“The healing power at the core of psychology is the power of consciousness. Seeking out, facing with courage, and bringing into the Light of consciousness that which is unconsciousness, and, therefore, in a position of power over the personality, is what heals.”
Gary Zukav
Brandon:
So there are so many points that Gary made in this chapter that are beyond being worthy of exploration. Starting with the thought that he advanced about Western science is inadequate or distorted in its attempt to address the nonphysical and higher plane mechanics of existence. On page 181 he spoke on how Western Freudian psychology is based on 5-sensory approaches, which doesn’t recognize the soul, and then on page 187 he added that psychology, as we know it, does not acknowledge the knowledge gained through intuition. I think this is so key in today’s world, particularly in the U.S. of A. In schools, the military, and most of all, prisons/jails, psychology is employed to so-call treat all people in these institutions for disorders and malfunctions. Students, as young as 5, 6, 7 years of age are prescribed the latest designer drugs meant to counterbalance hyper behavior, attention deficits, and other behavioral/cognitive problems. Soldiers in the military are treated with pills to help any tendency to be overaggressive or to aid dealing with post-traumatic stress. Prisoners are given a cocktail of pills to “help” cope with depression and the like. How many of these institutions have any plans that speak to relying on your Inner Intelligence for guidance? Separation of church and state, right? The thing about it though is that these concepts, soul and intuition, are beyond what we think is religion and church, and would actually benefit the secular. It is as if people really have to deprogram EVERYTHING they have been taught about EVERYTHING.
Alexandra:
Hearing how Gary speaks about the requirement of us understanding the depth of not just our souls but our karmic experiences in relationship to our personality and how that influences our actions and decisions is very affirming. I would say that only within the last 2-3 years have I really begun to understand that, by examining the very similar experiences I kept having with folks who would cross my path. This inner-reflection really made me buckle down and get real with what exactly I was carrying, thinking, feeling and being. Not only was there tears that I needed to shed, there was anger, resentment, frustration and so much more that I had to understand the origins of cuz I refused to continue on this life journey the same way. As I continue being aware of my soul and the multidimensionality of my reality and existence my attention has also expanded to the multidimensionality of other people’s souls and their life journey in relationship to me, as I don’t live in a silo and I interact with people constantly.
“A genetic spiritual pattern, so to speak, of holism is there and present, and when the personality operates outside of the genetic pattern of holism, dysfunction results.”
Gary Zukav
Brandon:
Gary introduces us to what he calls “spiritual psychology.” Oh, I loved it. He defined “spiritual psychology” on page 184 as a new discipline that focuses on the soul. This pushed me in the direction of applying the word “spiritual” to just about every field or discipline in an academic or educational sense. So connect how he defined “spirituality” on page 188, as being the process of immortality, and translate that to how we are taught in school, grade and Sunday school. Imagine how advanced or in harmony the people of this society would be if we had “spiritual mathematics?” “Spiritual biology?” “Spiritual engineering?” Everything that is taught, studied, and understood would stem from seeing to it that our works and expressions are for the purpose of elevating and healing souls. That is a lifting thought. Later on page 188, Gary spoke about how psychology lacks the language to describe our souls and intuitive means. That is such a poignant statement, and speaks to what I am saying, we do lack the language to actually even begin the process of understanding, as there is no point of reference. In the Bible, one of the first acts of Adam and Eve was to name the many entities in the physical world, as this was what gave him dominion, or in a multisensory manner, put them in harmony with the world. We will not have mastery or harmony until we can properly describe or apprehend the features of our soul, or the plane of the nonphysical, until we can call it what it is. We must “talk the talk” in order to “walk the walk.”
“Spiritual psychology has as its focus the soul of the human being.”
Gary Zukav
Alexandra:
As a child growing up I would feel my intuition very strongly but as I lived with people and therefore tried to understand the world through them my outlook became very narrow. I was surrounded by judgment and therefore became a very judgemental person for many years, I saw fear and limitation and therefore incorporated that into my daily mindset, I experienced people who could not and would not speak their truths and therefore learned to not speak up and just keep things to myself. While all of this is going on I’m ignoring my intuition more and more and focusing even more on the material and what I could see and have clear evidence of. So when Gary speaks on how “awareness first enters into an unaware personality through crisis” on p.190 I was immediately taken back to the end of 2017 and the following 7-9 months of what felt like a fight between my soul and my personality.
