THE IOURNAL OE SPIRITUAL DIRECTORS INTERNATIONAL » Volumc 3, Number 3 Single Copy Pricc: $8.00 Scptcmbcr, I997 I I §*\` ,0 NK ! ,,$·7 N A I g fi((j%® I/>_ »,.sY"".4*’_ A I " ` ¤¤@»*3% av il {mmm Ti; IU`` ` I { I — I agi _»;_ft·]·‘ if U iii! I h I `I I 4 5n:‘;iii¢2?¤;é<,:f --·»»· » ·- vA,4sm]AB¤`§{$I3R0¤d Palo Al!0. C`/\ 94303 6 Reprinted under Publisher Permit Policy, FTEN, WHEN PSYCHOLOGICAL _ issues come up in spiritual direc- tion, they are seen as barriers to the directee’s relationship with the ‘ Divine, to be removed (through psy- ` chotherapy or counseling if necessary) so . that the essential spiritual journey can continue. They are seldom seen as an integral part _-of our psychospiritual developmentpras whole persons. This A A view is a natural outgrowth of the split in our Western Christian tradition between . the spiritual and the temporal, mind and body, God and matter. However, we are ( becoming more aware of the unity and ih 1. interdependence of the psychological, _ it € , I (I. _ physical and spiritual dimensions of our __.‘ _ , l _ existence. lt is a time in which: ii'; _ • The neglected "feminine" ele- A d ments are being restored to our =.: _ human wholeness, in both Of ih. ` I women and `men; · · ` ~. Q Q . - • more and msreisr (us rooted in PS -· I the Christia_n,,i_tr_adition are V P rj . reclaiming-a God who-is both Z _, up Y ‘ Mother and Father; and P ,: I ` V e • the vision of a "body which has _ _ ` been wholly penetrated by the - H1llev1‘Ruumet divine Spirit" (Bede Griffiths, A _ New Vision of Reality, p. 225) is ` V ` " ` A bringing poignant awareness of _ the need to tend a Creation (starting with the Earth itself) ‘ .- _ which is not ”merely" _matter ` (and therefore not as important as · spirit),_but which in fact, is Spirit. _ ` ` A ` Sophia — the living Divine Wisdom in the ` “ manifest world — is back, withmuch to . teach us. HILLEVI RUUMET is currently a member of the core faculty at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, CA, USA. She has a PhD in clinical psychology from Columbia University and recently completed a spiritual direction internship at Mercy Center, Burlingame, CA. She has been a Iungian psychotherapist for 25 years and has led many dream groups and other groups facilitating conscious development and wholeness. PRESENCE: THE ]0URNAL OF SPIRITUAL DIRECTORS INTERNATIONAL PAT:-iwmrs or THE Sour. 7 This article presents a model of psychospiritual development that describes the psy- che / spirit connection as an ongoing relationship in which both have to grow in tan- _ dem to accommodate the unique life tasks that each soul faces. Every model is a myth (in ]oseph Campbell’s sense of the word), a living, personal myth of the storyteller, but also reflective of common truths, a story of the human soul writ large. We might say that we are all individual drops or waves in the same ocean of consciousness, or that we are all part of the One —— ]ung called it the "Collective Unconscious." While archetypes are universal, their specific representations in a person’s life are culturally determined, as is this mod el, which is mainly derived from a Western cultural context. I have worked with many people dealing with issues of life and death: suicide ' attempters, the terminally ill, hospitalized medical patients whose mortality had been driven home to them through illness, and the deeply depressed. Within these con- texts, spirituality came up naturally through conversations and dreams. Much of our work occurred at the psychospiritual interface, not because I or the clients deliberately intended it, but because we had been "invited" there by something · deep in their psyche. "Birth" of the Helix ` This model was a surprise to me — like a sudden birth when I didn’t even know I was ` pregnant. At this point, I am calling it the Helix Model. It is, so to speak, a "voice from the trenches" rather than an intellectually formulated theory. Spirit em—bodies; all the rest derives from that. Because our journey is not uniform and there is no one "right" way, nothing is "set" about this model. It as a window through which I see my own ‘ and others’ inner and outer process more clearly. Represented two-dimensionally, the model looks like a spiral although, in the walking of it, it seems more like a multi- dimensional labyrinth with a distinctive optimal path for each individual. The recent revival of interest -in the labyrinth as a symbol for the spiritual journey seems very timely in this context. And ultimately, of course, the mystical traditions tell us there is ` no growth, no journey, no path; we are already "Home." But we have to do the jour- ney to realize that. h . he story of this model begins with Ken Wilber. In the late seventies, his chakra~based "spectrum psychology" model of psycho-spiritual develop- ment was an epiphany for me, and I gratefully acknowledge my debt to him. _ Although Wilber has amplified his model considerably since then, it began to seem too neat and linear to easily apply to the "messiness" of real life human experience. My own experience of development felt much more like a spiral — a symbol which had acquired deep meaning for me through my jungian work. A casual conversa- tion with ]oseph Campbell serendipitously provided the seed for my own psychos- piritual "growth map." I spoke of my frustrationin practice with the linearity of Wilber’s model while in theory being intellectually stimulated by it. I told him that I experienced develop- ment more as a series of cycles and runs around a spiral than an orderly march up the chakras. "Oh, yes," he said, "it is more like this," and asked for a pen. He drew the diagram in Figure l(I -think on a napkin) to which I had an immediate visceral sense of “YES." [Figure l is on the following page.] VOLUME 3, NUMBIER 3 SEPTEMBER, 1997 _ 8 HILLEVI RUUMET This rudimentary diagram worked pretty well, especially with respect to the interplay of the spiritual and the psychological, but also proved to be too "neat." Nourished by intuition and a variety of experiences, it eventually grew into the Helix Model. The ”Map” Itself - Figure 2 is a two—dimensional diagram that depicts the essential pathways of the liv- ing model. It is a "superhighway" map only; its many roads form a living web of con- nections among and across all the centers. The pictorial symbols are meant to be suggestive and I invite you to replace them with personal images as they emerge from your own 7 J and your directees’ experience. The broad growth pathways are oriented around seven "centers" (analogous to the 6 seven chakras of Eastern symbology), and the most common challenges and . 5 achievements associated with them. These centers each have their own gifts, tasks, and "personified com- 4 plexes" or "cast of characters." . Different archetypal manifesta— ‘ _ tions evolve as we move up (and 3 down) the helical path through these centers. At ]ourney’s end, our essential center moves again to 2 the heart (IV) — this time, in its high- est spiritual form, which could be called the Fully Empowered Heart of 1 the Risen Christ. I will refer to these cen- ` ters by name or Roman numeral: Physical / Survival Center (l), Emotional / Cathectic Center (Il), Egoic/Power Center Figure 1 (III), Aloha Center (IV), Creative/Star Center (V), Sophia Center (VI), and Divine Union / Unity (VII). Once the essence and the tasks of each center are clear, we can translate them into per- sonal symbols and meanings, derived from our own spiritual tradition and life expe- rience. In exploring these centers, we might well ask, • Which inner figures live at each center? • Which centers have been well developed and fully lived? • Which have been difficult, slid through with little development, or bypassed and relegated to someone else to live out for us? • Where are our major obstacles and hang—ups, and which parts of us are fostering or obstructing our growth? PRESENCE: THE jouiwm. or Svuurum. Duzucrous Iwrunmxriownr PATHWAYS 01= THE Sour. 9 mvme umon (vu) The Sophla Center (VI) - ,._, T .e_. _ `· .V:, . eiiiié ;=- 9 " ``''' In . -e¤‘`‘ l n ‘`‘‘ ° ‘ _... A e _V::V,V . The Star center (v) Q.; ii. {Q. Q A I eeeeeene e; I I " . .,2:-in ,. ,. 