Is there a Self – a center of pure consciousness and will – that constitutes the core of the human being? This is what psychosynthesis claims and it is examined here through theory and a therapeutic case.
By Kenneth Sorensen
Introduction
One of the central core points of Roberto Assagioli’s psychosynthesis is the assumption that one has a core, a point of pure self-awareness and will, around which the personality’s diverse functions and sub-personalities can be integrated. One of the primary goals of psychosynthesis is to create a synthesis where all the elements of the personality are united around the core of pure self-awareness and will and later unite it with the Higher Self. This is what Assagioli calls self-realization. But does a self exist and how can one recognize and experience the self? This is what I would like to explore in this introduction to Assagioli’s self-concept. In short; is the self reality or illusion?
To begin with, it is necessary to briefly define some commonly held notions of the self. When I write self with a small letter, I am generally speaking about both the personal and the Higher Self, which are expressions of the same self at different levels of consciousness. This will be elaborated on below.
In psychosynthesis literature, the personal self is also called the conscious I , or simply the “ I ”, or the ego . This emphasizes different aspects of the personal self, which should also be clear from the context.
The Higher Self is also called the Transpersonal Self to avoid the resistance that exists in some psychological circles to the word “higher”. In other cases it is simply referred to as the Self with a capital S. The Self is in a certain sense the same as what is called the soul, ie a spiritual core, but since that term is also used to denote, for example, the emotional life, Assagioli has avoided using it in his literature.
The self – the essential core of identity
Definitions of the self
The question: Who am I ? Has been the subject of reflections in the various psychologies, philosophies and religions that humanity has fostered, especially in the last 2500 years. We have probably all heard of the inscription that stood above the entrance to the Temple of Apollo in Delphi: ” Know thyself” .
But what kind of self do we need to know? Too often, without thinking about it, we refer to ourselves as “ myself .”
In the last 40 years, there has been a strong focus on the self as a concept in the Western world, especially in connection with the emergence of existential psychology, CG Jung’s analytical psychology and humanistic psychology, all of which are based on the individual. They talk, among other things, about self-development, self-actualization and the individuation process of the self. But despite the linguistic agreement, there is a great difference in the way the different psychological schools define the self. It is beyond the scope of this task to define the various self-concepts. I will therefore mainly take Roberto Assagioli and the psychosynthesis interpretation of the self as my starting point.
The self is a living being that can be verified
Roberto Assagioli’s definition of the self is remarkable in many ways, as he claims that it is something completely different from the psychological functions we often identify with, including: thought, feeling, sensation, desire, etc. In other words, we are not the sum of the elements of personality, but a “center of pure self-awareness and will”[1]
When Assagioli speaks of the self, he is speaking of the inner observer, the subject, the inner self-conscious and living being that is always permanently present in man. [2] He is speaking of the inner self-consciousness that experiences the manifold and changing states of thought and feeling.
The self is in a sense the same as the soul, but in an interview: The Rebirth of the Soul in Modern Psychology, Assagioli says that: “the word “soul” is quite unfortunate because it is used in quite different and contradictory ways….”[3] His point is that within Christianity and Vedanta it is perceived as a spiritual being, while other religious movements define it as the ego, personality or consciousness. Many philosophers and contemporary psychologists use soul to refer to the emotional life. According to Assagioli, CG Jung calls the soul “the inner attitude that is turned towards the unconscious”.[4]
In his article CG Jung and Psychosynthesis, Assagioli describes in detail the difference between his own and Jung’s definition of the Self. Jung’s conception of the self is quite obscure and it changed continuously. He refers to the self as a “point in between where the conscious and the unconscious meet”. As an “archetypal quantity”, a “psychological concept that is supposed to express an essence that exceeds our understanding”. The self is a “transcendent postulate that cannot be scientifically proven.[5]
Psychosynthesis, on the other hand, considers “the self as a reality , as a living being of which one can have some knowledge or acquaintance.”[6] Elsewhere, Assagioli says: “In my opinion, the direct experience of the self, of pure self-consciousness – independent of any “content” in the field of consciousness and of any situation in which the individual may find himself – is a true “phenomenological” experience, an inner reality that can be empirically verified and consciously evoked by means of the right techniques.”[7]
Unlike Jung, Assagioli sees the self as a real core, not just a concept or an inner attitude, but a living self-conscious being . A particularly good description of the self, which Assagioli refers to several times, is Father Gratry’s:
“We have an ‘inner sense’ which, at special moments, when we succeed in interrupting the usual flow of disturbances and emotions, gives us direct and clear knowledge of our soul. I used to experience an inner form full of strength, beauty and joy, a form of light and fire which nourished my whole being; constant, always the same, often recovered in my life; sometimes forgotten, but always recognized with infinite joy and with the exclamation, ‘here is my true Being’.” (La Connaissance de L’Ame) [8]
Assagioli’s self-concept is inspired by the Atman of the East
Assagioli’s self-concept is probably deeply inspired by the Eastern concept of Atman in particular, in the sense that the core of man is a spiritual being. He elaborates on this in the following way: “As we have seen, the existential experience of man, when disidentified from the various psychological elements, is a conscious “being” – being a living self . This is an aspect of the Universal Self and the Universal Being.” [9]
Assagioli states on several occasions that psychosynthesis is not based on theoretical speculation, but that it is empirical and existential in the sense that “it is a result of my own experiences and those of others. The description of the theories is not theoretical. It is an account of subjective experiences.” [10]
One of the aspects of Assagioli’s self-concept that can be difficult to relate to is his claim that we are not essentially our body, emotions and thoughts, but a center of pure self-awareness. This is a completely normal assumption in the East, where the teaching of Atman has been known for thousands of years. In contrast to the West, where it is often a difficult thought because we are far more materially oriented and therefore more identified with our body in particular.
