Paul DeBlassie III, Ph.D., PC

01/08/2025

✨ Wild Spirit of the Now. . .
Decades ago, a middle-aged man in depth psychotherapy with me brought a dream pulsing with spiritual tension. In it, he was walking down the busy streets of a large city with his wife, enjoying the freedom and anonymity of vacation.

Suddenly, he was "caught" by members of the fundamentalist religious group he had once belonged to. They recognized him immediately—this former, once-famous preacher—and pressed him into service. There was a large conference just down the block, and they wanted him to preach.

In the dream, he felt a strange exhilaration rise in his chest. He had no Bible in hand, no text of authority, yet he felt a welling of inspiration "rise from deep in my chest." What he would proclaim was not the old gospel of fear and obedience, but a gospel of the Wild Spirit of Now—a wave of pagan, natural energy coursing through him.

In this inspired flow, he felt close to the wild, unmediated Spirit of life itself, "the living Jesus, and all mystics, seers, sages, and seers through the ages" who in unison said, "Follow me." The utterance was not a dogmatic command, but an invitation into daily, authentic being. This dream image dripped with Dionysian freedom, the sacred pulse that shatters rigidity and invites one into the aliveness of the soul.

The religious group, eager to claim him, showed him the house where he and his wife could stay. Inside, it was swarming with bugs—creeping, crawling, an unspoken horror. The church folk were blind to the behind-the-scenes infestation.

He and I both felt the power of the symbolism rise in the session. The infested house stood as the psyche under authoritarian control, the inner life made unclean by repressive dogma, the soul swarming with the restless vermin of suppressed vitality. It was a place of psychic death, a hall of contamination masquerading as holy. To lay his head down there, to enter this kind of sleep, would be to re-enter a state of unconsciousness, enslavement to old patterns.

At the last moment, he turned away. He did not enter the hall of preaching. He did not regress, step into the house of infestation. Instead, he vacated the realm of the dead. He turned and walked away with his wife. They chose the beat and pulse of the living city. The atmosphere in the dream, he reported, glistened. They entered an unbounded vacation of the soul.

This movement felt like a baptism not in water, but in the free-flowing current of the Self. It asserted itself as a choice for life over lifeless forms, for the soul's alchemy over the stale repetition of inherited patterns.

In our therapeutic reflection, he sensed he was stepping across a threshold in his own psychic journey. The dream was a summons from the deep Self, the archetypal source of his freedom and vitality, urging him to renounce the infested psychic houses of the past and to live in the luminous immediacy of his own unfolding path.

Yet, just as the session glowed with this sense of breakthrough, a shadow fell. His eyes drifted downward, and a subtle heaviness entered the room, as though the air itself thickened. He confided that a sudden wave of doubt had seized him—an almost physical sensation of contraction in his chest. A voice coming from inside him, that of a deceased clergyman he had once admired and who had mentored him, insisted that his freedom was an illusion, that the old religious dogma could not be outpaced.

It was as if a cold wind had blown through some invisible doorway. I felt it too, a shift in the field between us. A summoning of dark spirits, or old psychic complexes, crept in unannounced, seeking to reclaim the ground the soul has just won.

He sat in that stunned quiet for a few moments, staring into a space only he could see. I remained quiet, allowing his psyche to do its own sorting through. His hands trembled slightly, as if the numbing current of the old spell was trying to reclaim him.

We were at a point of relapse—the chronic pattern of self-doubt, a spectral chorus of inner accusers demanding he return to the bug-ridden house of his past.

Yet in our shared awareness, something deeper held. He slowly named what was happening, reclaiming his voice: "It's like something doesn't want me free… it wants to pull me back." By witnessing and naming the visitation, the energy began to shift again, the numbing spell receding like mist under sunlight.

The session ended with the felt truth that the battle was real, the forces tangible, and that remaining awake to the Wild Spirit of the Now was at once his challenge and his liberation. Together, we learned to navigate these thresholds. Freedom would surge like a river in spring, only to be shadowed by the sudden return of darkness. Over the years, the light grew steadier. The old complexes weakened, and the call to live in fidelity to his wild, free Self became the guiding thread of his life.

He carried this truth for decades, its fire enduring until his passing at the age of ninety-three. In the end, our work had been a living enactment of the gospel of all seers, sages, and mystics—a gospel that proclaims not dogma, but the soul's liberation. It was a life lived in rhythm with the Wild Spirit of the Now, a path that led him through the doorways of this life and, at last, into the luminous threshold of the next.

