From my first talk (“Psychosynthesis and inner alchemy: the meaning and significance of the transformation of bio-psychic energies” link), you may have gathered that I am very keen on frameworks. I like to place different topics in their broader context. And, in fact, what I will try to do in this second talk is precisely to contextualise the transformation of bio-psychic energies within the general psychosynthetic process. The aim is to help us better focus on the inner attitude we are invited to cultivate, which makes effective transformation possible, while also avoiding some serious dangers such as repression, pseudo-sublimation, idealisation, etc.

THE TRANSFORMATION OF BIO-PSYCHIC ENERGIES IN THE PSYCHOSYNTHETIC PROCESS

The process of Psychosynthesis (with a capital “P”) is divided into four phases. However, I prefer to call them “aspects” because they are actually four different levels of intervention that every psychosynthesist should always keep in mind at the same time:

1. The first stage/aspect is the inventory of the conscious aspects of the personality (what we already know about ourselves), which aims to consolidate our sense of identity and prepare us for the second stage of the process: the exploration of the unconscious.
2. The exploration of the unconscious (what we do NOT yet know about ourselves) is the second phase/aspect of the psychosynthesis process. This is a very delicate point when we are working on transforming instinctive and emotional energies. I will only mention it briefly because it is a broad topic that would require much more space.

Instinctive reactions are highly stimulated, for example, in traumatic events. These reactions (which are adaptive responses) then tend to be reactivated frequently and automatically in everyday life whenever we find ourselves in a situation that resonates, often inappropriately, with past trauma. Difficulties in managing impulses and intense emotional states can therefore signal unresolved issues in our history that should be explored with the help of an expert guide, a professional in the helping relationship.

1. Then there is the third phase/aspect, which consists of the process of disidentification and the discovery of an inner centre. Depending on the case, this centre can be partial (a role, a sub-personality, a passion, etc.), personal (the ‘I’) or transpersonal (the Self).
2. Finally, we have the actual process of psychosynthesis (this time with a lowercase “p”), which in turn consists of three distinct lines of work:

• the utilisation, transformation and sublimation of bio-psychic energies (the topic we are dealing with here);
• the development of deficient (by constitution) and immature (by repression) elements;
• the organisation and integration of all the elements of our personality into a new synthesis based on a clear hierarchy of values (which has the function of defining limits and guiding our will to make the necessary choices).

THREE PATHS: REPRESSION, RELEASE, TRANSFORMATION

These different aspects of the process of Psychosynthesis help us to focus on the inner attitude that we need to cultivate if we want to transform bio-psychic energies. It is immediately clear that if we have not developed the ability to disidentify and if we have not discovered an inner centre – which means being capable of presence, awareness and will, being able to self-regulate, to make choices with respect to our instincts and emotions – we remain trapped, stuck with only two  options diametrically opposed to each other:

• venting these instincts and emotions in an uncritical, uncontrolled way, risking damage to our relationships with others and ourselves;
• repressing them, developing psychic and psychosomatic symptoms (anxiety and depression, compulsions and obsessions, various types of somatisation, etc.).

How, then, can we build an alternative to stagnation or oscillation between the two polarities of venting and repressing? How can we access that third way, which is ultimately the transformative, alchemical way?

First of all, it is important to remember that we cannot fully ‘own’ (manage, regulate) our impulses and emotion, let alone transform them, without gaining some knowledge about them. This entails developing a relationship with these impulses and emotions. A relationship characterised by listening, interest and acceptance that opens up to a deeper understanding of these aspects of our psychic life and this inner polarity.

TABOOS, FALSE MORALITY AND THE LAWS OF PSYCHODYNAMICS

What do we need to know about these instinctual and affective energies? Roberto Assagioli gives us precise guidelines. Fundamental is the process of liberation from preconceptions and taboos. This requires us, of course, to disidentify from the judging, repressive, moralistic opposite polarity. Here are some important points which is helpful to know to support this process:

1. The first is to recognise that instincts and emotions are vital and natural energies. They are instances that belong to the natural world, which we share with our animal friends. Assagioli helps us to understand this natural dimension of bio-psychic energies by comparing them to water, geothermal heat, the sun and the wind.
2. And, briefly expanding on this analogy, we might reflect on our current relationship with the natural world: a relationship characterised by intensive exploitation, speculation and abuse of resources, which then causes extreme imbalances and reactions. It is equally interesting to note that there is a lot of talk these days about “sustainable development” and “happy degrowth”. These are expressions connected to visions of a possible future in which reflection on the question of renewable natural energies (sun, water, geothermal heat, wind) plays a central role.
3. As outside, so inside. We must therefore ask ourselves: what are we doing with the vital and natural energies that are the foundation of our personality? And it would be interesting, continuing to develop the analogy proposed by Assagioli, to reflect on how we might meaningfully apply concepts such as “sustainable development” and “happy degrowth” to our process of inner development. Self-development understood as “happy degrowth…”
4. A second important point is to recognise that these energies are beyond mental judgement, beyond the “moral-immoral” dichotomy. In fact, they are “pre-moral” energies. Once again, the analogy with natural energies allows us to understand this point easily. Water, wind, etc. are not “good” or “bad”, “moral” or “immoral”. They exist and are indispensable. They are the foundation of life on this planet and have their own characteristics that are important to know and respect.

