æversion
'Love is the destruction and dissolving of ego.'
Peter Kingsley
On æversion
Æversion symbolises the interiorisation of reality; an attempt at initiation into realms of Mystery and sanity in insane, apocalyptic times. It has been dreamed up to provide a temporal space without judgement or taboo wherein unknown friends can share in their soul journeys together through the mediums of, but not limited to, dialogue and independent study. As depth (and height) explorers of the imaginal we commit to the reading and contemplation of MAPPs (Maya Altering Poetry and Prose) in cultivating an awareness of panempatheia ('empathy for all'). I aim to fail well in assisting you, for a time, in delving deeply into the soil of your psyche as it presents to landscapes of place and consequence; to help in consciously (re-)aligning your self with your spiritual purpose in this incarnation, paradoxical, even maddening, as it might appear! As we explore terrains, both above and below, within and without, we will learn how to create a container by which to hold our hermeneutic musings in a spirit of embodied, communitarian service. Expect no answers, only, perhaps, an ability to ask more beautiful questions.
Email: ian.a.neilson@gmail.com
Correspondence by email preferred at present.
No charges or fees apply.
Why no monetary fee?
It is not my intention to make a living from fellow seekers, my current position in the marketplace of life covers all basic needs. Further, a small number of elders and teachers have given freely their time in support of my own searching questions; it is with heartfelt respect for their wisdom I honour them in this small way.
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Mission
Attempting to navigate a world undergoing apocalyptic transformation is deeply challenging, more so in isolation. Awakening to the enormity of our spiritual, ecological, societal, and personal crises is quite often overwhelming. However, the simple act of being in conversation with another who does not fit into categories of friend or family can be beneficial in helping navigate-by-dissolving these changes unfolding before, and indeed, through us.
The line by Peter Kingsley at the top of this page is the guiding message of both this site and a hope, if we might call it such, for future generations that they come to know its reality. When there is so much despair and pain in our world it is important not only to live in feeling with this suffering, but also to allow ourselves to learn again how to give hospitality to joy, beauty, and, above all, love. And, of course, humour helps too. Humour more than anything, perhaps.
ABOUT
A little over twenty years ago I was gifted a spontaneous mystical encounter which expanded - and subsequently shattered - my conception of reality, resulting in a two decade (and counting) search for what many have called the choiceless choice. In seeking to make sense of this bursting forth of the unconscious, an ongoing study of transpersonal psychology, world mystical traditions, and daily spiritual practice has since manifested as aeversion.com. Its unusual spelling constellates various concepts, including the topographical mathematics of sphere eversion as re-presentation, Rudolf Otto's mysterium tremendum et fascinans, and the 'concave earth' motif of William Blake... to name only a few influences. I hold a Diploma in Counselling through the Pathways Psychology Institute, NSW, Australia (which emphasises Arnold and Amy Mindell's Process-Oriented Psychology), a BA (Hons) in Philosophy, and continue to gain rich nourishment through engagement with the panentheistic Psychosynthesis of Roberto Assagioli, Advaita Vedanta, Sufism, Christian mysticism, and the writings of C.G. Jung. Please note, however, that I do not offer my services as a professional counsellor, but as a fellow wayfarer and spiritual companion. Rather than engage in a client/therapist or teacher/student relationship it is better perhaps to consider our exchanges as a living expression of what John O'Donohue described as the 'conversational nature of reality,' that is, awareness speaking to awareness. For those who prefer a more formal psychotherapeutic relationship, I would be delighted to provide recommendations.
I live in sight of kanamaluka on palawa Country in lutruwita (Tasmania) with my wife and two tabby cats.
What myth do you live?
What myth lives you?
Do you suffer the labour pains
of a world seeking
to be reborn?
John Moriarty, Dreamtime
Acknowledgement of Country
I acknowledge, with deep respect the traditional owners of this land, the palawa people.
The palawa people belong to the oldest continuing culture in the world. They cared and protected Country for thousands of years. They knew this land, they lived on the land and they died on these lands. I honour them.
I pay my respects to elders past and present and to the many Aboriginal people that did not make elder status and to the Tasmanian Aboriginal community that continue to care for Country.
Æversic readings ...
Catafalque
Peter Kingsley
Urgency
Jeremy Vaeni
The Return of the Feminine
and the World Soul
and
The Circle of Love
Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
The Dream of the Cosmos
Anne Baring
The Matter with Things
Iain McGilchrist
Happiness and the Art of Being
Michael James
Come of Age
Stephen Jenkinson
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'Pure empathy for the suffering of others
is the hallmark of divinity.'
Anandamayi Ma
