Given the above it seems unsurprising to discover that the western idea of self appears to be an interesting historical remnant of the religious movement which has dominated European ideology over the last 2000 years. The idea of each of us having an individual soul which is essence eternal and in constant connection with an all-knowing and all-encompassing being able to connect with each of us personally when we are in need is a seductive one.
This essence soul or spirit has lent self-importance to individualism which has been the hallmark of western philosophical thought for centuries. It explains why in western cultural thought what has been identified as the self has reached such exalted heights of self- importance long identified by psychoanalysts as the ego.
Self-Liberation
The inevitable question that arises is why this liberation of our true self is so difficult for us to even envisage let alone act upon? The answer is that the self that you really are lies underneath multiple layers of self-illusion overlaid by many layers of social and cultural conditioning. Most of us come to rely on these layers as protection from the vicissitudes of life, a life that we correctly perceive and superstitiously enhance as being full of inherent danger. Interestingly we then invest these protective layers as being protection against our inner self. We begin to feel that what lies under them may represent something that might also be frightening and dangerous. This is what anxiety really is, a fear of the external reflecting and often amplified by a fear of the internal. The unfamiliar is by definition disturbing. Our inherent fears suggest to us that avoidance may well be the best path to take. Ignorance may well be a preferable bliss. So we deny and to do this we dissociate; we distract; we deflect. In a life of fear most humans see the predictability of denial as being infinitely preferable to the intolerable psychological pain that uncovering of uncertain truths might bring. We convince ourselves that there are dark mysterious deadly secrets we do not want to perceive Once unburied these secrets will inevitably destroy us. Somewhat surprisingly this combination of the evolutionary heritage of animalistic fears fused with ancient prehistoric superstitious animistic beliefs still inform and guide us even to this day.
It takes great courage to resist these fears and look deeply into the self. It is however the only way that one can begin to deal authentically with life. We have seen that life is composed of two major entities namely yourself and the world. It follows naturally therefore that to deal effectively with life two awarenesses need to be generated. The first is aware-ness of self by which I mean both inner self and outer self. The second is awareness of the world that envelops and surrounds you.
Awareness of self is not easy. It is therefore not surprising that most of us accomplish this awareness only within the crucible of a trusted relationship. It is only when we feel safe do we dare to explore our deepest fears. It is only within a deep bond of trust that we can let our defences go. It is only within the deep bond of such a trust that we can release our fears and become ourselves. It is only within such a relationship that one can extricate one’s self from the traumatic fears of what for many has become a brain reduced to one that is honed only for one purpose namely survival (the survival brain) and return the brain to its pre-traumatised state namely one that is capable of a normal learning and developing process when re-education again becomes possible (the learning brain).
Fear or traumatic fear halts normal brain development. It halts normal brain process. The pathology of this abnormally influenced brain then distorts and colours all future development. It can be seen therefore that not only does the trauma itself needs to be dealt with or worked through but the brain in its entirety needs its process dynamic to be restarted exactly where it stopped. Psychological inter-actions and inter-reactions need re-adjustment allowing them to integrate more realistic and more truthful experiences of the world. If these attempts to introject more helpful conceptual and social-interactional patterns are successful future psychological development can proceed more normally. The process of normal human psychological development may once again begin. Genuine psychotherapy requires dealing with the inertia of a stalled brain process. Once the process is unblocked the brain once again spontaneously takes up the dynamic motion that is our life. This dynamic by definition will initially be imbalanced and in disequilibrium.
Re-establishing that equilibrium and balance involves a re-calibration of invariably fixated ideologies and pre-conceived notions that have been used defensively for the survival of the self. (the survival brain) These pathologically conceived ideologies and preconceptions are by their very nature designed to distort perception of the realities and truth of the self and the world barring them from the awareness of the self. Corrections of these distortions together with strengthening of healthier psychological patterns is a sine qua non in the restorative management of the anxiety process.
This essence soul or spirit has lent self-importance to individualism which has been the hallmark of western philosophical thought for centuries. It explains why in western cultural thought what has been identified as the self has reached such exalted heights of self- importance long identified by psychoanalysts as the ego.
Self-Liberation
The inevitable question that arises is why this liberation of our true self is so difficult for us to even envisage let alone act upon? The answer is that the self that you really are lies underneath multiple layers of self-illusion overlaid by many layers of social and cultural conditioning. Most of us come to rely on these layers as protection from the vicissitudes of life, a life that we correctly perceive and superstitiously enhance as being full of inherent danger. Interestingly we then invest these protective layers as being protection against our inner self. We begin to feel that what lies under them may represent something that might also be frightening and dangerous. This is what anxiety really is, a fear of the external reflecting and often amplified by a fear of the internal. The unfamiliar is by definition disturbing. Our inherent fears suggest to us that avoidance may well be the best path to take. Ignorance may well be a preferable bliss. So we deny and to do this we dissociate; we distract; we deflect. In a life of fear most humans see the predictability of denial as being infinitely preferable to the intolerable psychological pain that uncovering of uncertain truths might bring. We convince ourselves that there are dark mysterious deadly secrets we do not want to perceive Once unburied these secrets will inevitably destroy us. Somewhat surprisingly this combination of the evolutionary heritage of animalistic fears fused with ancient prehistoric superstitious animistic beliefs still inform and guide us even to this day.
It takes great courage to resist these fears and look deeply into the self. It is however the only way that one can begin to deal authentically with life. We have seen that life is composed of two major entities namely yourself and the world. It follows naturally therefore that to deal effectively with life two awarenesses need to be generated. The first is aware-ness of self by which I mean both inner self and outer self. The second is awareness of the world that envelops and surrounds you.
Awareness of self is not easy. It is therefore not surprising that most of us accomplish this awareness only within the crucible of a trusted relationship. It is only when we feel safe do we dare to explore our deepest fears. It is only within a deep bond of trust that we can let our defences go. It is only within the deep bond of such a trust that we can release our fears and become ourselves. It is only within such a relationship that one can extricate one’s self from the traumatic fears of what for many has become a brain reduced to one that is honed only for one purpose namely survival (the survival brain) and return the brain to its pre-traumatised state namely one that is capable of a normal learning and developing process when re-education again becomes possible (the learning brain).
Fear or traumatic fear halts normal brain development. It halts normal brain process. The pathology of this abnormally influenced brain then distorts and colours all future development. It can be seen therefore that not only does the trauma itself needs to be dealt with or worked through but the brain in its entirety needs its process dynamic to be restarted exactly where it stopped. Psychological inter-actions and inter-reactions need re-adjustment allowing them to integrate more realistic and more truthful experiences of the world. If these attempts to introject more helpful conceptual and social-interactional patterns are successful future psychological development can proceed more normally. The process of normal human psychological development may once again begin. Genuine psychotherapy requires dealing with the inertia of a stalled brain process. Once the process is unblocked the brain once again spontaneously takes up the dynamic motion that is our life. This dynamic by definition will initially be imbalanced and in disequilibrium.
Re-establishing that equilibrium and balance involves a re-calibration of invariably fixated ideologies and pre-conceived notions that have been used defensively for the survival of the self. (the survival brain) These pathologically conceived ideologies and preconceptions are by their very nature designed to distort perception of the realities and truth of the self and the world barring them from the awareness of the self. Corrections of these distortions together with strengthening of healthier psychological patterns is a sine qua non in the restorative management of the anxiety process.