PREVIOUS WEBINARS

Experiencing the 7 Core Experiences

In this light hearted and hopefully helpful webinar, we will experience Assagioli’s 7 core concepts, not as seven different things, but as the unified reality that they invite. These concepts or “experiences” as he referred to them, were formulated in 1974, shortly before his death. They have moved, over the last many years, into being the defining orientation of much psychosynthesis training. But, they are, as RA himself knew so deeply, natural experiences of being human. Not rocket science, just a lifelong practice. Let’s practice together with our humanity, guided by Roberto’s wisdom and love.

Target Audience: Everyone who has an interest and some experience of psychosynthesis is welcome. Not a theory-based webinar, so If you are familiar with the 7 core concepts (sometimes called experiences) you are welcome. Assagioli named them as follows:

1) Disidentification

2) The personal self

3) The will: good, strong, skillful

4) The ideal model

5) Synthesis (in its various aspects)

6) The superconscious

7) The transpersonal Self

Learning Objectives: 

1. Experience   the interrelationship of all 7 core concepts as they define psychosynthesis and as they are guidelines for our own lifelong personal and spiritual growth
2. Build awareness of your own skills and comfort with the essence of psychosynthesis as a life practice.
3. Activate your will towards building a lived experience of using and being with these concepts, in hard times and n daily living.
4. Have some fun, grow, and connect.

         

Imagination and Psychosynthesis: Developments in Image-based theory and practice

With guest editor Allan Frater, author of  ‘Waking Dreams: Imagination in Psychotherapy & Everyday Life’ One of my favorite lines from Roberto Assagioli is, “When will and imagination come into conflict, imagination wins” *. His meaning is that imagination is an important precursor to change. Good ideas and motivation are not enough. Without the ability to imagine those ideas as realistic opportunities, we go with the flow of the familiar rather than step into the uncertainty of the new. In this view, therapy is primarily an act of imagination. To the extent imaginative possibilities can be engaged, a new “will” or a way forward can emerge, one that can carry ideas and dreams into expression in the world. To this end imagination is very much valued and utilized within psychosynthesis: theoretically as a psychological faculty of equal importance to feeling, thinking, and sensation – as seen in the Star Diagram and the Psychological Laws; and in practice across a plethora of image-based experiential techniques and methods. The principles and methods of image-based work originally presented by Assagioli continue to be applied broadly across the psychosynthesis community. Clearly, these have a lasting value and place. However, I imagine individuals and groups of psychosynthesis practitioners have built upon this foundation over the years. The forthcoming December edition of the AAP Psychosynthesis Quarterly is therefore an opportunity to share any such developments in the theory and practice of psychosynthesis image-based work. If you are interested in putting your new ideas and/or experiences on the how and why of image-based work into print, we’d like to hear from you. It might be a modification to a specific guided imagery or visualization exercise; a revisioning of the basis for image-based techniques in general; or a closer integration of image-based work with other aspects of psychosynthesis theory and practice. It might be a new theory of change that addresses the transformative and healing power of imaginative experience; or an integration of new influences into psychosynthesis from contemporary perspectives in ecological and indigenous paradigms or complexity and quantum theories. Whatever you’re thinking and practicing, large or small, we’ll be interested to include it as part of the wider-web of a living and evolving psychosynthesis. *Roberto Assagioli, Psychosynthesis: A Manual of Principles and Techniques (London: Thorsons, 1993), p144 Allan Frater is an author, psychotherapist, supervisor, and teacher at The Psychosynthesis Trust in London, UK. He is interested in the role of imagination within normal everyday life, creative work, and healing/transformation. His first book ‘Waking Dreams’ presented a critical development of standard approaches to ‘active imagination’ and ‘guided imagery’ incorporating paradigm-shifting ideas and methods from ecopsychology, complexity theory, fractal geometry, and transpersonal psychotherapy. He runs a popular on-line ‘Waking Dreams’ course and is currently writing a second book, provisionally titled ‘Living Between Stories: Imagination in a Time of Crisis’. 

