[imported_JosieMember]

I have no idea of what this could be, but my first thought upon seeing it was that the pink area is sunlight. Dunno why. Indiana Jones influence, maybe? Anyway, just thought I’d post. Good luck in finding the answer.

[imported_JosieMember]

Sounds to me like you want revenge on someone. Have you been angry lately?

[imported_JosieMember]

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Jospeph Campbell (who I’ve only just started reading) spoke about following your bliss. Bliss is the euphoric welling-up within oneself of that creative energy whose origin lies beyond time and space – it is transcendent. If you follow whatever it is that brings you bliss, you can become ‘transparent to the transcendent’. Sounds to me a little like what you are talking about re vocation and the finding of meaning.

Joseph Campbell takes a fascinating approach to archetypal imagery, the study of myth, and its impact on the soul. I love the whole concept of following your bliss. Just love it. And yes, I do think that’s exactly what he’s talking about regarding vocation and the finding of meaning. Who says you’re uneducated?? Someone needs to teach them a thing a two.

You may want to read The Power Of Myth and also Hero With A Thousand Faces, both by Campbell. They’re an absolute must for those interested in Joseph Campbell.

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It seems to me that even for those who still hold to the old myths, our culture means that we take a literal approach to them which actually robs them of their power.

Are you referring to a superficial approach, doing whatever because that particular religion demands it rather than because that same whatever is felt in the soul?

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So we all need to find our own way, write our own myth.

Hence discovering meaning within the soul?

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I’ve thought for a little while that psychic questing has a mythic function, and the Meonia saga is almost like a foundational myth (which is perhaps why I personally find Meonia so fascinating).

The Meonia saga is extremely archetypal. Extremely. I think that’s why so many people are fascinated by it. So, yes, I can see where it could be seen as a foundational myth.

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I might need to expand on that sometime

Please do! I think that would be awesome.

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but I can say that what people discover in their various psychic quests does have that whiff of personal myth-making.

Can you elaborate on this, too?

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Ideally we would unite the two in ourselves.

Exactly.

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Enough of my rambling.

I’m loving your rambling. Please, ramble on! Quite frankly, that’s all I’m doing. I find that oftentimes the truth comes about through the rambling, and all sorts of wonderful discoveries are made.

Oh, before I forget – Archetypal Psychology. Look it up on Wikipedia. I think it will provide a lot of answers. James Hillman speaks to the soul and “calling”. I wasn’t familiar with him, but discovered this theory this morning. How’s that for syncronicity?

[imported_JosieMember]

I’m glad I could help. I look forward to more posts on this subject. I find it vastly interesting.

[imported_JosieMember]

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Many thanks for your replies

You’re quite welcome.

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(haven’t read the full article you linked but it looks excellent).

It is an excellent article, and has a link at the bottom to other papers and presentations by Mike. He’s a truly remarkable man, and I had the distinct privilege of studying under him for two years. I urge you to read some of his other papers, as well. I think you and he may have more in common than you realise.

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Jung himself talks about (I think in Memories, Dreams, Reflections) the ghosts of ancestors looking over your shoulder to see how you tackle the same challenges that occur over and over in families.

That’s exactly where he discusses the ghosts of ancestors. Wonderful book. I think the study and knowledge of Jung and his theories is important to psychic questing, as he himself was on a continual “psychic quest”. Or, so it seems to me. Jung’s psychology was a holistic psychology, with heavy emphasis on the spiritual and metaphysical. So much so that he referred to himself as a “doctor of the soul”. That’s one of the reasons I prefer his theories over others. His theories encompass the entirety of the human condition – not just the symptoms.

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n fact my particular starting point on all of this is from the perspective of “Vocation” (perhaps my own family’s issue Smile )

I search for various definitions of “vocation” and found this:
“the urge to follow specific career: a strong feeling of being destined or called to undertake a specific type of work, especially a sense of being chosen by God for religious work or a religious life”
And, it’s from the Latin vocare, “to call, or name”. I think that’s incredibly significant, and quite in line with psychic questing.