My personality was ready to fight to the death of my soul to prove it’s understanding while my soul kept coming back in the ring with the brightest light bulb to say ‘nah, you need to see yourself and who you truly are!’ And while this fight was happening my body’s immune system was dropping to what I know was it’s lowest point and my nutrition was a hot mess! Now I made the decision to choose the path of evolution cuz that pain was something I NEVER wanted to experience again! I began to see emotional breakdowns and illnesses differently after that experience; I began to understand the role we play in them and how they aren’t things that just happen to us for no reason! So now when I see people struggling with mental issues, health issues, etc. there is a part of me that thinks about the health of their soul. I remember over sharing with so many folks who just gave me advice like ‘oh, God has everything you need’ or ‘have you prayed about it?’ or my favorite one, ‘I’ll pray for you!’ I remember talking to therapists who had no clue what to tell me when I was talking to them about what I was experiencing mentally and emotionally! It was when I decided that I had to take this into my own hands and not keep asking ‘WHY?’ but rather ‘WHAT PURPOSE.’ I needed to know the deeper purpose underneath it all and to just listen for what the universe wanted to say.
Brandon:
Further in the chapter, on page 183, he emphasized how significant balance is, and this was a pivotal paragraph in the chapter. He said that our experiences are meant to balance the energy of our soul. And, only after having this understanding, can we be free to transcend these experiences. You talk about touching the stratosphere? So often we hear companies sell products that talk about this food, this workout equipment, that medicine brings “balance” to one’s life, and it might to some degree, but tell me what product or service is talking about balance to a soul’s energy? This is where “knowledge of self” is key, so if we look at our bodies, we know we have faculties that help us maintain balance inherently, in all of our physiological functions. As a matter of fact, the correct term is “homeostasis.” This is the natural equilibrium we have, in our diets, circulatory system, respiratory, immune, so on. We have balance even standing up, where we instinctively will hold our arms out to balance us out when we are wobbly. So if we are designed to be the embodiment of balance and harmony, then of course we should have balance in our spiritual lives, right? This is it!! We just have to be, and allow our Indwelling Intelligence, or God within, to guide and we will have balance in our lives. We don’t need any company or salesperson to give us balance or harmony. If someone wants to be in harmony, then tell them just be, or keep listening and living, and they will.
“When there is no compassion, when there is guilt, remorse, anger, or sorrow, there is opportunity to heal the soul.”
Gary Zukav
Alexandra:
When I read how Gary defines “Spiritual Psychology” as “a disciplined and systematic study of what is necessary to the health of the soul” I was definitely on board with that. It also made me wonder ‘what are we afraid to know?’ When we see a personality expressing outwardly what their shattered soul is experiencing inwardly, what is it that we don’t want to understand? or feel? or resonate with? that makes us brush them off or judge them or make them feel so different from us. What is it that we fear by challenging them to look inward themselves?
Brandon:
I really could keep going with Gary and this PSYCHOLOGY chapter, but I will make one last final point. He discussed how people who become martyrs, in some form or another, lacked balance, as they perceived they were making the ultimate sacrifice in love, but were really exercising sorrow for themselves. This was something to sit on. Growing up in a typical Christian household, I was told stories of how Jesus Christ was dying for all our sins, and that this was the type of sacrifice that may have to be made to really manifest true love. So to hear Gary speak on this “martyr attitude” or even a messiah complex, and almost turn it into this sorrowful act, or dare I say, selfishness, is a thought to behold. To sacrifice for others is truly a noble deed, and I don’t think anyone should dispute that. While I may not fully agree with Gary on this one, I can relate to him saying that these sacrifices cannot be made from fear and/or doubt, which sorrow certainly is a result from. This is why we hear such animosity from certain pockets of White America, as they rail against so-called “white guilt.” And I understand it, as who wants to be guilted into doing something, even when it is righteous and necessary. I don’t frown upon those who do decide to dedicate their life to the advancement of the masses, but if they do from some place of sadness for themselves or the masses, then it is perfectly all right to scrutinize this. Ask ourselves: are we assisting others, or even ourselves for that matter, from a place of sorrow? Is melancholy the source of some of our most significant sacrifices?
our agreements 