Brief Reflections of the important concept of Transcendence as it applies to personal developmen t and counselling psychology

1. THERAPUETIC CONCEPTS AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Return within and make sure that nothing enters in with you.
TRANSCENDENCE – The Journey into Being
Introduction
This is another note in the series concerning existential and trans-personal
approaches to growth and being. It attempts to pull together ideas and concepts
from previous notes on encounter, awareness and the power of pranayama –
breathe control. It also continues the journey from the existential perspective of the
previous year and particularly the 5 Steps and that of ‘forgetting oneself’. It
begins the journey into transcendence and spirituality.
The paradox of all these topics is that in one sense too much has been written
about them (much of it too cognitive and o little help) and on the other hand there
is nothing to write about. Because much of this journey into transcendence is
experiential, it involves us in lived experience and with getting in touch with our
own innate and deep inner wisdom. However, to provide some basis for
experience, reflection and (perhaps) discussion, some brief reflections will be
made. Any discussion really needs to be brief and deep sharing of lived
experience and not mere cognitive chatter.
Transcendence
Paradoxically ‘words’ are either unimportant and/or misleading or else their root
meaning can be helpful. Transcendence comes from the root ‘ transcend’ It has
elements of a journey over or above something. Many will have heard the
expression ‘transcendental meditation’. However, transcendence subsumes this
and is more. Frankl suggests that the journey of transcendence subsumes and
over- arches that of actualisation. It might help to begin to look at this in a
diagrammatic form.
Actualisation
Humanistic ideas see actualisation as a natural occurrence and it is one of the
Two Primary Principles of the Person Centred Approach, the other being the Six
Conditions. Humanistic, Existential and Trans- Personal approaches all view self-
actualisation as the innate journey of humans. If we were to look at this journey as
continuum it might look something like the line below, which infers that our
choices lead to either Success (Actualisation) or failure.
FAILURE SUCCESS
THE SELF-ACTUALISATION CONTINUUM
P Creagh ( 2010) Transcendence.doc 1

2. THERAPUETIC CONCEPTS AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
‘Our ‘heart’ is as big as our view of the world’
Transcendence
Heidegger says ‘being human is being in the world’. This means that Man (male
and female) is not a ‘closed system’. Man relates to her/him, to others, the
environment and the cosmos. At the spiritual level man relates not just to these but
to the Absolute Reality. This is the ability of man to self- transcend and is closely
related to Buber’s concept of the I/Thou relationship. Thus man has the ability to
relate and be along ( or more properly up) the transcendence continuum.
The transcendence ‘continuum is one that takes man ( male or female) above
themselves. It really is the 3rd dimension. Normal psychology deals mainly with
man and his/her neurosis. But people can rise above themselves and their issues.
If we were to view this continuum it might look something like this
*
The Transcendence Continuum – Fulfilment V Despair
Putting both together we can see that Transcendence subsumes the actualisation
continuum and also illustrates the ability of people to ‘soar above’. A picture that
might help to understand this is the scene from the children’s video “ The
Snowman’. This shows the young boy ‘walking in the air’ whilst flying above the
world with the snowman.
Fulfilment
Failure Success
Despair
The Self- Transcendence and Actualisation Continuums
( Adapted from Frankl (1978) The Unheard Cry for Meaning.)
Ishpriya Mataji reminds us that ‘Our ‘heart’ is as big as our view of the world’. Self-
Transcendence enables us to rise above ourselves, to rise above the Me (which
can lead to Me- ness or Meanness) and to begin to both BE and Become. This
‘becoming’ leads to us to the realisation of what we are truly capable of.
Therefore as we transcend self, we rise above ourselves, our view of the world
grows as does our heart of compassion. This is the journey into self-
transcendence and it ultimately involves the journey into the spiritual where self
meets Self.
P Creagh ( 2010) Transcendence.doc 2

3. THERAPUETIC CONCEPTS AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
‘ Meaning must be discovered it cannot be created ‘ ( Frankl)
Meaning and Love Self-Transcendence involves us in searching for meaning,
meaning within ourselves with others and our environment. Frankl asserts ‘
Meaning must be discovered it cannot be created ‘ . Therefore man’s search for
meaning requires forgetting self, forgetting old habits, thoughts etc. Now meaning
and sense are not the same thing. Therefore, it is not sense that we seek,
because seeking sense can so often leads us to find NON-sense. No, we seek
meaning in the context of our inner and outer lives. Perhaps one of the biggest
problems of modern man is this constant search for sense, the quick fix, the
intellect ( so called ) ‘knowledge. For life to be lived in all its richness and fullness,
man requires meaning. Otherwise, man descends into the triad of modern
neurosis – depression, anger and addiction.
However, we also seek more than meaning. People seek love, which is the
ultimate goal and meaning of life and the spiritual journey. This, for most of us,
means seeking love in and with another or with nature or something. This is the 4th
and 5th steps of believing and belonging. Love goes beyond mere encounter; it
subsumes this, includes unconditional presence and seeks to break down every
barrier that separates us, not only from the other, but our environment and our true
self.. As far as we know, love, in its unique, absolute and truest form, is unique to
human beings. Ultimately, for those who believe in the Spirit – human love is the
reflection of the Ultimate who is Love.
Final Points
These notes contain some ‘sporadic’ reflections on transcendence. In the final
analysis transcendence is not something that can be debated. It cannot be found
by logical thought or by sheer human endeavor and determination. No, it is an
innate part of what it means to be human. It can only be found and/or recognised
by experiencing it. It cannot be forced. It is gift.
Being open to the possibility of self-transcendence and to some practices can
help. Practices such as Awareness/ Mindfulness, Meditation and other and many
others have been gifted to us by the sages of all traditions. The important thing is
to begin the journey. Ultimately it is a journey into SILENCE, a silence where we
can begin to hear who and what we really are.
‘Return within to the place where there is nothing
And make sure that nothing comes in with you.
Penetrate to the depths of your self.
To the place where thoughts no longer exist
And make sure that no thought raises its head
For there where there is nothing is fullness
There where nothing is seen is the vision of being
There where nothing appears any longer
Is the sudden appearance of the self (the spirit)
Dyan (meditation) it is this’
Sr Ishpriya on the ‘meaning’ of Meditation
Peter Creagh ( Feb 2008)
P Creagh ( 2010) Transcendence.doc 3