Transpersonal Psych

The Psychosynthesis Model of the Person

The Higher Self

The ability to focus our attention is our most valuable personal freedom. Yet, for most of us our attention is captured by unconscious and sometimes conscious processes. Substratum to these processes is the Higher Self. Meditating with Grace focuses attention/intention with the Higher Self. Grace is very real, subtle and substratum to our everyday experiences.

Within the marketplace our attention is a sought after commodity. By capturing our attention we may be:

• Convinced into purchasing a product.
• Give labor time and effort to a cause.
• View favorably or unfavorably upon another person, group or object.

Meditating with Grace is focusing our attention upon or with Grace. Starting with short sessions (1/2 hour) we intend to focus our awareness upon or with Grace until that intention is interrupted by a thought, revelry of imagination, feeling other than Grace or sensation. We then repeat to attend to the focus of our intention again and again during the designated session time. As we develop our ability to focus our attention with or upon Grace the sessions are interrupted less and less by thoughts, revelry of imagination, feelings other than Grace and sensations. Our relationship with Grace is a personal experience that each individual works out for themselves. We must be careful not to distort our experience  (relationship) with neurotic or narcissistic fantasies. If a spiritual crisis emerges we should seek help. Grace manifests within and without and help can sometimes come from a spiritual adviser or mental health professional. During meditation sessions Grace will sometimes feel to be far away from us, sometimes as a beloved we are in relationship with and sometimes closer than our very breath, closer than any thought, transcending object/subject boundaries.

Mostly we are unaware or only vaguely aware that there is a Higher Self. Those who seek to transcend the human condition toward the Higher Self find the task impossible from the frame of reference of the Consciousness Self or I. Asking assistance through prayer is essential. Shear will power and determination within the consciousness of the human condition is not capable of transcendence. The Sages have acknowledged this inability. They have also confirmed that transcendence is possible through Grace.

During the beginning of the twentieth century the neophyte field of psychology strived to be considered a science based within classical physics, evolution theory and the scientific method. Roberto Assagioli, decades ahead of his time, realized the importance of the new field but also realized that there was something missing, the Higher Self. During the later half of that century it was demonstrated that not only classical physics but also the new physics of quantum mechanics plays a large part in our ability to perceive our environment. This gave permission for a few scientists and psychologists who had profound experiences of the Higher Self, to communicate and investigate those experiences within their communities.

The Perennial Philosophy

Common to most transpersonal psychologies and to the teaching of the Sages is a philosophy that is multicultural and transgenerational. This philosophy termed the Perennial Philosophy is categorized into four areas (Huxley, A. in Walsh, 1993).

First, there is substratum to our experience a Source or Divine Ground that interconnects us to each other, itself and to the environment. There was not a scientific mechanism for understanding the operation of this Source until classical physics was supplemented with quantum mechanics in the twentieth century. During the later half of that century a few members of the scientific community investigated the hypothesis. There are many outcomes that support the hypothesis. One is Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR). This project placed random number generators throughout the world, monitoring them continuously. During times of national or international focus these generators have significantly become less random and more coherent

Second, this Source or Divine Ground can be experienced by individuals. Since the latter half of the twentieth century a few trained psychiatrists and psychologists have experienced a consciousness that transcends the personal ego and have communicated the experience using the language of psychology. So have a few scientists, authors, spiritual seekers and even an astronaut. Investigation into these experiences stimulated the growth of transpersonal psychology.

Third, man has a double nature. It appears that we control ourselves and our environment utilizing a singular personality. However, developmental studies, psychopathology, the phenomena of hypnosis and the placebo effect all support multiplicity. Fourth, is purpose. As ignorance and devaluing of the Source, Divine Ground or Higher Self lessen, peace and harmony within the environment increases.

Quantum Perception and the Higher Self

There is a paradigm shift in science currently occurring. Extrasensory perception has been proven experimentally with supporting statistics (Radin 2006). Within the human body there are sub atomic processes occurring that need the more accurate physics of quantum mechanics for explanation.

The Conscious Self or I

Thoughts, beliefs, feelings, sensation and revelry of imagination which we are aware of and which are constantly changing from one instance to another make up the Field of Consciousness. This awareness can help us to transcend or dis-identify from the contents within the Field of Consciousness directly experiencing the Conscious Self or I.

Using our awareness we realize that thoughts, beliefs, feelings, sensations and revelry of imagination constantly change but our awareness does not. This awareness without content is our Conscious Self or I.

Once we realize our Conscious Self or I we intend to form and maintain a Unified Synthesis Center (Assagioli 1965) between our Conscious Self or I and the Higher Self by focusing attention upon Grace. We know Grace exists because we have experienced it and have named that experience Grace.

The Unconscious

The unconscious is an autonomous storage system of sensory data and patterns of behavior developed over time to negotiate the environment and relationships within the environment. These patterns are strategies previously developed to handle environment situations of coping and adaptation the best way we could at the time.

Sporadic affirmations will not program the unconscious. According to the von Neumann/Stapp model to program the unconscious intention must be reinforced by attention in rapid and repeated succession. This causes the quantum wave form to endure longer.

Meditating with Grace and TranspersonalPsych

During the first step of Meditation with Grace we become in touch with our Conscious Self or I putting aside the content that we think of as ourselves training to do this with a chosen dis-identification exercise.

Once we find this core awareness we couple it to Grace, accomplishing this by recognizing the reality of Grace and Grace's ability to be immanent and transcendent. This is our intention.

We then focus this intention until a thought, revelry of imagination, feeling other than Grace or sensation distracts us. Intention is again attended to repeatedly until the designated practice period is finished. What we are doing is developing a Template for Action (Stapp 2007) within the unconscious, or a Unified Synthesis Center (Assagioli 1965) learning to rest within Grace.

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