WEIGHING "SOUL" ; TENDING AN INDIVIDUATED LIFE : MY FAVORITE SOUL TWEET FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER 2014

GRAVE SOUL


It's true a literal turn for those theological representations of soul image or images (what are image representations in nonlocality having no physical properties, taking up no material space) is bound to occur historically and did occur historically literalized and forever more the folly is remembered in the symbol, 21 grams.

Interestingly, there is a new twist, a poetizing one adding weight to the value of soul-tending the body of images that inform one's anatomy of that personifiying notion "soul-making", what Jung called individuation. It begins with an awareness I first caught reading Thomas Moore's "The Essential James Hillman: A Blue Fire", a compilation of key ideas from the writings of James Hillman edited by Moore. The idea appears under the subtitled section, "Polytheism". It states that a fantasy image already governs and guides our view of  soul-making, that thing we call "the individuation process". Hillman was always fond of saying "stick to the image" itself and not anything that can be said about the image that presents itself.  Tend the image itself.  Feel the weight, the gravity inward. Take seriously what image grabs hold of you here in your own deep life as it pulls you toward the discovery of what life is waiting for you here. That life knew you well before you ever had a material face.

My fav tweet on twitter for the month of October, 2014 comes from Thomas Moore.

You get more from your spiritual practice when you take life seriously and feel the weight of your individuality.  — Thomas Moore (@thomasmooreSoul) October 29, 2014

And, say! Come join mythopoetry on twitter  or catch my hashtag #mythopoetics to catch more good stuff like this.

The Individuation Process

I attended a workshop on the individuation process in California over Mother’s Day this year. The workshop took place on the Ladera campus of Pacifica Graduate Institute with senior core faculty, Dr Robert Romanyshyn.

Professor Romanyshyn is a gifted teacher and masterful storyteller. The workshop is laced with story and spiced with poetry, visuals and music. Its alchemical opus circumnavigates the image, homecoming.

The essence of individuation, a term and image carefully amplified through the arts by Dr. Romanyshyn, is original to the writings of C.G. Jung. Individuation is a journey home thinks Robert, and what it is not is shadow work or integration, a term associated with ego soul. The journey which is taken is not to do something external in the world. It unites one to something intimately carried central to the core of self, imaginal life, creativity and the emerging reflections of the soul showing each of us how we make sense and carry meaning fullnesses in an individual manner of inner making. One’s journey is a movement down and in to recover or uncover or discover who waits for us by the side of the road. Jung calls this way of seeing the world in conspectu mortis. One must look to the past so that life is not frozen in the past. Life is to be lived forward. My own sense for the workshop experience is one of reverie and this journey of reverie is the manner by which one will “dis” and “un” to “re” cover the meaning sense one carries in one’s own heart.
There are five guided meditations and should this workshop be offered again and you have the chance to participate, take it. In this brief essay I won’t share with you my entire experience of this weekend workshop, I will simply share with you one of my favorite reverie moments.

Read more of this essay now.