Soul
Soul
Soul
by Mark K. Thomas http://neteze.com/mkthomas/psycsoul.htm 7/21/97 California Institute of Integral Studies EWP 742 - The Psychology of Consciousness Instructor Daniel Deslauriers, Ph.D. "Consciousness is dependent upon its vehicle for expression, and both are dependent upon life and energy for existence." (Bailey, 1965) Introduction. The major thesis of this paper is an advocation of an approach to consciousness research which involves integral studies and psychospiritual practice, and thus involves the researcher's own self, consciousness, and life as the instrument and laboratory of research. As Alice Bailey (1960) states, there is "a science of spiritual knowledge and a technique of development" by which human beings can attain mystical experience and know Spirit. This science deals with the training and right use of the mind (e.g. as in esotericism, Raja Yoga, and psychosynthesis). "The ultimate solution of our world problem lies" in the achievement of an integral, balanced, and synthetic teaching which will result from the uniting of the best knowledge, wisdom, and thought from East and West. This paper hopefully will represent a work-in-progress synthesis of my thought and writings while at CIIS on the topic of transpersonal psychology and consciousness with a focus on psychosynthesis, esoteric psychology, spiritual philosophy, and the thought of Roberto Assagioli and Alice Bailey. Therefore, much material may not be fully integrated; much of the material from these spiritual, esoteric, and occult teachings have not been translated into the best modern scholarly language. There are two important dimensions to these writings: the theoretical and the practical. This is an ongoing project for myself: translating esoteric/theosophical ideas, concepts, theories, and constructs (particularly Alice Bailey) into a modern scholarly format, for there is much rich material in those teachings that is useful to the development of understanding the human condition and nature. Additionally, it is ongoing project to further develop these esoteric spiritual teachings into a format more accessible and practical for people interested in promoting their own psychospiritual development as Roberto Assagioli began with psychosynthesis.
Roberto Assagioli's Approach to the Study of Consciousness. Assagioli advocated the attainment of spiritual knowledge through the spiritual science of the mind as a means to further the well-being and development of humanity. The field of inquiry is the Metaphysical Universe. The universe to be explored is the Collective Unconscious. The reality and the characteristics of the Superconscious are what is be proved. What epistemology, or the way of knowing, is involved in transpersonal/esoteric psychology? The organs of perception is primarily the integrated mind, consisting of the intellect (lower manas), the abstract intelligence (higher manas), and the intuition (buddhi or pure reason). Knowing is done self-consciously, with intentionality, and in disciplined manner, on one hand. However, life is the laboratory for experimentation and research. Thus there is no script. Each aspirant to spiritual knowledge of the true understanding of consciousness must find this knowledge by his/her own efforts and on a path as unique as her/his own transpersonal Self. Experience is the true teacher. The esotericist is Self-taught.
What ontology is involved? The way of being is intentional self-awareness, higher Selfconsciousness, acting as the Observer, the transpersonal Self, that is, "the center of pure selfconsciousness and will." The instrument of research is the self. This instrument must developed, tuned, trained, and/or equipped. The "lens" of the instrument is the mind which must be built, fashioned, cleared, cleaned, and/or adjusted. Psychosynthetic techniques such as meditation, disidentification exercises, will training and others are used to develop the instrument and its lens (Assagioli, 1973). Qualities such as courage, compassion, perserverance, honesty, patience and other virtues are fostered. From the esoteric/theosophic angle, the training of the human being as an investigator of the metaphysical universe involves; occult meditation, study of spiritual works, and service. Occult meditation has the purpose of the development of Self-consciousness, purification of the instrument, spiritual body building, awakening of the esoteric sense. It is meant to develop the vertical relationship. Spiritual study has the purpose of equipping the mind with knowledge, mental expansion, establishing contact with spiritual ideas, and providing inspiration (the breathing-in of spiritual "air" or elements). Service has the purpose of being consciously involved with the evolution of humanity. It develops group consciousness, provides grounding, and horizontal contact. It involves "heart" development, and the demonstration of the reality of spiritual unity in the physical life. A primary thesis of this paper is: The personal self of the researcher is to be used as the primary instrument of research, and the life and consciousness as the laboratory. Much as the physical scientist, a chemist or astronomer, uses a microscope or telescope, research and investigate the physical world, the consciousness scientist uses his or her own mind, psyche, and brain to research and investigate the superconscious. This is especially relevant since the microscope or telescope CAN NOT be used to study the superconscious. The methods of traditional science are inadequate to consciousness research. However, they are not totally irrelevant because the brain and biology are definitely relevant to the study of consciousness. One's philosophic position regarding the basis of consciousness is important consideration. Science aspires to be objective, however, since science is an human endeavour belief or philosophy must be a conscious part of the study. Philosophy, and/or theory, determines the mode of research chosen. If one believes that the brain is the base of consciousness, then one will use the methods of traditional science and attempt to explain consciousness only in terms of traditional consctructs such used biology, biochemistry, mathematics, and physics. This, I believe, has been the failure of modern psychology, to study that which is beyond, or "trans," the physical with the methods and constructs favored by the physical scienctist. These methods and constructs are not always invalid, but they are not capable of covering the full realm of phenomena presented by the consciousness, in my understanding of what the consciousness is. The belief in their adequacy to the task leads the investigator to adhere to philosophic reductionism. Since the philosophy behind any practice or endeavour is important, I will explain Assagioli's philosophical and spiritual orientation, which happens to be the same as my own--the esoteric/theosophical worldview as found in the works of Alice Bailey (1954, 1961, 1962, 1970). The reason that the self is advocated as the best instrument for true consciousness research is based on the position that the basis of consciousness is nonphysical. This position is held by Roberto Assagioli, psychosynthesis, and esoteric philosophy. It might be assumed that within any school of psychology there can be found either a theoretical or philosophical position regarding consciousness. In some schools of psychology, such as
behaviorism, the topic of consciousness is either ignored or treated with disdain. In others, it is dealt with very explicitly as in the "psychology of consciousness" where it is defined, and conceptualized. However, in some schools, the definitions and concepts regarding consciousness are an implicit part of the psychology; they must be teased out of theories which are more concerned with psychological development, structure, or pathology. This is typically of the psychodynamic schools, and is generally the case in the transpersonal psychology of Roberto Assagioli called psychosynthesis. Consciousness is a mentioned often, but a clear definition of consciousness is not stated. The subject of "consciousness" is not discussed as it is in the field traditionally known as the "psychology of consciousness." No where in his writings, that I have found, does Roberto Assagioli say, "consciousness is defined as...." as might be found in traditional "psychology of consciousness." He does not label his philosophic position on consciousness, such as "naturalistic" or "idealistic." However, he does talk consciousness, its types, characteristic, functions, and tendencies. Here are some of Assagioli's views on consciousness compiled from his writings: 1. There is "consciousness," "field of consciousness," and "contents of consciousness," which implies a subject-object relationship. The conscious Self, "I" is the subject, thoughts and sensations are examples of objects that the self can become aware or conscious of [and perhaps, consciousness is that relationship of awareness between them]. (1973, p.12-14) 2. There are varying types and levels of consciousness: superconscious, subconscious, unconscious; higher, middle, and lower unconscious. (1973, p.12-14) 3. The "contents of consciousness" include sensations, impulses, drives, desires, emotions, feelings, thoughts, intuitions, instincts, and imaginations (1973, p.12-14). There are numerous functions, or types of consciousness or conscious perception: intuition, thought, impulse-desire, sensation, emotion-feeling, imagination. These are d irected by the will as directed by the self, "the center of pure self-consciousness and will (Assagioli, 1973, 1976)." 4. Consciousness can be expanded. (1973. p.31) 5. Consciousness can be directed by the volition, an act of will, of the self. (1973, p.10) 6. Content can pass from the unconscious to the conscious (1973, p.57). There is marginal consciousness, the semiconscious which lies between the unconscious and the conscious (1973, p.212). "If a sensory perception is to become truly conscious, i.e., 'apperceived,' it must remain in the field of consciousness long enough to be assimilated by the conscious "I" (1973, p.191). 7. There exists a "unitive consciousness" and "cosmic consciousness."(1973, p.17) 8. "The direct experience of the self, of pure self-awareness--independent of any 'content' of the field of consciousness and of any situation in which the individual may find himself-is a true, 'phenomenological' experience, an inner reality which can be empirically verified and deliberately produced through appropriate techniques." (1976, p.5) 9. There are "higher ranges of perception," "states of expanded consciousness," and the possibility of " awakening"; "Sane and effective ways toward the attainment of the sought-for states of expanded consciousness are indicated in the exposition of various psychosynthetic
techniques"; consequently, and importantly, consciousness can be expanded by self-determined efforts (Assagioli, 1976, p.vi). Roberto Assagioli was a pioneer in the field of psychology, one of the founders of "transpersonal" psychology along with Abraham Maslow. I think it will be prove useful to study his views on consciousness and its study. He did make explicit his definition of the superconscious because this is what contrasts his transpersonal theories from the traditional schools of psychodynamic psychology. Additionally, he made clear how study and research of the superconscious might be done best (Assagioli, 1991). Transpersonal psychology links traditional psychology with spiritual psychology, philosophy, or metaphysics. Roberto Assagioli was not only a trained psychiatrist and transpersonal psychologist, but an trained esotericist (or disciple in the esoteric-theosophic tradition as found in the writings of Alice Bailey). Assagioli attempts not only to integrate spiritual philosophy with psychology, but to integrate Eastern views of self, consciousness, and being with those of the West. Assagioli was someone who had very extensive experience with the study of consciousness both as an objective scientific observer and subjective scientific observer. Although, Assagioli had a strong philosophic background, he believed that psychosynthesis was a scientific endeavor to investigate, understand, and utilize the superconscious. The questions I seek answer are: What theory of consciousness can be found in psychosynthesis? What stance does psychosynthesis take on the mind-body problem? Can a definition of conscious be developed from psychosynthesis? Farthing (1992) states that "consciousness is not the same as mind. Mind is the broader concept: it includes both conscious and nonconscious mental processes (p.5)." This follows from his working definition of consciousness as "the subjective state of being currently aware of something, either within oneself or outside of oneself," because "being aware or having awareness refers to cognizance or knowing" (p.6). This definition can serve as a basis for discussion. Farthing's views are those of mainstream science and psychology of consciousness. However, important questions to ask are: who or what is aware? Who or what possesses consciousness? Is the brain the entity that is aware, or is something else, something which is interfacing with the brain that is aware of the brain as it processes input from the inner (psychic) and outer (physical) environments. Or, is something which is processing input from inner psychological environments and relaying it to the brain? Some theorists such as Chafe (1994) define consciousness as some type of interface between the entity and its environment. "Consciousness, then, is regarded in this work as the crucial interface between the conscious organism and its environment, the place where information from the environment is dealt with as a basis for thought and action as well as the place where internally generated experience becomes effective--the locus of remembering, imagining, and feeling. (p.38)" We will find that Assagioli's view of consciousness in one regard agrees with Farthing's definition: awareness as the central characteristic in defining consciousness. Assagioli accepts, consciousness as an interface between the entity and its environment. However, Assagioli believes that the environments that can be perceived are more than the physical. Internal experience is not only generated by the organism or entity; internal experience involves contact with content from the realm of the collective unconsciousness. Content which is not physical but neither unreal or simply produced by the organisms own internal processes. The psychologists so far mentioned have different ideas about the central entity that possesses awareness. Farthing's and Chafe's "entity" is the conscious biological organism. Assagioli (1973,
1976) posits a "Conscious Self," an "I," or "a center of pure self-consciousness," as the perceiving entity. Assagioli (1973) states that human consciousness is distinguished by the experience of self-consciousness, "the direct awareness of the self, the discovery of the 'I.' In reality, this experience is implicit in our human consciousness. It is that which distinguishes it from that of animal consciousness.(p.11)" Here it is notable that humans are not the only beings possessing consciousness; animals also possess consciousness, but generally not self-consciousness. Psychosynthesis uses many of terms and concepts that are found in psychodynamic psychology, particularly Jungian psychology . Concepts such as "the unconscious," "the collective unconscious," and "the subconscious" are central to psychosynthesis. P sychosynthesis goes beyond, "trans," traditional psychology by recognizing "the superconscious," "the higher collective unconscious," and the realm of "the transpersonal or higher Self" (Assagioli, 1976, pp.11-34). Transpersonal: "a term introduced above all by Maslow and by those of his school to refer to what is commonly called spiritual. Scientifically speaking, it is a better word; it is more precise and, in a certain sense, neutral in that it points to that which is beyond or above ordinary personality. Furthermore it avoids confusion with many things which are now called spiritual but which are actually pseudo-spiritual or parapsychological (Assagioli, 1991, p.16)."
