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Another consideration is that in these times, the counselor has taken on many of the activities of the priest or minister. One of the main functions of any counselor is to serve as a welcoming committee for souls coming through to greater self-discovery. There are very few refuges in our modern world where individuals can act out the rituals of the self. Again, here is where the analogy between the counselor and the midwife is so very complete: an individual just opening up and coming across into a greater understanding is as fresh and precious as any baby. Each of us deserves some kind of welcome and an opportunity to act out a process as old as time itself, that process of self-discovery. The process of unfolding that is possible in the counseling session is very like the physical birth process. The modern-day counselor is, in reality, a midwife of the spirit.