Hi friends
Here comes a compilation of 16 quotes about the experience of the personal self, the conscious “I”, which in Assagioli’s understanding is the inner observer, the centre of pure self-awareness, and will.
The experience of the personal self or conscious “I” happens when we learn to identify with consciousness itself and become the observer of our manifold content.
You can find all relevant links here: kennethsorensen.dk/en/glossary/experience-of-personal-self/
1) “If we eliminate the content, we remain. The self remains. Pure self-awareness, not ecstatic, but it has in itself a sense of assurance, of inner certainty, security, permanence, which is already much. But it is a quiet subtle thing. Therefore, all the assertions “there is no ego” have to be qualified … What do you mean by ego? If you mean your whole personality, of course, most of which have to go. But if you mean the self, no, the point of self-awareness remains stable, immutable, permanent.” (Talks on the self)
2) The “I” is simple, unchanging, constant and self-conscious. The experience of the “I” can be formulated as follows: “I am I, a centre of pure consciousness.” To state this with conviction does not. mean one has yet reached the experience of the “I”, but it is the way which leads to it. And it is the key to, and the beginning of, the mastery of our psychological processes. (Psychosynthesis, p. 117)
3) “The experience of the point of self-awareness on the personality level is the first step toward the experience of the Self, or in existential terms, the essence of Being.” (Psychosynthesis, p. 113)
4) “What am I then? What remains after discarding from my self-identity the physical, emotional and mental contents of my personality, of my ego? It is the essence of myself —a center of pure self-consciousness and self-realization. It is the permanent factor in the ever varying flow of my personal life. It is that which gives me the sense of being, of permanence, of inner security. I recognize and I affirm myself as a center of pure self-consciousness. I realize that this center not only has a static self-awareness but also a dynamic power; it is capable of observing, mastering, directing and using all the psychological processes and the physical body. I am a center of awareness and of power.” (Psychosynthesis, p. 118)
5) “What am I then? What remains after having disidentified myself from my body, my sensations, my feelings my desires, my mind, my actions? It is the essence of myself—a center of pure self-consciousness.
It is the permanent factor in the ever-varying flow of my personal life. It is that which gives me a sense of being, of permanence, of inner balance. I affirm my identity with this center and realize its permanency and its energy. “I recognize and affirm myself as a center of pure self-awareness and of creative, dynamic energy. I realize that from this center of true identity I can learn to observe, direct, and harmonize all the psychological processes and the physical body. I will to achieve a constant awareness of this fact in the midst of my everyday life, and to use it to help me and give increasing meaning and direction to my life.” (The Act of Will, p. 215)
6) “Dis-identification implies the assumption and maintenance of the inner attitude of the Observer; in other words, the achievements of true self-awareness, i.e., the awareness of That within us which, permanent and immutable, lies behind, or rather above, the endless variety of transient psychological states.
The attitude of the Observer is of special importance. It is acquired by practicing the Exercise of Dis-identification and self-identification described in both the Second and Third Courses.” (Meditation Group for the New Age)
7) “This means that while the conscious phenomenal self, identified itself with the various contents of the consciousness, there is something in us that is not identified, that does not change with the changing states of mind, that remains always the same, fixed, unassailable. This is our real “I”, the center or our individuality, the real substance of our being. (The self – A unifying center)
8) “A clear and full experience of the self gives, at first, such a strong sense of self-identity that it is felt as something sure, permanent, unchangeable, and indestructible. It is realized as such an essential reality that all other experiences and so-called realities appear, when compared to it, as changing, impermanent and of less value and significance. Such a realization is accompanied by a sense of inner independent, self-relying security, which is deeply satisfying and gives rise to a feeling of peace, serenity and quiet joy. Psychosynthesis, 1965, p. 69
Another characteristic belonging to the realization of the self is power. It is a sense of concentrated power at rest, yet ready to express itself dynamically either in the mastery over all elements and forces of the personality or re-use in creative activity. (The Mystery of The Self, Assagioli Archive, Florence)
9) “Why does the self at the personality level have this quality? Because it is the reflection of the Higher Self, of the transpersonal Self, and it reflects, however palely, the same qualities of its Source. If you look at the reflection of the sun on a mirror, or on water, you see the light and quality of the sun, infinitesimal, but still the quality of the sun. So that explains why even at the personality’s level the self is stable, sure, and indestructible.” (Talks on the Self)
10) “…the personal ego is only a pale reflection of the Transpersonal Self.” (Conversation with Roberto Assagioli)
11) “Self-consciousness is human but not spiritual. […] Self-consciousness is the point at the centre of consciousness […], meaning consciousness of one’s personal ego, of one’s own interests and pleasures, so it has nothing spiritual in itself. The Self is something else, a whole new level. […]. Normal self-consciousness is separative, egocentric, conservative”.
[2] B. Caldironi, L’uomo a tre dimensioni. Colloqui con Roberto Assagioli (1967-1971). Edizioni del Girasole, Ravenna, 2004, pp. 63-64.