I will address that discussion below, but since it is a central focus of this article to investigate whether one can verify the self, I will let Assagioli elaborate on his claim:
In his foundational book, Psychosynthesis, he defines the self as follows:
The “self,” that is, the point of pure self-awareness, is often confused with the personality just described, but they are in reality two different things. This can be illustrated by careful self-observation. The changing content of our consciousness (sensations, thoughts, emotions, etc.) is one thing, while the “I,” the self that is the center of our consciousness, is another. In a way, this can be compared to the difference between the white illuminated area on a screen and the different images projected on the screen. But the “man in the street,” and even many well-educated people, do not bother to observe themselves or try to distinguish. They drift along on the surface of the “mind-stream,” identifying themselves only with its changing waves and with the changing content of their consciousness.” [11]
The Higher and Personal Self
I have not yet touched on the difference between the Higher Self (with a capital S) and the personal self, because the primary focus of this assignment is to investigate whether it makes sense and is possible to evoke the experience of “a center of pure self-awareness and will”, and what the experience means to the person who experiences it. This experience does not have to be a transpersonal or a peak experience, ie an unusually consciousness-expanding experience. For the sake of the holistic perspective, I will now seek to clarify the difference between the Higher and personal self. As mentioned in the introduction – see this – the personal self has several names.
In Assagioli’s oval diagram the difference is clearly visible. At the top of the oval diagram we have the Higher Self, which via a bridge of consciousness – the dotted line – projects a part of itself down into the world of personality. This incarnated part of the Higher Self is called the personal self. So there are not two different selves.
Assagioli describes the difference with an image of the sun reflected in a mirror. Although there is a great difference between the sun and the light reflected in the mirror, it is the same light that has the qualities of the sun: light, heat, and life. There are not two suns. [12]
As is probably clear from the language, Assagioli’s psychosynthesis is a psychology of height. This means that in addition to working with a depth dimension like Freud, Jung and most other psychologists do, Assagioli also works at height. Depth psychologists primarily research the human past with the aim of processing the repressed parts of the personality and the instinctive drives of a personal nature. Height psychology seeks to contact and realize the highest spiritual potentials of man, including altruistic love, wisdom, artistic and scientific inspiration, all the states that unite man with something greater than himself.
To ascend therefore means to have experiences that transcend and transcend normal everyday consciousness, where one experiences oneself as separate from other living beings. Contact with the Higher Self is an experience of universal consciousness.
Higher and lower levels of consciousness
The height dimension is not just a metaphor for Assagioli, as he, in line with, for example, the consciousness researcher Ken Wilber, takes as his starting point the existence of a number of inner worlds of consciousness that are just as real as the physical one. Ken Wilber works from an integral perspective, that is, he takes as his starting point the common assumptions (called the eternal philosophy) that exist between otherwise different spiritual and philosophical traditions. He states, among other things, in Integral Psychology [13] : “the core of the eternal philosophy is the view that reality is composed of different levels of existence – levels of being and knowledge – that extend from matter to body, to mind, soul and spirit.”
Assagioli, who is also a great integralist, confirms the same view in several places in his writings, but most clearly in Transpersonal Development :
“There are a number of inner worlds, each with its own special characteristics, and they consist of both higher levels and lower levels. The first is the world of passion and emotion, where there is a great distance and a marked difference in level between blind passion and the higher emotions. Then comes the world of intelligence or of the mind. Here too there are different levels: the level of the concrete, analytical mind, and the level of the higher philosophical reason (nour). Furthermore, there is the world of imagination with a lower and a higher realm, the world of intuition, the world of will, and then the still higher and indescribable worlds, which can only be referred to as “worlds of transcendence.”[14]
I have tried to illustrate this description of the inner worlds in the diagram on the right, where I have only included the physical world and the four non-physical inner worlds that he most often refers to. As can be seen from the plate, the Higher Self – you and me, is an immaterial (non-physical) being that has projected part of its consciousness (emanation) down into the world of personality. In connection with this descent (involution) we have lost the memory of our spiritual origin, but we can regain it on the way back, which is an ascent (evolution) up through the levels. According to Assagioli, this development takes place very roughly through three stages:
1. The stage before personal psychosynthesis . The self has not yet created a self-conscious and integrated personality.
2. The personal psychosynthesis . The self has created a strong self-aware and integrated personality, which corresponds to Maslow’s self-actualized person.[15]
3. Transpersonal Psychosynthesis . The personal self now realizes its universal consciousness, transcends the ego, and unites with its source: the Higher Self. [16]
Assagioli describes how the oval diagram above shows us the following:
“1. The apparent duality. The apparent existence of two selves within us. In fact, it is as if there were two selves, since the personal self is generally ignorant of the other and may go so far as to deny the existence of the other. The other, the true Self, exists latently and does not manifest itself directly to our consciousness.
2. The real unity and the unique distinctiveness of the Self. There are not in reality two selves, two independent and separate beings. The Self is one, but manifests itself under different forms of consciousness and self-realization. The reflection (the personal self) appears as something self-existent, but in reality has no autonomous reality. In other words, it is not a new and different light, but a projection of its luminous origin.”[17] The parentheses in the quotation are my addition.
The self is also will.
A description of Assagioli’s self-concept would be completely incomplete without mentioning the will, so let me briefly describe the other side of the nature of the self.
The self is more than the source of consciousness, it is also, as suggested above, an expression of will. Psychosynthesis’ emphasis on the will as a central human trait, or more precisely as what a human being is in his essence, characterizes a unique feature of psychosynthesis. In an interview with Sam Keen: Assagioli’s Golden Mean, Assagioli describes his concept of will:
“I believe that the will is the Cinderella of modern psychology. It has been relegated to the kitchen. The Victorian idea that willpower could overcome all obstacles was destroyed by Freud’s discovery of unconscious motivation. Unfortunately, however, it led to a deterministic view of man as a bundle of conflicting forces with no center. This is in direct opposition to man’s immediate experience of himself. At some point, perhaps in a crisis where danger is imminent, an awakening occurs which leads to the individual discovering his will. This revelation that the self and the will are closely connected can change a person’s entire experience of himself and the world. He discovers that he is a living subject, an actor, endowed with the ability to choose, to create relationships, and to bring about changes in his own personality, in others, and in his circumstances. This experience leads to a sense of wholeness, security, and joy. By neglecting the centrality of the will, modern psychology denies that we have an immediate experience of the self. When one becomes convinced that one has a will, one discovers the close connection between the will and the self.” [18]
According to Assagioli , wanting, choosing, and being purposeful are states of consciousness that are all expressions of will. These states are incredibly central to being human, and in that sense he agrees with the existentialists who emphasize choice. But where certain schools of existentialism emphasize that humans are nothing in themselves, but come into being solely through their choices, psychosynthesis emphasizes that we are an essence – a self – that expresses and realizes our essential nature through will and choice.
