Chapter 3: The Qualities of the Will and Chapter 4: The Strong Will

Here is a definition of ‘Quality’ from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/quality

quality [ˈkwɒlɪtɪ]

n pl -ties

1. a distinguishing characteristic, property, or attribute

2. the basic character or nature of something

3. a trait or feature of personality

4. degree or standard of excellence, esp a high standard

5. (formerly) high social status or the distinction associated with it

6. (Music, other) musical tone colour; timbre

7. (Philosophy / Logic) Logic the characteristic of a proposition that is dependent on whether it is affirmative or negative

8. (Linguistics / Phonetics & Phonology) Phonetics the distinctive character of a vowel, determined by the configuration of the mouth, tongue, etc., when it is articulated and distinguished from the pitch and stress with which it is uttered

9. (modifier) having or showing excellence or superiority a quality product

[from Old French qualité, from Latin quālitās state, nature, from quālis of what sort]

Chapter 3 The Qualities of the Will

This paragraph is a very short reprise of chapters one and two. In chapter one, the Will is presented as the dynamic “inner power” that decides, chooses, and persists in doing “what is to be done.” It is intimately tied to the core of the personality, the self. In chapter two Assagioli explains that the qualities of the will are the modes of expression of the-will-in-action.

Chapter Three explores the characteristic ways in which the will in action expresses itself, as exemplified by great and smaller ‘willers.’ Assagioli provides seven sets of such characteristics.

1.     Energy – Dynamic Power – Intensity

This dimension of the Will is clearly associated with the aspect of will Assagioli calls strong will. The “power element” is often quite necessary, but is not sufficient for acting either with skillful or good will. And, sometimes, Assagioli says, the will, especially under the influence of the higher aspects of the Transpersonal Will, can act without effort. Assagioli points out that the energy, power, intensity element of the will can be and is experienced when we meet with opposition to acting as we will. Then, he says, we experience the intensity of our will.

2.     Mastery – Control – Discipline

This dimension is related to the quality of energetic power.  It is essential in training to be able to do something, for example, play a musical instrument, and to acquiring the skills one needs to accomplish some goal.  Assagioli discusses discipline – out of favor in the 1970’s, and inhibition.

3.  Concentration – One-Pointedness – Attention – Focus

Assagioli states that this essential quality of the will comes into play very strongly in the skillful will aspect. His quotation from Ramacharaka’s Raja Yoga is both delightful and challenging.

4.     Determination – Decisiveness – Resoluteness – Promptness

Assagioli relates this quality of will to the stage of Determination, in which the need to decide is addressed and resolved in the stage of Decision. This quality is also needed in the stage of Direction of the Execution of a planned act or course of action.

5.     Persistence – Endurance – Patience

My mother would have called this quality or set of qualities “stick-to-it-iveness.” This quality keeps the willer steadfast through long, even seemingly fruitless endeavors, trials and tribulations. Sometimes, as in the case of Viktor Frankl, this quality is expressed in heroic measure.

6.     Initiative – Courage – Daring

This quality occupies a middle ground between requiring “full and complete security” on the one hand, and on the other foolhardy risk-taking dare deviltry.

7.     Organization – Integration – Synthesis

Assagioli says about this dimension of the will that it “operates in various ways. First as an inner synergy, coordinating the various psychological functions; it is the unifying force which tends toward, and enables one to achieve, personal psychosynthesis. It is also active at the transpersonal level and works toward the unification of the personal center of consciousness, the “I” or ego, with the Transpersonal Self, leading to the corresponding harmonious cooperation of the personal will with the Transpersonal Will (transpersonal or spiritual psychosynthesis).

Chapter Four – The Strong Will

Chapter Four presents a number of exercises to strengthen the will. The first exercise Assagioli presents is to use memory and imagination in reflection on what the lack of strength of will has cost you, followed by reflection on what the advantages a strong will would bring to you, and concludes with imagining and visualizing “yourself as you will be when you have attained inner and outer mastery.” He strongly suggests writing down in some detail the specific details of the first two reflections. Another exercise is to read material about people who have exercised strong will, and books and articles also by writers who write to awaken “inner energies.”

