By Joy Manné
Ego needs to un de rstand. That is why Ego needs to de scribe Soul. When Ego believes it understands, it gets some sense of control and with that some sense of security. Soul just is. Soul already knows and un de rstands Ego. Soul does not need to control Ego. Soul Therapy teaches Ego how to surrender to Soul. If Ego has nothing un de r its control, it will have nothing to surren de r.
Ego-level and Soul-level are different energy states. Soul Therapy teaches us to distinguish between them so that we can increasingly live our lives on Soul-level.
Soul Therapy concerns all religions but is in dependent of any one of them. We use it to become truly religious. (p.2)
The energy that we put into the world is a boomerang that we throw: it inevitably comes back to us. As we create and emit it, this energy creates the quality of our lives. (p.16)
I recommend too the right amount of doubt. If we have too much doubt, we do nothing and do not progress. If we don't have enough doubt, we are credulous and superstitious and do not progress. Because we think in terms of “right” and “wrong,” we tend to de fend our de cisions. Being “right” is so satisfying—but then we have nothing left to learn. Being “wrong” means losing self-esteem, and it can feel so bad. Both “right” and “wrong” are rigid positions. If we are limited to “right” or “wrong” we have no room to doubt. In between “right” and “wrong” is the vast area in which choice and alternatives exist, and it is there that we learn. (p.22)
The Soul Path is paved with Ethics. If we are not living an ethical life, we are not following a Soul Path. (p.26)
A therapist whose self-esteem is low cannot help you to build self-esteem. A therapist who cannot maintain good relationships cannot teach you how to do it. A therapist who is blaming parents or society cannot support your self-responsibility. A teacher or therapist who is into power-games cannot support your empowerment. Whether you are choosing a therapist or a training, make sure that the person or people involved can teach what you want to learn. (p.113)
Any form of sexual relationship between teachers or therapists and their stu de nts and clients is FORBIDDEN! It is an abuse no matter what the profession of the practitioner: doctor, psychiatrist, analyst, teacher, therapist, masseur, osteopath, naturopath, rabbi, or priest. Anyone with any doubts on this subject is an addict to the Ego-quest and is not competent to accompany a path of personal and spiritual de velopment.
In therapy, clients let down their healthy, normal de fenses. They are like children: trusting, innocent, and vulnerable. As in every relationship between adult and child, the balance of power and authority is in the favor of the adult. To relate sexually to someone in this unprotected state of consciousness is the equivalent of sexually abusing a child. Just as a child cannot take responsibility for entering a sexual relationship, so stu de nts and clients cannot, no matter what their age or experience of life. To permit such a relationship to seductive clients is to abuse their confi de nce. There is almost always a period in a process where the client or stu de nt sees the therapist or teacher as a parent. The child has the right to try to seduce its parent and, most especially, the right not to succeed. Children have the right not to be seduced by their parents.
An honest sexual relationship takes place between people who are equal. As long as clients and stu de nts still need their therapists or teachers, they have not become in de pen de nt and autonomous. There is no equality in the relationship: the teacher or therapist has the power. Abuse of power is alien to the Soul Quest. (p.11 7 )
Breath is life: without breath there is no life. Our breathing is our state of consciousness. Our habitual rhythms of breathing regulate our state of consciousness and our emotions in daily life: a change in our rhythm of breathing induces a change in our state of consciousness. Breath is life and life is Relationship. The physical act of breathing in and out—taking, receiving, holding on, holding out, giving and letting go—symbolizes relating. Love, communication, attention, respect, money, food, and sex all contain these processes. Concentration on the breath de velops awareness: awareness liberates the breath. When the breath is free, life is free. Through working with the breath, we can resolve problems whatever their origination: conception, birth, childhood, adult life, or past lives. Our breath brings us gently to the innermost de pths of our being. It lifts us into altered states of consciousness.
Voice Dialogue takes us into the drama that is our personality. We talk with the players who are our different subpersonalities, “Voices,” or energies—the different roles we play. Before we become aware of them, they possess and control us. As we dialogue with them, we recognize their function in our personality, and learn to respect and honor them and their work.
Some people have no doubt about the reality of past human lives, others are uncertain, while still others think that we live only once. What is my position? I have had access to human and animal past-life memories since my earliest teens. As a small child I had contact with non-human memories. In the course of my Soul Quest, my past-life work took me into de eper dimensions and these became clear. When I remember past-life incidents, it is with the same intensity and quality as childhood memories or memories of yesterday's experiences. P.184
The Soul Quest never comes to an end. Development is never finished and we never are a completed product. We are always traveling along our Soul Path, always on the way. Whatever the route already covered and the work already accomplished, we can always take a further step. Our potential for de velopment is infinite. (p. 200)