I will later describe why this definition is crucially important, but before then let me now present his star diagram, where the relationship between the self and the other psychological functions is represented.
The emphasis in this diagram is that the self has some psychological functions, but is precisely not them. As can be seen from the diagram, the self is located in the middle as an expression of the inner self-consciousness that experiences and observes life through its psychological tools of cognition. As humans, we are constantly influenced by continuous streams of sensations from outside and inside via the psychological functions that affect our self-consciousness. These influxes of, for example, emotional impressions affect us pleasantly or unpleasantly and cause us to react more or less unconsciously.
The most common thing is that we often have to make sure that we are not the master of our own house (personality), but rather react compulsively to emotional impressions and desires. The situation is classic and described by Paul in Romans chapter 7: “ I have the will to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For the good that I want I do not do, but the evil that I do not want is what I practice .”
This situation is clearly expressed when we try to change an ingrained habit and, for example, start a diet. Here, the self often has to give up with its will, but this is precisely a clear indication that the conscious self experiences itself as one thing, while the habit, the desire for food ad libitum, is something else that is currently foreign to us and unwanted. The desire overpowers us – the conscious self – without us being able to do anything about it.
From the above, we can establish that although, according to psychosynthesis, there is a central core of self-awareness and will in humans, this core is often unable to act in accordance with its conscious desires and will.
If it were possible to strengthen the self and thus the will, then we would have a central source that could actively participate in developing and refining the psychological functions, so that we are no longer enslaved by our habitual reactions. We could consciously seek to strengthen our intuition, love, creativity and intelligence. It is precisely this idea that is Assagioli’s whole point.
The will can be trained so that it increasingly acts as a constructive force that can utilize intuition, drives, emotions, thoughts and imaginations to achieve complete self-realization.
How is the self experienced?
So far I have mainly described the theoretical view of the self and its relationship to the rest of the personality. But if the theory is to be translated into clinical practice, then the experience of both the Higher and personal self must be described by experts who have themselves made the inner journey. Assagioli claims in the above that his descriptions are based on his own living practice, so let me here and now take his experiences as a starting point.
In the book Psychosynthesis, he describes in an exercise what remains after one has disidentified from the physical, emotional and mental content of the personality through the self-identification technique:
“There remains the essence of myself, the core of my self – a center of pure self-awareness and self-realization. It is the permanent factor in my ever-changing personal life. It is this center that gives me the feeling of being, of permanence and inner security. I recognize and affirm myself as a center of pure self-awareness. I recognize that this center has not only a static self-awareness, but also a dynamic power. It is able to observe, control, direct and use all the psychological processes and the physical body. I am a center of consciousness and power.”[19]
Assagioli states on several occasions that the experience of the personal self is associated with “a sense of security, inner certainty, and permanence,” that “it is a quiet subtle thing” and “not a peak experience.”[20] It is not, then, a transient ecstatic state that we seek when the personal self is to be found, but rather the discovery of the observer , who from a quiet and unbound place can survey the stream of consciousness and from there act wisely in a way that meets all the needs of the personality in a given situation.
Since the personal self is merely a reflection of the Higher Self, it should not be surprising if there are similarities in the experience of both the Higher and personal self. In Psychosynthesis he describes the state of consciousness of the self-realized person:
“It is a state of consciousness characterized by joy, clarity, inner security, a sense of calm power, clear understanding, and emanating love. In its highest aspects, it is the realization of an essential coexistence, communication, and identification with universal life.”[21]
Elsewhere, Assagioli distinguishes between the core of the Higher Self and its emanations of love, wisdom, enlightenment, etc. when the Self expresses itself through the higher unconscious. But the core of the Higher Self is “stable, fixed and permanent, or to use a philosophical word “ontological”. It is Pure Being.”[22] It is a paradoxical and intellectually incomprehensible idea that the Self is on the one hand perfectly still and on the other hand acts (transpersonal will), but this is how Assagioli describes the Higher Self in the article Roberto Assagioli on the Self .
Discussion: Is there a self?
It is beyond the scope of this task to examine all the factors that could point to the existence of the core of man that Assagioli et al. call the self. It is an ancient question that researchers have long sought to answer, but without reaching a consensus. It is probably determined entirely by the point of view one takes on reality. If one is a materialist, that is, one who takes as a starting point only physical verifiable studies , then it has not been possible to prove whether self-consciousness, i.e. the self, is solely a product of the physical brain or not. Or whether a central organizing self exists at all, which many will certainly dispute.
If we take Assagioli as a starting point, he maintains in the quote above that the self is an “inner reality that can be empirically verified and consciously evoked using the right techniques.”
These techniques are introspection and a phenomenological approach to the question. He elaborates on this in the following answer to a question about whether the self can be proven:
“You also ask whether it can be proven scientifically. That depends entirely on what you understand by science. It cannot be proven by ordinary science, because there is no proof at this conceptual level. But if one adopts the scientific attitude and method as I outline it, then yes. It is proven through direct experience. It is one of those primary experiences which are proofs in themselves. Just like with color, an experience of beauty or something else which needs no explanation. They are primary experiences and therefore have full scientific value in a broader sense. …”[23]
Ken Wilber, who in many ways has continued and expanded Assagioli’s work, has also addressed the issue in depth. He takes as his starting point the inner planes of existence of reality, as outlined earlier, and concludes on this basis that different scientific methods must be used depending on which phenomena one wants to investigate.
