4Fold Path Map

The 4Fold Path map provides an overview of the archetypal whole person, featuring compass points of personhood and unfolding sequences for soul work. It serves as a template for the InnerView Guidance model and allows practitioners to follow multi-level transitions through the therapeutic process. The map is used to help navigate life stories as soul journeys. Its premise is that we live in two worlds: the finite, concrete, chronos dimension of our outer lives (horizontal axis on the map) and the infinite, intangible, kairos dimension of inner life (vertical axis). The balancing act of being human means having a foot in both worlds (matter/spirit) while holding our centre at the crossroads, where the perspectives of spirit, soul, ego and psyche intersect under varying life circumstances.

The basic CARE framework contains the others. The CARE model draws upon generic phases of clinical intervention yet directs attention towards positive attitudes and qualities.

The CARE acronym stands for:

Connect & contain(your challenge is human and manageable)

Assess & affirm(you’ve got what it takes to get through this)

Reframe & reorient(you are not defined by your life situation)

Encourage & empower(keep going, one step at a time)

The map is meant for anyone exploring or guiding psychospiritual growth, by discovering what the soul wants in unfolding parallel phases on four different levels. The series of fourfold sequences can be used as a training and supervision tool, leading to practical interventions involving mindfulness practices, meditation methods, contemplative teachings, and guidance from the wisdom traditions.

(click the arrows to view the 4Fold sequences)

Compass Points of Personhood

Spirit

…is the transcendent, boundless dimension of the unmanifest infinite Self. It’s the fullness of life in its formless state.

Soul

…is how the spirit takes form and shape. It’s the substance and quality of everything that’s grounded in lived experience.

Ego

…is the functional self that manages our day-to-day activities in a managerial way with its many life tasks to accomplish.

Psyche

…is the transpersonal, inclusive self of the collective unconscious, informed by symbols, archetypes, myths and rituals.

Elements of the 4Fold Sequence

The overarching fourfold sequence for the InnerView guide to follow is witness – presence – essence – guidance. One element leads to the next, yet the phases are actually more like the convergence of a 4-way intersection than consecutive steps. The four foundations of soul unfoldment are presented in a parallel process with other four-step phases (see map below) for the progressive attunement of clients.

Witness is the spacious awareness we bring to the blow-by-blow embroilment of life dramas. It involves the capacity to sit back and take a dispassionate, observer’s view, like watching a movie. Witnessing is fostered through mindfulness and meditative practices and instills the equanimity of ‘seeing the big picture.’ It also allows for a clearer view of the person behind the problem.

Presence dissolves the duality between self and other such that we can hold the space for our common humanity without judgment. With power differentials diminished by simple presence, needful healing can emerge which has an energy of its own.

Essence is otherwise known as the ‘true self’ or ‘point vierge’ – who we would be without mind, memory, or association; our unconditioned, unconstructed identity. It allows us a backstage pass to the value and worth of a person in and of themselves, aside from any ego strategies used to achieve significance and belonging. Our original nature, without shame.

Guidance is divining where a particular life situation meets the potential evolution of a person and becomes their growing edge. Whenever there’s a sense of suffering happening for a person, rather than to a person, guidance will emerge. The ‘flip side’ of a problem is revealed as an opportunity for self-compassion and soul growth.

Core Qualities Overview of the 4Fold Path

Witness

…a dispassionate, observer’s view of life’s dramas — the equanimity of seeing the big picture.

Presence

…dissolves the duality between self and other, holding space for our common humanity.

Essence

…our ‘true self’ — the unconditioned, original nature we carry without shame.

Guidance

…finding where a life situation meets a person’s own growing edge.

“I attempt to construct a kind of structural framework surrounding a center. Two lines are necessary: a vertical axis, which functions as a link between all the strokes, and a line evoking the horizon. These directional lines have an anchoring point and a vanishing point that make up the essence of the composition. Many other small characters also enter into the composition and participate in the dynamic movement. As soon as the form is established, the white that constitutes the background, the space, will also be engaged and become active. Artistic creation can never be taken for granted – each new phrase is a new beginning.”

Hassan Massoudy (on the art of calligraphy)