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Assagioli's model of the human psyche
This image is sometimes called "Assagioli's Egg".
He created it as a model of the human psyche.
It shows the three levels of consciousness, described from the bottom and upwards:
- The physical level _(instincts and inner drive forces).
- The mental level _(work, relations, analytical thinking).
- The higher level _(ideals, dreams, creativity,_spirituality).
Most part of our psyche is sub-conscious, we are in any given moment aware only of one small portion of it.
The bright spot in the middle symbolizes our central "I", which is not a sub-personality, but which functions more as a central conductor (if it is brought to conscious awareness).
The shining star at the top symbolizes our higher being, which Assagioli named The Self.
The Self exists both within the limits of our existence and outside of it, which is illustrated by the light beams from the Self going in all directions, also outwards and upwards.
The "I", the center of the personality
In "normal" psychosynthesis coaching / therapy,
the "synthesis process" aims at becoming aware of
one's central I, a center of neutral self-observation
and central Will.
From this central awareness the client is coached in developing the personality and the subpersonalities through Acceptance,
Co-operation , Alignment and finally Synthesis.
The I, even if when one is able to fully identify with it, is despite constituting an important step in one's
personal development, not what one really Is. The I is only a "reflection" of the Self, our true existence, in the level of our personality.
The Self, our Higher Being, has contact with and communicates with other people, expresses Itself, through our I, through and with the help of our sub-personalities and with the help of our body. The Self is also connected with and communicates directly with the outside, the Collective Sub-conscious, and with what is "above", which we name the Spiritual Realm, God, Allah, the Universe, or using other symbols.
The Self, our Higher "I"
Psychosynthesis is a transpersonal psychology, i.e. "trans" or "over" the personality itself, and has the ambition to help us establish contact with our Self and the transpersonal realm, which can become a conscious contact (for example in a "Peak Experience"), of in most cases sub-consciously (through intuition, dreams,
inspiration, impulses, etc). Our Self is in contact with and knows about our deepest needs, our highest dreams, our personal Path, the innermost meaning with our individual lives.
Psychosynthsis uses exercises and processes aimed at helping us becoming aware of our own Self and of others' Selves.
In many of these processes symbolic images are used, which can have various forms like an Inner Holy Space, a Wise Person, an Inner Guide, etc. With the help of these inner images we can establish and develop our connection with our Higher Being, our Self.
Read more about the development of the I and of the personality, when and if one
starts to get an inkling of, and finally starts to find out what the Self wants, in the
e-paper The Ways of the Self. (Click on the link to open, right-click to download.)
The images above symbolize these ways: The Way of Love, of Action, of Devotion,
of Beauty, of Science, of Will and of Ritual.
Apart from being a central concept in Psychosynthesis, our interpretation of the concept of the Self is also founded on the books A Course in Miracles and A Course of Love.
Use an interactive guide, where you can explore where you are on your path towards finding your Self:
Before you go into the test, ____ watch a video about it.
The e-courseMy Mission will lead you step by step through an inner process for making you aware of what your Higher Self want for you and for your life.
The e-course has eleven major sections, containing text, down-loadable e-books and 17 visualizations on audio mp3 files for listening streaming on-line or after download.
A simple method for stimulating contact with our Self, which will be described here because it is "straight-forward" and can readily be used without any other coaching or therapeutic preparation, is to create Requests to the Self. This method can be used in combination with other methods for creating contact with one's Self.
(The method is inspired by the book "The 11:th Element" by Bob Scheinfeld.)
The method is based on realizing that our Self is the "CEO" of our being, a highest Boss with power, authority, knowledge about the "business plan" (my Personal Path), and
above all - with an established network in the "business world", the Collective Sub-conscious and above. Just like any CEO of a large company with many employees (the sub-personalities), he/she recieves numrous requests every day, complaints, opinions, viewpoints, etc. The CEO tries his/her best to accomodate these with the Business Plan, but is in most cases forced to ignore them, because many of them are contradictory, fuzzy, emotional, etc.
