The Transpersonal Perspective and Parts Work
In our work together it becomes important to recognize what part of you is solid, constant and unchangeable, able to guide your decisions and life choices. What part of yourself are you able to fully trust?
I call this authentic aspect of self, the Core Self and part of the exploration in our therapeutic sessions will be for you to discover this for yourself. I can facilitate an inner experience where you will recognize the four parts of your personality as well as land in an awareness of your authentic Core Self.
There are four basic archetypes or parts of the psyche that can be challenging or problematic for most people. They are often disowned from consciousness but still manage to direct our perceptions and reactions. They are the Child, the Adolescent, the Victim and the Critic.
As you get to know these parts of yourself you can learn how to develop a strong healthy relationship with them, in order to gain more freedom and healthy functioning. Once you anchor your highest resourceful state, your Core Self as your foundation, then you are able to explore and integrate these parts, achieving a greater sense of freedom and wholeness.
The Parts
We have all felt at times that there are different parts of ourselves, pulling thoughts, feelings and behavior in different directions. One voice inside ourselves says one thing, another something quite different. With all these changeable aspects, life can feel confusing and making decisions, challenging. One part wants one thing, another something else.
Answering the existential question, who am I really, influences not only how we identify ourselves, our perception and core values but also illuminates which internal ‘I’ is constant and best able to lead us in making life decisions. Determining this and accepting all parts of oneself is essential in order to live with calm and purpose, in order to feel whole. Exploring all the aspects of the psyche leads one to better understand the various impulses that can drive us and to stay in charge of our behavior.
In essence, with conscious exploration we are able to experience having a part rather than becoming the part and acting it out. When we can be aware and in relationship with these parts of ourselves with loving curiosity, like a benevolent parent rather than a harsh critic, our entire system calms down and self- esteem increases.
Questions like who am I, what is my Core Self, and how do I access it, are essential to answer in order to truly understand the psyche. When we rest in an answer that is authentic, non- negotiable and solid, then exploring and accepting all the other parts of our psyche becomes far easier and full of essential and valuable information.
We become internally referenced and able to parent ourselves, meet unmet needs from childhood and stop trying to gain validation from other people or the world. We become a powerful self- referencing system, able to grow ourselves up, stay true to our values and fulfill our life purpose.
Understanding The Parts
What are these parts inside of ourselves and where did they come from? Consider that as a child the human need to belong to your family was a primary directive. You needed to be loved in order to survive, so the child, whose entire world is governed by feeling, decides to bury any parts of self that they sense will be unacceptable to parents or the family system. The message the child receives may be subtle like a raised eyebrow, or direct, like the withdrawal of attention. It may be visual or verbal. But the result is the same. Disowned aspects of self are buried in the body and out of consciousness, resulting in energy patterns that are repressed, but not destroyed. They are held in our physical body and can play havoc in our lives. If we continue to disown the aspect or try to get rid of it, we are in essence replicating a pattern that originally was created in childhood with a corresponding belief that there is something wrong with us. It is only through bringing this buried aspect into awareness, correcting the mistaken belief about oneself that we made up in the past and then integrating the part…growing it up…that we are able to free ourselves of the need to keep this part of ourselves hidden. We are able to do this when we anchor into an essence of ourselves that is not changeable, Core Self. Only then we can experience that we have a part, we are NOT the part.
Working with parts also offers an opportunity to reclaim the gifts that were buried when we cut off aspects of ourselves. The parts also become a direct link into the feeling world of the psyche since before the age of seven all beliefs and information about ourselves and the world, are laid on an emotional network in the body. We have not yet developed a thinking brain. Once we learn how to invite all our parts into awareness we can dialogue with them as they hold much information necessary for our expansion. When we can accept all aspects of ourselves, we do not need to hide these parts behind a mask or façade, afraid that if others saw them we would be rejected. When we stay identified as Core Self rather than the part we reject the parts perception and learn to default to seeing and acting through our values. This work invites neutral perception and opens up possibility, so that we can live authentically, transparently and with integrity.
Understanding The Core Self
Most people use the word ‘I’ to describe themselves regardless of which part is currently reacting. Since the parts were buried as the child was going through various stages of development, each aspect is young and will see through a perceptual filter unique to its circumstances and the beliefs the child internalized. Those beliefs are inaccurate and impact self-esteem and the ability to achieve intimacy with others.
