{"id":21215,"date":"2024-05-06T08:37:27","date_gmt":"2024-05-06T07:37:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kennethsorensen.dk\/?p=21215"},"modified":"2026-05-07T16:29:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T15:29:44","slug":"in-the-theater-of-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennethsorensen.dk\/en\/in-the-theater-of-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"In The Theater Of The World"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Most of us play our parts in life unconsciously, and therefore we play them badly. Assagioli on playing roles in life as the pivotal technique of psychosynthesis, and on acting each part fully without ever forgetting you are not the character<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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By Roberto Assagioli<\/strong>
Excerpted from Filo Conduttore \u2013 Research Notebook of the Rome Center<\/em>, No. 7, Year Four
Source: psicoenergetica.com
Original title: Nel Teatro del Mondo<\/em> [1]<\/a>
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. As Jan Kuniholm’s footnotes indicate, the article is a curated thematic compilation drawing on several Assagioli sources, including Transpersonal Development<\/em>, “Life as a Game and Stage Performance”<\/a> (Psychosynthesis Research Foundation, 1973), and other essays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

In this short essay, Roberto Assagioli describes the conscious playing of one’s roles as the pivotal technique of the art of living. The work is to act each part fully without identifying with the character. He draws on the ancient image of life as divine play, distinguishes drama from tragedy, and points to the inner Self that watches the performance from beyond time and space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Generally in life we \u201clet ourselves live;\u201d whereas living is an art and should be the greatest of the fine arts. Mostly we play our parts unconsciously, without realizing it, and therefore we play them badly!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To act a part or role in life, in fact several ones, constitutes a psychosynthetic technique of fundamental importance. It can indeed be considered as the pivotal technique of the art of living, with which all the others are connected and on which, in a certain sense, they are dependent. [2]<\/a> A psychosynthetic attitude is to regard life in the world as a performance in which everyone plays his or her part. This is to be played to the best of one’s ability, but without completely identifying with the character one is impersonating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is based on an ancient and widespread concept: cosmic manifestation itself has been regarded as a play, a divine dance. One of the most profound and ingenious Indian conceptions is that of Shiva\u2019s cosmic dance: first it is the image of his rhythmic game as part of the whole movement of the Cosmos; secondly the purpose of this dance is to free the countless human souls from the slavery of illusion; and thirdly the place where this dance is performed, the Center of the Universe, is within our hearts. [3]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is useful to remember that the whole manifestation can be regarded as a performance, in the theatrical sense of the word. If we take this attitude we get rid of the deadly seriousness with which we are prone to take ourselves, others and events. In theatrical terms it is the difference between the tragic and the dramatic. [4]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Life is dramatic \u2014 it is serious in a sense \u2014 but not, it is tragic. \u201cTragedy\u201d has a negative connotation, of failure, that drama does not have. [5]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Scene:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

. . . there are open and concealed struggles on all sides, alongside the repercussions of war and the threat of conflict in the future. There are struggles between nations, races, classes and parties, and this is no less the case when we consider the inner conflicts, agitation and storms within the human heart itself, which can take many forms: emotional, moral and religious crises, dissatisfaction with ourselves and with others, rebellion against society, the family, life and against God. [6]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

. . . from this broader, more profound perspective, the [aspect of our time] is seen in a very different light. We become aware that the release of the earthly forces . . . gives rise to countless acts of valor and courage, both individual and collective, self-sacrifice, solidarity and altruism. [7]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Script:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The entire evolutionary process takes place in the \u201cCosmic Theater\u201d of time and space, and in our participation in that grand evolutionary plane where we are necessarily within time and space. But let us remember that while we play our small part in the theater of life, there is something in us \u2014 the true Self \u2014 that transcends time and space. Its conscious realization is a distant goal, but we can visualize it and direct our magnetic needle toward it because it is within us.[8]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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