this is actually a crisis. The moment someone says they love you but you see they are constantly drooling over someone else’s beach body pics on social media then it’s a natural response to ask, “are you sure you love me because you seem pretty invested in making sure that beach body knows how you feel about their body.” Now, you cannot convince me that love that is real, especially Divine love, would be so outraged that you asked a question about its desires that it instantly disqualifies you from receiving love.

If something that calls itself love cannot be bothered by questioning then it has nothing to do with divinity I assure you. Divinity implies that regardless of the amount or frequency of questions it will only ever be able to withstand the inundation. I don’t care if there are a million questions everyday if it is divine, real, it will neither tire nor shrink into offense or become impatient. Now, does that mean I think that’s how a romantic relationship should be? Of course not. Why? Because if I were in a relationship like that I would eventually lose affection if for no other reason than it would be draining. But, divine love? I’m sorry but I don’t give a pass to divine love. Divinity is of a higher, more eternal and unending quality that isn’t moved or shaken by time or the tides of emotion. There is a difference between love and simple affection. Affection is movable, it’s fickle, and it should be. But, divine love….nah. Miss me with that. Everyone is worthy of divine love whether that comes in the form of a human or as the defining energetic form of your favorite deity/deities.

Be careful HOW you listen. Love is for you and real love will never entertain disappearing because you question it.

October 24, 2022 0

The Skin Of The Shaman

Listening has always been an intellectual and spiritual practice of mine. Whether it’s small talk, big talk, a ten seconds video clip I’ve always had a gift for reading between the lines and understanding intention. I am the nod and smile type so this likely doesn’t convey. But, then there is absolutely NOTHING about my outward appearance or mannerisms that remotely match my inner world. I’ll go in to that some other time. But, as a middle-aged, overweight, American white woman with a thick southern accent there is unfortunately no chance of anyone seeing me as I really am. I’m relegated to the circle of stereotypes like Honey Boo-Boo’s mom, or the Nanny Maw character on Tiktok. I ADORE Nanny Maw! She is epically hilarious and does a great job at poking fun at all of us southerners. You don’t really look at characters like this and think: “sage, deep wisdom, pointed, discerning, wisdom teacher, guru, intellectual, etc.” I do not look the part that I play in my current cosmic dance. And, it’s frustrating for me. Internet banter does nothing to alleviate the stereotype of my body type, race and nationality.

So, in getting out my message to the world I understand that from the jump I am disadvantaged in being heard the way I deserve to be heard. I will never walk on to a stage and have the immediate reaction from my audience that say a male Indian guru would have. The audience will always and forever be surprised that what comes out of me, from my mouth, my words is of the same essence and deep wisdom as say Sadhguru. Who is currently my favorite wisdom teacher. I encourage everyone to hear what he has to say. His wisdom is broadly applicable to all religious contexts as well as to those who are atheist. He’s a good thinker. Truly. My task is that first I have to clear my own path before I can even get my voice heard. That path is filled with the preconceived ideas of others about my disposition. My disposition. My appearance. My context. It all makes my thoughts more questionable than if they came from Sadhguru or some other well known guru.

A few years ago I became acquainted with an amazing yoga teacher. One of the biggest hearts I’ve ever known. So wise and kind and insightful. A trauma specialist. White and very much like me in the context of our nationality and skin color. She practices as a shaman. It never occurred to me to question what she called herself or knew herself as. She touched my life in a profound way and still does. She is without a doubt a shaman. In my current friend circle I am thankful to be surrounded by progressive thinkers, fiery activists who put everything they have in to defending and supporting and promoting the disenfranchised of my area. They open their mouths and succinctly hand racists and hypocrites their a** on a daily basis. They’re smart. They are educated. They are passionate. And they have seemingly endless energy to argue. Words matter. Am I right? This is one reason I write the way I do is because to me words are everything. Especially in the absence of forethought and consideration. In spite of my admiration and generally on-board nature with the message of their activism I felt a bit disappointed and disillusioned by a recent post one made about shamanism. Basically he said, “unless your skin is brown or black it is an insult to call yourself a shaman and if you are white and calling yourself a shaman then you are actively participating in cultural appropriation.” That is a huge and entirely faulty blanket statement. Here’s why.

