Subpersonalities: The People Inside Us

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However, some find this approach ambiguous, and as to how it is done, whether through meditation or some other self-prescribed method, is entirelyup to your own devices. Each part can present a whole spectrum of various behaviors and emotions. And it is amazing that when we look inside ourselves and start getting to know that internal family that lives in us, it suddenly turns out that these parts are like people, like some kind of family really, with whom we can try to get along and help it’s each member change their destructive behavior.

What are these parts in the first place? Some may take it for some kind of a metaphor. We look into ourselves and see that there is an i nner critic, a perfectionist, an inner child and that this is a way to name our thoughts. From the therapy point of view, this is not quite how it works in the Internal Family Systems theory. After all, even now many neuropsychologists claim that our brain works on a modular basis. The modules seem to co-operate - some more constructively, others less, but they all form an internal community of autonomous neural networks interacting with each other. In the form which follows, the first phase of the exercise—the dis-identification—consists of three parts dealing with the physical, emotional, and mental aspects of awareness. This leads to the self-identification phase. Once some experience is gained with it, the exercise can be expanded or modified according to need, as will be indicated further on. By Kenneth Sørensen, 2022, the following text is my introduction to the free e-book Subpersonalities, which is a collection of 10 articles by Roberto Assagioli. Obviously these exercises can be combined with other practices, drawn from a wide range of psychological and spiritual disciplines, East and West, nor do they represent a complete compilation of available psychosynthetic practices. But these particular twelve have proven central, again and again, to work in psychosynthesis, and they are published here in the hopes that they will continue to be of such use in the decades ahead.Another point to note: This is not the truth. If parts of this concept do not resonate with you, take what you need and discard the rest. It is fair to say that we are all in constant relationship, and that we have a unique mode of being in every situation, depending on who we are surrounded by. Now close your eyes, recall briefly in your consciousness the general substance of this affirmation, and then gradually focus your attention on the central concept: “I have a body but I am not my body.” Attempt, as much as you can, to realise this as an experienced fact in your consciousness. Then open your eyes and proceed the same way with the next two stages. Synthesis is therefore a kind of unity in diversity, with each organ having its own individual nature and function, while also being aligned with the greater purpose of the whole. This type of synthesis does not occur naturally in the psychological world, but there are means to achieve it. You can either consider these points during the review exercise itself, or, if this gets in your way, you can think about them at the end of the review. These points are meant to give you a choice of perspective and need not all be covered. The main purpose is to get well acquainted with your subpersonalities. We suggest that particularly at the beginning you keep the exercise fairly simple, and give it no more than 15 minutes a day.

In the use of this exercise, two further mental processes are necessary: discrimination and interpretation We must learn to discriminate between those images which carry true wisdom and those which do not. For example, occasionally a critical and authoritarian figure appears, one who is not truly loving toward you. This can be the projection of a subpersonality or a known person onto the superconscious, and discrimination must be used to recognise it for what it is and “unmask” it. Also, a positive projection onto the superconscious may result in hearing “what you want to”, not what is really being communicated. Roberto Assagioli was the first to coin the term subpersonalities, however, he was inspired by William James’s concept of various selves and sees subpersonalities primary as normal psychological formations based on our social roles and functions. Parts use a variety of strategies to satisfy their needs. An internal critic may discourage us from acting to prevent us from experiencing failure, and thus having destructive impact on us (e.g. laziness, shyness, self-criticism).What distinguishes the therapy based on Internal Family Systems theory the most is the so called Self energy. It is a state of consciousness in which we do not identify with any of the parts. In that state, we dissociate from all our parts and are in a state of pure curiosity, openness and kindness. It is from this level that we want to communicate with each part, because it makes our parts more open and more willing to share what they have to say. This constant input of influences veils the clarity of consciousness and produces spurious identifications of the self with the content of consciousness, rather than with consciousness itself. If we are to make self- consciousness explicit, clear, and vivid, we must first dis-identify ourselves from the contents of our consciousness. Identification This is a modification of ‘The Evening Review”. It consists of reviewing your day from the point of view of the three main personality aspects: your body, your feelings, and your mind.