In traditional psychology, the ego has been referenced as the executive function of the psyche, or choice maker. And while this may be true, in an unaware ego there are times when the various parts take over the executive function of the ego. The parts are perceiving the world, processing the information based on their past history and directing an individual’s life. When this happens the ego has identified as the part. “Unless we awaken to the consciousness process, the vast majority of us are run by the energy patterns with which we have identified or those we have disowned.” (Stone & Stone,1989).
This is where Transpersonal Psychology, differs from traditional psychology. Transpersonal simply means an inclusion of experiences that are beyond the personal. At its core there is a motivation to become aware, aligned and identified as a Self that is interconnected to everyone and everything. That I, is consistent and solid, loving and compassionate and exists in everyone. The Core Self is able to stay aware of all the parts of our personality, receive them with kindness, without letting them drive our choices or reactions.
When we hone the ability to experience ourselves this way, many internal conflicts and challenges are diminished. The possibility of movement in transpersonal realms, tapping into the collective unconscious increases and the ego experience of separateness can be transcended.
How does one access this I?
While there are many ways to understand the Transpersonal state cognitively, it is rare to enter into it through simply thinking. We are called to enter through feeling, through our senses and an experience of our unconscious. Instead of seeing our unconscious as a teeming cauldron of untamed desires needing suppression, we can view it as a repository of all our prior experiences and containing information far in excess of what our awareness normally brings us on a conscious level.
Through body awareness we can clear our physical containers of buried feelings, let go of ego identification and create space to experience a solid Core Self that is connected to the collective. We enter the unconscious through the senses, through the breath and learn to trust it’s language, one of metaphors, symbols, colors and sensation.
The solid Core Self then becomes our driver, the ‘I’ that remains in charge of our lives and results in experiencing greater ease, balance and joy.
The Four Parts
While there are many parts or archetypal energies held in our psyche, there are four that seem to most commonly create challenges and obstacles to achieving our goals. The exploration and integration of these four parts can have profound impact on living a fulfilled life.
THE CHILD
This archetype is a part that holds our perception of safety, security, nurturing, belonging and self- esteem. There are many aspects to this part which include the Wounded Child, the Abandoned Child, the Dependent Child, the Innocent Child and the Wild Nature Child to name a few. The core issue with all these child parts is dependency and responsibility, when to take responsibility, when to stand up to the group.
We tend to treat our inner child the same way we were treated by our parents. A child’s concept of themselves and sense of identity mirrors that of the caregivers they had. So whatever neglect or abuse we experienced would be internalized and we would treat ourselves the same way. Even when fully grown the abused or neglected child would continue the abuse inside of self. The same holds true for the adult raised in love and nurturance.
The good news is that in exploring the child aspect buried in our bodies we can offer the love and guidance and other nurturing we may have missed and learn to form consistently healthy relationships. We can grow our self- esteem and feel good about ourselves.
When a child is not nurtured and allowed freedom of expression, a false or co-dependent self emerges. Integrating the inner child allows us to drop our guard, be vulnerable and authentic and no longer need to hide from genuine contact with others.
Keeping this child aspect underground means we will hold shame in our bodies and its repression can affect us in many ways. Spontaneity may be cut off or conversely, out of control. There may be a lack of passion or a tsunami of feeling, where pent up emotions can explode unbidden. Reclaiming the child part is vital to both stability and spontaneity, to balance, in one’s life.
As we re-parent our inner child we cultivate a deep, loving, relationship with this tender aspect of ourselves and free ourselves to experience the beauty and playfulness this archetype holds. Rather than having one’s psyche consumed with fears of abandonment or inner abuse, the child archetype would be encouraged to inspire and create without the rigidity of the adult mind, while feeling safe and cared for by the stability of the solid Core Self.
This process of healing the inner child and all the parts occurs over a period of time. The goal would be to open the doors of communication and ensure that the resourceful Core Self stays in charge of the process.
THE VICTIM
The Victim Archetype affects and permeates the quality of an individual’s life in a very profound way. If this energy is pervasive, yet unconscious, it would be difficult to feel self- directed and powerful, in charge of one’s life. An individual might feel helpless or at the mercy of certain people and challenges and defensively seek to locate evidence of unfairness. This is a focus that leads to hypervigilance, collapse and or bitterness. While initially Victim energy appears when a child does not get what it wants or needs or are unfairly treated in some way, the progression of this archetype is that the person continues to perpetuate seeing themselves as a victim. While most people struggle to embrace this energy as it is experienced as weak or desperate, it can, when integrated, be an opportunity to create healthy boundaries, a developmental task that may not have been learned in childhood. It also transforms into a reminder of personal autonomy and strength.