May I emphasize the fact that the elements and functions, coming from the superconscious, such as aesthetic, ethical, religious experiences, intuition, inspiration, states of mystical consciousness, are factual, are real in the pragmatic sense (wirklich, to use the significant German word), because they are effective (wirkend), producing changes both in the inner and the outer world. Therefore, they are amenable to observation and experiment, through the use of the scientific method in ways suited to their nature; also they can be influenced and utilized through psycho-spiritual techniques. At this point the question may arise as to the relationships between this conception of the human being on the one hand and religion and metaphysics on the other. The answer is that psychosynthesis does not attempt in any way to appropriate to itself the fields of religion and philosophy. It is a scientific conception, and as such it is neutral towards the various religious forms and the various philosophical doctrines, excepting only those which are materialistic and therefore deny the existence of spiritual realities. Psychosynthesis does not aim nor attempt to give a metaphysical nor a theological explanation of the great Mystery--it leads to the door, but stops there. (Assagioli, 1976, p.6) In this paper, I am taking the position, as Assagioli did, that "the spiritual" should not be excluded from scientific study despite the difficulties involved in such an endeavor to study the intangible. The superconscious is intangible but not unreal. The study of the superconscious relies on the examination of internal psychological events that can not be measured objectively with physical instruments. Such a study relies upon the objective observation with the subjective instrument of the human mind. Materialistic and traditional scientific mistrusts the human mind. And not without good reason, the mind is easily deceived and most often biased. However, then the problem lies with the typical state of the mind and not it's potential state. The mind can be honed and trained to be an accurate and reliable instrument for the scientific -- systematic, methodical, experimental, and verifiable -- study of consciousness. Assagioli took up a position against the exclusion of the "spiritual" from the domain of scientific research and, in the name of authentic humanist science, put forward a method of experimental enquiry which did not restrict its attention to quantitative aspects, but supplemented them with the qualitative value of experience." (1991, p.11) Sergio Bartoli in the preface of Transpersonal Development explains how Assagioli advocated a scientific approach to the "spiritual" realities. Realities which, however, are rejected as real by those who dogmatically adhere to the materialistic world view and approach (1991, p.10).
Assagioli introduced the idea of the superconscious into psychological thought as a realm for legitimate study. Yet the important question is, if one is at least open minded enough to acknowledge theoretically the possibility of the superconscious: how can the superconscious be scientifically studied? A person's own psyche and consciousness provides a laboratory for active scientific research and experimentation.
Psychology, as the youngest of the sciences, has relied on or remained tied to the methods employed in the natural sciences, though these are not at all suited to it and serve it little better than the legendary 'bed of Procrustes'. Rather it has the right, and indeed the duty, to use methods which, though equally serious and scientific, are more suited to its nature. (Assagioli, 1991, p.10). Assagioli's transpersonal approach to studying the superconscious (1991, p.26): 1) The first stage: "collect together all the documents already existing on the subject: biographies, autobiographies, correspondence, etc., from different ages; then we need to obtain other data from personal interviews and questionnaires. 2) "The second stage of scientific inquiry is the examination, classification, interpretation and assessment of the data that has been gathered. 3) "The third method, and the most interesting, is the experimental one, that is to say the use of psychological methods for calling down elements of the superconscious into the realm of the conscious, or it could be methods for raising the centre of consciousness to the shining regions above." Assagioli found thirteen characteristics of the superconsciousness as the result of his own "first stage" research (1991, pp.26-28): 1) "a sense of depth...leaving the ordinary level of consciousness and reaching the very depths of what they are"; 2) "the sense of internalization--moving from the external to the internal, from the periphery to the centre of our being"; 3) "being lifted up, or ascent: rising up to a higher level 4) "path or way along which one must travel"; 5) "expansion or the sometimes bewildering enlargement of the consciousness"; 6) "development and activation, a sense of being freed from the tangles and hindrances that ensnare us so that we are able to 'blossom' or emerge. 7) "an empowering: we feel a greater energy coursing through us, making us stronger and more dynamic"; 8) " awakening...'I awoke to a higher reality"; 9) "a sense of enlightenment, a new unearthly light which transfigures the external world, and a light which reveals a new beauty"; 10) "a sense of joy and happiness which may result in a state of bliss"; 11) "a sense of renewal or regeneration, the birth of a new being within us"; 12) "the sense of resurrection, of rising up to a state which had been lost and forgotten"; 13) "the sense of liberation, an inner freedom." Some of the most reliable and methodological means of experiencing and knowing the superconscious and its characteristics is by meditation, specifically Raja Yoga and esoteric types of meditation which focusses on the development of self-consciousness, intentionality, purification, control, concentration, discrimination, integration, intellectual and intuitive clarity. Spiritual philosophies such as Esotericism, Theosophy, and Raja Yoga, Vedanta posit a spiritual entity independent of the body -- actually they state all manifestation is the result of an all pervading Consciousness, and not the cause of it. In addition to the above, there are other perplexing questions I ask and seek to begin examining in this paper, such as: Is consciousness the relation between a subject and an object or environment? Where does the subject end and consciousness begin, where does consciousness end and environment begin. Can subject, consciousness, and environment be separated, or are they just different aspects of a continuum
of consciousness? What is it in esoteric "philosophy," "psychology," and "science" that can be useful in the more traditional study of consciousness. Following parts of this paper will look at three fundamental topics: 1. Consciousness and Psychology in Esoteric/Theosophical Philosophy; 2. Esoteric Influences in Psychology; 3. Psychosynthesis: A Psychology with A Soul.
I have pondered the best way to present my material as it relates to the study and research of consciousness from the perspective of the transpersonal psychology of Roberto Assagioli. Is it better to present the broader, more philosophic context and background of Roberto Assagioli which starts with theosophy and the esoteric writings of Alice Bailey? Or, is it better to start what is more recognizable (and acceptable) to modern transpersonal psychological thought. For some it weakens the creditability of scholar or a perspective to know that it is tainted by the metaphysical, the philosophical, and worst of all the occult (esoteric). Of course, what was esoteric yesterday is mainstream today. I will start with the broad, philosophical context. In this way the reader might then better appreciate the task of translating the ageless wisdom, and the spiritual realities as testified to in various ways by the mystics and sages, into modern psychological language and into models or constructs useful to the scholarly endeavor. For instance, what is the epistemological and ontological perspective of the Alice Bailey teachings? ******************* In this paper, I will also examine the esoteric/theosophical approach to human psychology and consciousness in three ways: (1) what it is, (2) the influence it has had on western psychology, and (3) the contribution it can make to the field of psychology and consciousness research, and toward the gaining of a complete understanding of human psychology and spirituality. I will also discuss this approach and how it compares to contemporary transpersonal thought, as represented by Ken Wilber and o thers. Esoteric concepts will be not only compared to Roberto Assagioli but to the most contemporary transpersonal thought, specifically the theories of Ken Wilber. I will note the similarities between Wilber's transpersonal philosophy and theosophical philosophy, both of which contain elements of the great philosophies of East and West. However, more than just containing the elements of those philosophy, both view themselves as integrating, synthesizing, clarifying and revealing the essential truths of East and West. For there is truly only one Truth and one Whole. Finally, there will be a delineation of Assagioli's views on consciousness.
The
esoteric/theosophical
view
of
reality
and
consciousness?
First, it is appropriate to provide a context for an examination of esoteric philosophy and psychology by stating the three fundamental postulates mentioned in the Proem of The (1) Secret Doctrine by H.P. Blavatsky, which are expanded and clarified in The Treatise on Cosmic Fire by Alice Bailey, these two being the primary authors of theosophical/esoteric teachings and the two great works which outline the grand scheme: I. There is one Boundless Immutable Principle; one Absolute Reality antecedes all manifested conditioned Being. It is beyond the range and reach of any human thought or expression.
II. There is basic law called the Law of Periodicity. ...Every manifested life has its three great cycles: Birth.................Life................Death.... Involution............evolution...........obscuration. III. All souls are identical with the Oversoul. ...The Logos of the solar system is the Macrocosm. Man is the Microcosm. (Bailey, 1962, pp.3-7)
(2)
1. THE UNITY OF ALL LIFE. God (the Universal Mind, Energy, Force, the Absolute, the Unknown, the Divine Being) is immanent and transcendent of Creation. God is the Unified Life Field that binds all the lives and life forms. God both provides both the material and spiritual essence by which Reality and Life as we can understand it exists. God Immanent is within all forms. God Transcendent is a great Spiritual entity whose life and consciousness extends far beyond His form. God is one with Creation and all lives within it are one with God. 2. THE PURPOSE OF LIFE. The evolution of consciousness within all forms. The purpose of life for human beings is to evolve spiritual consciousness. Evolution of the life proceeds in a progressive cyclic manner. 3. KARMA. Human evolution proceeds in a progressive cyclic manner according to the Laws of Cyclic Reappearance or Rebirth and The Law of Karma. Which dictates that in each reappearance or incarnation that entity must work with the matter and energy which he/she conditioned previously. Thus the thoughts, feelings and actions which the individual expressed or created comes back to that individual be they "good" or "bad." This is cause and effect; what one sows, one reaps. This an inescapable law of the universe as much as that of gravity. It governs ants, men, nations, planets and Gods. 4. THE NATURE OF TRUTH. The truth can be expressed in many ways. It can be found in philosophy, religion, science and art. The one inclusive truth can be realize from these different aspects. No one system to the truth or God is thus superior to another but must be based on the level and type of consciousness involved. There are as many paths to God as there souls. 5. THE PROBLEM OF LIFE. For the human being is to eliminate the hold of the illusory, lower worlds and self over his/her consciousness. The human being is redeemed when his/her personal side responses totally to the Will of the spiritual Soul (or Christ Self). The individual must consciously and deliberately strive to discipline and develop his/her response to the soul, and thus take part in the spiritual evolution of him/her self and the world. 6. PERSONALITY AND SOUL. The true individuality is the spiritual entity--the Soul--that incarnates through the threefold personality. The personality is composed of the physical body, emotional or astral body, and lower mental body or concrete mind, which function together as an instrument for contact with the lower world and for the purposes of spiritual development. The Soul is composed of the spiritual essence of the Divine Self.
