Psykosyntese og vestlig psykologi

2. Development towards wholeness.

During the several decades that psychosynthesis was moving toward a coherent whole, it remained relatively unknown within the realm of Western psychology. Like a fetus in the womb, it grew in silence, almost unnoticed. Assagioli nurtured it through his writing and teaching. During this time, a few colleagues helped discover and formulate various aspects of psychosynthesis through intuitive explorations as therapists and educators. They drew their inspiration from many sources in the East and the West.

By the 1960s, psychosynthesis centers had been established in several countries, and the literature of Assagioli’s associates was being published. Psychosynthesis had evolved from a single man’s vision into a unique and multifaceted entity. The sixties were a period of rapid growth, with many new centers being established in Europe and America. New courses and workshops were presented at professional conferences and to the public, and a growing body of psychosynthesis literature was being published.
Assagioli’s first book, Psychosynthesis, was published in 1965, and a wealth of psychosynthesis pamphlets were printed. By the end of the decade, professional training programs for psychotherapists had developed in Europe, Canada, and the United States.

Psychosynthesis had lived in relative obscurity, but was now an outward-looking, active child. Its identity was still incomplete and not fully mature, but its outlines and its potentials were becoming clear for all to see. Within the larger framework of Western psychology, psychosynthesis was recognized as one of many humanistic/existentialist approaches that were being embraced by an increasing number of professionals.

In the 1970s, the young psychosynthesis movement found its true home in the field of Western psychology. During this decade, a growing number of psychologists focused on the need to integrate the spiritual and transpersonal aspects of human experience within scientific psychology. They recognized the emergence of transpersonal psychology as an important new development in psychology. Psychosynthesis was essentially a transpersonal approach from its inception, and many professionals could now appreciate it as a significant factor in their work.

From the mid to late 1970s, some psychosynthesis psychotherapy training programs developed curricula with approved final exams. This was a sign that psychosynthesis had reached a stage of wholeness. It had developed a coherent identity. It could be taught to others systematically within recognized training programs.

This holistic view and broad structure and different types of techniques that could be communicated through training programs for therapists – is really only one facet of psychosynthesis. There are clear indications that a larger whole is approaching. Training programs for educators have been developing for many years, and some groups have explored the possibilities of application in areas other than professional training. Programs for personal and spiritual development have now been developed, the adaptation of psychosynthesis to interpersonal relationships and to social groups is being explored, and there are clear signs of a movement towards a comprehensive theory of psychosynthesis and towards research.

The different types of psychosynthesis share a tradition that this article continues to explore in the next section. The nature of psychosynthesis becomes clearer when it is related to four developmental phases within Western psychology; psychoanalytic, behaviorist, humanistic, and transpersonal. The work of Carl Jung, William James, and Abraham Maslow are treated as important Western influences, while raja yoga and karma yoga are presented as important Eastern influences on psychosynthesis.

3. The five waves of psychology

A model for describing the history of Western psychology outlines several important phases in its development. Abraham Maslow proposed this model when he labeled the humanistic view the “third wave.” He indicated that humanistic psychology was an important development that distinguished itself from psychoanalysis and behaviorism. He also anticipated a fourth and a fifth wave that might be called “transpersonal” and “transhuman.” (Goble, 1970)

Assagioli also recognized the five waves and called the fifth “psycho-energetics.” (Assagioli, 1980) This is the study of all experience expressed as energy, and connects modern psychology with the new physics. (Gerard, 1973) Psychosynthesis is closely related to the third, fourth, and fifth waves. Different psychosynthesisists emphasize one or more of these three in their work. My view is that psychosynthesis is essentially a transpersonal fourth-wave view. Since the fifth wave is relatively undeveloped, I will concentrate on the first four waves in my subsequent exploration of the nature of psychosynthesis.

