Table of content
The seven ways and seven soul types
The “Seven Ways of Self-realisation” is a familiar concept within psychosynthesis and is taught in many centres around the world. One of the prominent books on this topic is Piero Ferrucci’s monumental work Inevitable Grace (2009), which discusses spiritual breakthroughs in the lives of great men and women. Ferrucci’s extensive research offers validity for these seven ways of spiritual psychosynthesis.
Assagioli himself, prior to his death in 1974, was working on a book entitled Height Psychology, which he intended to include his theory of the seven ways. However, this material was later published posthumously, under the title Transpersonal Development (Assagioli, 1988), the book did not include the material Assagioli prepared on the ways. Happily, though, this missing material can be found in the Assagioli Archive in Florence, and I have drawn upon it for this chapter.
Let us begin with a definition of spiritual psychosynthesis and the way to the soul. For me, we are speaking about the realisation of soul consciousness, which means the attainment of a world- centric perspective, as opposed to an ego-centric or ethno-centric perspective. When we enter this path, we gradually let go of our identification with ourselves as a separate individual or as an isolated member of a family, nation or group. Instead, an understanding arises from the depths of our hearts that we are each an integral part of the whole. We begin to take responsibility for that whole through our service to the world; we become citizens of the world and understand that our soul purpose is to take responsibility for making our contribution to the whole. The reward for realising our soul consciousness is that we discover a deep sense of meaning; we can enjoy feeling connected to a larger purpose and will experience an inpouring and outpouring of creativity that arises from a source of endless abundance. This realisation, which is often a gradual awakening, empowers us to become all that we may be in the depths of our spiritual being.
When we set out on this spiritual path, our emerging soul consciousness will come under the influence of a particular energy, which is our soul type, of which there are seven, each with its own specific qualities. Just as there are seven energies, there are seven ways to the soul, each of which is identified with a particular archetype in the superconscious, and this archetype is what we call our soul type. The seven types and the seven ways share the same energies, functions and qualities; the seven ways refer to the manner in which we seek to realise soul consciousness.
Let us investigate how this process unfolds. In an article entitled The Seven Ways, this is how Assagioli (Undated 20) conceptualised the path to self-realisation:
The different spiritual approaches to reality have long been recognised in the East, particularly in India; and in the great poem The Bhagavad Gita this is clearly stated: “As men approach me, so do I accept them. Men on all ways follow my path.” (1V, 11) The chapters in this poem admirably expound the various ways which are each suited to special types of people and their different degrees or levels of inner development.
The above passage indicates that, in Hindu philosophy, different styles of yoga are suited to different individual types. According to my own research, this is as follows: Raja yoga for mental types, Bhakti yoga for devotional types, Karma yoga for practical types, and so on. In addition, it can be noted that all the different yoga styles can be combined into a single path through the Yoga of Synthesis, as described by Sri Aurobindo.
But while there are similarities between the seven ways and the different yoga schools, they are not entirely the same. Nor so all spiritual realisations occur within a religious context. This becomes vividly clear in reading Ferrucci’s book, and also in the work of Assagioli where he discusses the seven ways.
So what are these seven ways? The following list is taken from Assagioli’s book Transpersonal Development (2007: 44-45) – it is just one of 14 references in which Assagioli describes the seven ways1:
There are many different ways of expanding the consciousness as one moves upwards, and they are related to different psychological types and different individual constitutions. We can identify seven main ways. I would point out at once that these methods are not separate and that in practice they tend to overlap, so it is possible for a person to proceed along more than one path at the same time. The fact remains, however, that they are distinct and for the sake of clarity, to begin with at least, we need to describe them and get to know them separately. We can then move on to possible ways in which they can be combined. They are as follows:
- The Way of Science
- The Way of Enlightenment
- The Way of Regenerative Ethics
- The Way of Aesthetics
- The Way of Mysticism
- The Way of Heroism
- The Way of Ritual
In naming these seven ways, Assagioli in different places uses slightly different terms. For ease of reference, I have compiled into Table 8 some of Assagioli’s different terms, together with Ferrucci’s terminology, and I have shown how they match up with the seven soul types. Each of the seven ways corresponds to a particular soul type, a specific function and a different soul energy, as shown in Table 9, p. 135. The colours depict the different qualities, for example red represents the psychological function of will, the dynamic energy and the Hero soul type.
