I’m currently reading Soulcraft, a beautiful book by depth psychologist and wilderness guide Bill Plotkin. In doing so I’m reminded of the different realms of existence within which we get to journey and evolve: Spirit, Ego and Soul. Or the Overworld, Middleworld and Underworld.
(Please read to the end of this post – I have an exciting offer that may be a great match for you)
Understanding the territory of the upper worlds
In our Western culture, we prioritize Ego and Spirit. We prioritize psychological function and communing with God.
When Plotkin speaks of the middle world, he speaks of a deeply human place, where the Ego-driven human being is sovereign. That does not make this world a necessarily terrible place, unlike many would have us believe (only immature egos give rise to terrible sufferings).
Ego is that psychological operating system that gives us a feeling of identity and the resources to function in the profane world. When we receive psychotherapy or coaching, we work in the domain of Ego. We work on healing our fractured selves so that our function in the world is optimized. We learn about empathy and to trust in ourselves. We learn about boundaries. In other words, the Ego we speak of here is not the domain of evil, as it is frequently seen in the religions of the world. It is rather a necessary function of the deeply human part of ourselves, like it is in the KWML archetypal work of Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette that I’m well known for.
When we pray, meditate or engage with other kinds of spiritual practices, we seek to inhabit the domain of Spirit. We seek the blissful re-alignment with the Sacred, which was always there, but was lost on the way. We find the Oneness of all phenomena and disappear in light. This is a beautiful thing, but the inherent risk is that we become light chasers, or what Robert Augustus Masters call spiritual bypassers. This can be recognized in people that speak of lofty spiritual ideals and who seem to have a certain glow and lightness, but who cannot function in the world and are secretly judgmental and emotionally repressed.
Michelangelo’s famous painting in the Sistine Chapel shows the yearning these two worlds have for each other. Spirit wants to incarnate in human form and Man yearns to return to his divine Source.
Setting up camp in the Underworld
If you know my work, you may recognize that neither of these domains are where I’ve set up basecamp, for better or worse.
After being in the domain of chasing light for most of my twenties, my 30s have initiated me into the dark, numinous caverns of the Underworld. And there, I re-encountered a world I first discovered when I was about 10 years old, when a small Greek woman named Aleka walked into my classroom for the first time.
She was a temporary teacher and would tell stories from Greek mythology (which unlike Christianity embraces the Underworld) when we had been good and worked hard. I fell in love with that universe. I consumed books on the subject and drew depictions of Greek goddesses, who represented a beauty for which I longed (my favorite subject is depicted to the right).
An integral part of the path of Soul is to become more familiar with the essential gifts we have been entrusted with in this lifetime. And early childhood experiences often have stories to tell us were we but to listen to them. I was more fascinated by fairy tales and mythology than superheroes when I was young. Had I understood the significance of this sooner, I may not have chosen the ascendent path for so long.
In traditional Christianity, the realm of Soul is not an inviting place – unless you like the thought of ending up in Hell. Soul is that part of reality that has seemed out of control, hostile even; Nature and the Anima (the feminine in us) are viewed with suspicion.
No wonder Soul is not present in Michelangelo’s painting. Also no wonder the Christian world has had so few qualms about destroying Nature and the indigenous people who live in communion with it.
So Western culture doesn’t have an easy-going relationship with Soul. Neither does the Eastern, whose religions also generally deny Soul, although the Daoists fare better.
The underworld is one which seems to have been widely repressed. It is the domain of paganism, indigenous cultures, ancestral lineages, death and rebirth in rites of passage. It is that dark place where demons feast on our flesh and strip us to the bone so that we can resurrect free of the baggage of the past and possibly with mystical powers. It is the realm of alchemy.
This world has gone underground and survived in hiding in myths and fairy tales – even movies (in fact, Disney is one of the main proponents of Soul in our culture today, which is more than a little disconcerting). And yet it still speaks to us from below. “Hear me! Don’t forget me! Ignore me at your own risk!”
I live in that domain these days. It’s a heavy and dark place, and also incredibly fertile. It’s nature-bound and has a sombre beauty about it. And it should break your heart.
Foremost among my sources of inspiration on this path is currently the English poet David Whyte.
I feel incredibly nourished by David Whyte’s poetry. And it has brought me inspiration for my own, which I intend to share with you to soon.
Your Inner Throne (an invitation)
I’m very excited now as I tell you that I’ve finally started real work on my KWML archetype product, “Reclaiming your Inner Throne: An archetypal immersion experience”. Archetypes live in the Underworld, in the collective unconscious. And in understanding the Soul-walker’s path better, I’ve had powerful insights that lead me to having breakthroughs in this manifestation process.
If the path of ascension is too narrow for you and the thought of success alone is too impoverished for you, then maybe you are the perfect person to walk this path with me. It will be a product that initiates you into a deeper knowing of yourself. It will beckon you closer to your big work in this life. It will help you to have trust in the inherent abundance of the universe (which I too need help with).
And if my deep period of research and exploration of this subject is as fruitful as I hope, going on this journey may have far-reaching consequences for something else that I know you care about (I’m deliberately being obscure for now). We won’t turn our backs on the Middleworld and Overworld, however – they will all be present.
I have no clear idea of when this product will be done. It will probably be a creative process of many months. I’m going to the woods in August on a creative retreat, after which I will know more.
I want to offer you something that I’m excited about before the release of it, however. I’m deliberately reaching out support in my life. And I would love to have you on my side as I create this product for you. I have therefore decided to release this product to a small group of 10 people initially.
If you are one of these 10 people, you will get the product at a fraction of the price I will release it at (I’m aiming for $79 vs the likely $299 for final product). And you will be part of a very exclusive group of people who get to go on a very intimate journey together, even co-creating parts of the experience with me.
This rich experience has life-changing potential and if you feel drawn to being part of this initial group of trailblazers, give me a hint below or send me an e-mail (before I start communicating this offer more broadly).
May you have a Soulful weekend. May the Otherworld shine through to yours and communicate to you the signs that you seek.
Talk soon,
Eivind