Exploring Psychosynthesis as a Living System

Presented by Svante Björklund; psychosynthesis teacher, therapist, coach and consultant. Exploratory meeting to see, contemplate and maybe have a direct perception of psychosynthesis as a Living System. We will experience theory and dive deeper into competence with the questions Assagioli put to the conference in Quebec 1973: “What constitutes competence in psychosynthesis and how this can be certified, as a general rule, in each of the fields in which psychosynthesis can be applied?”

Target Audience: Psychosynthesis practitioners, current and “retired”, such as: teachers, therapists, councellors, coaches, consultants. Exploratory meeting to see, contemplate and maybe have a direct perception of psychosynthesis as a Living System. We will experience theory and dive deeper into competence with the questions Assagioli put to the conference in Quebec 1973: “What constitutes competence in psychosynthesis and how this can be certified, as a general rule, in each of the fields in which psychosynthesis can be applied?”

and 

“What is the right perspective on the questions of competence, given the great need of so many at the present time for at least an introduction to psychosynthesis in their own lives and work, and the need for psychosynthesis to be presented in a competent, qualitatively high, and professionally acceptable way?”

In addition to this the participants may feel an urge to take up other issues that relates to Living Systems as perspectives on psychosynthesis.

A possibility is to conduct a small experiment where we will contemplate what Gaian Will possibly can be?

Learning Objectives: Attendees will together practice theoria (Greek) as Assagioli meant the original definition of theory is: “to see, contemplate and have a direct perception of some truth.” We will discover a way to relate to theory that may not have been open before.

We will practice dialogue mixed with short presentations of various questions in the line with the description above. You can here experience deeper resonance as we practice attentive and respectful dialogue.

And again, to use Assagioli’s words: “What really matters is ascertaining, through experiment, what are the most apt ways or approaches toward the safe achievement of the expansion of consciousness.”

We will collaborate on achieving this.

Svante Björklund Bio: First encounter with psychosynthesis was in New Zealand during the 90ies. After having returned to Sweden (my native country) I started my psychosynthesis journey in December 1999, organizational consultant in 2003 and therapist in 2005. Started with teaching as an apprentice in 2004 with the new beginners. Still teaching the in-depth sessions for the therapists based on the two last(!) books by John Firman & Ann Gila. Also involved in systemic supervision with the organizational consultants all in Sweden’s largest psychosynthesis school in Sweden. 

Several people in AAP have been very influential in how I understand psychosynthesis. First meetings are from my visit to the AAP conference in Minneapolis-St Paul in 2005. Molly Brown, John Firman, Ann Gila, Tom Yeomans, Mark Horowitz, Didi Firman and the late John Parks and so many more (I haven’t forgotten you).

Digging in the archives with Alle Fonti in Florence is also a high point together with two international conferences in Italy.The embodiment part was securely grounded with 15 years of Aikido, 8 years of Yoga and especially with the Rosen Method including two magic meetings with Marion Rosen and all the Rosen intensives on top of that.

All this has been very useful in the Systemic Constellations work since 2005 with all the best teachers in Europe. Systemic Constellations has been embodiment in practice for me and sometimes a painful experience of self-discovery. Now it is a passion to be exercised as often as possible.  Svante Björklund ,  Stockholm Sweden. svante@intuitiv-dialog.se

Embracing the Empty Space Presented by Claude Convers 

Target Audience:

This webinar is for anyone interested in experiencing the Psychosynthesis process. We’ll explore our interactions with choices, and how they affect our daily life and our way of being in the world.

Description:

In our December 2022 AAP Quarterly, we witnessed how the empty space can be perceived, among many other things, as being challenging, unpredictable, or joyful. In this webinar, my intention is to bring lightness into the process of stepping into the empty space while expanding on the experience of surrender and the sense of exploration and curiosity.

Using Psychosynthesis tools and philosophy as support, we’ll practice making choices while letting go of the outcome. We’ll open our minds and hearts to the emergence of creativity and we’ll ease the moment of pushing past our resistance to open ourselves to whatever will be.

