The Journey of Soul Initiation

The Journey of Soul Initiation
Author: Bill Plotkin, PhD
Publisher: New World Library
Total Pages: 466
Release: 2021-01-12
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 1608687015

Soul initiation is an essential spiritual adventure that most of the world has forgotten — or not yet discovered. Here, visionary ecopsychologist Bill Plotkin maps this journey, one that has not been previously illuminated in the contemporary Western world and yet is vital for the future of our species and our planet. Based on the experiences of thousands of people, this book provides phase-by-phase guidance for the descent to soul — the dissolution of current identity; the encounter with the mythopoetic mysteries of soul; and the metamorphosis of the ego into a cocreator of life-enhancing culture. Plotkin illustrates each phase of this riveting and sometimes hazardous odyssey with fascinating stories from many people, including those he has guided. Throughout he weaves an in-depth exploration of Carl Jung's Red Book — and an innovative framework for understanding it.

The Revelation of Saint John

The Revelation of Saint John
Author: Zachary F. Lansdowne
Publisher: Weiser Books
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2006-05-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1609256662

The Revelation of St. John, the last book of the canonical Bible, has been a mystery since it first appeared. No other part of the Bible has caused more controversy. Traditional interpretations of the book fall into one of three categories: the major prophecies that are supposed to have been fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.; the historical view that Revelation predicts the course of human events from the founding of Christianity to the end of the world; or the futurist view that Revelation predicts events that will occur at the end of the world.It's actually none of the above, writes Zachary F. Lansdowne, a leading expert in the field of spiritual initiation. In the Introduction to this rich and complex interpretation, he writes, "According to its own verses, the Revelation is concerned with the present time, which is whatever time we happen to be reading it, and contains information that we can apply immediately to become blessed."This is not a book about "end times" or Armageddon and when it might come. This is a book written entirely in symbols, concealing a path for early Christians, and for the contemporary reader. Lansdowne has applied a unique psychological method of interpretation that takes each symbol as depicting some aspect of human consciousness rather than an eternal event, thus showing that the Revelation is actually a detailed instruction for the spiritual journey--a map to the wakening of higher consciousness. Moreover, while the Revelation appears in the great lineage of Judeo-Christian tradition, Lansdowne shows that its instruction can be appreciated and applied to seekers from any tradition.Lansdowne's line-by-line and verse-by-verse interpretation--presented here in an easy-to-read side-by-side format--is a manual for the true seeker who would follow teachings of Jesus as they were and are laid out, rather than as they have been interpreted by theologians and biblical historians. The Revelation of St. John, when unlocked by the key of psychological methodology, is revealed to contain ideas from many diverse wisdom traditions and philosophies--archangels in Judaism, chakras and kundalini in Hinduism, Buddhist mindfulness, the redemptive power of love in Christianity, and absolute standards of comparison in Platonic philosophy. Zachary Lansdowne's revelatory text makes these teachings of the path to true soul initiation available to seekers from every spiritual tradition.

Soulcraft

Soulcraft
Author: Bill Plotkin
Publisher: New World Library
Total Pages: 400
Release: 2010-10-05
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 1577313577

Since 1980, depth psychologist Bill Plotkin has been guiding women and men into the wilderness — the redrock canyons and snow-crested mountains of the American West — but also into the wilds of the soul. He calls this work soulcraft. There’s a great longing in all people to uncover the secrets and mysteries of our individual lives, to find the unique gift we were born to bring to our communities, and to experience our full membership in the more-than-human world. This journey to soul is a descent into layers of the self much deeper than personality, a journey meant for each one of us, not just for the heroes and heroines of mythology. A modern handbook for the journey, Soulcraft is not an imitation of indigenous ways, but a contemporary nature-based approach born from wilderness experience, the traditions of Western culture, and the cross-cultural heritage of all humanity. Filled with stories, poems, and guidelines, Soulcraft introduces over 40 practices that facilitate the descent to soul, including dreamwork, wilderness vision fasts, talking across the species boundaries, council, self-designed ceremony, nature-based shadow work, and the arts of romance, being lost, and storytelling.

Initiation of the Soul

Initiation of the Soul
Author: Pamela S. Alexander
Publisher: Balboa Press
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2019-12-11
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781982238001

We are in the midst of an epic evolution in consciousness that involves a radical shift in orientation from the ego to the heart and soul. This transformative process requires a breaking down of the old form, which we are witnessing personally and collectively, to create the space for something new to emerge. As we live from the soul and express our deepest truths, we actively participate in this change. Life experiences may seem as though they're random, but in fact they have an intention, deeper meaning, and purpose, which is to facilitate this transformation within us. Everything is occurring to free us from our old beliefs, outdated ways of living, and any limiting ideas we have about life and ourselves. In INITIATION OF THE SOUL, Dr. Pamela Alexander explores the soul's journey through myth and classic fairy tales. In the initiatory mythic story of "Psyche and Amor," the goddess of love orchestrates events in order to awaken the soul from its slumber. The heroine faces challenging tasks that draw the deeper truth of the soul's inherent wholeness, freedom, and power out of the unconscious and into an embodied awareness. Dr. Alexander proceeds from there to explore fairy tales that speak to the issues that arise during the soul's emergence. These stories symbolically instruct us as to how to resolve our fears and open to love. As inner restrictions are resolved, we can embody expanded versions of ourselves and become more stable in a chaotic and uncertain world. The stories guide us to free the soul from an egoic identification, which is buffeted by the winds of change and the opinions of others, to the unshakeable ground of being within. Then, we are empowered to live in freedom and wholeness as we participate in the creation of a new world.