Many shamanic cultures believe in reincarnation. There are two schools of understanding on reincarnation. One is that once a body dies and the soul is disconnected from its bodily form then the entirety of that soul gets recycled and put into another container whether it’s a human body or animal body. The other (which is the one that I subscribe to) holds that since soul has no shape then when it is detached from the solid energetic form that we know as body, the energy is no longer bound to a singular body. It disburses and spreads out and degrades. It is made up of ribbons or strings of energy. Once those ribbons of energy are loosed from the body many of them will join themselves to other stronger energy forms. In other words the spirit when disbursed it expands until it breaks off into pieces. These then find their way into other bodily forms. So, if you believe that an ancestor reincarnated into your new baby it’s more likely that part of that ancestor did but not the entirety of their previous energetic soul form. For those unfamiliar with the science of energy it may be good to state here that the first law of thermodynamics is that “energy cannot be created or destroyed it can only be changed from one form into another.” Yes, you can be a Christian and believe in reincarnation. The early church never had a qualm with the concept of reincarnation but due to power dynamics and edits to the Bible to force it to fit into Roman thought we lost the richness of that mystic component of our faith. At any rate, the point that was lost upon my friends is that if shamans believe in reincarnation and that concept is a major part of the society that they operate in then it follows that those shamans understood that once they left their own bodies they very well could come back in another human body that may or may not have resemblance or relativity to the culture that they were healing. Words matter because they shape how we are seen and understood and how our gifts are received. So, in my opinion this did a horrible disservice to any seekers who saw that post. Plus, the shamans of 2022, regardless of their cultural context cannot look like the shamans of earlier centuries. Why should they? Why should we? If the modern age brings us anything it is the understanding that modernity and mysticism can coexist. It’s about the message. It’s about the medicine. Not the body that it comes from.

October 24, 2022 0

Justice And Poverty: True Justice Has No Need For Charity

Cozett Contemplates justice. It’s not about politics. It’s about justice. It’s about survival. It’s about pushing back the BS and being unapologetic.

Over the last few days I’ve felt impressed to explore my own sense and understanding of justice. The delivery of justice…the reception of justice is intricately tied to our mental health.

Anytime power is taken away from us…

Anytime our boundaries are violated…

Anytime our survival is threatened due to political injustices that never touch the wealthy….

It negatively impacts our mental health. So what happens then?

1. We are told to cope “better”

2. We are told to manage our pennies “better”

3. We are told to stop buying Starbucks coffee (poor people don’t have luxuries to sacrifice like days on the lake, or cut down on vacations, etc.)

4. We go to counseling because we’ve lost our sense of motivation or depression that we just can’t beat and so the message then is, “well you just need to work thru “your” issues

5. Then when all else fails we turn to SSRIs and other medications to help us feel more numb (aka stable).

When all the while it’s not us…it really is…them.

Stress is a killer. Another real estate agent told me earlier today that 4 people in their 40s at her office and in perfectly good health dropped dead…unexpectedly. And it was during their sleep, on vacation, showering, and relaxing.

If you are a sufferer of anxiety, PTSD then you know that’s when anxiety and panic hits.

Having money, earning money, making money…should not be so stressful to the point it kills you. Period. And, no we don’t need counseling, pills, a sabbatical (we can’t afford that anyway), to cope with the economy and stress. We need money. Period.

We need equality when it comes to our most basic survival needs.

I want to see a radical, revolutionary push back to the government and society that perpetuates a culture that wears stress and busy-ness as a badge.

Will you join me?

This isn’t about politics. It’s about justice. And those 2 things have a large chasm in between them.

August 16, 2022 0

Self-Inquiry And Justice: What Can It Mean?

During meditation I felt prompted to do some self-inquiry. But, I really couldn’t think of what to ask myself. I felt I should sit in stillness and allow a question to come to me. “What is the strongest thing inside me?”

I actually felt a bit startled because it came out of nowhere and hasn’t been a subject I’ve explored thus far.

I honestly felt a tiny tiny bit of nervousness and awkwardness at the thought of asking myself this question. Kind of afraid of the answer to be honest.

But, after a few moments…I did just that. I allowed myself to feel the nervousness while remaining courageously open to whatever answers came up in me.

And to my surprise? This was my answer:

“My sense of justice.”

I have just experienced so much personal growth and thought perhaps there would be a bit of a lull between this growth streak and the next…but I guess not.

I truly sense with ALL of my being…a MAJOR shift is happening for me. I’ve felt it coming for so long but now there’s this feeling of, “an arrival vibe.”