The seven ways are different paths that lead to superconscious self- realisation, or what Assagioli calls spiritual psychosynthesis. However, it has also been noted that, as we progress and become more balanced in the final stages of self-realisation, the different ways merge to become one synthesised way. Assagioli explained (Undated 20):
There are seven main ways of spiritual or Transpersonal realisation. The ways are not sharply divided; in fact, they frequently overlap to some extent. Some individuals may follow two or three ways concurrently; this is because there are no pure types, and also, each of us has different Ways or qualities manifesting in the different aspects or levels of our being. But all ways are directed to and lead to the same great goal, therefore, the more balanced the individual, the greater the overlapping of the ways and their blending and fusing.2
However, it is important at this point to mention an additional theory, hinted at in Assagioli’s quote above, where he states: “Some individuals may follow two or three ways concurrently; this is because there are no pure types, and also, each of us has different Ways or qualities manifesting in the different aspects or levels of our being.” In stating there are “no pure types”, Assagioli is referring to the fact that we each have five dominant types in our overall combination of types (i.e. a dominant type at each of the five psychological levels), which means that no person is a single, or pure, type.
Assagioli also highlighted that the ways are not sharply divided but are more like a rainbow of energies overlapping and blending with each other as we expand our consciousness into the sublime; in other words, at the highest level, the types and ways are synthesised but without losing its primary quality. Furthermore, when the personality becomes spiritualised or synthesised – meaning the personal will becomes aligned with the transpersonal will – then the energy of the personality will merge with the soul. As a result, we will no longer be driven by the egoic needs of the personality but will be guided by the values of the soul: we try to be a good citizen of the world, while accepting our shortcomings.
It follows that our lives are greatly influenced by both our personality and our soul, therefore having knowledge of our soul type and personality type will provide vital information that we can make use of to help us in our search for self-realisation. In particular, such knowledge will help us to navigate spiritual crises – something Assagioli highlighted as crucial. In a lecture he gave at the International Centre of Spiritual Research, in Ascona, Switzerland, in 1932, Assagioli offered an invaluable discussion of the different sorts of crisis that can occur during spiritual awakening. Interestingly, Assagioli (1932: 254) indicates that these crises can arise out of a conflict between the soul and the personality:
…difficulties may arise from the different qualities of the forces brought into play. The quality of the soul’s energy, which is technically called the Ray of the Ego, may be different from that predominant in the personality. This frequently produces a period of conflict between the two, which may cause various nervous diseases until an adjustment is effected.
For the psychosynthesis practitioner, it is crucial to understand what is going on when we witness such crises in the lives of our clients or in our own life. Our insights into the particular types and energies that are at play will make it possible to make helpful interventions.
The development from personality to soul
We have seen how a dominant energy shapes the personality, working through the quality of ambition and how we pursue it. Primarily, the personality is organised around self-serving values and motivations, such as a need for safety, close relationships, self- esteem and recognition, ambition, and a wish to be popular, powerful and creative. This is normal and understandable: it is good to look after ourselves and our close relationships.
However, some people want something deeper. At some point in life, there emerges a need for a higher meaning and purpose, for something that transcends the need for normality and success in the ordinary definition of the word. This need for meaning often arises from an existential crisis, when we find that those things that used to satisfy us no longer do. We start to feel we need to make major changes in our lives, which is a crisis of choice between the needs of the ego or personality and those of the soul. Despite whatever success we might have had in business or society, we cannot stifle a sense of emptiness. We might start to feel empty, depressed and bored and lack a sense of vitality. We feel we should be happy and that something is missing. This something is the soul.
Each of us will experience this crisis differently, but in each case, if we follow through, there will be a shift in values. We will open up to the qualities of our soul type and experience new energies and motivations, with new interests demanding our attention. We will begin to experiment with different ways of being: we may change how we live and become artists or leaders.
This is how Assagioli (1932: 254) described this crisis: “All the personal affairs, which formerly absorbed so much of his attention and interest, seem to retreat into the background, to lose their importance and value. New problems arise; the individual begins to enquire into the origin and the purpose of life; to ask what is the reason of so many things that formerly he took as a matter of course; the meaning of his own sufferings, and of those of others; what justification there may be for so many inequalities in the destiny of men.”
I recommend reading the whole of this article in which Assagioli (1932) describes the many different varieties of this crisis and how it can be navigated.
