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Soulmaker: True Stories from the Far Side of the Psyche
Book by Grosso, Michael
149 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1991
8 people want to read
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May 26, 2023
A SURVEY OF A VARIETY OF ‘PARANORMAL/METAPHYSICAL’ EXPERIENCES
Author Michael Grosso wrote in the Introduction to this 1992 book, “This book is about exploring the boundaries of soul---a process I call soulmaking. The boundaries of soul are unknown, says the Greek philosopher Heraclitus. In the following pages, we examine this idea in some detail---by means of stories from the far side of the psyche. The idea of soul has fallen on bad times. Under the spell of modern scientific materialism, we have come to think of soul---of mind and consciousness---as NOTHING BUT a by-product of the brain and nervous system. People, in effect, are reduced to mere physical objects, trapped in time and space, and caged inside the borders of sense experience.” (Pg. 1)
He continues, “But mysteries still remain. In spite of the decrees of scientific fundamentalists, people still have experiences that reveal the soul and her enigmas. Such experiences are often very puzzling, but they still deserve our attention. Despite the bias against soul, there are thoughtful people who take it seriously---for instance, psychologists of Jungian persuasion.” (Pg, 2)
He explains, “In this book, I use the word ‘psychic’ to portray experiences that unlock the door to our inner depths: great dreams, psychedelic trips, paranormal episodes. How many of us have been educated to believe we are one-dimensional beings straying aimlessly in a metaphysical flatland? Is there a way out? Can we recapture the lost dimensions of our souls? I think there are many ways we can. In my case, for instance, certain usual dreams stirred up feelings of tremendous inner resources. People are often guided by significant, memorable dreams. We need to learn the art of shoring up their meanings and using their healing powers.” (Pg. 3)
He suggests, “Perhaps the most spectacular psychic events in modern history were the appearances of the Virgin Mary in Zeitun, Egypt (1968-1971). Indeed, Goddess epiphanies are being reported all over the world today, and I think they hold an important message for soulmakers… encounters with UFOs may open us up to the mysteries; they seem, in fact, to signal … the beginnings of an inner transformation…
“It may be awkward to admit, but in my search for the boundaries of soul, drug experiences played a part. Long ago shamans discovered the virtues of psychoactive plants. Thanks to my experiments with such plants, I was able to discover important aspects of soul life. The soul of the ancients that travelled beyond the body. The idea of soul travel may seem fantastic; nevertheless, people continue to report the experience. The out-of-body experience (OBE)… again adds to the mystery of soul… And the soul of the ancients survived bodily death---an idea out of favor with modern science. Still, people have experiences that suggest we do survive death…. There is more to death than meets the eye.” (Pg. 4)
He observes, “strange things have been appearing in the skies for centuries---nowadays we call them UFOs… UFOs and visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary seem dissimilar enough, yet UFO mavens such as John Keep and Jacques Vallee have noted the overlap in their mysterious antics.” (Pg. 31)
He says of Near-Death Experiences, “How could the most dangerous ‘toxin’ of them all---being near death---result in the expansion of human consciousness? It is a paradox that nearly dying may, at least for some people, turn into the most extraordinary time of their life. Researchers say there is a pattern to these remarkable experiences. People on the threshold of death often seem to glimpse worlds, meet mysterious beings of light, and acquire dramatically new ideas about the nature of reality.” (Pg. 49)
He states, “The boundaries of soul in time are fuzzy. A part of our souls apparently spills over the immediate present of our clock-bound existence. A similar fuzziness is true of the soul in space. The ancients spoke of soul travel… We have invented flying machines---why not soul flight? There are, in fact, well documented stories of out-of-body experiences (OBES).” (Pg. 95)
He concludes, “In this book, I have recounted experiences that widen pour perception of those boundaries: in the official worldview, people aren’t supposed to fly out of their bodies or know the future or encounter mysterious lights in the sky or see apparitions of the dead… I’ve used the word ‘soulmaking’ to describe them. Experiences are ‘soulmaking’ if they shatter our routine image of self or soul, if they undo our fixed ideas of who and what we are—if they move and stir up the soul’s depths. The fact is that thousands, if not millions, of people are having soulmaking experiences.” (Pg. 143)
This book will interest those who are studying such ‘anomalous’ experiences.