1. Another point that Assagioli invites us to recognise is that these energies can never be destroyed or eliminated, despite all our efforts. And indeed, no one would ever dream of saying that we should eliminate water from the face of the Earth because it sometimes causes floods. Or that we should turn off the sun because it can cause drought and famine.
2. The same applies to our instinctive and affective energies. So much so that in Psychosynthesis we define the instinctual function as “the spontaneous tendency that moves us” and the emotional function as “that which gives energy, life”. Any attempt to eliminate them is doomed to failure, or worse, to generate problems and symptoms of various kinds.
3. Another important point is that, precisely because they are “movement” and “life”, these energies tend to express themselves, indeed, they demand expression (see Appendix – 9th law of psychodynamics). So there are two options:

• • either these energies express themselves in a dysfunctional way (harmful to ourselves and/or others);
  • or we express them in a harmless or, better still, creative way.

1. Finally, the last important point is to recognise that the transformation of these energies is a fact. Meaning that these transformations often happens by themselves, automatically, continuously, without us realising it, in other words, without our conscious and willing presence. Impulses and desires are transformed into actions; emotions activate certain imaginative and mental resonances; and so on.
2. Assagioli accurately described how all these transformations are regulated in the 10 laws of psychodynamics[1] (see Appendix to the chapter); which he defined as a “new science” whose most important application is precisely the transformation and sublimation of bio-psychic energies.

CREATING A RELATIONSHIP THAT ALLOWS TRANSFORMATION

The practical, very concrete problem we face is therefore the following: can we actively collaborate in this inevitable and continuous transformative process? Can we facilitate the transition from transformations that occur automatically, and sometimes in a dysfunctional way, to an increasingly conscious, voluntary, constructive or, at least, harmless expression of all these instincts, impulses and emotions? The answer of Psychosynthesis is clear: of course we can! One of the distinctive features of the psychosynthetic approach is in fact to encourage and facilitate this transition in many ways.

As I mentioned earlier, to do this it is essential to create a relationship, to learn to be present. Not only to impulsive and affective energies, but also to those parts of ourselves, the subpersonalities that repress, judge and deny (which are more mental parts, also derived from the pressure and demands of society). We must know and accept both polarities of the dynamic. We must accept ourselves as we are because without this acceptance, no transformation is truly possible. A transformative relationship is created by listening carefully, understanding, and creating space between ourselves and the different aspects that belong to us.

Is it not natural and appropriate that when we suffer abuse, or when memories of past traumas are reactivated in the present, or when we feel that our right to exist, to be treated with dignity, to have and express opinions and feelings, is not respected, we feel the urge to defend ourselves, to react, to protest, to attack?

And isn’t it just as natural and appropriate that, at the same time, we also feel the need to safeguard our meaningful relationships, to belong to a group, to have the esteem and goodwill of the people around us? And that there are therefore aspects of ourselves that suggest we should let it go, keep quiet, pretend nothing has happened?

THE PROBLEM AND THE SOLUTIONS

Both of these instances (our bio-psychic energies and the parts that tend to deny and repress them) carry authentic needs. The problem does not lie in the needs that the different polarities carry, but in the solutions proposed because these solutions are, obviously, partial (i.e. “biased”, belonging to “one part” of us). They fail to take into account the broader context and therefore cannot be either satisfying or transformative.

So it is important that we finally step onto the scene and take charge of the situation: that we commit ourselves to creating spaces and conducting experiments to discover if and how it is possible to follow a third way, what Assagioli called the Alchemical Way. Each of us must seek our own path. So we may need to attend a workshop, choose moments in which we can start to have that fundamental corrective experience where it is possible to express bio-psychic energies in a non-destructive way, without harming ourselves or others.

