If You Go Into The Woods
It is a beautiful late afternoon as you open the front gate and step out onto the path. Birdsong fills the air and you can feel the warmth of the golden sun that hangs in an azure sky embracing your shoulders and neck. Flowers grow about your feet, nestling at the side of the path marking the route onwards, a colourful guide so that you can readily view the way ahead. You adjust the basket that hangs in the crook of your arm, a basket that is stuffed with delicious fayre, forbidden fruits and other enticing goodies that are meant for another. You smile and begin walking, a spring in your step as you hear a voice call out from behind you,
“Stay on the path, do not stray from the path.”
You smile again at this warning. You know all about not straying from the path, it is all you have been told for some time. The warnings and the cautionary tales about what happens when you stray from the path began as frightening tales told before bed time but their foreboding content has lessened as you have blossomed. You still smiled politely as older heads than yours warned you about what lay in the forest beyond the path, of waiting predators that are red of tooth and claw. These once dreaded fables are no more than an opportunity for you to curry favour as you kneel next to the wise one and listen, showing attentiveness, but your mind has drifted elsewhere. Your thoughts dwell on whether those supposed savages do exist deep within the darkness of the forest or whether they are just lost souls, poor fellows abandoned by the world who lurk amidst the shadows of tree and bush, not because they seek to do harm but because they have been shunned and know no other way of behaving. You contemplate whether if they were shown love, caring and affection that these wild folk might just be welcomed back and then be able to prove they are not the threat that they are always held out to be.
The tales from those older and more experienced had less of an effect on your reasoning and this soon gave way to listening to the stories from your peers. One of your friends swore she saw one of these supposed savages watching her from a hillock within the forest. She spoke of how he watched her intently with the most mesmerising and piercing eyes which made her feel wanted but in a good way. You all giggled as she recounted this tale, a flush of desire making its way up her chest and neck. Another of your group recollected of how she also saw one of these apparent beasts. He was gathering firewood and she stopped to watch his lithe and frankly alluring figure as he stooped amongst the foliage, gathering logs. She smiled as she told how he turned and caught her watching, but she felt no alarm as he too fixed her with a most penetrating look and then slowly ran his tongue across his lower lip. Your friend places her hand to her mouth and confesses to ‘that’ warm feeling down below as he continued to regard her. You admit you felt a pang of jealousy as the gathering desires of womanhood began to flow through your blossoming body and you longed for your own encounter with one of these mysterious forest dwellers.
You skip along the meandering path as you recall these stories and others, wondering how much is truth and how much is just the product of an over-active imagination. You like to think it is the former and with that in mind you chose your best dress and stole a little of your elder sister’s make-up, carefully applying the blood red concoction of beeswax and crushed bright red berries to your lips as you formed a cupid’s bow wondering if he too waited amongst the trees ready to fire one of his love arrows through your heart. You shrugged off the disapproving look from your father as you explained your appearance was such to look your best for your grandmother. The small smile that your mother gave you as she handed you the laden basket told you she knew otherwise.
Some time into your journey through the forest the flowers become less as the amount of light which percolates through the canopy above becomes reduced. The trees are numerous, stretching up high into the sky and occasionally you stop and look up towards the tree tops, feeling dizzy as you do so. A breeze gathers and the trees sway a little as the eddies of wind disturb the bushes that grow besides the path. You can still see the way ahead but it is not as a pretty now, but you are not concerned, you have walked this path so many times before. Admittedly, that was with your parents or later with your elder sister and now this is the first time you have been allowed to venture out into the vast forest yourself, hence the warnings to stay on the path.
You scurry along, almost tripping on a long thorny vine which has grown across the path. The route through the forest is less distinct now, the moss and wild grass obscuring it in places, the bushes encroaching on to it but you press on regardless. You feel the first splash of rain land on your nose and then another. You halt and set the basket down so you can lift your hood about your head and keep your carefully pinned hair dry. You stoop and collect the basket once again, moving neatly and efficiently in the manner that you have been taught, bending at the knees and straightening carefully. You are about to continue your walk when you hear a noise, a strange guttural sound which seems to come from nowhere and everywhere. You cock your head but do not hear it again as you step forward and resume your journey.
