Abstract

This chapter examines the diverse ways the archetype of the Self manifests in daily and social life through sacred practices. Sacred practice is an expression of the psychological complex in the sense that it helps us digest otherwise overwhelming archetypal material. There are four major types of sacred practice: attention to the common and ordinary, finding the sacred in space and place, encountering the sacred in traditional religious practice, and alternative spiritual practices. Each kind of sacred practice both reveals and conceals the sacred. I argue that if we can attend to the hidden material within each sacred practice, we will be rewarded with spiritual growth and a greater sense of wholeness in life.