1-. f' *"`;` " `--`- I : 5 * J.;-`:_ Q nu, . I ~ § ,:»- ‘:: E · ..-.n~ ....__ § e " _v3:.;;=n=·‘’’‘ The Mona cemer <¤v> zil " · . A nf V- —. . ‘ _ ° o e . _;:_.,:`_.,:..:..e:r¤:·=‘’-·=’*·`°’:'‘;:' 9* `:»»'` V' ' ` '' lnlln I e • W.-.» eee.-, wm mm we M-M .,.-.-,.- ,.-.`-.r -M.,-. .-.-M. _ ,·.-.».·.» I·.-.\-.· .·.-.·.·,. -M-AI H.-et »I\·.·.· M.-I. -”.—:: Nm.- Em. ivi I ‘hn:; . ~“*—¤· A " l " iii i ._;:;. e .;,nh;:: ..n.__,ln.:e_ M $ § ¤ EXE) EZ:. fg:. Q The Eg0IclPow$r Center (III) ~~ It 1:9-E5.; -.;,. 1 Wn ..:,:;};::9} H · I ‘ · Q ~ .;.::-EL ..._ :.;:5.. Z 5, zi N :,5,. 4*. ~ I A '=’·,.. ’`. e * The Emotional/Cathectic Center (II) * · :`EE1. :.2:% `V 2 I:.-Iv ‘ ‘ ‘ ..;¤¤:::;.;;::;y`->::--V 0 " 0 .*-;;,.5; ?¤` -j* · B ‘ ls O. * .-. ......, ;.... ·-.- A ~ I . U g =.- I >= *§ :`:%;` The Survival Center (I) ¢ * :AI ‘’’`'‘ V.": _..._ a ` ‘‘‘‘ e wes, amen nuume; mn. All ngrs Figure 2 Vowmu 3, Nuwmnn 3 SEPTEMBER, 1997 10 Hn.LEv1 RUUMET • Can the "obstructionists" be persuaded to cooperate with the purposes of Spirit as best we understand them and thereby integrated rather than dis- owned? • What are we called to do with our lives? Answers to these questions will help us find the optimal path through our personal life labyrinth. It would be wise not to look at these centers competitively, with "milestones" mark- ing "progress," or label them as "better than/ less than," "spiritual/mundane," "evolved / unevolved," etc. Regardless of where we are or whether we are aware of it, we remain embedded in the Divine and have the potential to touch it at any time. It is always moving in our lives. While our pivotal growth tasks seem to cluster around one or two centers, our focus may be in different places at different times, in different aspects of our lives, or in different parts of our self. Parts of ourselves are wiser than others, so our inner "cast of characters" or "subpersonalities" may be dealing with a variety of issues all over the psychospiritual "map.” his map has two major "territories": the range from (I) to (lll) and partially into (IV), inhabited by the "in-laws;" and from actualized (IV) to (VI), inhabited by the "out—laws" (Vll includes but is beyond both). joseph Campbell used these terms in a workshop that he gave in Hawaii in 1983. He described the "in-laws" as those whose world is defined by the consensus reality of their culture, and who live comfortably within the "laws" of their cultural conditioning without any strong impe- tus to question or move beyond them. Like fish in water, they take their culture for granted as the reality The "0ut-laws" are those whose reality and experience spill over the boundaries of these collective "laws" into a larger view of reality, and who feel pushed to question the assumptions and beliefs of their culture. Living the ”In-Law" Life: The First Two Centers ‘ From the original security of oneness with mother, we acquire the ability to live com- fortably in our bodies, relate to other people, and take care of our physical and mater- ial needs. As we develop, we acquire a sense of separate identity as well as a sense of relatedness to the rest of humanity, or at least to those who share membership in the groups with which we identify. Healthy development through the first three centers gifts us with a solid sense of self- a healthy ego. We see the world in terms of ”l" and "Other," "we" and "they." THE PHYSlCAL/ SuRv1vAL CENTER. Center (I) concerns the satisfaction of basic physical needs in the service of safety and survival. In talking about the hierarchy of needs, Abraham Maslow affirmed that "man’s higher nature rests upon man’s lower nature, needing it as a foundation and collapsing without this foundation. That is, man’s higher nature is inconceivable without a satisfied lower nature as a base" (Toward u Psychology of Being, p. 163). This center may later become one of the primary ways we use power to get others to secure this foundation for us (often whether they like it or not). The fruits of success in this center are the mastery of basic survival skills and a trust in our body and its capacities, i.e. basic physical competence. Once these needs are fulfilled, this center provides the capacity for pleasure and joy in our senses and PRESENCE: THE IOURNAL or Svinirum. Diiuscroixs INTERNATIONAL PATHWAYS or THE Sour. 11 our bodies. It is a place of play and delight in our physical abilities, in games and sports, and in creating things with our hands. The "characters" who live at each cen- ter do not disappear as we move to subsequent centers; rather, we are invited to trans- form and integrate them into our lives. I have a "bag lady" who lives in my Survival Center. Whether I call her a "personified complex," a "subpersonality," or simply a neurotic hangup, the fact remains that I have a bag lady living there and she surfaces whenever my basic security is threat- ened. So what do I do with her? Wishing her away doesn’t work (I came by her hon- estly, given my childhood history); neither does banishing her nor denying her. Then she simply hides in the unconscious and surfaces at awkward moments via irrational fears. For the sake of inner peace, then, I have to embrace her as part of my wholeness ~ and reassure her that I will keep her from ending up destitute. Several years ago, I bought her a station wagon, and made sure that with the back seat down there is enough room to sleep comfortably. Friends tease me about it, but it keeps the bag lady happy. Whoever lives at (I) in your psyche is likely to be a leading player in your life drama, too, and that of your directees. At this stage of our development, and in those cultures which are centered at (I) — almost extinct in our era in their pure form — we relate to God or, more commonly, the "gods" and / or "spirits" as all-powerful, objective entities to be feared and propitiat- ed lest they show their displeasure by harming us. We learn to do what seems to bring I good fortune and ”divine" blessings, or at least to avoid misfortune. These conciliato— ry rituals, of course, were the origins of "superstitions." As we "mature" culturally and personally, we may find more sophisticated or scientific-sounding terms for them, devoid of magical connotations (except at those primitive layers of our psyche which we may prefer to think we have outgrown). Motivation based on the plea- sure/pain principle is basic to this stage. THE EMOTIONAL/CATHECTIC CENTER. Center (ll) is basically focused on need, greed, and attachment. Babies need nurturing or they die. In responsive families babies learn » to manipulate the environment to bring this about by being adorable, needy and help- less (some people attempt to carry this strategy into adulthood, which is less , adorable). lf needs are not adequately met, greed later develops as a desperate effort to grasp and hoard scarce supplies, creating a fear of lack and a diffuse insecurity which makes learning to Share Wllh 0******5 lam 3 The "characters" who live at each center do not real challenge. Control disa t b t t issues originate at (H) as ppéflf CIS ZUE THOUE O SM S€£]Ll€7’l C€7’l ETS . .. we try to satisfy our greeds by