For full affirmation of the human values
In light of the major crisis that has impacted Italian society on multiple levels, particularly over the last two years, as psychosynthesists we believe that it is absolutely indispensable to carry out a cultural comparison of the various lived experiences of people throughout the world. This study must be genuinely pluralistic, rational and relational, and should take a holistic approach to the diverse biological and also psychological, existential and spiritual requirements. Only when viewed as a whole can they constitute both an “opportunity for complete human fulfillment”, and an “opportunity for democracy”.
In agreement with Roberto Assagioli (1888-1974), it is our belief that the levelling (“flattening”) of traditions and cultural models, rather than recognition of the right to freedom of expression and the legitimacy of all the parties concerned, is an obstacle to building a future that will be greater than the past.
The fundamental nexus between dignity and human rights and the dependence of all rights on the overarching principle of dignity can exist solely within a radically humanist context. This is one of the most elevated ideas inherited from European and Italian spiritual tradition. The germs of Classical (Greek and Latin) and Renaissance Humanism, together with human values, form the roots of Psychosynthesis, which from the very beginning was defined by Assagioli as psychagogy, echoing Plato’s definition of it in P haedrus as “guidance of the soul” towards truth, beauty and justice. Psychosynthesis was the first Italian school of original thinking on humanist psychology and influenced the spread of transpersonal psychology throughout the world in the twentieth century, and so we think it has a unique responsibility for safeguarding and supporting these same values.
The fundamental nexus between dignity and human rights and the dependence of all rights on the overarching principle of dignity can exist solely within a radically humanist context. This is one of the most elevated ideas inherited from European and Italian spiritual tradition. The germs of Classical (Greek and Latin) and Renaissance Humanism, together with human values, form the roots of Psychosynthesis, which from the very beginning was defined by Assagioli as psychagogy, echoing Plato’s definition of it in P haedrus as “guidance of the soul” towards truth, beauty and justice. Psychosynthesis was the first Italian school of original thinking on humanist psychology and influenced the spread of transpersonal psychology throughout the world in the twentieth century, and so we think it has a unique responsibility for safeguarding and supporting these same values.
In view of the current health emergency, allied to the human, existential and spiritual crisis that Italian society is going through, there is a serious danger that ethical and historical values will be replaced by other values that have little in common with the spiritual heart of our civilization; and as psychosynthesists who identify with the work and message of the psychiatrist and humanist Roberto Assagioli, we feel that we should distance ourselves historically from such values. Humanists have typically always equated human dignity with an active right to freedom of thought and conscience and freedom to challenge any form of constraint.
In our view, this risk is clearly illustrated by the introduction of the measure that made the “Green Pass” mandatory for all categories of public and private workers as of 15 October 2021. First and foremost it is a serious violation of the dignity underpinning the exercise of each person’s fundamental rights and as such is incompatible with the principles and values on which the Italian Constitution and Psychosynthesis itself are founded. More to the point, we believe that the introduction of a pass (namely “written permission issued by an authority granting the holder access to a particular place”) creates a very dangerous precedent, as it discriminates against citizens who, as a result of personal choices that do not contravene any law, are prevented from freely exercising their inalienable right to work – as well as creating financial problems for these people and their families. Threatening the right to work effectively threatens the right to dignity, in addition to the right to freedom and social life. We believe that this line of thinking, if sanctioned, could in future be arbitrarily applied to anybody, anywhere, undermining the fundamental principles of human rights defended by both the Constitution and Psychosynthesis.
We cannot identify with the changing face of our society and so cannot accept what portends to be its destiny. It should be that of an open-hearted society, not a place of dereliction and division. This is not the new “home” we want to live in, nor the goal we wish to attain. We believe that in order for there to be light and beauty to illuminate the framework of the spirit and the civilisation that unite us, attempts to stifle these values must not go unchallenged, because this would mean the death of civilisation as a whole.
This is why we are sending an impassioned appeal to all Psychosynthesists throughout the world, be they individuals, groups, associations or centres, and whatever their title. Bearing in mind our specific mission at this moment in time, and acknowledging that the work of human transformation can no longer be undertaken purely at the individual level, but must necessarily also be an interpersonal, social process reflecting the present time, Psychosynthesis can be accomplished in the broadest possible sense.
Psychosynthetic groups and organizations should, in our opinion¸ be called on to develop vertically and horizontally, to enable them to act as catalysts and wise leaders and orientation guides for societies on the path to civilization. There are at least four actions that we regard as appertaining to the constitutive nature of psychosynthetic groups. At this historic moment, it is more important than ever before to support them and help them to progress, as they embody in various forms and approaches the value of human dignity:
- Contribute to inner liberation, so that the individual concerned becomes responsible for the exercise of free and conscious will and is both protagonist and author in this process.
- Support the protection, legitimacy and defence of a “subjective world” and the criterion for the identity of the Self, which can never take second place, or still less be reduced or cancelled – as in the case of materialistic, reductionist, capitalistic and technocratic prospects – by setting up listening spaces to encourage the sense of a spiritual conscience and unanimity.
- Reanimate the Will Project by inviting all those who are committed to the development of conscience and civilisation to exercise their own will – inwardly and outwardly – and cooperate in the creation of common futures.
- Foster opportunities for honest interpersonal relations, starting from “what we have in common” and not “what divides us” – by supporting cooperation between all psychosynthetic organizations– and use this as a pathway to the creation and development of civilisation.
To all men and women of good will, to anyone who is on the side of humanity, especially those who recognise that their roots lie in the spirit of Humanism and Psychosynthesis – but also to all those who see their work as the general orientation of inner development that can embrace the widest range of formulations and methodologies, but are united by the desire to harmonise the life of the individual, group or organisation in increasingly extensive kinds of synthesis: we invite all of them to join with us in making this appeal and to cooperate in every way possible, starting with dialogue, the education of the young and the integrity of the messages sent out, in mutual respect for all positions. But this must be done immediately, before the universal sense of being human is lost, and before our perception of the spirit and its requirements vanishes and succumbs to an inhuman “techno-scientific diktat”. We must create, instead, that union between humanity and science that we so desperately need.
Words of Roberto Assagioli with which we recognise ourselves
“But it should be kept in mind that unanimity [oneness of soul] can only be reached through free assent, through the recognition by each and all of the rightness, goodness, lasting value and, above all, necessity of these goals. Any enforcement by authority and through totalitarian methods of any of the trends and characteristics of the New Age is contrary to the nature of unanimity, which is willing consent. Such an imposition would be an infringement of the principle of freedom and – as history has repeatedly proved – would produce, sooner or later, a violent reaction and thus defeat its purpose. Therefore, unanimity should be cultivated as agreement in aim. We must face the fact realistically that before the New Age is established, we cannot expect a general unanimity in humanity. During times of change, as now, there is always bound to be widespread conflict between the past and the future, between individuals and groups who cling to old forms and ways of life and those who are endeavoring, sometimes impatiently and violently, to create the new.”
Roberto Assagioli
(Meditation Group For the New Age, II year, set IV, part III, pag. 20)
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