KIRK DOUGLAS KIRK DOUGLAS - Earthstar

From internationallyrenowned motivationalteacher, spiritual instructor,and popoular theologianCaroline Mysscomes a transcendent new work ofunique insight and revelation:Entering The Castle: An Inner Path toGod and Your Soul, an in-depth guideand commentary on the spiritual stagesof growth. Inspired by The InteriorCastle, the masterwork of beloved16th century Carmelite nun, Teresa ofÁvila, Entering The Castle is a revolutionarytext of spiritual direction ongoing within and exploring your soul.It is a clear and direct path to developinga contemporary spiritual practice.Using the mystical practices of prayer,contemplation, and self-inquiry,Entering The Castle provides a highlyoriginal path to self-knowledge.Inspired by Teresa’s imagery of the“interior castle,” Myss shows readershow to find life’s answers deep withintheir own souls by clearing away emotionaldebris to make way for God’slight. In the warm, inviting language ofa trusted friend, Myss guides readersinto seven different “mansions”—orlevels of the soul—with individualrooms in which they uncover the differentqualities of soul power: humilty,dignity, integrity, honor, wisdom, justice,harmony, and endurance.In the lower three rooms, Myss guidesreaders through the serious work ofclearing the soul. Here you discoverthe “reptiles”—those interior sufferingsof the mind, heart, and spirit thatneed to be faced and expelled.Through the door of humility, Myssguides you into the First Mansion—the mansion most connected to yourexternal world. Here, you focus onhow you create chaos and call it intoyour life to distract yourself and othersfrom God’s guidance and true plan foryou. You will awaken your soul andopen yourself to uncovering and facingyour struggles with power, control,and humility.The Second Mansion illuminates theconflicts, darkness, and fears withinyour soul. Here readers face theirdemons, trap the reptiles that hauntthem, and become free from the constrainingpulls of their ego. In thismansion, Myss encourages readers toseek out new soul companions—peoplewho share a belief in a higher purpose,and with whom they can sharetheir new experiences of God.In the third and last of the lower levelof the Castle, readers learn the limitsof their intellectual conceptions ofGod and get beyond them to anexpanded consciousness—embracinga universal or Christ Consciousness,an opening of the third eye—whichreceives information from a sourcethat surpasses rational mind.Once in the upper level of the Castle,experiences of transcendence anddivine contact with God begin as readerscreate an intimate connection withthe universe. In the Fourth Mansion,prayer becomes the means throughwhich love flows into your heart,through your soul, and out into theworld to be of service to others. In theFifth Mansion you dissolve into holinessand join with the divine in a radicallyintimate way.In the Sixth Mansion, Myss addressesthe challenges that arise in the pursuitof God, including the criticism thatmay come from outside, from others,and for our need for praise along theway. Here, you open yourself to mysticalencounters or visitations but, cautionsMyss, “you do not expect them.”She encourages readers to stay mindfulof their limitations and to stayhumble. “You are a vessel,” she writes,“a conduit of grace, not a generator.”And yet, it is in the Sixth Mansionwhere readers may experience holyrapture—the experience of spontaneouslybeing lifted into an alteredstate of consciousness, taken awayfrom your body and senses, andbecoming absorbed into the presenceof God. Finally, in the SeventhMansion, the soul ascends to a fearlessbliss in which it is consciously unitedwith the divine—a “mystical marriage”with God. It is here, writesMyss, “that you can no longer denythat you hear the voice of God.”To go within, to enter the Castle, is touncover the different qualities ofpower that yur individual soul contains,to discover the soul’s own divineconnection to God and to embody thatqualities of light essential to an experienceof God. A portal into a deeperexperience of the divine, Entering TheCastle is a comprehensive guidebookfor your life’s journey—a journey intothe center of your soul. There, peace,God, and a fearless bliss wait for youto discover them...and claim them asyour own.How did you discover Teresa of Ávila,the extraordinary 16th century saintand Spanish mystic who inspiredyour new book?I knew about the life and work ofTeresa of Ávila as the result of mystudies in mysticism in college, actuallyin high school. I did not study herwork as a high school student, ofcourse, but all of us were certainlyintroduced to who she was because sheis a great saint.So, the question is, more appropriately:How did St. Teresa and I rediscovereach other recently? I have aneducational institute called CMED(Caroline Myss Education) throughwhich I teach two extensive educationalprograms that are divided into threeseminars per year. During the secondseminar of the course that was originallylisted as “Intuition andMysticism,” I had intended to teach afull day on the Christian mystics and afull day on the mystics from theEastern and other traditions. I wasgoing to begin with St. John of theCross and his classic work, The DarkNight of the Soul, but I had grabbed—30 EARTH STAR APRIL / MAY 2007