Integrating Unitive Concepts with Inner Work
By Keith Kikuchi
The phrases “Phase 1 Pathwork” and “Phase 2 Pathwork” are often used to
describe inner work (work with the inner child and lower self) and unitive work,
respectively. In Lecture 204, the Pathwork Guide describes Phase 1 in this way:
“In the framework of the Pathwork, the psychological approach is only a side
issue, a way of getting through obstructions. It is essential to deal with confusions,
inner misconceptions, misunderstandings, destructive attitudes, alienating
defenses, negative emotions, and paralyzed feelings, all of which psychotherapy
also attempts to do and even posits as its ultimate goal.”
This is differentiated from Phase 2, as the Guide continues:
“In contrast, the Pathwork enters its most important phase only after this first
stage is over. The second and most important phase consists of learning how to
activate the greater consciousness dwelling within every human soul.”
The use of the word “phase” seems to imply that these processes are sequential,
and historically, in the Mid-Atlantic Pathwork, the two phases were taught and
worked on separately, with an emphasis on phase 1, as this is where most novice
Pathworkers entered the path. However, the Guide goes on to say:
“Often the second phase overlaps with the first phase that is concerned with
overcoming the obstructions because the second phase of the Pathwork is helpful
and even essential for truly executing the first. The first part of the work cannot
truly be successful unless contact with the spiritual self is regularly cultivated and
used.”
And a bit later the Guide adds:
“The sooner you can use, explore, and activate the inexhaustible fountain of
strength and inspiration within, the easier and faster will you deal with the
obstructions.”
So the Guide clearly states that the phases are not sequential, instead, they
overlap, and that this overlap is actually essential. But in my experience, the
integration of concepts from both phases is rarely discussed or taught, even in
advanced trainings. As a result, I’ve had to use intuition and guidance to integrate
unitive concepts and inner work, and have had to work on refining the processes
while doing my own work, both in the expansion of consciousness and while
doing inner work.
Jesus on the Cross
I recently had a conversation with a relatively new Pathworker, who has had
some prior experiences of expanded consciousness. She spoke about her desire
to have her Higher Self always be present in her consciousness awareness. We
spoke about going deeper in her inner work, and she once again expressed the
desire maintain the connection with her Higher Self while doing inner work. I
replied, saying that there are times when, while going through the healing
process, that we need to let go of the higher consciousness within us, and our
connection to the Divine. “Why?”, she asked. What instantly flashed into my
consciousness was an understanding that was new to me – it was related one of
the phrases that Jesus spoke when he was on the cross, “Father, why have you
forsaken me?” What is implied in this verbal expression is that he had lost sight
of his oneness, his unity, with God – as the Guide implied, he certainly held
unitive-consciousness as it is an aspect of the Christ-consciousness. Why was this
necessary? It became clear to me that Jesus had to surrender his conscious
awareness of unity, to fulfill his role in the Plan of Salvation – he had to fully
experience being human, including the pain of being separate. We, too, need to
fully experience this, at times, in our healing process -- the illusion of separation
and the pain that results from it. We need to surrender whatever unitive
consciousness we carry, so that we can fully immerse ourselves in the illusion, to
be able to fully experience the suppressed emotions that have resulted from the
illusion. The desire to hold on to unitive consciousness can be a form of spiritual
bypass, and this will hamper our inner work.
So how do we integrate unitive concepts with inner work, in a healthy and helpful way? I will be presenting a workshop on this topic at the next Mid-Atlantic Pathwork Community Weekend, on Saturday, February 27, at 2:30 PM EST, entitled Integrating Non-Dual Concepts and Inner Work. Here is a link to the Eventbrite listing for the workshop:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/integrating-non-dual-concepts-and-inner-work-
The Community Weekend, titled 2021 Emergence: Birthing a New World with Full
Spectrum Pathwork, will run from Friday evening, 1/26, through Sunday evening,
1/28 – I hope that you will join us for a rich variety of Pathwork-related
workshops.
Here is a link to the Eventbrite listing for the parent event, where you
can find a summary of all of the workshops, and purchase tickets for the whole
weekend or for a whole day:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2021-emergence-birthing-a-new-world-with-full-