7. THE SPIRITUAL PATH. The spiritual path is entered upon when the human being reaches the stage of development when he/she consciously realizes the goal of spiritual development and sets out to accomplish it. The individual makes a commitment to selflessness and adherence to the Divine Will as he/she can understand it through soul contact. Soul contact or consciousness is gained and maintained through true spiritual meditation which has many forms. Thus the paths of human beings to salvation are many, and involve service to humanity and God, meditation with the spiritual Self, and study (understanding) of spiritual works (knowledge). ********************** Terms need to be defined for the purposes of the study. "Esoteric" and "Esotericism" are used to refer to the esoteric/occult teachings of theosophists (like H.P. Blavatsky, Henry Olcott, Annie Besant, and many more) and neo-theosophists like Alice Bailey. This type of esotericism has its roots in the Indian subcontinent and uses the language and constructs of the Indian spiritual philosophy like Yoga and Vedanta. This type of esotericism is also referred to as "occultism" by the authors. It also integrates the Eastern with much Western religious, philosophical, scientific thought and language, and is thus a truly Integral teaching. Nevertheless, esotericism uses many common words but differently from their traditional religious, philosophical, and scientific usages. "Energy" in esotericism is essentially nonPHYSICAL, as is life and reality. Ultimately energy is abstract in esotericism, formless and spiritual. The human "personality" is considered to be interrelated bodies or fields of energy. The same is true of a planet or a sun. On the surface a physicist or biologist might not disagree with this until they understand that desire and mind and soul are considered "fields of energy," and that planets and suns are considered to possess them just as a human being does. It should also be noted that where psychosynthesis uses "transpersonal Self," and "superconsciousness," where esotericism uses "Soul," "Ego," "Higher Self," and "spiritual" and "egoic conscious" to refer to corresponding concepts. The "occult" refers the world of hidden forces and energies behind the phenomenal reality.
"Occultism" is the path of knowledge, it is the way of the occultist and sage. "Mysticism" is the path of love; it is the way of the mystic and saint. The esoteric path combines both ways. "True knowledge is intelligent love, for it is the blending of the intellect and the devotion. Unity is sensed in the heart; its intelligent application to life has to be worked out through knowledge." (Bailey, 1951, p.120) ************************ Esoteric cosmology and philosophy deals largely in triplicities and septenaries. The universe is seen as having three aspects, describe by Alice Bailey (1962) as: Electric 1st Person....Father. Solar 2nd Fire 3rd Fire, Life. or Purpose. or Love-wisdom. or Active Body, Intelligence. Spirit. energy. Soul energy. Matter energy.
Will.
Positive
Person....Son. by Person....Holy
Equilibrised or Negative
Esotericism and true consciousness research would be concerned primarily with the second aspect, although currently modern psychology and science is preoccupied with the third aspect. "Form" or "body" is this context includes the physical, the emotional, and the mental, which in
esotericism are considered the vehicles of consciousness. The three Aspects demonstrate through "seven types of differentiated force," or the seven Rays which condition everything in the universe (Bailey, 1962a, 1962b, 1970): Ray I ..Will and Power...........1st Aspect Ray II ..Love-Wisdom..............2nd Aspect Ray III ..Active Intelligence......3rd Aspect Ray IV ..Harmony, Beauty and Art Ray V ..Concrete Knowledge or Science Ray VI ..Devotion and Idealism Ray VII ..Ceremonial Order or Magic Esoteric psychology is also referred to as "the psychology of the seven rays." Alice Bailey wrote a (3) five volume work on the subject, "The Treatise on the Seven Rays." A ray is but a name for a particular force or type of energy, with the emphasis upon the quality which that force exhibits and not upon the form aspect which it creates. This is a true definition of a ray (Bailey, 1951, p.316)." Esoteric psychology is primarily concerned with the quality aspect or with consciousness, the 2nd aspect. All forms, from atoms to solar systems, from ants to humans, from physical bodies to spiritual bodies, from individuals to nations, from the mineral kingdom to the Divine Kingdom are expressions in some manner of the seven rays that qualify this universe. From the esoteric perspective, modern psychology has been primarily concerned with the form aspect and is thus not "true psychology," only with the development and growth of transpersonal psychology will "psychology" leave up to its name and be the study of the soul or consciousness aspect. A statement by Joan I Evans, the editor of Assagioli's Psychosynthesis Typology (1983), gives us an indication how the esoteric concept of rays has been integrated into a transpersonal psychological model:
In nature we see that different forms are evolved to express major archetypes which in themselves are manifestations of universal laws. These laws also apply to the ways in which our personalities are organized as inter-dependent and integral aspects of nature. The context out of which psychosynthesis models are being developed is that each Higher Self holds a pattern of certain attributes which guides the unfolding and realisation of each individual. The Higher Self is a coherent point of focus which qualifies and differentiates universal energies as they individualise; the personality is the field through which these universal energies are objectified. The pattern for each individual describes the whole, is unique and unfolds appropriately - i.e. within time - qualitatively affects the personality's integration. (Preface) Esoteric psychology's teaching is important, because when it is recognized that everything has a soul, it should also be recognized that there are seven types of souls resulting from the fact that each soul is conditioned by one the seven divine rays. Actually, according to esoteric psychology, individual souls are units within group-souls which are the sevenfold divisions within the Oversoul or Logos. Therefore, soul consciousness also means group consciousness. Thus the truly spiritually consciousness person is profoundly aware of his connection with all others and all life.
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In esoteric psychology the existence of the soul is accepted as a basic and proven principle--just as the unconscious is in depth psychology. "Soul" also is a word used to express the sum total of the psychic nature--the vital body, the emotional nature and the mind stuff. But it is also more, once the human stage is reached. It constitutes the spiritual entity, a conscious psychical being, a son of God, possessing life, quality and appearance--a unique manifestation in time and space of the three expressions of the soul as we have just outlined them: 1. The soul of all atoms, composing the tangible appearance.
2. The personal soul or the subtle coherent sum total which we call the Personality, composed of the subtle bodies,--etheric or vital, astral or emotional, and the lower mental apparatus. These three vehicles humanity shares with the animal kingdom as regards its possession of vitality, sentiency, and potential mind; with the vegetable kingdom as regards vitality and sentiency; and with the mineral kingdom as regards vitality and potential sentiency. 3. The soul is also the spiritual being, or the union of life and quality. When there is the union of the three souls, so called, we have a human being. (Bailey, 1962b, p. 55-56). In esotericism, all forms are viewed as having "soul," which is a term used interchangeably with the consciousness or quality aspect. All the kingdoms of nature and Nature itself is permeated by soul. Soul interrelates all. [However, in Alice Bailey writings, "the Soul" usually refers to the human Higher Self, corresponding to Assagioli's transpersonal Self.] This view compares remarkably well with the quote from Plotinus that Wilber uses at the beginning of his first chapter: So the world, grounded in a timeless movement by the Soul which suffuses it with intelligence, becomes a living and blessed being (p. 3). Wilber also uses the term "Oversoul" as coined by Emerson:
To emphasize that the Soul, the "aboriginal Self," is common in and to all beings, Emerson often refers to it as the "Over-Soul," one and the same in all of us, in all beings as such. The overall number of Souls is but one.