In his book Eye to Eye [24], he elaborates on three epistemological eyes, which he calls the eye of the flesh, the eye of the mind, and the eye of contemplation. These concepts cover the ability of consciousness to direct itself towards three fundamentally different ontological areas of knowledge: the physical plane, the plane of the mind, and the transcendent planes. For example, if one wants to study the Higher Self, according to Wilber, one must use the meditative techniques that scholars within the wisdom traditions have always used, and thus the eye of contemplation.
Partial conclusion about the self-concept
Based on the above rough description of Assagioli’s self-concept, we can conclude:
- The self is an expression of the self-conscious and volitional core of the human being, which is independent of the psychological functions.
- The self is the expression of a spiritual being that is essentially one with the Universal Self.
- The self is experienced differently on the 5 personal and transpersonal levels, but it is still the same self.
- According to Assagioli, the self is experienced, experienced and verified by both himself and others through introspective techniques.
- The self is experienced as an inner observer that is quiet, stable, firm, dynamic and constant.
I will now give a brief introduction to how psychosynthesis suggests ways to experience the self. Later I will give a clinical example of how his thoughts about the self can be translated into a psychosynthesis therapy.
The path to the center and the self
The art of self-discovery
Finding the self or “oneself” could rightly be called the art of self-discovery. There is probably a common reason why many people seek a deeper understanding of who they are. According to Assagioli, on the one hand, it is the pronounced confusion and the many problems and sufferings of human life that cause the intense interest in self-development. On the other hand, it is the inner intuitive voice of the Self that evokes a longing and a need to learn about one’s true nature. Assagioli describes the situation as follows:
“In our ordinary life we are limited and bound in a thousand ways—a prey to illusions and fantasies, slaves to unrecognized complexes, tossed hither and thither by external influences, and dazzled and hypnotized by deceptive phenomena. It is no wonder that man under
Such circumstances are often discontented, uncertain, and experience fluctuations in mood, thought, and action. With an intuitive sense of being one, yet experiencing being “divided within oneself,” man becomes confused and fails to understand himself or others. It is no wonder that so many lives fail or are limited when man does not understand himself or lacks self-control.”[25]
It is Assagioli’s assumption that this self-discovery or self-realization process proceeds through four stages:
1. Thorough knowledge of one’s own personality
2. Control of the different elements of personality
3. Realization of one’s own true self – the discovery or formation of a unifying center
4. Psychosynthesis: Formation or reconstruction of the personality around this new center[26]
There is no space in this assignment to describe the entire process of self-realization, so I will mainly focus on the element that has to do with the development of the “center of pure self-awareness and will” or the personal self. This center is extremely important in the above process, since it is from this center that we can harmonize the personality into an integrated whole, from which we have access to all our resources and potentials. Often our situation is that, for example, individual desires at times hijack the entire personality to great detriment to our life and other essential needs. This may be overuse of stimulants and foods, which threaten the health of the body or the need for sexual deviations, which threaten the family situation.
Another thing is that we do not identify with our true core, but with all the cultural influences and “false self-images” that we have internalized through childhood and adolescence. We also identify with the different states of consciousness that are constantly flooding over us. Assagioli’s point is:
“Every time we “identify” with a weakness, a guilt, a fear, or any kind of personal emotion or drive, we limit and paralyze our own selves.”[27]
Self-identification and dis-identification
The way out of this situation, so that we can gain control over the different elements of the personality, is through what Assagioli calls self-identification and dis-identification. These central techniques aim to create the inner observing center around which we can integrate, gather and transform the diverse and often contradictory sides of the personality.
One of Assagioli’s key statements in this regard is: ” We are dominated by everything that our self identifies with. We can dominate and control everything that we can disidentify from .”[28]
Below he elaborates on self-identification:
“The conscious and purposeful use of self-identification – or dis-identification – is the foundation of psychosynthesis. It is employed from a dynamic center in which the whole process of synthesizing the psychological manifolds into an organic unity is based. It offers a very effective means of controlling the various elements of the personality. It is based on a fundamental psychological principle, mentioned in Chapter I. and repeated here because of its great importance: “We are dominated by everything with which our self identifies. We can dominate and control everything from which we can dis-identify.” [29]
There is no doubt that the work of disidentifying oneself and finding one’s inner center is central to psychosynthesis. The practical method for taking this step is particularly through Assagioli’s disidentification exercise.[30] This exercise is at the same time a self-identification with the personal self and a disidentification from false self-images, etc.
In an interview with Beverly Besmer: Altitude Psychology – interview with Roberto Assagioli, Assagioli explains how the personal self is verified through dis-identification:
“Let us assume that there is a center in the human personality, a core, a conscious self, which is not the whole personality, but only a point of pure self-awareness – an observer of all the content of the personality. How can this hypothesis be verified? Through a series of experimental techniques.
The basic technique is the practice of dis-identification of consciousness from all the different contents of the personality, with the subsequent revelation or uncovering of the self – pure self-awareness/attention. It is thoroughly described in Psychosynthesis .
BB : Does it have any connection with meditation?
RA : To strengthen and stabilize the observer’s pure self-awareness, periods of inner silence, which become gradually longer, are necessary to create what is called the empty space in the field of consciousness.
Then one discovers another important function of the self: it is not only an observer, but can also be active and change the personality. That is, it can control and regulate the various functions of the psyche. It can be someone who wants to .”[31]
The work with dis-identification and thus meditation is something that in psychosynthesis is already begun from the beginning of the therapeutic process. He states this in Psychosynthesis :
“In therapy, the technique of self-identification should be used as early as possible, as it facilitates and promotes the use of other techniques within psychosynthesis. It is usually presented at a fairly early stage.”[32]
To emphasize the importance of knowledge of dis-identification and the personal self, I would like to conclude by drawing attention to some Guidelines for Psychosynthesis Training that Assagioli has issued. Here, Assagioli mentions seven points that he calls the essence and originality of psychosynthesis in relation to other psychotherapies:
1. Dis-identification, 2. The personal self, 3. The will; the good, strong and intelligent, 4. The ideal model, 5. Synthesis (in its various aspects), 6. The superconscious 7. The transpersonal self. [33]
Discussion of the way to the center
There is no doubt that Assagioli’s radical statement that the essence of man is not the thoughts and feelings of the personality is difficult for many to relate to. There may also be a real danger that people who train in dis-identification become alienated from their feelings. If we are not our feelings, why deal with them?
