Roberto Assagioli
The Kabbalist
Will Parfitt
Books by Will Parfitt
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To
those that study both psychosynthesis and the Kabbalah, the many correspondences
between the two are striking. Although Roberto Assagioli, the founder of
psychosynthesis, does not mention the Kabbalah in his writings, it is clear
he was strongly influenced by it, both directly through Jewish mysticism,
and more indirectly - although perhaps more potently - through mystical
teachings from other sources. Assagioli had books by Gershom Scholem (the
'founder' of modern Jewish mysticism) in his library, a friendship with
Martin Buber (whose interest in Kabbalah is well known), a general interest
in esoteric subjects and philosophies, the works of Alice Bailey and Theosophy,
the works of Plato and Dante, and a lively, inquiring mind. It is virtually
impossible to imagine him not having a knowledge of the Kabbalah.
Sheldon Kramer , the American author and psychologist, researching Assagioli's
library in Florence, found papers written by Assagioli on Judaism and Jewish
mysticism. Most striking are writings which mention a psychospiritual description
of the psyche that exactly matches that in the Kabbalah: '...the traditional
Jewish teaching of the human psychological condition consisting of three
elements: nefesh, ruach, and neshamah ... my main endeavor has been to give
scientific proof of the existence and activity of the spiritual soul (neshamah)
with the psyche (ruach) as an inspiring and unifying factor.'
So what is the relevance of these terms nefesh, ruach and neshamah? They
describe quite complex ideas that have whole Kabbalistic books written about
them. Put simply, nefesh corresponds to the lower unconscious (including
the basic activity of subpersonalities); ruach corresponds to the middle
unconscious (including the personal 'I'); and neshamah to the higher unconscious
(including all the Soul Qualities familiar to psychosynthesis practitioners,
and the 'Self'). These three parts (or perhaps more correctly, activities)
of the human being have been compared to a candle flame. The blue/black
part of the flame, at the bottom nearest the candle, constantly changing,
'invisible' to regular sight, is the nefesh or animal soul. It corresponds
to the id and ego, being reactive, and based on inner and outer desires.
The middle, more usually visible portion of a candle flame, the yellowish
glow in the centre, is equivalent to the ruach. It burns with a steady light,
and conveys a sense of continuity and certainty. The light at the top of
the candle, the white flickering edge of the flame, corresponds to neshamah,
the higher Self.
These three aspects, nefesh, ruach and neshamah, correspond exactly to the
three divisions Assagioli assigned to his diagram of the human psyche, the
well-known 'egg diagram'. It is interesting to note that the shape of the
egg is suggestive of a candle flame in itself. By being egg shaped, it also
brings the psychosynthesis model into alignment with Western esoteric teachings
that describe the energy bodies of a human being as being egg shaped. The
Kabbalistic diagram known as the Tree of Life, which is also divided into
these same three divisions, is often drawn as enclosed in a vesica or egg
shaped container.
At the time of developing and formulating psychosynthesis, Assagioli followed
the stance of his contemporaries Freud and Jung in aiming at a scientific
exposition of psychology. In those pre-Quantum days, these pioneers in psychology
believed that to be taken seriously they had to place their investigations
in a scientific framework. Perhaps this is why Assagioli generally avoided
talking about the esoteric foundations of psychosynthesis, and specifically
did not mention the Kabbalah. Also, in the first half of this century founding
a psychology on Jewish mysticism may well have led to negative repercussions
that Assagioli understandably would have wanted to avoid. Anti-Semiticism
was rife even amongst the so-called more enlightened esoteric and psychological
circles. Anti-Semitic attitudes have been uncovered in the writings of no
less than Jung himself.
Further to this, as Jean Hardy has pointed out, the Kabbalah has traditionally
been a 'secret' doctrine, its practitioners avoiding revealing their source
of inspiration for fear of contaminating the source with cultish, personality
distortions. Assagioli may well have ascribed to this viewpoint. However,
despite this avoidance of quoting mystical sources, Assagioli, in creating
psychosynthesis, constructed a psychological system that is clearly in tune
with the ancient wisdom of the Kabbalah. Many of the main principles of
psychosynthesis reflect those found in Kabbalistic teachings, especially
the central importance attached to the act of will, and the inclusion of
a 'transpersonal will' (or Purpose) as well as the individual will.
The Psychosynthesis Egg and The Tree of Life
It is clear that the main Kabbalistic diagram, The Tree of Life, is at the
core of the spiritual psychologies in which Roberto Assagioli, the founder
of Psychosynthesis, had a life-long interest. It is therefore not surprising
that Psychosynthesis easily interfaces with the Kabbalistic Tree of Life
to create a model that can be effectively applied in many areas, particularly
in the fields of healing, counselling and psychotherapy. Indeed, an understanding
of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life is useful for practitioners of all types
of therapeutic work. The larger, synthesising context of the Kabbalah enables
different models to be included without any subsequent loss to the integrity
of each system.
The Kabbalah can enable practitioners of psychosynthesis particularly to
deepen their knowledge of the human psyche and to understand their basic
models in a simple yet deeper (and wider) context. The Kabbalah helps practitioners
to develop their own style in accord with universal principles, develop
relationship in line with these principles, and apply methods relevant to
each situation. Both the basic Psychosynthesis model and the Kabbalistic
Tree of Life are systems of stunning clarity and simplicity. Using the two
approaches together creates a meaningful synthesis that adds new depth to
our work in service to others.
First published in Psicosintesi Journal, 1998.
Will Parfitt is a UKCP registered psychotherapist and an experienced
and innovative group leader. Trained in Psychosynthesis, he has more than
forty years experience of working with psychospiritual development, and
travels internationally to run courses on a variety of subjects including
kabbalah and psychosynthesis. Will is author of several books
including 'The Complete Guide to Kabbalah', 'The Something and Nothing of Death', 'Kabbalah:The Tree of Life' and 'Psychosynthesis: the Elements and Beyond.