Transpersonal Psychology and the feminin.
I
have come to a point where I feel the need to redefine what Transpersonal
Psychology is and means to me. It seems that the area of study is not
completely encompassed by any particular writer; Ken
Wilber, Carl Jung, Stanislav Grof.
Each of these theorists represents specific viewpoints within transpersonal
psychology, which makes TP a field much like politics
or art, where many viewpoints co-exist.
Nor
is transpersonal psychology defined by a specific subject matter, such as
meditation or altered states or spiritual emergency, although these are some of
its topics. It still is relatively new field, with many different formulations
and syntheses, and it has much unexplored territory.
The
transpersonal perspective is not a unified system of thought,
it seems more fluid and flexible than that.
Transpersonal
theory seems to go beyond specific viewpoints to articulate a
comprehensive psycho-spiritual vision of
life and its unfolding[1]. In this sense it affords a
wider perspective for all the learning of conventional psychology and
recasts psychology into a new mold and spiritual framework.
When
we discuss transpersonal psychology we are looking at
the psyche from a new perspective.
I
agree with the thinkers we discussed, that we live in a time where a new
worldview is emerging and spreading with increasing force, touching all areas
of culture, thought and society.
Humankind
seems on the verge of reaching and conquering yet another
In
this course we encountered for example the shift in
consciousness we (humans) are experiencing. We seem to awaken to a growing
awareness that our lives are interconnected and that our world is – beyond the
material – in essence composed of (events in) consciousness.
We
discussed the major paradigm shift (in process/progress) away from the
traditional scientific, materialistic worldview toward a more holistic,
spiritual perspective.
Recognizing
gaps in our western ways of knowing we turned to the eastern cultures, in which
fellow human beings developed other ways of dealing with life and being human.
Transpersonal Psychology integrated many methods and insights found in eastern
traditions (some thinkers define TP as a merging
of traditional psychology with eastern wisdom, but I do not agree).
When
we dare to acknowledge that we cannot proceed with our western “modern
experiment” (in Schumacher’s terms - without religion), we can come to the
conclusion that it is indeed time to drastically challenge our way of relating
to this world.
It
is of utmost importance to realize that a shift in worldview will drastically
change how we create our world: if we want to transform our world (to make it a
better place), we should be looking at ways to change our perspective.
One
way of doing that is to watch what is happening in the world:
What
kind of processes are already “running their course”.
What
shifts and transformations are actually happening?
Where
are the “war-zones” where new visions are fighting (or simply replacing) old
traditions?
We
sidestepped into the field of physics where quantum physicists have transformed
our picture of the world. We studied what quantum physics came up with after
exploring reality from “their” new perspectives. It is of enormous importance to compare notes
and share insights in this endeavor to learn to explore what is.
We
saw that the theories and models developed in quantum physics and transpersonal
psychology – totally different, and not really related disciplines - have striking
similarities.
I
think however, that we should look beyond
these new theories – the theories are in this quest of secondary value. We
should be exploring new ways of looking
at reality, new ways of experiencing and knowing reality.
And in this Transpersonal Psychology and Quantum Physics are
amazingly on the same track…
In
this last learning module we are looking at another
sphere were transformations are taking place: the traditional constructs about
male and female, masculine and feminine are shifting towards a new beyond
gender vision of human beings.
We
will talk about the emerging feminine that (who..)
seems to invite us to make use of her practical skills and spiritual qualities.
She has much to give and seems quite fed up with being suppressed,
ignored and neglected.
Any
new worldview demands from us to integrate feminine ways of relating to the
world into our primarily masculine oriented worldview (my last chapter in this
LM will be devoted to that theme).
In
my view these developments/transformations are all
sprouts from the same root; announcing a shift towards/into a new
In
our traditional way of learning and knowing we made theories,
methodologies and technologies. These were all more or less
designed to grasp reality in order to control, and where possible change
or manipulate it. We have for a long
time attempted to create models that represent the environment/reality in such
a way as to maximally simplify our problem-solving.