Participants will have the opportunity to engage with one another and share experiences, and, if the desire emerges, to also share the tangible outcomes of their creative expression and exploration. 

Learning Objectives - Attendees will: 

Connect to the Higher Self through meditation and imagery

- Interact with poetry, images, music, and gentle movement

- Use spontaneity as a springboard for exploration and discovery

- Engage with other participants and share experiences and understandings

- Learn to open and connect to the sense of flow and surrender in the Psychosynthesis tradition, to brighten daily life and ease relationships with the unknown.

 Claude Convers is a coach and teacher specializing in increasing joy, curiosity, and creativity through the French language. Originally from the French part of Switzerland, she lives in Oakland, CA, and in Europe for a few months out of the year. Prior to teaching, she had a long international career in graphic design, which lead her to learn German and English. 

She has had a personal yoga and meditation practice for over 25 years. She also studied reiki, tantra, shamanism, holistic health, and the tarot. As an artist, poet, and dancer she continues to create, express, and explore.  

She began to study Psychosynthesis with Richard Schaub and Bonney Gulino Schaub in the mid-90s and graduated from their CMI program in 2001. She is currently studying at the Synthesis Center San Francisco with Didi Firman and Susan Jewkes Allen to become a certified Psychosynthesis Life Coach. You can find her at www.claudeconvers.com and www.creativelyfrench.com

FREEDOM IN JAIL: A REFLECTION ON PIGEONS, PAPER, AND PARADISE

Nearly all of us have experienced some form of “lock down” during the past year of the pandemic. This Webinar offers you an opportunity to learn more about Roberto Assagioli’s reflections on the deeper meaning of ‘freedom’ – a word that is bandied about without much thought – from advertising soda drinks to promoting war. The concept of freedom will be explored through Assagioli’s autobiographical account Freedom in Jail. This book outlines Assagioli’s own experience before, during and after his own imprisonment in Regina Coeli prison by the Italian fascist regime in 1940. Freedom in Jail offers insights into Assagioli’s understanding of true “inner freedom, pure freedom … attained rising above the fetters, a sense of expansion ...” We will begin with a presentation by Catherine Ann Lombard, the editor of Freedom in Jail, on how Assagioli described his time in prison, practiced his psychosynthesis concepts and techniques, and ultimately experienced his own personally transformation and self-realization. This will be followed by Q&A. Then we will break up into smaller groups and share our thoughts on a specific excerpt from the book. At the end, we will gather together as a larger group and share whatever insights we might have gained.

Learning Objectives - Attendees will: Hear about what happened to Assagioli before, during, and after his imprisonment. Become aware of the magnitude of Assagioli’s meditations on the concept of freedom. Read and reflect on a specific passage from Freedom in Jail. Engage with others in a smaller group on the passage in order to gain insights into one’s own experience of ‘imprisonment’ and ‘freedom.’ Gain a deeper understanding of the concept of ‘freedom’ through the sharing of insights with the larger group as a whole.

Catherine has requested that you click on this link:https://aap-psychosynthesis.org/resources/Reading%20Freedom%20in%20Jail%20AAP%20Webinar%20Material.pdf and read the attached before attending the webinar and that you bring paper and something to write with.

Presenter: Catherine Ann Lombard is the researcher who edited, annotated and wrote the “Introduction” to Freedom in Jail. Biography: Catherine Ann Lombard, M.A. is a psychosynthesis psychologist, practitioner and researcher. She has had numerous scientific articles published on psychosynthesis and is currently exploring the relationship between Roberto Assagioli and Rabindranath Tagore, the Bengali poet and Nobel Prize winner of Literature. She writes a bimonthly blog on psychosynthesis at LoveAndWill.com.

