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Journal of Conscientiology Volume
2 - Number 5 - July, 1999 Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder - AD(H)D: A critical approach Graça Razera
Principles of Consciential Organization Julio Gross Understanding the Fear of Out-of-Body Projection Alfredo Gutiérrez
Pareja Evolutiva y Teneper Ismael Pinheiro
Billions and Billions: thoughts on life and death at the brink of the millennium, by Carl Sagan Ivo Côrte Journey of Souls: Case studies of life between lives, by Michael Newton Marisela Aparício Cisnes Salvajes – Tres hijas de China, por Jung Chang Fátima Cameira Psychology of Man’s Possible Evolution, by P. D. Ouspensky Pilar Alegre
JC Editions IIPC Addresses This issue of the Journal of Conscientiology presents us with a comprehensive and enlightening article on AD(H)D, written by Razera. This article will be of interest to researchers as well as individuals with cases of AD(H)D in their family. Razera’s article points out the importance of self-organization to overcome AD(H)D, mainly in the adult age. We are fortunate to also have in this issue an essay by Gross which proposes resources to focus on aspects which he considers relevant to develop self-organization. In addition, you will find an elucidating essay by Gutiérrez, where he shares with us his knowledge and personal experience on the causes and consequences of the fear related to the out-of-body experience. We are pleased to invite you to participate in the IIPC’s annual international convention where researchers and instructors representing IIPC offices from all over the world will join volunteers and students to discuss the most recent research findings on conscientiology and projectiology as well as administrative progresses. We would like also to remind you that this journal is an open forum of discussion on consciousness studies. We invite you to submit a paper or contribution to the JC. Your suggestions and comments are also welcome. Please be sure to visit the IIPC Web Site (www.iipc.org) to access or download the glossary of conscientiology, available in English and Spanish. The Editors Abstracts: Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder – AD(H)D: A critical approach Graça Razera ABSTRACT: This article explains the main characteristics of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder /AD(H)D, which is considered one of the disorders that affects most school age children. It is also immersed in many theoretical and practical controversies. The exact cause of the AD(H)D is ignored, but it is known that there are multiple causes. The more efficient treatments are those based in reeducating the child with the active participation of the family. In the adult age, the remaining resource is a self-reeducation, founded in the principles of ethics and self-evolutionary responsibility, which begin with the awareness of this syndrome.At the IIPC, it has been observed that there is an increasing number of individuals with symptoms of dispersion and/or psychomotor hyperactivity. A case study is presented as an example of an adult considered “maladjusted” by science who was able to overcome the most evident traits of the syndrome by applying conscientiological theorice. Ana was able to transform, little by little, her mega weak-traits into mega strong-traits. Throughout this article, a critical parallel is drawn between the current conventional paradigm of science (orthodox) and the science of conscientiology (heterodox). This critical study is performed using the theories of the consciential basement and evolutionary intelligence. The article is divided in 4 basic parts: 1. Introduction; 2. Conscientiology; 3. Conclusion; 4. Bibliography. SUMARIO: El presente artículo explica las características principales del Trastorno del Déficit de Atención e Hiperactividad/TDAH, que inmerso en muchas controversias teóricas y prácticas es considerado una de las epidemias que más afectan la población infantil en la edad escolar. La causa exacta es desconocida, pero es una causa con