Winter season invites restoration of soul

In today’s Huffington Post, Dr. Judith Rich writes about "The Soul of Winter", the seasonal solstice, and opportunities to explore our interior lives. Her column includes,

"The soul continually calls us to make the journey to the farthest reaches of our own interior, to places the light of awareness has never reached so that we too, might be rewarded with the riches of renewal and restoration. However to do so, we must be willing shed the skin of the ordinary world in order to enter the darkness.

Dr. James Hillman, founder of Archetypal Psychology, an extension of the work of Carl Jung, has written many books on the subject of the soul including his most important work, The Soul's Code, a highly recommended read for anyone interested in learning more about this area. Archetypal Psychology is devoted to the study of world mythology, which includes soul process and evolution.

Two other important writers in this area: Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul and The Soul's Religion, and Joseph Campbell, author of The Hero With A Thousand Faces, who became especially known for his PBS series with Bill Moyer. All speak of the soul's process as characterized by the necessity to descend repeatedly into this inner realm of darkness."

Rich suggests, "The call may come in the form of a loss: perhaps the loss of a job or death of a loved one, the end of an important relationship or a life-threatening illness. Or perhaps it's a betrayal or deep disappointment that pierces the veil of our resistance and renders us ready to deepen. When all the usual outer-oriented coping mechanisms no longer work, when we've run out of ways to avoid or means to distract ourselves, the call to begin the inward journey can finally be heard."

She includes a YouTube video link to Thomas Moore talking about a dark night of the soul, and two quotes:

"Instead of seeing depression as a dysfunction, it is a functioning phenomenon. It stops you cold, sets you down, makes you damn miserable." — James Hillman

"Loss means losing what was. We want to change but we don't want to lose. Without time for loss, we don't have time for soul." — James Hillman