Some of the behavioral characteristics of unconscious victim energy are self-contraction, feeling stuck in either external causality or internal states of feeling and a weighty feeling of aloneness where life feels unfair.
Once claimed and expressed the potential to live a hero’s journey is invoked with an experience of expansion, a belief in personal ability, choice and accountability. The primary objective of working with the Victim archetype would be to develop self –accountability, learn forgiveness, release the hold of external circumstances or the past and commit to the authority of one’s own personal power.
THE ADOLESCENT
While adolescence is often viewed as the chaotic precursor to young adulthood, looked at developmentally, the stage of adolescence mirrors very accurately what archetype represents. An adolescent is locked in a struggle to determine who they are.
If the Child archetype serves the force for togetherness and belonging, the adolescent serves the second force that drives all humanity…the need for autonomy. They are trying to develop a sense of identity separate from their parents and decide how they will express themselves in their lives.
An adolescent unable to accomplish this developmental task can become defiant, confused, despondent, either retreating inside, acting in or acting out. It is a time of experimenting with relationship, sexuality, drinking, and many other activities that the teenager sees as part of the adult world. The adolescent is extremely self -absorbed and this is marked by an egocentrism that can take two forms, the imaginary audience and the personal fable. The imaginary audience can be made of admirers or judges and although only existing in the teen’s mind is very real to the adolescent. In the young person’s mind, they are always on stage, sure that all eyes are on them and that they are being evaluated. Their evaluation of themselves is often harsh and matches how they perceive others judging them.
Teenagers also have an exaggerated sense of their own uniqueness and indestructibility called the personal fable. They will tend to believe that whatever the experience, they are feeling it more deeply than anyone ever has before. They also think they are somehow exempt from the serious consequences of their actions, thereby taking high risks in their search for pleasure.
These developmental insights give us a clue to understanding the nature of this archetype. With integration the teen part can encourage passion and a belief in oneself and ultimately a balance between what one wants and what is a responsible and accountable choice in terms of one’s behavior. Left in the shadow of our unconscious, inner conflict along with a desire for freedom may cause acting out and turning a blind eye to consequences. As our inner child craves security, this part craves freedom and attention. They are at odds with each other and when the teen acts out it can lead to affairs, substance abuse, or behaviors not necessarily in the person’s best interests. The driver of this archetype is a strong need for self-expression without constriction.
THE CRITIC
This energy has the power to be extremely debilitating if left unexplored. It is relentless in finding negativity not only outside of ourselves, but with ourselves. While discernment can be a highly effective and prized quality to include when making choices, perpetually finding fault and criticizing excludes all possibility of enjoying satisfaction in one’s life. A destructive voice of criticism delivered consistently in our minds can sabotage self- esteem and even negate accomplishments that the individual does succeed with. Nothing is ever good enough and not only does this inner critic evaluate themselves this way, always lacking, but they attract people into their lives who do the same.
Where does this voice come from? Some of the content may come from things we heard in childhood, actual messages we have internalized based on people’s reactions to us or the events around us.
Our perception of a critical parent’s opinion is swallowed whole and we cannot separate the behavior they may not like, from ourselves. To the child everything is personal. We may become adults but we perpetuate and continue to listen to an evaluation of ourselves forgetting where it even came from. Unquestioned we continue to judge and condemn ourselves and if left unchecked the inner critic can wage inner chaos.
The task in exploring this archetype is first understanding whose voice we have internalized and then clearing the beliefs we made up about ourselves as children. The Core Self would actively correct and counterbalance the negative messages and replace them with realistic, positive ones. Then our critic can serve a useful function helping us learn from mistakes and improve. We accept that striving for perfection is futile and instead find helpful ways to grow and accept ourselves as human beings, flaws and all.
For there to be harmony in our psyche, we focus our goal on validating and accepting all aspects of ourselves with equal understanding and compassion. This exploration will increase the student’s self- awareness and ultimately empower them to be clear about who they are and which part of themselves is in charge.
When one takes guidance from the solid Core Self then one’s behavior reflects inner values and that will inevitably translate into living a life with greater purpose and integrity.