And I reflect now on this dear patient. To have refused the bug-ridden room, to have declined regression into the old gospel of fear and guilt, to walk on, was to honor the sacred fire of his own nature.

He left the dream, as he left the session, as he left this realm and entered the next, with a smile—lightened, liberated, and attuned to the Wild Spirit of the Now.

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28/07/2025

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28/07/2025

✨ Shadow and Light: The Way of the Sovereign Soul . . .

At first, there was only earth.

A sun-warmed path, ancient and bare, curved through the wilderness like a scar, dust rising in soft spirals with each step. The wind held its breath.

And walking that path—two figures, yet one soul.

They moved in unison, step for step, the silence between them a wordless understanding. One wore a long-sleeved garment of twilight grey, the other a matching robe of dawn-lit white. Same cut, same fabric—only hue marked the difference. They were kin and counterparts. No conflict. No rivalry. A walking wholeness.

Their garments shimmered not with fashion but with function: woven of some soul-cloth that protected against too much light, too much dark, too much of the world. They walked neither hurriedly nor aimlessly. Each footfall was a consecrated act.

The figure in grey carried the weight of shadow—bone knowledge, grief, instinct, and fire. There was something sovereign in his bearing, something unruled. He belonged to no tribe but his own. Not hardened, not cruel, but forged—like metal once molten, now tempered by ordeal. His gaze held the memory of thresholds crossed and lines never redrawn.

The figure in white was luminous, though not untouched. His light was not innocence but integration. He bore the quiet of long sorrow transformed into sight. Where the other carried heat, he carried breath—air, clarity, space. His presence was like morning mist over still water, alive, listening, deeply awake.

They had not always walked together.

Once, they had wandered apart. An inner feud had torn them, light denying dark—dark mistrusting light. But something had called them back. A silent chord drawn taut between body and soul, instinct and spirit. Now, reunited, they walked as two facets of one being, twin flames burning in parallel.

As the path narrowed, the land around them shifted. Sage gave way to black volcanic stone, and the earth whispered old names. A hawk wheeled high above as a sentinel, solitary and sovereign.

There were no signposts. No destinations. Just presence and forward.

Onward they walked.

Up ahead, a ridge rose like the spine of the world. They climbed without hesitation. This was not a pilgrimage for others to witness. No crowd. No acclaim. Just the ritual ascent of a soul meeting itself.

Each step shed old obligations, inherited guilt, broken ancestral cords. The weight of shoulds fell away like brittle leaves in the wind. Silence deepened.

At the summit, they stood together. The horizon stretched toward infinity, wrapped in the amber hush of approaching dusk. Behind them lay all the roads that had failed to claim them. Below, the valley pulsed—alive, dreaming.

The one in grey turned toward the one in white, not with words but with a gaze that said, We have come home.

And the one in white returned the look, not with sentiment but certainty: We walk as one now, not to merge, but to honor.

There was no need to descend. The climb had not been for a view. It had been to remember.

To remember the sacred paradox that solitude does not mean separation, and sovereignty need not be loud. That to walk alone is sometimes the only way to walk true.

They turned, together.

The path stretched forward, golden now, lit from within. No beginning, no end, simply the sacred stride of a soul becoming what it has always been.

And so, they went.

Two, but one.

Separate, but not divided.

Sovereign.

Live Deeply . . . Read Daily!
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30/06/2025

The Path That Calls You

There is a path in life that is uniquely yours to walk. No one else can follow it—not fully, not truly. It is a soul-carved trail, etched into the unseen strata of your unconscious mind, revealed not all at once but step by step, a light beckoning you onward once your heart is ready.

Such a path does not announce itself loudly. It is discerned through moments of stillness, through perseverance during hardships, and through listening—deep and sustained—to the quiet murmurs of the psyche.

The soul communicates not only in crises but also in dreams, synchronicities, and intuitive pulses that emerge like flares from the unconscious. These are the mystic messages that arrive during your waking hours and while you sleep, empowering you with the knowledge of your inner self.

Psychologist Marlin Brenner, in The Therapist Within, offers valuable insights for this journey. He describes how dreams contain both regressive and progressive dynamics. The regressive pull seduces us toward familiar pain, inertia, or false safety—images that tempt us to stagnate or retreat.

In contrast, progressive symbols call us forward. They do not offer guarantees, only invitations into uncertainty, risk, and the radical openness of becoming. The dream, then, places us at a psychic crossroads, a moment where the soul and ego negotiate the next step.