The noise comes again and you spin around before letting out a gasp. There is a man stood right behind you on the path, tall and handsome and your surprise immediately gives way to round-eyed admiration at this elegantly dressed stranger clad in emerald green. He lifts his hat and gives an exaggerated bow. His gaze returns to you, a pair of dark, dark eyes which seem to bore right into you but you can help but stare at the glinting and mesmerising pupils.
“Good day young lady,” he says with a deep and rich voice which makes you feel strange inside but in a good way, “what are you doing alone in the forest on the cusp of evening?”
“I am going for a walk, to my grand mother’s house,” you answer firmly and stand as tall as you can.
“Alone?” he asks again.
“Yes. What of it?” you ask as those glittering eyes dart left and right.
“Oh nothing save that a young lady so pretty as you should not be left unaccompanied.”
“I know the way,” you answer.
“Perhaps you do but the way knows you better,” he answers and smiles showing a toothy grin.
“My what a lot of teeth you have,” you cannot help but remark.
“Yes, all the better to eat the beasts of the forest with,” he answers.
“You eat the animals in the forest?”
“Of course, how else am I to survive, anything that comes through this forest belongs to us.”
“Us? There are more of you?”
“Indeed, this forest is ours, it is our hunting ground.”
“So the stories are true then,” you declare in a tone that is a mixture of wariness and delight.
“Very true.”
“So where did you spring from, how did you know I was here?” you ask as your eyes never leave this handsome and beguiling stranger.
“Oh nearby, but it was not difficult to miss you,” he says and reaches out a hand to touch your blood red and vibrantly coloured cloak.
“This made you stand out from everything else,” he adds.
“My grandmother made it, she told me she chose red because it is the colour of danger, a warning if you will,” you reply.
“So it is and such an attractive shade of red if I may say so, so recognisable and obvious.”
“Recognisable as what?” you ask.
“Oh that does not matter,” he says quickly, “may I escort you ? I know a short cut to your grandmother’s house, just through here,” He proffers his arm as he points through the trees. You peer into the gloom and then look back at him. You pause for a moment but that gaze of his, those eyes which seem to promise so much of that which you want to experience draw you in and you have to, you want to obey.
“Of course, that is most kind of you, ” you say politely. He nods and he stands by your side as you begin to walk. You look ahead and fail to see the red glow around those dark eyes and the especially long tongue which has slid from his mouth and run across the top of all those now sharp, white teeth. He begins to talk as he steers you towards the trees and off the beaten path…..
66 thoughts on “If You Go Into The Woods”
Vent Your Spleen! (Please see the Rules in Formal Info)
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Is Mark doing another follow up session?
He is doing another interview, yes.
Ok, I guess you will post it here when it occurs?
Indeed.
I’m sorry but I hate to be cut off,just bc he lead her off the path doesn’t mean she didn’t have a wonderful time and was still witty
enough to get away/escape;she just might have pretended to never have been on the path
I’m just half way through your interview with Mark. I’m pleased I understand it all so far, thanks for a thorough explanation. 👍
I would love to hear you and Teal chat!
I’d say she has lesser narc [traits] from what I can gather, due to her traumatic upbringing but she’s an empath when it comes to her career and how she’s committed her life to helping others. Her main goal is to overturn the justice system where sentencing and jail life is concerned. I’d love to hear you convince her that changing a narc isn’t possible. What do you think?
Glad you are enjoying the interview.
Always pleased to use my extensive powers of persuasion!
Narc noob
Are you speaking about Teal Swan?
Hi Twilight, yes, correct.
What makes you believe she is an Empath?
I guess I see both sides. Empathic and Narcissistic traits. She believes in change, though. Change for herself and those of her followers who also want to see that in themselves. Unless she is lying I believe this is a fundamental difference between narcs and those who can feel and not be oppressed by emotion.
Narc noob
https://tealswanblog.wordpress.com/2018/01/09/teal-swan-devotee/
I pullled this from the article I attached
“A response from Teal is especially coveted amongst followers, because getting a response from Teal is rare. She never responds to her follower’s comments and questions on Instagram. More importantly, she doesn’t take the time to respond to her suicidal followers, yet is able to find the time to congratulate the followers who copy her tattoo. ”
https://tealswanblog.wordpress.com/2017/12/08/followers-brand-themselves-after-teal-swan/
You can decide if you still see her as an Empath.