Two scientific approaches to the study of human behavior and psychological healing began at the turn of the century with the work of Sigmund Freud and John B. Watson. Several brilliant psychologists including Alfred Adler, Otto Rank, Carl Jung, William James, and Roberto Assagioli developed alternative theories as the 20th century progressed. However, Freud’s psychoanalysis and Watson’s behaviorism remained the dominant forces in psychology for many decades. The psychoanalyst demonstrated the inner world of thoughts and feelings, and an “unconscious” that was formed in childhood. The behaviorist focused their studies on the outer behavior that was observable and measurable.

Psychoanalysis and behaviorism continued to dominate well into the 1950s, while a new trend in psychology grew out of existentialism. A “human potential movement” emerged, coinciding with the social liberation movement of the 1960s, and they abandoned the strictly mechanistic view of human nature. Human concerns came to the fore. Identity, authenticity, anxiety, suffering, meaning, love, the human encounter, social change. Humanistic and existentialist views in psychotherapy became so widespread and effective that they were recognized by many as the third wave of psychology. (Goble, 1970; Van Kaam, 1960)

Before the humanistic movement had taken its final form, a fourth force was identified and developed in the 1960s and 1970s as transpersonal psychology. The transpersonal view focuses on the ability to reach the extraordinary, the miraculous, the transcendent. This fourth wave psychology aims to understand and nurture the human potential to experience higher levels of consciousness, “superhuman” abilities, spiritual disciplines, universal qualities and energies, essence, and globally pervasive synergy.

4. Assagioli’s pioneering work

Throughout the 1970s, there was a growing recognition and acceptance of transpersonal psychology as the fourth wave of psychology. In the same decade, psychosynthesis developed into a coherent identity, and into a kind of whole. The early explorations of Assagioli and his associates foreshadowed many of the important aspects of the fourth psychology. The combination of separate developments within psychology into a coherent structure, the unification of the scientific and the spiritual, the study of alternative realities and higher states of consciousness, and the promotion of the possibility of growth beyond the ego. As a result of this work, it was a natural step for psychosynthesis to be recognized as an established part of transpersonal psychology.

Psychosynthesis was humanistic and transpersonal since its conception in 1910. Roberto Assagioli was ahead of his time. He pioneered a view that was only widely recognized by the time of his death in 1974.

In the early days when Assagioli made a radical departure from psychoanalysis, he did not reject all psychoanalytic ideas and techniques. For him, psychoanalysis was good as far as it went, but it remained limited. His goal was to include psychoanalytic ideas in a broader form. This idea—that new developments in psychology could include previous ones within the framework of a larger whole—would later become a key assumption in the theory of transpersonal psychology. (Wilber, 1979, 1980)
Assagioli firmly believed that his departure from pure behaviorism and psychoanalysis was not a rejection of science:

“Our position affirms that all the higher manifestations of the human psyche, such as creative imagination, intuition, aspiration, genius, are facts that are as real and important as the conditioned reflexes and are therefore available for research and treatment just as scientifically as the conditioned reflexes.”

We accept the idea that spiritual drives and energies are as real, basic, and fundamental as the sexual and aggressive drives. They should not be reduced to sublimated or pathological distortions of the sexual and aggressive components of the human personality, although in many neurotic cases such elements may also be present.

What we hope to see developed over a period of years, and which we certainly do not claim to have achieved, is a science of the self and its energies, its manifestations, and how these energies can be released, how they can be contacted, and how they can be used constructively in therapeutic work.” (Assagioli, 1965)

Here again we see how Assagioli was a pioneer of a key element in transpersonal theory-building. Charles Tart, for example, made a strong case for a synthesis between the scientific and the spiritual in his transpersonal psychologies. (Tart, 1975)

5. The influence of Jung

C.G. Jung

Although psychosynthesis remained behind the scenes in the early decades of this century (20th century), Assagioli was not alone. Two prominent contemporaries whose ideas were particularly compatible with his own were Carl Jung and William James. The work of these two men has been an important source of inspiration for the development of psychosynthesis.