In my opinion, there is no doubt that in unskilled hands the technique can promote a tendency towards, for example, the repression of emotional life if it were misused. The sentence in the dis-identification exercise[34] “I am not my emotions” could be unconsciously distorted to: “I have no emotions”. But in that case it is a use that goes directly against the purpose of the technique, which is precisely intended to create an accepting distance from emotional life, in order to be able to observe and feel emotions clearly, distinctly and completely consciously.
Assagioli was also aware of the dangers of the technique, however. He warned against using it without careful guidance and adaptation to the individual, especially with clients who were excessively introverted or had a tendency towards dissociation or psychotic features.
There has been a tendency, especially among prominent psychosynthetic therapists, to reformulate the dis-identification exercise. It is especially the sentence: “you are not ” your body, your feelings, thoughts, roles, etc. that they have changed or omitted. I have not been able to find any direct justification for this, but it is indirectly apparent that they emphasize that we are not separate from, for example, the feelings, but instead are something else, something more. Let me give an example.
In Molly Young Brown’s old version of The Unfolding Self it said: “I am not only the body.” [35] In the new version, now called: Unfolding Self,[36] this entire aspect of the exercise has been removed, so that there is no element of affirming what one is not. Instead, she has chosen an interrogative method, where the practitioner is asked to reflect on the question: Who are you?
Her first modification: “I am not only the body” is very problematic because it indirectly says that one is partly the body. In doing so, she leaves out a very central point and insight in Assagioli’s understanding of the self, where the self is something other than the body, emotions, etc. In the second modification, she completely avoids the issue and thus also actively fails to abandon Assagioli’s definition, but she does not confirm it either.
Assagioli knew about the resistance to “I am not” and defended it on several occasions because the idea is central to psychosynthesis. Let me first show with an example how Assagioli defends the statement:
“We usually identify with our thoughts, but if we analyze them and observe ourselves while we think, we will notice that the intellect functions as a tool.
We can observe the logical or illogical connections and experience the work of the mind by looking at it from above. This indicates that we are not our thoughts. Thoughts are also changeable: one day we think one thing, the next day we think something else. We get sufficient proof that we are not our thoughts when we try to control and direct them. When we want to think about something abstract or boring, our mental instrument often refuses to obey us. Every student who has tried to learn something that is boring has had this experience. If the mind is rebellious and undisciplined, it means that the “I” is not the mind. These things give us indications that the body, the emotions and the mind are instruments through which we experience, perceive and act – instruments that are changeable and imperfect, but which can be dominated, disciplined and consciously used by the “I”, while the nature of the “I” is something entirely different. The “I” is simple, unchanging, constant, and self-conscious. The experience of the “I” can be expressed thus: “I am me – a center of pure consciousness.” [37]
Elsewhere he says: “… the mind has nothing to do with the Self… The Self is in a completely different dimension”[38] Here it is clear that he is considering the different planes of existence in his argument, as the Higher Self is in a higher and more transcendent world than the mind.
In relation to the resistance directed against dis-identification, he says in Psychosynthesis :
“In some patients, especially Americans, there is some resistance to the idea of dis-identifying oneself with respect to body, feelings, and thoughts, and a deep fear of being split into different parts by doing so. Conversely, there are many patients who like the idea of a full experience of a center within themselves; a center where they can find strength and wisdom to withstand the pressures of modern life.”[39]
In another interview, Assagioli elaborates on his position on a question that specifically addresses this rejection of dis-identification:
“SP: Some people don’t like it when you say, ‘I have a body, but I am not the body,’ and so on. They feel it’s a denial.
RA: That is one of the many misunderstandings that follow from the central misunderstanding. It is not a matter of denial at all, but of putting things where they belong. We need bodies here, and we should take good care of them and appreciate them. It is not only mystics and religious people who do not have the right view, it is also intellectuals who deny their bodies, have no sense of their bodies, do not experience them, are not even aware of them. So we must appreciate the body to the utmost without falsely saying that I am it. What is the difference? I can appreciate an apple, but I am not the apple! We can appreciate many things without being them. So we can also appreciate our bodies, benefit from them, and ask for forgiveness for the sins we commit against them, without saying, “I am it.” That is obvious. But there is an explanation for that mistake. Today, for many people, it is the body that has them. They are slaves to their bodies. So to begin with, what is psychologically needed is a separating step. We have to go into the other trench for a while to get it. And that applies to all kinds of possessions.” [40]
The whole question naturally also raises a fundamental question about whether consciousness exists outside the body. There is no doubt that many mystics experience it this way. Ken Wilber, who has himself described his transcendent experiences in his book, One Taste , is entirely in line with Assagioli. He says:
“When you rest in the Witness and realize that: I am not objects, I am not feelings, I am not thoughts – then all you will notice is a sense of freedom, liberation and release from the terrible limitation that is being identified with the small limiting objects. The small body, the small mind, the small ego, which are all objects that can be observed and therefore are not the true observer, the true Self, the pure Witness, which is who you really are.” [41]
Ken Wilber and Roberto Assagioli both draw massive inspiration from Eastern wisdom traditions, where a distinction is made between Atman and Maya, the Higher Self and the form in which it operates. I personally find this integral attitude, i.e. the ability to create a synthesis from the insights of both the East and the West, very appealing and wise.
There is also currently extensive research into near-death experiences that suggests that consciousness can exist independently of the body. These include cases where clinically dead patients have been recalled and have been able to report events that occurred while they were dead. Leading researchers in this field are Dr. Raymond Moody, and Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross.