Ha ha, hilarious!!
On that I need say nothing else
And shall return from that which I came from
HG
Making you laugh made me smile, I knew what she was long ago.
Twilight
Not an empath. No way in Hell.
K
The first time I heard of her I went and listened to one of her YouTube videos, I knew as soon as I heard her speak. I went looking for evidence of behaviors didn’t take me long to find them.
Yeah her voice is really creepy. It’s like it doesn’t belong to her. She’s pretty intense.
Twilight
Her eyes are a dead giveaway too.
Oh my twilight!
Yes, I did say her name with a link but for some reason it didn’t appear when posted to the forum.
I just listened to this interview and I found the argument about borderlines and female narcissism very interesting and logic. To me what you are saying makes total sense, but I don’t know many borderlines.
I must say though, that sometimes I think there’s kind of a gap between the MR and the Greater categories. When I started reading your material, I thought my mother was a greater bc she has control over her fury (although she did lash out often when we were little) and is not passive aggressive. She doesn’t have tantrums. All this is typical my sister’s behavior and other female narcissists I know, but not my mother’s.
You would say she may be an upper MR, but I know Matrinarc is one and my mother is not like Matrinarc either.
I believe my mother knows she is different but sees it as a sign of her superiority in terms of control over herself and her emotions. She definitely doesn’t know it is a disorder.
All I am saying is that people may get their narcs in the greater category bc they are not necessarily passive aggressive.
So that when people read that the main trait of the MR is passive aggressiveness, and their narcs are neither lessers nor particularly passive aggressive, they go for the greater category.
Lou
Good point.
Thanks WS.
Lou. I totally can not tell the level, except for the screeching violent kind. I am still learning on here. I even think that my narc tendencies are coming out now. I do not know if this is just basic survival mechanisms that I should have had at the forefront any way. I was just like the little red riding hood in HG`s story: If You Go Into the Woods, and that is not good either. But, I do feel a little callous now. A friend wanted me to find something for her at the store yesterday, but I did not go. That is not like me. I did not feel like it, and I put myself first. However, she is also a flying monkey. But, another girl I promised to get something for her from another store, and it is snowing, so I will not go. They will forgive me easily, because I have been so good. But, I am learning to put myself first, now. I hope I am not going to become a bad person. But, I will never be the same, after what I believe was a mid-ranger with greater tendencies.
PSE It is ok to say no if we do not want to do something. That is what I have been told, now actually saying no to someone is still something I have a major problem with. Good for you putting yourself first! 👏👏
PrincessSE, yes, you will probably not be the same after your entanglement with your narc. If you keep reading and reflecting on yourself and what happened, you will be stronger and freer than ever before.
Keep putting yourself first. I think that’s a great lesson for most empaths to learn.
Real friends wouldn’t have a problem with you saying no. In fact real friends would prefer that you say no if it will inconvenience you.
I don’t know if this is new, but it was posted in January. Love this interview HG! You have so much energy!
https://youtu.be/53D7tPLYpjo
Thank you.
You had to have done a line before that interview! Whew, I need a nap!
Fuel Mb fuel.
HG, I see why you don’t sleep! That was beyond fizzy. I enjoyed it, but yeah…I’m ready for a nap.
Haha!!! I also found his energy a lot more intense than other interviews I’ve listened to. Must be high octane fuel!
Twisted Heart I could actually feel that energy! Your right, it must of been high octane!
MB Thank you for putting this on! I agree with you! I also need a nap! Wow HG!
Wow HG, The energy! So much information in such little time. I loved it!
MB
I had not heard this interview. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
HG
Your interview with Mark was my favourite to date. You were excellent, clear, and covered so much in the time alloted. He did not interrupt your flow like some of the others and I look forward to more of your interaction with him. Did you alert us to the interview previously and I missed it?
I do not believe I did flag it. He is interviewing me again in a couple of weeks. I am pleased you enjoyed it.
Will you tell us when we can listen to it HG? It was also my favorite.
