The Haunted House or The Guest House (of the mind)
In dreams and in literature, houses often symbolize the psyche; with their hidden dungeons, locked doors, and bright upstairs windows - there is much here to draw upon. In my recent work with clients, dreams and talk of houses and of home continue emerge, bringing useful metaphorical substance to our work. Two of my favourite poets use the house to explore how we can experience and work with our internal world:
The Haunted Room in the Mind by John O’Donohue (from his book Eternal Echoes)
“In Ireland there are many stories of haunted houses. There may be a room in which one senses a presence or hears footsteps or a strange voice. Such haunted places remain uninhabited. People are afraid to go there. The place is forsaken and left to deepen even further into the shadow of itself. The way you think about your life can turn your soul into a haunted room. You are afraid to risk going in there anymore. Your fantasy peoples this room of the heart with sad presences which ultimately become disturbing and sinister. The haunted room in the mind installs a lonesomeness at the heart of your life. It would be devastating in the autumn of your life to look back and recognize that you had created a series of haunted rooms in your heart. Fear and negativity are immense forces which constantly tussle with us. They long to turn the mansions of the soul into a totally haunted house. These are the living conditions for which fear and negativity long, and in which they thrive. We were sent here to live life to the full. When you manage to be generous in your passion and vulnerability, life always comes to bless you. Had you but the courage to acknowledge the haunted inner room, turn the key, and enter, you would encounter nothing strange or sinister there. You would meet some vital self of yours that you had banished during a time of pain or difficulty. Sometimes, when life squeezes you into lonely crevices, you may have to decide between survival or breaking apart. At such times, you can be harsh with yourself and settle to be someone other than who you really long to be. At such a time, you can do nothing else; you have to survive. But your soul always remains faithful to your longing to become who you really are. The banished self from an earlier time of life remains within you waiting to be released and integrated. The soul has its own logic of loyalty and concealment. Ironically, it is usually in its most awkward rooms that the special blessings and healing are locked away.”
The Guest House by Rumi
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
The process of psychological growth, of becoming more conscious, may require you to renovate your haunted house. To courageously enter the hidden cobwebbed rooms and begin to clear out the dust. Who knows, you may find hidden treasures you had completely lost track of. But entering haunted houses can be overwhelming when you are on your own, sometimes it requires a companion. This is where psychotherapy comes in. Maybe we bring a small flashlight at first and peek around a few corners. Over time, we find a spotlight and then a back-up generator. Maybe we discover a whole hidden floor of rooms to entertain all of your new guests.