múltiples factores. Las formas de tratamiento más efectivas son las basadas en la reeducación con la participación activa de la familia. En la fase adulta, queda el recurso de la auto-reeducación con base en los principios de la ética y responsabilidad auto-evolutiva, comenzando por la conscientización de esta síndrome.En el IIPC, ha sido observado que la incidencia de conciencias intrafísicas con síntomas de dispersión y/o hiperactividad psicomotora es cada vez más común. El caso de Ana es citado, una adulta considerada “desajustada” por la ciencia, que a través de la teática concienciológica pudo superar los rasgos más evidentes de esta síndrome; poco a poco transformado megatrafares en megatrafores. A lo largo de este estudio se hará también de una forma crítica un paralelo de ideas entre el paradigma convencional de la ciencia vigente (ortodoxa) y la ciencia de la Concienciología (heterodoxa), haciendo un paralelo con la teoría del sótano conciencial y la teoría de la inteligencia evolutiva. El artículo está dividido en 4 partes básicas: 1. Introducción, 2. Concienciología, 3. Conclusión, 4. Bibliografía. RESUMO: O presente artigo explana as principais características do Transtorno do Déficit de Atenção e Hiperatividade/TDAH, considerado uma das epidemias que mais atingem a população infantil em idade escolar, imerso em muitas controvérsias teóricas e práticas. A causa exata é desconhecida, mas a causa é multifatorial. As formas de tratamento mais eficientes são as baseadas na reeducação com participação ativa da família. Na fase adulta, resta o recurso da auto-reeducação, com base nos princípios da ética e da responsabilidade auto-evolutiva, a começar pela conscientização da síndrome. No IIPC, observa-se que a incidência de conscins com sintomas de dispersão e/ou hiperatividade psicomotora vem se tornando cada vez mais comum. Junto disso, cita-se o exemplo de Ana, uma adulta considerada pela ciência, “desajustada”, que pela teática conscienciológica pode superar os traços mais evidentes da síndrome, transformando, pouco a pouco, megatrafares em megatrafores. Ao longo do ensaio, se faz também, de forma crítica, um paralelo de idéias entre o paradigma convencional da atual ciência vigente (ortodoxa) com a ciência da Conscienciologia (heterodoxa), fazendo paralelo com a teoria do porão consciencial e a teoria da inteligência evolutiva. O artigo é dividido em 4 partes básicas: 1. Introdução, 2. Conscienciologia, 3.Conclusão, 4. Bibliografia. Graça Razera Graça Razera is a psychologist. She has been a volunteer at the IIPC since 1991, based at the IIPC’s Head-Office. She co-founded the Group for Consciousness Research on Existential Inversion in 1992 and is presently the IIPC consultant in the field of ADHD, a position that she has held since 1996.
Principles of Consciential Organization Julio Gross ABSTRACT: At the peak of discussions about administrative models or paradigms of the human society, this article proposes organizational resources that redirect the analysis of interpersonal articulations in a deep way, focusing on important aspects of the prophylaxis of the present consciential entropy. SUMARIO: En plena etapa de cuestionamientos acerca de los modelos o paradigmas administrativos de la sociedad humana, este artículo propone recursos de organización que establecen una nueva dirección al análisis de las articulaciones interpersonales de manera profunda, enfocando aspectos relevantes para la profilaxis de la entropía conciencial vigente. RESUMO: Em plena fase de questionamentos acerca dos modelos ou paradigmas administrativos da sociedade humana, este artigo vem a propor recursos de organização que redirecionam a análise das articulações interpessoais de maneira profunda, enfocando aspectos relevantes para a profilaxia da entropia consciencial vigente. Julio Gross is a technician in mechanical design. He is an independent researcher and an IIPC volunteer in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. Julio Gross is presently the leader of one of IIPC’s Consciousness Research Groups on Existential Inversion.