making the environment serve our needs. Central to our development through this center is also the need to feel loved, to belong to and be accepted by our family (and, by extension, our kinship group or "tribe"), and eventually to grow up and meet social expectations: to mate (within parameters considered proper by the elders), to procreate, and to carry on the family within our traditional social structures and values. The Cathectic Center comes into play automatically at birth, in conjunction with the Survival Center, by virtue of our need for a "mother," whether biological or a substi- tute. Our social matrix receives us at birth or we perish, so at a primitive level (II) also deals with self-preservation, and threat of loss of a significant other can feel emotion- VOLUME 3, NUMBER 3 SEPTEMBER, 1997 ; · · 12 I Hiruavi RUUMET _ :· z ally like threat of physical annihilation. This blending of (I) and (ll) is important to - I ` ‘ remember when we are dealing with early trauma and family-of-origin issues in l l adulthood. Though we do have choices about whom to include in our "tribe" and ` ` which groups we wish to belong to as we mature, we never really lose our psycholog- i ical embeddedness in the social matrix into which we were born. This is also the cen- ; I ter of our emotional relationships with others and to our own bodies, and of sensuality from its most basic oral expression in infancy and childhood to full adult - sexuality, though here again the line between (I) and (II) is quite fluid. Our social containers mirror who we are to be and what we are to believe, and delin- eate the negative consequences if we do not meet the behavioral expectations of our family and culture. This center molds our life, setting basic, life-long patterns. lt is here that our "wings are clipped" to the size our environment considers proper, lest we try to fly higher than the collective vision allows. How often do people unconsciously place limits on their inner development or level of outer achievement in order to not violate (too much) the suitable family "ceiling" to what is "possible" or what the fami- · ly can tolerate without consigning the deviating member into psychological exile? Here we also develop the fruits of healthy emotional development: basic emotional security (the sense of "I’m OK, you’re OK"), social relationship skills, and a solid sense of place in the social order. As a result, we feel lovable and we learn a "need- and-greed" love: "l love you because you will do something for me." We are depen- dent and conditional in our loving, though we may not always recognize this. The Divine at this center is usually seen as an all-powerful Parent (a "father" in most - contemporary cultures), who expects us to be "good" (as defined by our culture's reli- gious authorities). "I am the child. God will reward me if l'm good and punish me if I’m bad," is the basic stance toward Divinity Depending on the culture, the emphasis varies on the Father’s loving vs. punitive balance, but "He" is seen as "The Boss," and we are here to do His will. The one-sidedness of patriarchal religions leaves a vacuum in the ‘ ‘ ‘w_e never really IOSB Our pSyChO— human psyche. Failure to find an adequate IOgZCL`ll embeddedness ITL HIE SOCILII feminine complement to the masculine Deity Tnatrix in to wliicli we were born · impoverishes us spiritually, for it dismantles _ the balance and wholeness of the Divine. As children turn to their mother for support when Dad is too stern (or vice versa), we usually find some substitute feminine form of the Divine to relate to even if she is not officially recognized by religious authorities. In the Christian tradition, the Virgin Mary is an excellent example of a quasi-divine figure toward whom devotion has often exceeded that toward the paternal God or jesus, especially since she personifies the "Great Mother" in her positive aspects: one who never punishes, always on our side, ever compassionate even if the Father is angry at us. Perhaps the materialism of our time is a form of this longing for the secu- rity of the l\/lother, literally a Mater—ialism. Little wonder that we cling to "transitional _ objects" in the form of things and power symbols which buffer our ego—importance and allow us to create the illusion of a spurious security, the fragility of which may be one of the factors driving us to overdevelop the Ego and overvalue the next center (III), the Egoic/ Power Center. PnEsENcE: T1-ns ]0um~1AL or SPIRITUAL Dinscrons INTERNATIONAL . PAT:-rwAYs or THE Sour. 13 Many societies remain in the Cathectic Center (II), supported by well-developed and socially honored Survival (I) skills. During the last several decades, however, there have been successive eruptions of (rather immature, in most cases) Egoic/ Power Center - (III) energy within these formerly stable societies. The result is violence, social disorien- tation, displacement of people from rural areas to cities, loss of ritual and meaning in tra- ditional religious structures, and a general restlessness which has the feel of adolescent turmoil. Where there is no suprapersonal vision or cohesive social structure to channel it, the turbulence of the (II)-(III) transition often takes the form of inter-tribal power strug- ' gles and wars, of which "ethnic cleansing" is a particularly ugly manifestation. Apotheosis of the Ego: The Power Center As we move to the Egoic/ Power Center (lll), our goal becomes whatever our culture defines as "success." The social skills learned through relationships (II) are now placed in the service of power (lll) goals. We learn to compete and measure our worth by our win / lose balance sheet. I think of this sta ge as the "apotheosis" of the Ego in all its man- ifesta tions, and as the drive to seek self-perpetuation in symbolic and material form. Increasing control is important now so that we can create what our ego/ mind envi- sions. To meet our needs at (ll), we try to control significant others. At (III) we seek ` power to get other people to support our goals and give us what we want; feelings of - competence and self-esteem grow through mastery of important skills. The fruits of successful Egoic (III) living are good ego strength, worldly competence, and socially defined "success." On the negative side, we mayibecome arrogant, grandiose, per- sona—driven, egotistical, or worse, actively destructive to those people who challenge - our power. Western civilization, with its flaws and its achievements, collectively reflects this developmental center, while other societies around the world are rushing to catch up. It is not surprising that many schools of psychology and much of our psy- chological research today are concerned with Egoic functioning. ith science and material "progress" as the dominant "religion," the two most common ways we relate to the Divine here are either not at all- after all, Ego is God and so we become atheists or agnostics — or we continue to identify with the parental deity of Center (II), except that we now see I-Iim (in our culture, definitely "him") as reflecting our ego aspirations, so that we can confi- dently have wars where both sides are convinced that "God is with us." If we see our conscious values and desires as the "right" ones, and our technological success- es as a mark of our superiority, it becomes easy to assume that our values and desires are supported by "God/’ I-Iaving narrowed the world to the parameters of their Ego, even regular church-goers at this stage often fail to integrate the teachings of their religion into their daily lives. Self-righteousness, "image," and "success" are the name of this game. The Divine