by Robert Wilkinson
I was recently made aware of a fantastic new book by Joel Bennett, PhD titled Quest For Presence Book 2: The Soulful Capacities. Given the profound insights available from this book, I believe this will be a classic for all who want to identify and live their Soul’s love, wisdom, and power.
First, a full disclosure. I have personally known the author for over 40 years, and was honored to write the Foreword to the book. That gives me a different angle on it than most reviewers, since I know the intention of the author and have my own experience of many decades assisting others to strengthen their Soul connection so they may express its qualities in their lives.
I can state this book was a joy to read, and as I went into it I found myself contemplating how various Soul qualities came to expression in my life. This book could be considered part of a “Master Plan” to identify certain transcendent qualities so that we may understand why we go through crucial experiences that offer us important leaps in awareness which open the doors to a more Soul-ful life.
The author begins with giving us a full page diagram which he calls “Quest for Presence Mandala,” offering the Four Radiant Forces, the Soulful Capacities, the Nine Attractions, the Eight Trajectories, and the Sixteen Treasures. The author also explains how Quest for Presence (or Q/P) includes five books. Each is part of the whole, and can also be read independently.
He offers that the Soul quality of “Presence” allows us to awaken to a new life “outside of clock-time,” where we become fully aware and fully engaged in living each moment. As he puts it, the Quest for Presence collection is designed to help the reader make room in time to embrace the adventure of living fully, totally engaged and connected each hour of each day.
He writes “the human soul connects heaven – the eternal – and earth – the temporary or temporal – and embodies deeper forces” which he terms “the four Cosmic Radiant Forces” which are Time Shaping, Form, Nurturing Conditions, and Chaos. This book explores the essence of our Soul Capacities, which are Acceptance, Presence, Flow, and Synchronicity.
Part 1 is about Soulful Preparations, where we reimagine time, stepping back from a linear view so we may prepare to explore the Soulful capacities. In Part 2 we are taken into each of the four Soulful capacities via explanations of what they are and how they work, with exercises and questions which guide us through various self-assessments.
Part 3 gives insights into the Divine origin of Soulful Capacities, with chapters on “Contemplations,” “Temple,” “The Veil,” “Preciousness,” “The Soulful Capacities Together and Personality,” and other soulful qualities and functions. These guide the reader through the divine origin of the Soulful Capacities, the value of contemplation and self-transcendence, and the wide open potential of an expanded awareness of life with a sense of the loving wise intelligence our Soul makes available when we learn to recognize its power.
In the final analysis, this book is a journey through the inner space of Self, exploring the infinite power of our Soul to be fully present in our lives. Through the practices and questions, we are given opportunities to become aware of the interconnectedness of all which happens and our need to accept the gifts of the Soul while learning to flow with life rather than measure it as a moment to moment linear set of achievements or failures.
This is a book which will open many dimensions of consciousness for your consideration and practice. It will help you, the reader, step back from familiar linear frames of reference to find an experience of the Soul, here and now, fully aware and fully cooperating with life’s flow.
As we identify and cultivate Acceptance, Presence, Flow, and awareness of Synchronicity, we can know ourselves as Eternals having human experiences, fully present in the Now, embracing our ability to live the love and wisdom of our Soul. As we embrace the Soulful Capacities, we grow in our ability to flow through and with time, experiencing the perfection of each moment as we recognize and express our Soul at its highest.
This book will guide you to a thousand treasures in your inner realm of consciousness, and awaken a thousand questions which will lead you to ten thousand answers. I wholeheartedly recommend this book, as well as the others in the series. I’m sure they’re as good as this one, so they’ll be well worth your time!
© Copyright 2023 Robert Wilkinson
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