Understanding the Fear of Out-of-Body Projection Alfredo Gutiérrez ABSTRACT: The ego is the spectrum of personality characteristics that make up our ordinary sense of self. This sense of self is reinforced by the body boundary and the continuous sensations received from our surroundings. The fear or panic reaction that amateur projectors experience when separating consciously from the physical body is a natural response of egocentric controls. However, this is also a hindrance to be overcome in the practice of conscious out-of body projection. SUMARIO: El ego es el espectro de características de la persona que componen el sentido de ser. Este sentido de ser es reforzado por la delimitación del cuerpo físico y las continuas sensaciones recibidas del ambiente que nos rodea. El miedo o reacción de pánico que practicantes novatos de la proyección consciente experimentan cuando el psicosoma se separa de súbito del cuerpo físico, es una consecuencia natural del control del ego. Sin embargo, esto también resulta en un impedimento a ser superado en la práctica de la proyección lúcida. RESUMO: O ego é o espectro das características pessoais que compõem o sentido de ser. Este sentido de ser é reforçado pela delimitação do corpo físico e pelas contínuas sensações recebidas do ambiente à nossa volta. O medo, ou a reação de pânico, que os praticantes novatos da projeção consciente experimentam quando o psicossoma se separa de súbito do corpo físico é uma conseqüência natural do controle do ego. Contudo, isto também resulta em um impedimento a ser superado através da prática da projeção consciente. Alfredo Gutiérrez, is a member of the IIPC’s Florida Office. He has had a lifetime interest in the phenomena of the Consciousness, in particular the out-of-body experience. Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium, by Carl Sagan. Title in Portuguese: Bilhões e Bilhões: reflexões sobre a vida e a morte na virada do milênio. São Paulo; Companhia das Letras, 1998. US$23.00. Carl Sagan is most known for the TV series Cosmos and for his work towards the popularization of science for the public in general. He also participated in important scientific projects, among them, the space probe Voyager, which contributed to the research of the solar system. He authored several books, such as Cosmos, Pale Blue Point, and Contact. The latter inspired Robert Zemeckis' film with the same title. He was a firm materialist and extremely skeptical regarding psychism. He passed away in 1996. His book Billions and Billions was published posthumously by his wife, the scientist Ann Druyan, and consists of the author's reflection on various themes, especially the belligerence/militarism and environmental problems. Sagan's criticisms of militarism are constant in the book, particularly regarding nuclear weapons. The most captivating chapter is the 17th, "Gettysburg and Now", an adaptation of a speech made in 1988 on the 125th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, a decisive conflict in the course of the American Civil War. The deadly power of the war bombs has grown radically. Without doubt, billions of times. "But we have not become a billion times wiser in the generations that stretch from Gettysburg to us" (p. 212). America alone have spent more than 10 trillion dollars since the beginning of the cold war. Ten trillion! "For a little over 5 trillion dollars, skillfully applied, we could have made major progress towards eliminating hunger, homelessness, infectious disease, illiteracy, ignorance, poverty, and safeguarding the environment-not just in the United States, but worldwide" (p. 215). The critique of nuclear armaments appears as a warning. His greatest fear is the 60 or 70 thousand nuclear weapons stored by America and Russia, capable putting an end to humanity. The end of the cold war decreased that chance; however, atomic weapons still exist and we cannot trust the premise that no leader would be capable of using them. After Hitler and Stalin, we know that "madmen can seize the reins of power of modern industrial States" (p. 214). The ideal would be to eliminate nuclear weapons once and for all. Regarding environmental problems, Sagan calls attention to the ozone layer in chapter 10: "A Piece of the Sky Is Missing." The explanations are clear, objective, and accessible to anyone, the author's undeniable merit. The book presents a history of the problems with the ozone layer. From the wide scale use of CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbon), the alert given to the scientists regarding the danger of using those substances, to the hole in the ozone layer which has appeared above Antarctica. Besides cancer and cataracts, ultraviolet rays not filtered by the ozone layer can cause serious problems in food chains on a global and unprecedented scale. The author relates how difficult it was to overcome the interests of manufacturers in stopping the use of CFC, a much used product in refrigerators. Those