If I was going by sight or my current experience there is zero way I would allow myself to feel….the anticipation of something potentially great building.

Who knows. Maybe just daydreaming. But, in this moment I choose to go with my gut. This time I’m aligning with my own intuition rather than counting myself out or discounting myself.

I’m about to discover and uncover what this means in my life. It’s gonna be interesting because as of right now, off the top-of-my-head, I got nothing.

My sense of justice is about to receive a major awakening. I think I’m about to see some things differently or at least better.

What about you? Any new revelations or discoveries you’ve made about yourself recently? If so, how do you feel about it?

August 16, 2022 0

Authentic…Unto Death

Sitting here in the dark, dimly lit bedroom I’ll soon never sleep in again. I’ve spent the last 20 minutes sitting with my chunky headphones on listening to, “Return to Innocence” by Enigma on repeat and watching Talia sleep. I’m still processing the last 24 hours when she became suddenly blind. If the past 3 years have taught me anything it is to slow down and spend prolonged time taking in the people, animals, and good memories made.

I stink, I’m sweaty and not even gonna shower before I fall asleep. But, my Talia…she’s blind. And, now I finally realize and regret my own blindness. I’ve allowed everything and everyone to get in the way of me living my life in a more rooted way. A more earthy way. That’s all we really have you know?

A few years ago I read a web article about pet euthanasia. The majority of pets who experience euthanasia do so in the company of the techs and vet and staff because it’s so hurtful to see your fur baby/child to transition in front of you. And, that was absolutely my mindset. But, a few techs and vets weighed in and offered an alternative perspective on pet euthanasia.   They all stated that while they completely understand why pet owners don’t want to be there to witness the event and that they will always respect people’s grief process, they long to see more pet owners be present. Pets have a very small circle of family and friends. In the short span of their lives they will live in a home with family and friends who come and go. So they may only know maybe 10 people give or take for their entire lives. They never get a break from us, haha. But, the thing is they never feel smothered and if it was possible they would stay within our shadow and by our sides every single second for a millenia. Their love and devotion is bottomless, untiring, ever cheerful, ever patient, ever thrilled to hear our voice, see our face, smell our scent. Whether it’s the first time they sniff you or the millionth time their enthusiasm never diminishes or fades, it only brings their hearts that much closer to ours.   They only ever love us more every day they’re alive.

When I read this a light went off. Talia loves me with everything in her. You can literally feel her love energy. And while I am her #1 favorite human she’s like this about any human she’s ever met. Instantly warm, curious, and gentle hoping for some affection and a new friendship. She has never been scared of anything. Loud sounds, thunder storms, shrieks of little ones playing or crying.

In fact when it thunderstorms sometimes she and I go out on the porch and I sit her in my lap and we watch the lightning and feel the rain spray in gently and coolly upon our bodies and faces. When it lightnings I can see the spray on her fur and it looks like dew.

She intently looked up at the sky and followed the lightning streaks with her eyes. Sniffing the wind occasionally for some wild scents. Never flinching, squirming, or tense. Relaxed, intrigued, longing to see what it would feel like up in the sky above her. She is such a brave old girl. Car rides? She loves them. Going for a walk on a leash? Yes, please.

My constant companion whom has shown me much greater and deeper love than the majority of humans who have been in my life.

Because of this I resolved that when the day comes if I am able to have any forewarning of her passing I will hold her in my arms and sing her her favorite lullabys. I’ve reworded I don’t know how many songs to include her name and take her beautiful gentle life into adventure stories, sleepy time songs, and of course my doting love songs over my precious cat. I will stay by her side just like she has mine. My arms, hands, scent and voice, touch, body warmth and love….as much love as any human could ever possibly hold…my love for her will be the last experience she has here. She never left my side and I’ll never leave hers either. Ever. I’ll be holding her and kissing her little knobby head and singing to her until she’s in the arms of the angels.

Her gentleness is like her own cottony fur. So tender and soft you can hardly even feel it touching your skin. She’s so tiny. At the time of this writing she weighs about 6 lbs. She’s a bit underweight even though she’s small.   I’m not entirely sure what breeds she’s made from but she has a tortoise siamese colored coat and deep, dark blue eyes (that now look a bit purple in her blindness). And she’s very short, low to the ground, haha. And her little tail is short. She’s built like a munchkin but has the coat and eyes of a Siamese.