is related to as an ego projection rather than something truly transcendent. The human potential movement, with its humanistic and transpersonal thrust, is not immune to this. The "power of positive thinking" in its many forms (reduced to tech- niques to be mastered in a weekend) becomes a power play of the conquering ego, which appropriates any positive results for its own aggrandizement. The personal "Shadow" is disowned, co—opted as something "I have dealt with/’ or seen as some- thing merely unknown but benign and creative (exactly the kind of half truth which Voi-uME 3, Numman 3 SEPTEMBER, 1997 j 14 Hriusvi RUUMET I can be more corrupting than a lie). The consequent inflationary effect on the Ego becomes a further obstacle to genuine growth. piritual directors may not often have the opportunity to work with people immersed in this Egoic identification and experience. Until something "wakes up" people like this (and God certainly finds ingenious ways to do this), they _ are unlikely to seek spiritual direction. It becomes more likely to happen as the limits ` of Ego and its version of power are reached, for example, through mid-life disillu- sionment with the things that were supposed to guarantee happiness. Then the direc- tor can gently and compassionately help the person look at the effects of ego inflation at the expense of soul values, distill out the achievements of this center that are need- ed in the service of Center (IV), and set a new life course grounded in spirit rather than ego-self. Spiritual direction might also now evoke a new relationship to God as the love we seek rather than a parental figure to be related to as a child, especially if that relationship has been experienced in terms of power and judgment rather than love and acceptance. These first three centers develop in a more or less predictable way from birth to adult- hood. While (I) and (ll) kick in immediately after birth, (Ill) develops in childhood and matures in adulthood. Psychological theorists Erikson, Piaget, Loevinger, Kegan and others have much to contribute to our understanding of this process, and I would highly recommend their work. Development of all three centers leads us to what tra- ditional psychology defines as "healthy adjustment/’ Living in a world that values the Egoic, we have adjusted enough to "get by"; adequate success, ego strength, basic self-esteem, and enough control over our environment create an acceptably ordered and predictable life. Because the great majority of people in Western culture live here, our ego gets good positive strokes for "fitting in." This relatively linear paradigm works well with people who are dealing with the issues and the developmental tasks of these three centers, although there may still be "unfinished business" and unlived parts of us trailing behind. _ The limitations on our collective vision which result from this Egoic/Power-bound myopia are potentially devastating to the future of humanity and the planet, and to our psychological and spiritual development. Movement to a larger view of ourselves is crucial to our survival through the 21st century. What this means developmentally is that there has to be a critical mass of people with sufficient Aloha (IV) consciousness to turn things around. The good news is that there do seem to be more and more people who, having accomplished what the culture told them would make them happy, find a growing emptiness inside and are looking for "something more" to fill that emptiness. Ambivalence at the Transpersonal Passage: The (IV-III) Waltz My use of "Aloha" here rather than "love" is based on the extremely loose way "love" is used (and misused) today to describe anything from addictive possessiveness to divine compassion. According to the late and much respected Hawaiian elder Nana Veary, "’Alo’ means the bosom, the center of the universe. ’Ha’ is the breath of God .... Aloha is a feeling, a recognition of the divine. lt is not just a word or greeting. When you say ’aloha’ to someone, you are conveying or bestowing this feeling" - (Change We Must: My Spiritual lourney, p. 23). A fully actualized (IV) is about the heart energy of the Divine, and seeing our common divine essence in every human being. Piuzsmcez THE ]ounNAL or SmmTuAL Dnuacrons INTERNATIONAL Ppimwmrs o1= THE Sour 15 Imagine our world and its social institutions if this attitude became the foundation and guiding principle of our social and political actions. In the move from the Egoic (III) to the Aloha Center (IV) "the fish leaves the water." When we approach the transition to a trans-personal world view and self-identifica- tion, which I call the "Transpersonal Passage," traditional models start to break down and we experience a fundamental metanoia. Moving through this passage, the ego must yield to Self, personal power to the capacity to serve a higher purpose, and judg- mental self-righteousness to tolerance and compassion. To reach the clarity and ego- detachment necessary to f““°“°“ f“"“_a “a“SP€“‘?“‘ Spiritual direction might also now evoke a al base, a cycling back to fm- . . ish the Ilungnished business], new relationship to God as the love we seek. .. of earlier centers becomes necessary. In our Western societies, the infamous "midlife crisis" is often an invitation to what I call the "(IV-III) Waltz": an ongoing dance in which Love and Power try to move in harmony while both struggle to lead. In moving to (IV), we yield to the greater Self, leaving the "in-law" world and entering the ”out-law" realm where life is now lived from a base of love (Aloha) rather than power. We can now grow into the ability to compassionately witness our own behavior . and inner process, as well as that of others. Ideally, all spiritual directors would have attained this stage. For the first time, we can see what the ego is doing and de- condition negative patterns with which we identified before. We are able to be gen- erous toward others and take care of ourselves. A basic cognitive shift occurs, from seeing the world from an "either/ or" perspective to seeing it as "both/ and." Opposites can be held in the spirit of Aloha, giving each its due, even if they cannot be reconciled at the moment. We respect our own and others’ traditions and beliefs as valid paths to God. This complex and abundant center has many layers, and deepens as wholeness on all levels develops, but is likely to first manifest through a sense of community and an impulse toward service which does not arise from ego values or personal needs alone. Self—aggrandizement is no longer a primary goal. Some may join civic-minded people who form the backbone of community service all over the world. Others may extend feelings of kinship to all people and/ or all of life, so that the perception of "we/ they" yields to the "we" of our common humanity (and for man); to all forms of creation). At this point, we are pushing the boundaries of the "in-law" world view, but have not yet become full "out—laws." We tend to experience the Divine here in a somewhat less personified form than Father / Mother — most often as a loving Being or Beings, or simply Love. At this cen- ter, God is Love. Spiritual expression can then evolve into the practice of compassion, arising out of a sense of connectedness and empathy with all of humanity and even- tually encompassing all sentient beings. The Dalai Lama is a respected public figure who for many personifies the essence of this center, as is Mother Teresa. Most Aloha- based people live more anonymous lives. Those who have substantially actualized Aloha can be quite tough in their compassion, but underneath what we sense in them is a profound