Synthesis in an age of Polarization

We are pleased to announce that Aubyn Howard, co-founder of Psychosynthesis Coaching Limited (https://www.psychosynthesiscoaching.co.uk/) is presenting: Synthesis in an age of Polarization This webinar draws upon Roberto Assagioli’s teaching about synthesis, evolution and the principle of polarity and develops and applies these to the crises we are facing today at different levels – inner and outer; individual and collective; leaders, groups, systems and society. It introduces new techniques and offers guidance to practitioners and leaders for engaging with polarization from a psychosynthetic perspective. Learning Objectives Attendees will deepen their understanding of how to work with the principles of synthesis to resolve issues or polarization at different levels: self, relationships, groups, organizational systems and society. Learners will explore the principles of synthesis in their own lives, in their inner and outer worlds. Learners will discover and practice new techniques for working with conflict within organizational systems. Learners will recognize how systems forces of polarization are at play in our wider society and explore new ways of engaging with these.

TRANSFORMING COMPLEX TRAUMA INTO RECOVERY AND GROWTH

Presented by Jean A. Rhea, LCMFT (KS), LMFT (CA), MS This session is oriented towards those who may have experienced complex trauma, recovery and growth personally or are now interested in or currently guiding others professionally. One of the key take-aways from this webinar is the importance of asking the question, "What's happened to you?," instead of the often misguided question, "What's wrong with you?," thus opening to the possibility and opportunity for transpersonal recovery and growth. Learning Objectives: Explore moving away from the stigmatizing, marginalizing and polarizing label of 'addiction', instead using substance use and misuse. Explore seeing and holding substance use and misuse as a healthy survival strategy and important primary relationship! Identifying survival subpersonalities with creative, incredible strengths and survival skills. Practice identifying and simplifying complex trauma (individual, family, community national and global) and patterns of substance use and misuse into a single snapshot using a new model I am currently developing: Complex Trauma, Recovery and Growth: A self-directed wellness plan. Explore how to turn Survival Subpersonalities and their Survival Skills and Strengths into new and more Authentic Selves with Recovery Skills and Strengths. Identifying recovery and post-traumatic growth as an often immediate response.

“Psychosynthesis in the Great Unraveling.” with Molly Brown

As we face together the pain, challenges, and transformation of the Great Unraveling, may we draw upon the reserves of strength, creativity, and resilience we have found through psychosynthesis --and move into a Great Turning to a just, peaceful, and vibrant new world.

20/20 Vision: Living our Way into Purpose in the New Year                              Presented by Jon Schottland

This webinar will feature the theme of “Purpose, Meaning, and Values” with Jon Schottland, senior trainer at the Synthesis Northeast institute. We will explore purpose as a guiding principle in psychosynthesis, both in terms of how it informs our personal lives and as well as implications for working with clients. 

Assagioli identified purpose as the first stage of the Act of Will. Thus, as we begin to orient towards purpose we find ourselves drawn into the experience of being willers, and by extension, we arrive at the door of the Self. From this larger perspective, purpose becomes not just a destination but a moment-to-moment journey of living and being that is most resonant with Self.  

Come join us for this lively and interactive conversation about cultivating vision, being guided by purpose, and living with intention as we move into both the new year and a whole new decade. May psychosynthesis find an ever growing audience in the 2020’s and help contribute to a world of peace, harmony and collective well being!

About the Presenter:  Jon Schottland has been a psychosynthesis practitioner for 16 years both as a trainer and clinician in private practice. He is the founder and director of Synthesis Northeast (www.synthesiscoaching.org) and previously served as president and senior trainer at The Synthesis Center in Amherst, MA. Jon was a presenter at the international psychosynthesis congress in Sicily and has led numerous workshops at AAP conferences here in North America. Jon has also worked in higher education as adjunct faculty in the graduate psychology program at American International College and the Global Masters degree program at Sofia University. Email: jon@synthesiscoaching.org 

PERSONAL AND TRANSPERSONAL KNOWING

Presented by Keith Hackwood

Building on the interest in the Personal & Transpersonal Knowing webinars, this is a continuing exploration of the interactions between the personal and transpersonal through the body, mind, spirit and collective using theory, case material and experiential practices. We will consider the relational edge, the fluidity of consciousness within space and time, and ways of working sensitively with subtle states and energies.

