Chapter 10 – Transpersonal Development
The Self or our higher Self describes the identity within us that always stays the same – other names are our authentic Self, our transcendental Self, our center, the essence, the source, Being, pure consciousness or our heart point (which we will come back to later). Yes, a dear child has many names – an impressive amount, when considering the difficulty of describing the state, but they all aim to depict the higher intelligence that we have the potential to reach. Or as Piero Ferrucci puts it in What We May Be – “our true essence beyond all masks and conditionings”.
Transpersonal psychology or ”height psychology” is a term for the teachings that make use of the spiritual dimension for our development. Instead of dwelling on, and going deeper into the problems at the personality level, we look for solutions on a higher plane. By utilizing a higher state of consciousness – with a broader perspective – experiences can be transformed, seen in a new light and brought to a higher level.
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The next step in our development
More and more people seem to have transpersonal experiences and one explanation for this may be that it is the next step in our human development. A shift in our perception from the parts, towards the whole; a raising of consciousness because we have reached a more coherent state with a greater balance between the different parts of our personality.
I once read that the word eccentric in the original sense means to live outside one’s center (ex center) and that a few hundred years ago it was considered a mental disorder. Today, probably most of us in the West would get this diagnosis. Or ”no one at home” as the native said when he looked the Westerner in the eyes.
As pointed out earlier, we cannot receive lasting happiness and fulfillment from the outside world. That kind of satisfaction needs to be continually replenished. A new job, new partner, new house and new activities – it never ends. Without contact with our higher Self, we will always live in a state of deficiency. We can ease the sense of emptiness with new “things” and activities which give short-term distraction and an energy boost, but soon we are back again and have to buy ourselves some form of relief.
Our ongoing activities are often a substitute for the essence; an escape from the pain of being separated from the whole. When we are in perfect harmony, what we do is less important; it is more about how we do it. Most probably, the lack of contact with the essence causes most forms of addiction; a way of trying to fill the inner emptiness from outside. Our imperfect personality is busy trying to achieve a perfect state – consciously or unconsciously.
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