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In essence I see a modern society in which people are increasingly alienated. We are a fallen race

Completely agree.

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In some distant time, we feel, we lived in a state of blissful union with the universe but somehow we lost this connection and find ourselves strangers in a world full of suffering.

Adam and Eve in Paradise, only to fall and be cursed with suffering. Some believe this to be literal (as many Christians do) while others believe it to be mythologically important (as did Joseph Campbell). I personally feel it was a combination of both. Either way, I understand exactly what you’re saying. We fell (or leaped) away from perfection and suffering is the consequence.

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Meaning is what allows us to re-connect to the “blissful” state but meaning in a post-modern world is hard to come by when all the traditional meta-narratives have been “debunked” and we live in a state of permanent suspicion.

So then, how do we determine “meaning”, by this definition? From my perspective, “meaning” must come from the soul. It’s the core of our very being, where “meaning” resides. In order to determine our “meaning”, we must first learn to have discourse with the soul.

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This is why Mulder’s cry of “I want to believe” is so poignant in the X-Files

Also as an aside: I’m going to marry Mulder when I grow up. Never mind the fact that I’m 44 years old…

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Living in the privileged West, we have most of our basic needs taken care of, and are generally “empowered” to do what we want. We are all well-versed in the setting and attaining of personal goals – but what goals do we set that will give us this sense of meaning and connection?

I think we find “meaning” when we look inside ourselves, when we listen to our “still small voice” (regardless of what one believes that actually is) that points us toward what we are “called” to do. It’s that “call” that gives meaning. Following that specific path we are called to follow.

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Clearly, fame and fortune won’t do the trick – ask Britney or any one of the hundreds of celebrities who suddenly achieve their “fame and fortune” goals and are then left with a vacuum.

Absolutely. Poor Britney. She never found her path. In my opinion, she was pushed by her mother down a path she should never have ventured down. And, yes, I do feel sorry for her. I don’t approve of her actions, mind you, but I can understand why it’s all happened, and hope she finds her way.

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For me, then, “vocation”, which is a usefully unfashionable word and one I use in the looser sense of any personal calling, is the route to discover our own individual meaning.

Exactly.

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In this I guess my meaning is very close to Jung’s “Individuation” although the emphasis is more on the “call to individuation”.

That spark, or idea, or lightbulb that goes off and sheds light on the need to look for meaning in one’s life?

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Imagination is where the worlds of gods and man intersect – and psychic questing gives a framework for tackling the Imagination in a way that is likely to help us towards our vocation.

Your Imagination is Mike Arons’ Creativity, I do believe. Creativity comes from Intuition, and Intuition is that lightbulb that sheds light on our need to find meaning. Are you sure you’re not REALLY Mike Arons masquerading as Simon?

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Again if I say that psychic questing is like a game of spiritual spin-the-bottle I mean that in the most constructive sense of a means of unblocking a stagnant situation and throwing you towards some interesting area which you would never have chosen to investigate yourself and which ultimately leads to a discovery that you would never have made.

Synchronicity as a result of answering the call. Hence, psychic questing. Am I close to what you intended?

[imported_JosieMember]

Simon,

I did a bit of internet sleuthing for papers by Mike Arons (too lazy to look for my own copies ) and found the following link. To tell you a little of Dr. Arons, he is a genius (I did say a “little”).

Anyway, check out the following link, please, and see if it gives you any insight to your question. It may, or, it may not. It’s worth a shot, as I see it.

Also, just in case you’re unaware, Goethe is said to be Jung’s great-grandfather through an illegitimate child. Jung was well aware of this, and Goethe’s Faust was a very heavy influence on his theories. Just an FYI because I find that interesting.

http://www.westga.edu/~psydept/arons-intuition.html

[imported_JosieMember]

Based on this post and another I responded to in a different thread, are you thinking in terms of Intuition and its genesis? There is an entire psychological theory about Intuition and its metaphysical aspects. All creativity comes from intuition, as do all ideas. So, where does intuition begin? Is it the “still small voice” of God? Is it archetypal in nature, gifts from generations before that have been buried in the unconscious? Does it evolved from the Shadow? Is it part of the collective unconscious at all?