As an individual employee, if you want to catch the awareness and understanding of your CEO, it is typically best to direct one's requests in written, well-formed grammatically, unambiguously, clearly motivated, and with the wished-for outcome of the assistance from the CEO clearly described. The CEO, who naturally has a lot of different issues on his/her desk, will interpret such a written request in a strict literal sense, so is is wise to be over-explicit, unambiguous and easily comprehensible.
An efficient way of doing this is to
Make a special Mail Box for your Requests.
This can be material (a special jar, box or the like), or
electronic (a special folder in your Outlook, in your computer, or similar).
Write each Request on a designated sheet / file, according to an established template.
(Click on following links for a suggested format, or right-click to download: Ms Word, Acrobat Reader)
Direct you Request to your Self, who you can give a name that feels good to use.
Put your Request in your Request Box.
Your first request may be to ask your CEO to in the future regard the contents in your
Request Box as highest priority, and to ask for clear signals of whether it has been recieved, read and acted upon. Define which signals you want your CEO to use - they can be inner signals or something that will happen in your outer world.
Review your Request on a regular basis (depending on the time plan you have asked for).
Enter notes in the designated part at the bottom of the request what has happened since you last read it. If needed, enter additional requests / alterations / re-planning / re-prioritizing.
"Mail it" again.
When your Request has been met, enter a description of the outcome and file it in a designated box/file for Closed Requests.
Your Requests will be handled and executed by your inner CEO. Via the Collective Sub-conscious, other people, in the Personal Paths of which there is included to help you, will come in your way seemingly by chance, and offer you what you have asked for. Although, what will happen will always be aligned with your Personal Path , and may not come in the way you have anticipated or wished. If your Request even contadicts your Path, the outcome may at first feel negative. You will eventually understand why the outcome became the way it turned out, and you will realize that it after all was in your best interest. In most cases, though, your Request will be met directly, the better the more clear you have been in designing your Request.
2. Ashar Mita.
O Friend of my hope, O Father of my aspiration-thirst,
At your feet I shall lose my day and nights
With surrender-strength.
3. He Sevak, He Sevika.
O my dedication-son and dedication-daughter, O my love-son and love-daughter,
Come and stand by my heart-door...
4. Ebar Ami.
I shall walk with you to the land of light...
5. Jibaner Shesh Ache.
Life has an end. Death has an end. But consciousness is endless...
6. Rupar Tarani Bahiya.
Sailing the boat of silverlight, the moon-beauty is fast approaching me.
The sky is vibrating with sweet and melodious songs.
The birds are flying beyond the horizon. To an unknown land...
7. Hiya Tatini.
My heart-river flows but there is not a drop of hope. Therefore, O Lord, I seek Your Feet.
Throughout the pangs of my life and death, day and night inside me is a barren desert.
I am Yours, no one else is my companion.
9. Nai Nai Nai.
Nothing there is. I no longer exist. Only a shadow, and even that shadow has lost
its body-form and is transformed, by the flash of golden light.
10. Taba Agamane.
Because of Your descent, this world has recieved infinite Blessing-Gifts.
When You return to Your celestial abode, all the spiritual glories
that the world is endowed with in a twinkling will pale into insignificance.
11. Andhar Rate.
In the dark night, my tears are flowing.
12. Nil Baridhir Atal Tale.
I shall enjoy the cosmic game.
I shall lose myself inside the heart of the blue ocean...
13. Shunya Bakke Biraye Purna.
Inside emptiness fullness abides.
And inside fullness the bondage of the finite is totally smashed.
Once we are there we hear the supreme Victory of the Absolute Supreme.
14. Ai Ai Ai.
Come, come, come, O moon, O stars, O sun of the blue-vast sky.
Come to hear the flute of Immortality in my heart,
to watch the smile of Infinite in my life...
15. Anor Aniyan.
Smaller than the smallest life, larger than the infinite Vast,
The soul breathes in the secret heart of man.
Assagioli's model of the human psyche
Before you go into the test,