Once motivation is aroused by the first two exercises, the next exercises presented will strengthen the will through exercising it for the sake of strengthening it; through the medium of physical exercise; and through approaching daily life as an opportunity to exercise the will.

In the last few paragraphs of this chapter, Assagioli dispenses some advice I really like. He writes in relation to using the will to alternate between periods of activity and rest, “An ordered rhythm in our activities generates harmony in our being, and harmony is a universal law of life.” This leads into two other counsels. One is to harness other drives or impulses in service of the will, when one lacks the strong will one is trying to develop. He says pride, ambition, or play can be strong incentives and the will can use them. The other counsel is to take the attitude that opposition from others or difficulties in relationships offer us opportunities, the “parallel bars,” on which our will can exercise. 

Some Questions for Reflection

How would you assess your own current state of will vis a vis the qualities of the will Assagioli presents?

Which quality of your will was especially present/absent this week in relationship to your project?

Did you try any of the exercises to strengthen your will?. If so what did you learn?

Why does RA encourage us to "work in silence"? Is this easy or difficult for you?

The Act of Will Book Study - Now Underway - Chapters One and Two

The assigned reading for this first week is Appendix Four, and Chapters One and Two of The Act of Will. Appendix Four's title is "Historical Survey." In these few pages, Roberto Assagioli summarizes "briefly some of the more significant views of those who have dealt with the subject of the will." Beginning with Patanjali, moving through theologians and philosophers such as Augustine, Duns Scotus and Leibniz, Assagioli points out that they held the will as being essential to human being and action. He goes on to discuss some psychologists' conceptions of the will, asserting that many psychologists have not been clear about what the will consists in, whether it is conscious or unconscious, or originates in one or another psychological function. And some have denied the existence of the will altogether, in favor of asserting a philosophy of determinism. In the work of humanistic, existential and transpersonal psychologists, Assagioli finds greater acceptance of the importance of the will, some interest in research within a broader and "more refined" scientific method, and an openness to the idea that the will can also relate to a transpersonal dimension of experience.

Chapter One situates The Act of Will in contemporary culture. Assagioli describes the strained quality of much of life in these times, its frantic pace, and the multiplicity of demands and responsibilities faced by contemporary humans. He states that disparity has been increasing between these external demands and the degree of internal strength and resilience to meet them. This creates more disturbance, discouragement and frustration. He describes two ways of meeting this situation. One is by simplifying external life to the extent possible, and the other is by strengthening the "inner powers". There are limits to the ability to simplify. Strengthening the inner powers is essential and in this, the will is foundational. "There are two reasons for this: the first is the will's central position in man's personality ... his very self. The second lies in the will's function in deciding what is to be done, in applying all the necessary means for its realization and in persisting in the task in the face of all obstacles and difficulties." The chapter ends with the same thought that ends Appendix Four, "Therefore I believe that the right procedure is to postpone all intellectual discussions and theories on the subject, and begin by discovering the reality and the nature of the will through its direct existential experience."

I am struck by how well Assagioli was able to see the then-contemporary culture in which he lived. If anything, the concerns he expressed about the tension, the exhausting demands, responsibilities and pace of life, have only been magnified 30 years later. Now as never before, ability to focus, to attend and to sort through the magnitude of what we face is eroded by a deluge of fragments of information, images and sensory overload. Now more than ever humans need to cultivate the capacities of will as a dynamic regulating, integrating dimension of the self.

Chapter Two begins the description of what is an existential experience of the will. It occurs in three phases, Assagioli says: recognizing that the will exists; realizing that I have a will; and discovering that I am a will. He describes some ways that discovery of the will can come about. He discusses resistances to experiential exploration and development of the will. These are related to misunderstanding of the nature of the will, human inertia, and unwillingness to exert the effort or pay the price to develop the capacities of will. However, with some effort, a person can begin to understand that she or he has a will that is intimately tied to his or her own self. Unlike an earlier phase in which consciousness is identified with the contents of consciousness, when a process of self-identification is engaged, self-consciousness strengthens, and consciousness is no longer identified with its contents.

