The Siren's Song: Navigating Inner Work Distractions
Archetypal guidance for staying the course
In this edition of The Artemisian, I'll be answering a question submitted by a paid member. Upgrading allows you to deepen your studies and inner work via monthly classes, access to the resource library and more1.
A paid member writes…
I notice a pattern of distracting myself from my spiritual practices, even within a ten minute meditation, I suddenly think of other priorities or don’t even make time to begin with or spend it with other things. I’m experienced in meditation, I create rituals, love inner exploration and shadow work and enjoy guided somatic and breathwork practices, so it’s not that I can’t focus, it’s almost as a subconscious part takes over - maybe as I am coming too close to it?
“The Siren is one of psyche’s deadliest anima aspects, luring the ego overboard, pulling consciousness off course, obliterating the memory and means of getting to where one needs to be.”
— ARAS, Book of Symbols
The journey of inner work is not without its perils and pitfalls. Shouldn’t excitement and a willingness to engage be enough to see the tasks completed? Alas, time and time again, we find ourselves wandering off-path. Our attention is seized by something else entirely—to do lists, stressors of life, uncertainties—and so we never deepen our practice beyond the surface level. Or, overwhelmed and caught up in the day to day, we forget to carve out space for these longed-for practices.
Time slowly slips away, hours, days, years go by, and suddenly we realize we are farther from the goal than ever before. Viewing this struggle with an archetypal eye, I sense the same mythic dynamics faced by Odysseus in the Greek epic, The Odyssey. His attempts to return home are representative of the great individuation impulse and yearning that each of us has within2. Despite his efforts, he is thrown off course, delayed and detained. What can we learn from this?
Each of Odysseus’ challenges is representative of the confrontations with the unconscious we face during inner work. The mighty gods we offend are the archetypal forces who hold power and influence over us. We have to navigate past monsters in the shadow, like Scylla. We must discover how to seek guidance from our dreams, just as Odysseus ventures into the Underworld to consult the prophet Tiresias. And what of the distractions that lure us away from our focus, the temptation to follow a seemingly more desirable way?
These are the enchanting songs of The Sirens, the seductive desires that pull at our attention. When caught unaware, we become entranced, losing our volition as we sail closer to uncertain rocky shores. They show up when we least expect it, singing sweetly as they beckon us to abandon our efforts, to follow them somewhere more exciting and mysterious.
If we get too close to the Siren’s call without protection, without a standpoint to anchor ourselves, we are lost. If we are to survive the treacherous waters of inner work safely, then we can look to the mythic map that Odysseus offers, how he navigates the challenge and survives.
Staying the Course
“Homer’s answer to the Siren song is the mainmast, a lashing to the center within that transcends unmooring desires and keeps the vessel together.”
— ARAS, Book of Symbols
With guidance from the goddess Circe, Odysseus instructs his oarsmen to plug their ears with wax so they may continue to row the boat to safety. Tempted to hear the voices of the Sirens, he is advised to have himself tied to the mast of the ship. No matter how he may plead, he is not to be let loose, not allowed to follow their deathly melodies. Psychologically, this provides us with two key insights for navigating inner work distractions.
I - We must create boundaries and containment to stay on course.
Odysseus’s crew is the steady force that leads them through danger. The heroic act is entrusting one’s safety to the boundaries that keep the overwhelming distractions at bay. What might this look like practically?
Set a designated time for your inner work and commit to it. Use a timer to signal the beginning and end of your session, creating a clear boundary that must be adhered to.
Utilize embodied practices when a distraction arises. Before jumping into action or analysis, come back to the body and breath. Check in with your sensations, do a cycle of steady breathing, feel into your body as a means of grounding before returning to the work.
Figure out your why. What is the greater goal of your inner work and why is it important? Anchor back to this central idea when you notice distractions occurring and let it help you get back on track. As an alternative, choose an item that represents this goal and use it as a physical reminder.
II - Within those boundaries, we must listen to the distractions and what they have to say.
More often than not, we are drawn into distraction without consciously understanding what drives that impulse. If we are properly contained, then like Odysseus we can open ourselves to the alluring voices and inquire as to their deeper source.
Pause to acknowledge and consider the distraction. Ask yourself what this distraction is trying to communicate and pay attention to the spontaneous response—whether an image, impression, emotion, sensation, etc. What meaning can you draw from this?
Personify the distraction. Imagine the distraction as a figure, a creature, a being with which you can engage. What does it look like? What does it have to say? What emotional tones does it carry? What does this represent for you?
Consider the symbolic meaning. What might the distraction mean if you look at it symbolically? If you suddenly feel hungry perhaps there is a lack of inner resources. If you find yourself texting friends you may be touching into a deep loneliness.
Nested within each of us are the temptations to give into the Siren’s song, to jump into the ocean of experience and be swept away by whatever catches our attention. If we truly seek to journey home, to meet our inner depths and develop the personality, then consider the challenge with the mythopoetic approach of Odysseus. Hear the call, but stay the course.
Join the conversation
How do you navigate inner work distractions? Which of Odysseus’ challenges do you relate most to? Is there another myth you link with inner work struggles?
For more on this idea, see my article - Odyssey: The Archetypal Yearning for Home.
i participated in your tarot for the year ahead session and pulled the two of pentacles for my focus. i was thinking today about editing and not being pulled in too many directions, how to bring all the desires into balance. how to stay focused. and this fits in so nicely with those thoughts and creates some new insights for me and access points. i really appreciate the framework you’ve built and how you share it with us. thank you!
Thank you so much for this incredibly fitting response. It really stirred something within me especially after hearing a lecture by Sylvia Linsteadt about the origin of the sirens and their language making the (hu)man mind go crazy as an unavoidable surrender to death and rebirth to integrate greater knowledge and insight of Self and the world. I thought it was a very profound insight combined with your practical action of boundaries for devoted work to counteract avoidance/distraction.