Open-Secrets

Tag: psyche

  • Books That Opened My Mind to New Realms of Consciousness

    Books That Opened My Mind to New Realms of Consciousness

    Early in my spiritual journey, I encountered three remarkable books—The Star Rover, Through the Curtain, and The Tiger’s Fang—that opened my mind to vistas I had never imagined. These books brought me into worlds where the boundaries of ordinary perception melted away, revealing the possibility of a consciousness that reaches far beyond our limited, everyday sense of self.

    The Star Rover

    The Star Rover

    by Jack London: A Visionary Journey of Past Lives

    In The Star Rover, Jack London uses the story of Darrell Standing, a prisoner subjected to severe solitary confinement, to explore the powers of consciousness and transcendence. Standing discovers a way to enter trances that transport him into his past lives across different eras and cultures. Through these trance states, he recalls previous existences with such vivid detail that they feel as real as his current life. Standing’s experiences offer readers a metaphysical exploration of the soul’s journey through time, questioning the nature of reality and memory.

    The novel’s ambiguous ending, referencing an oar from one of Standing’s past lives supposedly held in the Smithsonian Institute, leaves readers between fiction and possibility. The oar becomes a powerful symbol of the novel’s central themes, suggesting that perhaps the mysteries of the human psyche contain remnants of lifetimes lived. London’s novel ultimately underscores the idea that reality is vast and malleable, accessible to those willing to push the limits of consciousness.

    Through the Curtain

    by Viola Petitt Neal and Shafica Karagulla: Investigating the Psychic Realms

    Written by Viola Petitt Neal, an American psychic, and Shafica Karagulla, a psychiatrist interested in paranormal phenomena, Through the Curtain combines psychic experiences with scientific inquiry. This book bridges mystical experiences and clinical observation, seeking to explain psychic phenomena such as clairvoyance and spiritual healing within a scientific framework. The authors delve into the “curtain” between ordinary reality and the hidden layers of consciousness, presenting a perspective that views human awareness as a multidimensional experience.

    Set partly in Edinburgh, Scotland, where Karagulla worked in mental health, the book draws upon personal and clinical experiences to explore psychic perception as a legitimate human faculty. By treating psychic experiences as real and investigable, Neal and Karagulla present a daring alternative to traditional Western psychology, proposing that realms of experience beyond the physical world are open to those sensitive enough to perceive them. Their work suggests that consciousness is not limited to the physical senses and can extend into unseen dimensions—a recurring theme across the three books.

    The Tiger’s Fang

    The Tiber's Fang

    by Paul Twitchell: The Journey Beyond the Physical Plane


    The Tiger’s Fang, written by Paul Twitchell, founder of the spiritual movement Eckankar, narrates a remarkable journey across spiritual planes guided by Twitchell’s spiritual teacher, Rebazar Tarzs. Twitchell recounts traversing numerous spiritual realms beyond the physical and astral planes, each unveiling a deeper level of spiritual truth and understanding. These realms are depicted as vibrantly alive, representing states of consciousness that move beyond earthly limitations.

    Twitchell’s journey is an allegory for the spiritual seeker’s quest for self-realization and enlightenment. The Tiger’s Fang describes each plane as a station in the soul’s evolution, each with unique lessons and experiences. His encounters in these realms resonate with themes found in Neal and Karagulla’s work in that they explore a layered consciousness that bridges earthly and spiritual dimensions. Through Twitchell’s perspective, readers are invited to consider spiritual liberation as a process of ascending beyond the ego into realms of pure awareness.

    Consciousness and Transcendence


    These three books reveal different yet intersecting paths of exploring consciousness and transcendence. The Star Rover presents past lives as gateways to a collective memory that transcends the individual. Through the Curtain examines psychic perception as a tangible extension of the mind, proposing that each person holds the potential to reach beyond the ordinary. The Tiger’s Fang presents a structured journey across spiritual planes, suggesting a cosmic map of consciousness that leads to the ultimate realization of one’s divine nature.

    All three books challenge conventional views of reality, inviting readers to look beyond what the physical senses can perceive. Whether through mystical vision, psychic insight, or spiritual guidance, each narrative suggests that reality is layered, with each layer offering deeper truths about existence and the soul. These works encourage a journey beyond self-imposed limits, hinting that consciousness, in its vast capacity, holds the power to transcend, connect, and awaken us to our most profound potential.

    So, what if we loosen our beliefs about what is possible? These books dare us to imagine that there may be realms and forces at play right now, just beyond our perception, inviting us to explore consciousness without boundaries.

    Have you read books that challenged your view of reality or took you to places beyond the ordinary? Share them—let’s keep this exploration going together.

  • Optimizing Your Work with Object Relations

    Optimizing Your Work with Object Relations

    What is an Object Relation?

    Psychoanalysis definition: a theory describing the relationship felt or the emotional energy directed by the self or ego toward a chosen object.

    Simply put, it’s a way the mind perceives, interprets and organizes information – there’s me, there is the other (person, idea, thought, memory, object, etc.) and there is the affective energy that connects me to the other, defining the relationship.

