Description
Book SynopsisTable of ContentsThe Unfolding Self
Preface viii
Introduction: From Caterpillar to Butterfly 1
Symbols and Metaphors of Transformation
Theories of Human Transformation
Variations on the Theme of Self-Transformation
1. Awakening from the Dream of Reality 20
Ordinary Awareness as Dreamlike
Dreaming, Sleeping, and Waking in Everyday Life
Transformation as an Awakening
2. Uncovering the Veils of Illusion 36
The World Perceived as Maya
The Transformation of Vision
Unmasking the Self
3. From Captivity to Liberation 54
Body and Form as Prison
Knots, Ties, Nets, and Bonds in Relationships
Strategies of Escape and Liberation
4. Purification by Inner Fire 74
Fire Deities and the Spirit of Fire
Hell, Purgatory, and the Fire of Purification
Kundalini and the Yoga of Fire
The Mystical Fire of Union
5. From Fragmentation to Wholeness 94
Psychic Fragmentation in Ordinary Awareness and in Madness
Shamanic Dismemberment: Osiris and Dionysus
Alchemical Separatio in Meditation and Psychotherapy
Approaches to Wholeness
6. Reconciling with the Inner Enemy 114
On Integrating the Shadow
Accepting the Unacceptable
From Denial to Affirmation
Purification and Elimination
From Inner Warfare to Inner Peace
On Facing One’s Demons
7. On Dying and Being Reborn 136
Conscious Death and Intentional “Dying”
Nearness to Death as Transformative Experience
Thanatos and Psychic Death
Alchemical Mortificatio
The New Birth and the Eternal Child
8. From Darkness to Light 159
Enlightenment of the Physical Body
The Illumination of the Mind
The Self as a Being of Light
9. Integrating the Inner Wild Animal 177
Remembering Our Evolutionary Ancestry
Animals in Folklore, Mythology and Religion
Tales of Animal Transformations
10. Unfolding the Tree of Our Life 198
The Tree as a Symbol of Self-Unfoldment
Climbing the Tree, Straightening the Pillar
The World Tree and the Inverted Tree
The Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge
11. Journey to the Place of Vision and Power 223
The Myth of the Wanderer
Departure and Threshold Crossing
Descent into the Depths
“Flying” and the Upper Realms
Journeys into Nonordinary Reality
Returning Home
12. Returning to the Source 249
Man as Stranger, Life as Exile
The Outgoing Path and the Returning Path
The Homeward Journey
Notes 269
Bibliography 301
Index 312