(Synthesis)

Transmutation and Sublimation

Uncontrolled outburst    Temperance    Repression

(Stagnation, Oscillation, Compromise)[2]

TECHNIQUES AND METHODS FOR THE TRANSFORMATION OF BIO-PSYCHIC ENERGIES

There are countless methods and techniques that we can try out. However, there is one important warning. We must always be our own thermometer and remember what experience we are seeking: it is not a question of letting ourselves be overwhelmed and giving in to a “hysterical crisis”, nor is it a question of feeding these energies in a dangerous and useless way. This would have the undesirable effect of increasing internal tension instead of reducing it. As I have said many times before, it is rather a matter of learning to stay close, to be present, to listen to the story that these aspects of ourselves tell and to let them express themselves in self-regulated, harmless or even creative ways.

There are three complementary directions for these transformations. Obviously, the division is useful for explanatory purposes, but in reality it is not at all so rigid. For example, drawing, writing, moving the body, playing an instrument (cathartic techniques) can also yield creative results (upward elevation). However, this does not happen per intenzionem, but per effectum. The goal is not to “do something beautiful”. The goal is to learn to express and transform energies in a harmless or creative way.

1. A downward direction (release, harmless discharge):
   • physical activity: venting energy on things instead of people (e.g. punching a mattress with your fists or a tennis racket; tearing up old magazines or breaking old crockery; gardening; chopping wood; hitting a punching bag, etc.); engaging in a sport (preferably non-competitive); playing; singing at the top of your voice; playing an instrument; dancing; body techniques aimed at releasing chronic tension accumulated due to repression (bioenergetics, postural integration, Rolfing, various types of massage, etc.);
   • imaginative fulfilment: cathartic visualisations (an exploding volcano; a waterfall, etc.); writing a letter in which you say everything that is on your mind (without sending it!); drawing on a large sheet of paper until you have exhausted all your energy; expressing everything that is in your heart to an empty chair or a cushion symbolising the other person;
   • vicarious satisfaction: supporting a sports team (caution!);
   • change of level: refining your means, transforming physical aggression into intellectual debate and discussion (caution!);
2. The horizontal direction (relational):
   • learning to distinguish between the past and the present (working on traumatic memories, objective self-analysis, etc.);
   • using our instinctive and emotional reactions as signals to identify and give voice to our rights, preferences and values;
   • learning communication and self-assertion skills (active listening, effective communication, non-violent communication, etc.);
3. Elevation upwards (transpersonal, spiritual):
   • internalisation: shifting the focus internally to the struggle “against” inner enemies (inertia, fear, etc.); withdrawal of projections onto others and integration of the shadow;
   • social utilisation: putting impulsive and emotional energies at the service of society (e.g. the struggle for civil rights, equal opportunities, child protection, the environment, the preservation of artistic beauty, etc.);
   • sublimation linked to the process of self-transcendence, which can take place along various paths of self-realisation: think of the great mystics of various religions; how, for example, politicians of the stature of Gandhi or Martin Luther King managed to transform not only their own combative energies but those of entire social groups or nations; think of explorers, pioneers and sportsmen; artists who sublimate these energies into works that inspire the whole of humanity; philosophers and scientists who put their work at the service of the common good; and so on.

Finally, I would like to point out that there is a method complementary to those mentioned above, which consists in evoking energies opposite and complementary to instinctual and emotional energies, such as benevolence, solidarity, love, compassion, trust, etc. Assagioli[3] states that this latter method:

“raises us to the luminous and largely unexplored regions of the superconscious, to the summit of our being, to the Self (…) which is the most powerful energy for creating communion between human beings, the Psychosynthesis of Humanity”.

CONCLUSIONS

I conclude with one last important consideration that allows us to avoid idealising the work of transforming bio-psychic energies. Assagioli did not believe in the possibility of achieving a definitive solution that would eliminate once and for all the conflict between instincts and emotions seeking satisfaction and the obstacles that prevent it. Instead, he believed that this contrast is one of the sources of pain in life but that – precisely because of the friction it produces between different psychic instances – it also constitutes one of its most vital and profound experiences.

Therefore, the regulating, orienting and transforming action of the will of the I-Self is never a “perfect” action. On the contrary,

“not infrequently, once raised in one direction, these energies can regress due to some obstacle or some small trauma, and then they must be brought back up again, as many times as necessary; therefore, there is always struggle, travail: this is life! No idyllic or overly idealistic conditions, but always dynamic, creative and, I would say, interesting.” [4]

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[1] R. Assagioli, The Act of Will, Astrolabio, Rome, 1977, (pp. 45-54)

[2] R. Assagioli, The Act of Will, op. cit., (p. 81)

[3] R. Assagioli, Trasmutazione delle energie combattive, Istituto di Psicosintesi, Florence, 1965

[4] R. Assagioli quoted in B. Caldironi, L’uomo a tre dimensioni, (pp. 43-44)