Continuing our look at psychosynthesis and how it can help us to navigate a spiritual crisis or dark night of the soul. The process of awakening can be complex and confusing because there’s so much movement going on in the psyche. It can help to have a map and pointers to explain what might be… Continue reading Self-Realisation and Psychological Disturbances
They always say you should never give up on your dreams, but what if your dream isn’t worth fighting for? What if it turns out to be a nightmare? I’ve been writing and sending my work out for years, trying to get the publishing industry interested in what I’m doing. But the publishing industry has… Continue reading Why I Gave Up the Dream of Getting Published
Practice the four methods gives you four practical ways of being in the world that encourage you to face difficult emotions and situations rather than avoid them. These methods should form the foundation of your mind training practice. The original lojong slogan is: Four practices are the best of methods, and these are: Do good… Continue reading Buddhist Writing Prompt: Practice the Four Methods
The title of this post sounds like a bad thriller, but anyway…last time I promised to tell the story of how the tax credit office almost killed my novel, The Shining Ones, but first, some context: A few years ago I was made redundant in the Tory public sector cuts and, what with one thing… Continue reading The Tax Credit Office and the Sword of Damocles
Your true Self has the answer is about seeing how everything is interconnected and interdependent, and using this to wake up to your Buddha mind. In fact, underneath all the confusion, your ordinary day-to-day mind is Buddha mind. The original lojong slogan is: Seeing confusion as the four kayas is unsurpassable shunyata protection, which needs… Continue reading Buddhist Writing Prompt: Your true Self has the answer
Last time we looked at the third stage in the process of becoming a more whole and integrated person – the realisation of your true Self as a unifying centre in your consciousness. Now we’ve reached the final stage, that of psychosynthesis itself. Here’s the four stages again as a reminder: Thorough knowledge of your… Continue reading An Introduction to Psychosynthesis: Stages of Growth, part 3
I’m amazed to announce The Shining Ones is finished – well, apart from a final polish edit and proof. No matter how many times I tried to kill this book, it wouldn’t die, which is appropriate because it features characters who are reborn from long ago – but that’s a spoiler so forget I said… Continue reading The book that wouldn’t die: A History of The Shining Ones
Be grateful to everyone is about recognising that you’re dependent on everybody else for your existence. That’s not easy to accept, especially in relation to someone or something you don’t like. But mind training is about befriending those parts of yourself and others that you reject. The original lojong slogan is the same as my… Continue reading Buddhist Writing Prompt: Be grateful to everyone
Last time we looked at the first two stages of growth in the process of becoming a more whole and integrated person. First you need to get to know yourself and all the stuff that lurks in your unconscious, and then you need to learn how to control it. Here’s the four stages again as… Continue reading An Introduction to Psychosynthesis: Stages of Growth, part 2
Last time we looked at the egg map and the various levels of consciousness in the mind. It’s a messy place, the human psyche, and it’s not easy to be true to your better self. Thankfully, there are plenty of methods that can help you to overcome the problems inherent in human nature and gain… Continue reading An Introduction to Psychosynthesis: Stages of Growth, part 1
I’m at that tricky, frustrating, and frankly boring phase of the writing process with The Shining Ones – editing. So I wanted to get back in touch with my ‘real’ writing – see if I can remember why I started down this path in the first place. And this is the perfect time – what… Continue reading Backwards in the Dark: Reconnecting with my Writing
Take responsibility is about not blaming others when things don’t go the way you hoped. Instead of looking for somebody else to blame, you can turn it around and take responsibility for your part in the drama. The original lojong slogan is: Drive all blames into one. This doesn’t mean you blame yourself or make… Continue reading Buddhist Writing Prompt: Take responsibility
Jessica Davidson 