Stranger Things

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It is with some hesitation that I wish to evoke the hit Netflix series, Stranger Things. What I want to avoid is reducing the wildly creative Spielberg homage into a trite psychological metaphor. And yet, I cannot ignore the fact that beneath the placid — and sometime tumultuous — surface of our lives exists another dimension.

This is not primarily a dimension of nightmarish creatures, although those may lurk there too. Nor is it something we need to destroy in order to rescue ourselves and our loved ones from frightening monsters.

Rather it is that subterranean part of each of us from which what is novel and unknown comes. Without this dimension, I think, life would eventually become boring and two-dimensional, holding no more surprise.

Sometimes we seek this dimension by exploring other geographic landscapes. Study abroad experiences and other forms of travel have a way shaking our self-images and fixed ideas about the world loose from their moorings.

At other times, we may travel inward through art, meditation, prayer, dream work, shamanic practices or therapy. By intentionally plumbing inner landscapes we can find buried treasure and come face to face with what is new and vitally alive.

A cautionary note is warranted here. By leaving the safety of the well-lit parts of our lives, we may indeed encounter psychological demagorgons. However, by facing them, they do not grow; rather, over time, they shrink in size. Someone once said that we are being chased in our nightmares precisely because we are running away. If we turn around and face what is chasing us, both we and what we fear are transformed.

If your life is feeling a bit too comfortable or stale, here are further thoughts on how to access and make good use of the other dimension:

 

  • Regularly find moments to slow down and listen to the voice that calls to you from your deepest self. This voice can help you remove the clutter from your life in order to make room for something new.
  • Seek out experiences that take you out of your current habits and routines. Consider taking up a new hobby or a new sport, joining a club, getting out into nature or visiting a place you’ve never been to before.
  • Give yourself permission to be a beginner at something, welcoming the humility that ensues.
  • Don’t let anxiety stop you from living fully. It’s okay to be anxious and still pursue your dreams.
  • When things do not go as planned, think of that as an opportunity to practice acceptance and improvise with the materials that life has put in your path.

 

If you are feeling stuck in your life, keep in mind that the sources of life are inexhaustible. You just have to trust that when you follow your heart, doors will open and that others will be there to help you along the way.

 

Mark Evans, Ph.D.

Senior Staff Therapist