Though there are noticeable similarities between Wilber and Theosophy, it is the teaching of the seven rays which differentiates Theosophy from Wilber and from the great spiritual philosophies, East and West, that he embraces, synthesizes and expands upon. It the expansion upon the seven rays which also distinguishes Bailey from Blavatsky who first mentions them. Of course, she was not the first to understand the importance of the number seven or the septenary. The only modern psychologist who has introduced the seven ray system into a psychological framework has been Roberto Assagioli who published a monograph on the seven personality types called Psychosynthesis Typology. Alice Bailey's Esoteric Psychology is an "expansion of the words found in the Proem of The Secret Doctrine, that `All Souls are one with the Oversoul' (1962, p.xxii)." Anyone familiar and comfortable with Wilber's intricate schemology and his concepts of the interrelatedness of all life and forms, hierarchy and holarchy, the evolution of conscious and its ascending and descending movements, will not find the basic ideas of theosophical philosophy foreign, except that they are
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often expressed in mystical and occult language. Actually, Wilber's views are amazingly similar to the theosophical view even though he never mentions theosophy or quotes its writers. Energy is an important concept in esotericism. Energy, consciousness, spirit, and evolution are all closely related in esotericism. One cannot talk about one without dealing with others, whether explicitly or implicitly. All that exists are manifestations of energy as fields of energy, from an atom to a sun, from an amoeba to a human being, from a baby to a Buddha. Physical energy is a manifestation of metaphysical energy. Consciousness is the relationship between pure spirit and life and various levels of metaphysical and physical energy. The important principles of esoteric philosophy (Bailey, 1958) are: 1. All in existence is organized energy. 2. Energy follows or conforms to thought and attention. 3. The esotericist works in energy and with energy. Esotericism is simply not a philosophy to be studied and disseminated, but a system to foster the evolution of humanity and the planet. However, it's primary concern is not the evolution of form but the evolution of consciousness. Esotericism states that the evolution of form parallels the evolution of consciousness, as form is but the vehicle of expression for consciousness and spiritual energy. An true student of esotericism studies its theories, seeks to prove their reality, in order to be a knower and co-worker in the evolutionary process. Consequently, much of the teachings of esoteric/theosophy focus on training the student to be a Raja Yogi, and a "white magician," someone who has complete control over his or her personality and who can know, contact, and direct the energies in which she or he lives, moves, and h his or her being. as Esotericism seeks to develop individuals who are students, researchers, scientists, and technicians in the field of consciousness. Esotericism, because it is concerned with the evolution and well-being of humanity, also addresses social and political issues. It advocates "objectivity" but not the same disconnected, nonresponsible "objectivity" that most traditional scientists have tried to maintain. Esoteric "objectivity" means to "stand" at the "highest" level of consciousness possible, to understand the patterns and intentions of the Universal Mind, to be responsive and responsible to them, and to implement them into the three worlds of human existence -- the physical, emotional, and mental levels. Esotericism teaches that all individuals have "responsibility" as the term is conventionally used, and also that all human beings are developing a different type of "responsibility." Responsibility, esoterically understood, means they have the ability to respond to a certain type of energy. The energy of importance in this context is the Universal Mind, Soul, and Will, or the transpersonal Self and superconscious. Consequently, the esotericist has the ability the respond to the archetypal patterns and laws found in the Divine Mind. Depending on how it is languaged, this "responsibility" can have religious, philosophical, psychological, scientific, political, and occult overtones. Esotericism believes that there is truth embodied in all human expressions, and so the Alice Bailey teachings sometimes uses language and terminology from them all. An important project mentioned by Alice Bailey for the thinkers and educators of the world to accomplish is the integration of the best of Eastern and Western knowledge, techniques and abilities. For thousands of years all over the planet, the mystics and knowers have borne witness to experiences in subtler worlds where they have been brought into contact with forces and phenomena which are not of this physical world....These witnesses to the unseen to the unseen world spoke with words of power and gave forth messages which have moulded the thoughts of men, and directed the lives of millions. They have claimed there
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was a science of spiritual knowledge and a technique of development whereby men could attain to the mystical experience and whereby they could know God.... It deals with the right use of the mind, whereby the world of souls reveals itself and that secret door is found and opened which leads from darkness to light, from death to immortality and from the unreal to the Real. The ultimate solution of our world problem lies in our arrival at this knowledge--a knowledge that is neither eastern nor western, but which is known to both. When we have joined hands with the Orient and when we have united the best thoughts of the East with those of the West, we shall have a synthetic and balanced teaching which will liberate the coming generations. It must begin in the educational field and with the young. (Bailey, 1960, pp. 16-17) This quote contains the key points of my advocation (as mentioned in the Introduction of this paper) of integral studies and spiritual consciousness research which involves the researcher's own self, consciousness, and life as the instrument and laboratory of research: There is "a science of spiritual knowledge a technique of development" by which human beings can attain mystical experience and know Spirit. This science deals with the training and right use of the mind (e.g. as in Raja Yoga and psychosynthesis). "The ultimate solution of our world problem lies" in the achievement of an integral, balanced, and synthetic teaching which will result from the uniting of the best knowledge, wisdom, and thought from East and West. According to esotericism, the worlds that the scientist, psychologist, and consciousness researcher studies, both concrete and abstract are all but fields through which spiritual life energy expresses itself. The human being is a integration of interpenetrating fields of energy: physical, vital, emotional, mental, and spiritual energies. It is not a reduction or reification to speak of spirit and psyche as energy. The purest physical energy is but a grossest materialization of the lowest metaphysical energy. "Energy" in esotericism is often abstract and formless, b real. Yet not ut "real" as a traditional physicist or biologist might think of it. Patterns exists and laws govern, according to esoteric/theosophical teachings, from the level of the highest and formless Divine planes to the lowest material ones, and all consciousness, forms, forces, energies, and beings are subject to them. However, at the present, only the most rudimentary laws are now being grasped by the human mind. According to Bailey (1962), a basic law is called the Law of Periodicity, governs all that exists. Other fundamental laws are linked with this one. Three primary ones are: 1. The Law of Economy, which governs matter, the third aspect. 2. The Law of Attraction, which governs soul, the second aspect. 3. The Law of Synthesis, which governs spirit, the first aspect. Seven subsidiary laws are: the Laws of Vibration, Cohesion, Disintegration, Magnetic Control, Fixation, Love, and Sacrifice and Death. Each manifests on one of the seven planes of the universe, which are different levels or dimensions of energy-matter: the physical, astral or emotional, manasic or mental, buddhic or intuitional, atmic or spiritual, monadic, and divine. Other important laws are the Laws of Karma, Cause and Effect, Rebirth, Correspondences or Analogy, Attraction, Repulsion, Evolution, Love, and Synthesis. See Alice Bailey's Treatise of Cosmic Fire for explanation these laws.
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This brings the discussion to a primary thesis of esoteric psychology: "Consciousness is dependent upon its vehicle for expression, and both are dependent upon life and energy for existence"; according to Bailey (1965), this is "an immutable law and ancient occult truism," The vehicles of consciousness are composed of the energy-matter of the seven planes, conditioned by the seven rays, and g overned by certain fundamental laws. It is objective of esoteric and transpersonal consciousness research to understand these theories, experiment and experience in a spiritually scientific manner to discover whatever truth they may hold, and how this may assist the evolution of humanity. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ESOTERIC VIEW TO PSYCHOLOGY A knowledge therefore of the rays and their and activities is, from the standpoint of psychology, of profound importance, and hence this treatise. Alice Bailey, Esoteric Psychology, p. 129. It will be profitable examine the theories of esoteric psychology as it is presented in the works of Alice A. Bailey and how this view compares with those of modern (exoteric) psychology. Alice Bailey views modern psychology as having an important role to be play in the psychological development of humanity. However, it needs interjected into it the recognition and understanding of the soul and its nature. Esoteric psychology has an integrative and holistic perspective, and generally has no argument with the facts gathered by modern psychology, even its most materialistic schools, but only with some of its conclusions. Esoteric psychology addresses many of the same areas that traditional modern psychology does in regard to the personality such as structure, development, typology, and pathology. However, esoteric psychology is primarily concerned with the consciousness aspect An important question to be considered is whether the study and an understanding of esoteric psychology -- with its complex occult theories anent "rays" (spiritual and psychic energies with specific qualities that condition all forms), "planes" of energy/matter or levels of consciousness, and energy centers (chakras) -- would be of benefit to the modern psychologist and the student of the human nature. Alice Bailey states many times in her works that it definitely would because success will only occur in the scientific endeavor to completely understand human beings and their problems when the esoteric or occult causes behind the effects are recognized. Bailey in Esoteric Psychology states that the study of the rays will do three things: 1. It will throw much light upon the times and cycles in the unfolding panorama of history. In last analysis, history is an account of the growth and development of man from the stage of cave man, with his consciousness centred in his animal life, up to the present time wherein human consciousness is steadily becoming more inclusive and mental, and so on and up to stage of a perfect son of God. (p. 3) the the the the
2. A second result of the study of the rays will be to clarify our knowledge as to the nature of man. Modern psychology, experimental and academic, has done much to gather information as to how a man functions, what is the nature of his reactions, the calibre of his thought apparatus and the quality of his physical mechanism, the mode of his thinking and the sum total of complexes, psychoses, neuroses, instincts, intuitions and intellectual fixations which he undoubtedly is....The indebtness of the world to the trained psychologists cannot be estimated, but unless there is a key idea interjected into the whole field of thought, it will fall of its own weight, and produce (as it is already producing) problems, complexes and diseases of the mind which are direct results of its own methods. (p. 4)
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3. Not only shall we understand somewhat the inner side of history, not only shall we gain an idea (4) of the divine qualities emerging from the three aspects and determining the forms of expression on the physical plane, but we shall have a practical method of analysis whereby we can arrive at a right understanding of ourselves as ensouling entities, and at a wiser comprehension of our fellowmen. (p. 8) The key idea that needs to be interjected into psychology is the idea of the Soul which is one with all Souls, however, a Soul which is conditioned by one of seven rays or energy types. It needs to be understood that there are seven types of Souls which manifest through the complex human personality which is made up of a physical, emotional, and mental bodies, all of which are also individually conditioned by different rays. Roberto Assagioli has interjected this idea into psychology through psychosynthesis and transpersonal psychology. Ken Wilber is probably the most prominent contemporary transpersonal thinker and writer who is also interjecting "spirit" and "integralism" into the field of psychology. Thus the psychologist in his or her study and work needs to be aware of certain factors and to have certain questions in mind to clearly understand what he or she is observing or working with in regard to the complex of energies called a human being. For example, what expression does a soul on the second ray of Love-Wisdom have through a personality on the fifth ray of concrete knowledge and science? A knowledge of the rays and their expression through the various forms is important to gauge our opportunities, tendencies, strengths, weaknesses, capacities and limitations; we can thus more accurately determine our vocation and field of service. Esoteric psychology says consciousness qualifies form, contradicting the position of the materialistic psychologies which declares that form (with its brain and central nervous system) produces consciousness. Esoteric psychology agrees that there is no (or rarely) expression of human consciousness on the physical plane without the brain and the central nervous system, but states that these mechanisms are vehicles of expression for consciousness and not the cause of it. A study of esoteric psychology also provides the big picture regarding the psychological development of human being, the psychological evolution of humanity, and the significant role the science of psychology and its varying schools have, can, and will play in these developments. A study of esoteric psychology provides, if anything, great theoretical and philosophic vision. The proofs are to be worked out by the willing and dedicated psychologists and students. Esoteric psychology provides a paradigm into which all the vast array facts attained by modern psychology anent the human being can fit. Again, this basic understanding is that all souls are one with the Oversoul, and that spirit (life) and soul (consciousness) permeate all existence. Vision is important. All of the major influential psychologists had a strong philosophic position that seemed motivate their study and definitely colored their view of the human personality, and of the importance that the field of psychology could play in the development of human society. This possession of a strong philosophic position is present irrespective of how "scientific" a psychologist claimed his or her orientation to be. This would also include B.F. Skinner who claimed his school of psychology, behaviorism, to be the most "scientific" of all. It would be, I think, difficult to find a prominent psychologist, past or present, from Freud to Maslow to Csikszentmihalyi, who didn't have a vision and concern for the future development of psychology and humanity. "If there is a central task for humankind in the next millennium, it is to start on the right track in its efforts to control the direction of evolution." (Csikszentmihalyi, 1993, p.149) From the esoteric point of view, if one is to proceed along a path or line of development, one must have some perception, at least, of the next immediate step to be taken or the goal to be reached. The "vision" needed derives from clear intuitional and mental "sight." It is the type of vision that Plato's analogy of the cave illustrates the obtainment of. Esoteric vision might be defined as the perception or recognition of the ideas or patterns that relate to the spiritual development of