manufacturers alleged economic harm in order to maintain the use of these substances, and it was only after much controversy that they stopped producing CFC. Global warming is also approached in the book. This time, his criticisms are of the use of fossil fuels, which are largely responsible for the excess of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. The author calls attention to the urgent need for research into this topic and for use of alternative sources of energy, such as solar power and wind-generated power. Today, almost 3 years since the death of the author, the levels of CO2 are fortunately dropping, according to the weekly Brazilian magazine Veja (issued August 04, 1999). We are experiencing the winds of change in environmental issues. Sagan would have benefited from studying the conscientiological notion of the THOSENE. Among all environmental problems, the most serious one is that of low quality thoughts and their weight in the multidimensional atmosphere of the planet. The pollution of the physical dimension is a caricatured copy of the mental pollution of the pathological tropospheric extraphysical dimensions. The existence of intelligent life on other planets is discussed in the book. In chapter 5, "Four Cosmic Questions" , Sagan states: "If extraterrestrial intelligence is found, then our view of the Universe and ourselves is changed forever" (p. 61). To ponder about intelligence in another planets is a leading-edge subject for conventional science. But the author would have been much more of a pioneer if he had had knowledge of exoprojections (OBEs or projections of the consciousness to other planets), a precious tool for space exploration. To admit the possibility of exoprojections is to consider the consciousness a research instrument. Sagan would never accept such phenomenon, mainly because of who he was: an austere representative of the materialism of the conventional sciences. His skepticism is epitomized by the following extract: "The most significant aspect of the DNA story is that the fundamental processes of life now seem fully understandable in terms of physics and chemistry. No life force, no spirit, no soul seems to be involved. Likewise in neurophysiology: Tentatively, the mind seems to be the expression of the hundred trillion neural connections in the brain, plus a few simple chemical elements" (p. 228). A typical conception of a fundamentalist of science. The proximity of desoma (death) didn't change his conception. Chapter 19, "In the valley of shades", is a farewell letter to life by an inveterate materialist. Myelodysplasia caused Sagan to closely face desoma six times. Nothing indicates the existence of a NDE that would have caused a recycling (renewal) of his life, despite a remarkable recommendation. "In fact, almost dying is such a positive, character-building experience, that I recommend it to everybody- except, of course, for the irreducible and essential element of risk" (p. 232). Due to materialism, another negative aspect of the work appears. Chapter 16, "The Rules of the Game," does not quite reach the objective of providing a new understanding of ethics. To reduce the understanding of moral questions to a game called "Prisoner's Dilemma" and a "Tit-for-Tat" rule, as the author did, represents an extreme reductionism. We hope that the author, now in the extraphysical dimension, is deepening his studies and understanding of the innovative conscientiological concept called cosmoethics. Another point is that Sagan shows disapproval of nuclear weapons through the entire book, but does not cite the uncomfortable role of scientists in the development of these arms. Atomic weapons, before being a consequence of disastrous belligerent politics, are the most absolute celebration of unethical science. This is the great negative omission of the work. The book presents many more relevant positive aspects than negatives. Perhaps this and other points of his indefatigable life as a promoter of the science, have weighed cosmoethically in his favor in his return to the extraphysical dimension. The author of this review wishes that the consciousness who was Carl Sagan is lucid and renewing his personal paradigms. Ivo Côrte Journey of Souls: Case studies of life between lives, by Michael Newton. Llewellyn Publications, fifth revised edition, sixth printing, 1998. There have been written several books about past life regression but we do not often see books about the between lives period, when the consciousness analyzes how it did in its most recent physical life. We know that this is a period of a deep self analysis where one reviews if the existential program was accomplished or not; how the relationship was among the karmic group; why the goals not reached failed (still weak traits to be developed); recollection of the moments when extraphysical helpers tried to reach one and didn't notice. Then, one passes to the intermissive courses to later prepare for the