Now
we seem to be invited to let go of our models,
theories and constructs as the way to
organize our experience of reality. We seem en
masse to be trying a different approach. We feel drawn to experience
reality in a more direct, more conscious way.
It
is my believe that we have come to a stage in which we
start to finally see that our reality is of a much larger order than we ever
imagined. We seem to awaken to the realization that it is time for us to
realize that we are not alone, we are not separate
beings and certainly not the masters of the universe.
We
humans need (to learn) to be willing to listen to what “what is” asks from us, and create our world accordingly.
I
saw Yentl again this week,
the lyrics seem to fit here:
|
Music: Michel Legrand |
|
|
PRAYER There’s not a morning I begin
without |
Why have the wings |
Qualities of knowing and relating to the world.
In
my view the shifts in paradigms and worldviews we discussed do have a common
ground in being initiated by a new way of relating to reality; a new way of
coming to knowledge.
This
is what I think quantum physics has in common with transpersonal psychology.
Not only are the theories and constructs both disciplines come up with
interesting to compare, it is their ways
of approaching their subject and coming to knowledge that share the same
qualities.
It
is interesting to look at these qualities:
The openness to look beyond existing theories,
realizing that they are just the “what-we-made-of-it” aspect
of reality and in that sense subjective, situation/context-dependent and
relative. Searching for the whole beyond instead
of focusing on the details
Quantum
physicists were looking for the bigger picture, the absolute level behind the
level we can observe and measure. They were willing to look beyond matter to
see a reality underlying our physical world, the quantum reality.
This
is a giant step. To let go of the known and shift attention to what goes on
beyond it – to
realize we can actually get glimpses of the flow by watching the individual
waves – to envision the parts of the iceberg beneath the water and realize its
interconnection with and origin in the sea.
Transpersonal
psychology makes a similar shift. It also looks beyond our five
sensed personal psyche, to find a dimension that could explain many
phenomena that could not be explained in any scientific way. It takes the meta position. It listens to an inner knowing that intuits a transpersonal, spiritual dimension underlying our
psychological reality.
In
their quest for truth both disciplines have opened up
to look beyond the boundaries and limitations that traditional theories
posed.
The flexibility to see reality and our
knowledge of it as an ongoing, fluid process.
The
realization that we and our knowing are continuously
developing, growing and evolving.
Transpersonal
thinkers (and quantum physicists) realized that our relationship with
reality (and thus our coming to knowledge about it) is an ongoing process in
which observer and observed are both part of the same field and consequently
inescapably interconnected and interrelated.
The
traditional language and terminology had to be re-considered and re-defined with the willingness to
evolve it by continuously tasting and weighting it against what was
experienced.
The willingness to accept that knowledge actively
interferes with our world and its subjects and objects. Knowledge itself could even be viewed as a living thing with the ability to
actively pursuing goals of its own.
This
seems a paradox: this new way of looking forces us to actively participate and
adapt to the evolving knowledge, yet asks also for our willingness to let go of
our “ control” over reality and surrender to its
process.
These
thinkers were willing to accept that they did not know, probably could never
know, and certainly could not absolutely know
everything there was to know.
This
seems a small step, but it is not. Maybe it was this sense of humility and reference,
a more or less conscious surrender to a larger order of things that made the
quantum/transpersonal shift in perspective possible. In accepting that man,
separate as individual and seemingly autonomous as species, is actually “just”
part of a much larger whole, called for a major shift of consciousness[2]. The interrelatedness and
interconnectedness of everything - specifically of man with his world/reality
in the transpersonal perspective -
is a basic truth, also in the
quantum perspective.
Compassion. The
heartfelt willingness/urge to take responsibility for ourselves, the world and
for all the creatures in it. The commitment to life
and nature that stems from the realization that all is one.
I
don’t exactly know if this is a quantum thing too, but
transpersonal psychology definitely is a discipline where the heart –
compassion – is considered a (the?)
valuable source of knowing.
Inner
knowing and creative thinking are in. Intuition and synchronicity count.
Visions and dreams are taken as serious as empirical
data.