respect for the Divine in the other person. VOLUME 3, NUMBER 3 SEPTEMBER, 1997 16 HILLEVI Ruumsr Realizing how easily Aloha is contaminated by ego strivings and power drives, we may need to consciously re-visit the Egoic Center (lll) and deal with left—over issues. Sincere generosity can easily and imperceptibly slip into self-serving expectations and subtle self-congratulation, and our power drive can easily co—opt our best inclinations toward compassionate service. The original missionaries who went to Hawaii to do good fell into this trap and ended up with most of the land and wealth of the Islands. l o many (III-IV) passages fail, tripped up by ego attachments or loss of courage, that the nature, demands, and dangers of this passage must not be underesti- mated. More often than not, the Self arranges a "wake-up call" in the form of a personal trauma and / or a humbling experience (losing a job or an important relation- ship) to nudge us into the transpersonal passage. At this point, people often perceive their problems as caused by this external event. I have not yet had anyone come into therapy saying, "I have just realized that my ego is too big and standing in the way of my psychospiritual development. Please help me shrink it." I doubt that many spiri- tual directors have had this experience, either. The realization that what happened to them is indeed a "wake-up call" from a higher source and that they themselves at some soul level collaborated in bringing it about comes later as they develop some of the self—witnessing capacity characteristic of (lV). lf someone is still relating to God as child to parent, they are likely to still be invested in justifying themselves. The posi- tive potential of this seemingly negative "wake-up call" can be framed as a loving parent’s choice not to intervene during an unpleasant or difficult learning experience for a resistant child. In practice, (III)-(IV) is the hardest of the transitions even though we can live (IV)’s humanistic aspects more easily. However, psychological development in (IV) without corresponding spiritual development tends to leave a person at the typical mid-life cri- sis point: many accomplishments but a life that feels empty of meaning and purpose even if one is engaged in community service or other worthwhile activities. The final spiritual passage through, where the ego is decisively de—throned in our psyche feels experientially, like a real death, with all the fears and inner chaos this brings up. l · believe this "ego death" is somewhat like the "night of the senses" spoken of by saints and mystics, progressing through several phases and levels of experience, and marked, in some traditions, by rituals and symbols of initiation. We may regress to (II) to avoid the tasks of (IV). How many people at midlife, feeling a vague call to something deeper or greater, have unconsciously sought in a new per- sonal love relationship the connection with divine Love, often betraying commit- ments and breaking up families in U ll · - II · the rocess? But if in this waltz ... ego death zs somewhat hke the night of whe; both are Struggling to lead, the senses" spoken of by samts and myst1cs... the Ega manages ta aaa that tha Self knows the dance better and consents to follow, their struggle can lead to the birth of a capacity for love as Aloha, embedded in the Divine and grounded in well-developed Egoic skills that will help to implement the person’s newly realized values in the world. Much of what we decry as deterioration in today’s Western cultures, particularly in the ‘ · United States, is the result of a widespread flight from the call to negotiate this passage. ` In the more developed Egoic societies, such as our own, there is a tragic spiritual vacu- um resulting in pathological ego-centeredness and its fallout in brutal competition, Pmzsewcs: Ti-is ]ounNAL or SPIRITUAL Dmscrorcs lNrenNArioNA1. _ PATHwAYs OF THE Sout 17 "win-at-all-cost" attitudes, violence, suicide, homicide, hopelessness, and an epidemic of addictions. Moving to Aloha would solve many of these collective problems. Finding Your Own True Voice: The (V-II) Tango When Aloha becomes our new ”home base," we start hearing the call to the Star Center (V). Moving toward this call is like finding and following our unique "Star of Destiny" so that we can live our life as an expression of and a gift to the Divine. This movement toward Self-expression that flows from the truth of our Being (as opposed to ego—expression) is fueled by divine energy. Its goal is to manifest, in our life and in our creative work, that embodiment of spirit which we call "I" and create our unique, personal soul expression in the world, as a conscious act of devotion to the Divine. The primary characteristics of this new level of creativity are that it is not convention- al, not competitive, and not based on external standards. It is creativity for its own . sake, in its own form, out of its own lifestream, and may not bring social rewards dur- ing a person’s lifetime because the culture has not caught up with it. Many artists and visionaries have experienced this. Personal authenticity and a creative response to all that life presents are the fruits of Center (V). In finding our own true "Voice," we are now singing in tune with the uni- versal chorus. Before we can really express our authentic self in this way, however, or _ walk our authentic spiritual path, we must re-visit and integrate what has happened in our relationships, both painful and pleasant, and all the "never was / never will be’s" of that part of our life: naming them, mourning them, and letting them go. Grief is a major theme of this return (often buried under all our angers and resentments); and depression is a frequent symptom of the need for this emotional work to be done. At this point, we have to tell (at least ourselves) the truth about our life history, and to own it all in the presence of the Divine: "Yes, this, too, belongs to my life." It is also a time, though, to appreciate anew our achievements, the moments of grace and com- munion, and to celebrate these with gratitude. e are also called at this time to fill in gaps, which may mean going back and developing social and relationship skills, owning and expressing our need ` for emotional intimacy, re-activating our parental / nurturing capacities, or lending a hand in new community activities. It means owning our embodiment and resolving any unfinished issues related to our sexuality and its expression, as well as physical and emotional sustenance issues and our dysfunctional reactions to their insufficiency or lack, such as eating disorders, irrational fears connected with money, etc. Early wounds from abuse can also come up again if they had not been dealt with earlier. There is a lot of resistance to this return in most of us, especially those who have spent a lot of time in inner work, and perhaps years in therapy, explicitly dealing with family-of-origin and relationship issues. "Been there, done that" pretty much expresses how we would like to dismiss this "re-call," but there is no way "up" but "d0wn." This is also difficult to reconcile with the desire to focus on our spiritual development, especially if we have spent many years in spiritual practices and have had some powerful experiences. Spiritual directors must have an awareness of the paradoxical nature of the task at hand. In the best of possible arrangements, a person caught up in the (V-II) Tango would have a therapist who provides a safe container in which to do the needed emo- VOLUME 3, NUMBER 3 SEPTEMBER, 1997 18 Hinuzvi Ruummn tional work as well as a spiritual director who can