YERBA BUENA GROUP - Daniel Clifford, MFT

06/22/2022

As I watched the rising super moon last week amidst a dessert of fruit, I could not help but ponder the word super.

What makes the moon super? What makes anything super?
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What I concluded was that the moment I was in was super…. and that might be all we ever have; a moment to reflect upon that is super. Does that make us super? Or better yet, does that make me super?

How do you feel super? When do you feel super?

As I watched the rising super moon last week amidst a dessert of fruit, I could not help but ponder the word super.What makes the moon super? What makes anything super?The pineapple came from Costa…

03/07/2022

Nature heals in a Community...

My own transitions aside, for a variety of reasons I have been absent from my once-monthly blog. There is something about the images in my head coming alive and witnessing their birth on paper that rejuvenates me. I have missed writing to you all, or more importantly, I have missed the version of me that creatively shows up when I reach out to you.

How you all are doing and have been during this time of sequestering? Have you been able to find a loving, healing community?

Once upon a time at the beach…. Photo by Helena Lopes on Pexels.com I love any opening that brings me to the beach. The natural threshold between land and water is an elemental doorway between the…

12/23/2020

Jupiter and Saturn are back together and the whole story is really a tragic comedy made for the Hallmark Family Channel.

Roman culture followed these stories religiously. Each god and goddess became a part of everyday life and the biggest celebration was that of Saturnalia. However, this year is a special year. Light your candles and adorn your trees, because the heavenly bodies have started anew.

The religion of astrology suggests the force is now balanced. Jupiter – the ruler of Sagittarius and Pisces (the most powerful fire and water signs), Saturn – the ruler of Capricorn and Aquarius (the most powerful earth and air signs) have reunited in the night sky. This means elementally the forces upon the earth are now in balance, finding an equilibrium energetically in all the forces. And, as we all have experienced in 2020, it has been a painful process to endure the negotiation and repair of this ultimate father-son relationship.

Read on: https://danielcliffordcounseling.wordpress.com/2020/12/23/the-great-conjunction-star-wars-of-father-son-and-daughter/

10/01/2020

Learning to Love the opponent, and appreciate and honor the differences we have: SEASONS OF LOVE, SEASONS OF CHANGE.
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There are so many seasons now it is hard to count. Currently on the docket is Fall Season, Pandemic Season, Fire Season, almost Flu Season, and now Election Season. To say the least, seasons of change are among us.
Love is indeed an answer. Yes, maybe John, Paul, Ringo, and George still said it best…Love is all we need.
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How does your critic interact with you? Have you ever considered an opposing view? Are you the president of your own life? How do you love and care for yourself? How do you provide love to others? Does loving someone feel safe? What season is this for you?

Learning to Love the opponent, and appreciate and honor the differences we have Seasons of Love, Seasons of Change “Only an adventurer stripped of ego can be the one to survive the belly of the wha…

08/20/2020

*Illustration: The Spiritual Pilgrim Discovering Another World: Woodcut, 19th Century*

Chapter 6 - Part II: The Quest for the Mature Masculine

"Anything not defined, scientifically proven, and sanctified within the masculine structure and patriarchy is perceived and judged as bad...We can liken this to the Bible’s old testament, the Garden of Eden, and Adam’s crossing of the threshold: The snake of infinite knowledge and intuition tempts Eve with the apple, who in turn pleads with Adam to leave his ignorant state by biting and tasting the apple himself. As Adam searches for and aligns with the feminine and knowledge bearer, he expands his horizons. This action was not indeed an exit from the magical Garden of Eden, but a foray into the world of choices; a horizon of choosing your own garden to live in, and not living in the one designed by someone else."
-Sophocles: Mending a Broken Heart
Chapter 6: Crossing the Threshold - Redefining the Masculine

Last month we discussed the immature masculine archetype and its focus on destruction. The mature, sacred masculine is about sacrificing and freeing ourselves from those boundaries of our youth in order to embrace the feminine. To find a healthy balance with our Feminine and Masculine sides: Creating a nurturing structure in family and community.

Read more in my latest blog post: https://danielcliffordcounseling.wordpress.com/2020/08/20/chapter-6-part-ii-the-quest-for-the-mature-masculine/

How do you define the masculine? What kind of balance do you have in your life? What do you feel is safe? What security do you feel? How do you protect the nurturing needed? Where do you find wholeness?

07/09/2020

Chapter 6: The March Towards Independence

The first adventure for anyone is crossing the threshold and stepping outside the system with which you became most familiar as a child. This could be a government, religion, or simply the structure, regulations, and unwritten rules of your family system. This structure and patriarchy is in the conscious world, and what I have defined as the masculine.
As we mature, we all are asked to separate ourselves from that masculine framework. We need to kill off the structure that protected us during childhood, and battle our own demons for the saving and more importantly connection to our soul. We need our independence to define who we are for ourselves.

