Mystic Journey: Getting To The Heart Of Your Soul's Story by Robert Atkinson points toward a lifelong quest for timeless patterns through which we discover our unique identity and connection to others. Only then can we identify who we are and reclaim a spiritual heritage uniquely personal and worthy of emulation.
The book explains that there is a defined path to God. First, there is an awakening into a consciousness beyond the temporal world of the here and now. The purification or purging of human imperfections is next. Illumination takes us from a self-centered to a Creator centered world. The next state is the dark night of the soul which leads to death and surrender. The last state is the union with God. This union makes us one for eternity. Therefore, our life here on earth is merely a platform for the eventual ascent of the soul.
Atkinson explains that the nature of transformation is breaking down or disintegrating the old and building the new. Transformation allows us to access the hidden mysteries of life itself. Myth and ritual both define and facilitate a process of transformation. Myth is an instructional story about transformation. Ritual is an enactment of the transformation. A transformation can be a synthesis and union of seemingly separate parts that can come together in a fashion that is complementary. Wholeness is a concept to be embraced and internalized as a goal.
The presentation sets forth three steps to practical soul-making. The first step involves remembering who we are and reclaiming our own spiritual origin. The second step is to re-envision our life experience. We recognize a repetition of the dialectical pattern of crisis followed by victory.
Similarly, the Hegelian dialectic recognizes that factors working in opposite
directions are reconciled eventually. The third and final step is to reclaim our own innate spiritual nature or heritage. Herein is the whole process of knowledge, volition and action that will serve to catalyze future transformations in our lives.
Atkinson explains that letting go is necessary to reach out. Cleansing is a condition precedent to purification. Ultimately, the unknown becomes known with experience. Lastly, retreat is necessary for emergence into a new and unexplored identity.
Mystic Journey may be used to explain the historical context of zeitgeist or the collective Spirit of the Age. The origin of our existence can be accessed by looking backward in time to explain our unique personal transformation into beings with a new identity both individually and collectively.
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