next intraphysical life, choose the karmic group that allow accomplishing this purpose, so the consciousness goes to a higher level of evolution, avoiding self-mimicry and diminishing self-corruptions. We all know that this period is more complex than the few statements listed here. This book, Journey of Souls, is a series of testimonies presented by Dr. Newton after years of practicing hypnotherapy. By no means do I intend to criticize Dr. Newton's work with my comments. I deeply respect everyone who is capable to write a book; moreover, if this book relates to the study of the consciousness without using mysticism or religion. My intentions are simply to share my conclusions after reading it and compare it to the understanding I have about this topic, which is very limited. The content and the style of this book took all my attention since the beginning; it was hard to put it down. Besides, there are very valid conclusions in this material. Few examples are: o Presents another scientific opinion that accepts the existence of extraphysical helpers and evolutionary orientors. Also, the use and control of the energies as the basic form of manifestation in this and other dimensions. o Eliminates the very popular belief that, when we die, we are "punished" if we did not accomplish our existential program. The book clearly indicates that we are the one who deeply regrets if our existential program is not completed. o People remember more soul lives after distant lifetimes than recent ones: It could be that the recent ones are painfully close and still partially remain in our psychosoma. Maybe a recent life is too linked to the present existential program; our own helpers deny these recollections for us, being "unhealthy" to our present lifetime purpose. o We see helpers doing clarification task to help to understand why we failed and/or how we did in the intraphysical life that was just left. o Reveals how helpers allow us to know about our previous intra and extraphysical lives only when we are ready to know about it (to avoid evolutionary rape). o "If you have the will you can control the speed of the movement of your soul leaving your body" (Sally, case #2): This case explains the separation of the consciousness with more or less control. The consciousness is inevitably attracted to some place; however, a more experienced consciousness, which has been doing this many times, knows the place of destination without feeling any fear. This knowledge and confidence accelerates the process of complete disconnection from the dense energy of the soma and the physical affections. o Long illness leading to death prepares almost everyone to peacefully detach the body, contrary to a sudden death. When "spirits" do not want to leave the Earth after physical death, caring entities assist on the adjustment process. o Maturity of the soul is expressed in the acceptance/speed on moving out of the body. Younger souls fight to stay connected with dead bodies and their karmic group. Average matured souls do not move fast to "the light" and some are very hesitant. Highly developed souls move fast out of their body. They "know" where they are going. o The planetary memories never die. Consciousnesses are allowed to experience terrestrial mirages to comfort them by their familiarity during the transition. o As a soul, lies do not exist. One presents itself as it is; the quality of the energies and what they transmit can't be hidden. o Our days are full of signals and are a mirror of what happens during the period between lives. For example, extraphysically, after a mission, one receives a shower of energies to liberate unbalanced energies. Then, one will be ready to think about the previous physical life. One will interrelate with your guides, and make conclusions about the accomplishments. In one's intraphysical routine, for example, one also comebacks from a "mission" (a hard work finished) and take a bath to later meet with the superiors (the guide in this case). Together, the results of the job are discussed. However, there are several manifestations of an evolved consciousness that are not included in the cases presented, at least not clearly, such as: Assistantiality, Cosmoethic, Universalism, and Evolutionary Intelligence. On the other hand, the presence of extraphysical intruders is not clearly exposed. The book explains the different levels of the souls but, trying to frame them within the traditional scientific paradigms, makes this definition very simple compared to the complexity of the consciousness. He assigns a number (from level 1 to 4) based on one characteristic of the manifestation of that consciousness. The evolution of the consciousness is not defined by one aspect of that life or by the behavior in one specific situation. We are more complex than that. When reading the cases, we cannot accept that everything that "a soul" says is an absolute truth. This is the interpretation of the between lives period of that