There are those who say it is all of that, and those who say it is none. I find it fascinating, regardless.

So, to answer your question, no I don’t think it stretches it too far. I think it’s all part and parcel. At least, based on my (very) limited knowledge of psychic questing.

[imported_JosieMember]

Hi Simon,

I believe Guided Imagery can (and often does) open a conduit through which many things can flow – unfortunately, both good and bad. But, I think if it’s done properly and with care by someone who is experienced that it can lead to great things and great psychic experiences.

I’ll give you an example of my own experience. The first time I experienced Guided Imagery I was instructed to imagine myself in the most tranquil, serene place I could imagine. I was living in Georgia at the time having moved there from Florida a couple of months previously. During the guided imagery session a little blue bird kept interrupting my pleasant surroundings by flying directly into the “camera lens”. It was a beautiful setting, and the bird was actually a happy little bird. She just wanted my attention, and I couldn’t understand why. That little bird would not leave, regardless of what I tried.

I have a native american ancestor named “little bird”, who was female, and come to find out she was from that region. No one knew anything about her, other than her name, at the time. As luck would have it, one of the gentlemen in the class was Native American, and later on asked me to accompany him to a powwow, which was held on an old native american site (one of the most spiritual experiences of my life, let me be sure to insert that here). While there, I found references to my ancestor, and discovered where she was from. That would not have happened had I not experienced the Guided Imagery session and saw the “little bird”. I firmly believe that was my ancestor guiding me. For what reason, I don’t know. Maybe to introduce me to Guided Imagery, maybe to find her, maybe to experience what occurred at the Powwow. Who knows? I take the answers as I take the questions – as they come.

I also believe it is possible for others to “appear” in guided imagery sessions, or for other knowledge to come forward. Sometimes we bury long forgotten knowledge (perhaps from other lives, perhaps knowledge floating around the atmosphere, who knows?) that is given reign during those sessions. It frees the unconscious to reveal what is otherwise unknown, and at the same time opens a conduit for communication. At least, that’s what I believe.

Anyway, it may work, it may not, but I think it’s worth exploring. And that would be my two cents (or two pence, maybe?) for what it’s worth.

[imported_JosieMember]

Thank you for responding.

I’ll definitely check it out.

Edited because I sleepily misunderstood the post, originally. So sorry for anyone that read it.

[imported_JosieMember]

This is what I needed. Thank you Simon. I think my question from the previous thread has been answered.

[imported_JosieMember]

Has anyone thought of using Guided Imagery?

[imported_JosieMember]

Hi Simon, and thanks for your response.

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I have a pet theory that at a certain point the distinction between genealogical research and psychic questing begins to blur.

See, that’s my point. I wasn’t doing genealogical research. This all just sort of fell into my lap, and I recognised the names from past genealogical research.

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My father has been carrying out some recently on both the history of the family and the history of the family home and it’s amazing how patterns repeat themselves down the generations.

Oh yeah. It’s fascinating, innit? Lots of repetition.

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In fact I would go so far as to suggest (and I’m not sure if others will agree with me) that genealogoical research is sort of a “soft introduction” to psychic questing.

I can certainly see that.

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I never did get around to it but it might throw up some more clues for you to follow. Here’s the link to it on Amazon (UK):

Thanks! I’ll take a look, and see if it offers any clues.

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Maybe someone else who knows the areas you mention can point you to other sources of info.

That would be great! I’m really a bit confused by this whole sequence of events, and I’m not sure if this is some sort of psychic quest or if it is all just coincidence. This whole psychic quest thing is very new to me, but I do find it fascinating. I’m just a bit unsure – which is very unusual for me because I have always been intuitive, (as are all the women in my family), but this is very different from anything i’ve experienced before.

Your help and guidance is most certainly appreciated and I look forward to learning more about psychic questing.

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