Jung, like Assagioli, was a scholar who studied many cultures and spiritual traditions. Jung was particularly fascinated by the function of images and symbols in the human psyche. He formulated the idea of ​​the collective unconscious – a universal realm of human experience. He turned to the world of dreams and imagination as a rich source of understanding of human development. As the years passed, psychosynthesis began to make strong use of personal and universal symbols to induce healing and growth. Guided imagery became an important tool in psychosynthesis psychotherapy and education. Assagioli adapted and expanded many Jungian concepts, and other psychosynthesists have continued this tradition.

6. The influence of James

William James

William James was the other contemporary of Assagioli who contributed significantly to the development of psychosynthesis. James was particularly interested in higher states of consciousness. In contrast to the psychoanalyst of his time, whose focus was on creating the well-adjusted individual who was effective in social “reality,” James explored many alternative realities.

Assagioli believed, like James, that a truly scientific attitude in psychology presupposes an open mind—a willingness to investigate all the phenomena of psychological life. The psychosynthetic theory of the Self includes an explanation of the experience of going beyond ordinary reality. These transcendent experiences have been reported by creative geniuses in the spiritual and scientific worlds, as well as by mystics in many cultures.
The experience of heightened states of consciousness—of alternative realities that lie beyond the world of the ego, outside the cultural consensus of a particular time and place—was seen as a legitimate area of ​​inquiry in psychology before the 1920s. Again, psychosynthesis had been a focus of the fourth wave several decades earlier. (Walsh and Vaughan, 1980)

7. The influence of Maslow

Abraham Maslow

The seeds of the third and fourth waves are found in the work of Abraham Maslow. (Maslow, 1968, 1971) Psychosynthesis is deeply compatible with Maslow’s ideas. Assagioli and other psychosynthesists, including Crampton, Gerard, and Haronian, drew great inspiration from Maslow’s work.

Maslow differed from many of the great psychologists before him in that he studied healthy people—gifted, creative, and effective people. His predecessors usually studied neurotics or psychotics and derived from them a theory of human nature and methods of healing. Maslow’s path was a significant departure from this, and it fitted perfectly with Assagioli’s emphasis on the highest potentials and possibilities of man—what Maslow eventually called “The Father Reaches of Human Nature.” (Maslow, 1971)

8. Psychosynthesis emphasizes the practical

Psychosynthesists embraced parts of Maslow’s work to make their own work more coherent and holistic. Maslow developed abstract ideas about healthy people, and psychosynthesists designed practical techniques to accommodate the natural process of development toward healthy states. Maslow’s research indicated that particularly productive and effective people had frequent peak experiences—experiences that transcended their normal everyday world. Psychosynthesists before and after Maslow’s time developed specific meditations, visualization techniques, and group processes that created an attitudinal atmosphere that allowed peak experiences to occur. They also developed methods of “grounding,” which brings the expanded awareness or identity of the peak experience into everyday life, so that the quality of life is transformed.

Maslow studied creative people and defined many of their characteristics. Psychosynthesists moved toward a systematic development of methods for enhancing creativity. Building on the humanistic and third-wave interest in love, psychosynthesists developed methods for contacting and expressing love. Crampton brought to psychosynthesis group work the uplifting communication from the heart (Crampton, 1972). Stauffer developed role-playing techniques for transcending anger, practicing forgiveness, and expressing unconditional love (Stauffer, 1975). Gerard developed an imagination technique for contacting and expressing love in interpersonal relationships (Gerard, 1967). Many of Maslow’s and others’ ideas have come to life as practical techniques in psychosynthesis work.

Having presented some of the parallel developments within psychosynthesis and in psychology in general, I will now move on to discuss more details that make psychosynthesis unique. I will compare and contrast psychosynthesis with each of the four major waves of psychology. I will then move on to explore the nature of psychosynthesis as a spiritual psychology.

9. The First Wave: Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis is based on a medical model: people are diagnosed and treated so that they can be well integrated into the social environment. Psychosynthesis is based on a developmental system: people’s strengths and weaknesses are assessed and they are assisted in self-development, self-fulfillment and transformation. The unhealthy effects of negative childhood experiences, identified by Freud as causes of neurotic behavior, are recognized and actively worked on in psychosynthesis. Sometimes defenses and resistances to health and development are confronted with psychoanalytic interpretations.