Her little multi-colored paws look like they are ringed in caramel. And she loves belly rubs. And 99% of the time doesn’t attack my hand. That 1% though….she’s got a streak. I guess if she didn’t she wouldn’t have been able to put up with mine and Margo Holder s crap all these years, hahaha. Margo often says that Talia is her spirit animal and believe me when I say, she is not wrong.

At any rate, beyond all of this the last 24 hours of her going suddenly completely blind has opened my eyes to something I’ve decided I want to do that will likely seem odd to more people than not. But, that’s how I roll anyway.

I have deep regrets about not spending as much time with my family and friends as I’d like to. I’ve allowed life to get in the way. And if I allow life to be a stumbling block…what will that mean at death?

For many years now I’ve casually researched death doulas. Most people don’t even know what a doula is much less a death doula. Now, I’m not saying I want to be or am going to be a death doula by profession. But, there are some facets of their work that I am going to implement where it’s appropriate and of course permissible.

I have decided that I want my heart to break wide open and hold my family and friends in my arms as they transition so that it is my hands, my arms, my energy, my truest and deepest love for them to be what they are enveloped in as they transition.

I’ve always been a lover. A hugger…to the point of extreme and strange awkwardness.

But, how can I apologize for that? And, for what reason should I reign it in? Covid-19 wiped millions of people off this planet in the blink of an eye comparatively speaking. And, not just Covid, but wars, disasters, political rhetoric that has risen to the point that brother is against brother. I long for the day to see field upon field joined to pastures and woodlands filled with a great many more plowshares. As it is, sheaths clamor and tremble longing for the bloodied blades to return again for fear of being found guilty before God as being accomplices.

Blood is crying out from the ground but we can’t hear it because the main stream has become the main scream and their volume has driven us to deafness. Our ears dull and listening unskilled. Our mouths boastful, arrogant and insisting on our own rights, or beliefs to be looked at as the pinnacle of truth even if it means the death of another human who doesn’t agree.

No. This world isn’t for me. So, from this point forward I’m going my own way. I’m about to do everything in my life the weirdest and most unconventional way as possible.

Life is valuable. It is precious. Sacred. Holy in its own right. How could I betray it by living anything less than 1000% authentically to who I am, to what my level and intensity of love is like, to cleave to my own philosophies formed circumspectly and carefully? How could I ever be ok with exchanging even the weirdest things about me in lieu of making myself more acceptable?   Life is too short for that. It’s too brilliantly faceted for that. I am committed to being my different self no matter what that looks like or who it may trouble.   Doing death differently…addressing the deeper, intangible components of dying and watching life transform as its vehicle weakens…is when you know you’re a catalyst and have just changed your own trajectory. Forever. I will never be the same after these last 3 years and it took my dear Talia’s blindness to open my eyes to the truth that it is in fact how life should be lived so that when we settle into the arms of death we will embrace it regretless and with the sense of an old dear friend who has come to pay a visit.

I am different. Unto death.

My desire is to be the most open, accepting, loving, heart-centered person you know.   And, if I can be that then don’t thank me or give me any accolades. Thank Margo Holder, my mamaw, my nieces and nephews, my parents, my brothers, and my intimate friends. Because it is them who have shaped me and shown me how weird love is, how unconditional it can feel, and the powerful relief it offers when you’re in the worst pain of your life. We aren’t perfect. None of us are. And far be it from me to close my mind and heart to this human experience.

We are all walking miracles. Our pets included.

August 13, 2022 0

Silent Retreat Please

As I’m lying here with heavy eyes I find myself longing to escape to some prolonged silent retreat. It’s a soul’s longing. Deep. Not quite guttural but definitely gritty.

At this time I feel like I want to take a solid 90 days in silence. No TV, phone, etc. Just me and the void. I feel like unless I can get into this kind of setting I’m always going to feel void on the inside. Like I have to create a larger more spacious void outside of the smaller void that is within me. It seems a larger and exterior void would be able to absorb the void within me…and essentially rid me of it that I might be truly whole for the first time in my life.

I am so much stronger than I give myself credit for. But, it’s because I’ve been in either 1 of 2 states nearly the entirety of my life thus far. 1. Panic 2. Numbness. Fluctuating between the two. The strain to be in such constant states while fighting with everything you have on the inside to stop feeling the panic and then admonishing myself for being numb. Ugh. Like my soul was acidic.

I just feel this need to detach and reflect and just be quiet. For a very long time.