I often remind patients that it is deceptively easy to stay stuck. Doing nothing feels safe, even rational. But there is a psychic cost. “If we stop, we drop,” I say, not to alarm but to reveal a time and pain-saving truth.

Stagnation is not neutral. It breeds symptoms, anxiety, and repetition. We go in circles, like a hamster on a wheel, chewing the same old wounds into deeper grooves.

Yet the psyche longs for evolution. It is teleological, future-focused, growth-oriented, and alive. Dreams are one of its sacred languages. They nudge us, push us, sometimes shake us. Yet, they do not coerce but inspire us to risk transformation, showing us that change is not only possible but inevitable.

And transformation means change. Not the cosmetic kind, but soul change—the alchemical process of becoming more truly oneself.

After forty years as a depth psychologist walking with others through emotional and spiritual crises, I have seen how even the darkest passages contain sparks of becoming. Possibility is always present. But it requires listening—not just to symptoms, but to images and symbols. Not just to fear but to the faint whisper of destiny calling from the shadows.

The mystic-psychic path involves honoring the soul’s movement without forcing it. It requires discipline and surrender, as well as discernment and openness. To walk your walk means to remain faithful to the deep inner imperative not to abandon yourself when the way grows dark, not to mistake anxiety for a stop sign, or difficulty for misdirection. This resilience is what will guide you through the darkest of times.

Soul growth is not merely self-improvement. It is the unfolding of something sacred. It involves encountering moments of inner wholeness, often fleeting but nonetheless real. They offer glimpses of the Self in its fullness. These moments are not endpoints but initiations. They are thresholds into a mystery that continually deepens. And so, we are called not to complacency but to conscious evolution.

And so, I say: keep walking. Keep attuned to the images, dreams, and strange messages that arise from your depths. Keep risking the next unknown step. This is your path—your sacred trail into the great mystery that is life. The psyche, like the soul, knows the way.

Your only task is to listen and walk onward.

Dr. Paul DeBlassie III ~ http://bit.ly/44lKHI5

Growth-oriented depth psychotherapy in Albuquerque, New Mexico devoted to guiding individuals through a transformative journey of self-discovery, where relationships and dreams serve as the royal roads to the unconscious mind.

15/03/2025

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19/02/2025

✨ "Struggle often brings with it a sense of purpose, a need to turn to others for social support, and a deepening of people’s spiritual resolve. We cannot avoid suffering in our lives, but it is reassuring to know that, when the time comes, our most difficult challenges can help us feel that our lives are more meaningful."

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https://psyche.co/guides/how-to-find-meaning-in-your-life-as-a-buffer-against-anxiety?utm_source=Aeon+Newsletter&utm_campaign=7aa7a6cdf7-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_02_19&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-d88b59c7bc-68734041

Existential psychology offers specific ways to find meaning, giving you a buffer against despair in these anxious times

27/01/2025

✨ “Nobody can save you but yourself—and you’re worth saving. It’s a war not easily won, but if anything is worth winning—this is it.”

— Charles Bukowski

drpauldeblassieiii.com

18/12/2024

Seer, Sage, Mystic: Luminous Presence in the Work of Michael Eigen
by Paul DeBlassie III, PhD

In the new Routledge book release Primary Process Impacts and Dreaming the Undreamable Object in the Work of Michael Eigen: Becoming the Welcoming Object.

This article explores how the work of Michael Eigen activates a psychoanalytic sensitivity to the illuminative presence of mystic realities within the therapeutic context that opens the way for the nurturance of healing and growth within a subtle but definite psychic register. His work encourages the shedding of rigid and dogmatic understandings of unconscious drives, objects, and relational nuances in order to invite transformative mystic encounters, luminous presence/s that provide entrance into higher and deeper orders of meaning, healing, and transformation – an infusion of grace. Thus, Eigen’s writings sensitize psychoanalytic soul seekers to the presence of the luminous: the archetypes of the seer that conjures insight, the mystic that opens pathways to ongoing experience and knowing, and the sage that facilitates evolving insights into self and others.

https://bit.ly/4gBm6Dy

11/12/2024

“Solitude is for me a fount of healing which makes my life worth living. Talking is often a torment for me, and I need many days of silence to recover from the futility of words.”

