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
Many years ago I went through a kind of breakdown and renewal of my consciousness that triggered an awakening. At the time I believed I was going mad, but then I discovered psychosynthesis and it helped me to realise that I was actually waking up… My first glimpse of the Higher Self pulled me back… Continue reading An Introduction to Psychosynthesis: the Consciousness Egg
Life is mostly an exercise in escapology and humiliation. You want to be happy. You don’t want to suffer or experience pain, but life rarely cooperates. The harder you run from the inescapable, the faster it pursues you. The monster is always one step ahead, waiting around the next bend in the road. It knows… Continue reading What I Learned About Joy on the Sofa
Adam wasn’t there when I arrived at the concrete seats. I leaned over the fence and watched the river tumble by, my breath condensing in the frigid air. A polite cough sounded behind me and I turned. Adam was sitting on one of the seats dressed in his usual exquisite tailored suit, having made no… Continue reading Addled Chapter 9: A Grand Prix of Cogitation – part 1
Bare-chested, barefooted, he comes into the marketplace. Muddied and dust-covered, how broadly he grins! Without recourse to mystic powers, withered trees he swiftly brings to bloom. The full title of this picture is sometimes Entering the Marketplace with Helping Hands and it represents the stage of the path where you’re ready to share your wisdom… Continue reading Ox Herding Pictures: Entering the Marketplace
Only on the Ox was he able to come Home, But lo, the Ox is now vanished, and alone and serene sits the man. The red sun rides high in the sky as he dreams on placidly. Yonder beneath the thatched roof his idle whip and idle rope are lying. Now the ox vanishes. This picture is sometimes… Continue reading Ox Herding Pictures: Ox Forgotten, Self Alone
He must hold the nose-rope tight and not allow the Ox to roam, lest off to muddy haunts it should stray. Properly tended, it becomes clean and gentle. Untethered, it willingly follows its master. You have successfully caught the ox of your Buddha nature, but there’s still work to be done. Discipline is still needed:… Continue reading Ox Herding Pictures: Taming the Ox
Innumerable footprints has he seen in the forest and along the water’s edge. Over yonder does he see the trampled grass? Even the deepest gorges of the topmost mountains can’t hide this Ox’s nose which reaches right to heaven. By asking the right questions you begin to sense there might be more to life than you… Continue reading Ox Herding Pictures: Finding the Tracks
Desolate through forests and fearful in jungles, he is seeking an Ox which he does not find. Up and down dark, nameless, wide-flowing rivers, in deep mountain thickets he treads many bypaths. Bone-tired, heart-weary, he carries on his search for this something which he yet cannot find. At evening he hears cicadas chirping in the… Continue reading Ox Herding Pictures: Seeking the Ox
Awakening is a tricky business. Pre-satori, I believed that if I could see clearly, all my problems would be solved and I’d live happily ever after. My hang-ups and fears would magically dissolve and I would be free. Ha! It’s a little more complicated than that. To grow on the spiritual path you must become whole,… Continue reading Shadow Attack: Instant Karma & a Wake-up Call
We’ve already explored how consciousness evolves from birth into a fully mature ego, plus some of the problems encountered on the way. To finish, we’ll look at where we can go next. Assuming all has gone well and we don’t have too many hang-ups or kinks in our development, it should be possible to evolve… Continue reading Evolution of Consciousness: The Growing Edge
Jessica Davidson 