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humanity. They are abstract from the material point of view, however, very real on their own plane. The leaders of humanity and spiritual people of the world need to grasp (have the vision of) the next desirable development for humanity. I would guess that many writers and psychologists, past and present, especially of the transpersonal school, have studied and been influenced by what is called the Ageless Wisdom in some form whether through the works of Plato, Plotinus, Patanjali, Gurdjieff/Ouspensky, Helena Blavatsky or Alice Bailey. Roberto Assagioli, M.D., the founder of one influential school of transpersonal psychology, psychosynthesis, was an admitted esotericist and student of Alice Bailey teachings. However, most others probably prefer to stay "in the closet," or at least keep their "esoteric" and "occult" books there. Perhaps this is the case with Ken Wilber whose transpersonal philosophy is remarkably similar to the esoteric/theosophic in structure. Even Assagioli never mentions Alice Bailey openly in h major books Psychosynthesis and The Act of Will. Assagioli, in his paper is "Walls of Silence," says: The walls of silence under consideration here are of a more specific nature and concern the recognition of when it is wise and right to maintain silence about one's occult beliefs, esoteric training, or membership in one or another of the many occult groups and schools. We are not here referring to those whose life vocation and work is lecturing on or teaching occultism, but to the average student, aspirant and server who in his work and business contacts, in his home and community, in his other group interests or chosen exoteric service, mingles largely with people who have no interest or inclination (perhaps even antagonism) towards esoteric teachings. (Collected Papers, CIIS Library, p. 1) In Fadiman and Frager's text, Personality and Personal Growth, psychosynthesis warranted this paragraph: Another important transpersonal pioneer is Roberto Assagioli (1971). Assagioli was an Italian psychiatrist who studied with both Freud and Jung, and developed the system called, psychosynthesis. Assagioli (in Hardy, 1987) distinguishes two levels of work in psychosynthesis: personal and transpersonal. Personal psychosynthesis focuses on the integration of the personality around the personal self. Transpersonal psychosynthesis involves alignment of the personality with the transpersonal. Assagioli points out that the self at the personality level is basically a reflection of the transpersonal self. This last sentence states the basic position of esoteric psychology: the personality is a reflection on the lower planes of the Spiritual Self on the higher planes. Let us define these terms, esoterically. The personality is a triple combination of forces, impressing and absolutely controlling the fourth aspect of personality, which is the dense physical body. The three personality types of energy are the etheric, which is the vehicle of vital energy, the astral body which is the vehicle of the feeling energy or sentient force, and the mental which is the vehicle of the intelligent energy of will that is destined to be the dominant creative aspect. (Bailey, 1970, p.8) These four types of energy form what we call the lower personal self, but it is the higher mental aspect of the mind which links, subjectively, this personality and the soul....It is the lower concretising mind which must be awakened, understood and used with definiteness before the higher mind can become the medium through which knowledge can be gained of those realities which constitute the kingdom of God. Intellect must be unfolded before the intuition can be correctly evoked. (Bailey. 1970. p.68) We have mentioned above four "energies" -- the physical, the emotional, the mental and the intuition -- which could correspond Jung's, "functions." Also, "those realities which constitute the kingdom of God" refers to what Assagioli would call the "Higher Collective Unconscious"
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(Assagioli, 1965, p. 17-19), and the "Universal Will" or "Universal Reality" (Assagioli, 1973, p. 123). What is most beneficial to understand from the point of view of esoteric psychology is the fact that various and different energies (qualities) condition the personality and its different aspects. This leads to the manifestation of "types." Personality typology has fascinated humanity for ages and continues to do so. Today it holds great interest for both the layman and the serious psychologist. Astrology, the Enneagram and Jungian psychology all speak of "personality types." As previously mentioned esoteric psychology proposes seven types of energies: "rays," which condition form, of which a personality is one, and thus produces types. The seven rays are enumerated as follows: Ray I of Will and Power, Ray II of Love-Wisdom, Ray III of Activ e Intelligence, Ray IV of Harmony, Beauty and Art, Ray V of Concrete Knowledge and Science, Ray VI of Devotion and Idealism, and Ray VII of Ceremonial Order or Magic (Bailey, 1962, p. 2324). Each of a human beings bodies, aspects and energy centers are conditioned by a particular ray. A person's ray predisposes him or her to certain strengths, weaknesses, capacities and limitations. Certain activities and attitudes are easier for one ray type and more difficult for another. Ray type is important from the standpoint of spiritual and personality development. It will be obvious, therefore, that when the psychologist takes into consideration the various types of energy which go to the constitution of a human being and can distinguish (from study and investigation, plus understanding of the rays) what the energies are which are conditioning a patient, then great strides will be made in handling people. The nature of the human equipment and its internal relationship, as well as the external effects, will be better comprehended. Speaking technically, the extreme psychological position (as it is expressed in the Behavioristic School, which is essentially sound where the dense material mechanism of man is concerned) will fall into its rightful place. Material psychologists have been dealing with the substance energies and with the instinctual life of the organism. (Bailey, 1970, p. 294) Esoteric psychology states that each human being is at particular point of personality development upon the evolutionary path. Therefore, using one definition only in regard to "personality" is not appropriate or accurate. "Personality" can be defined in many ways. As Alice Bailey says: The word, however, is very loosely used, and it might be of value to give here a list definitions of the word "personality", both those in common usage and those used in the true spiritual significance.... A personality is a separated human being....This is the poorest and most loosely used definition; it applies to common usage, and regards each human being as a person. This definition is consequently not true. Many people are simply animals with vague higher impulses, which remain simply impulses. (Bailey, 1970, p. 264) This type are totally conditioned by their environment and instinctual equipment. Thus Skinner might not disagree with the last quoted sentence, if he would disagree with everything else about esoteric psychology. "A self is a repertoire of behavior appropriate to a given set of contingencies (Skinner, p. 199)." And, thus not a true personality. However, esoteric psychology states that each human being can develop and become "awake" with spiritual (Self) consciousness. Thus the esoteric psychology of Alice Bailey doesn't disagree with, but parallels, the spiritual psychology of G. I. Gurdjieff and his statement, "Man is a machine," which Charles Tart expounds upon in Waking Up (1986, p. 22). Esoteric psychology
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also says that the human is a simply mechanism or "automaton" until the spiritual principles are "awakened." A person may appear to acting intelligently and consciously, but he may be mechanically "running on automatic." By mistakenly thinking he is really conscious, he blocks the possibility of real consciousness. This is why it is so important to understand what Gurdjieff meant in saying that man is a machine. Gurdjieff constantly emphasized that almost all human misery results from the fact that our lives are automatic, mechanical affairs. You (your behavior, thoughts, and feelings) are the effect of external and historical causes, rather than the cause, the initiator of desired actions. The horror of this fact is that we do not have to be machines, yet we are, too much of the time. (Tart, 1986, p. 25) Each of the following definitions describe a different stage of the progressive development possible and inevitable for the human being as he or she goes through cyclic reappearances through a personality mechanism: A personality is one who functions with coordination, owing to his endowment equipment and the relative stability of his emotional nature, and his sound and rounded out glandular equipment. This is aided by his urge to power and the proper environing conditions. The above situation can work out in any field of human endeavor, making a man either a good foreman in a factory or a dictator, according to his circumstances, his karma, and his opportunity. I am not here referring in any sense whatever to the desirable coordination of soul and body, which is a later development. (Bailey, 1970, p.264-5) "Soul" as used above corresponds to Assagioli's transpersonal self. A personality is a man with a sense of destiny. Such a man has sufficient will power to subject his lower nature to such a discipline that he can fulfil the destiny of which is subconsciously aware." (Ibid, p.265) There are two groups within the above type. Those with no "soul" contact, and motivated totally by self-centered interest and ambition; and, those with a small amount of "soul" contact, and motivated by "a mixture of selfish and of spiritual vision." (Ibid, p.265) A personality is a completely integrated human being. In this case, we have a man whose physical, emotional, and mental natures can be fused an subsequently function as one, and thus produce a mechanism which is subordinated to the will of the personality. (Ibid, p.265) None of these stages, however, necessitate the development of any spiritual consciousness in the transpersonal sense. This last personality would a person who has complete what Assagioli would call personal psychosynthesis, the coordination of the various psychological functions (1974, p. 33). In relation to Maslow's theories, Assagioli says: "In the terminology of psychosynthesis, self-actualization corresponds to personal psychosynthesis (1974, p. 121)." A man can be regarded as a personality in truth when the form aspect and the soul nature are at-one. When the soul influences the personality and pervades all the lower manifestation, then and only then, does the personality measure up to its true significance, which is to constitute the mask of the soul, that which is the outer appearance of inner spiritual forces. (Bailey, 1970, p. 267)
Wilber describes this type of "personality" in a more dramatic and colorful way: And those persons through whom the soul shines, through whom the "soul has its way," are not therefore weak characters, timid personalities, meek presences among us. They are personal plus, not personal minus. Precisely because they are no longer exclusively
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identified with the individual personality, and yet because they preserve the personality, then through that personality flows the force and fire of the soul. They may be softspoken and often remain in silence, but it is a thunderous silence that veritably drowns out the egos chattering loudly all around them. Or they may be animated and very outgoing, but their dynamism is magnetic, and people are drawn somehow to their presence, fascinated. Make no mistake: these are strong characters, these souls, sometimes wildly exaggerated characters, sometimes world-historical, precisely because their personalities are plugged into a universal source that rumbles through their veins and rudely rattles those around them. (1995, p. 281-2) This sounds definitely like Madame Blavatsky, a forerunner, wildly exaggerated but plugged into the universal source. She was a solitary world traveller in a time when it was an oddity if not a scandal for a woman to go out on her own. She was a leaders of thought, an occultist, a scholar, and an adventurer, not only spiritually but physically. She inspired both great loyalty and great antipathy especially from the established institutions of religion and science. She had a terrible temper and an all encompassing compassion. She chained smoked and often used the crude language of a soldier, but could discuss the philosophical intricacies of any cosmology or religion or science with the finest minds of her time as an equal if not superior. The fire of her soul burnt so fiercely that her physical body was wore out prematurely. It was only by the enormous power of her will and help from her spiritual guides that she lived to be 60 years of age. This union between the Soul and personality corresponds to what Assagioli calls transpersonal or spiritual psychosynthesis: "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) [1974, p. 33]." "SELFrealization concerns...the superconscious, and pertains to Transpersonal or spiritual psychosynthesis.[1974, p. 121]." This final development of personality is the goal for the human being at this stage of human evolution.
