The harmonization, communion, unification and merger of the personal and universal will is the highest need of humanity.
By Roberto Assagioli, Translated by Gordon Symons, from the Assagioli Archive in Florence. Original title: Come Riconoscere La Volontà Del Sé
Question from student:
“Being quite intuitive I often let myself be guided by the intimate voice that sometimes gives me good suggestions, at the least judging by the effects they have on my inner development or my daily actions. Many times, however, the suggestions given by that voice, even after meditation, are not good.
And then I asked myself these questions:
1) How to discern the “voice of the Soul” from that of personality or individuality?
2) Is it possible to educate oneself to distinguish with certainty the above-mentioned voice?
3) What is the best method for meditation to bring one to the “Light” that allows us to identify the meaning of the trial, for the purpose of inner development?”
Assagioli’s answer:
Others have asked me a similar question. That is, “Why when we pray sincerely to God to show us His Will, to show us what we should do, the way we should follow, do we not get an answer?”
This is a vital problem for each of us. I would often use the religious language “mystic” for simplicity, and because it is more accessible and accepted to many, but we must always remember that the first, most divine, most direct manifestation and expression of God for us is our own soul. Therefore, God’s will is not a will outside of us, but it is our True Will; it is what we want to want with the deepest and most real part of ourselves. Temporary dualism is between personality and Soul.
The difficulty and uncertainty in “seeing clear”, in having “a response” to our pleas depend on various causes.
1) Do we not get an answer or do we not recognize it?
The answer can come in very different ways from the more direct one; that is, hearing an internal and immediate and safe “voice” is the rarest way, at least for those who are not well advanced. Often the answer comes after a certain time. It often comes in indirect ways, that is, through:
a. Circumstances;
b. Words of others or books or letters…
Be careful not to recognize!
e.g.. “I Am God” (see Spiritual Development and Neuropsychic Disorders).
2) Consciously we are sincere, but unconsciously we have in us resistances and oppositions.
Our great “inconsistency” (which is not falsehood).
AGENDA
1) Eliminate obstacles.
2) Invocation – Persistent aspiration to know the Will of God – A sincere intention to follow and implement it. “O Eternal One, make me know Your Ways, Teach me Your Paths, Guide me to Your Truth and teach me -Because you are the God of my salvation.” (Psalm XXV) Place every problem in the “Light of the Spirit” – Formulate it clearly – Ask for Light and Help.
3) “Listening” – Confident waiting – Thank you in advance. Then: Supervision – Readiness to “catch” the indications.
4) Train yourself to climb gradually higher and higher – to remain in the “silence” – watchful contemplation.
5) Do it with joy – As a spiritual instructor said: “Be joyful, for joy makes the Light penetrate, and where there is Joy, there is no place for misunderstanding.”
Will is the closest function to the self, the most direct expression of the self. This is true both for the personal self and for the transpersonal Self. Just as there is a personal will, there is also a transpersonal will, which is an expression of the transpersonal Self and operates from the superconscious levels of the psyche.
The problem of the existence of a Universal Will and its relationship with individual wills is fundamental, because it is closely linked to the broader problem of the relationship between man and the absolute Universal Reality. It is difficult to deal with this subject, because until recently this relationship was conceived and expressed mainly in religious terms. Nowadays this approach is for many of little appeal and is even denied.
There are, however, other approaches to the problem of absolute reality, which are more satisfying and productive. One of these is the intuitive approach. The intuition was acknowledged by many, both in the East and in the West, as a true and superior instrument of knowledge. It was considered by Jung and others as a psychological function in its own right, real and legitimate like any other.
A second approach to Reality is through the perception of analogies. The approach by analogy is based on the essential unity of all aspects of Reality, from the smallest to the largest. There is therefore an intimate correspondence between the microcosm and the macrocosm in general, and specifically between man and the universe. But this fundamental natural identity does not mean that man in his normal state of consciousness can understand mentally, “understand”, the immense scope and meaning of absolute Reality.
If there were no Universal Will, man would possess something that does not exist in the universe, and the microcosm would therefore be superior to the macrocosm – a truly ridiculous presumption!
The harmonization, communion, unification and merger of the two wills has been and is the profound aspiration and it can be said, the highest, though not often recognized, need of humanity. It has been heard and expressed in various ways according to the various Reality concepts of different human beings. Essentially it means to get in tune with the rhythms of Universal Life and take part voluntarily.
Leave a Reply