—Carl Jung
drpauldeblassieiii.com

05/12/2024

Hope as Healer…

“The key takeaway here isn’t that mindfulness is useless or that hope is a magic bullet. Different strategies work for different challenges. And particularly in dark times, when the present feels unbearable and the future uncertain, cultivating hope can give us the push we need to keep going. It provides a light at the end of the tunnel, even when we can’t see the full path forward.”

drpauldeblassieiii.com

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/hope-can-be-more-powerful-than-mindfulness/

In difficult times, a forward-looking mindset may be especially helpful

15/10/2024

✨ What Happens When You Dream . . .

It’s a terrible feeling not to dream; at least it is for me. Last night, I didn’t dream, or, better to say, I don’t remember dreaming. We dream about eight times a night, whether we remember dreaming or not. I got the COVID-19 vaccine for Fall 2025 the day before yesterday and the flu vaccine, one in each arm. And (I’ve never had this experience) I was jittery all night long. No sweats, headaches, aches, or pains. All was swell, I thought, by the time I hit the sack. Not so, my friend, not so.

Anyway, I slept better last night, but no dreams came through the mysterious pipeline that runs from the deep unconscious mind to the conscious world of remembrance. I feel a little off, like I didn’t see a friend I’d been looking forward to seeing all day. We missed each other. This is because my dreams put everyday life, personal attitudes, and ways I should go or not go into bold relief, shining a light where I’m (sometimes totally) in the darkness.

I look forward to the psychic lowdown! It’s vital since I’m a depth psychotherapist who treats the unconscious mind. My dreams often guide patient care, which proves helpful and, at times, vital in my practice. Also, I know their lingo of symbols, images, and straight talk that gets to the heart of the emotional matter. They’re a help in living what is often, for all of us, a rather confusing and convoluted but wondrous life.

It’s good to know that when you understand your dream message, you’ll always find it helpful and practical. It never puts you or anyone down. It sometimes communicates negative takes on people or situations, but it’s not to pass judgment. It’s simply to say the person or situation is not for you or that an adjustment needs to be made. Maybe you need an attitude change-up, or perhaps you need to move on. Either way, it’s helpful and practical.

Mainly, dreams pass on psychic clarity about you and your life. If you wonder what you should do about something, whisper to your unconscious before going to sleep that you’d like a dream. Chances are pretty good, especially as you get used to doing this that the dream will give you a thumbs up or down. Dreams could show a person you think is troublesome is good to have in your life. What you think you know about them is not spot-on. There’s more to them. To go on, dreams could tell you that a problematic happening has potential and that you need to stick with it. If the night’s dreaming isn’t clear, ask for clarity the next night. Your unconscious mind will get used to your taking it seriously and want to establish a relationship with your depths.

Dreaming is a marvelous resource, what Freud called the royal road to the unconscious mind. It’s been that for me for over fifty years. My patients learn to sensitize themselves to their dream world and find that, over time, a wealth of healing and growth is available. In my writing of metaphysical novels, dreams frequently guide my process. Characters pop up and speak to me, insights flash onto the dreaming stage and provide inspiration for a dramatic turn of literary events, and energy courses through visually that translate to particular scenes, conflicts, and destiny playing itself out.

So, give yourself time to consider tapping into the surprising and wonderful world of dreaming. I’ll help! Simply open your mind to the reality that dreams are not accidental happenings. They are part of life, and they are meaningful. As we proceed together, post by post, learning and experiencing more about the mysteries of the unconscious mind and the multidimensional realm of dreaming, you’ll discover insights that will make a positive and proactive difference in your life. William James, the father of American depth psychology, wrote about the Great Unseen, the invisible energies that influence our daily lives.

They, what mystics, seers, and shamans have for ages deemed spirits, abide in the deep unconscious and make their workings known in dreams. Together, let’s enjoy ourselves and move into one of life’s most nourishing kaleidoscopic facets, the mysterious world of sleep and dreaming. Give yourself time to adjust.

I’ll provide these posts as my psyche inspires me and my dreams open up with a bit to share with you. Last night, as I confided, I didn’t dream. I prefer to dream. I hunger to dream. There’s soul nourishment in your dreams. If you want, begin tonight and ask for help in a certain area. See what comes. Remember, when you dream, there is psychic information coming your way. You’ve got the spot-on message of the dream for you in your life when it touches you emotionally. It clicks! It’s helpful and practical.

Growth-oriented depth psychotherapy in Albuquerque, New Mexico devoted to guiding individuals through a transformative journey of self-discovery, where relationships and dreams serve as the royal roads to the unconscious mind.