soul, seen and analyzed at the level of evolution that this consciousness has. For example, in case #27, answering a Doctor's question about how human beings would be like without souls, Sumus (the soul) responds: "Oh, dominated by senses and emotions...". Where the senses and emotions come from without the existence of a consciousness? In several regressions the soul mentions where and when the life he/she was describing occurred but the author does not furnish any verification of the information. It would have been a good addition to this book if Dr. Newton had presented some data verifying the references given by his patients under the hypnotic state. We have to observe, however, that the material presented in Dr. Newton's work reaches many people that, for one reason or another, have not been involved in studies of this nature. The reading of "Journey of Souls" opens the eyes to those that "know" about these subjects but do not "remember". More than few will conclude after reading this book that many events in the intraphysical life wouldn't make sense without the previous life experiences and the periods between lives (seriality); that there are forms of life other than this planet; questions will arise about the process of the soul's own evolution; how extraphysical helpers and evolutionary orientors act (understanding, clarifying, loving) showing one how to conduct themselves in the intraphysical world; how and why one should not judge others but clarify them to help them make better decisions and correct wrong "old" habits. We have finally arrived at a lifetime when these topics are openly discussed and available to anyone who is looking for answers. Nevertheless, many people will not understand us and maybe laugh about our convictions, but, at least, we are not burned anymore. About the Author: Michael Newton, Ph.D.: Holds a doctorate in counseling and is a state-certified Master Hypnotherapist in the state of California, US. His work involves helping his clients to connect thoughts and emotions to promote healthy behavior. Dr. Newton was resistant to use past life regression in the early days of his career because of his orientation in traditional therapy. Encouraged by his clients, he began regressing them back in time to access their memories of former lives; this practice convinced him how therapeutically important the link between bodies and previous life experiences are, and how they make us who we are today. During the time using regression as a therapy, Dr. Newton developed a technique where he took his patients to the time between lives. The homogeneity of experiences during the years corroborated in Dr. Newton's notes specific functional activities of the soul, where the variances between souls were basically due to the level of the soul development. This book is based on 29 cases presented by Dr. Newton from his 10 years collection of clients. Marisela Aparicio Cisnes Salvajes - Tres hijas de China, escrito por Jung Chang. Traducido en 25 lenguas, con 7 millones de copias vendidas. Título en inglés: Wild Swans - Three Daughters of China. Versión portuguesa: Cisnes Selvagens - Três filhas da China. Ed. Quetzal Editores; Lisboa - Portugal, 1998; 517 páginas, 12ª Edición. US$15.95. Una autobiografía, relatando la vida de tres generaciones de mujeres chinas y la forma como vivieron todas las transformaciones culturales, políticas y sociales de China en este siglo. Un retrato de la mujer china y su papel en la sociedad. La abuela, concubina de un "Señor de Guerra", que sufrió durante su juventud la represión exigida por la sociedad en que la mujer era una seguidora muda y obediente de su dueño, sin un papel activo, subyugada, sin derecho a pensar por si propia. Era una exigencia de la sociedad, un hábito, una costumbre, tan común como los pies conectados y atados, con los huesos partidos, de forma que los pies no aumentasen de tamaño; requisito para un "buen casamiento" (una buena boda) y subsecuente subida de escalón social. Esa costumbre prevaleció en China durante aproximadamente 1000 años, habiendo sido definitivamente erradicado con la Revolución Comunista. Los padres de la autora eran funcionarios del Partido Comunista. La madre, una activista empeñada, un pilar de fuerza, madre, esposa, compañera. El padre, un alto funcionario que puso siempre la voluntad del partido en primer lugar, yendo contra todo y cualquier tipo de privilegios, aún para su propia familia. Un hombre que terminó por ser una más de las víctimas de la Revolución Cultural. La autora, una niña de la Revolución Cultural, que a los 14 años hacía parte de la Guarda Roja, que presenció todo tipo de atrocidades que fueron cometidas a nombre de Mao, la ruina de su familia, de la cultura del país, de su mundo. La forma como la Revolución Cultural y el culto a Mao sirvieron de disculpa para la anarquía y violencia que se difundió por toda China. Libros quemados, escuelas cerradas, profesores golpeados, denuncias infundadas. Mao