Part of the human condition is that there are parts of ourselves that we don’t see or want to see about ourselves. It may seem counterintuitive that real freedom, healing, and innocence is only possible in descent, and that the underworld (personal and archetypal) is a doorway that holds the key to real change and transformation. Whatever is buried carries creativity and life force and by learning to relate with it we can come to accept the full spectrum of life. Karuna was a singer and musician in the Western Baul bands LGB and Small Change and author of Parenting: A Sacred Task.