 Aims & Learning Objectives

• An exploration of the boundaries between the personal and transpersonal aspects of awareness
• An opportunity to reflect on case material relating to this interface
• Inquiry into the ‘organs of perception’ associated with transpersonal awareness – how do we perceive that we are perceiving?
• Contexts for working with transpersonal will
• Explorations of identity within the liminal realms of altered states of consciousness.
• Opportunity for open discussion/Q&A

www.keithhackwood.com   keith@keithhackwood.com

Relationship as a Journey 

Presented by Ilene Val-Essen, PhD

Target Audience: appropriate for all people interested in relationship, whether romantic, interpersonal, professional, parental, or educational. The session is oriented towards personal growth and will address professional applications as well. 

Presented by Ilene Val-Essen, PhD, a LMFT in private practice since 1975. Dr. Val-Essen has authored two books on parenting, Bring Out the Best in Your Child and Yourself and Parenting with Wisdom and Compassion and has created the Quality Parenting programs, which have been translated into Spanish, Dutch, and Swedish. She is also a contributing author in a psychosynthesis book about relationships to be published in 2020 and has taught at UCLA, Education Extension. The principles, mindsets, and practical skills she applies in various relationships have proven to be applicable in diverse communities.  

In this interactive webinar, we’ll engage with two sets of foundational principles, which invite us to enter a new paradigm of relationship that can dramatically improve how we relate to the people in our lives. As doors open that were previously closed, we become free to interact with others with a wiser and more compassionate heart—even during extraordinary stress when buttons are pushed and fears take center stage. 

We’ll experience a bridge exercise to the higher and become acquainted with a higher-self character, which I’ve named Faithful. Faithful helps us recognize the transformational opportunities in relationship when we value connection more than personal upset. As we work with foundational principles, a bridge exercise to the higher self, and Faithful, a powerful higher-self character, we’ll gain support in being in relationship with greater wisdom and compassion. 

Learning Objectives: by the end of the session, you will

1. Compare the attitudes we bring to two relationships: one viewed as positive and the other viewed as challenging to raise awareness as a foundation for growth and healing.
2. Engage in applying a set of basic principles in order to strengthen, heal, or improve relationships.
3. Explore the concept of extraordinary stress to help understand why we find it extremely difficult to stay centered in certain situations.
4. Practice applying the advanced set of principles to help deal more effectively with extraordinary stress.
5. Integrate the mindset of Faithful, a higher-self character, as a guide to approaching challenging relationships with wisdom and compassion. 

 Dr. Val-Essen has enjoyed working with parents, families, children and teens, as well as couples and individuals during thirty years as a psychotherapist in private practice. She believes that people of all ages want to grow and enjoy a full and meaningful life. She creates a safe environment to encourage the process of growth. Drawing upon many approaches from Western psychology as well as Eastern traditions, Dr. Val-Essen’s goal is to help people discover and bring out their best. Dr. Val-Essen is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences. http://www.counselingcalifornia.com/IleneVal-Essen90230    

Personal & Transpersonal Knowing Webinar 

presented by Keith Hackwood

In this webinar, we will explore the interactions between the personal and transpersonal through the body, mind, spirit and collective using theory, case material and experiential practices. We will consider the relational edge, the fluidity of consciousness within space and time, and ways of working sensitively with subtle states and energies.  

Participants in this webinar will experience

• An exploration of the boundaries between the personal and transpersonal aspects of awareness
• An opportunity to reflect on case material relating to this interface
• Inquiry into the ‘organs of perception’ associated with transpersonal awareness – how do we perceive that we are perceiving?
• Contexts for working with transpersonal will
• Explorations of identity within the liminal realms.

Keith Hackwood, M.A.,  is an experienced Psychosynthesis therapist, Supervisor and Mindfulness teacher living and working in South Wales, Great Britain. He has worked across a range of settings, including schools, universities and prison and these days he works in private practice and online. 