In conclusion, however, I would like to emphasize that, according to my own experience, it can be an excellent idea to omit the negative part of the dis-identification exercise if the client is resistant to it. I do this myself, which is also evident from the exercise in Appendix 1, which I often use in my clinical practice. The intention is not to adapt the clients to the techniques, but that one must always take the client’s reality as a starting point.
Partial conclusion on the road to the center
From the above, I can conclude that the technique of self-identification and dis-identification is an important and central technique within psychosynthesis; therefore, the technique is used early in the therapeutic phase. Meditation is an important method for achieving stable identification with the inner observer.
In the above section, based primarily on Assagioli’s own sources, I have also attempted to answer the following questions:
Why is the discovery of the personal self important ? The conclusion is that it especially develops the ability to observe the stream of consciousness from a stable and permanent center. From there, one can influence, strengthen, and master the other elements of the personality with the will.
What is the result of that ? The conclusion is: Inner freedom and psychosynthesis, i.e. a harmonious and well-integrated personality as the first step, which is later expanded to include a realization of the Higher Self.
How does one evoke the experience of the self in clinical practice ? The conclusion is that it occurs especially (but not only) through the use of meditation and the dis-identification exercise.
A Therapeutic Casestory
Introduction to psychosynthesis therapy
I will now conclude by exemplifying how one can work with the above ideas and methods in a psychosynthetic therapeutic context. I will focus solely on describing the therapeutic interventions that seek to induce a dis-identification from inhibiting and limiting personality patterns, as well as how I work to strengthen the client’s observer consciousness. There is of course no one method that can be applied to everyone, as every therapeutic session has its own unique course. Psychotherapeutic work must always be adapted to the client’s reality and needs.
The therapeutic space created by the client and therapist’s shared presence, radiance, and collaboration is of course essential in therapy. However, there are also certain special features that characterize a clinical practice based on psychosynthesis.
Meditation: I can start by saying that meditation is very often included in all my sessions, unless the current situation speaks against it. The meditations have three primary purposes in particular. 1. To strengthen the observer’s consciousness and thus the experience of the self[42] 2. To contact and anchor transpersonal energies for use in the therapeutic work. These can be, for example, acceptance, honesty, authenticity, love, wisdom, etc. 3. To provide insights and higher realizations.
Teaching: All my clients receive a presentation of the basic elements of psychosynthesis during the sessions, so that they can understand how I work and why. This ongoing teaching ensures that the clients cooperate cognitively with the therapeutic process and agree with the goal that I develop along the way in collaboration with the client. The teaching is supplemented with articles and instructions that are provided.
Techniques: I very often use specific techniques that strengthen the ability to dis-identify from false self-images, etc. This can be chair work (gestalt technique) where the client, sitting on different chairs, identifies and dis-identifies with different aspects of themselves. Free drawing, where the client draws/paints their inner sub-personalities and states of consciousness, helps to clarify the inner actors. Inner dialogue with the different inner states is also a frequently used method. Questionnaires, autobiography and diary writing are also effective tools when the client needs to reflect on important aspects of themselves between sessions.
A therapeutic case story
Birte was a single woman in her late 50s who had worked as a nurse in a psychiatric ward for many years. She came to me because she had suffered from mild depressive states and low self-esteem for a number of years, which prevented her from feeling joy in life. One of the themes that we worked on in therapy was a strong anger and feeling of powerlessness about the working conditions that she experienced in the psychiatric ward. When she began therapy, she was plagued by a constant bad conscience about not being able to do her job properly. She blamed herself for turning away people every day who needed help but did not receive it. The needs were far greater than she could handle. At the same time, she felt an overwhelming anger towards her colleagues, who she felt did not live up to their responsibilities. In her opinion, they were “lazy, irresponsible and insensitive” towards the psychiatric patients.
The anger drained her of a lot of energy and strained her relationships with her colleagues, as she had difficulty keeping her anger in check and it often came out as sarcasm and indirect criticism. She wanted to quit her job, but she was also afraid that at her relatively old age she would not be able to get a new, better job. Her single life and her age meant that she felt powerless and a victim of circumstances.
It was my interpretation that her identification with the victim role fixed her situation and meant that her options for action were extremely limited. The victim role is a classic sub-personality that always deprives the person who is identified with it of their power, will and freedom. Freeing oneself from it is often a very difficult task that requires a longer process. The therapeutic intervention I decided on was to strengthen Birte’s ability to free herself from her victim role, her anger and feelings of powerlessness, so that it did not steer her into depressive states. I chose to do this by guiding her through three phases that I very often see unfolding in the therapeutic process: acceptance , dis-identification and new positive focus .
The acceptance phase
Acceptance phase is a period where the focus is on creating a human encounter of warmth, understanding and trust. To accept what is is to be conscious and observant while experiencing states of anger, powerlessness and victim issues. In this phase we worked on understanding and experiencing her feelings and thoughts without questioning them. We worked on identifying the states that overwhelmed her at work and when she went home. We did this through the conversation and by drawing/painting/writing out the states and not least through the observer exercise (Appendix 1), which we used each time as an introduction to the session [43]. I also encouraged Birte to observe her reactions in her everyday life as a daily habit.
The acceptance phase is also the cleansing phase , where her feelings were allowed to be freely expressed. In the meditations during the sessions, we worked together to create as strong an atmosphere of acceptance as possible by contacting the higher layers of consciousness and using the imagination to send the acceptance out “through the heart”. During this period, an incredible amount of pain and sorrow came up that had to be accepted and allowed to be there.
The Dis-identification Phase
At some point, the client begins to own her feelings, which means that she can allow them to be there in an accepting spirit. When Birte reached this phase in the process, we smoothly transitioned to the dis-identification phase. In this phase, the emphasis is on creating an experience that the observer and the victim are two different things. We worked especially with chairs and inner dialogue as techniques to practice that experience. When she sat in one chair, she was the observer, who could talk to the different inner states, as if there were several inner people present. When she sat in another chair, she played the role of victim with all the emotions that entailed. Here is a short and condensed example of how an important and crucial conversation unfolded while she was sitting in the “victim chair”:
Kenneth : Welcome victim. How are you today?