The final definition which is given here, leads up to our consideration of the subject of the rays. The personality is the fusion of the major forces and their subjection (finally and after the fusion) to the impact of soul energy. (Bailey, 1970, p. 268) The goal of esoteric training is to produce individuals and integrated groups of individuals with soul-infused integrated personalities as in the quote above. These individuals and groups will be capable conducting psychological and consciousness research as seers and knowers of the psychospiritual realms. ************************************ The great traditional theorists and schools of psychology -- Freud and psychoanalysis and Skinner and behaviorism -- have played an important role toward the gaining of a complete understanding of the human being, but Alice Bailey says, writing in the 1930's, that:
Modern psychology is in a cul-de-sac. The many psychologies have made their contribution to the whole subject, and all of them have value, for all have embodied an aspect of truth....The fact of the soul is not yet substantiated; and in helping the truth into the light I seek to bring the subject of the seven rays to the notice of the thinkers of modern times, so that the light of this esoteric knowledge may be thrown upon the science of psychology. Thus may the work of revelation be aided. (Bailey, 1962, p. 128) The modern psychologist can play an important role in helping humanity achieve as a whole the realization of both the evolving self and the evolving consciousness within the form called personality. B.F. Skinner commented on the cultural and psychological evolution of humanity, but
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modern psychologists and thinkers such as Tart, Csikszentmihalyi and Wilber are including the critically important spiritual dimension in their work and thus bringing it to the forefront of discussion and thought in the field of psychology. Ken Wilber is also bringing the concept of spiritual evolution to the forefront, and having a major impact on the field of transpersonal psychology. As the "fourth force" of psychology, the transpersonal school, gains more momentum, the discovery of the fact of the "soul" or transpersonal self becomes possible scientifically because it becomes an acceptable realm of investigation. Today, modern psychologists such as Ken Wilber and Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi simultaneously speak in terms of biological, cultural and spiritual evolution. The pioneers of "transpersonal theory" such as Maslow (who is usually labeled "humanistic" and spoke of the "Being" realm), Jung (who is usually labelled "psychodynamic" and said the goal of human development is Selfrealization), and Assagioli (who has translated some of the concepts of esoteric psychology into terms modern psychology can almost stomach, e.g. Transpersonal Self for Soul) have started the process of leading psychology out of the "cul-de-sac" by recognizing humanity's higher nature in their theories and studies of human nature. It would be a definite benefit for the modern psychologist to study esoteric psychology and the rays, and be exposed to a paradigm able to synthesize and integrate all the facts accumulated by the various schools of psychology. But most importantly, understanding esoteric psycholohical theory would provide a clearer, broader and deeper perspective of human nature, and allow all concerned with the welfare and survival of humanity to find the solutions to do so. The study of esoteric psychology and science, as does the study of Wilber's transpersonal psychology, provides a vision that can include most of the knowledge attained in the other branches of psychology, in addition to science and philosophy. It helps the process of moving beyond the point where the advocates of a certain school claim that their particular tree is the whole forest, rather a whole part related to all the other parts that create the whole called the forest. Wilber describes the two legacies of Plato, "the Ascending" and "the Descending," and highlights the problem of Western thinking which it separates the Whole and focusses on one aspect or the other. That which needs to be taken together is separated. Apart either legacy is open to legitimate criticism. The goal, then, is to reunite the aspects of the Whole.
These two strategies--denying creation, seeing only creation, the Ascenders and the Descenders--have been the two main forms of the fractured footnotes that the West (and not it alone) has deeply and cruelly carved its initials on the innocent face of Heaven and of Earth. (Wilber, 1995, p.321) Plato's true legacy is one of w holeness and integration. "We can therefore summarize Plato's overall position in words that would apply to any Nondual stance wherever it appears: flee the Many, find the One; having found the One, embrace the Many as the One (Wilber, 326)." The question of the duality versus non-duality of reality is a matter of much debate in Eastern philosophies and modern thought related to them. Non-duality being considered the more sophisticated and correct view it seems. No one wants to be called a dualist. Yet to adhere to one position without consideration of the multi-layered, multi-aspected Whole does not serve Reality. It is illogical to take one position without considering that one truth may apply to manifested reality and another to "spiritual" or "ultimate" reality. The same consideration should be made concerning the developing consciousness of the human being.
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A quote from Alice Bailey (1951) concerning the spiritual evolution of the human being reminds us that "each" truth has its place in overall Scheme:
First, the Self identifies itself with the form aspect to such an extent that all duality disappears in the illusion that Self is the form. We have then the form constituting apparently all there is. This is followed by the stage wherein the indwelling Self begins to be aware of Itself as well as of the form, and we talk then in terms of the higher and the lower self; we speak of the self and its sheaths, and of the self and the not-self. This dualistic stage is that of the [spiritual] aspirant and of the disciple....Little by little however he becomes "absorbed" in the soul, and thus comes en rapport with all aspects of the soul in all forms until the day dawns when he realizes that there is nothing but soul and then the higher state of unity supervenes. These points need consideration and are valuable, for the schools of thought (such as the Vedanta and other mystical groups of thinkers) which emphasize the life aspect and appear to negate duality. Other schools (such as the Theosophical, in spite of denial) teach the fact of self and the not-self, and hence can be interpreted in terms of duality. Both are right and both need each other. It should be remembered that in the process of manifestation we work from a relative unity, through duality, to another unity....Thus it will be found that both schools are right, and that dualistic concept is a step upon the way to essential union with the One Life. (Bailey, 1951, p.375-6) (For further discussion of dualism/nondualism, see Appendix 1: "So, What's Wrong with 'Dualism'?") Bailey's position seems very similar to Wilber's description of the evolution of conscious from personal levels to the transpersonal. Note also the differentiation by Bailey of her thought from the tradition Theosophical school of thought. However, as did Jesus, she doesn't intend to eliminate the old law but to fulfill it. It is not proposed the essential teachings of esoteric/ theosophical philosophy are unique, these teachings are found in the ancient philosophies of both of East and West, in Plato, Plotinus, Samkaracharya and Patanjali, and many others. Esotericism seeks to do as Plato did to "picture forth the completeness of the Whole and the intricacy of the ideas which have come forth as an expression of that Whole (Bailey, 1962, p. 399)." It seeks to indicate the means to illumination and integration as Patanjali did. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are used as a textbook for spiritual aspirants on the esoteric approach to the Path. The concept of the involution and evolution of consciousness through various levels is found both in Wilber and Blavatsky, with the recognition that Blavatsky was writing about it a hundred years ago. For example, Wilber recognizes that "the great and rare mystics of the past," such as Jesus and the Buddha, as being both ahead of their time and ours in terms of the evolutionary development of consciousness (253). This point is made by Blavatsky in The Secret Doctrine:
Every "Round" brings about a new development and even an entire change in the mental, psychic, spiritual and physical constitution of man, all these principles evoluting on an ever-ascending scale. Thence it follows that those persons who, like Confucius and Plato, belonged psychically, mentally and spiritually to the higher planes of evolution, were in our Fourth Round as the average man will be in the Fifth Round, whose mankind is destined to find itself, on this scale of Evolution, immensely higher than is our present humanity. Similarly Gautama Buddha--Wisdom incarnate--was still higher and greater than all the men we have mentioned, who are called Fifth-Rounders, while Buddha and Samkaracharya are termed Sixth-Rounders, allegorically. (I, p.162) A PSYCHOLOGY WITH A SOUL
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Psychosynthesis interjects the key element missing into modern psychology, the element of the Soul, the spiritual or superconscious. Psychosynthesis has been called "A Psychology with a Soul" by Jean Hardy who wrote a book by that title and describes how it integrates both the scientific and mystical approaches to knowledge. Assagioli utilizes the concepts and the work of Jung and Maslow, probably the first transpersonal psychologists, to good advantage. Psychosynthesis and The Act of Will are the two major works of Roberto Assagioli, the developer of the psychosynthesis. One area that the transpersonal psychology of Assagioli enlightens and supplements the traditional psychoanalytic view is in connection with defense mechanisms. Although it is a comprehensive psychology, psychosynthesis is placed in the transpersonal school of psychology because of its inclusion of a higher consciousness, a transpersonal Self, and the need and drive for spiritual fulfillment in the center of its conceptual framework and theory of personality. Psychosynthesis provides an established and usable conceptual framework and terminology for the exploration of psychological defenses against transpersonal development and consciousness. As did Jung, Assagioli began his career in psychology as a psychoanalyst who eventually split from Freud. Thus psychoanalytic language isn't foreign to psychosynthesis. The topic of psychological defenses against psycho-spiritual growth is a familiar topic in psychosynthesis. In Psychosynthesis and The Act of Will, Assagioli presents the Disidentification/Self-identification exercise which leads to practitioner to learn to disidentify with the aspects of personality and its subpersonalities and to learn to identify with the "center of pure self-consciousness and of will (1973)." It was through personal use of this exercise that I personally became very aware of the anxiety and resistance the psyche responds with when one tries to disidentify with the personal self. This exercise I believe has its roots in psycho-spiritual meditative practices of Raja Yoga and other Eastern meditation practices used to develop mindfulness. Assagioli integrates the Eastern wisdom, but he also grasps the Western. Some might think of Plato as a "rationalistic" philosopher. He was and wasn't as Assagioli understands: There is another distinction which it would be well to make clear: the word "reason" has been used in two ways by philosophers. One employs "reason" to mean the mental, analytical concept of reason. This might be called Aristotelian. And it is the adopted, more or less consciously, by modern science and by "rationalistic" philosophers. The other conception of reason corresponds to the Logos of Plato and the Transcendental Reason of Kant and others. (1973, p.124) Assagioli's psychology seems very authentic because it not to incorporates the spiritual knowledge of the West but also that of the East. True spiritual knowledge is not essential different in East and West, no more than the tranpersonal selves of human beings are different. Yet each may express the One Soul in a way that is unique, in the same way the Rays are qualitatively unique expressions of the One Spirit. The Ageless Wisdom is beyond geographic and cultural divisions. Psychosynthesis not only incorporates the wisdom of Plato but the wisdom of Patanjali as found in the Yoga Sutras, which is a proven guide to spiritual growth. There are many similarities between the psychosynthesis of Roberto Assagioli and the yoga of Patanjali. Both focus on the practical side of guiding the human being toward realization and integration with his or her spiritual being. By comparing Raja Yoga and psychosynthesis we will find that they have in common the concept of the spiritual Self, its Realization as the primary goal, and the techniques for this achievement. Both systems utilized and advocate meditation and other psycho-spiritual techniques such as Disidentification and nullification to achieve realization and integration of the Self.
