I have labeled my practice, website and blog “Pathways to the soul” because to me it is all path. Everything we do is part of a spiritual path. Secondly, the work I do is about accessing the Soul. The real purpose of depth psychotherapy is to free the personality so that it facilitates living from one’s Soul.

Acknowledged or not every step is a part of the path. People are always on a path even if they have no personal awareness of intent or spiritual interest.

Just because it is a spiritual path does not mean it is easy. In fact, as Gerri Larken says in her wonderful book Stumbling Toward Enlightenment. “Mountains and rivers are the ups and downs of life. They will always exist. Everything is the way. Once we sink into our practice the whole world becomes our path and compost.”

The spiritual path is fueled by activities like meditation, chanting, mantra, prayer. These are the means to the end of full living in the midst of every single day and step.

When we encounter obstacles, they become the path. There is no path which is without obstacle.
The path is often unknown. It has innumerable switches, intersections, side paths and detours. The straight path is probably a path primarily of safety and comfort. As I look back on my life I often wonder how I got here. Many twists, turns and turn arounds. None of it was off my path. There were a few dead ends when I simply had to turn around and find my way back to the place from which I wandered. But even these were simply part of the process. The only way to know one’s true path is to look behind. You have been where you were supposed to go.

As we walk our way through all of it we can heal, grow and develop so that the Soul gradually replaces the ego as the source of decisions.

Briefly, the Soul has four functions 1. It embraces both sides of human creation. It both the individual human in all his or her uniqueness; 2. The soul holds all of life’s experience without judgement, evaluation, comparison or criticism. 3. Holding all experience equally it is the organizing principle of one’s life time. It is not weighted down by fears, anxieties and worries that dominate the ego. 4. The soul is the infinite seeking expression through the finite human life. Love, compassion, faith and courage are expressed through the Soul. Psychotherapy aids the Soul by clearing out the flaws and struggles of the personality so that the Soul becomes the gateway for divine energy.

This allows us to ascend in our process and embody our divine nature. Sometimes the assent is difficult, arduous and even exhausting. But each step is part of the process.