The reflection I had when reading Chapter 2 was about shadow and the recent publications about the shadow effect that are so popular right now. PSers have also raised questions about "dealing with AAP's shadow" and I'm sure I wouldn't know where to begin on that discussion. But, we all have one, and shadow and I are ONE.Our telephone conference discussion today was lively and interesting as we tried to grapple with the chapter itself, our own experiences involved with the wholeness of the higher Self and the fragmentation and conflicts within the personality. We seemed to agree that we are multidimensional as human beings and that the journey involved in reaching out to the spiritual and also living out the spiritual call of the higher Self is an arduous one, as Assagioli states in the chapter.
The shadow concept was not discussed in the conference call. So, I am wondering what others think about the relationship among ego or personal self, subpersonalities, shadow, unconscious drives and conflicts, the superconscious, and the higher Self. There seems to be disagreement among Psychosynthesis writers and practitioners about some of these matters, and it would be interesting to hear from others who have been thinking about these concepts as they have read chapter two.
Regarding the 'shadow'. As far as I know this is not one of the PS concepts discussed by Assagioli. In relation to AAP, I tend to look at it more in terms of developmental stages and still working toward reaching maturity on the one hand. Or in terms of the PS framework, working toward harmonious integration of the various subpersonalities - so to speak.
ReplyDeleteDianne, as you say, in PS no part is rejected or destroyed but brought to its rightful (healthy) expression in the whole system.
Hedi
From what I can tell, the Jungian concept of the Shadow relates to the unconscious and the repression of feelings and thoughts through disowning or denying them. Various Jungians discuss means whereby to know one's shadow, "romance" it, have dialog with it, or detect it through dreams or the owning of one's projections onto other people. The general notions seems to be that in making the shadow aspects in the unconscious rise into consciousness, accepting them and owning them, we become more whole, more "real" and wise.
ReplyDeleteAssagioli does address the importance of bringing what is in the unconscious into consciousness, and he makes it clear that the unconscious is more than the repressed and denied material of either the personal or the collective unconscious. This 'more than' includes the superconscious area of the unconscious. In addition there is the intermediate area of the unconscious in which material is processed and later emerges into consciousness as answers, solutions to problems, a sense of having settled a decision or consolidated some new learning, etc.
As Assagioli points out in chapter 3 of Psychosynthesis, there can be dangers and drawbacks to an exploration of the unconscious. He recommends beginning with exploration of the conscious, and "fractionating" work with the unconscious. This prevents some of the difficulties that can happen, such as being submerged and overwhelmed by unconscious material and energies. For Assagioli, the ultimate goal is to be a human being who has achieved Self-realization, "the realization of the Self, the experience and awareness of the synthesizing spiritual Center." It means a shift in the center of gravity, so to speak, an expansion of consciousness to a higher perspective that transcends that of the personal 'I."