12) “[…] the realization of the central self is not all that has to be discovered. In fact, it is, in a sense, only the beginning, because, having reached awareness of the central “l” which is naturally and rightly self-centered and separative at first, in order to assert its unique and separate identity as an individual, we find this is not enough, and that there are other and greater states of consciousness with which to identify. Their stages […] include recognition of the self in others, group awareness, and realization of the higher or Spiritual Self [3]”. [3] Meditation Group for the New Age. Third year, Set II, p. 6.
13) It is important to keep this distinction in mind, not least because this sense of permanence and stability, however diluted and concealed it may be, is transmitted from the spiritual Self to its counterpart, the conscious personal ‘I’. It is this that gives us our sense of permanence and personal identity throughout all the changes, alternating states of mind and changing contents of our awareness. (Transpersonal Development, 2007, p. 24)
14) Thus the essential characteristic of self-awareness is continuity and permanence, but the self-awareness of the conscious ‘I’ is only a poor reflection of the enduring, immortal essence of the spiritual ‘I’, the Self. (Transpersonal Development, 2007, p. 24)
15) What we call the ordinary self is that small part of the deeper Self that the waking consciousness is able to assimilate in a given moment. It is therefore something contingent and changing, a “variable quantity”. It is a reflection of what can become ever more clear and vivid; and it can perhaps someday succeed in uniting itself with its source.” (Assagioli: The Self – A Unifying Centre)
16) “This Exercise in Dis-identification enhances a sense of selfhood, a sense of being; and one finds it is really one of the essential techniques which enables one to experience what existential analysts have talked about so much—and provided so few techniques for reaching!—viz. the sense of identity, the sense of being, the sense of a center within oneself, the center of an essence within oneself. When this center has been experienced — which can come through the application of this exercise in self- identification—then it is possible to synthesize the different aspects from which one has dis-identified oneself. In other words, one becomes a self who uses the body, the feeling-apparatus and the mental abilities as tools, as instruments, in the same way as a car is the extension of a driver, but with the driver in control. This is analogous to the engineering concept of the man-machine complex, that man and machine make a unit and have to be considered as such. In the same way the self and its mechanism (and by mechanism we imply not only the physical body, but also the feeling-nature and the mental processes) can form a unity, and yet the self can always be aware that it is something over and above each constituent part of this whole.” (Psychosynthesis, 1965, p. 121-122) ... See MoreSee Less
![Hi friends Here comes a compilation of 16 quotes about the experience of the personal self, the conscious “I”, which in Assagioli’s understanding is the inner observer, the centre of pure self-awareness, and will. The experience of the personal self or conscious “I” happens when we learn to identify with consciousness itself and become the observer of our manifold content. You can find all relevant links here: https://kennethsorensen.dk/en/glossary/experience-of-personal-self/ 1) “If we eliminate the content, we remain. The self remains. Pure self-awareness, not ecstatic, but it has in itself a sense of assurance, of inner certainty, security, permanence, which is already much. But it is a quiet subtle thing. Therefore, all the assertions “there is no ego” have to be qualified … What do you mean by ego? If you mean your whole personality, of course, most of which have to go. But if you mean the self, no, the point of self-awareness remains stable, immutable, permanent.” (Talks on the self) 2) The “I” is simple, unchanging, constant and self-conscious. The experience of the “I” can be formulated as follows: “I am I, a centre of pure consciousness.” To state this with conviction does not. mean one has yet reached the experience of the “I”, but it is the way which leads to it. And it is the key to, and the beginning of, the mastery of our psychological processes. (Psychosynthesis, p. 117) 3) “The experience of the point of self-awareness on the personality level is the first step toward the experience of the Self, or in existential terms, the essence of Being.” (Psychosynthesis, p. 113) 4) “What am I then? What remains after discarding from my self-identity the physical, emotional and mental contents of my personality, of my ego? It is the essence of myself —a center of pure self-consciousness and self-realization. It is the permanent factor in the ever varying flow of my personal life. It is that which gives me the sense of being, of permanence, of inner security. I recognize and I affirm myself as a center of pure self-consciousness. I realize that this center not only has a static self-awareness but also a dynamic power; it is capable of observing, mastering, directing and using all the psychological processes and the physical body. I am a center of awareness and of power.” (Psychosynthesis, p. 118) 5) “What am I then? What remains after having disidentified myself from my body, my sensations, my feelings my desires, my mind, my actions? It is the essence of myself—a center of pure self-consciousness. It is the permanent factor in the ever-varying flow of my personal life. It is that which gives me a sense of being, of permanence, of inner balance. I affirm my identity with this center and realize its permanency and its energy. “I recognize and affirm myself as a center of pure self-awareness and of creative, dynamic energy. I realize that from this center of true identity I can learn to observe, direct, and harmonize all the psychological processes and the physical body. I will to achieve a constant awareness of this fact in the midst of my everyday life, and to use it to help me and give