    These defined relationships, object relations, begin developing early in life, prior to the capacities for abstract thought and self-reflection. Rudimentary, significant object relations are formed early in our experience and then the mind, interpreting and understanding our stream of experience, for the most part, is simply comparing what’s happening in the moment to something familiar from the past – projecting the past onto the present.

    As we develop the capacity for abstract thought and imagining ourselves in events, the mental comparative processes used to ‘understand’ experience begins to usurp experiential exploration as the foundation for the process of understanding. One could see it as a type of mental shorthand to save us time and energy. This is reflected in conversation as well with the ubiquitous use of the word “like” in U. S. culture.

    Object relations are the internal building blocks of self-identity.

    Let’s talk about the celebrity in this drama – YOU.

    The Self

    Self  – one’s cognitive and affective representation of one’s own identity

    Drop the concept of true/false self for a while and simply associate the term self with your historical familiar sense of you.

    Though we all have this “sense of self,” it, in fact, does not exist as anything more than a composite of memories, in short it is nothing more than a memory aggregate incorporated into present experience.

    We’re going to explore the state of affairs we find ourselves in after normal ego development and a few decades of living. We’ll be looking at this from a view of process and we’ll be using some simple concepts to enhance understanding.

    Unraveling

    All of us have probably had the experience of untangling string and knots. It takes patience and stick-to-itiveness – perseverance. In addressing this ball of knotted history and identity we are going to need PATIENCE and STICK-to-ITIVENESS!

    I don’t know about you, but there were times, in frustration, I said – to hell with it – and got out the scissors, but that won’t work in this situation because psychologically trying to cut the string is really just weaving another thread into the existing mess.

    Frustration just pulls on a thread tightening the knots and adding more tension to the entire ball. Most of us have experience with a knot or two that was unmovable – think of that in terms of psychic knots and the amount of resistance and constriction it takes to maintain certain knots.

    This is the beauty of understanding object relations – when you understand the process and the simple secret of unwinding the mess, it helps to support perseverance and patience. And, though challenges remain, a sense of joy and aliveness arise in our process.

    Here is one of the secrets of engaging this process optimally:

    Anyone who has untangled a ball of string knows that as you untangle each section or length of string, no matter how small, more space arises in the mess making progress easier and easier. 

    Often the first hurdle is finding an end to start with and that’s one of the beauties of object relations, you can start right where you are because the end of the most appropriate string is right here in this moment – in your present experience, even if your present experience is “nothing.”

    Here is another powerful secret: as progress is made, give more and more attention to the space than to the mess of string. From experience, you may know that when the tangled mess includes more space, you can almost shake the rest of it free.

    The power of space is something we will come back to, but let’s move on to our next illustration.

    Constructing the Self

    The Linchpin of an Object Relation

    Maintaining Structural Integrity

    Each of us has a range of energy/tension that helps define us. If it gets dialed-down or amped-up, we go to work consciously or unconsciously to get back into our comfort zone. This comfort zone is a big factor in the inner-child structure which we will discuss later.

    But, it’s also a huge biological factor in regards to homeostasis and the charge/discharge regulation of our body.

    So, we can’t get around working with affect and energy which can be challenging when our radio station is broadcasting doom and gloom and take shelter 24/7.

    Another helpful hint:

    In service of patience and perseverance, assume that your involvement with object relations is never going to end. Our normal mind is a comparative mind and affect is part of its filing system. The organizing system is not the problem, identifying with the content, the object relations is the problem.

    You can’t stop the mind from doing what it does – interpreting what is perceived and taking action in terms of how it relates to the body (organ of perception) and this dimension of experience.

    Up next…

    Beyond Single Object Relations: Working with Segments and Structures of the Personality

  • Freud’s Psyche – Psyched on Freud

    Neurosis-neurotic-freudHow Neurotic was Sigmund Freud?

    There’s no doubt that Sigmund Freud has made a huge contribution to the evolution and well being of mankind. Freud’s insight into human nature and his exploration of the human psyche laid the groundwork for most western psychological theory and understanding in the world today.

    From Object Relations Theory to Depth Psychology and Self Psychology to Transpersonal Psychology, Freud’s influence is seen throughout them all. Margaret Mahler, Heinz Kohut, D.W. Winnicott and every other pioneer of human psychology owe a debt to Freud.

    But, the question remains – how neurotic was Sigmund Freud? I don’t believe there are very many people on the planet free of some degree of neurosis. Many of Freud’s theories and postulates have come under scrutiny and challenge. This is normal for those pushing the envelope of human understanding and Freud was certainly pushing the envelope in his day.

    Freud and Groucho Marx would have been a great YouTube video. A 4 minute dialogue on cigars could have been one of the great viral videos of all time.

    I think it was my last post that mentioned penis envy that got me to thinking about Freud and his neurosis.

    When it comes to our personal growth and unfoldment, keeping an open mind about our possible blind spots is an invaluable asset. Using our friends to identify these doorways into deeper self-knowledge is great blessing – something Freud seems to have had a problem with.

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