The Pathwork is a contemporary spiritual discipline based in the mystical tradition. In this regard it is an inward journey and in its essence, focused on the transformation of the soul. Pathwork may be for you if you are looking for a solid and structured, methodology with which to address your desire to grow and transform spiritually, and to be part of a community of like minded people.
Most commonly, individuals first find themselves drawn to the teachings contained in the Pathwork lectures. Living the principles and practices that come from the lectures is the common denominator that links together individual Pathworkers, the local Pathwork community, and the international organization. Sometimes individuals find their way into the Pathwork by being drawn to a teacher in the community, and through this teacher, find their way to the lectures. Or people may begin by participating in one of the various community offerings. These range from the occasional lecture discussion or workshop, to lecture study meetings, to the deeper commitment of one to three year programs. A further discussion of the various aspects of the Pathwork may be found here. UPDATE: to other blog post: Description of the Pathwork [link to www.ottawapathwork.ca/whatisthepathwork/descriptionofthepathwork.html]
There are different levels of engagement in the Pathwork. A person’s level of participation evolves organically and participants are encouraged to listen to and follow their own individual rhythm and pace. One way to understand the evolving nature of the Pathwork process is to consider a three step approach. We encourage people to allow themselves to fully experience the first step which is letting oneself be given to and to receive the support needed to heal and develop healthy adult maturation. Step two is taking up the responsibility for one’s own care as a deep practice. Step three encompasses the other two and adds in the additional task of giving back to others.
Sometimes people will be members of the community for a short time, gleaning the wisdom of the lectures and then moving on. But what we observe is that just reading the lectures, doing self-study or attending community gatherings or even working one- on-one with a helper is not enough. To really reap the benefits that the whole program can provide means engagement in all components, and in particular the group work, as this is where the more challenging issues arise – how to really be ourselves with our fellow seekers (brothers and sisters). Each of the different components is important and each supports and enriches the others.
We understand that this level of commitment and engagement is challenging and we support people in finding their own way of being involved. At different stages of our lives we are called to different tasks. Individuals have different personal resources of time, money, and different challenges in their lives. The leaders and the community hold in awareness these very practical elements, while at the same time holding what we know to be the essential requirements for the spiritual journey.
Money questions
On the financial level we try to keep the costs of our programs such that they are accessible to all. The administrative, program and community planning is handled by volunteer work. Teachers and helpers charge for their teaching and spiritual counseling work. Each of the leaders has committed a minimum of 10 years to train and develop themselves for the task of being a Pathwork teacher and helper. They are financially compensated for their time and skills, but as well contribute the bulk of volunteer labour to support and sustain the community and programs.
We have a bursary program for people with financial need and at the same time we encourage participants to make the investment of both time and financial resources a priority for their own development. We don’t believe it is solely the community’s or the leaders’ responsibility to foot the bill for individual’s needs. It is a spiritual principle that we have to be “willing to pay the price”. We must back our desire to grow and change with concrete actions and investment of time, effort and – because we live in a material world – money. Many people in the Pathwork have found that when they seriously commit to do the work and invest in the process, the “universe” in its myriad ways comes forward with support. But we must take that first step and say, “This is what I’m going to do”. This is a fundamental lesson we can learn only by taking a leap of faith!
There are a couple of other issues that are important to understand as you consider “Is the Pathwork for me?”
Pathwork and Psychotherapy
It is important to recognize the interdependence of emotional and psychological work with the process of spiritual growth but to know they are not one and the same. The Pathwork lectures offer some very astute understandings of how we can heal emotionally. The Pathwork methodology asserts that psychological healing is an essential first step to develop the capacity to grow and transform spiritually. Much of psychological work is the process of emotional maturation, or to put it in another framework, the development of a healthy ego.
In many schools of psychology this is the end point of the work and the client finds completion. But in the spiritual process, here, in a certain sense, is just when the work begins. The Pathwork teaches that to develop spiritually we first have to develop a healthily functioning ego; only then is that ego able to let go of itself so that our identity rests more and more in our universal self. In this way psychological healing is part of the Pathwork but in a sense, just the first preparatory stage. In the second stage we use the healthy ego to function effectively in the day to day world, and to make choices that enable us to release the ego self and merge with the great oneness. And of course we need to keep working with the ego level issues concurrently with the deeper and deeper levels of spiritual unfolding.
The Question of Authority
The second issue concerns authority. Authority must always be addressed when one considers joining a structured organization or embracing a methodology. Pathwork is a spiritual organization which represents certain principles, practices and traditions. We are a community attempting to live the teachings. And we are human so it’s an imperfect endeavor! In this, Pathwork is similar to other spiritual communities and modalities. Our collective human history with organized religious communities has left most of us with baggage about the role of authority and the issue of how to be part of and belong to a community and how, at the same time, to maintain one’s sense of integrity and organic unfolding in one’s own essence and particular self.
In the Pathwork we are given some very precise and wise guidance about this. The lectures contain teachings about spiritual law – laws that are not particularly different from what we might call universal principles for life. At the same time there is one’s personal law or perhaps another name for this would be one’s own and unique spiritual task. Each individual is deeply encouraged and supported to understand the calling of this task or unique personal law. Participants are helped to understand their issues with outer authority and to strengthen their capacity to take responsibility for and live from their own inner authority. As you might imagine, this can lead to some interesting and challenging dynamics and interactions. As we progress in the work these issues organically arise, calling one to confront one’s tendencies to submit or rebel. Neither option is a true expression of inner authority, and here is where the need to have that healthy ego, and the capacity to let the ego go, is critical. But of course the addressing of issues of authority is essential to the fostering of healthy community and the growth and transformation of its individual members.
So if it is strictly emotional healing that you are looking for, while there are some very useful tools contained in the Pathwork process that are quite helpful to this end, emotional healing is not the primary purpose of the work or the community. Additionally, the deeper work requires exquisite self-responsibility. There are leaders and teachers who can help and guide you, and a sound and grounded framework from the lectures. But finding your own way is required. We are a contemporary spiritual community offering a multifaceted approach that is a lifelong process in the search of unity with all. We are a living experiment in the spiritual paradox that “There are elements of the work we alone must do, and yet we cannot do it alone”. You are welcome to put a toe in and find out further what Pathwork is all about, however it will, of course, be up to you to answer the question – “Is the Pathwork for you?”