We call what we do here the OneJourney Project. But what does “OneJourney” mean? I thought a brief exploration would be worthwhile.
First, the journey we’re referring to is the inward journey to discovering who we really are: our essential being beyond our physical bodies and surface personalities. Along the way we come to see through and drop all the misconceptions we hold about ourselves and our lives. What remains is a new person with a new mind that meets life in a new way. It’s what Christ called the Kingdom of Heaven within. According to the Upanishads, the discovery of this higher self makes us immortal.
But why is it OneJourney? It’s “one” journey because this inward journey is the same for all of us, and it leads to fulfilling the deepest wish that runs through every human heart.
Of course, since we all come from different places and cultures, and we all meet different challenges in our lives, the specifics of the journey are tailored for each of us. You can find hundreds of descriptions of these personal experiences if you look through the “Search” section on the OneJourney site. You’ll see the questions, the doubts, and the discoveries of seekers over the millennia.
Here is one description of the inner journey I particularly like:
In deepest solitude, I found the narrow way, a secret giving such release that I was stunned and stammering, rising above all science. — St. John of the Cross (1542 – 1591)
In these words St. John reveals something universal about this great inner adventure. It is within solitude that we find a narrow opening into a stunning new world, a new level of being that is beyond human knowledge with its limited understanding.
Here is another description by OneJourney founder Guy Finley that feels universal to me:
Letting go is more than an act of asking for God’s will to be our own; it is awakening, moment to moment, to realize that our True Self is — and always has been — one with that which governs with Goodness all things. — Guy Finley (1949)
We each must make these discoveries for ourselves if we are to be transformed by them, but part of the process is learning what others have experienced along the way. It helps us understand what we are going through ourselves, and gives us encouragement to continue through those dark nights of the soul where we feel confused and may not see a way forward.
The most important thing to realize is that we are created to make this journey. And receiving the help of others who have gone before us is also part of the celestial system of ceaseless transformation that is the driving force of our universe.
Guy Finley Takes You Along With Him on His Own Inner Journey With the Audiobook of His Luminous Work, Apprentice of the Heart
I’m excited to tell you about a new addition to our Life of Learning Foundation bookstore. It is an audiobook of Guy’s classic work, Apprentice of the Heart — one of the most unusual books Guy has ever written, where he actually takes us along with him on a significant part of his own journey toward self-realization.
This compelling volume, made up of lyric prose graced throughout with exquisite poetry, is Guy’s own journal of a critical period during his own awakening process. The language is beautiful — almost musical — and it carries the reader through previously uncharted realms of spirit and emotion. Guy’s new audio recording of the book strengthens the emotional impact of his words.
Guy tells us that our wish for an intimate relationship with another person or with beauty or art or whatever it is we love, is also the wish to be intimate with that which placed that very wish into our heart. This wish lives in all of us, which makes each and every one of us a potential Apprentice of the Heart. Now your wish can be deepened and brought closer to fruition with the audiobook of Guy’s most personal work.
You can get your own copy of the Apprentice of the Heart audiobook now. Order it now and you’ll soon receive the link so you can immerse yourself in this lovely, meditative work.
Best wishes,
Dr. Ellen Dickstein
The OneJourney Project