Psychoanalysis looks to the personal unconscious based on the past as the source of psychological problems. Psychosynthesis includes looking to the “higher unconscious”—the world of the future and hidden potential—and confronts blocks to discovering and actualizing hidden talents and possibilities.
In the therapeutic relationship, some psychosynthesis practitioners replace the terms doctor and patient with “guide” and “traveler,” thus changing some of the traditional psychotherapeutic metaphors in the direction of increased self-reliance. Because psychosynthesis goes beyond treating illness to fostering health and development, it is an educational as well as a therapeutic approach.

10. The Second Wave: Behaviorism

While behaviorists studied observable behavior, psychosynthesis explored deep within the person – the world of feelings and images, beliefs and attitudes, and the deeper layers of the inner being. Nevertheless, there has always been a central emphasis on behavior change in psychosynthesis. Insight is not enough: “grounding” is also necessary. Grounding involves concrete action based on new insights, so that the quality of life and relationships are transformed in the process of psychosynthesis.

Perhaps one of Assagioli’s greatest gifts was the ability to ground: an ability to translate the abstract into the practical. He translated Eastern spiritual concepts into Western psychological terms.
Psychosynthesis demystified such concepts as imagination, intuition, and will and formulated systematic methods for training them. Psychosynthesis has also directly implemented second-wave ideas: the behaviorist method of “systematic desensitization,” a technique targeting phobias, has been effectively combined with guided imagery by psychosynthetic therapists. (Gerard, 1961)

11. The third wave: Humanistic psychology

Assagioli mentioned the many commonalities between third wave psychology and psychosynthesis in the introduction to his first book. (Assagioli, 1965) He listed these commonalities: the central concern for human identity; the recognition that each person is unique; the appreciation of development; the recognition of each person’s capacity to discover the meaning of life; the affirmation of our capacity to take responsibility and be aware of motives; the acknowledgement of the role of life’s anxiety and suffering; and the view of the future as a dynamic factor in the present.

Assagioli then went on to list the differences – aspects that he believed required special emphasis in psychosynthesis in contrast to other existentialist/humanist schools. He noted the great emphasis on the will as an essential function of the Self; the idea of ​​a Self that is an experience of attention without content; the recognition and active cultivation of positive, creative, and joyful experiences; the idea that solitude is not considered ultimate or essential; the use of “active techniques”: 1. For the transformation, sublimation, or redirection of psychological energies; 2. For the strengthening of undeveloped functions; and 3. For the activation of superconscious energies and latent potentials; and the conscious and planned reconstruction of the personality.

This list is worth reviewing and contemplating. It provides a concise and coherent picture of the many key elements that make up psychosynthesis.
The uniqueness of psychosynthesis is emphasized by contrasting it with particular humanistic views that were prevalent in the sixties. Rational mood therapy, for example, works with the mind and develops new ways of reasoning to change emotional patterns. (Ellis, 1961) Psychosynthesis also encourages new ways of using the thinking mind but includes the training of the non-rational mental functions. Special exercises are offered that train the mind to adopt a centered attitude, focus and direct energies, and become more intuitive.

Another humanistic view, Gestalt therapy, has emphasized working with emotions, by remaining in the present, and was inspired by Zen. Psychosynthesis, which does not exclude working with emotions, emphasizes working with the mind and working towards the future, and was inspired by raja yoga and karma yoga. Gestalt philosophy and techniques are often used in psychosynthesis to provide awareness and a sense of responsibility for oneself and one’s actions. The spiritual aspect of psychosynthesis expands this view of responsibility by considering the development of each individual in a broad context: Each person is an integral member of different groups and of the larger family that humanity constitutes, with the responsibility to support the development of others while also supporting one’s own. (Assagioli, 1965)

12. The Fourth Wave; Transpersonal Psychology

I have described how psychosynthesis foreshadowed many of the key elements of the fourth wave of psychology: the inclusion of earlier developments in a new whole; the linking of the spiritual and the scientific; the study of higher states of consciousness; and the fostering of development beyond the ego. Some in the transpersonal movement delved deeply into meditative and esoteric studies, while psychosynthesis continued to emphasize the translation of abstract understanding into practical exercises and into the theories of Western psychology. Other transpersonal approaches pursued deep explorations of the path of the heart or the spiritual aspects of bodywork, while psychosynthesis continued to emphasize the exploration of the spirit through the path of mind and action. These contrasts show the unique color of psychosynthesis among other transpersonal views, but psychosynthesis actually aims to achieve the harmonious balance of love and will, and an integration of all levels—physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.