keep reminding them of the fact that this work is in the service of true spiritual growth as a whole person. lt would be detrimental to both a person’s psychological and spiritual progress for the spiritual director to collude with the directee’s attempt at "spiritual bypass," which is the refusal in our hubris to deal with what we see as "lower" issues or the illusion that these issues can simply be skipped. Denial of our shadow elements deprives We use. Pytjass t° "S‘d the feed H _ H to re-visit old stuff, especially US of OU? bright Shadow ‘ UU? Ul’WC' painful "old stuff." Those issues knowled ged and unlived potential. .. then beeetne "enePl€ f€P<>Y*i¤8 various transpersonal experiences which to them sometimes feel alien, awesome, or scary. Discriminating among genuine mystical expe- riences, simple imagination, and psychotic-like or truly psychotic states is challenging because the boundaries are not clear, and the categories may be mixed. Because few therapists nor spiritual directors are trained to deal with these kinds of situations, referral to or consultation with experienced transpersonal therapists and/ or authentic spiritual teachers with whom the directee feels comfortable may be wise. Pmzsewce: THE JOURNAL or SPIRITUAL Dinecrons INTERNATIONAL PAT:-iwAvs or THE Sou; 21 As an immediate response to the person sitting in front of you, however, you can be honest about the degree of your “not knowing" and your willingness nevertheless to join them in praying for guidance through this unknown territory Meanwhile, you con- tinue to provide a safe, accepting environment. Expertise in dreamwork is most useful in a situation like this, for dreams provide the most direct access to transpersonal inner guidance that you will have available. Unless you have this background it is best to sim- ply listen to dreams and ask clarifying questions only, without trying to interpret. Sometimes, the mere sharing of a dream can be helpful to the dreamer. Other ways of working with imagery and symbols, such as artistic expression, may also be helpful. Fulfillment of the Sophia Center tasks creates a synchronized energy web that con- nects the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. This brings security on earth and within your body, without identification with either. Here, a person is without fear, ‘ has total trust in the Divine, loves and acts spontaneously, freely and compassionate- ly in relationships. A person expresses inherent talents in a way that echoes the "Voice" of the Creative Source and resonates with the needs of others. We might image this person as a bright sphere of light within the universal Light, with all the centers lit up and energy moving freely across the intricate web of interconnections in a full spectrum of colors. oving from this pregnant fullness into Christ Consciousness, Enlightenment, - Buddhahood, or simply Divine Union at (VII) happens infrequently as, for the vast majority of us, there is always something more to learn or revisit, some old or freshly created obscurations to clear away, and always an inner light beckoning us toward this ultimate "I—Iome." About this center nothing can be said in words: "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal Name" (Tao Te Ching, Verse 1). Final transcendence takes us into the ultimate non-duality: the Ground of Being, the Great Mystery beyond all things, the Void encompassing all manifestations, which is inherently "neti, neti," ("not this, not that"). And yet it is everything. In A New Vision of Reality, Bede Griffiths states, The importance of integration is often misunderstood, and it is frequently thought that, on reaching the level of non—dual awareness, everything disappears . and there is simply pure identity of being...without any differentiation. But the truth is that all the lower levels of consciousness have to be taken up into the Supreme and that is what constitutes total realization, that is, realization of the total reality...When we enter...a higher, more subtle level of consciousness, ...we discover the eternal realities behind the forms. But now we can go beyond the ideas into the Godhead itself, the Ultimate, and there all is gathered together in ` the One. And for this One, there are no words" —— p. 55 It is All That Is; it is what we in our Essence are. ]esus put it very simply: "I and the Father are one" (]n 10:30). The Spiral Dance The way we conceive of and relate to the Divine as we grow and develop into adult- ——~ hood is likely to mirror our psychological pattern of object relations, especially through the first three stages. I also believe we may recapitulate these patterns in different VOLUME 3, NUMBER 3 SEPTEMBER, 1997 22 HILLEVI RUUMET forms as we relate to the Divine at different centers. Some will "visit" Aloha, fewer will . _· evolve into "living" there; fewer still will fully actualize their Star, and the Sophia ` . Center is sparsely inhabited indeed; we have few visible Sages in today’s world, and - they often reveal a shadow side which speaks of their own psychological "unfinished business/’ The genuine ones who do live among us, doing their work quietly and unobtrusively will probably live and die anonymously except for those beneficiaries of their light with whom they have direct contact and who recognize them. Practically speaking, the growing number of psychospiritually maturing people at less actualized levels hold the key to the necessary shift of consciousness that will ensure our survival. Conventional psychology is of little help once the issues of the higher centers emerge, and those on the Iourney need validation that, however cir- cuitous, there are viable pathways that will lead us into that shift. The dance of the opposites — the human polarities we call "masculine" and "feminine" — is an impor- tant characteristic that permeates these centers, now pulling more toward one, now . toward the other, sometimes hovering in balance. Several observations and distinc- tions are important here. I GENDER PATTERNS. First, gender differences and the "masculine/ feminine" symbolic V "energies" which describe complementary tendencies within both men and women are not equivalent. The "feminine" is not the same as female, nor is "masculine" male. "Masculine" energy is associated with a more active, externally focused, analytical, goal-directed, "phallic" orientation, and "feminine" with more organic, internal processes, nurturing, feeling—based human relatedness in all its forms, and wisdom. econd, the Survival, Egoic, and Star Centers (I, III, and V) seem to lean toward the "masculine," and the Cathectic, Aloha, and Sophia (II, IV and VI) toward the "feminine." The predominant energy alternates as we travel the pathways, and, whether due to personality and temperamental factors, gender, or social conditioning, we each tend to move more easily through some developmental centers than others. _ Generally, we embrace or disown gender-related tasks based on whether we perceive them as culturally appropriate for our gender or not. We often do the absolute mini- mum in our least favorite centers so we can move on to or stay where we feel most comfortable — which may not effectively support our growth toward wholeness. Third, the way men and women typically travel these pathways also seems to show some predictable culturally determined differences. For many men, developing Center (I), especially in its aspects of physical strength and skill, seems to be essential ` to their basic sense of masculine competence. Men who don’t do this may have later problems with self-esteem, _ which they may then try to W6 TTIUSIZ keep g1’OUJl71g O1', &lS]Ll1’1g