NA, I felt the same. Best. Interview. Yet. But where is part 2? Did it ever happen HG?
NA there was no way he would of been able to interrupt that flow! HG was on a roll and know one was going to stop him! 😉
I’m glad because I thought HG’s flow was perfect. He answered the questions clearly and thoroughly without being rude. When he noted the interviewer wanted to interject he wrapped the point up. I listen for the information and not the interviewer, so am glad Mark did not keep interrupting just to hear his own voice as many others do. He just directed HG to the points he wanted to cover and gave him the floor. That to me is a great host. We need to lobby Mark for more interaction with HG.
Thank you. He is interviewing in a couple of weeks.
Plus, when he does speak, he has that sexy Aussie accent! My vote is for more Mark interviews too! I also like that his channel is a relationship channel. A good place to showcase HG’s work.
NA I agree, and I’m on it!!
I thought the same NA.
He is not Australian.
NarcAngel. I just listened to the interview. Yes. So many interviewers can not get out of their own way, during interviews. However, our HG never permitted himself to be steam rolled, like some interviewees, and I am grateful. It could have happened a couple of times, during that interview, but HG`s mind and purpose and knowledge in his material, and confidence about what we the audience needed to hear, was strong. So, HG made sure the delivery of the info was not broken up. Also, HG`s confidence and speaking voice is tres sexy and compelling. A real tour de force. A perfect storm.
Thank you for posting the link, MB. I had not heard about this interview before.
MB, thank you for sharing that link. I just now listened and also found this to be one of my favorite HG Tudor interviews. I am paranoid that this is going to feel like I’m trying to mirror him… but I agree with HG regarding what he said about BPD. I too have wondered the same in regards to BPD actually being an underlying NPD issue.
When I was first trying to ascertain just what the hell my narcissist’s behaviors meant, I stumbled upon BPD. It fit him well, but I felt like there was a missing piece. My narcissist wouldn’t dare think of self-harm, so I knew that a borderline diagnosis was not complete. When I researched further and saw that more women are diagnosed BPD, I thought of the females whom I personally know with such issues. All of them are highly narcissistic. That diagnosis overlaps so much with NPD. I was reading on another site once when an individual commented that her significant other had been diagnosed with NPD AND BPD… which seemed redundant to me. If her mate truly has NPD, do borderline issues much matter? To me, it was like saying that he has diabetes and hyperglycemia.
Nice interview, HG. I’m looking forward to part two. Thank you again for sharing MB. 😊 That girl’s on top of it, HG!
I see some overlap and similarity in BPD and NPD and have wondered also. I have a long history with a family where the father is NPD, the mother Histrionic, and the daughter Borderline (all formally diagnosed). What a fun family that is. Well, was, because the parents finally split when the father left one weekend to go camping and never returned. He was found about 2 weeks later to be living with a woman who had been his IPSS for over a year. No phone call, no goodbye. When confronted, he shrugged and said “it’s no big deal – we can still be friends” then proceeded to visit the histrionic (who didn’t really want him but wanted to triumph over the new IPPS) for sex regularly, while telling her that the new IPPS had money, kept a clean house, and made great meals, but was shit in the sack. He would also remove a few items from the home when he left every time he visited for sex (he’s a hoarder). The mother arranged a few years earlier for she and the husband to attend counselling. The counsellor was charmed by the father and determined that the mother was the problem. So of course they stopped going. The daughter (20) I originally thought was NPD but she was diagnosed Borderline and does indeed cut (quite deeply and has scars). There is a son who has not been diagnosed and remains a mystery, but he copes by having his lips never leave the bong his co-dependant girlfriend shares with him while rarely leaving the bedroom. What a fascinating circus. I have had to distance myself because while entertaining, the drama can be draining. Feel better? Lol. At least we’re here, aware, and working on it.
Wow, Narc Angel – that does seem like a bit of a clusterfuck!
It is amazing to me, when we really get to peek inside … how the whole Fam-Damily is often afflicted when there’s a true NPD in the house. I have a friend whom I adore, yet my other friends and I often find ourselves struggling with her. She has sincere empathy yet can act like one of the most vain women you could ever meet. She seems to present as more Histrionic than anything… wants everybody to like her… thrives on being the center of attention. She seems to want EVERY man in the room to desire her, whether she could give a rat’s ass about those guys or not. She feeds off of male attention as if it is the Fuel of Life. She can be the sweetest girl in the world, giving and caring, but when wounded/cornered, she can react like a raging narc.
