…to transform we have to change our hearts as well as our minds… and that what changes the soul can also change the world”. M Meade
At this critical time on Earth, we find ourselves in the midst of a collective rite of passage that requires, not simply that we change, but that we truly transform our way of seeing and being in the world. Before a meaningful future can be found, something ancient and enduring about the world must be rediscovered.
Central to the process of transformation is that imagination, not reason or will power, is our greatest power for making change. We change our minds all the time, but to transform we have to change our hearts as well as our minds. In that sense, transformation gets to the heart of the matter and what matters now is how we heal and renew both nature and culture. Ancient wisdom traditions offer the essential knowledge that real change comes from within and that what changes the soul can also change the world. For close to fifty (50) years Michael Meade has brought the wisdom of the souls eternal stories into the world. As a gifted storyteller and scholar he weaves these universal stories into the texture of contemporary life.
He has worked closely with Robert Bly, and James Hillman, and was honored by being included in the documentary, Mythic Journeys.
Now we are honored by having Michael Meade present his latest work to The Assisi International Community where he speaks about those desperately needed changes so as to live in relationship to soul and to hopefully make a better life and world.
The Heart of Transformation begins with the idea that we have entered a radical transition of life in which we keep finding ourselves in uncharted waters regarding the future of the planet and in unmapped territories in terms of human culture. Because humans are implicated at all levels of the crises we face, a transformation of humanity is also required.
The shattering of patterns, rattling of institutions and unravelling of the web of life presents us with extreme challenges and seemingly intractable problems. Yet, when the world is in upheaval, our soul imagines that the time is right, not simply for political or societal change, but rather for a genuine transformation of life on Earth.
The idea that transformation is the way of the world from the beginning resonates throughout the book. The course of stars in the heavens, the growth of a plant from a seed, the birth of an idea or a dream in a human soul all involve a core pattern of radical transition and vital renewal that sustains life; but that also renews it.
The Heart of Transformation draws upon scientific and psychological studies, but also on the wisdom of ancient myths which offer surprising insights into the nature of transformation and the power of life to renew itself on every level of being.
