Constellationing is the psycho-mapping process whereby a human being maps/charts what is external in order to navigate the internal. In the same way that sailors mapped the heavens, which then enabled them to map and navigate the earth, I too can map what is evident to “all” the material world, which then helps me navigate my interiority.

That is the idea rolling about in my mind today. That is the concept. Again. What more do I have to say about it?

I don’t know.

Perhaps this. When I think of mapping “what is external” I mean what is evident to all. But what do I mean? I mean that I am able to identify specific places, objects, STORIES!, etc., that (1) others have access to and (2) I find personally meaningful. An example is The Odyssey. This epic is one that many humans have read, studied, and returned to again and again. It is in this way accessible to all. However, The Odyssey as a point of reference allows me to understand my interiority and my personal experience. What is external helps me navigate what is internal. That is psycho-mapping. Extracting meaning from the outside world that’s relevant and useful to my internal world.

Have I said anything amazing? No. Others would say that the Bible does this for them. Others, the Quran. And others Tao Ching.

So, what is it about this psycho-mapping principle that I find so fascinating? What is resonating? What is it? Thinking of this process as cartography tethers my current location to my destination and origin. I can see myself in relation to these two spaces. There’s a certain safety or comfort that I feel.

Ah, and here’s a thought. The word “psycho-mapping” is a present participle. It’s in process, and I wonder if that’s what is sticking out to me. It’s the difference between descriptive and prescriptive. Growing up in a religious culture, the Bible mapped our exterior world. That shared space was very prescriptive and determined to a large extent what our internal world could imagine. I did not imagine an interior world separate from the language the Bible gave me.

I have left that land. Through the events of the past several years, I have found myself in a wilderness that I did not recognize or know how to navigate. I had to look to the “stars” and the “night sky” of my experience to begin mapping the constellations from what what has felt like scratch. The Bible is no longer the entirety of my night sky; it is one constellation among many that hold meaning for me. I began to see how other texts and traditions provided other navigational meaning and power for me. I know longer hold to the navigational map of the Bible alone.

I could also think of it this way. My upbringing taught me to see all points of light in my night’s sky as from the Bible. This perspective was very prescriptive and simple. It allowed me to navigate the first half of life. The movement into a second half of life perspective has shown me that my childhood-sourced perspective is too simple for continued use. What I’ve found is that many points of light were neglected in the Bible-only mapping of my night sky. When I opened my eyes to see the other points of light, I could no longer neglect them and their validity. My night sky is far too complex.

In this way, it’s not that I have rejected the Bible’s points of light. It’s that I can’t un-see the other points of light shining in that space, too.

One last attempt at communicating my interior world’s shift.

Moving into the second half of life has been similar to looking up at the night sky in town and then looking up into the night sky in the country. In the same way that a night sky in town appears less starry, two-dimensional, with fewer points of light, so does the first half of life. It’s simplicity can let you feel that you’ve got life figured out—at least, most of it.

The second half of life with its exponentially greater complexity sees 10x the points of light that a first half of life sees. It’s more like the view you’ll get camping in southeast Iowa on a clear July night next to the Maquoketa River with fireflies adding another layer of luminosity.

More thoughts on constellationing

Hurricanes

Constellationing