Book discussion: The Journey of Soul Initiation: Guide for Visionaries, Evolutio

Read one book a month and change your life! We're kicking off the book club discussion with Bill Plotkin's "The Journey to Soul Initiation - A Field Guide for Visionaries, Evolutionaries, and Revolutionaries."

Dr. Plokin has been a leader in the field of ecopsychology since the 80s, guiding soul decents (often also called vision quests) and writing 3 previous books that offer insight into these decents and offering a different framework on human develpment, with journeys such as this as a profound step that most modern peoples never realize.

Book Description:
Soul initiation is an essential spiritual adventure that most of the world has forgotten -- or not yet discovered. Here, visionary ecopsychologist Bill Plotkin maps this journey, one that has not been previously illuminated in the contemporary Western world and yet is vital for the future of our species and our planet. Based on the experiences of thousands of people, this book provides phase-by-phase guidance for the descent to soul -- the dissolution of current identity; the encounter with the mythopoetic mysteries of soul; and the metamorphosis of the ego into a cocreator of life-enhancing culture. Plotkin illustrates each phase of this riveting and sometimes hazardous odyssey with fascinating stories from many people, including those he has guided. Throughout he weaves an in-depth exploration of Carl Jung's Red Book -- and an innovative framework for understanding it.

Dr. Bill Plotkin also wrote SoulCraft, about how to conduct a vision quest (or underworld Journey, as he calls them), Nature and the Human Soul - A model of full psychological development with the incorporation of the underworld journey as a turning point (this book marked a turning point in my life), and Wild Mind, which explores sub-personalities in depth. He founded Animas Valley Institute, guiding soul decents since the 1980s.

Journey of Soul Initiation is a big book, so we'll only read the first half, through the "dissolution" chapter (page 147). I haven't read this one, so I'm excited to.

We'll decide as a group whther to continue or pick a new book. Future book topics will be in the realm of plant medicine, ecopsychology, existential psychology, and related fields.

Join the book club now, and get the inside track on future readings. We'll limit participants so that everyone has a chance to share.

Please only join if you intend on reading at least some of the book and attending the meeting.