increasing meaning and direction to my life.” (The Act of Will, p. 215) 6) “Dis-identification implies the assumption and maintenance of the inner attitude of the Observer; in other words, the achievements of true self-awareness, i.e., the awareness of That within us which, permanent and immutable, lies behind, or rather above, the endless variety of transient psychological states. The attitude of the Observer is of special importance. It is acquired by practicing the Exercise of Dis-identification and self-identification described in both the Second and Third Courses.” (Meditation Group for the New Age) 7) “This means that while the conscious phenomenal self, identified itself with the various contents of the consciousness, there is something in us that is not identified, that does not change with the changing states of mind, that remains always the same, fixed, unassailable. This is our real “I”, the center or our individuality, the real substance of our being. (The self – A unifying center) 8) “A clear and full experience of the self gives, at first, such a strong sense of self-identity that it is felt as something sure, permanent, unchangeable, and indestructible. It is realized as such an essential reality that all other experiences and so-called realities appear, when compared to it, as changing, impermanent and of less value and significance. Such a realization is accompanied by a sense of inner independent, self-relying security, which is deeply satisfying and gives rise to a feeling of peace, serenity and quiet joy. Psychosynthesis, 1965, p. 69 Another characteristic belonging to the realization of the self is power. It is a sense of concentrated power at rest, yet ready to express itself dynamically either in the mastery over all elements and forces of the personality or re-use in creative activity. (The Mystery of The Self, Assagioli Archive, Florence) 9) “Why does the self at the personality level have this quality? Because it is the reflection of the Higher Self, of the transpersonal Self, and it reflects, however palely, the same qualities of its Source. If you look at the reflection of the sun on a mirror, or on water, you see the light and quality of the sun, infinitesimal, but still the quality of the sun. So that explains why even at the personality’s level the self is stable, sure, and indestructible.” (Talks on the Self) 10) “…the personal ego is only a pale reflection of the Transpersonal Self.” (Conversation with Roberto Assagioli) 11) “Self-consciousness is human but not spiritual. […] Self-consciousness is the point at the centre of consciousness […], meaning consciousness of one’s personal ego, of one’s own interests and pleasures, so it has nothing spiritual in itself. The Self is something else, a whole new level. […]. Normal self-consciousness is separative, egocentric, conservative”.
[2] B. Caldironi, L’uomo a tre dimensioni. Colloqui con Roberto Assagioli (1967-1971). Edizioni del Girasole, Ravenna, 2004, pp. 63-64. 12) “[…] the realization of the central self is not all that has to be discovered. In fact, it is, in a sense, only the beginning, because, having reached awareness of the central “l” which is naturally and rightly self-centered and separative at first, in order to assert its unique and separate identity as an individual, we find this is not enough, and that there are other and greater states of consciousness with which to identify. Their stages […] include recognition of the self in others, group awareness, and realization of the higher or Spiritual Self [3]”. [3] Meditation Group for the New Age. Third year, Set II, p. 6. 13) It is important to keep this distinction in mind, not least because this sense of permanence and stability, however diluted and concealed it may be, is transmitted from the spiritual Self to its counterpart, the conscious personal ‘I’. It is this that gives us our sense of permanence and personal identity throughout all the changes, alternating states of mind and changing contents of our awareness. (Transpersonal Development, 2007, p. 24) 14) Thus the essential characteristic of self-awareness is continuity and permanence, but the self-awareness of the conscious ‘I’ is only a poor reflection of the enduring, immortal essence of the spiritual ‘I’, the Self. (Transpersonal Development, 2007, p. 24) 15) What we call the ordinary self is that small part of the deeper Self that the waking consciousness is able to assimilate in a given moment. It is therefore something contingent and changing, a “variable quantity”. It is a reflection of what can become ever more clear and vivid; and it can perhaps someday succeed in uniting itself with its source.” (Assagioli: The Self – A Unifying Centre) 16) “This Exercise in Dis-identification enhances a sense of selfhood, a sense of being; and one finds it is really one of the essential techniques which enables one to experience what existential analysts have talked about so much—and provided so few techniques for reaching!—viz. the sense of identity, the sense of being, the sense of a center within oneself, the center of an essence within oneself. When this center has been experienced — which can come through the application of this exercise in self- identification—then it is possible to synthesize the different aspects from which one has dis-identified oneself. In other words, one becomes a self who uses the body, the feeling-apparatus and the mental abilities as tools, as instruments, in the same way as a car is the extension of a driver, but with the driver in control. This is analogous to the engineering concept of the man-machine complex, that man and machine make a unit and have to be considered as such. In the same way the self and its mechanism (and by mechanism we imply not only the physical body, but also the feeling-nature and the mental processes) can form a unity, and yet the self can always be aware that it is something over and above each constituent part of this whole.” (Psychosynthesis, 1965, p. 121-122)](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_auto,q_lossless,ret_img/https://kennethsorensen.dk/wp-content/plugins/custom-facebook-feed-pro/assets/img/placeholder.png)
