You Alone Are Real to Me*: A Passion for Soul

Who is it that finds that hidden place in our heart and soul, a place that we have all but forgotten and given up on? Yet somehow, despite our attempts to silence this unsated hunger, “she” has never left our side, has never given up the hope of bringing new life into our weary soul.
Perhaps now we must admit to our many disappointments in love and life, of journeys down unsavory streets and far too much time in broken-down dives where the lost gather to imbibe on shattered dreams.  Yet the hope of finding love and soul remains humanity’s greatest dream, demanding the courage to experience a profound and often painful vulnerability.
Rilke’s “love” for Lou Andreas Salome is such a story.  He speaks of his devotion and need for Salome when writing; “You alone are real to me”.  However, Salome understood that while he did love her, he was also speaking to his soul with these words.  As a man, artist, and lover, it was through this relationship with Salome, that he came to know the contours and hungers of his soul.
While we are often consumed by our love for another, and for those passions that fill us with awe and an inexhaustible energy, ultimately the soul that has kindled such a flame, asks to be recognized.  Our work is to see that embedded within these passions is the soul calling to us of a life living in-potentia.  H Rider Haggard, in his book, “She” writes;  “For deep love unsatisfied is the hell of noble hearts … but love that is mirrored back more perfect from the soul of our desired doth fashion wings to lift us above ourselves, and makes us what we might be.”
From Haggard, Rilke, Rabbi Heschel, Toni Wolff, and others, we see this Janus-faced nature of such a love, as it calls us to transcend the habitual and enter into the numinosum to embrace something far greater than ourselves.

Held in the sacred hilltop village of Assisi, Italy, we will look at how Soul has called to humanity since the beginning of time, through archetypal images and emotions such as, the stranger at the door, the journey, and like Rilke, being taken over by such a great love. So too, we will discuss how we unknowingly turn from her gaze.
Ultimately, the search for one’s Soul is a solitary journey, however to do this with reflection from someone who cares so deeply about us, is a gift and even more than sublime. Please join us in Assisi, Italy this summer, as we travel on this “sentiero sacro”  sacred path, into the domain of Soul in the community of others sharing this journey and an outstanding faculty who have dedicated their life to living with soul and so graciously share the findings of their experiences with Psyche and Soul.