Awaken To Love: Reclaiming Wholeness through Embodied Nonduality with Jungian Wisdom, Psychosynthesis & Internal Family Systems
The words "heal," "whole," "health" and "holy" share a common etymological root, reflecting the deep connection between our psychological and spiritual growth. Trauma often blocks our ability to fully live in the present moment. "Awaken to Love" offers an integrated approach that unites diverse elements into a cohesive path towards restoring wholeness and presence. Drawing from IFS, Jungian psychology, psychosynthesis, and nonduality teachings, it introduces the "path of duonity"—a nested model that honours the distinct aspects of our being while recognizing their inseparability from the whole.
This comprehensive guide explores the intricate dynamics of consciousness, inner multiplicity of parts, ego formation, embodied trauma healing, personal development, and spiritual awakening. It provides transformational tools and practices that bridge ancient wisdom with practical modern insights, empowering you to:
Understand the roots of your emotions and behaviours
Heal deep-seated wounds and overcome limiting patterns
Manifest your full potential for growth and self-expression
Cultivate lasting happiness, fulfilment, and inner peace
Awaken to your true Self, embody its boundless, compassionate nature and return to presence
The introduction invites the reader to reimagine healing as a holistic journey, blending psychology and nondual philosophies, advocating for a mix of individuation and transcendence.
Chapter one traces the human psyche's development from an undifferentiated Self in infancy to forming subpersonalities or parts, with exercises for reintegration.
Chapter two uses the mind-as-house metaphor to explore consciousness, the conscious and unconscious mind, and archetypes, with exercises for deeper insight.
Chapter three contrasts the Self with parts and the ego, discussing various facets and nonduality, with exercises to experience the Self.
Chapter four examines psychosynthesis and IFS, integrating inner parts into a cohesive whole under the true Self's guidance, discussing Self's qualities, parts classification, and the nested consciousness model.
Chapter five explores discerning guidance from burdened parts or the compassionate true Self, with exercises to align intentions and purpose with Self-leadership.
Chapter six applies the hero's/heroine's journey archetype to psychological healing and integration.
Chapter seven reframes the ego as a dynamic process capable of realigning with our true Self.
Chapter eight integrates nonduality with parts work for psychological and spiritual growth, proposing laws of nondual psychophysics and the 8Fs protocol for nondual IFS.
Chapter nine emphasizes embodying nondual awareness through practices like yoga, meditation, and breathwork, grounding spiritual insights in somatic and relational experiences.
Chapter ten explores Self-realization, awakening, Self-leadership, and individuation, illustrating how parts arise within and are inseparable from the ground of Self, with exercises to explore their interplay and highlight healing through integration.
The book weaves snippets of Laura's personal journey throughout, providing context and a deeper connection to the themes discussed, and concludes with a bibliography and glossary.
An independent team of reviewers praised the book as "the cornerstone of nondual psychotherapy." They remarked, "Laura gives words to the ineffable," and added, "If you appreciate science, philosophy, psychology, and spirituality, you'll love this."
About the Author:
Laura Patryas PhD, is a spiritual teacher and IFS therapist. She utilizes the latest scientific insights alongside embodied nonduality, offering a unique and universal path to healing. With over 20 years of research and personal exploration, Laura brings a deeply transformative perspective to her practice.
The 8 Superpowers Inside Me: My Feelings' Inner Guide
A children’s Internal Family Systems book focusing on the 8Cs of Self
Video of the book.
“If you are into Internal Family Systems theory and you’ve got little kids, this is a great book for passing on the core ideas to them in language that they can understand.”
“This book is so beautifully written and illustrated. My son is autistic and books rarely engage his attention but this one did! Also it’s the perfect book for your inner child. A book the full family will benefit from.”
Laura’s quotes
My academic publications, research outputs, and professional activities can be viewed through my ORCID researcher profile.
Research
Laura is an Independent Archive Researcher of Spiritual Experiences at the Alister Hardy Trust (Religious Experience Research Centre), one of the world's largest collections of first-person accounts of spiritual and transformative experiences.Through this unique archive, Laura investigates the intersection of spirituality, trauma, consciousness, psychological healing and transformative states of awareness.
Drawing on her background as an Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapist and researcher, Laura explores how profound experiences of consciousness may relate to contemporary understandings of psychological health, personal transformation and human flourishing. Particular areas of interest include experiences of nonduality, oneness, unity, timelessness, loss of self, cosmic consciousness, inner guidance, presence, being held, kundalini phenomena, energy experiences, vibration, expansion and encounters with light.
Current Research Interests
Current projects focus on several interconnected themes:
Trauma, Crisis and Transformation
Investigating whether profound spiritual experiences frequently arise in the context of psychological distress, major life crises, bereavement, illness or existential upheaval, and how such experiences may contribute to healing and post-traumatic growth.Awakening, Nonduality and the Nature of Self
Exploring reports of oneness, unity, timelessness, cosmic consciousness and loss of self to better understand the phenomenology of awakening and its implications for contemporary psychology and psychotherapy.Inner Guidance and Self-Led States of Consciousness
Examining experiences described as an inner voice, presence, guidance, angelic encounter or being held, and considering how these accounts relate to modern therapeutic concepts such as inner wisdom, Self-leadership, compassion and resilience.Spiritual Emergence, Energy and Kundalini Experiences
Investigating reports involving kundalini, energy, vibration, expansion, light and altered states of consciousness to understand how these experiences relate to spiritual development, psychological integration, and wellbeing.Spontaneous Mystical Experiences and Psychedelic Research
Comparing naturally occurring mystical experiences with contemporary findings from psychedelic research, with particular interest in shared themes of transcendence, interconnectedness, healing and enduring personal transformation.
The overarching aim of this work is to build bridges between the study of spiritual experience, contemporary psychotherapy, trauma research and the science of consciousness, helping to deepen our understanding of how transformative experiences can contribute to healing, meaning and human development.
Learn more about the archive through the Alister Hardy Trust.