Love,

Cozett

August 11, 2022 0

Cozett’s Crossroads

I have come to a major crossroads in my life. Typically my writing is a bit more metaphoric and maybe verbose. But, this. This is a thought dump.

I’m to a place where I need to discover what can make my life enjoyable outside of spirituality and sexuality. Those two things have been basically who I am my entire life. I’ve always loved, eat, slept, breathed, drank and spent thousands upon thousands of dollars into learning more about both. These two facets of most people’s lives even though so common are so much more energetically complex than the majority of people care to think about.

But, it’s these two things that have caused me the most pain, confusion, division, and mental health issues for me. I’m not going to go into the reasons why as the explanations are lengthy. But, will touch on them lightly as necessary to make this entry as coherent and cohesive as possible.

An admittance of one of my major flaws is that unless a subject, experience, encounter, or conversation is “deep” then it leaves me feeling empty and disconnected. Obviously, it’s too intense to be that way all the time for most people and maybe that’s why fatigue is an issue for me.

At any rate, I am here trying to reimagine my life sans spirituality and sans romantic/sexual interactions. I really don’t know who I am apart from these two things. So, I guess that means I’m getting ready to mourn the parts of myself that I always hoped would be the parts to experience the depth and breadth and richness this planet can offer the most.

I’ve never been a parent so I don’t have kids that I have to live for. That’s a big thing for most people. I have two cats that are the best pets ever so that brings me a great deal of comfort and joy. The type of work that I love to do I can’t do due to lack of education and competition. So, I don’t love my job.

Travel. I guess maybe that’s the next big thing for me? We shall see. But, even that has always held a spiritual quality for me. I suppose I could shift it to where I could feel it more poetically than spiritually.

More later.

Cheers,

Cozett Dunn

August 4, 2022 0

O Istanbul

As the sun went down and the moon drifted high

It occurred to me the end is nigh

The end of frustration and vexation and being stamped down

The end of feeling like I’m about to drown

My breakthrough came like a thief in the night

Gathering me as the good and stealing me from my plight

I was whisked away to a Turkish wonderland

The place where I always take my ancient stand

In the valley of the kings the queens come and submit

We rise as a group and the men become fit

There is a divine order God wishes to bring

One where the martyred women sing

Of their daughters glories and freedom stories

When Mother Cozett came with a soaking rain

Religion turned to reason

The reason changed the season

And immediately the lions laid with the lambs

Peace, peace she spoke

As her poetic bread was broke

Hardened hearts of willful violence

Became transformed in the silence

From the least to the greatest they all sat and listened

As mama Cozett’s words formed like Dew and glistened

Shimmering brown skin soaking in apothecary

My words became their sanctuary

Grace to the mountains and peace to the Golden Horn

Never again will battle rend us forlorn

The time is now and it’s about you and me

The time is now see the words of God upon the sea?

In all shapes and sizes and forms

Colors and facets that break the norms

A new day has dawned it arrives expeditiously

My poetry ushered it in auspiciously

Let us sit round the fire of the Bosphorous

Let’s ingest wisdom until we’re prosperous

I’ll feast with you till the daylight dawns

Wash your feet under the stars while the prideful yawns

Our way is a new way a higher way

We can lead together on the highway

A mass Exodus due to system disapproval

Warrants that the good and fat of the land issue reproval

Condemnation belongs to those who kick the goads

Like the wild ass who takes the resistance roads

There is a better way and I’ll show you why

But first let’s sit and look at the sky

October 6, 2021 0

Serpentine Shadows: The Cunningness of Healing

Snakes. They’re following me around everywhere. It’s uncomfortable. They’re in my dreams. They’re in my visions. A huge one was in my yard near the path to get into my house. And now wondering around through some of my old blog posts I came across a journal entry where I was firmly met and firmly decided to sit with the imagery of the serpent. Why are snakes so ubiquitous for me? I get the sense that serpent is an important part of my journey. I’m gonna ramble a bit here and then below I’ve included that journal entry for your reading pleasure 🙂

