THE TRANSFORMATIONAL JOURNEY
(SPRING 2000)

Personal transformation is a liberating, powerful change from one state of being to another. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines transformation as: "to change in structure, appearance, or character; to transmute or transfigure." This says that transformation is the shifting of one form to another, as in one life stage to another, or from one state of being to another. It requires hard, hard work, inner discipline, and rigorous self-reflection, resulting in the union between life's paradoxes (also commonly referred to as holding the tension of opposites). It requires the death of an old way of being that gives way to the rebirth of a new, liberated self. This process is an archetypal, mythic journey of life, death, and rebirth.

There are universal stages to the journey which, when recognized, support transformation. Discovering the stages can be difficult, however, since the death and rebirth occurs within the unconscious, deep Self and happens mysteriously. Developing a relationship to the deep Self, therefore, requires learning the symbolic language of the soul. Some ways to do that are through myth, dreams, creativity, and a relationship with nature. These explorations into soul open the way into the Great Mystery which lies at the core of all life and is the catalytic force underlying the transformational journey. These are the principles of a conscious passage through a transformational journey - one of becoming whole, expressing one's fullest potential, and living a fulfilling, meaningful life. Transformation is inherent in all of life. With the initial flaring forth of the universe, even before the first molecule was formed, the creative, transformational process began and continues throughout all of life. The seasonal cycle of change upon the earth is a journey that continues unendingly, offering a map for understanding the process of transformation. Spring is the season of birth (or rebirth) which gives way to the full expression of life in summer. Autumn is the season of dying, and winter is a time of incubation and gestation for the rebirth that comes again in spring. Since the human body is made of the same elemental matter as the earth, it is reasonable to believe that humans experience the same seasonal cycles within their psyche.

The earth, then, has great teaching for humans regarding our struggle with the initiatory, or transformational journey. It teaches that there are natural cycles of death that must occur for life to continue and flourish. Without death there is no rebirth, for without winter there is no spring. We trust the cycles of life on the earth because we have seen, time and time again, that spring always follows winter, and fall eternally follows summer. When the leaves die in autumn we may grieve the beautiful abundance of summer, but we know that they will return. (And we don't try to stop them from falling ... you never see people trying to paste the leaves back on the trees once they have fallen!) Humans trust that the seasons will return, bringing their unique form of beauty and power. Learning to translate this trust of the cyclical nature of the seasons into trust and faith in the inner journey connotes an integration and acceptance of the mystery of the transformational process.

Turning to the wisdom of the soul, or deeper psyche, through an exploration into myth and dreamwork is also helpful along the path of growth and transformation. Both myth and dreams speak in the symbolic language of the deeper psyche, teaching and guiding through metaphor and imagery. Dreams come unbidden in the night, bringing symbols that, when interpreted, offer powerful guidance to the individual dreamer. The symbols are rich with meaning and are untainted by the conscious mind and ego. They carry the forces of the deep unconscious and the innate intelligence hidden there. The powerful process of interpreting one's dreams opens doors to intuitive guidance on the topics of everyday life. Dreams offer lessons on how to make appropriate choices and decisions to support the inner journey to one's highest potential. Mythology communicates in the same symbolic way, offering guidance to the collective culture by shaping the mores, values, and attitudes of a society through repetitive story-telling. In the same way that dreams offer guidance to an individual, mythology offers wisdom to an entire culture. Myth offers to a culture what a dream offers to an individual - wisdom and guidance along the journey of life. Jean Houston says, in her book, A Mythic Life, " I have thus come to believe that life is allied with myth in order that we may advance along an evolutionary path carrying us nearer to the spiritual source that lures us into greater becoming." She is talking about the power of myth to guide the seeker toward inner source, strength, courage, and self-actualization. Studying myth, and interpreting the fantastic, symbolic stories reveals the universal, archetypal roots of the human condition, offering a map for the conflicts and triumphs of the transformational journey.

Through myth, dreamwork, creativity (soulwork) and nature, the principles of the transformational journey become recognizable. The chapters on these topics show the basic, archetypal journey through transformation; each one interpreting the principles through a different medium (myth, soulwork, or dreamwork). In the first chapter, on the transformational journey itself, the mythic map of transformation is described. The chapter on soulwork reveals, through artistic expression, the various ways that the principles of transformation appear in the stages of the journey. In the section on mythology, the exploration into the two myths, Persephone and Demeter followed by Isis and Osiris, detail how to understand the symbolic language of mythology as well as revealing the archetypal stages and struggles through the particular journeys of their characters. The chapter on dreamwork follows a group of people through an eight-week journey of transformation guided by dream interpretation. Finally, there is a piece offering hope for the creation and development of a new myth in this powerful time of change on the planet. These explorations help to make clear the principles of transformation, supporting the seeker to meet change with consciousness and grace. For help in identifying the basic principles of a transformational journey, here they are, in review:

1. Personal transformation is a liberating, powerful change from one state of being to another. This change requires the death of an old way of being that gives way to the rebirth of a new, freer self.
2. The process of change is an archetypal, mythic journey of life, death, and rebirth.
3. There are universal stages to the journey, which, when recognized, support transformation.
4. Transformation requires hard, hard inner work, discipline, and rigorous self-reflection.
5. Union is experienced within the tension of opposites.
6. The change, or death and rebirth, occurs within the unconscious, deep Self and happens mysteriously.
7. Developing a relationship to the deep Self requires learning the symbolic language of the soul which is expressed through myth, dreams, creativity, and nature.
8. The relationship to soul opens doors to the Great Mystery which lies at the core of all life.

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