Awakening to the soul and its qualities will not remove our personal needs, but something deeper comes to the forefront. A need for personal love and status will remain, but these needs will be complemented by deeper values and a deeper ethical voice in our heart which will influence how we treat ourselves and others. It is worth noting here that some people connect with the soul before their personality has matured; such people tend to lack grounding so they become impractical idealists who are unable to wield influence. The theme of soul and personality integration will be discussed in detail in chapters 8 and 12.
It is from within the soul that we find inspiration to make a difference in the world. It is through our soul that we have our deepest connection to the essence of life and through which we are able to access intuitions from the superconscious. The soul is the top floor of our inner being, it is an inner penthouse that contains a wealth of talents and qualities: the good, the true and the beautiful. From this inner resource arises the inspiration to make the world a better place. The challenge we face is to balance our outer normal life (personality) with inner meaning (soul) – to do so is to discover our core identity, which triggers a new lifelong journey to harmonise the personality with the soul in such a way that the personality is the servant of the soul.
This process enables us to tune into the energy and qualities of our soul type as we find ourselves on one of the seven ways to the soul. We will start to hear our soul’s calling, which will always concern a particular service that we feel motivated to pursue. Service is the most fundamental instinct of the soul, and it is accompanied by the pure joy of finding meaning.
It is important once again to emphasise that each of the seven ways contains the other six as secondary support. The ways are not separate but connected like colours in a rainbow. The ways are a spectrum of possibilities that we can all realise to a greater or lesser extent, although one of the ways will tend to have dominance – and our personality archetype will remain influential because the personality is the mask through which we will express our soul purpose in the world.
Let us now examine the seven ways to self-realisation, noting how this journey can be expressed in both secular and religious or spiritual terms. We will see how, with each of the seven ways, there is an inner calling to serve a higher purpose that acts as a compass on the path to self-realisation.
Seven Ways to self-realisation
The Way of the Hero
In his article The Heroic Approach, Assagioli (Undated 19) writes: “Spiritual realisation… is generally conceived in terms of religiousness, or as a purely inner experience, and therefore the fact that it can be attained through heroic action is seldom recognised. In our opinion, an unbiased observation of the facts shows that it is primarily and predominantly through selflessness and self-sacrificing action that a certain number or category of men rises to great heights. In their case, the reality and potency of the spirit is demonstrated through the overcoming of the major and most deep- rooted instinct existing in natural or biological man: the instinct of self-preservation. The inner quality or energy required for such an attainment is COURAGE.”
What I call the Way of the Hero is a path to self-realisation that entails leadership. We find the archetype of the Hero in Hollywood films. He or she is the hero, the strong man/woman, the genius, even the saint. The Hero fights for noble causes, for freedom and for values that will help to create a brighter future. They are leaders showing the way. Whatever influence or power they possess are used in the service of their highest values.
Inspired by their work, the Hero in turn inspires others. Their strong will empowers them and gives them the motivation to achieve greatness.
The Way of the Hero requires courage. On this path we find pioneers with the courage to break new ground despite resistance from mainstream culture. The Hero swims against the tide, risking everything to win the prize. Their actions rise from an inner certainty which gives them the strength to stand alone. They are the great conquerors who bring new ideas to humanity.
This path is one of renewal and revolution, which also entails destruction. The hero breaks down existing rules and structures so that new life can emerge. These revolutionaries are visionaries who bring a new vision and a new reality. The Hero dismantles the old to make way for the new, risking everything to do so, drawing on their vast reserves of courage, bravery and determination.
Do you fight for a worthy cause demanding blood, sweat and tears?
The Way of the Illuminator
In his paper The Illuminative Intuitive Approach, Assagioli (Undated 22) writes: “Intuition comes from ‘intuere’ [Latin] that is to see in, and this indicates clearly the quality of this function, an inner seeing, a direct seeing. Seeing implies light, a light which allows us to see something illumined. In fact, the experience of inner light is one of the most widespread, of the most certain, described by countless witnesses of every time of every country.”
What I have called The Way of the Illuminator is a path to self-realisation through insight and compassion. The Illuminator wants to answer life’s big questions – “Who am I?”, “What is the meaning of life?” – and, drawing upon their deep insight and love of life, they find answers to these fundamental questions. Those who walk this path are wise, compassionate and empathetic.