SLlgg€Sf€d, eempeneate for at Subse- ZUE T‘iSk l7€CO1’I’liTlg CCLTICCLULTQS of ourselves. fluent Centers! €SP€CiauY (IH) and (V). Women, on the other hand, may not develop adequate Survival skills, moving instead to (II), which is consistent with the nurtur- ing, relationship-oriented role society assigns them. They will often stay there and do only those Egoic tasks which serve their Cathectic orientation. Without adequate Egoic (III) development, they may start to resonate with Aloha (IV) values, but with- out the self—confidence and practical skills to implement them in the world. l Conversely more men than women tend to bypass or do the minimum required at (II) PRESENCE: THE IOURNAL OF S1*1RtTUAL DIRECTORS INTERNATIONAL PA1·r—1wAYs or rms Sour. 23 so that they can get to (III) as fast as possible, where our culture rewards money, power, and outer-achievement. This lack will cause difficulty with Aloha (IV), because of the need to surrender power in favor of love and trust, but it may be an even greater obstruction to moving into the Star Center (V). . Fourth, a resonance occurs across all these centers so that, whenever one of them is energized, the others with the same energy (the masculine of I, III, and V; and the fem- inine of II, IV, and VI) also vibrate, much as playing a musical note on the piano will cause a synchronous vibration of thi Sfflngggggie Sagie rglote attinther Sometimes we just plain Hchicken Outn oc aves. 1 1ona , e a erns . of return invite deeger intggration Of the effgrt and Tzsks Of growth! because of these energies: at the feminine CO1”lfT'O1”lfZ1”lg shadow stuff ZS I’lt1Td. . . (IV), the return is to the masculine (III); at the masculine (V), the return is to the feminine (II); and at the feminine (VI), the return is to the masculine (I). In an integrated system any movement in any part will resonate through the whole system and all its parts. THE WoRr< OF ”RETu12N." The overall goal of return is psychospiritual integration and involves maintaining vertical and horizontal balance as much as possible, so that with each step we take toward the Divine, we take with us the fullest human development of which we are capable at that time. The idea is to leave as little "unfinished busi- ness" behind as possible, which will also make the inevitable return cycles less of a "clean—up operation" and more of a positive integrative experience. This process may ` be slow, but it is solid. There can be no happiness in staying at a stage we have outgrown, because a part of us always remembers what we were really called to, and failed transitions can be trag- ic, even lethal. The depression that often accompanies such a failure in someone who has clearly heard the inner call to the next stage but refuses it (often for "sensible" rea- sons) can manifest across a whole range of psychopathology, have personal and career consequences, and cause "soul loss." We must keep growing or, as ]ung sug- gested, we risk becoming caricatures of ourselves. [ n guiding a person through their returns, it is important to not just focus on let- ting go of old conditionings but also to pay attention to the "roads not taken" and the emotional skills not fully mastered at the center with which it is connected: (IV- - >III, V—>II, VI——>I). A synergy between therapy and spiritual direction would be an ideal way to support people going through this process. Bypass (the illusion that we can "skip" certain issues) is common in every return, invites shadow contamination, and increases the danger of getting stuck in a center. Avoiding the work of the Egoic Center, a person at Aloha (IV), risks turning altruistic motives toward the service of vanity and power needs, a particular trap for women. At the Star Center, we may get stuck at (II) if we yield to the temptation to choose the comfort of familiar relation- ships (even problematic ones) over the risks of stepping into the unknown. This is all the more so because the Star Center (V) requires good boundaries, a focused will, standing by one’s own soul needs even in the face of disapproval from significant oth- ers, and the willingness to let go of the outgrown cathexes of (II). We may become stuck for several reasons. The undertow of old emotions may entrap us — which is why psychological readiness, a well—functioning "Compassionate Vowmia 3, NUMBER 3 SEFTEMBER, 1997 24 H1i.i.sv1 Ruuivuzr Witness," and a safe container (whether therapeutic or spiritual) for the descent are so important. Sometimes we just plain "chicken out" of the effort and risks of growth, because confronting shadow stuff is hard, as is developing undeveloped skills from an earlier stage, which may be embarrassing to the Ego. Dealing with this can feel like a comedown: we thought we had outgrown all of it, and here it is again. We need more transpersonally trained therapists and spiritual directors who understand this complex and often confusing process, for their invaluable task then becomes to walk with their directees in their descent and carry the light of Star consciousness for them at times when they may lose it. Inflation can also be common because Ego is eager to appropriate any spiritual expe- rience to aggrandize itself. Some kind of objective mirroring is necessary to keep us in balance. It is very difficult to mirror oneself in this way, although consistent dream- _ work can help, because the "Dreammaker" as inner Sage can do this if we are able to listen, and certainly does not spare our ego in the process. Dialogue with someone experienced in this work is desirable, and this kind of mirroring is, as I see it, a core task of the spiritual director. That said, no matter how conscientiously we try to be aware of and handle every- thing along the way, leaving "trailers" behind is inevitable, because there is much that we cannot see until we have acquired the capacity to see it. Ultimately, we are all invited to live what is asked of us in all the centers, so that we can be whole across both our "horizontal" and "vertical" dimensions: the vertical reaches "upward" toward spirit at first assuming that it is on "high," but then recognizing that Spirit knows no "high" or "1ow" and is infused throughout existence, like the breath that . enlivens us. This recognition leads us to circle back and embrace everything as a unity, at the center of which is the fully empowered Heart of Christ Consciousness, - the highest essence of Aloha. To grow into our fullness, to become the unique multifaceted human beings we were meant to be, and then to take that exquisite jewel back ”Home" as our gift to the Divine, is our life’s challenge, its problem, and its glory. To borrow from T. S. Eliot, ` may we all, with Divine guidance, "arrive where we started, and know the place for the first time" (The Four Quartets, p. 59). Aloha. Bibliography Eliot, T. S. Four Quartets. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1983. Griffiths, Bede. A New Vision of Reality. Springfield, IL: Templegate, 1989. Rinpoche, Patrul. The Heart Treasure of the Enlightened Ones. Introduction by Dilgo Khyentse. Boston: Shambhala, 1992. Maslow, Abraham. Toward a Psychology of Being. Princeton: Van N ostrand, 1962. Mitchell, S. (trans.) TaoTe Ching. New York: Harper 8: Row, 1988. Veary, Nana. Change We Must: My Spiritual journey. Honolulu: Water Margin Press, 1989. Woodman, Marion. The Ravaged Bridegrooin. Toronto: Inner City Books, 1989. Pmzsewcsz T1—iE]ou11NAL or Si·nuruAL Dmecrons INrsm~1Ar1oNAL 1 . © 2004 PATHWAYS OF TI-IE SOUL: A Helical Model of Psychospiritual Development by Hillevi Ruumet Addendum to "Ambivalence at the Transpersonal Passage: The (IV-III) Waltz" ” (for educational use only by the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology) The perennial human search for "more" and "deeper" is, at its core, driven by our spiritual Essence (our Buddha nature, in the Buddhist tradition). We might think of it as a sort of spiritual homing instinct. Somewhere inside us we feel connected to the greater stream of life that flows through us, but as long as we are confined to identifying with only the "me and mine"—or the collectively extended ego of "us and ours," we remain separate and psychologically encapsulated. In a broader context, we are seeing such an encapsulation process in our own country today in the grossly oversimplified identification of ourselves as American, as an "us" vs. the "they" out to get us, or more locally, as "red states" and "blue states,." Is this supposed to describe this incredibly diverse nation? Even in cases where we have awakened to a broader kinship with those different from us, as long as we are not awake to the true nature of this drive toward "more" and "deeper," it works through the ego and is easily co-opted by the ego, even in its positive forms. This, too, is evident in the broader social canvas we are a part of. It is interesting that the ego itself plays a crucial role in our movement between Center III and Center IV. Without its raw energy in quest of "more," we might have never embarked on a psycho-spiritual journey in the first place, nor had the energy to arrive where we are now. This does give credence to the well-known axiom in transpersonal psychology that you have to become somebody before you can be nobody, that is, you have to have a developed ego to surrender to something greater than the ego. Though it doesn’t mean » that you have to be a big success, a big "somebody" in the outer world, you have to have experienced enough hunger for "more" and enough experiences of "mores" that did not quench the thirst to realize that you have to look elsewhere for what you really seek. The search is still for personal gratification, but the span of the search has widened, both inwardly and outwardly, and may now begin to expand toward transpersonal realms. The time of life we get to this point—if we ever do—varies greatly, which is perhaps why the midlife crisis has been placed anywhere from the 30s through the 50s. Some of us seem to be born with a capacity to see the limits of ego gratification sooner than others, or to learn our lessons through fewer disappointments. Being a fast learner will bring us to the trans—egoic threshold sooner, but it does not necessarily shorten the path itself. Nor does it necessarily make spiritual (or, for that matter, psychological) development easier. What it may in fact do is make the obstacles more subtle, and leave openings for the ego to return to power that are more devious and therefore harder to notice. So a "gift" for transcendence of this kind can be a mixed blessing if we do not have solidly developed foundational centers (I, II, and III). When we consider the total human family, few get to the trans-egoic threshold in any conscious way. Even fewer actually negotiate the transition from the love of power (Center III) to the power of Love (a well developed Center IV). This passage is a very significant turning point in our psycho-spiritual development when we get there, but it is not yet the "Transpersonal Gate" as suggested in my original article, only the first recognition and aspiration in that direction. A peek through the gate at the garden beyond, if you will. j The fish jumping out of the water and realizing there is water, and there is something more that water is only a part of. What does happen is that we open to a whole new possibility in recognizing that there are limits to our ability to control not just others but ourselves, and that what lies beyond the separate self is so much 2 more and wiser than our precious "I". So there is an aspiration toward personal and often also spiritual growth: we aspire to develop aloha, we aspire toward unity and love of our fellow beings, we aspire to personal goodness. But, except in rare and dramatic cases of sudden full-on spiritual awakening, this is still basically grounded in the ego`s wish for the "I" to become better. So this can more accurately be seen as an aspirational entry into the Aloha center, encompassing more than simply an “I, me, mine" value system. It is humanistic, but not yet transpersonal. That will require the ego`s acceptance of its own dethronement, as it puts itself in the service of the greater Self, however timidly and conditionally at first. A friend heavily engaged in the Descent Tango told me recently that she feels she could not have authentically done this Power/Love dance to any extent had she not been swept into the Descent Tango and the joys and shocks of wading through old emotional "stuff" at a deeper level than she had ever imagined before. She also feels that the crucial element in the very deep work she has done recently was finding firm inner spiritual ground to stand on during the psychic earthquakes—and a guide to support her through the descent process. I mention this because it might help you understand your own weavings through this "map," and to illustrate that the model is not fixed in any sense and therefore cannot be used as a method or program, only a rough outline. So where is the "Transpersonal Gate"? Where does the "Transpersonal Passage" end? I would prefer to not use these terms any longer. The first implies a sudden shift—now you are on this side and now on that. Such sudden shifts in our perception of ourselves and reality can happen, even to the point of genuine enlightenment, but this is very, very rare, and has nothing to do with walking through a gate. The second is a better term perhaps, implying a process over time, but still implies a definite passage and an exit from that passage to—what? Another non-existent thing or place? The living process is the point, and these terms imply some thing out there. That whole notion can lead us astray. As above, I am now trying out the term "trans-egoic threshold” for when we stretch beyond egoically—based in-law values toward something more encompassing and inclusive, and will wait to see how well it wears over time. What does happen, though, probably somewhere in the liminal spaces of actualizing the Star Center and finding ourselves embroiled in the Sophia Task, is that our view of ourselves and reality does undergo a radical change, and does become transpersonal. A little like the butterfly which, if you stop chasing it, comes and sits gently on your shoulder and you simply recognize it. No bells and whistles. Quite ordinary. _ Completely natural as far as the Self is concerned. But how extraordinary on the personal level when it happens! * * * I hope this addendum to the article has clarified more than it has confused you. I felt a need to amplify the above points because the article was somewhat misleading on these, through nobody’s fault. It had to be cut for publication to half its original length, and therefore reads in a choppy way in many places, using as few words as possible and often attempting to say in a sentence what should have taken a paragraph. The editor of Presence at that time did her very best to cut words without cutting meaning, as did I, but this is a fairly complex model, and needs more explanation than was possible within the given editorial limitations. As it was, I was told it was the longest article they had published up to that time. Feel free to send me comments if you like. I am working on a book manuscript, and your reactions and questions could guide me to do a better job.