Soulshaping ─ A Journey of Self-Creation

Soulshaping is the inspiring memoir of an archetypal "male warrior"–a trial lawyer–who struggled to find his heart and a more authentic, soulful path. Rivetingly personal and profoundly universal, this book is for anyone who has heard a whisper of something truer calling out to them amid the distractions of modern life. Jeff Brown’s dramatic and often funny story takes readers through remarkably human experiences–emotional, physical, and economic–as he vividly recounts his troubled childhood, his success in apprenticing with Canada’s top criminal lawyer, and his ultimate decision to leave the law and begin an inner journey to discover his soul’s purpose. A work of courageous self-creation, Soulshaping reminds us that we are all truly connected, that our seemingly isolated struggles are actually part of the shared human challenge to live a life that is heart-centered and soul-driven.

Both down-to-earth and magically mystical, Soulshaping will meet you where you live–and where you long to live.

Born in Toronto, Canada, Jeff Brown did all the things he was supposed to do to become successful in the eyes of the world. He was on the Dean’s Honor List as an undergraduate. He won the Law and Medicine prize in law school. He apprenticed with top criminal lawyer Eddie Greenspan. It had been Brown’s lifelong dream to practice criminal law and search for the truth in the courtroom.

But then, on the verge of opening a law practice, he heard a little voice inside telling him to stop, just stop. With great difficulty, he honored this voice and began a heartfelt quest for the truth that lived within him. Although he didn’t realize it at the time, Brown was actually questing for his innate image, the essential being that he came into this lifetime to embody. He was searching for his authentic face.

As part of his journey, Brown surrendered to his confusion and explored many possible paths. He studied Bioenergetics and did session work with cofounder Alexander Lowen. He practiced as a body-centered psychotherapist. He completed an MA in Psychology at Saybrook Graduate School in San Francisco and cofounded the Open Heart Gang, a benevolent gang with a heartfelt intention. He developed his student business and became a successful entrepreneur.

The most important thing Brown did, however, was the inner work. By going inside and connecting his spirituality with his emotional life, he learned essential lessons. By learning to surrender to the "School of Heart Knocks" (the school of life), he found his authentic face and embraced the call to write Soulshaping. Although he resisted it at first, he soon realized that honoring the call was his best defense against sleeplessness. If he wrote, he slept. If he didn’t, he lay awake all night. This is the nature of a calling.

Brown currently lives in Toronto, where he and the Open Heart Gang are close to finishing a documentary about Bhagavan Das (of Be Here Now fame). The film, titled Karmageddon, includes wonderful dialogues with Brown and spiritual teacher Ram Dass, yogis Seane Corn and David Newman, and chanters Deva Premal and Miten. In addition, Brown is actively searching for wheels for the Soulshaping bus tour, a spirited adventure across North America with his soul-friends, heaven-bent on inviting more people to raise the flag of the little voice to the rafters of consciousness.