These are the spiritual teachers who reveal life’s deepest meanings. They know that everything is connected and they find many ways to teach this message. They are the ones who have fresh insights in their chosen fields or they might be healers working in new ways for the benefit of people, wildlife and nature.
The Illuminator’s path is one of enlightenment. They search for the light within themselves and in others and pass on what they learn. They want to understand human suffering and how to heal the conflicted psyche. Illuminators often work as psychologists, psychotherapist, healers or in other roles that help people on the path to self-knowledge and self-realisation.
It is often through prayer, meditation and contemplation that those on this path become enlightened. They long for a connection with a spiritual being of peace and unity. The Illuminator’s essential qualities are wisdom and love.
This is the path of the sensitive soul type. This type connects to life through a highly developed sensitivity. The essential qualities of the Illuminator are empathy, insight, and loving-understanding.
Is it your mission to bring light to the world?
The Way of the Genius
Assagioli (Undated 23) describes this path as The Way of Action or The Way of Active Service. He explains: “One of the ways of spiritual approach or spiritual realisation can be called the way of dedicated activity, or of active service. It is a way which is accessible to the greatest number because it does not require any special ability or inner qualities or cultural level. The simplest people can and have followed it, even better than the more sophisticated ones… It can be called Karma Yoga, or yoga in everyday life.”
For this type, every physical action is dedicated to a higher and beneficial purpose or, for those of a religious inclination, to God. This is why Assagioli sometimes called this path the Way of Active Service.
The Way of the Genius is also a sophisticated path to self-realisation in which the mind makes discoveries and devises innovations for the benefit of all.
The archetypal genius recognises and comprehends life’s complexities. Whatever their chosen field – culture, science, business, politics – this type can see patterns and opportunities that others are unable to see.
This is the way of abstract intelligence, that of philosophers, economists and other thinkers. Drawing on their integral vision, they weave a network of theories that helps others to make better sense of the world. Their unconventional insights and thinking outside of the box create new fields of inquiry, and for this reason they would be at home with new technology and other areas of cutting edge innovation.
The Way of the Genius is an ethical path, which seeks to set out new guidelines for society. The Genius is not only an intellectual but also a trendsetter and a moral example of the avant-garde, bringing new elements into culture, expanding our concepts of equality, freedom and community. This type are the writers, thinkers debaters, strategists, communicators and innovators that lift culture to a higher level.
Geniuses are cultural architects. They create intelligent solutions to human problems and formulate narratives that improve culture and society. They show us the good, the true and the beautiful through concrete intelligent activity and service.
Do you solve problems through innovations?
The Way of the Artist
Assagioli (Undated 24) described this path as The Aesthetic Way. Quoting Plato, Assagioli (2007: 243-244) explained the spiritual importance of beauty for those on this path, writing: “One needs to progress from love of a beautiful form to love of all beautiful forms and of physical beauty in general, then from love of beautiful bodies to love of beautiful souls, beautiful actions and beautiful thoughts. As one ascends through moral beauty one will reach the point where a marvellous eternal beauty appears, free from any corruption, absolutely beautiful. This beauty does not consist of a beautiful face, a beautiful body, a thought or any particular science or art. It resides in no other being than itself, neither in heaven nor on earth, it simply exists in itself in eternity and exists for itself in absolute, perfect unity.”
The Way of the Artist is a path to self-realisation that finds purpose and meaning in beauty, although beauty is not the only quality that inspires this soul type.
The Artist follows the path of contrasts. The Artist archetype inspires others to appreciate harmony and beauty. However, to do this, the Artist must battle with the chaos of conflict and opposites, which must be integrated in order for harmony to emerge.
The Artist wrestles with conflict, darkness and drama, seeking to unite the opposites and black and white thinking that can divide us. This battle means the Artist’s way is one of suffering. The Artist is torn between seeing the reality of how things are, while holding a vision of harmony and beauty – for how things could be. Yet their determination to manifest this vision enables the Artist to embrace the pain of life’s many conflicts and contradictions.
The true artist’s talent is to authentically portray the human struggle and show us the way to harmony. The Artist confronts the question: “How can we create the good life when the good we want is not what we do?” This is the question that the Artist is portraying with dance, music, theatre, film, and art forms.
But the Artist is not just a storyteller. She is the transformer who teaches us that light and meaning can emerge out of our darkness. People who walk this path are peacemakers, psychotherapists and group facilitators; they know how to dance with the opposites of love and hatred, happiness and pain. The Artist’s journey is exemplified in Dante’s journey into hell to find his true love Beatrice.
