{"id":5390,"date":"2017-06-03T01:20:02","date_gmt":"2017-06-03T00:20:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennethsorensen.dk\/?p=5390\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T11:11:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T10:11:24","slug":"psychosynthesis-and-evolutionary-panentheism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennethsorensen.dk\/en\/psychosynthesis-and-evolutionary-panentheism\/","title":{"rendered":"Psychosynthesis and Evolutionary Panentheism"},"content":{"rendered":"

“I propose that the founding father of Psychosynthesis, Roberto Assagioli (1888-1974) has written his psychology into a philosophical tradition known as Evolutionary Panentheism.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n
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By Kenneth S\u00f8rensen,<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong> MA in Psychosynthesis, (In 2020, I discovered an Italian article where Assagioli writes about his belief in Panentheism, it has been translated and are available here: <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Roberto Assagioli about Panentheism)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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This compilation of quotes from Assagioli’s work is meant to supplement the information in my book <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>The Soul of Psychosynthesis<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em> . Here I propose that the founding father of Psychosynthesis, Roberto Assagioli (1888-1974) has written his psychology into a philosophical tradition known as Evolutionary Panentheism.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

According to Assagioli Psychosynthesis is not trying to give a “metaphysical nor a theological explanation of the great Mystery” (1975, p. 6). This statement is often cited within the Psychosynthesis milieu. Although Assagioli undoubtedly remained open to different metaphysical approaches, we find metaphysical opinions and statements in his work that seem to point in a certain direction. I will in here try to show how evolutionary Panentheism constitutes Assagioli’s overall metaphysical philosophy. My intention is not to make a case for Panentheism per se, but to explore if Assagioli was inspired by this philosophy.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Panentheism is a term Ken Wilber and the co-founder of the Esalen Institute, Michael Murphy, also use to describe their philosophy. In his article on Panentheism Murphy shows how some of the great geniuses in history have reached the same conclusion (Murphy, 2012). <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>[1]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> Murphy mentions Johann G. Fichte (1762-1814), Friedrich Schelling (1775-1854), GWF Hegel (1770-1831), Henri Bergson (1859-1941), Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955), Paul Tillich (1886-1965), Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947), Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It is important to distinguish Panentheism from \u201cPantheism\u201d. According to Pantheism there is no difference between God and nature, whereas pan-en-theism adds the One (God, Brahman, Spirit) who permeates <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>and<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em> transcends the universe. The One is both transcendent and immanent in creation. The One is in everything, but is greater than the created universe.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It is through evolution and thus humanity that God’s inherent potentials are made manifest. According to this theory the human soul and all other beings emanate from God or “Pleroma,” or psychologically from the Self. The word “emanation” comes from “emanare”, which means “flow from” God’s abundance or density. All creatures thus emanate from the same divine source down through various (inner) levels of consciousness to the physical world, where humanity forgets its divine source or origins. It is the unconscious\/subconscious yearning to return to source, which, according to this theory, is the driving force of evolution. Hence the purpose of human existence is to awaken to our divine potential that we are here to manifest. That the One is immanent in nature and one does not imply that perfection, perfected love, is a reality. The One is present as life and as divine potential that is hidden and we are here to unfold it.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Murphy is saying that: “although these forerunners framed their visions in different ways, they agreed that cosmic history was impelled by God’s inexorable desire to manifest in the physical world.”<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n