Transpersonal
psychology uses archetypal symbolism and the “language” of myth to interpret
what the unconscious is telling/asking us. Bioenergetics and meditation have
become accepted tools to further the dialogue between the personal and
transpersonal worlds we seem to inhabit.
These
“new” qualities of knowing are in my view the most important aspects of the
transpersonal perspective and the transpersonal psychology it is giving birth to. The willingness to see what is in a different way, from an
altogether different point of view.
Where
we were looking and defining our reality from a more or less static, passive
scientific model, this new perspective invites us to open up to a interactive,
adaptive new knowledge.
Instead
of looking as outsiders or separate observers at a world of space, time and
matter, we are challenged to look at it from within, as participants in a ongoing process of creation. Instead of taking pictures we
are learning to direct real-time movies, instead of getting our information
from a personal library we are exploring the internet.
Only
when we are willing to see reality from these new, fluid
perspective our man-made constructs will loosen their grip. Then we will
be able to transform our worldview and with it our world into a better place.
It
is amazing how indeed this shift in perspective is noticeable in all areas, on
all levels...
Even
in transpersonal
psychology itself.
In
earlier stages TP used to
focus mainly on the “high end” of human experience, especially those spiritual
and psychic experiences that always mystified humans. More recently, there has
been a shift in the transpersonal perspective towards how the spiritual is expressed in everyday life.
It
has become clear that the transpersonal must include the whole - not just the
high end of human experience - but the very personal realm of ordinary
consciousness as well.
Transpersonal
psychologists seem to have a task in today’s world. They are equipped to look
beyond the models and limiting constructs we humans have of our reality.
Transpersonal psychologists are in a good position to commit themselves in a compassionate way to truly
participate in the emergence of a new worldview. Which finally brings me to
the subject matter of this learning module: the transpersonal feminine.
Transpersonal
Psychology and the Feminine[3]
The
archetype of gender is a factor in the construction of human symbolic language
and as such a way in which we perceive and speak of our world and ourselves in it . In other words: the archetype
of gender genderizes our perception, our knowledge of
reality.
The
attribution of highest value to the masculine gender has been so pervasive and
insistent in what we know of human history, that men have
become identified with the masculine gender, so that the masculine
gender is the central point of reference in practically every field of human
endeavor[4].
As
we were discussing the emerging new worldviews and our need for major shifts in
consciousness it is relevant to take the developments of feminism and the
growing appreciation of feminine principles into account.
Although
it takes an effort not to identify with personal gender, I think it is
important to realize that we are discussing transpersonal gender/archetypal
experience here.
We
take the term “transpersonal” literally in the sense of beyond the personal, across the personal and also in the sense of underlying the
personal; being of a larger order than the personal (see LMI).
Not the place or time to discuss what women or men do or need
to do on a personal level.
Now
we are looking at the bigger picture of a new worldview and new ways to relate
to and know reality.
In
this exploration one of the most important aspects of
the archetypal feminine is the desire to translate spiritual abstractions into
daily life. In other words, the feminine principle stands for the living
of knowledge – this is the archetypal feminine way to gain wisdom (represented
by Sophia).
The
transpersonal feminine is interested in process, it
trusts this process and has the faith to surrender to living it right here and
in the now.
The
archetypal feminine is about being (whereas the
masculine is (more) about doing).
In
archetypal symbolism it is the feminine which receives
the spirit in material form.
Another
important quality of the feminine is the heart – the feeling-functions (in
addition to the masculine mind and thinking-functions). Intuition is ascribed
to the feminine and the shadow/underworld of the unconscious is
also much her domain.
The feminine (Gaia principle) is earth, nature, the cycles of
live, the body itself. The sacredness of matter and the almost heretic insight that
God is in everyman (and not in churches or religions) are typically feminine.
When
we agree that the western world has been dominated by the masculine principle,
and we see a transforming shift in perspective in multiple and various areas,
combined with the emerging of the long neglected/ignored feminine principle, I
feel invited to look at the possible relation between these phenomena.
Is
the transpersonal feminine the “missing” experience in our consciousness?
Could
it be that the qualities of knowing I described before are intrinsic in the
feminine?
