This is an important detail on the map of our life paths. It concerns inner soul processes and can only be understood from the perspective of the theory of reincarnation and the successive embodiments of the human soul. For some people, precisely this kind of mapping of soul paths helps them better understand the processes they are going through.
Spiritual literature states that the purpose of young souls is quite different from the purpose of older souls (see The Path of Incarnation and the Three Crosses). The aim of the former is to develop strength and courage and to achieve success in the material world. This is why they move toward the “world of matter,” developing various abilities, qualities, and skills in order to be successful in it. The latter have a completely different goal: to return Home. Their journey has reached the turning point that marks the beginning of this path. They have already accumulated all the experiences they needed in order to live through the duality of Earth, and the time has come to offer them back to the source from which they came.
Metaphorically speaking, this point of inner turning and transformation is like taking a “turn” that radically changes the direction in which one is facing.
In her book Why Me? Why This? Why Now?, Robin Norwood presents this process in the following way:
“As an ambassador of the soul during our earthly existence, the embodied human being moves in one of two possible directions… In esoteric teachings, it is said that we are either on the Outgoing Path or on the Return Path. While moving along the Outgoing Path, we descend into physical matter and increasingly identify with it—first through our physical body, the sensations and experiences it provides, and then through our understanding of ourselves as a personality, as a force for realizing our desires in the material world.
On the Return Path, we are drawn back toward our Source and carry with us everything we have acquired during our adventures… In order to reconcile with that which sent us forth, we must release the karma we have generated and heal the wounds we carry as a consequence of what we have lived through on the Outgoing Path. Most of these wounds and the frozen energetic configurations that accompany them, or ‘energy scars,’ are released through understanding, forgiveness, and remediation (healing) through service.” (p. 175)
Such a distinction helps us understand why approaches to resolving difficulties and challenges in life differ from person to person. The Italian psychiatrist Roberto Assagioli also speaks of two kinds of psychosynthesis—personal and spiritual—which correspond to these two different approaches to resolving human suffering (see Psychiatric Disorders and Crises of Spiritual Development). Knowledge of the “two paths” is another way of saying the same thing: what is appropriate for those who are moving in the direction of incarnation (involution) is different from what is appropriate for those whose inner processes are dominated by the movement of returning to the Source (evolution).
In general terms, the theory of the two paths can be summarized as follows:
On the Outgoing Path, what matters is developing inner strength and will by achieving success in life. On the Return Path, more important than ego-will is following the quiet voice of the heart and accepting life in its wholeness.
On the Outgoing Path, we are a function of what happens outside us. On the Return Path, we already know that the world is a reflection of what is within us, and therefore we turn our gaze inward rather than outward. We know that when we change our inner reality, change also reaches the outer world.
On the Outgoing Path, earthly achievements are at the core of our motivation—work, relationships, pleasures, material possessions. On the Return Path, more important than success in the outer world becomes whether we are truly authentic and faithful to ourselves. Yet the desire for a more authentic life leads to conflict with our old self, which is oriented toward achievement.
On the Outgoing Path, a person reacts strongly and emotionally to everyday events. They are fully immersed in the outer world and take things too personally. On the Return Path, the thought of death becomes a constant companion, reminding them not to lose themselves in the vanity of transient desires and everyday problems. Within them there is an “inner observer” that helps them not to identify with the phenomena of the transient world.
For those who walk the Outgoing Path, it is important to develop a strong ego with which to realize earthly desires. For those who have stepped onto the Return Path, what becomes more important is caring for that which does not die.
Regardless of which of the two paths we are on, we are in harmony with the direction in which we are moving. The real difficulty arises when the time comes to change direction—to take the “turn.” Knowledge of the “two paths” becomes most important precisely when we reach this turning point but do not yet understand what is happening to us—and why an invisible wall appears along the path of fulfilling our earthly desires.
The turning point comes when the soul has reached the apex of ego development. Robin Norwood speaks of this as the “Moment of Integration”:
“When the Moment of Integration is reached, life is no longer lived through reactions but through actions, achieved through the use of rational thinking and conscious control. We have developed the ability to perceive goals and to achieve them through deliberate planning. We gain mastery over life, feel our power, and become intoxicated by it.” (p. 181)
At this point, our main characteristics are willfulness and self-importance. They mark the peak of personality and ego development, and parting with them marks the turning point at which we turn toward the soul:
“Willfulness is the conviction that our point of view is the right one, accompanied by a strong determination to achieve our goal. Self-importance is excessive preoccupation with our uniqueness and the desire for this uniqueness to be noticed and appreciated by others. Often it is precisely this demand to be recognized as unique by our fellow human beings that leads us into those trials and sufferings which eventually reconcile us with our soul. By gradually detaching from our willfulness and self-importance, we take a turn in our evolution and set out on the Return Path.” (p. 181)
It becomes clear that what many people experience as the source of their greatest suffering—the failure of ego-will to obtain what it wants—is in fact an expression of the processes of the soul’s awakening. This movement onto the Return Path resembles a prolonged parting with everything we have been accustomed to using in order to meet our needs on Earth and to regard as sources of happiness in our lives.
This usually does not happen voluntarily but often under the pressure of external circumstances that force us to let go of what we have become attached to or clung to. This initiatory descent into the depths of the soul is what Carol Pearson calls an encounter with the archetype of the Destroyer. It enters our lives either in the form of external events (illness, loss, separation, or the death of a loved one) or in the form of inner events (depression, panic attacks, and other forms of powerlessness and withdrawal of life energy).
If we do not know that we are standing at the Turn, the reasons for what is happening to us can feel extremely painful and confusing. But when we know that the time has come to change the direction of our path, the process becomes easier.
“Once the call of the soul has been heard and responded to, all the rules for living change. After having made great efforts to internalize certain rules and guidelines for living, we now discover that they no longer serve us. This is because on the Return Path our task is no longer to develop physical courage, as it was on the Outgoing Path, or to think, plan, and direct our power, as it was at the Moment of Integration. Instead of working toward the goals of the personality, we now consciously and courageously use our power in service to the group, guided by conscious contact with a Higher Power.” (Robin Norwood, p. 182)
At present, not only some individuals but all of humanity is standing at such a turn. This is why knowledge of the “two paths” becomes even more valuable—it helps us orient ourselves in the directions ahead.
Kameliya Hadzhiyska
Note: The quotations are translated from Bulgarian and are not presented as verbatim citations.
