THE TRANSPERSONAL SYNTHESIS
The transpersonal psychologists attempt to reconcile this "apparent" contra-diction. Ken Wilber9
proposes that all psychological evolution progresses in hierarchical stages, which are invariant and successive, each stage being "higher" than the preceding stage. This is not unlike Margaret Mahler's model of individuation or Piaget's cognitive stages of development where the infant is presented with a succession of developmental problems that arise from a maturing cognition, and which must be resolved if the self is to progress.
Margaret Mahler envisions several developmental stages which precede the "birth of the self."10
The first stage is one of complete oblivion of the distinction between the inner and outer world, a stage called primary narcissism or autism. Autism must give way to a recognition by the infant of the existence of something other than himself (mother), but which is an extension of himself: "I and my mommy are one," in this second state of symbiosis. At about seven months, the infant's symbiosis gives way to a differentiation and development of the body image, followed by a practicing sub-phase where the infant begins to manipulate and move around his/her world. Each of these sub-phases has a subjective emotional comcomitant, such as elation and the joy of his power in the practicing phase. Each stage also has a possible pathology if the developmental and emotional agenda of that stage is not successfully completed.
For example, if the toddler begins to run away and show independence from mother, and the mother feels abandoned and angry, the infant's trust in his own
abilities to remain independent without arousing the mother's wrath is never developed. He may become very insecure with regard to the external world, and be susceptible to phobias and develop into a dependent personality. The infant needs to know that mother encourages his activity and exploring, and delights in his growing strength.
But this independence leads to the recognition of his own separation from mother and his own relative impotence compared to her great power. He begins to fear separation from her and runs back to see if his abandonment has hurt her and whether she will still be there for him.
Later, he recognizes that despite separations she will be there for him when he needs her, but also recognizes that his own actions have an impact on her. This is a period both of a gradually arising sense of guilt, which becomes the super ego, and of a need to "make nice" and repair the separation and the damage his rage at being dependent has caused.
At each stage, if something goes wrong, the child's development can be arrested and fixed, leading to an adult who has not fully developed a sense of self, or who fears losing his fragile or fragmented self either in the presence of someone else or in his absence.
Wilber calls these the pre-personal stages of development that correspond to the personality levels and pathologies investigated by psychoanalysis. He then postulates three levels of development which follow attainment of a sense of self. These he calls the personal levels; they in turn are followed by three post-personal or transpersonal and contemplative levels of development where the self is transcended. Each of his nine levels of development has a developmental problem or "fulcrum" which must be resolved before the next level can be attained.
(At this point a table was inserted regarding stages of ego/transego development and appropriate therapies that allow the self to develop beyond that stage. As of this point, I do not have a clue as to how to recreate it. That repair will come later.)
According to this transpersonal model, the first three stages of development are involved with finding, articulating, and individuating the self. This is the level of psychoanalysis, object relations, ego, and self psychology. The therapy techniques to be used are ego building, empathy, and support for the borderline personality, and free association, dream analysis, interpretations and analysis of ego defenses, and impulses for people with more structured or defended egos, such as the neurotic and highly functional narcissistic personality.
On these personality levels as manifest in adult pathology, the basic problems concern attachments, fear of bonding, learning to love, to self-accept, and to let in the "good stuff" as well as the bad, namely, symptoms of hurt, rage, anxiety, depression, tumultuous relationships, and helplessness. This requires attaining a solid sense of self despite failures resulting in self-disgust, compensatory grandiosity, idealization of self and others, and denigration of and rage towards others when they fail to support the person's needs for perfect acceptance and nurturing.
The personal level problems, according to Wilber, revolve around attaining a role in life and a system of rules to live by, exploring one's inner world through introspection, and attaining a philosophy and meaning of life. Most self psychologists would insist that establishing one's sense of purpose, direction, and mission in life is also an integral part of establishing a self, and thus is a "pre-personal" issue. For Kohut," the self has two aspects: one, the ability to love and the other, the ability to do and to self-regulate within an adequate personal map of the world.
In Wilber's scheme, the self is to be transcended; object relations and attachments to people, ideas, and one's own sense of self and path in life are to be abandoned in favor of attaining higher states of consciousness through the stages of contemplative evolution.
THE EXISTENTIALIST CRITIQUE
The existential/phenomenological psychologists, such as Rollo May, Kirk Schneider, and to a large extent the author, do not accept this transpersonal analysis.
