'From a still wider & more comprehensive point of view universal life itself appears to us as a struggle between multiplicity & unity. A labor and aspiration towards union. We seem to serve that, whether we conceive it as a Divine being or as an impersonal cosmic energy, the spirit working within & upon all creation is shaping it into order, harmony and beauty, uniting all beings with each other through links of love, achieving slowly and silently, but powerfully and irresistibly the supreme synthesis.'

Roberto Assagioli (1888 –1974)

This quote from Italian Psychiatrist, and contemporary of Freud, Roberto Assagioli speaks to a profound idea; that there are archetypal patterns which exist both in the world we perceive outside and the perceiver themselves and, that it is in the alignment with, and utilisation of these essential patterns that we can as individuals & as a collective move towards healing, evolution and transcendence. Transcendence not just in a mystical sense but also in the more practical and everyday sense of moving beyond our divided and multiple selves, through inclusion & synthesis into an emergent wholeness; a psychological integration. Yet as a first step towards this it is necessary to recognize and become aware that our sense of 'I' is duplicitous, we are made of multiple selves, that can possess & obsess us at any moment.

Various psychological and spiritual traditions have throughout the ages acknowledged that we as we find ourselves are divided. In one moment part of us makes a decision to change or act , and in the next another part comes to the fore and resists this impulse in service of the status quo. It is in this way that we live our lives, pushed and pulled by a turbulent sea of in-congruent impulses, desires & states. It is these particular sub-personalities as Assagioli calls them that we often perceive as our pathologies. The reason for this perception and splitting of our awareness is that we are identified with only part of our psyche, not with the whole. If I see myself and identify strongly as a person who doesn't get angry, I will split off from any experiences, feelings and thoughts that don't fit this identification and these aspects of myself will become problematic, even though this aspect of myself could have value for my evolution and growth and has and could continue to, serve a useful function.

This same type of pattern can be seen in other larger systems such as families and organizations. For example when a family reaches a developmental stage or transition point that includes pressures that push the system away from homeostasis i.e. it looses its equilibrium, the system or family will often manifest symptoms. These symptoms might be a child having behavioral problems or an extra marital affair and, unsurprisingly these roles & behaviors are often pathologized & marginalized as a problem. The reason for this is often from a family or couple's perspective as part of the system, they are unable to see the whole, and the function that this behavior is playing which serves to maintain a particular state of relational equilibrium. So essentially what this means is that when we are identified with a part of a system, we are often unable to see each parts role in the whole, and the entire nature of how we perceive our experience is filtered through this limited perspective.

As such from Assagioli's integrative perspective the process of healing isn't about trying to change or remove these disparate aspects of ourselves but rather to understand their origins, their qualities, their intent & their needs, so they can be balanced and understood in our particular and unique ecology of mind. This is the analysis that must occur prior to the synthesis, this is the pulling apart & separating out of he psyche so it can be understood and dis-identified from, so this awareness can bring choice and power, as Assagioli states:

' We are dominated by everything with which our self is identified. We can dominate & control everything from which we dis-identify ourselves. The natural Mistake we make is to identify ourselves with some content of consciousness rather than consciousness itself. Some people get their identity from their feelings, Others from their thoughts, others from their social roles, but identification with a part of the personality destroys the freedom which comes from the experience of the pure I'

This process of dis-identification allows us to begin to take the helicopter view of our own mind, and begin to see our parts in terms of the larger context or as a whole. What this means is that we can essentially begin to see ourselves as a complex system of inner structures, thoughts, feelings and responses, none of which define the self, but are often artifacts of previous stages of development, patterns and habits of mind that have often previously served us as protectors & defenders. A worthwhile role, but often one that is no longer required and often causes many challenges in our lives.

So the first step in this process of dis-identification is awakening from the dream that what we experience in our inner world and in our mind, the perpetual self narrative that inevitably redefines who you are moment to moment through words, concepts images & memories is some how, all we are.

This illusion is a potent and profound one, yet the fact that we speak in terms of having a thought implies that their must be something to be having it. We don't think of ourselves as being thought. Yet while our self concept may be created by our inner narratives, this can change in a moment, yet the perceiver, the witness, the observer that has the thoughts is always there, unchanging.

For one to be able to move into this SELF identification allows the disparate aspects of our personality a integrated center or fulcrum from which the other often more unsure, scared, aggressive, anxious or neurotic parts of ourselves can be tended, cared for, loved and at times controlled. It is from this vantage point that we can watch or emotional reactions emerge, our fears rise to the surface, our desires wash over us and we can choose, how we will relate to this energy and what we will do with it. Therefore it could be said that this process of dis-identification is the first step of Solve, in the alchemical maxim 'Solve et Coagula', meaning essentially dissolve & reform. This is the process of dissolving the fixations that control or limit our awareness, and the aspects of personality that block the expression of peace and compassion that exists at the core of our being. Once we can identify with consciousness itself rather than its objects we lay the first stone on the path to integrating and sublimating those energies in ourselves that we would rather have avoided.

From a systems perspective this process of dis-identification allows the beginning of a total reorganization of inner relationships, a movement to another logical level from which the parts can be organized. From this higher or more central perspective, no aspects of our psyche are excluded, all aspects of our personality can be integrated into a greater whole. This means the point which forms the central hub of ones awareness, rather than being in a limited aspect of self such as those previously mentioned we move to a place where we are able to begin to restructure the ecology of our mind to form a system that is in service of our Will.

But whats the point of all this, you might ask? Why would I want to do all this? Well on this Assagioli is quite clear. Once the personality achieves this balance, the qualities of trans-personal consciousness, that which rests at the core of all beings a peace profound, can be expressed into the world through us, allowing us to become a conscious part of the great synthesis and know our particular role in the whole. Furthermore Assagioli states:

'A person who is able to be a living center of peace in today's world & who is able to radiate this peace powerfully, ceaselessly will be in a position to give needy mankind the benefits it lacks most & is in greatest need of'

This is the psychology of wholeness.

References:

Assagioli, R(1965) Psychosynthesis: A collection of Basic Writings. Hobbs, Dorman & Co.

Brown, M.Y(2004) Unfolding Self: The Practice of Psychosynthesis. Helios Press NewYork.

Parfitt, W. (2013) Psychosynthesis: Beyond the Elements. PS Avalon. Glastonbury, England.

Ferrucci, P. (1982) What we May Be: Techniques for Psychological & Spiritual Growth Through Psychosynthesis. J.P Tarcher Los Angeles.