The Artist’s path to self-realisation is the aesthetic way, with beauty serving as the guiding star. This type knows that people need humour, play, spontaneity and magic to help us to connect. The Artist believes that design, colour and aesthetic forms are as necessary for us as food. Beauty opens and motivates the Artist and, indeed, all of us, rejuvenating, renewing and bringing inspiration. The essential qualities that are being developed on the path of the Artist are grace, spontaneity, empathy and communication.
Do you need to create harmony in your life?
The Way of the Explorer
Assagioli (Undated 25) describes this path as the Scientific Way and offers the following insight into how scientific construction of the universe compares with ancient wisdom: “… physics has demonstrated that the so-called ‘Matter’ is in reality composed of minute and powerful electric charges, positive, negative and neutral, concentrated in centres and points and moving rapidly in space in conformity with laws and patterns based on mathematical formulae. The latter imply of necessity an intelligent principle or being, a Cosmic Mind which has formulated them and maintains them in operation. Thus it is that scientists have arrived – perhaps almost in spite of themselves – at the same conclusions reached millenniums ago by the most advanced philosophical thought: that the physical world we perceive is ‘phenomenal’, that is, apparent, and that behind and above it exits the world of reality composed of energies and intelligent powers. This is the world of causes, of which the phenomena are the effects.”
The Way of the Explorer is a path to self-realisation through research and discovery. The Explorer archetype is curious, with a strong appetite for knowledge. We all have a need to explore and discover, but these qualities come to fore in this type. It is Explorers who develop new medicines and technological innovations and who offer fresh insights into important issues. Explorers derive great satisfaction from understanding factual truth and learning how things work from a practical and concrete perspective.
Explorers make outstanding researchers because they have extraordinary analytical skills and an appetite for detail. Their capabilities make them useful in any activity that requires analysis and research with a focus on fact-finding and evidence.
The Explorer collects information and knowledge which they use to map out new landscapes and territories. Their technical, psychological and spiritual discoveries can change the world as we know it. Those on this path will uncover the mysteries of life. This type acquires deep knowledge and employs reflective analysis and experimentation to resolve issues.
The Explorer finds joy in making discoveries that can be of real benefit to people, whether they are working within material, psychological or spiritual realms. This type is interested in anything that be of practical use, especially when that use can be tested and verified. The essential qualities of this soul type are alertness, discipline, perseverance, clarity and objectivity.
Are you moved by the promise of discovery and acquiring new knowledge?
The Way of the Visionary
In describing what he termed the Mystical Approach, Assagioli (Undated 26) writes: “The mystic’s ardent aspiration is to achieve union with a beloved Being, who, while having divine characteristics, is conceived by him as possessing an exalted personality, and with whom he can therefore establish a personal relationship. In describing his inner experiences, he freely uses the language of human love and often that of an undisguised sex symbolism.”
However, the Way of the Visionary is not confined only to religious mysticism; this path to self-realisation can take many forms of devotion.
Passion and dedication to an ideal characterise this path. The Visionary needs something to fight for, something that is good, true or beautiful. Their passion is driven by a hope for a better future. They throw themselves into idealistic enterprises in a manner that inspires enthusiasm in others to help ensure that their goal is reached.
This idealism can be expressed in many ways, depending on the person’s combination of types. Where there’s a religious tendency, the Visionary can inspire the devotion and worship found in church congregations and spiritual communities; these are the visionaries who have seen paradise and can show us the way. Alternatively, the Visionary’s ideal might be of political nature, as expressed by the great political leaders throughout history.
Visionaries formulate and express new ideals, and can often become idols. Their ideals are often focused on beauty, excellence in performance, humanitarian goals or spiritual values, which means this type can often be found in the fashion world, competitive sports, the charity sector, in politics or in spiritual contexts. In each case, the Visionary is seeking a goal or an ideal to which they can wholeheartedly dedicate themselves.
The Way of the Visionary is also the way of sacrifice. Visionaries are willing to give up everyday pleasures and conveniences in order to achieve their goals. Their commitment is radical; when deeply committed to their ideal they will focus all of their energy on pursuing their vision and achieving their goal.
Have you dedicated your life to a cause?