What aspects of your childhood still haunt you? What structure do you find yourself beholden to? Who or what represented the masculine control in your life? How are you manifesting your own masculine framework in your life? What are you protecting?

Read more: https://danielcliffordcounseling.wordpress.com/2020/07/09/chapter-6-the-march-towards-independence/

06/04/2020

~This post is dedicated to Willie K. and the learning he offered.~

Arrival of the Hierophant: Finding the god-like part in all of us.

In my work as a therapist, I do my best to help someone align and come to terms with all the different voices, thoughts, and emotions they have. The best example, that I can think of, in which this concept comes to fruition is in the world of art. It is when all of the voices within us align and speak congruently; this is when the god-like parts of who we are begin to inform us, and eventually impact the rest of the world. You can see this happen on stage to a dancer (because the soma/body is a huge part of this process), I have witnessed it in paintings (specifically Dali’s work), and most recently on a stage in Nicasio Valley. His name was Willie K.

Read more about how he, in his days of dying, found that part of himself and offered what he could to the world, reminding me of how beautiful things can be:

“We are all storytellers. Our stories are fabulous pieces of interwoven fabric that age in time like a fine wine. Our stories are filled with fiery confrontations, mindless meanderings, the b…

05/06/2020

My kingdom for a blood orange: Insights into a therapeutic connection

"...The pandemic lectures, social distancing, 6’ feet apart, flashed before me. But, I was mostly embarrassed, as the gentle offering of a beautiful young woman is uncommon, even far more uncommon in the age of sequestering; I melted. However, in my mind, Persephone had offered me her pomegranate seeds condemning me to hell..."
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What issues have sequestering brought about? What are the internal conversations you are having with yourself? What might a therapeutic connection look, feel, sound like? Where are you getting your fulfillment? What is your self-care?

“To fully embrace attachment theory as a practice, it is suggested that an individual move towards love by developing the capacities and behavior patterns of a secure attachment style…(…

04/03/2020

Love Lessons from the Greatest Generation: Building a Bridge, Together.
When I think of love, I harken back to a generation that propelled a nation to fight together, with each other, hand in hand, arm in arm, literally in the face of death. Love is what conquers all, and we are learning during this pandemic that we can express that love and support for one another even without physical contact. Connection and unity comes from a place of nurturing, the desire to protect one another in the fight for life.
In this day and age of sequestering, what are you willing to fight for? Die for? Who or what propels this impulse in you? Where do you feel that impulse within your body? What do you wish to do with this most powerful form of energy we call love?

“Love is a wisdom that begrudges nothing, an unconditional space where all things exist…Our journey of love begins the moment we are born and attach to our first caregivers.” -Sop…

03/04/2020

--Covenant, Résumé, Contract--

Your résumé has been accepted, and indeed, what a commitment we make to ourselves by taking on the life of a human being. It is a life of joy and suffering, but there is a covenant, a promise made with space, time, and the earth herself.

This past weekend, time gave us an extra day. Yes, February 29th, is an extra day.

On some level, I began to feel that if indeed I worked hard enough, a bonus day on my contract would appear:

…“Over the last 4 years, your efforts have proven to be more than satisfactory. We, therefore, are granting you more time to accomplish the things you need to finish."...

But what am I needing time to finish? What is my purpose, vocation, and what am I to do with that extra time, if indeed earned? I have been granted a body, learning, support, love, what am I to be giving back?

I often like to remind myself and my clients that we are human beings, not human doings…And it is in the being that we find purpose.

https://danielcliffordcounseling.wordpress.com/2020/03/04/leap-year-chapter-2-the-promise/

01/08/2020

Happy New Year: Chapter 1 - What is your potential?

What are your obstacles in life? Where have you found your biggest struggles? What do you define as success?

Read about how I was first introduced to the real struggle of adulthood at age 25 when I suddenly came face-to-face with the dark underbelly of the corporate, working world: https://danielcliffordcounseling.wordpress.com/2020/01/08/happy-new-year-chapter-1/

10/31/2019

Pictured here is a traditional Hallows’ Eve Ceremony. Hallow, in Old English, means “holy” or “sacred.” Therefore, “Hallows’ Eve,” or “Halloween” means “the evening of holy persons” and refers to the evening before All Saints Day, November 1st.

In the past the night before All Saints Day became a way to lure the saints into homes for an evening hoping for their wisdom and blessings…but you needed to be careful, because those you invited into your home could have indeed tricked you, and offered something much different. You always hoped for a treat!

The veil between the worlds is indeed at its thinnest this time of year. What blessings are you hoping for? What are you needing to know from your own ancestors? What are you hoping to communicate to those who have gone before you?

What energy are you wanting to emulate in your life? Is there a costume for that? Are you offering your relationship a trick or a treat?