johnwatkinsblog

Taught to generations of schoolchildren and still regularly performed, William Shakespeare’s plays are widely regarded as high points of Western culture. Lauded for their dramatic artistry and linguistic charm, key to the enduring popularity of these iconic works is their unrivalled ability to encapsulate, in words of matchless eloquence, essential truths about human character and behaviour. Composed around 1600, these immortal lines from Hamlet, Prince of Denmark are among the most enchanting in the entire repertoire:  

“What a piece of work is man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculty, in 
form and moving how express and admirable, in action how like an Angel, in 
apprehension how like a God, the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals.”  

While still capable of appreciating its poetic charm, few contemporary Westerners would now regard this as a realistic appraisal of humankind’s nature and status. Indeed, many would likely consider it too naïve and unworldly to be other than literary affectation. Over the several centuries since these beguiling words were penned, collective confidence in the innate nobility and splendour of human life has gradually yielded to corrosive cynicism and a keening air of disenchantment.

Implausible as it might seem to modern sensibility, as with so many of his exquisitely perceptive observations there is good reason to believe Shakespeare’s laudatory assessment was in fact perfectly apt. Numerous others have made comparable claims. Humans were created “in the image and likeness of God” Christianity declares, and, with widely varying imagery and symbolism, Eastern and Western religious and wisdom traditions of every culture and era agree, as do many people who have had transcendent experiences so uplifting they erased all doubt in the boundless wonder of existence.

If such reverential assertions are true, how did we ever come to doubt them? What could have brought about a demotion so complete few are even aware of its occurrence? Is this loss irrevocable, or might we yet find our way back to the shining vision many believe to be our natural inheritance?

This book describes a momentous odyssey which began long ago. Spoken of in ancient myth and legend, hinted at in countless dreams, intuited in our most aware moments, it is the epic saga of humankind’s exile and belated return. While its end is beyond imagining – as the subtitle intimates – the perilous nature of this journey is evident to all who venture consciously to undertake it. Though our eventual homecoming is assured, readers are starkly reminded how easily we may become lost or stuck along the way. The path to wholeness is indeed comprised of fateful detours and wrong turnings, as Carl Jung recognized.

We begin this remarkable tale by tracing some pivotal steps in our onerous descent. The moment we enter this world a host of overt and covert influences indelibly shape our identity, beliefs, and worldview. While unavoidable, even necessary, such conditioning as it routinely occurs in the modern West can inadvertently hinder and distort natural human development in innumerable ways. The cost, individual and collective, is profound. Impeding the full blooming of our intrinsic nature results in loss of countless possibilities and drastic limiting of our self and world. William James saw untold lives severely impoverished:

“Most people live, whether physically, intellectually or morally, in a very restricted circle of their potential being. They make very small use of their possible consciousness, and of their soul’s resources in general, much like a man who, out of his whole bodily organism, should get into the habit of using and moving only his little finger.” 

Can we free ourselves from these shackles before it is too late for us and our planet? What will it take? Everything hinges on our personal beliefs and worldview. Do we see ourselves as vital participants in a timeless spiritual quest, as wisdom traditions claim, or are we merely insatiable consumers plundering the storehouse of infinite need? Do we feel our origin is momentous, or view ourselves as fortuitous survivors of evolutionary struggle temporarily inhabiting a minor planet drifting aimlessly through space? Are we hobbled by nihilistic doubt, or living in certain knowledge our life is a precious opportunity to grow and realise sacred truth?

Assuming an ailment must be correctly diagnosed before it can be successfully treated, our current plight is described in detail. Like a long-overdue medical examination, some will find this investigation rather daunting. However, our personal futures and that of the Earth itself are deeply troubled and uncertain and if we hope to survive and flourish we must summon the courage to face these facts and endeavour to understand where we are, how we got here, and what we can do to heal ourselves, others and the natural environment. Readers unsettled by this penetrating assessment are urged to persevere and be assured the eventual outcome – like this book’s key message – is positively joyous.

It is vital to understand that, while many ailments described in the following pages are real and true, others are not. Loneliness, erosion of trust, impaired self-esteem, loss of hope, lack of meaning and purpose, anxiety, depression and numerous other modern pathologies are common and increasing. However, the fundamental affliction underlying all others is rooted in erroneous beliefs about who and what we are as human beings that severely restrict and distort our identity and worldview. Correcting these reveals our true self to be infinitely greater than the puny skin-encapsulated ego we are conditioned to believe we are and ordinarily accept, and that far from the senseless ordeal it sometimes seems, life is the supreme adventure.

“The modern world is desacralised, that is why it is in a crisis”, Jung maintained. As the world’s psychic climate becomes ever more volatile and unpredictable, all are obliged to make a critical choice: will we try to weather the storm by narrowing our outlook and shutting down, or strive to expand our awareness beyond its usual narrow confines in order to gain the broadest possible perspective on our situation? Counselling the latter approach this book draws on the experiences and testimony of numerous fellow travellers on the great human journey. Some are unassuming folk leading ordinary lives whose personal epiphanies, spontaneous or sought, brought life-enhancing insights and awareness. Others (like James, Jung, and Maslow) are distinguished in fields as diverse as philosophy, psychology, science, theology, spirituality, art and literature. While their orthodox contributions are widely accepted, the more innovative paradigm-challenging ideas and findings of these pioneers are still largely unknown. Ongoing neglect of this trove of vital wisdom has diminished Western culture and helped foment some of our most pressing individual and collective crises.   