The Way of the Creator
Speaking of what he calls the Ritualistic and Ceremonial Way, Assagioli (Undated 28) states: “This [way] was the best known and has been followed by the majority, particularly in the past. Religious ceremonies are doubly effective: their display makes a striking and lively impression on the senses and imagination of those present; while to those who understand their symbolic signification, as representing truth and spiritual principles, they carry a strong appeal.”
The Creator has the ability to organise communal rituals, whether religious or secular in natures, such as worship ceremonies, music festivals or sporting competitions.
The Way of the Creator is a practical one. The archetype of the Creator motivates us to create something magnificent and useful through our ability to organise people around a central idea. This type turns great ideas into action, and subjective energies into group experiences. Creators know how to get things done and we rely on them to do this.
The Creator is inspired by a clear purpose. Their strong will helps them to make effective use of their resources. This type has organisational genius and knows how to coordinate people and manage activities. Imagine someone who is able to organise emergency aid following a natural disaster, planning everything down to the smallest detail.
The Creator is a perfectionist. They are often movie directors, event planners or chefs who insist on achieving excellence. This type is results- orientated and know that the result will only be as good as the people and resources they are able to work with. They are experts in selecting the right people and resources for a task. They are great planners who know how to bring projects to fruition.
The Way of the Creator is the path of greatness. They are motivated by the chance to achieve great things, such as building impressive architectural structures or establishing innovative companies. Their dedication to expressing greatness often leads to outstanding results. This type is able to combine functionality with elegance, and balance great beauty with practicality. This type’s organisational and leadership skills enable them to create new forms and new structures.
Do you feel compelled to use your organisational skills for a good cause?
The soul type and the four quadrants
In this section I will discuss the soul type and personality type in connection with the four quadrants.
The five psychological levels appear in the upper left quadrant; they are the building blocks of our inner world. The energy that passes through each of the five levels manifests as concrete action and behaviour, which we can see in the upper right quadrant.
Some of these behaviours are focused on taking care of the everyday needs of the ego, which amounts to taking care of our body, feelings, and thoughts – this is the domain of the personality. However, other behaviours are motivated by our higher needs for meaning and purpose, without excluding the needs of the personality – this is an area of activity which engages both the soul and the personality. And on rare occasions there are moments when the needs of the personality are forgotten and we find ourselves acting purely in the service of a good cause – and this is an indication that we are operating in the domain of the soul.
Figure 19 offers an example of what this might look like in practice. In the upper right quadrant we can see a dynamic soul type with a mental introverted personality type (The Thinker) who is following the Way of the Hero. (In chapter 8 we see in more detail of how the soul and personality come to be integrated and what this means for our personal development.)
Completing this look at the four quadrants, it is important to note that we exist in a social context, so our personal actions will also impact on the collective, as depicted in the lower quadrants. Indeed, an individual’s qualities of the soul often emerge in a group context. I will return to this theme later.
Exercise: Visualise your meaningful future
You receive a letter from a lawyer in the United States who informs you that a rich uncle has left you 100 million dollars in his will. Now that you no longer have to work to earn money, you can focus entirely on living your dream.
There is one catch: 80% of the money must be used to make a positive difference in the lives of people you don’t know, which rules out your family, friends, associates and local community. In short, you are required to help people who you are not directly related to or emotionally linked to.
How would you spend the $80 million?
Once you’ve decided, consider what lies behind the motivation. Your answer will indicate your way to self-realisation.
You may not have inherited a huge sum of money, but now you have an indication of the direction in which your soul path lies – and you can begin this journey by taking the first small step.
In the next chapter we will take inspiration from looking at some role models who exemplify the different personality types and soul types. These examples illustrate what the seven ways of self-realisation might look like in practical terms.
Footnotes
1 Assagioli 2007: 45; 1974: 116; 1965: 25, 201-222; Undated 3, 19, 20, 22-28; 1976; 1976b.
2 Assagioli (Undated 20) also mentions an eighth way, The Way of Transcendence, explaining: “Some of the Eastern Schools emphasise this way to Spiritual Realisation, and some of the Western Mystics, especially Meister Eckhart, have attempted to describe it.” It seems to me that the Way of Transcendence is really an aspect of the Way of Will because, in Psychosynthesis Typology, Assagioli (1983: 23) identifies Vedanta Advaita and Zen Buddhism as belonging to the Way of Will, and these are both practices that are prominently used by those seeking to attain transcendence.
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