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I think it is important to understand that Assagioli did not just appreciate and study the Eastern philosophies, but that he was under the discipline of a spiritual system with roots in the East. As previously mentioned, Assagioli was an admitted esotericist, and one of the group of students or "disciples" receiving spiritual instruction in the Alice Bailey book Discipleship In the New Age. I mention this because it gives a better understanding of Assagioli's view of Self, personality and spirituality, and because the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are considered to be the most important single treatise from the world's spiritual traditions advocated in the Bailey teachings for use by the aspirant to spiritual realization. It is the only such work as a whole translated and commented on by Bailey. This under the title of The Light of the Soul. "The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are ever the textbook of disciples, initiates and adepts, for therein are found those rules and methods which bring the mind under control, stabilize the astral body and so develop and strengthen the thread soul that it can and does become a veritable channel of communication between the man and his [spiritual] ego (Bailey, 1951, p. 184)." I mention Assagioli's spiritual life because it shows that Assagioli was not u nconsciously or superficially using the Eastern spiritual philosophies. This doesn't distract from his achievement in my view, but elevates them. He was able to adapt esoteric teachings which most because find too abstruse and impractical into clear and practical psychological language. Also, he was a practitioner and teacher of the spiritual life and not simply a theorist. He was very pragmatic in his approach. On the other, a person doesn't need any inclination or consciousness of the spiritual or transpersonal to benefit from psychosynthesis as a psychotherapy or means to personal development. In Assagioli's psychology we see a synthesis of many concepts that can be called "Maslowian," "Jungian," "esoteric," and "yogic" Assagioli is, as Wilber is, eclectic in his appreciation of spiritual ideas and expressions; he mentions and uses ideas and concepts from many mystical and spiritual writers, artists, philosophers, psychologists and traditions including, to only name a few, Thomas Aquinas, Evelyn Underhill, William James, Vivekananda, D. T. Suzuki, Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, and Hinduism Personal psychosynthesis is the integration of the personal self around a center on the personal level of consciousness. While spiritual psychosynthesis is the integration of all personal aspects, which make up the personal self around a center on the level of the superconscious, the transpersonal Self. There are not truly two separate entities, the personal and the transpersonal, but only the manifestation and awareness of the Self all different levels of consciousness. The "Self" is an important concept upon which to compare Raja Yoga and Assagioli. Both Patanjali and Assagioli refer to the Self. Assagioli uses the term, "transpersonal Self." Both refer to the spiritual Self as recognized in the Samkhya and Vedantic tradition, i.e. Purusha and the Atman. Though I am comparing psychosynthesis with Raja Yoga, Assagioli refers to terms and concepts from the Vedic, Samkhyan, and Vedantic traditions also. Patanjali refers to "Self" as Purusha and "God" as Ishvara. Assagioli (1973) mentions "Atman" (p. 125) and "Purusha" (p. 250). He uses adjectives such as "noumenal," "true," "real," "spiritual," and "superconscious" in relation to the Self. To better understand Assagioli's concept of the transpersonal Self, it is helpful to understand that he accepts Jung's concept of the collective unconscious but differentiates it into three general regions: the lower unconscious, the middle unconscious, and the higher unconscious or superconscious. In his diagram (1971, p.17) he places the transpersonal Self at the apex of the superconscious region:
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From this region we receive our higher intuition and inspirations -- artistic, philosophical, or scientific, ethical `imperatives' and urges to humanitarian and heroic action. It is the source of the higher feelings, such as altruistic love; of genius and of the states of contemplation, illumination, and ecstasy. In this realm are latent the higher psychic functions and spiritual energies. (Assagioli, 1971, p.18) In psychosynthesis the self at the personality level is viewed basically as a reflection of the transpersonal Self. This is also the basic position of esoteric psychology and Vedanta: the personal self is a reflection or manifestation on the lower planes of the Spiritual Self on the higher planes. As the personal self is a reflection of the transpersonal, Assagioli recognizes the transpersonal Self as our individual connection with the Universal Consciousness or Will. This parallels the Vedantic conception of the personal self, Atman and Brahman. Atman is Brahman as it relates to the individual. Considering enduring argument amongst Eastern philosophies concerning Self versus no-self and duality versus non-duality, esoteric psychology views both as being right. From the point of view of the human being in manifestation, the Self or soul is a real and substantive spiritual reality, and duality is for the human being certain periods of development the reality of his or her consciousness. However, from the point of view of the Ultimate Spiritual Reality nothing is substantive even the Self and duality is an illusion. However, since we are dealing with manifest reality the Self is a real and useful construct or form. As the above quotes indicate, the personality and the spiritual Self are complexes or constructs of forces, energies and principles. However from the angle of the personality, it is the center of spiritual reality for the human being. Recognizing the Self as a "center" is an important distinction from the self as a concrete structure. It seems the Self has some "structure" in the fact of its delimitation and differentiation somehow from the undifferentiated field of consciousness. Through his "self-identification" exercise, Assagioli (1973) provides a method for the individual to discover his or her true self as "the center of pure self-consciousness (p. 211-7)." The individual contemplates basic statements which can be synopsize as follows:
I have a body, but I am not my body....I have emotions, but I am not my emotions....I have a mind, but I am not my mind....I am a center of pure self-consciousness and of will. This exercise is based upon the following axiom: We are dominated by everything with which our self becomes identified. We can dominate, direct, and utilize everything from which we disidentify ourselves
In this exercise, the practitioner learns to disidentify with the contents of consciousness, and with the personality, its subpersonalities and aspects, and to identify with the center of pure selfconsciousness and will," the true self or being, instead. (See Appendix 2 for "Personal Experiments with Disidentification.") This is one of the, if not the, central project of all the Eastern spiritual practices. Thes e points are mentioned in the first four yoga sutras: 1. AUM. (OM) The following instruction concerns the Science of Union. 2. This Union (or Yoga) is achieved through the subjugation of the psychic nature and the restraint of the chitta (or mind). 3. When this has been accomplished, the Yogi knows himself as he in reality.
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This might be described in the following way: The man who knows the conditions and has fulfilled them as indicated in the preceding sutra, 1. Sees the self, 2. Realises the true nature of the soul, 3. Identifies himself with the inner Reality, and no longer with the concealing forms, 4. Dwells in the centre and no longer upon the periphery, 5. Achieves spiritual consciousness, 6. Awakes to recognition of the God within. 4. Up till now the inner man has identified himself with his forms and with their active modifications.[emphasis added] (Bailey, 1927, p.7-11) ********************************************** Assagioli was not the only psychiatrist and former associate of Freud to be influenced by Eastern Religion, the Mystical and the Occult. Jung was also much influenced by mystical and occult writings. It is well known that he intensively investigated the occult, the mystical and the spiritual. He has a collection of writings published as the book Psychology and the Occult. However, this covers primarily what he considered "occult" phenomena such a spiritualism and psychism. It is in his collected writings, Psychology and Religion (p. 529), that he mentions Theosophy and Blavatsky. He states that how when the knowledge of Indian philosophy and spiritual practices first came to the West in the 19th century it remained the preserve of Sanskrit scholars and philosophers. But it was not so very long before the theosophical movement inaugurated by Mme. Blavatsky possessed itself of the Eastern traditions and promulgated them among the general public. For several decades after that, knowledge of yoga in the West developed along two separate lines. On the one hand it was regarded as a strictly academic science, and on the other it became something very like a religion, though it did not develop into an organized Church--despite the endeavours of Annie Besant and Rudolf Steiner. Although he was the founder of the anthroposophical secession, Steiner was originally a follower of Mme. Blavatsky. Noting how European science only approached yoga as an object of scientific inquiry and paid no attention to need of people for systems that answer spiritual needs, Jung states, however, that inside the religious movement there any number of attempts to combine science with religious belief and practice, as for instance Christian Science, theosophy, and anthroposophy. The lastnamed, especially, likes to give itself scientific airs and has, therefore, like Christian Science, penetrated into intellectual circles. (1958, p. 531) Jung is famous for advancing the theory of the collective unconscious. However, about forty years before Jung wrote about myth, archetypes, and the collective unconscious, Blavatsky also wrote about the subject:
It has been often remarked by observant writers, that the "origin of nearly every popular myth and legend could be traced invariably to a fact in Nature."
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In these fantastic creations of an exuberant subjectivism, there is always an element of the objective and real. The imagination of the masses, disorderly and ill-regulated as it may be, could never have conceived and fabricated ex nihilo so many monstrous figures, such a wealth of extraordinary tales, had it not had, to serve it as a central nucleus, those floating reminiscences, obscure and vague, which unite the broken links of the chain of time to form with them the mysterious, dream foundation of our collective consciousness(1978, 2:293).[emphasis added] In Jung's Memories, Dreams, Reflections, it is mentioned how Freud and Jung exchanged letters about Jung's investigations of the occult. Freud found that after a particular experience that he found it hard to deny the reality of occult phenomena, but he still found the subject disturbing if intriguing. He admitted that things that could not be reasonably explained led him to distraction. I am curious why Wilber never mentions esoteric and Theosophic writings when his system is so similar in many respects and he must be aware of them because he used to publish with Quest which is part of the Theosophical Publishing House. I assume since he totally avoids any mention of esoteric, theosophical or occult writers, when he seems to mention almost every other spiritual or mystical source concerning the evolution of consciousness, that it is, as Assagioli mentions in "Walls of Silence," because he seeks to avoid the stigma and antipathy that the occult might bring for someone trying to accepted by more of the mainstream. It is not so much of a stigma to be considered mystical anymore but the occult still seems to be problematic. Through these studies and being involved in the debate on evolution, I have come to the understanding that evolution is not only spirallic but really expansive and not simply linear. Evolution is our conception of that reality that leads the evolving being through progressive forms each of which encompasses and expresses more of the consciousness aspect or Soul than the previous form. Nothing is left behind, thus it is not linear, all the past is contained in the present. The adult contains the child and more. The human species incorporates all the developments from previous organisms, from the single cell organism to the primates, within itself. The same principle should apply to philosophy and psychology. They should include all the knowledge and wisdom gained from the previous forms. Our psychology needs to be whole. It needs to embrace the Ascending and the Descending, Spirit and Matter, the objective and the subjective, and that middle principle which relates them. It needs basically to finds its Soul, that Soul which is one with all Souls, the Soul with its threefold nature and sevenfold expression. Closing with that thought, the following poem is an appropriate ending:
THREE SOULS, ONE MAN Three souls which make up one soul: first, to wit, A soul of each and all the bodily parts, Seated therein, which works, and is what Does, And has the use of earth, and ends the man Downward: but, tending upward for advice, Grows into, and again is grown into By the next soul, which, seated in the brain, Useth the first with its collected use, And feeleth, thinketh, willeth,--is what Knows: Which, duly tending upward in its turn, Grows into, and again is grown into By the last soul, that uses both the first, Subsisting whether they assist or no,
