Bill Plotkin has written a book titled ‘Soulcraft’, in which he describes how a person must embark on their journey to the soul by first embracing and descending into the darkness, no matter how frightening that may be.
He says “The book itself is a trail guide for the mystical descent into the under world of soul: what the descent is, why it is necessary, how to recognize the call to descend, how to prepare for the descent, what the process looks and feels like, and what practices initiate and accelerate the descent and maximise the soul-quickening benefits of the journey.” He warns that “it is natural to experience fear and resistance” to the call.
“Either you will
go through this door
or you will not go through.
If you go through
there is always the risk
of remembering your name.
Things look at you doubly
and you must look back
and let them happen.
If you do not go through
it is possible
to live worthily
to maintain your attitudes
to hold your passion
to die bravely
but much will blind you,
much will evade you,
at what cost, who knows?
The door irself
makes no promises
It is only a door.”
-Adrienne Rich, “Pprospective Immigrants Please Note”, in “The Fact of a Doorframe: Poems 1950-2001”
8 comments
Wow. This is interesting. I’ll check out that book. Thank you for sharing.
Nope. The old “It’s always dark before the dawn, this is to make you stronger, You have to crawl through hell to make it to heaven, yada yada yada” bullshit argument. Shitty things happen to good people and there’s no real reason people have to go through things like this. It’s just another one of those bs comfort blankets people cling to. Things aren’t going to magically get better ust cause you had hard times. Don’t fool yourself into comfort
Well, its not exactly like that. More along the lines of you have to painfully shed the things in life that have driven/created you. But its you that has to work it through. The world could give a shit less about you. And most people could give a shit less about anything but getting stuff.
Shed the things that have driven you? That doesn’t even make sense.
Sorry, my 30 word translation of a 330 page book is woefully inadequate.
I am only an egg.
I would say that’s because it’s 330 pages if empty bullshit that doesn’t mean anything real or actually help anything.
I think the “shed the things that have driven you” comment means letting go of the motivating factors that have propelled your life thus far.
If you found validation through your significant other, maybe it’s time to be alone. If you’ve devoted most of your life to making money, scale back your lifestyle and learn to live with less.
Yes. You see it.