The Journey of Soul Initiation

A Field Guide for Visionaries, Evolutionaries, and Revolutionaries

Bill Plotkin

• Publisher: New World Library
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN:
  9781608687022
• Print ISBN:
  9781577315513
• Subtopic: Ecology

Soul initiation is an essential spiritual adventure that most of the world has forgotten — or not yet discovered. Here, visionary ecopsychologist Bill Plotkin maps this journey, one that has not been previously illuminated in the contemporary Western world and yet is vital for the future of our species and our planet. Based on the experiences of thousands of people, this book provides phase-by-phase guidance for the descent to soul — the dissolution of current identity; the encounter with the mythopoetic mysteries of soul; and the metamorphosis of the ego into a cocreator of life-enhancing culture. Plotkin illustrates each phase of this riveting and sometimes hazardous odyssey with fascinating stories from many people, including those he has guided. Throughout he weaves an in-depth exploration of Carl Jung’s Red Book — and an innovative framework for understanding it.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Author’s Note
• Preface: Death’s Apprentice: A Personal Introduction
• Introduction: The Descent to Soul: An Overview of the Terrain
• Chapter 1: Phase One: Preparation for the Descent — Part 1: Attending to the Foundations of Human Development
• Chapter 2: Phase One: Preparation for the Descent — Part 2: Wholing and Self-Healing
• Chapter 3: Phase Two: Dissolution — Part 1: The Descent into Soul Canyon
• Chapter 4: Phase Two: Dissolution — Part 2: A Bundle of Practices and Ceremonies for Descending
• Chapter 5: Jung’s Preparation and Dissolution
• Chapter 6: Phase Three: Soul Encounter — Part 1: Numinous Awakenings in the Underworld
• Chapter 7: Jung’s Soul Encounters
• Chapter 8: Phase Three: Soul Encounter — Part 2: Practices and Ceremonies for Discovering Your One True Life
• Chapter 9: Phase Four: Metamorphosis — Part 1: Goals and Dangers
• Chapter 10: Phase Four: Metamorphosis — Part 2: Practices and Ceremonies for Shape-Shifting
• Chapter 11: Phase Five: Enactment: Performing Your Vision for Your People to See
• Coda: Awakening to the Dream of the Earth
• Appendix 1: The Lost Journey
• Appendix 2: The Descent to Soul Compared to Rites of Passage, the Hero’s Journey, and Indigenous Practices
• Appendix 3: Additional Dissolution Practices
• Appendix 4: The Enactment Phase during the Cocoon versus the Wellspring
• Glossary
• Acknowledgments
• Notes
• Index
• About the Author
• About Animas Valley Institute