To clarify the psychosynthetic view of the transpersonal, let us look at the psychosynthetic model of personality as a tripartite structure—physical body, emotions, and the thinking mind—with the Self as an integrating and coordinating center. Beyond the personality world of everyday actions, personal feelings, and thoughts is the transpersonal: the realm of abstract thought, intuition, and the mystical or superconscious experiences of the soul or Higher Self. Personal affairs are also transcended by the larger world of group life—other people with alternative values, needs, and viewpoints.

The transpersonal perspective of psychosynthesis is that the personality is a vehicle through which the higher consciousness can be expressed in everyday life and that this personality is interdependent on all other personalities. The transpersonal, in a psychosynthetic perspective, is not something mysterious or separate, but a living experience that the human being can integrate into the daily activities and relationships of the world.

One does not enter some transcendent state and leave the personality and the world behind. The qualities and abilities of higher consciousness are brought into the world to transform the quality of life here and now. (Miller, 1981)

Within psychosynthesis, the movement into the transpersonal occurs in two overlapping phases. Phase 1 is the “personal psychosynthesis” where the goal is personal integration: the creation of a harmonious personality. This is achieved by learning centering, an achievement of the ability to disidentify from ego patterns, roles and personality content and by identifying with the centered Self within – the integrating force of the personality.
Phase 2 is the transpersonal or “spiritual psychosynthesis”, where the goal is to create a synthesis between the integrated personality and the extraordinary qualities and abilities contacted in the transcendent dimensions. This is achieved through the technique of dialogue with the higher and transpersonal Self, and through meditation, visualization, journaling and spiritual group work. The goal of spiritual psychosynthesis is to merge the centered and personal Self with the Higher Self within, so that the individual becomes purposeful, wise, loving, creative and a positive force in the healing and development of humanity.

13. Psychosynthesis: A Spiritual Psychology

Psychosynthesis encourages creative change. It fosters new developmental steps. Each step is considered spiritual when seen from the perspective of being an element in the larger pattern that constitutes one’s life purpose. Each step is spiritual when it benefits both oneself and others and does no harm to anyone. Each step is spiritual when it provides well-being for the whole of life.

Spirituality in psychosynthesis also means a balance between times of struggle and work and humor and recreation. It means taking action that follows high principles: a willingness to be firm in the face of injustice and courageous in times of adversity. To be spiritual is to live by values ​​and attitudes that are humanistic, progressive, and democratic; to be actively concerned with the meaning and purpose of life; and to relate one’s own personal development to universal development.

This view of spirituality has also been put forward by other authors. A management consultant wrote in “In Search of a Corporate Soul” that he spoke of the need for “purposeful leaders” whose job it is to: “… minimize destructive individual behavior and to persuade people to sacrifice some of their personal goals and needs for the welfare of the whole.” (D’Aprix, 1976) Carl Jung also referred to this view of the spiritual in modern man who seeks the soul. (Jung, 1933) This book refers to people who do not necessarily belong to an organized religion, but who nevertheless “… have experienced the soul as clearly as the body and for whom a religious attitude to life is as essential and authentic as a scientific one.” In psychosynthesis, the religious term “soul” is related to the psychological concepts of “Higher Self” and “Transpersonal Self.”