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And, constituting man's self, And leans upon the former, As that played off the first: Holds, is upheld by, God, and Upward in that dread point Nor needs a place, for it What Does, what Knows, what Is; three souls, one man. From by Robert Browning. "Death in
the
Desert"
Appendix 1 So, What's Wrong with "Dualism"? Dualism as a concept or philosophy has been accused of being a cause or proponent for the degradation of the body, emotions, and the feminine. Dualism literally implies two fundamentally different substances, and not that one is better than the other. However, in human societies this philosophical accuracy hasn't been recognized. Some believe that because matter has been viewed as evil and separate from spirit it has lead to the abuse of the earth and women. However,"dualistic monism" can be used as a philosophical base of techniques used to counteract abuse and alleviate suffering, as I believe esotericism, Raja Yoga and psychosynthesis does. Many systems and practices, such as psychosynthesis and esotericism, have the intent to foster psychospiritual development. These systems espouse the existence levels or types of consciousness, they recognize a distinction between spirit, consciousness, and form. The objective in these systems is to either expand, raise, or evolve consciousness. The problem with dualism is that it supposed to advocate a mind-body split, as in the "Cartesian mind-body split," which then leads, according to anti-dualists, to the devaluation and denigration of the body, the earth, the feminine, the material, and/or the physical. However, one could also say that a "masculine" tendency to desire dominatation and control is at root of the problem, and men have only rationalized and developed philosophies to fit the desires and behaviors. So another line of thought that could be pursued is whether philosophies are more responsible for behavior or whether behavior is responsible for philosophy. In my experience, most people tend to use science, phiosophy, religion, and ideology to justify their desires, predispositions, and behavior which is not rooted in reason, but quite the contrary. Regardless of the fact that any concept or idea can be misinterpreted and misused, there is something very useful and truthful about the concept that "mind" and "body" can be separated and discriminated between. "Out of Body" and "Near Death Experiences" are powerful psychologically transformative events. Do they really happen as the experiencers often believe -that they, the person, have left their bodies? Or is all that which is experienced only taking place in the brain or the imaginating consciousness of the person? There seems to be some confusion between "monism" and "nondualism." We might need a new term such as dualistic monism which I think is the view of esoteric philosophy. Esotericism is nondualistic but not monistic. Monism can be deceptive. Many materialistic philosophical and scientific theories or paradigms are monistic: all phenomena is dependent on matter for existence. Therefore if a phenomenon does have a physical basis, it can't exist. Some philosophical say all is spirit, and some go on to make the mistaken assumption that all manisfestations and expressions are therefore equal and good. Esotericism says they are not. Common sense says all things aren't equal. Adolf Hitler and Mahatma Gandhi were both ultimately "spirit," but not equal or "good." Cyanide and bread are both made up of the same
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subatomic particles and of spirit, ultimately. However, in manifestation there are not equal in effect. Their usefulness depends on context. The dense physical body and the Higher Self are not equal, though both are ultimately spirit. To confuse the two can lead to "anti-evolutionary" positions or "regression" as Ken Wilber might say. In esotericism and psychosynthesis, one is taught to recognize that one has a body, but that one is not, as a human being, essentially the physical body. Essentially, at this point in the evolutionary scheme, the human being is a "Soul," a spiritual "Ego" or a "transpersonal Self," a manifestation of Spirit but yet pure Spirit. Therefore, to prematurely identify with pure Spirit is a problem, as is to regressively identify with the physical body. The analogy would be be for a twelve year old child to prematurely identify with being an adult, or regressively identify with being a toddler. Of course, what might appear to be "dualism" might not truly be so. Some take any mention of differentiation between mind, consciousness, and body to imply dualism. Differentiation does not mean essentially different substances; it does not mean separatism. Ice and steam are different forms of H2O, water. Essentially, ice and steam are not different substances, but in their manifesting forms they are. Plutonium and oxygen are different substances. However, they both are essentially made of the same elements -- electrons, protons, and neutrons -- in different amounts and in different arrangements. Are mind and body, two essentially different substances, "dualism." Or, are they two different manisfestations of the same essential substance, "nondualism." Monistic positions claim that there is one underlying principle to the mind-body relationship, either "body" or matter is the root of consciousness or "mind" or consciousness is the root of the physical. There is a nondualistic position that claims that both mind and body are derived from one underlying principle "spirit," "pure being,"the unmanifest," etc. The nondualistic position I maintain is that one that might be termed "dualistic monism." Or perhaps, better, "differential monism." Ultimately, there is one underlying principle: "Spirit." This philosophical position might be called "Idealism," as noted in "Psychology of Consciousness: A lexicon of philosophical and scientific terms," compiled by the instructor, Daniel Deslauriers. The esoteric-theosophical philosophy of Alice Bailey would fit into the "idealistic," "nondualistic" or "differential monistic". The transpersonal psychologist Roberto Assagioli, founder of psychosynthesis, was a follower of this esoteric-theosophical philosophy. Raja Yoga (The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali) is an ancient Eastern system with the purpose of fostering psychospiritual development and the attainment of the pure "consciousness" or realization. The recognition of differentiation in these systems leads to intention to "climb the ladder" of evolution.
Appendix 2 Personal Experiments with Disidentifications When the human being identifies with the modifications and forms of consciousness and personality, then one is a victim to the conflicts and turmoil that the forms often are subject to. However, by finding and identifying with the center of pure self-conscious, the transpersonal Self, true peace is obtained. My recent experiential research involved a studious use Roberto Assagioli's disidentification/Selfidentification exercise. When I repeatedly used an innovation of my: "I am the center of pure selfconsciousness and will. I am not the personality named Mark Thomas," I experienced at first anxiety and then an expanded state of consciousness. D uring these meditations, I typically encountered "internal resistance" as a very remarkable experience of strong anxiety while trying to identify myself with the transpersonal self, the center of pure self-consciousness and will.
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This experience of anxiety as resistance indicated for me that the exercise could be effective in facilitating the transfer of the locus of consciousness and control from the personal ego to the transpersonal Self. This because I realized through self-observation that the anxiety was the reaction of my personal self or ego to its "loss" of control, power, or status as the center of consciousness. I understood it to be the resistance or difficulty of changing psychoneurological patterns. "Resistance" does not have to imply "conscious" effort by some part of the self or psyche to oppose one's intention, but it "feels" that way. It is amazing how self-willed psychological elements and functions can appear to be at times. The anxiety or discomfort that one encounters during any activity typically makes it difficult to continue that activity. In this case ceasing the meditation would mean maintaining the status quo in my psyche, and so leads me to think that this is what some part of my self "desired." By continuing despite the discomfort, I eventually found that blockages and tension within the body and the psyche were significantly relieved. This is analogous to enduring a somewhat painful physical remedial treatment, such as the massaging or stretching of tight muscles and ligaments. It may be temporarily painful, but the end-result is a greater state of well-being and freedom of movement. This experience again says that suffering and pain, like conflict, can be part of the process toward true health and harmony. References/Bibliography Assagioli, R. (1974). The Act of Will. New York: Penguin [first published 1973]. Assagioli, Roberto. "Collected Papers". California Institute of Integral Studies Library. Assagioli, R. (1976). Psychosynthesis. New York: Penguin. [first published 1965] Assagioli, R. (1991). Transpersonal Development: The Dimensions Beyond Psychosynthesis. London: Crucible. Bailey, A. (1927). The Light of the Soul: The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. New York: Lucis. Bailey, A. (1958). Externalisation of the Hierarchy. New York: Lucis. Bailey, A. (1951a). A Treatise on White Magic. New York: Lucis. Bailey, A. (1960). From Intellect to Intuition. New York: Lucis Trust. Bailey, A. (1951b). Esoteric Astrology. New York: Lucis Trust. Bailey, Alice. (1962a). A Treatise on Cosmic Fire. New York: Lucis Trust. Bailey, A. (1962b). Esoteric Psychology I. New York: Lucis Trust. Bailey, A. (1970). Esoteric Psychology II. New York: Lucis Trust. Bailey, A. (1960). The Rays and the Initiations. New York: Lucis Trust. Bailey, A. (1954). Education in the New Age. New York: Lucis Trust. Bailey, A. (1961). The Consciousness of the Atom. New York: Lucis Trust.
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Bailey, A. (1953). Esoteric Healing. New York: Lucis Trust. Baring, A. & Cashford, J. (1991). The Myth of The Goddess: Evolution of an Image. NY: Penguin. Blavatsky, H.P. The Secret Doctrine. (1978) Wheaton, Il: Theosophical Pub. Hse. (1st edition, 1888) Chauduri, H. (1974). Being, Evolution & Immortality, Wheaton, Ill.: Quest. Csikszentmihalyi, Mihalyi. The Evolving Self. (1993). New York: HarperCollins. Fadiman, J. & Frager, R. Personality and Personal Growth. (1994). New York: HarperCollins. Grof, S. (1985). Beyond the Brain: Birth, Death, and Transcendence in Psychotherapy. Albany, N.Y.: State Univ. New York Press. Hardy, Jean. A Psychology with a Soul: Psychosynthesis in Evolutionary Context. (1987). New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Jung, C.G. Psychology and Religion: East and West. (1958) New York: Bollingen Foundation. Jung, C.G. Memories, Dreams, Reflections. (1965). New York: Vintage. Jung, C.G. Psychology and the Occult. (1977) Princeton: Princeton Univ. Pr. Maslow, A. (1971). The Farther Reaches of Human Nature. New York: Penguin. Maslow, A. (1962). Toward a Psychology of Being. Princeton: Van Nostrand. Ornstein, R. (1973). The Nature of Human Consciousness: A Book of Readings. San Francisco: Freeman. Ornstein, R. (1991). The Evolution of Consciousness. New York: Princeton. Ornstein, R. (1972). The Psychology of Consciousness. New York: Viking. Plato. 1961. The Collected Dialogues of Plato. E. Hamilton & H. Cairns (eds). Princeton University Press. Skinner, B.F. Beyond Freedom and Dignity. (1971). New York: Alfred Knopf. Tarnas, Richard. (1991). The Passion of the Western Mind. NY: Harmony. Tart, C. (1969). Altered States of Consciousness. Garden City, NY: Anchor. Tart, C. (1987). Waking Up. Boston: Shambhala. Tart, C. (Ed.). (1983). Transpersonal Psychologies. El Cerrito, CA: Psychology Processes, Inc. Tart, C. (1983). States of Consciousness. El Cerrito, CA: Psychology Processes, Inc.
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Walsh, R. & Vaughn, F. (Eds.). (1993). Paths Beyond Ego: The transpersonal vision. Los Angeles: Tarcher/Perigree Books. Washburn, M. (1988). The Ego and the Dynamic Ground. Albany: State University of New York Press. Wilber, K. (1981). Up from Eden. New York: Doubleday/Anchor. Wilber, K. (1980). The Atman Project: A Transpersonal View of Human Development. Wheaton, IL: Quest. Wilber, K. (1977). The Sprectrum of Consciousness. Wheaton, IL: Quest. Wilber, K. (1987). No Boundary: Eastern and Western Approaches to Personal Growth. Boston: Shambhala. Wilber, K. (1989). Eye to Eye. Boston: Shambhala. Wilber, K. (1995). Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: The Spirit of Evolution. Boston: Shambhala. Wilber, K., Engler, J. & Brown, D. (Eds.). (1986). Transformation of Consciousness. Boston: Shambhala. 1. The opus magnum of theosophy written in 1888 by Helena Blavatsky, the founder of the Theosophical Society. The writings of Blavatsky are considered by esoteric students (of the Bailey following) to be the first great wave of modern esoteric teachings and Bailey's the second wave building on the first. This is similar somewhat to the Judaic-Christian tradition and the Old and New Testaments, and with the reality that followers of the old don't necessarily appreciate the new, supplementary teaching. Blavatsky works were originally published between 1870 to 1890. Bailey's were originally published between 1922 to 1960. 2. These assumptions as listed in The Upper Triad, a journal of metaphysical and theosophical philosophy, published by the Upper Triad Association, Germantown, Maryland, were paraphrased and expanded upon for inclusion in this paper. 3. Esoteric Psychology I, Esoteric Psychology II, Esoteric Astrology, Esoteric Healing, and The Rays and the Initiations. 4. Spirit-Soul-Matter; Life-Consciousness-Form; Life-Quality-Appearance; Father-Son-Mother (pg. 18). 5. A great world cycle involving millions of years.
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