Author Michael Grosso wrote in the Introduction to this 1992 book, “This book is about exploring the boundaries of soul---a process I call soulmaking. The boundaries of soul are unknown, says the Greek philosopher Heraclitus. In the following pages, we examine this idea in some detail---by means of stories from the far side of the psyche. The idea of soul has fallen on bad times. Under the spell of modern scientific materialism, we have come to think of soul---of mind and consciousness---as NOTHING BUT a by-product of the brain and nervous system. People, in effect, are reduced to mere physical objects, trapped in time and space, and caged inside the borders of sense experience.” (Pg. 1)
He continues, “But mysteries still remain. In spite of the decrees of scientific fundamentalists, people still have experiences that reveal the soul and her enigmas. Such experiences are often very puzzling, but they still deserve our attention. Despite the bias against soul, there are thoughtful people who take it seriously---for instance, psychologists of Jungian persuasion.” (Pg, 2)
He explains, “In this book, I use the word ‘psychic’ to portray experiences that unlock the door to our inner depths: great dreams, psychedelic trips, paranormal episodes. How many of us have been educated to believe we are one-dimensional beings straying aimlessly in a metaphysical flatland? Is there a way out? Can we recapture the lost dimensions of our souls? I think there are many ways we can. In my case, for instance, certain usual dreams stirred up feelings of tremendous inner resources. People are often guided by significant, memorable dreams. We need to learn the art of shoring up their meanings and using their healing powers.” (Pg. 3)
He suggests, “Perhaps the most spectacular psychic events in modern history were the appearances of the Virgin Mary in Zeitun, Egypt (1968-1971). Indeed, Goddess epiphanies are being reported all over the world today, and I think they hold an important message for soulmakers… encounters with UFOs may open us up to the mysteries; they seem, in fact, to signal … the beginnings of an inner transformation…
“It may be awkward to admit, but in my search for the boundaries of soul, drug experiences played a part. Long ago shamans discovered the virtues of psychoactive plants. Thanks to my experiments with such plants, I was able to discover important aspects of soul life. The soul of the ancients that travelled beyond the body. The idea of soul travel may seem fantastic; nevertheless, people continue to report the experience. The out-of-body experience (OBE)… again adds to the mystery of soul… And the soul of the ancients survived bodily death---an idea out of favor with modern science. Still, people have experiences that suggest we do survive death…. There is more to death than meets the eye.” (Pg. 4)
He observes, “strange things have been appearing in the skies for centuries---nowadays we call them UFOs… UFOs and visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary seem dissimilar enough, yet UFO mavens such as John Keep and Jacques Vallee have noted the overlap in their mysterious antics.” (Pg. 31)
He says of Near-Death Experiences, “How could the most dangerous ‘toxin’ of them all---being near death---result in the expansion of human consciousness? It is a paradox that nearly dying may, at least for some people, turn into the most extraordinary time of their life. Researchers say there is a pattern to these remarkable experiences. People on the threshold of death often seem to glimpse worlds, meet mysterious beings of light, and acquire dramatically new ideas about the nature of reality.” (Pg. 49)
He states, “The boundaries of soul in time are fuzzy. A part of our souls apparently spills over the immediate present of our clock-bound existence. A similar fuzziness is true of the soul in space. The ancients spoke of soul travel… We have invented flying machines---why not soul flight? There are, in fact, well documented stories of out-of-body experiences (OBES).” (Pg. 95)
He concludes, “In this book, I have recounted experiences that widen pour perception of those boundaries: in the official worldview, people aren’t supposed to fly out of their bodies or know the future or encounter mysterious lights in the sky or see apparitions of the dead… I’ve used the word ‘soulmaking’ to describe them. Experiences are ‘soulmaking’ if they shatter our routine image of self or soul, if they undo our fixed ideas of who and what we are—if they move and stir up the soul’s depths. The fact is that thousands, if not millions, of people are having soulmaking experiences.” (Pg. 143)
This book will interest those who are studying such ‘anomalous’ experiences.
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