First, the existentialist orientation is towards healing the self by making it stronger and better able to tolerate the painful side of life and the existential tension of having a self. The author holds that the basic polarities and dualities created by maintaining a sense of self is necessarily painful apart from the pain that is found in the self when it is looked at. The reflexivity of consciousness that creates the dualities of inner-outer, subjective-objective, body-not-body, and self versus not-self itself creates a tension by maintaining boundaries that divide the primal, undifferentiated experience. In addition, more pain will be found when the self, previously defended against pain, will enter awareness and begin to introspect its own subjective self experience. Secondly, the existential/phenomenological psychologists hold that one must retain a personal sense of self in order for the other to be meaningful. Relation-ships can exist only between separate, sensitive, and empathic selves. It takes two distinct selves before communion can take place. Thirdly, they hold that the transpersonal levels of consciousness are either not attainable or not relevant to the problems of depression, self-esteem, hurt, feelings of despair, and helplessness of the clients with whom they deal. These levels, the levels of self-disorders, are quite low in the developmental hierarchy of the transpersonal therapists. The author, having both personal and clinical-research experience of these states, holds that they are definitely attainable, but 1) they are often used as defenses against disorders within the self; 2) they do not mean what the Buddhists and transpersonal therapists think they mean—that is, the same altered states of Samadhi, Satori, and enlightenment can have very different interpretations from those in Buddhist and Wilberian models; and 3) they are states which can be attained by meditation practice or during personal crises, but which have little effect on the development or healing of the ego or the self.
The contemplative states may be a different developmental line involving consciousness itself, and not a transcendence or continuation of an evolution of self. Rollo May, Schneider, and Muzika12 all point to the plethora of scandals involving major Eastern religious teachers who supposedly have attained enlightenment and transcended their selves. These scandals involve fraud, embezzlement, murder, rampant sexuality, endless lying, and deceit. The names of fallen gurus are legion: Rajneesh, Muktananda, Da Free John, Richard Baker Roshi, Maezumi Roshi, Trungpa Rimpoche, "Zen Master Rama," Rajneesh, leaders of the Hari Krishna sect and Scientology, Swaggert, and Jim Bakker. We are all asking: If these gurus have transcended the self, why do they act as if they have a very pathological self?
The transpersonal psychologists may respond that these gurus are either bogus or are acting from an incomprehensible state of wisdom. Further, they say that the existentialists have not attained the transpersonal levels of consciousness and thus cannot speak about that which they do not know. The existentialists respond by asking how much of the transpersonalists' theory comes from their own experience and how much comes from a literature analysis. They ask the same question of the transpersonalists.Rollo May, even more emphatic, calls the transpersonal synthesis a narcissistic defense of identifying with states far beyond what everyone else is doing.
Schneider, too, says that these states of perfect peace and harmony, without conflicts, boundaries and perspectives, must grow quite boring. As a matter of fact, Sasaki Roshi once said, "Enlightenment can be quite boring, but I wouldn't have any students if I told you that."
The author has had similar experience in that after many years of experiencing Samadhis and Satoris, the everyday life of "washing ones bowls" and fighting with his wife became increasingly appealing. Transpersonal psychology has little to offer those who are suffering from depression, hurt, loss, feelings of loss, despair and worthlessness because their therapy emphasizes the transpersonal and refers to disorders and problems beyond self development. For depression and self-esteem problems, the client is still working at pre-personal levels and must do psychodynamic therapy or other therapies aimed at repairing and building a self. Transpersonal therapy has nothing different to offer at the level of personal problems and self-esteem since the preferred therapy at these levels is modeled on psychodynamic therapy, not on meditation or on other spiritual techniques.13
According to and often repeated by transpersonal therapists, you must first attain a self before you can lose it. That is: first you must resolve issues of feelings such as fragmentation, depression, hurt, worthlessness, or confusion by the pre-personal techniques of psychoanalysis; then you can deal with career issues through transactional analysis, become introspective, and find your own meaning in life—the so-called existential issues. Finally, and only then, can you begin to transcend the self—after it has been found, strengthened, repaired, and given a direction and meaning. Rollo May" calls this system an affront to all other therapies, because it claims to be beyond problems of confusion, existential fear, and feelings of failure, despair, and worthlessness. That is, before you begin contemplative practice, you must have no personal problems left in order for that practice to be successful. Otherwise, your meditation and enlightenment will be short-lived and false as you are dragged back into unresolved personal issues. How many people are ever ready to begin such exalted practice?
Wilberian transpersonal psychology has nothing new to offer therapeutically except on the three transpersonal levels of psychic, subtle, and causal pathologies, which are peculiar to yogis who have already transcended the self. Meditation, Vipassana, the Maha Mudra techniques are not useful except to overcome the illusion of self once the self has become strong enough to "let go of itself." At this level, there are no problems of self-esteem, excessive fearfulness, or worthlessness. Meditation practiced before attaining the fullness of self can lead to regression and decompensation. It is not appropriate for self-esteem problems.
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8Ed Wortz, Ph.D., former vice-president of the University of Oriental Studies, suggested this in a private conversation.
,Wilber in K. Wilber, The Spectrum of Consciousness (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1979), and in Transformations of Consciousness.
1°Margaret S. Mahler, The Psychological Birth of the Infant (New York: Basic Books, 1975).
12Rollo May, "Answers to Ken Wilber and John Rowan," The Monitor (California State Psychological Association) (1987); Kirk Schneider, "The Deified Self," Journal of Humanistic Psychological 27, no. 2 (1987); and E. Muzika, Exploring the Inner World: Therapeutic Introspection and the Healing Self (Los Angeles: self-published, 1987).