Birte : I feel angry and frustrated.
Kenneth : Can you describe your anger a little more, where do you experience it in your body and how do you sense it?
Birte . I feel like there’s a big ball of fire in my stomach that just wants to spew its fire without inhibitions.
Kenneth : What do you want?
Birte : I want to punish the lazy and utterly incompetent colleagues I have. They should simply try to get the same treatment they offer their fellow humans on the ward. I want to hit them so they can feel some of the same pain.
Kenneth : What’s stopping you from doing that?
Birte : Then I’ll lose my job.
Kenneth : What do you basically need?
Birte : To see justice done. I think it’s so unfair that they get away with treating their fellow human beings in such a way.
Kenneth : Could you feel the need to hit the mattress while imagining that you are punishing one of your colleagues.
Birte : Yes, I’d like to try. (She gets a tennis racket in her hand and kneels in front of the mattress. After a 30-second pause:) I can’t. I simply can’t bring myself to do it. Then I’d be like my mother. I wouldn’t be a notch better than the colleagues I scold. I can’t.
Kenneth : That’s totally OK. But what do you need?
Birte : I need to get rid of all that anger. It’s eating me up from the inside.
Kenneth : Okay, I can understand that. Would you please sit down in the chair where you are the observer.
This session was a turning point in relation to the theme we were working with. The victim role lost some of its power the moment Birte saw that it resembled her mother and actually acted just as unfairly as her colleagues. At that moment Birte was ready to free herself from its power. There were of course many more aspects to the case that I cannot go into here. But the main point is that Birte was only now ready to let go of the victim role. She was ready to identify with something else because the experience had awakened her will to live.
It is at this stage that one can usefully introduce the dis-identification exercise “I play a victim role, but I am not this role. I am a center of pure self-awareness and will.” She could now begin to look behind the victim role and observe the primary and secondary gains that are always associated with identifying with a strong sub-personality.
Next, we shifted the primary focus to strengthening the observer and identifying the good potential in the victim role, which was her care for the patients and her sense of justice, etc.
As she gradually experienced in her everyday life that she could observe her victim reactions, when colleagues, for example, did not live up to their responsibilities according to her standards, she also succeeded in dampening the reactions of anger in particular. Her accepting attitude took the top of the reactions. Thus freed from the strongest feelings of anger and powerlessness, Birte experienced that she might not be able to change the conditions at her workplace, but she could change the way she related to the workplace . Birte’s ability to be an observer also awakened her will, i.e. her ability to choose a perspective on her experiences – a good example of how the self and the will are closely connected.
We worked hard to figure out what her responsibilities were at work and what those of the hospital management were. It also helped her to free herself from an overwhelming sense of responsibility at work and to take greater responsibility for her own health situation.
It did not help the patients that she took on too much workload. At the same time, she discovered that she had invested too much of her identity in her work as a “helper” at the expense of the rest of her life. This is a classic example of how a single sub-personality can capture the attention of the entire self, so that all the other potentials languish in the darkness.
New positive focus
Working with the will in psychosynthesis therapy is always associated with having a focus, a purpose that one seeks to realize. In Birte’s case, working with the victim role helped to focus on her perception of identity and self-image. The therapy revealed that she had identified with the good and sacrificial helper who sympathized with the patients. When the attractiveness of the victim role collapsed, it also called into question the entire way she lived and prioritized her life.
In therapy we began to work with the big and existential questions: What do I want with my life ? Who am I ? These questions awakened an old longing to deal with Christianity and theology. She discovered an old love for teaching and telling about the stories of the Gospels and life lessons, but she had never done anything about it. She decided (willingly) after several sessions where these questions were in focus that the time was now to do something about her longing.
The therapeutic work now shifted to primarily strengthening her new focus, which resulted in some new goals to study at the folk university, get more seriously involved in Christian church work, and make long-term plans for her writing and speaking career.
The new focus began to fill her life with meaning and significance.
During the ongoing evaluation conversations, we brought her process to light. She said that she felt more centered , and as she became better at observing her emotions and reaction patterns, they did not control her in the same way as before.
She had also had her work brought down to “eye level”, it didn’t take up so much space and therefore she could more easily accept the working conditions she had. She found it easier to understand her colleagues’ limited abilities because she had seen her own.
But the most important thing was that her life had gained a new focus filled with meaning and significance.
Conclusion about the self
I have also previously sought to answer three important questions:
Why is the discovery of the personal self important ? The conclusion is that it develops the ability to observe the stream of consciousness from a stable and permanent center.
What is the result of that ? The conclusion is: Experience of inner freedom, willpower and synthesis, i.e. a harmonious and well-integrated personality as a first step, which later expands to include a realization of the Higher Self.
How does one evoke the experience of the self in clinical practice ? The conclusion is that it occurs primarily (but not exclusively) through the use of meditation and the dis-identification exercise.
Finally, I have sought to test the theories through a case story, where the focus has been to investigate whether the client experiences “a center of pure self-awareness and will”.
There is no doubt that during the training Birte experienced herself as an observer to some extent. She had, in her own words, a greater ability to observe her reaction patterns in everyday life, and to dis-identify herself from the victim role. This gave her greater freedom and choices (will). She felt more centered and her life has gained a new meaningful focus , which is one of the parameters Assagioli attributes to the discovery of will.
Therefore, I would like to conclude that from this case and my other experiences, there is much to suggest that Assagioli’s self-concept can be verified in clinical work. Birte did not come to experience herself as a harmonious and integral personality. She also had no experiences of universal consciousness. But she did get a hold of her observer consciousness and will. From here, she can work further on verifying whether Assagioli’s larger perspectives are also real.
