“Inscendence”: The Soul Path of Journeying Inwards 

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but modern spirituality is a dizzying plethora of “ascension” centered practices.

Angels. The Law of Attraction. Manifesting. Crystals. Dharma talk. Star seeds. Enlightenment. Non-duality. Psychics. Higher Self.

There’s nothing wrong with any of these – they can be illuminating and healing, sure. But they’re just half of the picture. Yet, somehow, they’re often portrayed to be “the whole” path.

The saying “religion is the opiate of the masses” comes to mind when I think of this obsessive preoccupation with ascension-spirituality: a focus exclusively on the light. 

It’s easy to avoid, deny, escape, and numb yourself to the pain of reality when you’re seeking to transcend; when you’re looking out there for the answers. When you’re stepping up and out of your human meat-suit with all of its inconvenient truths and your inner world with all of its chaos.

But there is so much beauty, power, richness, and awe found in the depths. 

Mystics throughout the ages have found this to be true. But I think cultural historian Thomas Berry put it best when he wrote,

“What is needed is not transcendence but ‘inscendence’…”

Psychotherapist Bill Plotkin clarifies this further, writing,

“The movement toward spirit is a journey of ascent, a journey of transcendence, while the movement toward your soul is a journey of descent … a journey that deepens. Transcendence is commonly associated with the rising sun … The soul path is often associated with the setting sun … the descent to our earthy roots, into the wildness of the soil and the soul, a journey into the underworld, a voyage into darkness or shadow.”

This is where soul recovery practices such as introspection, contemplation, shadow work, inner child work, and others come into the picture. Any ascension-path is incomplete and will almost inevitably result in spiritual bypassing (and ego inflation) without them.

In fact, from what I’ve experienced and observed, ascension-paths not just ignore, but often actively reinforce loss of soul.

This disconnection from the soul is reinforced when the “ultimate answers” or “cosmic bliss” are made to be found only in a guru, enlightened teaching, extraterrestrial channel, or some other “awakened” practice, always external and disconnected from one’s Deeper Self.

Inscendence is a path that asks us to go inwards so that we can then live an external life aligned with love, truth, peace, and freedom. Without diving deep into the wilderness of the self first to heal and befriend what we find there, we can’t hope to truly live from the truth of our own power. We’ll always be giving that power away to others. 

This is one of the biggest reasons why I focus on inner work on my own path (and have created a series of journals on this topic). We need ascension, yes. But we need to descend, or inscend, first. What goes up must come down, and vice versa. 

In the words of sage Lao Tzu,

“The inner is foundation of the outer.”

So before you get sucked into the rabbit hole of sparkly ascension-based spirituality, take some time to dig deep. 

Get quiet, go inwards, ask questions, contemplate, reflect, connect with your body, find delight in the ordinary magic of daily life. 

Spirituality isn’t meant to be a path of avoidance and escapism; it’s meant to help us be more awake and alive in the sacred wildness of existence.

What does “inscendence” mean on your spiritual path? I’d love to hear in the comments.