Initiation of the Soul

Initiation of the Soul
Author: Pamela S. Alexander PhD
Publisher: Balboa Press
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2019-12-11
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1982237996

We are in the midst of an epic evolution in consciousness that involves a radical shift in orientation from the ego to the heart and soul. This transformative process requires a breaking down of the old form, which we are witnessing personally and collectively, to create the space for something new to emerge. As we live from the soul and express our deepest truths, we actively participate in this change. Life experiences may seem as though they're random, but in fact they have an intention, deeper meaning, and purpose, which is to facilitate this transformation within us. Everything is occurring to free us from our old beliefs, outdated ways of living, and any limiting ideas we have about life and ourselves. In INITIATION OF THE SOUL, Dr. Pamela Alexander explores the soul's journey through myth and classic fairy tales. In the initiatory mythic story of "Psyche and Amor," the goddess of love orchestrates events in order to awaken the soul from its slumber. The heroine faces challenging tasks that draw the deeper truth of the soul's inherent wholeness, freedom, and power out of the unconscious and into an embodied awareness. Dr. Alexander proceeds from there to explore fairy tales that speak to the issues that arise during the soul's emergence. These stories symbolically instruct us as to how to resolve our fears and open to love. As inner restrictions are resolved, we can embody expanded versions of ourselves and become more stable in a chaotic and uncertain world. The stories guide us to free the soul from an egoic identification, which is buffeted by the winds of change and the opinions of others, to the unshakeable ground of being within. Then, we are empowered to live in freedom and wholeness as we participate in the creation of a new world.

The Path of Initiation

The Path of Initiation
Author: J. S. Gordon
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 400
Release: 2013-07-04
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1620551748

Details the process of spiritual initiation from aspirant to the highest Adept • Explains the characteristics of each stage of initiation, including the associated psychological issues that need to be faced to move to the next stage • Explores the long history of the Mystery traditions from ancient Egypt, Babylonia, and India to the modern Theosophy of Blavatsky and Bailey • Reveals how the Brotherhood of Spiritual Adepts is increasing global tensions to prepare humanity for the Age of Aquarius and spiritual revelation As the precessional cycle transits from Pisces to Aquarius, great shifts in spiritual evolution are on the horizon--not for all of humanity as many in the New Age movement have generously hypothesized but for those who have undertaken the necessary spiritual preparation and initiatory work. Drawing from his deep immersion in the Mystery traditions of both East and West, author J. S. Gordon investigates the initiatic path from ancient times to modern day, detailing the step-by-step process of initiation and the sequence from spiritual aspirant to the highest Adeptship. He explains the natural logic and characteristics of each stage of initiation, including the associated problems and psychological issues that need to be faced in order to move forward to the next stage. He shows how humanity is naturally inclined to spiritual evolution and the development of higher consciousness. We are part of the overall evolutionary process of Nature, a system guided by the most highly evolved Adepts and extending beyond Earth to the entire kosmos. Exploring the long history of the Mystery schools beginning with ancient Egypt, Babylonia, and India, Gordon examines the sacred metaphors and allegories of esoteric philosophy, metaphysics, occult science, and the Science of the Seven Rays as well as the Adept-inspired theosophical works of H. P. Blavatsky and A. A. Bailey. He looks at the Adept Hierarchy of the Great White Himalayan Brotherhood and considers in detail two much-discussed mysteries: The Jesus-as-Christ mystery and the Maitreya-Buddha mystery. Revealing how advancement--spiritual, scientific, and cultural--erupts out of tension, he explains how the Adepts have been increasing local and global tensions to prepare humanity for the Age of Aquarius, thereby creating the ideal preconditions for spiritual evolution and an eventual restoration of the Mysteries in our own modern era.

Nature and the Human Soul

Nature and the Human Soul
Author: Bill Plotkin
Publisher: New World Library
Total Pages: 528
Release: 2010-10-04
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 1577313542

Addressing the pervasive longing for meaning and fulfillment in this time of crisis, Nature and the Human Soul introduces a visionary ecopsychology of human development that reveals how fully and creatively we can mature when soul and wild nature guide us. Depth psychologist and wilderness guide Bill Plotkin presents a model for a human life span rooted in the cycles and qualities of the natural world, a blueprint for individual development that ultimately yields a strategy for cultural transformation. If it is true, as Plotkin and others observe, that we live in a culture dominated by adolescent habits and desires, then the enduring societal changes we so desperately need won’t happen until we individually and collectively evolve into an engaged, authentic adulthood. With evocative language and personal stories, including those of elders Thomas Berry and Joanna Macy, this book defines eight stages of human life — Innocent, Explorer, Thespian, Wanderer, Soul Apprentice, Artisan, Master, and Sage — and describes the challenges and benefits of each. Plotkin offers a way of progressing from our current egocentric, aggressively competitive, consumer society to an ecocentric, soul-based one that is sustainable, cooperative, and compassionate. At once a primer on human development and a manifesto for change, Nature and the Human Soul fashions a template for a more mature, fulfilling, and purposeful life — and a better world.