The Awakening

Once upon a time there was a tigress who was about to give birth. One day when she was out hunting she came upon a herd of goats. She gave chase, and even in her condition, managed to kill one of them, but the stress of the chase forced her into labour, and she died as she gave birth to a male cub. The goats, who had run away, returned when they sensed that the danger was over. Approaching the dead tigress, they discovered the newborn cub and adopted him into their herd.

The tiger cub grew up among the goats believing he, too, was a goat. He bleated as well as he could, he smelled like a goat, and ate only vegetation; in every respect he behaved like a goat. Yet within him beat the heart of a tiger.

All went well until the day that an older tiger approached the goat herd and attacked and killed one of the goats. The rest of the goats ran away as soon as they saw the old tiger, but our tiger/goat saw no reason to run away, of course, as he sensed no danger. The old tiger did not know what to make of this full-grown tiger who smelled like a goat, bleated like a goat, and in every other way acted like a goat. Not particularly sympathetic, the old tiger grabbed the young one by the scruff of the neck, dragged him to a nearby creek, and showed him his reflection in the water. But the young one was unimpressed with his own reflection; it meant nothing to him and he failed to see his similarity to the old tiger.

Frustrated by his lack of comprehension, the old tiger dragged the young one back to the place where he had made his kill. There he ripped a piece of meat from the dead goat and shoved it into the mouth of our young friend. 

We can well imagine the young tiger’s shock and consternation. At first he gagged and tried spitting out the raw flesh, but the old tiger was determined to show the young one who he was, so he made sure the cub swallowed this new food, and this time there was a change. 

Our young tiger now allowed himself to taste the raw flesh and the warm blood, and he ate this piece with gusto. When he finished chewing, the young tiger stretched, and then for the first time in his young life, he let out a powerful roar – the roar of a jungle cat. Then the two tigers disappeared together into the forest. 

Heinrich Zimmer tells this story in the opening of his book, The Philosophy of India, and calls the young tiger’s roar the “roar of awakening”. This “roar of awakening” is the discovery that we are more than we think we are. It is the discovery that we have taken on identities that incorrectly or inadequately express our essential being. It is as though we awaken from the dream, look around, and become aware of a totally different reality.

Like the tiger/goat, we are all raised in cultures and families where we are trained to think, feel, and see in specific, predetermined ways. This is our “reality”. The Voice Dialogue method is a powerful technique that allows you to give voice to your own deep “roar of awakening”, and discover, or recover the wealth of your unexplored selves.

* excerpted and adapted from the prologue of Embracing Ourselves: The Voice Dialogue Manual by Hal & Sidra Stone 1989


The Psychology of Selves

The Voice Dialogue method introduces you to your inner family, the voices or sub-personalities that live within you. Examples of inner voices:

Voice Dialogue allows us to become aware of our different sub-personalities and thereby live more in harmony with others and ourselves.

The Voice Dialogue method is a communication tool that can be integrated into any process of personal growth.  It is used by a wide range of therapists, consciousness teachers, and non-professionals of different orientations in the context of their work or in their personal life.  Using this method is a process of self-discovery. 

“Life becomes a journey, an adventure into unknown waters. Adversaries, conflict and illness become teachers.  Sleep becomes a time of magical exploration.  Relationships transform.”  - Hal Stone, Ph.D.

Voice Dialogue:

• Teaches you to honor all your selves
• Shows new ways to deal with old patterns
• Restores the natural flows of creativity
• Enhances your intimate relationships

While the Psychology of Selves is as old as Freud (id, ego, superego), the Voice Dialogue method is a relatively new technique for physically and energetically separating the selves out from the ego.

Developed by Dr. Hal Stone and his wife Dr. Sidra Stone, it is a blending of a number of different therapeutic systems: Gestalt, Jungian, Psychosynthesis, T.A., and psychodrama.

Some crucial differences however are that in Voice Dialogue:

• The selves talk directly to the facilitator, not to each other
• Sessions are process oriented rather than resolution oriented
• The ultimate goal is the development of an Aware Ego, meaning one is no longer overly identified with certain selves, and split from others.  This is an ego that embraces all the selves.

Individual sessions will start in October 2009.  Session rates are $100 plus tax for 90 minutes.