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Association for the Advancement of Psychosynthesis

WHAT IS PSYCHOSYNTHESIS?

n its most basic sense, psychosynthesis is simply a name for the process of
personal growth: the natural tendency in each of us to harmonize or
synthesize our various aspects at ever higher levels of organization. n its
more specific sense, Psychosynthesis is a name for the conscious attempt to
cooperate with the natural process of personal development. All living things
contain within them a drive to evolve, to become the fullest realization of
themselves. This process can be supported consciously, and psychosynthesis
is one means to do this.

Cooperating effectively with this process can be assisted by a conceptual
understanding of the nature of this evolution, and by practical techniques.
Psychosynthesis provides these and integrates them into an inclusive and
ever growing framework designed to support the individual, groups, and the
planet in their process of unfolding.

As an inclusive approach to human growth, Psychosynthesis dates from 1911
and the early work of Roberto Assagioli, an talian Psychiatrist. Though one of
the pioneers of psychoanalysis in taly, Assagioli maintained that Freud had
not given sufficient weight to the "higher" aspects of the human personality,
and recognized a need for a more inclusive concept of humanity. From this
beginning Assagioli and an increasing number of psychotherapists, educators,
physicians, social workers, clergy, and others have worked to develop and
refine this inclusive view of human growth. The task is considered to be an
open one, one that will never by finished. Each year, new discoveries in
psychology, new developments in education, religion, anthropology, physics
and other disciplines add to the principles and to the techniques of
Psychosynthesis. Psychosynthesis, by its very nature, is always open to new
approaches to human development.

Over the past sixty years, a number of conceptual points and a number of
methods have proven themselves to be fundamental. These provide a
working structure for Psychosynthesis.

A SYNTHESIS OF MANY TRADITIONS
Any comprehensive psychological and educational approach to the
development of the whole person must draw from many traditions. While
Eastern disciplines often have tended to emphasize the spiritual side of being,
Western approaches usually have focused on the personality level. But
humanity must be viewed as a whole and each aspect accorded its due
importance. Psychosynthesis recognizes that we have a transpersonal
essence, and at the same time holds that the individual's purpose in life is to
manifest this essence, or Self, as fully as possible in the world of everyday
personal and social existence.


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STAGES IN PSYCHOSYNTHESIS
Every person is an individual, and the psychosynthesis of each person follows
a unique path. At the same time, the overall process of psychosynthesis can
be divided into two stages: personal and transpersonal. n personal
psychosynthesis, the integration of the personality takes place around the
personal self, and the individual attains a level of functioning in terms of work,
relationships, and general living that is satisfactory to him and which might be
termed "healthy" by current standards.

n the transpersonal stage the person learns to achieve alignment with and to
transmit the energies of the transpersonal Self, manifesting such qualities as
responsibility, the spirit of cooperation, global perspective, love and purpose,
and having access to his or her own inner guidance and wisdom.

Often the two stages overlap: there can be a considerable amount of
transpersonal activity long before the stage of personal integration is
complete.

METHODS EMPLOYED IN PSYCHOSYNTHESIS
Any method that assists in the personal evolution of a human being is a
method useful in psychosynthesis. To be maximally effective, we clearly need
to have a broad range of methods and techniques to meet the needs
presented by different situations and people. As each person must be treated
as an individual, an effort must be made to choose out of those available the
methods best suited to each persons existential situation, psychological type,
goals,d desires and path of development. Some of the methods more
commonly used include guided imagery, movement, gestalt techniques, self-
identification, creativity, meditation, will development, symbolic art work,
journal keeping, ideal models and development of intuition, and many more.
The emphasis is on fostering an on-going process of growth that can gain
momentum and bring a more joyful and balanced actualization to our lives.

As this process goes on, we gain the freedom of choice, the power of decision
over our actions, and the ability to regulate and direct many of the personality
functions. This entails developing the personal will--the will of the personal
self. Through this development we free ourselves from helpless or
preprogrammed reaction to inner impulses and external situations and
expectations. We become truly " centered" and gradually become able to
follow our own path, guided by our inner knowing, or true Self.

As we reach toward the transpersonal Self, we can liberate and encourage
the synthesizing energies that organize and integrate the personality. We can
make ever increasing contact with the Will of our transpersonal Self, which
provides clearer and clearer meaning and purpose in our personal lives and
our social tasks. We become able to function in the world more serenely and
effectively, in a spirit of cooperation and good will.

Psychosynthesis is a powerful and effective mode of wholistic therapy and is
rapidly gaining recognition in the psychological and therapeutic field. t is also
a positive and dynamic framework from which to view the evolution of our
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planet. Psychosynthesis principles and techniques have been used effectively
in education, medicine, politics and business. t is rapidly growing in its sphere
of application, range of techniques, and depth of understanding.

The "Star" Diagram


Assagioli's "Star" diagrams the relationship
of the personality (or psychological)
functions to the will and the Self. The
functions of the Self are awareness and will
and it is through the interaction of will and
the various functions that we interact in the
world. The variety of functions allows us to
note how complex and at the same time
unique each person is, for each individual
relies differently on the various functions,
operating with strength in some areas and
with weakness in others. This map also
points to the variety of ways we have of
creating change. One may impact on any
psychological function and begin a process
that changes the whole person. Techniques
in psychosynthesis, likewise, draw on the
various functions. Assagioli's "psychological
laws pertaining to will training" offer an
elaboration of the processes by which
change is created. For instance, his first law
states that "images or mental pictures and
ideas tend to produce the physical
conditions and the external acts that
correspond to them." The gift of this map is
its vision of the wholeness and richness of
the human being with the certainty that
growth is possible.


















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The "EGG" Diagram


Assagioli's original "egg" diagram
offers a view of the human psyche in its
many aspects. The layers of the
unconscious include: the lower
unconscious, the arena of repressed
and traumatic memories, fundamental
drives and impulses, and elementary
psychological functions; the middle
unconscious which is formed of
psychological elements similar to those
of our waking consciousness and
easily accessible to it.; the higher
unconscious carrying the elements of
transpersonal experience; and the
collective unconscious, defined
primarily by Jung as the unconscious
that carries archetypal experiences.
The varying layers of unconsciousness
are noted with dotted lines indicating
the permeability and non-rigidity of
these states, and likewise the fields of
consciousness, that awareness that an
individual may have in any moment is
also not a fixed point.
The Self, in this map, is viewed as both
the "", a center of awareness and will
anchored within the personality and the
Higher Self, the center of awareness
and will anchored in the transpersonal
dimension and accessing both
personal and universal experience.
n versions of the "egg" diagram that
have followed Assagioli's original
model, the Higher Self star has been
removed, or it has been drawn
surrounding the egg, or with an
equivalent "star" located opposite the
Higher Self in the lower unconscious
sphere. Each of these versions points
to the awareness that the Self exists in
all areas of the psyche, that as the
ground of being and the source, it is
not only accessible in "higher"
experiences but also in everyday life
(middle unconscious) and in the depths
of the experience of darkness (the
lower unconscious) .