“A Wanderer’s Way” is a practice of mystic existentialism -- a spiritually informed existential perspective I started thinking about when I was a graduate student in the mid 1990’s. At the time, I was curious to discover if there existed a therapeutic modality that integrated existentialism and spirituality, which according to my understanding (and research), were philosophical opposites:
. . .[O]ne of the primary tasks of existentialism is to resolve one’s essential isolation whereas a spiritual orientation is focused on transcending the self in order to experience unity with the cosmos. One focus of existential therapy is to make conscious the unconscious manifestations of existential issues. The focus of spiritual psychology is to enlarge consciousness to arrive at a transcendent consciousness. [cites omitted]
At that time, I was unable to discover the integrative therapeutic modality I envisioned because it did not yet exist. (At least not in the records available to me at the time which were on microfiche.) . Nonetheless, this framework has guided much of my journey since.
Now, more than 20 years later, as I return to my studies and practice, I am encouraged to learn that integrative techniques are increasingly common. There exist a plethora of spiritual/soul-centric modalities offered in conjunction with various healing practices including traditional allopathic medicine, psychotherapy, addiction recovery, trauma support, etc. Through the internet and mobile devices, resources for healing are increasingly accessible to greater numbers of people.
Feels like progress.
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