psychosynthesising

Roberto Assagioli

Self-realization does not imply the concept of enlightenment, the experience of transcendence of earthly concerns into a more ethereal or universal reality. It simply implies the ongoing experience of being responsive to the call of Self towards the evolutionary movement though a lifetime. This movement will take the traveler through dark and light, through the practicalities of life and the miracles of life, through immanence and transcendence.

“Ultimately, it is all very simple. There is no choice between being kind to others and being kind to ourselves. It is the same thing.”

The will is not merely assertive, aggressive, and controlling. There is the accepting will, yielding will, the dedicated will. You might say that there is a feminine polarity to the will – the willing surrender, the joyful acceptance of the other functions of the personality.

Every time we “identify" ourselves with a weakness, a fault, a fear or any personal emotion or drive, we limit and paralyze ourselves. Every time we admit “I am discouraged" or “I am irritated," we become more and more dominated by depression or anger. We have accepted those limitations; we have ourselves put on our chains.

I am I and I wish I weren't: After having discovered [various elements of our personality], we have to take possession of them and acquire control over them. The most effective method by which we can achieve this is that of disidentification. This is based on a fundamental psychological principle which may be formulated as follows: We are dominated by everything with which our self becomes identified. We can dominate and control everything from which we disidentify ourselves.