This great alchemical work – this journey of personal development – is one of transformation and wholeness.
Our bodies, minds, and spirits, our relationships and our embeddedness in the natural world are aspects of one thing. These domains are all integral aspects of the great work that embraces spiritual practices and everyday life. This morning we might dwell on the dream we had last night, and it’s meaning for our lifework. This afternoon we might be concerned with how the way we think impacts our job. This evening we might meditate or do social service or go for a run, or talk an eye-opening walk in nature. At these or other times, we may, too, spend time connecting with our partner, family and friends.
It’s all part of it.
Somatic psychology and body psychotherapy work from the assumption that for whatever else we are, we are embodied beings, and that body, mind, and spirit co-exist and complement each other to form the whole person. Also, the conscious, unconscious, internal and external realities – including relationships and the environment – are all part of an experiential whole that is reflected in somatic experience.
The field of transpersonal psychology and psychotherapy offers a psychospiritual perspective for understanding ourselves – our nature and our evolution. As a field of psychology it integrates psychological concepts, theories, and methods with the subject matter and practices of the spiritual disciplines.