The Disidentification Exercise
based on the original by Roberto Assagioli
To connect with the Self behind all identification and attachment
We are dominated by everything with which our self becomes identified. We can dominate and control everything form which we dis-identify ourselves. (Roberto Assagioli)
The following exercise is a tool for moving towards and realizing the consciousness of the self. This procedure, called the ‘self identification’ or 'disidentification' exercise, is of vital importance, and should be done with the greatest care. If you feel at all tired do not read on from here until you have at least taken a break. You will enjoy this exercise more if you are fresh when you first try it out.
Relax yourself in the best way you know how, putting yourself in a comfortable but alert position. Take a few deep breaths, and let go of any tensions from the day. Follow the instructions slowly and carefully.
Affirm to yourself the following: ‘I have a body but I am not my body. My body may find itself in different conditions of health or sickness, it may be rested or tired, but that has nothing to do with my self, my real I. I value my body as my precious instrument of experience and action in the world, but it is only an instrument. I treat it well, I seek to keep it in good health, but it is not myself. I have a body, but I am not my body.’
Close your eyes, recall what this affirmation says, then focus your attention on the central concept: ‘I have a body but I am not my body.’
Attempt to realize this as an experienced fact in your consciousness.
Now affirm to yourself: ‘I have feelings, but I am not my feelings. My feelings and emotions are diversified, changing, and sometimes contradictory. They may swing from love to hatred, from calm to anger, from joy to sorrow, and yet my essence - my true nature - does not change. I remain. Though a wave of anger may temporarily submerge me, I know that in time it will pass; therefore I am not this anger. Since I can observe and understand my feelings, and can gradually learn to direct, utilize, and integrate them harmoniously, it is clear that they are not my self. I have feelings, but I am not my feelings.’
Close your eyes, recall what this affirmation says, then focus your attention on the central concept: ‘I have feelings but I am not my feelings.’
Attempt to realize this as an experienced fact in your consciousness.
Now affirm to yourself: ‘I have a mind but I am not my mind. My mind is a valuable tool of discovery and expression, but it is not the essence of my being. Its contents are constantly changing as it embraces new ideas, knowledge, and experience, and makes new connections. Sometimes my thoughts seem to be independent of me and if I try to control them they seem to refuse to obey me. Therefore my thoughts cannot be me, my self. My mind is an organ of knowledge in regard to both the outer and inner worlds, but it is not my self. I have a mind, but I am not my mind.’
Close your eyes, recall what this affirmation says, then focus your attention on the central concept: ‘I have a mind but I am not my mind.’
Attempt to realize this as an experienced fact in your consciousness.
Next comes the phase of identification. Affirm clearly and slowly to yourself: ‘After this disidentification of my self, the ‘I’, from my body, my feelings, and my mind, I recognize and affirm that I am a centre of pure self consciousness. I am a centre of will, capable of observing, directing and using all my psychological processes and my physical body.’
Focus your attention on the central realization: ‘ I am a centre of pure self-consciousness and of will.’ Realize this as an experienced fact in your awareness.
When you have practiced this exercise a few times, you can use it in a much shorter form. The important point is to keep to the four main, central affirmations:
I have a body and sensations, but I am not my body and sensations.
I have feelings and emotions, but I am not my feelings and emotions.
I have a mind and thoughts, but I am not my mind and thoughts.
I am I, a centre of pure self-consciousness and of will.
Some people find it difficult to follow the affirmations in this exercise that say you have but are not your body, feelings or mind, objecting that this may cause a disassociation from these functions. A suggested alternative way of using the exercise, if this bothers you, is to change the disidentifying statements to ‘I have a body and sensations and I am more than my body; I have feelings and I am more than my feelings and emotions; I have a mind and thoughts, and I am more than my mind and thoughts.’ This is almost as effective, but the original as designed by Assagioli uses the principle of affirmation through negation which can have a particularly powerful effect on creating the required conditions for Self Identification.
You may have to repeat the exercise a few times to start with to get its full flavour, but then you will be able to do it daily from memory. The effort will be well worth it. All the influences that try to capture your attention and demand identification will no longer have the same hold over you.
Extracted from Psychosynthesis: The Elements and Beyond
By Will Parfitt (PSAvalon, 2006)