I’ve had an uptick in snake dreams lately. And a few visions of snakes. It still doesn’t fail that my initial emotion upon seeing a serpent is one of discomfort. I’ve found that the first thing I wonder about when I see a snake is question if I’m healthy. It’s like a default emotion. I’m as determined as ever to work through this because I feel there are major implications for my perception of this ancient symbol. This archetype. Yesterday morning I had a vivid dream. In this dream I was interacting with my family in my energetic form. I had passed on. I saw the potential scenario of my death and my instructions and impressions to my cousin about how I wanted things handled after my death. It wasn’t until I woke up that I realized that in my dream I was in fact in spirit form and not earthly form. As I rolled over in the warm softness of my blanket I went into a vision. I was sitting on my porch and a snake had crawled up my chair and bit me on my left wrist. It latched hard. I’m telling you its gums were pressed onto my skin. It had gone deep. Of course I jerked my arm and was startled but perhaps not as much as I would have been in real life. The expression on my face conveyed I experienced more of a playful “ouch” than a potentially life-threatening venom injection. The vision was brief as they usually are. It bothered me. I had the nagging question, “why do I keep dreaming about and seeing snakes??” in the back of my mind all day long. It colored everything I did. Why do I keep being brought back to this specific symbol? I finally decided to get still and allow my subconscious to project what it wanted to into my stream of active thoughts. The word, “healer” came into my thoughts. After this, a cascade of new understanding began to inundate me. I could feel these thoughts in different parts of my own body. Those sensations were further confirmation to me of the message of the snake. Shall we go back to Moses? Yes. And since I am the one taking you back to him I’m going to introduce you to some new titles for him that you may not have thought of or be comfortable with. Especially if you share my context as a person in the Bible belt of the United States.

Moses. Shaman to the Hebrews. Medicine man of mysterium. Desert father. Seer. Alchemist. Social justice warrior. Progressive. Empath. Mystic. Oracle. Nomad. I’m going to dive into all of these titles at some point. But for now I want to explore Moses the Shaman to the Hebrews.

In the Bible, Numbers 21:6-9, “Then YHWH sent fiery (burning) serpents among the people; and they bit the people, and many Israelites died. So the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against YHWH and against you; pray to YHWH, so that He will remove the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. Then YHWH said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent [of bronze] and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten will live when he looks at it.” So Moses made a serpent of bronze and put it on the pole, and it happened that if a serpent had bitten any man, when looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.”

Here are my takeaways from this passage. Moses’ method of healing was very much shamanistic in that he interacted with YHWH (essentially Spirit) and brought back information from that realm in to the physical in order to heal people. And, in true shaman form, Moses’ presented a method of healing that would force anyone who wanted to survive to look upon the very thing that had made them sick and threatened their lives. Talk about shadow work!!

My call is to look upon the threats and alchemize them to the healing opportunity they offer. To behold them and not to look away or be subject to knee-jerk reactions or act as though I have some obligation to fear them by virtue of what they are.

Here is my journal entry from January 6th 2020: (I have made much progress and that feels so good right now).

This evening in my meditation I found myself gently rolling my head. Clockwise, then counter clockwise. My mind was clear. The movement felt good for my tense neck and shoulders. There were a few moments that as I moved, my movements reminded me of a snake. In fact, when it first occurred to me, the word, “serpent” popped into my head. Creepy right?? But, what if it’s not creepy at all?

I began to journal. Honestly, I wanted to push the notion of identification with a serpent out of my head and focus on other things. I’ve been thinking lately about the concept of dualistic thinking. This box so many of us operate in. It’s a framework that says life is “us vs them” with comfort coming from feeling like one is a part of an inner circle. Once that is sensed their is a deceptive reassurance that one’s thoughts are all correct and that person feels justified and vindicated in thinking those outside are wrong.

My context: I am a white, middle-aged, southeastern American woman born in a small town and into a southern American Christian world. So, the value I ascribe to certain symbols are different than say a middle-eastern man or south African woman. If you share my context you will likely have already picked up on and experienced a sense of discomfort or unease or morbid curiosity when you saw the title of this blog and the reference of identifying with a serpent. Why? Because in my culture that is colored by the Christian Bible and the fact that we claim a savior who was Jewish our minds immediately refer to the negative connotations of the serpent in the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation the snake is given a bad rap. Really bad. In fact its image often represents Satan. The ultimate adversary of God and tormentor of humankind. In Genesis there is a prophecy that the offspring of Eve will bruise or crush the head of the serpent. We understand that offspring to be Jesus Christ and the serpent the devil. Only twice in scripture is the serpent presented in positive light. In Genesis the serpent is called, “more crafty, intelligent, cunning than any beast” and again while the children of Israel were wandering in the desert looking for the promised land there is an instance where “fiery serpents” entered the camps and killed and made sick many people. In order for them to be healed from this attack they were instructed to look upon the image of a serpent that had been crafted from brass. Needless to say I grabbed onto the positive symbology. More importantly…I allowed my mind to explore the biological characteristics of snakes. I’m very blessed to have done so and here’s why:

Growth-when it comes to growth in humans or animals the visual of that is so subtle you really can’t see it happening. Except when it comes snakes. The growth of a snake involves shedding it’s skin and that is something everyone can see. Can you imagine your skin coming off every time you have a revelation, make a good choice, learn something new or celebrate another birthday? Awkward. Scary looking. Startling. Right? Additionally, it puts the snake in a very vulnerable position. But growth spurts do that to us too right? It usually isn’t pretty when we shed old ideals, behaviors, patterns, etc.

Right before the serpent enters it’s first scene in the Bible where it is cursed for cajoling the woman into eating forbidden fruit that her eyes may be opened to the reality of evil as well as good, it receives a rave review. It is said to be the most crafty and intelligent and cunning animal elevating it’s intelligence above all other beasts. To me this is very moving. My childhood and adolescence held a running theme where my intelligence was constantly questioned. When I got in trouble the first words I heard from my grandfather was, “stupid, silly damn thing.” My grandmother’s words were a little less harsh. She would immediately say something to the effect of, “well you should have KNOWN better.” Because all kids come automatically knowing right? And finally during the times when my mother orbited my life and we fought she would always say, “you’re not even old enough to have an opinion. You have no idea.” Now as an adult I find myself in a pursuit to be one of the greatest minds in history. Yeah, I know. My ability to “correctly” perceive and righteously act has hijacked the relaxation and fun and ignorant bliss I could have experienced thus far. I developed this obsessive umpire in my mind. Every moment of everyday I have discovered that I am judging each moment as either good or bad and I’ve robbed myself of simply being.

Had I never known this context I have found myself in, a white, southern Christian woman, I may have been conditioned and introduced to the imagery of the snake as the epitome of wisdom, a master of growth, a symbol of success, a representation of healthy sexuality, an expert hunter.

As I allowed my mind to open to these truths and additional meanings I began to feel a sense of pride rather than unease. I am…wise. I am one who is always growing and requiring more of myself and determined to stretch. I aspire to be a symbol of success, one with healthy sexuality and an expert hunter or provider for myself. I am serpent-like. My nimble movement inspires.

As a psychology student, an empathic person and aspiring professional counselor it is important to me to be relatable. I want people to feel open to me. And, I feel like one of the greatest medicines or gifts I can offer to myself…is healing my symbology. I want to take all the disowned and shamed symbols and revive them. I want to give them new meaning and the place of honor they deserve. On a practical level I want to not immediately have a negative connotation of someone who perhaps loves snakes or brings up dreams about morphing into a snake in their dreams during a counseling session. Healing my “seeing” better ensures my ability to be an agent of healing in the lives of others.

This year I have plans of shedding life-long patterns. And, I’m going to be honest and warn you. If you know me well, if you follow me on social media there are going to be times my shedding is visible. And, that may look weird or make you uncomfortable. But, I am determined to stretch. I am determined to enjoy the feel of a new skin. One that is more pliable and more suited to the joys of experiencing growth.

So, starting off 2020 I’ve healed at least one symbol and made new room in my mind and heart to better understand the world around me.

I am serpent. And, I’m healing my symbology.

August 20, 2021 0

King Mentality

These are truly the days of dreams and visions for me. This is yet another middle of the night post. Creativity seems to have saturated every cell of my body. When I’m awake I’m stewing on manifesting my wildest dreams. When I’m asleep I have vivid and highly metaphorical dreams.

And in the liminality of the 3 to 6 am time period I am inundated with vision.

So…what is Cozett contemplating at 4:19 am on a Tuesday morning? The power and beauty of healthy masculinity. And how we can heal our world through the vehicle of it.

The words, “king mentality” kept rolling around in my thoughts so I began to ponder on what it could mean. What the implications are of such a mentality, what it looks like, and how it can be extracted from centuries of toxic masculinity and off the rails patriarchy. Naturally, “queen mentality” is the balancer of these mindsets and I will get to that soon.

But right now I have a grand idea. There are so many books in me. This concept is one of them. I feel it’s crucial for our forward movement as a global society. So with that said please pray that I will have the energy, patience and commitment to see this project through to publishing? It’s important. I promise.