Assagioli, like Jung, postulated that the spiritual realm is not necessarily tied to any particular religious group, and that psychosynthesis draws inspiration from all major religious traditions. The practical techniques of psychosynthesis are useful supplements to formal religious practice, as well as an improvement in the quality of life for those who are not affiliated with a particular religion. The spiritual in psychosynthesis includes everything that involves higher than average values, including empathic understanding, altruistic love, deep wisdom, creative inspiration, and appreciation of beauty, a sense of responsibility, a sense of wanting to contribute, as well as the so-called mystical experiences of universality, and of oneness with the cosmos. (Gerard, 1961)

14. The influence of Raja Yoga and Karma Yoga

Patanjali and Raja Yoga

The word “yoga” means “yoke” – the yoke with which an ox can be harnessed to a plow. Yoga is the harnessing of one’s energies by pursuing a discipline. “Yoga” also means “union”, to feel united with the higher human qualities and with universal patterns and energies, or in religious terms, oneness with God.
In raja yoga, the movement towards a high quality of life is nurtured by the training of the mind. The intellectual aspect of the mind is nurtured through the study of abstract ideas and by exploring and directing inspiring teachings. In addition to these broad perspectives and new creative ideas, the intellect is influenced and transformed by the higher energies that meditation contacts. As the intellect is enlightened, the quality of thinking is elevated.

By translating the philosophy of Raja Yoga into the concepts and methods of Western psychology, psychosynthesis fosters mental development through the study of the basic elements – the fundamental themes of psychosynthesis theory – and through systematic training in meditation. Meditation in the Raja Yoga system supports the ability to self-mastery and self-initiated change. Meditation develops the abstract mind. The mind’s ability to become still, to focus, concentrate, and direct thinking creatively leads to new insights, new experiences, and new ways of being in the world. In this way, the specific psychosynthesis exercises expand the mind’s ability to observe objectively and to direct attention with the will.

The meditative techniques begin with simple concentration exercises and then move on to the “dis-identification exercise” where one mentally makes an identity shift away from the personal content of consciousness – movements, sensations, feelings or thoughts and identifies with a center of pure attention within – the personal self. More advanced meditations include visualizations of the symbols of the Higher Self, light, energy flows and energy fields. The power of imagination is used to invoke healing symbols and thoughts and to direct positive energies to oneself and others. The power of the focused mind is also used to create images, affirmations, goals, visions, ideal models that can guide the personality towards growth.

Psychosynthesis’ commitment to acting in the world, based on the insights gained in therapeutic work, exercises and meditations, is related to karma yoga. Karma yoga is the yoga of action and work in the world. Within this discipline, one can consciously take constructive actions that participate in a larger plan for human evolution and in this way achieve unity with the greater whole. Being spiritual does not mean that one only sits alone in meditation and prayer, but that one uses the inner energies, insights and qualities that have been contacted and translates them into everyday life. Psychosynthesis calls this “grounding”. Within the karma yoga view, even the most simple and mundane pursuits can be an opportunity to live from an expanded consciousness or high state of being. The creation of joy, peace or any great quality while doing one’s daily routines is a demonstration of spiritual psychosynthesis.

15. Summary

Psychosynthesis began in 1910 when Roberto Assagioli set out to develop a psychology based on the whole person, including the spiritual dimension. After half a century of evolution, psychosynthesis began to assume a coherent identity and recognition within Western psychology.

In the 1960s and 1970s, psychosynthesis centers began to develop training programs, and curricula with approved final exams emerged. This was a sign that psychosynthesis had reached a level where it could be visualized and communicated as a whole – a broad structure with roots in Eastern and Western traditions.

Three important influences that have influenced the development of psychosynthesis are discussed; the work of Carl Jung, William James, and Abraham Maslow.

The growth of psychosynthesis is explored in relation to the four waves of Western psychology: psychoanalysis, behaviorism, humanistic psychology, and transpersonal psychology. Psychosynthesis is essentially transpersonal. It incorporates elements from all four waves, but retains its own distinct identity.

A discussion of psychosynthesis as an established aspect of fourth wave psychology leads to a concluding section where a psychosynthesis perspective on spirituality is presented. Influenced by raja yoga and karma yoga, psychosynthesis includes the path of mind and action as important aspects of the spiritual path.

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