Literature list
- Abrahamowitz, Finn , (1999), Psychology Lexicon , Harvest & Son
- Assagioli , Roberto , (1967), Jung and Psychosynthesis , Psychosynthesis Research Foundation. No. 19. Available in a Danish translation by Kirsten Hansen: http://www.psykosyntese.dk/a-100/
- Assagioli, Roberto , (1973), The Rebirth of the Soul in Modern Psychology , an interview by Stuart Miller, published in Intellectual Digest, August, 1973. In Danish translation by Kenneth Sørensen: http://www.psykosyntese.dk/a-98/
- Assagioli, Roberto , (1973b), Altitude Psychology , an interview by Beverly Besmer, published in Interpersonal Development, 4, 1973-4, pp. 215-225. In Danish translation by Ella Ostermann: http://www.psykosyntese.dk/a-101/
- Assagioli, Roberto , (1974), Roberto Assagioli’s Golden Mean , interview by Sam Keen first published in Psychology Today. Danish translation by Ella Ostermann http://www.psykosyntese.dk/a-103/
- Assagioli, Roberto , (1993), Transpersonal Development , Thorsons.
- Assagioli, Roberto , (2005), The Psychology of Will , Kentaur Publishers
- Assagioli, Roberto , (2005a), Psychosynthesis , Kentaur Forlag.
- Assagioli, Roberto , (unknown), Roberto Assagioli on the Self , The conversation between Assagioli and a group of students is a transcript made available by Will Parfitt, who has it on loan from The Psychosynthesis and Education Trust in London. Translated into Danish by Ella Ostermann: http://www.psykosyntese.dk/a-98/
- Assagioli, Roberto , (unknown), Guidelines for Psychosynthesis Training . These guidelines are provided by Will Parfitt, who has received them from The Psychosynthesis and Education Trust in London. Translated into Danish by Kenneth Sørensen: http://www.psykosyntese.dk/a-93/
- Brown, Molly Young (2000), The Unfolding Self , Psychosynthesis Press
- Brown, Molly Young (2004), Unfolding Self , Helios Press
- Wilber, Ken (2000), Integral Psychology , Shamballa
- Wilber, Ken (2000b), The Collected Works, vol 8. One Taste , Shamballa
- Wilber, Ken (2000c), The Collected Works, vol. 3. A sociable God – Eye to Eye , Shamballa
Self-identification exercise
Appendix 1.
Physical relaxation
Take a comfortable physical position where you can completely let go of your body. Establish yourself as an inner observer, now observing the different sensations of the body. Sensory sensations: the body’s contact with the clothes, the chair, the air… Hearing sensations, smell and taste. Now observe your breathing without changing it, simply observe it without interfering with it – (30 sec.).
Note that the very fact that you can observe your body’s sensations is the best evidence that you are not your body, but the inner consciousness that uses the body as a tool for experience and action.
Now move your observation into the world of emotions.
Emotional relaxation
Observe your emotional state completely neutrally here and now. Do not consciously judge whether the emotional state is good or bad, simply observe it as a temporary sensation that is changeable. Are you elated, depressed, neutral, or something completely different? (30 sec.)
Now imagine that you are sitting on the shore of a silent forest lake, a warm summer night where everything breathes peace and tranquility. Let the silence and tranquility of this image fully affect your emotional state. (imagine it for 30 seconds.)
Note that the very fact that you can observe the sensations of your emotional life is the best evidence that you are not your emotions, but the inner consciousness that uses emotions as a tool for experience and action.
Now move your observation into the world of thought.
Mental relaxation
Observe your mental state completely neutrally – the thoughts, ideas and images that are present in your field of consciousness right now. If you think there are no thoughts, know that that is also a thought. (30 sec.)
Thoughts often come and go quite spontaneously as a result of external and internal influences. Often it is the thoughts that think in us, even though it should be us who thought the thoughts. Therefore, observe your thoughts and experience that they calm down …
The fact that you can observe your thoughts is the best evidence that you are not your thoughts, but the one who can learn to think. You are the thinker – not the thoughts.
Self-identification
Who has observed the body, feelings and thoughts? It is the observer – you as consciousness. Who has performed this inner action? It is you as will. In other words, you are a center of pure consciousness and will. Affirm this attitude by saying (preferably out loud):
I am a center of pure self-awareness and will.
Meditation on the observer
Now gather your mind on the purpose of meditation: to create contact with your self through meditation on the observer.
Choose your meditation theme: (Who is the observer)
Meditate for about 5-10 minutes, maintaining an open and alert attention to your question. Seek to penetrate the silence and examine the observer.
Notes to the article
[1] 2005, p. 178
[2] Roberto Assagioli on the Self
[3] 1973
[4] Ibid.
[5] 1967
[6] Ibid.
[7] 2005a, p. 17
[8] 1967
[9] 2005, p.111
[10] 1973b
[11] 2005a, p. 31
[12] Assagioli on the Self
[13] 2000, p. 5.
[14] 1993, p. 92
[15] 2005, p. 108
[16] 2005, pp. 106-108
[17] 2005a, pp. 33.
[18] 1974
[19] 2005a, pp. 134.
[20] Assagioli on the Self
[21] 2005a, pp. 69.
[22] Assagioli on the Self
[23] Ibid.
[24] 2000c.
[25] 2005a, p. 34
[26] 2005a, p. 34
[27] 2005a, p. 36
[28] 2000, p. 19
[29] 2005a, p. 125
[30] 2005a, p. 131. An abridged and translated version is available on this website.
[31] 1973b
[32] 2005a, p. 134
[33] Guidelines for Psychosynthesis Training , by Roberto Assagioli
[34] The dis-identification exercise can be downloaded from this page.
[35] 2000, p. 12
[36] 2004, p. 15
[37] 2005a, pp. 131-32
[38] Assagioli on the Self
[39] 2005a, p. 137
[40] Assagioli on the Self
[41] 2000b, p. 466
[42] See Appendix 1. Here I have attached a meditation outline that I often use and give to the client.
[43] See note 40.
How to move forward
Here you can receive seven free meditations where you develop different aspects of yourself.
Also read the article Psychosynthesis an Integral Psychology and the biography of Roberto Assagioli
Read the introductory article about integral meditation