I understand the whole comorbidity trend, as so many of these issues truly overlap. But for me, nothing beats the good ole NPD/ASPD. I would be curious to learn how much of the mother’s issues were present beforehand and how much was exacerbated as a result of her NPD mate? I guess the poor kids didn’t have much of a chance from the get-go.
It is very sad… but if you ever hear of the NPD father having a garage sale, 🏷 please let me know. If he’s collected something each time he’s fucked… I bet he has quite the display?! 🍳🥣🏺🏆🎾🎱🧸🖼🏑🚦💺🧳⚽️⛸🎠🛹🛶⏳☂️🎻📷📚 ☎️🔨🧰🛷🧭🚲⚓🕰🛴⌚
I’d be willing to make that trip, too.
😏🛒
BKK you’re welcome. I’m glad everyone enjoyed it and that it hadn’t been posted before and was not redundant.
I AM on top of things, but only because I’m an HG stalker! Not really sure if I deserve plaudits for being obsessed. Ha ha
You are not a stalker, MB; you are a well-rounded, highly-observant, motivated empath. Your curiosity inspires your flare for adventure with a willingness to explore through search (and thankfully, also through travels 🚘😉).
I much appreciate your eagerness to share, your sweet sense of humor, and I might add … your good taste in virtual friends. 😊 (Miranda knows.)
This is why I respect people like you and K … who help make finding information easier for the rest of us restless, lost souls. 🤸♀️ My ex-husband always said that if he were to ever have a horse run in the Kentucky Derby, he’d have to name the Thoroughbred “Impatience” after me. So keep on searching, MB; your dedication is needed.
BKK,
Excellent comment – I have also wondered much about the BPD/NPD issue because my mother exhibits the qualities like the females you refer to and would likely escape the ‘official’ NPD diagnosis but I know that with regard to my personal experience with my ex and HG’s input; I do now realize that my mother is a narcissist.
You are a sweetheart, Whocares.
When HG mentioned having a reader who went on to realize that her mother was also a narcissist, I wondered while listening to the interview if he wasn’t thinking of you, Whocares? But I believe that HG mentioned that particular reader was from the US, so I can only imagine just how many… once we’ve been involved romantically with a narc… how that education helps us to see just how many more narcissists we’ve actually encountered? 😳
Hello BKK,
I just saw this now. No I don’t think that the reader HG mentioned was me. But I’m sure many readers have gone on – once they realize they are romantically entangled with a narcissist – to realize they have a parent who is also a narcissist. And I think that the most difficult ones to spot are narcissistic mothers who may have been customarily identified as borderline (but only possess cognitive empathy) whereas true borderlines have real empathy and it’s a fine line to discern between the two.
So yes, education – especially here – is paramount.
Thank you for the link MB. It was a great interview. I love how HG is so enthusiastic and lively in teaching about narcissism. I felt the energy just listening to it. I wish all of my teachers were like that then lessons would be more interesting. So many great and interesting points. It was interesting about the possibility that female narcs are under reported because they are mostly angels with dirty faces. Also interesting about the points on BPD and NPD although I don’t know a lot about BPD.
Glad you shared the link MB, it was an excellent interview!
HG,
That interview was jam packed full of information and very comprehensive; you certainly are an effective communicator.
I’m glad to see that you are touching on BPD/NPD and the male to female ratio more openly.
I look forward to the second interview.
Thank you.
MB,
Do you have the link to the interview?
** raises and lowers hands up and down like a weigh scale **
Long tongue, sharp teeth. Long tongue, sharp teeth.
I know there was a lesson in there………
My narc actually had a taxidermy of a wolf on his wall. It was the only “art” he had. How was I so dumb not to see through this? The wolf in sheep’s clothing. The big bad wolf. Because I didn’t know these people actually existed. I thought it was just in fairytales or movies.
Sometimes I think it’s all a game to him and he wants to see who can figure him out. Soooooo creepy.