Let me start by saying, if you are in the Stag of Honor phase then you are not the same person as you were when you first stepped forward and took on the Snake of Journey.
I created the Sense of Self Spirit Animal Journey to use as a healing, self acceptance and personal growth process for myself by imagining what others would need to get past the healing phase.
When I first started on this journey, I was the character in my story, then I became the reader/witness to my story and now I am the director of my story. I can't say it more plainly than that. I experienced a true shift - an awakening.
So, the Stag of Honor phase begins...
I've run this self-discovery Spirit Animal process several times in different areas of my life, and after each new truth is revealed, I find this phase is where I’m settling into a new version of myself - my mind roams in the background and throughout my day, finding patterns of behaviors, lies and negative beliefs I've held about myself.
What were once tiny cracks of experiences that were all obscured by stories of pain are now open doors from my past that are ready to be accepted, walked through and closed.
The Stag of Honor phase is that first relief point, when I actually gave myself a break - my ah ha! moments came through like a parade. I see now that it was all a subconscious story filled with unconscious beliefs both personally and collectively that I have been feeding, and defending all my life.
Self acceptance and honoring all versions of the self goes like this ... 'I'm so sorry I didn't see it, that I couldn't give myself what I needed, and that I've been denying myself love because I’ve only known my stories of pain.' This is when the separated parts of myself merge and fold into the authentic Sense of Self - I've become friends with myself - I care about how I feel, I care about what is important to me; I care about myself, and I care about others.
The Stag of Honor is about self acceptance, honoring your experiences and rebuilding a relationship with the self and your protective personality. There is no magical wand where suddenly, all your issues are gone. Personal growth is a process but where I once was subconscious and my motivations were unconscious are now made conscious - the lights are on, and I can see the furniture.
I still have all the stages of healing, transformation, and self acceptance running parallel in different areas of my life - but now I understand the process. I have the tools and support I need to get underneath any subconscious and unconscious motivations. I know how to self-soothe, ask for support or space and as gently as I can work to bring myself home…within.
Take this on and you will never be afraid of any part of yourself again.
I am a Sense of Self Spirit Animal: The Stag of Honor.
The stag stands tall with its head held high, holding space with great admiration and honor for you.
You have walked through the darkness in the healing phase and felt the deep sorrow, loneliness, and confusion when facing the shadow self. You have felt the strong resistance in the transformation phase as you worked to integrate the subconscious and conscious mind to reveal new truths. Throughout this process, you have judged yourself, felt powerful blame toward others, allowed deep anger to surface, then tears of compassion finally fell to the earth when you surrendered and decided to let it all go... grounding your authentic Sense of Self.
As the Stag of Honor, I serve you by reminding you to honor yourself for being brave enough, persistent enough, and loving enough to take on The Journey of the Snake - your unique Hero’s Journey of self-discovery.
I help you reconnect with your inner child and understand that what you needed as a child was to feel safe, supported, validated, loved, and accepted - you need this still. I encourage you to have compassion for past versions of yourself when you didn’t get what you needed and forgive yourself and all the people who played a part in negative patterns that kept repeating.
Now is not the time to stop. Continue your journey and meet yourself with compassion at every turn. With me by your side, you can approach your emotions and new life experiences with grace, gentleness, and deep self-respect. Open your heart wide and allow the blessings meant for you to arrive.