Spirituality Beyond Religion

The Psyche: Your Bridge to Direct Spiritual Experience Would you consider yourself a religious person? Or a spiritual one? The religions of the world are filled with stories of mystics and saints who experienced visions, dreams, and even wondrous face-to-face encounters with the Divine. Yet, for most of us today, teaches depth psychologist Lionel Corbett, these traditions are no longer able to satisfy the deep spiritual hunger for such direct experiences in our own lives. How do we fulfill this instinctual human yearning for the sacred? When the concepts and beliefs of the past no longer work, how do we contact the realm of Spirit ourselves? This is the territory that you are invited to explore with Spirituality beyond Religion. The Numinous Experience A prophet receives a vision from God. A woman with cancer has a wondrous dream that resolves her fears of death. A farmer standing in his barren field is suddenly filled with a profound sense of strength and hope. In the 1930s, Carl Jung began investigating such “numinous experiences”—moments of unexpected mystery and awe where we come into the unshakable presence of what has been called Spirit, God, or the benevolent Other. Today, within the field of depth psychology, Jung’s explorations have unfolded to reveal a profound discovery: that the psyche—the inner life of our dreams, visions, and personal symbols—is the secret link that connects the ordinary world with the realms of the numinous. On Spirituality beyond Religion, you will learn how such common occurrences as your dreams, emotional states—even everyday “coincidences”—can help you discover a vital spirituality founded not on the revelations of others, but on the structures of your own psyche. Made relevant and practical with many true case studies, lucid explanations, and Corbett’s own original insights, Spirituality beyond Religion brings you an engaging and thought-provoking introduction to the field of depth psychology—and an ideal way to embark on your own inner quest for the direct experience of the Sacred. Psyche—an exploration of the field of human consciousness that connects all of us Beyond dogma and tradition—creating a personal spirituality based on direct experience “The numinous experience”—the visitation of the Divine at crucial moments in our lives How archetypal forces affect the physical body Self, ego, and transpersonal fields—how depth psychology views the nature of identity Emotional difficulties: what they reveal about the central archetypal energies in our lives The Story of Job—a depth psychology perspective on suffering and the dark side of the Self How crises can open the door-way to numinous experience The healing potential of transcendent experiences Nature—a wellspring for spiritual development Synchronicity—how coincidences in ordinary life can reveal the workings of Spirit The “method of amplification”—using universal symbol systems to decode our personal myths and archetypes How consciousness influences both the inner and outer world The role of psychoactive substances in the search for the numinous experience Emotions as “infusions of the divine” crucial to the experience of the sacred Solitude and communion in the spiritual life “Soul”, “spirit” and “redemption”—a psyche centered understanding of the Sacred More than eight hours of guidance for cultivating a living, breathing, and personal spirituality unique to who you are