The word SPIRICAL is not an actual word in the English language. I discovered it by making a typo, and I was really drawn to it (there’s synchronicity for you!). To me it sounds a bit like “spherical,” which symbolizes completeness and integrity; and it looks a bit like “spiral,” which I believe is a key concept in psychological development and the healing process (more on this in a moment). And then I found that Urban Dictionary defines SPIRICAL as “our spiritual and physical natures being used simultaneously,” which has been an essential component in my own recovery – and there it was.

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I love that the spiral shape occurs in so many places in nature: in shells, plants and animals; in the tiniest flowers and the largest galaxies. Our very DNA is a spiral. The spiral symbol has been found in human-decorated objects as early as 10,000 BCE, and has been found in Neolithic, pre-Columbian and Chinese cultures. In physics, spiral movement is the easiest way to find a natural order. The genetic principle of “spirality” holds that over the course of development, lower levels, processes and functions do not disappear, and can even resurface again under certain conditions. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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For me, the spiral symbolizes our journey of psychological development. I picture a mountain, with a path spiraling around it, heading upward. The path goes around and around, and each time we circle around we see the same view, but from a slightly higher perspective. As we keep traveling up the mountain the spirals get shorter, and the view gets more familiar and yet more distant, until we reach the top. The same spiral metaphor works for recovery from trauma: initially we’re in the dark, and we find ourselves struggling with the same issues over and over. As we spiral inward in our search for clarity and healing we have the opportunity to work with our issues in a slightly different way, from a slightly different perspective, each time they reappear. Each turn of the spiral brings us closer to the light of our true Self.