Spirit
The Spiritual Experience is where we find that which is one with us and also extends beyond us. It is the realm of the mystic, the shaman, the artist and the everyday person connecting with the mundane, present “beingness” of life. We come into contact with the more expanded aspects of life through prayer or meditation. We experience it in nature; watching a sunset or marveling at the unfolding of a single flower. The expanded realm is touched when we experience a birth or sit with a loved one as s/he dies. We can feel its impact whether we are in ecstatic joy or deep grief. One’s experience and access to the spiritual is often first defined by familial and social constructs; collective thought. As one grows and evolves, the individuated Soul may find resonance with the given constructs. However, one might find that s/he is experiencing something that requires questioning of given constructs and have the need to investigate the nature of the Spirit. Transpersonal psychology recognizes the spiritual realm of life and its formative substance in the life of human existence. Acknowledging expanded realities provides the opportunity to live fully and authentically. Spiritual expansion can often leave one feeling ungrounded and confused. The old, safe constructs of ”reality” crumble as Spirit offers experiences leading to a redefined and expanded ”reality.” Psychodynamic approaches can offer us the tools we need to integrate the expanded realities into our human experience. Through the physical, mental, emotional and systemic experiences of earthly life, the Soul knows the Spiritual realm in new and ever evolving ways. If psyche means Soul, psychotherapy can be understood as attending to the Soul’s work and evolution. The Soul is part of the Greater Spirit and strives to fully experience that union. Soul and Spirit work with and through the physical, the thoughts, the emotions, and systems to bring into consciousness the ever present union of All That Is.
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