The Great Work is fire and pain.
The reward is You.

The Great Work of Alchemy is the spiritual nature of personal transformation.
It can be painful and costly but in the end, the reward is your true self

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The Great Work of Alchemy is the spiritual nature of personal transformation. It can be painful and costly, but in the end, the reward is your true self. The Great Work in Alchemy is fire and pain, but the reward, is You.

Alchemy is alive today.

In centuries past, Alchemists concerned themselves with the transmutation of base metals into gold and the perfection of body and soul was believed to arise from the alchemical magnum opus, or "Great Work."

In alchemy, the crucible is a melting-pot for metals involved in that transmutation or purification process.

I know of no alchemist who has succeeded in transmuting iron or lead into gold, but Alchemy as a metaphor for individual transformation, thrives today.

It thrives because the message and the imagery are so relevant to anybody who wishes to transform themselves.

In alchemy, the crucible is a melting-pot for metals involved in the purification process.

Then we have the choice of adding the catalyst to transmute ourselves

The Great Work.

The process of personal evolution is referred to as a Magnum Opus, a “Great Work” of alchemy because through the actions of our human body our soul is transformed from what it once was, into a most precious commodity; and at the conclusion of the process we may stand forth golden, resplendent and incorruptible.

Such an image of personal transformation and evolution is, perhaps, the zenith of earthly accomplishments and it implies that fire has been applied.

Fire, Crucible and The Catalyst.

Fire has been applied to that base metal. It has melted and with the introduction of some mysterious catalyst, the base metal becomes gold.

In this image you and all your being are that base metal, your body, your emotions are the crucible. Then fire comes in the form of spiritual, emotional, psychological or physical pain and then we have the choice of adding the catalyst to transmute ourselves into gold.

At the moment of crisis, when the fire is hottest and the pain is unbearable and the metal is molten, adding that catalyst seems less of a choice and more a necessity, but the choice is not whether to add the catalyst or not; the choice is about which catalyst to add.

In my previous blog about React / Create (here) I explored the choice of how we can choose to react or create in any circumstance.

Similarly, we have choice in how we respond to the things life throws at us; and it is that choice that becomes the catalyst. Will you use this experience to help you to grow, or will it make you more bitter?

You’ve got the ashes to prove it.

There’s a song by Meatloaf called “Rock n’ Roll Dreams Come True.” Everybody finds their own meaning in songs and I think this one is about the way a rock song can lift your spirits when you find yourself down in the dumps.

There’s a line in the song that goes:
You've been through the fires of hell
And I know you've got the ashes to prove it.


To me, this line is reminiscent of the Great Work. Something base existed and now its been burned away and all that’s left are the ashes, memories, maybe even scars, of that experience.

If you’re suffering from trauma, anxiety, depression, then you’re still in the crucible.

They’re still holding you back. How long must you stay there; until you resolve it.

How long before all that’s left are the ashes?


If you’re suffering from trauma, anxiety, depression, then you’re still in the crucible.

After a life-time of looking outside, its not easy to look inside.

Morphine or Metamorphosis?

When you have reached the end of your tolerance and you cannot sleep do you choose a pill or do you choose to journey within yourself and find the root cause of your insomnia?

When you have exhausted psychology and medicine yet you still can’t hide from the demons in your mind, do you keep looking outside yourself or do you journey within to face them?

It’s easy to take a pill, isn’t it?

It’s easy to look for another specialist, another clinic.

After a life-time of looking outside, its not easy to look inside.

And I want to say that medicine and doctors are indispensable miracle workers and I salute them for their untold sacrifices, and if the treatment is working for you then listen, please listen to them.

But you also need to listen to you.

And that’s hard. Because it is painfully demanding. And because it comes at a cost.

Alchemy is painful and costly.

Personal transformation demands a new catalyst.

It demands that you take responsibility for whatever plagues you. It demands that you dig deep and make the fire hotter. It demands that you see what you have been denying. It demands that you journey within yourself as much, if not more, than journeying outside yourself.

The new catalyst is a complex mixture of inside and outside, for we are dualistic creations in a dualistic world and to deny one is to perpetuate the other.

The journey to you is costly because it may cost you your identity, your faith, your values and views. You might change everything about you.

The cost of staying the same.

But what does this journey cost if you don’t embark? Your savings? Your job? Your relationships? Your sanity?

Tony Robbins once said that 'Change happens when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change.'

He’s right.

The pain of staying the same is its cost. It can only be qualified when a soul is transformed. But it can be quantified in monetary terms.

You have a limp that has a psychosomatic root but you spend hundreds or thousands every month on orthopedic shoes and pain medication.

You suffered major emotional trauma at 15 and you can’t get past it so you limit your life and quality of life is the cost. Or maybe you keep throwing cash at services that don’t help.

What if solving your problem meant you had more money in the bank every month?

The pain of staying the same is its cost.

The Great Work of Alchemy is the spiritual nature of personal transformation.

Alchemists are everywhere.

I know of no alchemist who has succeeded in transmuting iron or lead into gold, but I know many who are transforming themselves, evolving themselves.

They journey through the dark nights of the soul and emerge a little more polished, a little more golden, a little more resplendent, sparkling in the bright morning sun.

These are the true alchemists, companions on a journey to find themselves; to evolve themselves; to transform themselves.

Conclusion.

The Great Work of Alchemy is the spiritual nature of personal transformation. It can be painful and costly, but in the end, the reward is your true self. The Great Work in Alchemy is fire and pain, but the reward, is You.

Maybe you are an Alchemist too. 

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What is the price of staying the same? How much are you spending literally and figuratively, on solutions that haven’t worked because those solutions lie outside you?

The services I provide are not intended as a substitute or replacement for professional medical treatment and advice and if in doubt, please consult your medical professional.

However, if you’re ready to look for a solution that comes from inside you, I believe I can help.

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Disclaimer

Hypnotherapy may offer benefits for many physiological, psychological, and spiritual concerns. It is NOT a substitute for medical diagnosis, drug therapy, surgery, radiation, or other conventional medical interventions or mental health assistance.
Proper medical exams and diagnostic evaluations by your physician or other mental health professionals are an important aspect for wellbeing. Hypnotherapy is strictly limited to the modification of beliefs and their relationship to wellbeing.