Awareness, Alertness, Intimacy as part of your life force and your nature – conclusion of the five day challenge

Even at a young age, I encountered transactional analysis (TA), which captivated me because of its simplicity and effectiveness in dealing with conflicts and communication. I am not the same, before and after TA. I also started on a spiritual path very early on practicing hatha, bhakti and karma yoga, and that brought me a different kind of knowledge and sense of myself and the world around me, for which I am immensely grateful.

My life experience has shown me that the path of spiritual self-work and the path of psychological self-work are one and the same thing. But people see them as different perspectives.

Well, starting from this insight of mine, on this challenge I tried to draw a parallel between the teachings of Eric Berne, the father of transactional analysis (for those who don't know, it's a direction in psychology that deals with communication between people) and the ancient Vedic psychological view of man, written in the Vedas (1,500-1,000 years BC) through the Pancha Cosha model or the model of the five sheaths.

The challenge was followed live by over 150 people, to whom I thank immensely for the presence of all days and the activity in the discussions.

So, when Eric Berne (1961) laid the foundations of Transactional Analysis (TA) more than 70 years ago, he described the person through the Ego states: Parent, Adult, and Child. But he also writes about the natural development of man calling it Physis, which he presented as a growing force that makes a person want to grow and become better, progress, be/act towards better, just like the growing force of Nature, which helps organisms to develop into higher forms. Cornell (2010) further describes Physis as a positive life force, a natural force that demands better health.

If we start from Eric Bern's definition of Physis, where it is a force that leads people to development and better action, the question arises: what does the life force (Physis) lead to, what does progress and the desire to be good, happy, harmonious lead us to? . What is it that makes our life worth living?

The ultimate goal of human progress according to Berne is to reach autonomy which is manifested through the release or restoration of the three capacities (of the Adult ego state): awareness, spontaneity and intimacy, and later added responsibility and integrity in man.

Awareness – implies life here and now (not in the past or in the future). It means experiencing things unencumbered by past experiences, and thus being fully aware of ourselves, others and the situation we are in, and based on that we are able to predict future events and interactions. Consciousness allows us to experience the world directly and be aware of the reality we are in right now.

Spontaneity – means to be able to choose, to have the freedom to manifest feelings and ego states (parent, adults, children), in a way that is most appropriate for the current situation. Spontaneity means open and uncensored expression of feelings, desires and needs.

Intimacy or the ability to receive and give love, honesty and openness without censorship, without manipulation and play. It is a pristine and innocent experience of the here and now, where we see people from a position of wonder and curiosity, not personal need.

In other words, autonomy it comes when we are fully aware and act in the present situation and environment, as opposed to reacting through the mode of conditioned behavior; when we can make a meaningful choice of the most appropriate behavior in a range of options; when we are truly open, honest and authentic with each other, when we take full responsibility for our actions, and believe that only we are responsible for ourselves and no one else; and when we are able to discover meaning in our life experiences so that we live honestly and in accordance with our principles.

However, autonomy was later sublimated by other authors into two variables: contact with self and contact with others.

Self-contact involves accessing the internal dialogue (talk in the head), taking action, taking a stance based on our thoughts; while contact with others refers to the behavior formed while interacting with others, such as encouragement, indulgence, open-mindedness, prejudice, etc.

The capacity originally used to describe autonomy may need to be reconsidered and true autonomy may come when we move between contact with ourselves and contact with others.

On the other hand, the sages of the ancient Yoga tradition remind us that we are all inhabitants of two worlds.

An inner world which is thoughts emotions and feelings and an outer universe which is the universe in which we interact.

Our ability as human beings it depends on our ability to skillfully live in these two worlds.

Ancient yogic concepts and the explanation of the essence of man were written 1,000-1,500 years BC in the Vedas, where it is said that in every cell of the human body pulsates the Atman. It is described as the life or Divine principle of man. The inner core, Atman or Self, is what gives life to the body, mind and intellect, in other words, it is the life-giving principle within us that enables our body to act and perceive, our mind to feel and think, and our intellect to reason. Without it, man will not be able to function.

This insight is described in the Upanishads, through this story:

"Bring me fruit from the banyan tree."

"Here father."

"Open it... What do you see?"

"These little seeds."

"Now open one of them… What do you see?"

"Nothing father."

"Son... There is a subtle essence there that you cannot see, but through that essence, the essence of the real great banyan tree exists... That is the Truth. That is the Self. And you are that.''

(Tat Tvam Asi, in original Sanskrit)

(Chhandogya Upanishad, trans. Paramahamsa Yogananda)

Characteristics of the Atman are: Alertness, Awareness, Non-attachment, Presence, Wisdom, Curiosity, Love, Joy

Bern, says that the ultimate goal of human growth and increasing awareness is autonomy whose characteristics are; Awareness, Vigilance, Intimacy, Integrity, Responsibility.

So now considering these comparisons, it emerges as if the Physis springs from the Atman(s), the Self or the Soul 🙂 and isn't that one and the same!

Starting from that assumption and using the meditation tool, I organized this 5-day inner journey, with the aim of increasing awareness of one's mental and emotional health through the so-called Vedic concept  Pancha Kosha described in the Taithiri Upanishad or the Pattern of the Five Mantles of Man, which envelop the inner core, which is called the Atman or Self.

Mental and emotional health includes our emotional, psychological and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel and act. It also helps determine how we deal with stress, how we relate to others, and how we make healthy choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence to adulthood, and therefore it is important to talk about all aspects that can be improved and that affect its improvement, and the Pancha Kosha model includes all aspects in this.

The human personality is a combination of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual dimensions combined with thoughts, feelings, social adjustments and behaviours, self-perceptions, values and attitudes. It can be said that man in his essence is a complex being. But in the Vedic psychological view of the human person, man is seen through the characteristics that a sheath (kosha) carries with him.

During the challenge, we worked on the shells, one each day, and the ways to strengthen them, all with the aim of increasing self-awareness and one's mental, emotional and physical health. That is, we talked about what needs to be undertaken, in order to strengthen ourselves internally and reach our divine (atman) nature.

The challenge was followed by over 150 people, who actively participated in the discussions and presentations.

I thank everyone from the bottom of my heart

Until the next challenge, stay in Love and Light

Bibi Pesheva ❤️

 

 

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