Faced with unprecedented change and uncertainty we need all the wisdom we can find. However, pervasive silence surrounds many beliefs and experiences that lie beyond the bounds of our cultural status quo. Some notions remain off-limits altogether. Forays into the worlds of science and mainstream psychology reveal how deeply entrenched is this myopia. Though an intellectual triumph beyond compare, the materialist paradigm of modern science results in a host of quintessentially human attributes and experiences being summarily erased from view, anything deemed “subjective” being considered insubstantial and unreliable and thus of little relevance to rational assessment and analysis of our condition. In this dispensation spirituality rarely rates a positive mention, nor do philosophies and belief systems which address perennial questions of heartfelt concern to all thoughtful people: Who am I? Why am I here? What is the purpose of my life? What happens when I die? 

Although “holistic” approaches have never been more popular, in numerous ways our highly extroverted Western culture encourages us to forget we are a complex of body, mind, and soul. While diet, exercise, and rest are now well recognised foundation-stones of human health, excessive emphasis on the physical has fostered collective disregard of the less tangible but no less vital inner aspects of our being. Though we sense their significance intuitively, continuing to act as if they were optional or even unnecessary considerations in our quest for happiness and fulfilment is a recipe for emotional stagnation and spiritual impoverishment.

All of us at times choose the path of least resistance, hoping to minimise the challenges and uncertainty of life by shoring up our familiar worldview and self-identity. If unhappy or dissatisfied we are habitually inclined to change our circumstances in an effort to make them more comfortable and enjoyable. While the modern world offers a bewildering variety of ways of doing this, the result is invariably superficial and temporary. The only satisfactory remedy, we will finally discover, is to change ourselves in some fundamental way. As Abraham Maslow recognised, true and lasting happiness and security are found, not by shutting ourselves in, but reaching out beyond the confines of ego-centric identity and belief:    

“The human being needs a framework of values, a philosophy of life, a religion or religion-surrogate to live by and understand by, in about the same sense that he needs sunlight, calcium or love … Without the transcendent and the transpersonal, we get sick, violent, and nihilistic, or else hopeless and apathetic. We need something ‘bigger than we are’ to be awed by and to commit ourselves to in a new, naturalistic, empirical, non-churchly sense.”

Across the Western world the “something bigger” for which we instinctively yearn has long been conceived religiously as an omnipotent supernatural Being fundamentally different to the frail human creations He watches over like a benevolent parent. While such a paternalistic God is no longer credible to most highly educated moderns, ageless wisdom teachings assure us the unlimited we seek – consciously or unconsciously – may yet be found, if only we have the eyes to see it.

At some time in their lives many people have felt themselves lifted out of their usual enclosed identity to perceive a world marvellously transformed. Such primal experiences might only occur once and be so nebulous and ephemeral they leave little more than a dim and fading memory. Sometimes their luminous traces continue reverberating down the years. Like beacons glinting enticingly before vanishing in a shrouding mist, they signal the presence of brighter guiding lights beyond our veiled sight. Recalling personal experiences that felt too precious to ever doubt or forget, I realised I had gradually lost touch with them nonetheless. Strange how things of real and lasting value may remain undiscovered all our lives, or be glimpsed and then forgotten, submerged in a blur of worldly distraction, busyness, and the anaesthetising routines of everyday life. Wonder eclipsed by more prosaic concerns. Behind this we might recognise an insidious dynamic: a deeply-ingrained, reflexive tendency to overlook, ignore or forget ideas and experiences that do not readily align with the self-image and beliefs we devote so much to acquiring and embellishing.    

Like most, I acceded to numerous cultural injunctions (often unwittingly) before finally waking to how costly this accommodation had been. It meant I stopped being true to myself and no longer allowed intuition and innate curiosity to lead me where they would. Lamenting possibilities lost I could only wonder what may have been had I heeded silent promptings of heart and soul and entrusted myself more fully to the road less travelled.

Researching and writing this book provided an invaluable opportunity to reconnect with myself and honour what I always sensed was true. Beyond the bounds of secular materialism and moribund religion I discovered a wealth of knowledge relevant to the eternal human quest for inner unity and unwavering certainty. After innumerable fateful detours and wrong turnings I finally understood – as somewhere inside had always known – if we hope to find conclusive answers to life’s deepest questions we must look within.

Our surest allies and guides in this quest are the wise elders and courageous explorers who turned toward rather than away from the human inner world, venturing ever more deeply to eternal truths discovered only in those boundless, veiled realms. Meditation, yoga, Eastern spiritual philosophy, indigenous and shamanic lore, mysticism (secular and religious), humanistic and transpersonal psychology, psychedelic research, consciousness studies, and – especially – the venerable contemplative traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity are incomparable repositories of wisdom thanks to the tireless resolve of these pathfinders. Among their striking avowals were many I knew intuitively were true: they resonated too deeply in my inner being not to be revelations of truth (a certainty rarely experienced with conventional knowledge).

Many whose testimony I found most helpful and enlightening had themselves traversed wildernesses of crushing loneliness and self-doubt. Their stories of liberation and renewal offer comfort and hope to all whose own life journey has brought dark nights of anguish and despair. Everybody has lived experience of this poignant human struggle. Profound gratitude is owed those noble souls whose perennial witness calls us to waken from our somnolent state and turn toward our true goal and destiny. The complacency and inertia our culture induce are remedied by heartfelt appreciation of the miracle of existence and steadfast conviction in the transcendent beauty and preciousness of life. This is the most hopeful and liberating discovery we could ever make.

Summation of a lifetime’s research, study, and experience, The Soul’s Perilous Journey offers the kind of guidance I often yearned for during the many long years of my own troubled searching. Encyclopaedic in depth and scope, it is certainly not intended to be read like a novel. While it provides a vast amount of information, intellectual understanding alone is not enough. Assessing the truth and significance of core beliefs and inner experiences demands thoughtful consideration and reflection. I trust readers will exercise such discernment, for only in this way is it possible to deepen knowledge into practical wisdom that transforms human lives.