Midway along the journey of life

I woke to find myself in a dark wood...

Dante's Inferno

Joining Up With the Spirit of Change

The process of psychospiritual change can sometimes arrive involuntarily with a series of upheavals, a cosmic "rug-pull," or with more of a subtle-yet-growing feeling that we are standing at a threshold.

A 'Threshold Time,' as I call them, begins in different ways for different people. We may know it from feelings of disillusionment, grieving something we can't quite identify, or perhaps we are standing in the middle of our life (midlife) and find that we are profoundly disoriented because our First Half of Life choices now feel empty or without direction and vitality. It is often in the midst of personal unraveling that we begin to sense some kind of calling that is stirring within us.

There are many different types of callings.

A calling can be a creative calling such as a deep need to birth something into being (such as a book), or bringing to life some inner vision.

A calling can be one that leads to what Jungian depth psychology refers to as alchemy; namely, a desire to explore the pivotal energies, inner images, and arising themes emerging from the dark-enigma layers of the psyche (soul).

A calling can be a spiritual calling, the kind when the conscious cultivation of heart-mind, one's connection to Spirit and Nature, or an aspiration to serve others and the world snaps into clear focus.

A calling can even be an ecological calling. Fueled by ecological empathy, and an awareness of the healing that needs to take place in the world, we may feel a deep comprehension of what visionary elder Joanna Macy calls The Great Turning.

Actively exploring what is stirring within our inner depths can be one of the most nourishing, strengthening, clarity-building, and path-defining experiences in life...

...IF we slow down for it.

If we are fully present for it...

If we are honest with ourselves...

If we are willing to learn...

If we give ourselves permission to engage in the art of contemplative awareness combined with sacred inquiry...

then change doesn't just happen to us -- our Process aligns with our calling and we become allies with the Spirit of Change.

Consciously tracking this Process, and gradually coming into greater congruity with it, is what I call Soulfaring : a Jungian-informed, Nature-inspired, Spirit-led approach to spiritual direction, creative mentoring, and adult metamorphosis.

If you feel there isn't anyone in whom you can confide your feelings, your confusions, or your calling, this Wayfarer stands at the ready.

In our work together, instead of you continuing to ask questions like: "What's going on with me?", we'll explore other questions, Quest-I-On Questions, such as:

What's trying to happen through you?

What is the nature of the Process you are in, and what is it trying to teach you, and others?

What is the gift that is uniquely yours to bring into being?

People Who Benefit Most From This Work

• People involved in life transitions or undergoing initiatory change

• Individuals assessing (or re-assessing) beliefs (spiritual clarification)

• People seeking to develop a deeper relationship with their inner world, inner guidance, and dreams

• HSPs (highly-sensitive persons) and HEAPs (highly-energy aware persons) just beginning to learn about their traits or needing support (Are you an HSP?)

• Creatives working to seed and root a project, or those seeking to work through creative blocks to move a project forward

• Individuals who have experienced spiritual abuse at the hands of a "teacher" or alienation within a toxic "spiritual" community, who are trying to find their way to a path they can call their own

• Those fellow travelers interested in cultivating a Nature-oriented spirituality or a contemplative-meditation practice

• Wayfarers who have actively chosen to follow a solitary path a.k.a. "hermiteering" (but who still need support on their way-within-the Way)

I work with people of all religious affiliations, sexual orientations, gender identities, and ethnic heritages. Among the diverse backgrounds of people with whom I have worked are:

• caregivers, therapists, ministers

• leaders in organizations

• entrepreneurs cultivating a conscious business or public offering

• chaplains and chaplains-in-training

• actors, artists, musicians, poets and writers midwifing the spirit of a project

• animists, contemplatives, Druids, hermits, and Wayfarers of various traditions

• individuals traversing the disorienting landscape of midlife

• people involved in a process of spiritual formation

Some journeys (and some phases of a journey) have to be made alone. At other times, however, it can be helpful to journey with someone who understands the nature of deeper callings, dreams, inner terrain, the path of seeking, and the mysterious process of change.

To learn more about the flow and rhythm of this work, read: The Process

© 2024 / SOULFARING: Inner Counsel & Dream-Tracking / Frank Owen / All Rights Reserved

DISCLAIMER

This work is a form of spiritual companioning, intuitive inquiry, and life path exploration. Our work together is held in strict confidentiality. Though I have a graduate degree in counseling psychology and advanced training in psychotherapy, this work is not reparative psychotherapy, therapeutic in focus, and not intended to serve as a substitute for mental health counseling, psychiatric treatment, addiction or trauma recovery, or other medical care. If, in the process of working together, themes, content, or issues arise that necessitate traditional counseling, psychotherapy, recovery work, or psychiatric services, every effort will be made to connect you with those resources.