Soul Lightning: Awakening Soul Consciousness A review by Alvina Quatrano
Soul Lightning by Aminah Raheem, PhD. is a fascinating and beautifully written memoir of Raheem’s lifelong journey of knowing soul in eloquent, true-to-life and matter -of-fact accounts of the path of a healer; learning, growing, listening, seeing, feeling and being with transformational events and the people who endured/survived/participated in them. As well as introductions to the teachers who were influential on her path such as Sai Baba, Mother Meera, Amaji, to name a few , it includes compelling descriptions of synchronistic moments and the magic of life such as when a lightning strikes a light bulb in Raheem’s cabin and leaves it intact. It’s a testimony to the amazing power of intuition and recognition of truth. She acknowledges the simplicity of what we all do on a daily basis and encourages the ability to know and be conscious on all levels–not just those that have been given us like an ancestral lineage or childhood scars–to embrace that change can happen with grace. She also opens a door to consciousness just by mentioning these stories. It’s as though she’s saying, ” See…here is the possibility of knowing truth–simple truth. It doesn’t have to take a lifetime. It can happen in a flash. Go For It!!”.
This book inspires me personally to want to travel to the holy places like Asissi and the power places on earth like the Indian Burial Grounds where I might contact the source of who I am….my soul wisdom. Luckily, I have studied Aminah’s Process Acupressure work and have that as a tool to access source. Yoga, meditation, Aminah’s Chakra Tai Chi, Fritz Smith’s Pyramid Meditation, walking, running, rowing, acupuncture, dreaming, Zero Balancing,Reiki, all these and other methods can be avenues for growth and day-to-day soul contact.
In Soul Lightning we are privy to Raheem’s personal quest for spiritual enlightenment. Why do we suffer? she asks, and What can we do about it? As a child she receives an answer in the form of a great light saying to her ” We are all One”. Then, a bolt of lightning which miraculously kills no one and damages nothing. She discovers a spiritual teaching known as Subud. She knows spirit or soul more closely each time she practices the tools of Subud or encounters another teacher on her spiritual quest. It is a journey where we realize that everything matters if we become aware of congruencies and synchronicities we can begin to solve the puzzle of why we are here…each of us, individually, healing ourselves and subsequently others as well.
I am impressed by Raheem’s capturing of a concept and her ability to puzzle together the elements which support her perspective. The concept of Soul Lightning is pure gold for Raheem since she has had the experiences which illustrate such phenomena throughout her life. She shares these experiences in a fluid and historical way. Being privy to the journey is captivating, and it is all recognizable stuff if you travel in the circle of the spiritually inclined.
Are we all as gifted as Raheem? She would have us think so. She does say that not everyone is a “teacher”. It is a question of whether or not you want to be. Seek and you shall find, otherwise you stay in the dark. Or, perhaps a lightning bolt will come and wake you up to your destiny—your purpose—your soul. Ask the questions and the answers will come. This book is about healing. Healing our inner child (soothing her). Healing our adult (to forge on). Healing our world (which is in danger of being destroyed by ignorance).
Raheem presents a carefully laid out explanation of man’s condition (armoring, cocooning which are ways of protecting oneself from the forces which offend from childhood on) and a solution–the task of awakening soul consciousness. For Raheem this is a lifetime journey. She goes on to say that although the awakening process is usually gradual and follows a practice of some kind but can often be abrupt or unexpected. I quote, “In my experience true spiritual development and soul consciousness only become accessible in one way or another (abruptly or deliberately, painstakingly). A stronger force is required. The Dalai Lama has traveled the world conducting Buddhist initiations that have undoubtedly helped open the world to it’s soul.”
Follow Aminah through her knowledge of, and ultimate dissatisfaction with, psychology, to the development of her own practice of Process Acupressure and her many stories of enlightenment and the encounters and practices that bring it. She says in her introduction that she hopes the stories stimulate memories of our own soul lightning and indeed upon asking it does. Aminah quotes the Bhuddist sage Joko: ” There is no end to the opening up that is possible for a human being. Eventually, we see that we are the limitless, boundless ground of the universe. Our job for the rest of our life is to open up into that immensity and to express it.”.
Alvina Quatrano July 2005
Soul Lightning Awakening Soul Consciousness, by Aminah Raheem, 318 pages, published by iUniverse, Inc, 2005.
For Amazon: Waking to Eden by Michelle Doucette 5.0 out of 5 stars Reconnection to What Is, March 10, 2011 By AMQ
This review is from: Waking to Eden (Paperback)
I love Michelle Doucette’s connection to Nature in Waking to Eden. Nature’s principles are real and can offer us the simple truths when we are astute and aware enough to ask for an answer and then open enough to receive it–often through serendipitous “coincidence”. Her ability to realize what’s real for her and to value it so that it becomes her healing path. What she already knows heals her. She integrates homeopathy, Zero Balancing, friendship, family, ancestral healing, tarot, psychic readings, along with her own scientific knowledge for a cutting edge presentation of how medicine can really work in this day and age.
The beauty of it is that everything matters. There are no throw away moves. Simplicity leads to profound and significant experience. The mind can do it’s work so much better when it is aligned with all that is and not distracted by social or historical impressions and expectations. Doucette’s sense of ritual is a grounding force in her development. This book is a manual to the forward progress of natural medicine today.