Keith is fascinated by language and creativity and he brings the power of image, metaphor and story to bear upon his work. Keith is a scholar of the Orphan Wisdom School and an executive committee member of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy’s Spirituality Division and he authored the Creative Mindfulness course.

www.keithhackwood.com   keith@keithhackwood.com

Much experience working individually and with groups, running retreats, courses and speaking at conferences, trainings and event

I have sought to engage my interests in Mindfulness (which I teach and lead retreats on), with an informed and open therapeutic method, also integrating my studies of many of the world’s religious and spiritual wisdom traditions (such as Advaita Vedanta, Sufism, Kabbalah, the Western Hermetic Schools, indigenous and shamanic traditions, the Christian mystics etc) and a lifelong love of art and poetry. This larger synthesis has been fascinating and enriching and allows a developing context for understanding the work in larger contexts – the cultural, historical and societal aspects in particular. I have also been pursuing my interest in Ecopsychology, especially as a means to think about living systems and the human impact upon them. To my mind this has profound implications for spirituality. 

Awareness & Will: a Psychosynthesis Webinar

with Kenneth Sørensen

Target Audience: Psychosynthesis-trained counselors and coaches.

Description: In this webinar, we will explore how an awareness- and will-based counseling could look like through experience, theory and dialogue. 

The realization and direct experience of awareness and will are central in psychosynthesis counseling because they constitute the ground of being and the psychological centre of an individual. What Assagioli called the conscious “I” is exactly this contentless awareness and the dynamic force of the will-to-be-self. 

Supporting the client’s discovery of their centre of “pure self-consciousness and will” is one of the first objectives in psychosynthesis counseling because from there the client will be able to observe the inner conflicts of his or her psychological life and chose the most appropriate way of healing the internal splits. 

Learning Objectives - Attendees will:

• Explore the application of Awareness meditation, in the context of disidentification-identification.
• Explore this application in Awareness-based counseling.
• Engage in Meditation on the will-to-be-self.
• Practice in the will as a central psychological force.

There will be room for questions, dialogue and we will tune in to the emergence of Self as we go

*Presenter: Kenneth Sørensen has a Master’s degree in Psychosynthesisfrom the University of East London and is a psychotherapist, astrologer and author. His latest of six books are The Soul of Psychosynthesis (2016),Integral Meditation(2017) and The Seven Types(2019).Kenneth

*Biography:  Kenneth is the former director of training at the Norwegian Institute of Psychosynthesis. His website  www.kennethsorensen.dk  offers more than 100 English articles about psychosynthesis.  Kenneth recently launched a new website: www.jivayou.com/en/where his company offers online identity profiles based on Roberto Assagioli’s seven psychological types. 

The Unconscious as Ally

Presented by Dorothy Firman, Ed.D, LMHC, BCC 

Target Audience: appropriate for all people interested in attending to their own unconscious as a way to become more whole. The session is oriented towards personal growth, but professional applications are considered as well.

Presented by Dorothy Firman, Ed.D, LMHC, BCC is theFounder & Director of Training, of The Synthesis Center and a Founding Director of the Association for the Advancement of Psychosynthesis.

In this interactive webinar, we will play with the unconscious as it shows up in dreams, in daily life, in synchronicity and intuition, and in the imagination. We will start with the assumption that all that we carry or access from our own unconscious or the collective unconscious can be used as an ally. Even nightmares can be befriended towards our own growth and well-being.   Especially in difficult times, be they personal or cultural, trusting the unconscious widens our scope of possibility and responsiveness. By accessing our larger knowing, we can choose beyond old and limiting stories and into new and expansive ones. To trust our unconscious is to build a bridge between our Higher self and our personality, allowing us to live resonantly with our inner Call of Self.

Learning some simple methods for being open to the unconscious, working with it, and knowing how to keep it contained, as needed, allows participants to have a fluid relationship between conscious and unconscious words, between waking and sleeping, between knowing and not knowing! Issues that have been hard to resolve may find easier resolution in this alliance. Equally; intuitions, gut feelings and desires can be allowed into the conscious mind for inclusion and consideration. Learning to have a strong centered Self, facilitates the interplay between these worlds.