Is
reality itself seeking to restore balance by pushing the feminine principle
into the foreground?
Let
us examine shortly the different aspects the feminine principle represents and
see if there is some truth to this daring hypothesis….
An
important source of knowledge about the feminine perspective is what women
experience (and certainly where women feel they don’t
fit into what their culture expects them to experience).
Again,
a shift in perspective was necessary to realize that the separate-self model
traditional psychology uses, describes what men experience and thus is a
masculine model.
Coming
from this premise the women of the
In
their view there is a need for a new sense of self
that takes into account what is happening between people. This self is
inseparable from the dynamic interaction that results from attending to and
responding to others and their feeling.
The
self-in-relation theory suggests that self develops in the context of
relationships and emphasizes a two-way interaction between self and
environment. It recognizes self as a process, an ongoing evolutionary
development with an emphasis on assimilation, growth and change.
This
is definitely a different, feminine
perspective, with a much more subjective relationship to reality. It
points to qualities of knowledge such as the flexibility to see reality as an
ongoing process and the willingness to accept that everything is connected and
interrelated.
In
fact all qualities I mentioned are prominently present
in the self-in-relation (feminine) perspective.
Whereas
the self-in-relation model emphasizes our connectedness to others beyond our
personal realm as a source of meaning, defining humans as relational beings,
the transpersonal perspective focuses on our connectedness, as spiritual
beings, to the larger framework of a deeper spiritual reality.
Most
importantly the self-in-relation model shows us the
feminine principle that recognizes that separation is an illusion and that
growth and development evolves through stages of ever-increasing levels of
awareness and consciousness of the underlying connection, and ultimately the
unity of all.
Another
source of knowledge of the feminine perspective are
myths.
Clarissa
Pinkola Estés[6] collected a whole book
worth of stories and myths about the archetype of the Wild Women.
In
her extensive “psycho-archeological” explorations into the ruins of the female
underworld, she writes about the feminine instinctive nature. Her Feminine
shares certain psychic characteristics with healthy wolves: keen sensing, playful spirit and a
heightened capacity for devotion.
They are relational by nature, inquiring and possessed of great endurance and
strength. They are deeply intuitive, intensely concerned with their young,
their mates and their pack. They are experienced in adapting to constantly
changing circumstances; they are fiercely stalwart and very brave.
Pinkola Estés assigns these
qualities to her Wild Women archetype.
This
feminine perspective/way of relating to reality,
manifests in a compassionate commitment to life and nature. It shows up in
instinctive knowing and visionary creativity where life engages us in
challenging situations. It adapts to and transforms, listens
and guides, watches and inspires….
Working
on these themes I notice the emergent feminine
everywhere. Not only in the feminist/feminine/goddess movements, but also in
culture (movies, music, art, fashion), politics (even the Arab summit in
In
my world (
We
have a long way to go, but at least we seem to have stopped running (blindly)
and at least some of us are committed to exploring new paths to follow.
And.. it seems apparent that the
missing Feminine has her ways of (re)claiming her place in our consciousness.
Jung was probably right when he said:
“Whatever is not brought
to consciousness, comes to us as fate”.
[1] Brant Cortright, Psychotherapy
and Spirit, 1997
[2] I do not suggest that
this was a direct move into a religious worldview, but I think that it is a
major shift in consciousness when we realize that man is not omniscient or
omnipotent or any sense “the master of the universe”.
[3] As I just studied the
psychology of men and women in TC510 with Shelley
Takei (and will go on to do so in my next course TC520),
I refer to my essays on the subjects of 1. comparing feminine psychology with traditional and
transpersonal psychology, 2. comparing the feminine
experience with the masculine experience 3. the woundedness, grieving and healing that is going on as a
result of the repression of the feminine principles and also 4. recognizing the
importance to integrate the feminine ways of relating to the world into our
primarily masculine ways.
[4] Lyn Cowan, Dismantling the Animus, 1993/2000
[5] Women’s growth in connection,
[6] Women Who Run With the Wolves, Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype, Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Ph.D., 1992
[7]May 2004