The transpersonal

development
Roberto Assagioli
 ØThe Assagioli intention is to liberate the
spiritual content from the historical confines
to which it had been relegated: religions,
philosophies and various occult ideologies.
Allying himself with the psychological
findings of people like W. James, Bucke, Hall,
Jung, Frankl, Maslow and other scholars of
his time,
The intent ØAssagioli adopted a stance against the
exclusion of the ‘spiritual’ from the domain
of scientific research and, in the name of
authentic human science, proposed a method
of experimental enquiry which did not limit
its objectives to purely quantitative criteria,
but supplemented them with the qualitative
value of experience.
 ØThe reality of the Superconscious does
not need to be demonstrated; it is an
experience and, when we become
aware of it, it constitutes one of those
‘facts of the consciousness’.
ØFacts contain within themselves their
The reality of own evidence and proof.
ØIt is a direct experience – like that of
the seeing a colour, hearing a sound or a
Superconscious having a feeling.
ØIt is neither possible nor necessary for
anyone to ‘demonstrate’ the sensation
of redness or greenness, joy or pain: for
those who experience them they are a
psychological reality.
 ØThere is a continuous exchange, a
process of osmosis, between the
conscious mind and the
unconscious.
ØThere comes a point at which the
superconscious becomes conscious,
A continuous remains so for some period of time,
and then returns to the
exchange superconscious state.
ØI would point out here that the
‘superconscious’, ‘unconscious’ and
‘conscious’ are adjectives, that is to
say they are temporary conditions
of a psychological fact.
 Ø This breakthrough of the superconscious into
the conscious mind can happen in two ways.
Ø The first, and most frequent, can be termed
‘descendant’: the bursting in of superconscious
elements into the conscious mind in the form
of intuitive thoughts, sudden enlightenment or
inspiration. Often these are spontaneous,
Two ways unexpected occurrences, but sometimes they
to get are a response to a call or an invocation on the
part of the individual, whether conscious or
Superconscious not.
Ø The second way may be called ‘ascendant’: it
consists of raising our centre of consciousness,
the self-conscious ‘I’, to levels above the
ordinary, until we reach the sphere of the
superconscious.
 ØFirstly there is basic human materialism, in
particular the theoretical and practical
materialism of the West.
ØWe therefore tend to avoid and evade
anything which focuses our mind inwards and
causes us to face ourselves.
Why ØAnother reason is a fear of being abnormal or
Superconscious at least of being considered so by others.
ØIf we have certain superconscious
is ignored experiences we are afraid that we might ‘lose
our mind’,
ØAnd lastly, in the scientific field, the greatest
obstacle is an obstinate refusal to accept that
such experiences are a valid subject for
scientific investigation.
 ØFirst of all it is necessary to collect together
all the existing documents on the subject:
biographies, autobiographies,
correspondence, etc., from different ages,
then to obtain other data from personal
interviews and questionnaires.
ØThe second stage of scientific inquiry is the
examination, classification, interpretation
Scientific Inquiry and evaluation of the data that has been
of the gathered.
ØThe third method, and the most interesting,
Superconscious is the experimental one, that is the use of
psychological methods, whether to bring
down elements of the superconscious into
the realm of the conscious, or to raise the
centre of consciousness to the shining
regions above.
 ØThe first is a sense of depth.
ØSense of internalization
ØSense of elevation, or ascent: rising up to a
higher level.
ØIdea of the path or road that must be
travelled.
Basic ØSense of expansion and enlargement of the
boundaries.
characteristic ØDevelopment and activation of a sense of
of the being freed from whatever hinders us and
closes us off.
Superconscious ØSense of empowering: we sense a more
powerful energy at work in us.
ØSense of awakening
ØState of bliss, joy and happiness.
ØSense of renewal and regeneration.
ØSense of resurrection, of rising up.
ØSense liberation, an inner freedom.
 ØSense of fullness, integration, wholeness
ØSense of perfection, completeness, vitality and
intensity of life
ØSense of richness and, at the same time, a sense of
simplicity;
ØSense of beauty, consciousness of goodness,
absence of effort, spontaneity, joy, cheerfulness,
humor;
ØSense of truth or authenticity of the experience,
Maslow that is to say the experience reveals something real
’Being values’. – more real
Øthan we can know with the ordinary
consciousness.
ØSense of independence, an inner freedom which
takes away the need to rely on anything else: self-
sufficiency in the higher, spiritual sense.
ØAll these outward manifestations are
interpenetrating and linked together:
ØThey are all facets of Being, rather than parts of it.’
Self vs Superconscious
 ØIn the superconscious there are
elements and different types of active,
dynamic, changing contents which are
involved in the overall flow of
psychological life.
ØThe Self, on the other hand, is stable,
Self vs unmoving, unchanging, and for this
reason it is different.
Superconscious •The Self in the diagram is placed at the
highest point on the periphery of the
personality, partly inside it – as it is in a
continuous relationship with the
superconscious – and partly outside of
the personality.
At this point one comes
into contact with
Mystery, with the
supreme Reality.
Of this I am unable to
speak;