Pathways of the Soul

About the Book

I invite you to walk through some common pathways of your soul's human journey with me, not only with your mind, but also with your heart and your body. We will be guided by a unique "soul map," and we will walk through it together. The following description of enthusiastic responders to this "map" may fit you in some or even all ways:

• Open-minded and growth-oriented.
• Introspective and reflective.
• Inclined toward self-examination and inner work.
• Had some "mystical" experiences, perhaps not understood at the time.
• Value meaning and purpose in life.
• Environmentally concerned and socially inclusive.
• Capable of honest self-observation.
• Benevolent sense of humor.
• Spiritually exploratory and non-dogmatic.

We all basically want to be healthy, happy and, whether we call it that or not, holy. If we reject the "holy" part we may be forgetting its core meaning of "whole" and equating it with a hypocritical "holier than thou" attitude we instinctively recoil from. Or perhaps we think of holiness as belonging to "enlightened beings" but not possible for us ordinary humans. Yet we are all potentially enlightened, and this is the experiential discovery of the psycho-spiritual journey.

Spirit is our true identity and can never be lost, only obscured or forgotten. We call the personified form of this divine energy "soul" - embodied Spirit born into a specific time and place, a specific familial and social matrix, the holy meeting ground of Spirit and matter.

We each have our own way to wholeness - holiness - our unique Path back to Spirit, which our essence has never left. It winds through the labyrinth of our individual lives, with many turnings and occasional dead ends. Yet when we encounter our authentic path, our heart recognizes it, and that is what this book is about.

About the Author

Hillevi Ruumet is a transpersonal psychologist rooted in the tradition and discoveries of C. G. Jung, with an undergraduate degree from Mount Holyoke College and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Columbia University.

She taught and practiced psychotherapy for three decades in varied roles - as member of a hospital psychiatry department, in independent private practice of psychotherapy and consulting, as a pioneering workshop leader in stress management and holistic lifestyle promotion, and as full time core faculty at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, California, with special responsibilities as director of clinical training. She remains on the ITP faculty as an adjunct research professor.

Dr. Ruumet is also an ecumenically trained spiritual director. The psycho-spiritual "map" presented in this book is an extension of Pathways of the Soul: A Helical Model of Psychospiritual Development, an article published in Presence: The Journal of Spiritual Directors International in September, 1997. Since then, she has taught the model in a number of workshops, and this book was written largely in response to requests by readers and workshop participants.

Now living in Southern Oregon, she continues her spiritual journey and practice in semi-retirement, as she shares her lifetime of learning through writing, giving periodic workshops and public presentations, and consulting with individuals regarding their psycho-spiritual development and practice.