As one begins to understand that there is a very close relationship between the personal self (the 'I') and the will, one becomes aware of the need to understand just what that relationship is. One wants to know how to increase and consolidate the existential experience of 'I' and will. Assagioli presents the famous "star diagram" to explicate the set of relationships among personal self, will, and psychological functions. "Through the will, the I acts on the other psychological functions, regulating and directing them." Then he goes on to assert that there is a Transpersonal Self and a Transpersonal Will, which "is a function of the Transpersonal Self." He presents the well-known "egg diagram" to show these relationships. More on this in a later chapter.

Next, Assagioli describes the aspects or facets of the will, and states that each can be trained. These aspects are: the strong will, the skillful will, the good will, and the Transpersonal will. He briefly describes each of these, noting that each has a relationship with the others. Together they can balance, modulate and enhance each other. The chapter ends with remarks on the Transpersonal Will, which is the "will of the Transpersonal Self." Assagioli points to the "field of relationship within each individual between the will of the personal self or I, and the will of the Transpersonal Self." That field of relationship "leads to a growing interplay between, and ultimately to the fusion of, the personal and transpersonal selves, and in turn to their relationship with ultimate reality, the Universal Self, which embodies and demonstrates the Universal, Transcendent Will." Note the direct and vertical line from I and personal will, to Transpersonal Self and Transpersonal Will, to Universal Self and Universal Will.

It will become clear that through training the will in its various aspects, qualities and phases, we can grow in our awareness of personal self, transpersonal (higher) Self, and unity with Universal Self.

Reading Schedule for The Act of Will Book Study

The Act of Will by Roberto Assagioli

Reading Schedule 

Week 1 Appendix Four, and chapters 1 & 2

Week 2  chapters 3 & 4

Week 3 chapters 5 & 6

Week 4 chapters 7 & 8

Week 5 chapters 9 & 10

Week 6 chapters 11 & 12

Week 7 chapters 13 & 14

Week 8 chapters 15 & 16

Week 9 chapter 17, The Will Project, and Appendix One

Week 10 Appendix Two, Appendix Three, and Appendix Five

Week 11 Sum-Up and Evaluation Week

Real-Life Application

In addition to reading and discussing the book, each participant is strongly encouraged to choose a project of some kind (no matter how large or small) that will serve as a real life application of what is learned in their reading and reflection.  The real life application should be something that matters to you and will take some discernment, decision-making and planning to carry out. It should exercise aspects of the will such as strong will, skillful will and good will.

Telephone Conference calls begin January 24th. If you are interested in being a participant, please email carla@centerforawakening.org or carlapeterson (at) clearwire (dot) net.

New Book Study! Assagioli's The Act of Will

The beginning of the year, when so many of us make New Year's resolutions, is a very good time to read The Act of Will. Most people have had the experience of making resolutions and then not carrying them out. Then we complain about not having enough will power. If you have had this happen in your life, perhaps you would like to engage in the upcoming "Book Study Plus."

We will read Roberto Assagioli's The Act of Will, over a period of 10 weeks, followed by an 11th week of summing up and evaluation. We will discuss the book, dialog about it, and also choose and carry out a "real-life application" of what we learned (that's the 'Plus'). Book Study Plus begins on January 24, 2012. Weekly conference calls allow discussion of both the book and the real-life applications.  On at least a weekly basis, this blog will summarize and pose questions on the readings and participants' personal experiences of applying them. Comments by participants will be encouraged.

If you would like to join Book Study Plus, there's still time. Email carlapeterson (at) clearwire.net. (Note that you will have to enter the email address a bit differently than it is written here. My attempt to cut down on spam).