All of humanity looks to its past examples of heralded leaders to influence its future course. It had occurred to me that men who are alive in 2021 and reading this are in a unique and exceptional position at this point in the human race. There are golden opportunities for men in 2021 that’s never been available to them until now. Believe it or not if you are a masculine…I truly believe you are alive and reading this for a very special reason and purpose. You were meant to see this post. Your inner battle cry has been heard. Your dreams are important. Your positive impact can be immeasurable. You are so needed. Needed but also free. Free to reign like the king you are IF you recognize what’s being drawn out of the depths of who you are. You’re being summoned to greatness. Not like the greatness of the past. Not like the greatness of Nebuchadnezzar, or Tutankhamun, or King James, or John Wayne, etc.

No. 2020 served us all up something that will have lasting implications for many lifetimes after this blog is posted and my book is (hopefully) published.

There is not one human life on the earth that hasn’t been touched by the Covid-19 pandemic. Whether you got sick, know someone who did, mourned someone who died from it…or never got sick, never knew anyone who did and never knew of anyone who died from it and was just irritated by the inconvenience and media coverage of it. It has affected us all at some level. This should be a common ground for us all. So don’t lose sight of the value of other humans who wave to you from the other end of the spectrum.

So where am I going with all of this? This post is a kick-off of sorts for some research I’m going to undertake to interview men from every country of the world. I am blessed to have an international readership and YouTube community. I’m so grateful that nearly every single day I am having interesting, if brief, interactions with people from dozens of different countries, religions, and socio-economic contexts. I talk with people who belong to tribes, live in villages, live in remote places, and have wildly different opinions and world views from my own.

And, I LOVE the tension that is held between my own values and opinions and those of the people who have such different views. You really can enjoy the company and pressure that sometimes comes from such diversity. The secret to the thrill and enjoyment of such company is that you each share 2 core values. #1. Love of humanity. #2. An open mind that isn’t hostile to being challenged. In other words an ego that is in check. If you share just these 2 things…you can enjoy the company of any human regardless of differences. Talk about opening up new worlds right?? An incredibly rich opportunity to see the world through someone else’s eyes and hear the heartbeat of the earth with someone else’s ears. To feel perceive and sense with a skin other than your own. Is that not exciting??

On July 27th 2021 I am eager to discover who the kings of the 3rd millenium are. They do not rule like their forefathers did.

If you’re familiar with the term, “divine feminine” you probably understand that after thousands of years of masculine rule we have and are shifting into the era of the divine feminine. The pendulum has swung and the future is female. It’s not just a nifty feminist soundbite. It’s the natural progression of the course of humanity. I am stoked to be a woman pioneering in this age. And because I recognize it I want to make sure I do it right so I can be the trailblazer that this wild and wonderful Universe has called me to be.

I want to be a divine feminine who helps set the stage for a better society for women and girls. But in wisdom I perceive this can’t be done by “stripping men of their power and puking in the face of patriarchy.” (As much as I have wanted to at times, admittedly.) No. The wise woman is a healer. And healers are seers of sorts. They can perceive wounds that others can’t. They can see the wounds of people who don’t even know they carry them. That is one thing that the masculine era taught us. To disconnect from our pain. Because pain is weakness and weakness is vulnerability and vulnerability does not perpetuate the human race.

So how can I best serve women and girls and the feminine collective? I can do this by reaching out to the masculine collective and encourage them to come up higher. I mean that’s one of the largest roots of societal problems around the world right? The majority of ALL violence is committed by men. Rapes, wars, murders, oppression, religious domination, originated and have been perpetuated largely by men. All of those things are symptoms. Not that men are bad. Not that patriarchy is by nature toxic. No. Patriarchy is fatherhood. Good fathers are indeed like shepherds. Protectors. Nurturers. We’ve been given a bad example. We have been living for thousands of centuries with toxic masculinity. But it only exists because of wounds and to some degree the early drives to survive and escape dinosaurs and such.

So this is one of my plans to make the world a better place. I want to hear from YOU.

What in your mind is a king?

What in your mind defines healthy masculinity?

Who have been positive masculine examples in your life? Whether personally or perhaps some public figure.

As we dance into the feminine era and tap in to all the mysterious and esoteric wisdom, and healing it offers…I still wanna hear it…for the boy…(Song: Let’s hear it for the boy by Deniece Williams.)

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July 27, 2021 0