{"id":19399,"date":"2023-05-30T09:19:11","date_gmt":"2023-05-30T08:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kennethsorensen.dk\/?p=19399"},"modified":"2026-05-28T19:07:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T18:07:37","slug":"an-overview-of-psychological-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennethsorensen.dk\/en\/an-overview-of-psychological-life\/","title":{"rendered":"An Overview of Psychological Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From the double awakening at dawn to the direction of the unconscious at night, Assagioli’s psychological way of living treats the whole day as a practice ground.<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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By Roberto Assagioli<\/strong>
Last lecture of the 1967 Lecture Course
Doc. #24002, Assagioli Archives, Florence
Original title: Panorama del Vivere Psicologico<\/em>
Translated and edited with notes by Jan Kuniholm<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editorial Note<\/strong>
The abstract and contextual subtitle in this online edition have been added by the editor, Kenneth S\u00f8rensen, to support readability, navigation, and archival consistency. The original wording has not been altered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Abstract<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In this lecture, Roberto Assagioli offers a full programme for applying psychosynthesis to every hour of the day. He begins with the morning: the double awakening into clear self-consciousness, the “psychological toilet” that cleanses overnight dross from the unconscious, music and poetry to activate the day’s energies, the disidentification exercise and imaginative foresight. Throughout the day he proposes relaxation breaks, mindful eating, the “art of waiting,” and observation exercises at shop windows. The evening brings a written review of the day and the direction of the unconscious toward problem-solving during sleep. He closes by naming the seven main ways to the Spirit, from the devotional and heroic to the scientific and ritualistic, as the crown of a fully lived psychological life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This lecture, the last of the Course [for 1967], will be programmatic in nature and, of course . . . synthetic. <\/span><\/span>[1]<\/span><\/span><\/a> I propose to outline the panorama or overview of a \u201cpsychological way of living;\u201d this is not utopian: it is already being implemented by some people to an extent, and there is a tendency to do so more and more, as knowledge and appreciation of psychology and its applications grow, until it will be regarded as the condition of truly “human” living. In a general sense it can be said to consist in applying the principles, methods and exercises taught by psychosynthesis in every situation and on every occasion of daily life.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a guide and stimulus to do so, I will recall its main applications, framing them in the cycle of a single day.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first and important “psychological action,” on which the performance of the whole day may depend, must be taken at the moment of <\/span><\/span>awakening<\/span><\/span><\/em> . This is often gradual: we awaken fractionally, re-entering the world of so-called external reality little by little \u2014 and sometimes reluctantly. But we can, by an act of will, hasten and make the awakening more complete, indeed we can experience a <\/span><\/span>double-awakening<\/span><\/span><\/em> : that from sleep to normal or habitual waking consciousness, and then the awakening of clear self-consciousness, that is, self-awareness; of one’s self, free and independent of any “content” or psychic element: physical sensations, emotions, or mental activities. It is an internal act of <\/span><\/span>disidentification and self-identification<\/span><\/span><\/em> , made possible, or facilitated, by the training done previously through the corresponding exercises.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this regard, however, it must be kept in mind that there are two distinctly different, indeed opposite, bio-psychic types [of people]: the <\/span><\/span>morning type<\/span><\/span><\/em> and the <\/span><\/span>evening type<\/span><\/span><\/em> . Those belonging to the first type feel rested, mentally “awake” and ready to act in the morning, while at the end of the day they are tired, psychologically passive and “dull,” reluctant to make any effort or application. Those of the second type, on the other hand, have a slow, hard awakening; they feel depressed, listless, “hazy,” and only as the day progresses do they “find themselves,” so to speak; while in the evening (sometimes after a brief period of fatigue) they feel clear-headed, euphoric, willing and able to perform an intense activity, often late into the night. These are constitutional types, which must be recognized, but [their effects] can be corrected to some extent, especially with regard to morning depression.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For everyone \u2014 and all the more so for those who have a difficult awakening \u2014 it is advisable at the beginning of the day to do what may be called the “psychological toilet:” the cleansing of the dross from the unconscious; a “psychospiritual bath” analogous to the physical one, and which indeed can be appropriately connected with it. <\/span><\/span>[2]<\/span><\/span><\/a> In general, it is useful to associate physical acts with psychological and spiritual actions. It can be said that all of us live in a “materialistic” way practically, even if we are not materialistic out of conviction; that is, we live a material world and physical sensations tend continuously to enter our consciousness. But if we associate physical activities with psychic and spiritual ones, of which they can become symbols and external manifestations, instead of being a hindrance they can be a reminder and a help.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This can be applied well with respect to ablutions or the morning bath. Ablutions can represent aspects and be symbols of purification and renewal.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Purification<\/span><\/span><\/em> . This is a purification from the dross \u2014 from the psychic, emotional and mental debris that emerges into consciousness from the unconscious, because during sleep the unconscious has had a “green light” and has functioned without controls or restrictions. However, unconscious psychic activities are manifold and take place at various levels, and the aforementioned purification concerns only those of the lower unconscious, which produce the emotional depression and the state of fogginess and scatteredness that many have upon awakening. But psychic activities also take place at the middle and higher levels during sleep.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n

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