facilitó el aparecimiento de lo peor del ser humano y felizmente, en ciertos casos, de su mejor. Contradictoriamente ese mismo gobierno, en una fase más suave, casi pos-Mao, le permitió una beca en Londres, en 1978, donde, posteriormente, fue la primera natural de la República popular de China en recibir un doctoramiento en "British University" en 1982. Mao Zedong fue el catalizador de todos los acontecimientos. Se transformó en el padre de China, en dios chino, en cultura, en ideas, en hábitos, en miedo. Mao era todo. Su sed de poder y el deseo de suplantar la economía occidental, con su megalónomo "Grande Salto", llevó más de 30 millones de personas a la muerte por inanición. Su deseo de ser un dios, llevó casi a la ruina económica, social y cultural de un país. La forma como la lucidez, las ideas, el libre albedrío, la libertad, fueron siendo exterminadas por el miedo, lavajes cerebrales, ignorancia e idolatría. China se transformó en una enorme cárcel, donde el carcelero podía ser el vecino de la puerta al lado, o mismo su mejor amigo. Felizmente, como prueba la Historia, su suceso no fue completo. Una obra que nos sorprende, pues, en este caso, la realidad ultrapasa la ficción. Es un relato fiel y verídico que nos auxilia a comprender los comportamientos e ideas del pueblo chino hasta nuestros días. La herencia holopensénica de China. Encontramos la importancia fundamental del libre albedrío y la forma como a través de ese atributo conseguimos mantener un cierto nivel de lucidez, impidiendo así la eficacia de los lavajes cerebrales. Cómo un poco de lucidez puede transformar toda una forma de pensar y cómo la falta de esa misma lucidez puede determinar todo el destino de una nación. Encontramos también la importancia del liderazgo, su buen uso y sus consecuencias, así como la situación directamente inversa. La evolución es inevitable para la conciencia; este libro es una feliz demostración de ese determinismo. Una obra excelente por su realismo y por la divulgación de los hechos que cambiaron la civilización china, en su mayoría desconocidos en el "mundo Occidental". Esta lectura es recomendada a todos los que tengan interés en comprender mejor el contexto evolutivo de China y sus repercusiones. Fátima Cameira Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution, by Pedro Demianovitch OUSPENSKY. Title in French: L'Homme et son évolution possible. Title in Portuguese: Psicologia da Evolução Possível ao Homem. São Paulo; Ed. Pensamento, 1981; 79 páginas. Ouspensky presents a set of five conferences on psychological studies about themes of man's observation of himself and his inner discipline, according to an evolutionary process, suggesting a new definition of Psychology. He states that people's main difficulty is to realize that they are really hearing new things, things that they have never heard before: "when we hear new ideas, we take them for old ideas or we think that they can be explained by or interpreted with the aid of old ideas. In fact, it is an arduous task to understand the possibility and the need for brand new ideas; this requires time and a deep review of current values" (p. 2). One aspect of psychology, when psychology was still a part of philosophy, was man's spiritual development through consciousness. Psychologists, however, have neglected this aspect for a very long time. Ouspensky proposes then that the definition of psychology should be the study of the principles, laws and facts relative to man's possible evolution (p. 5). The author considers this idea to be the oldest and the only one that can bring meaning to the forgotten origin and significance of psychology. Ouspensky highlights that man's evolution is the only subject worthy of being studied. He also adds that the experience and observation of the self indicate that it is impossible to study psychology like any other science, that is, without the person having a direct relationship with the subject under study. Ouspensky proposes four subdivisions in the definition of psychology: 1. the study of the possibilities of man's evolution; 4. the study of a new language, the universal language. According to the author, in the last 10 to 15 thousand years, there are unmistakable signs of a superior type of humanity, whose presence can be demonstrated by multiple testimonies and monuments from ancient times, which cannot be recreated or imitated by today's men. He states that, in the evolutionary path, man becomes a different being, who "can be considered to be an exception in comparison with the rest of humanity" (p. 6). A transitory desire arising from dissatisfaction with external environment is not enough for man to become a different being. Man has to intensely desire for a long period of time in order to create a strong enough impulse for new qualities to be acquired. As maintained by Ouspensky, when man realizes this, he can find ways to change. He will acknowledge that he does not have a single, permanent and unalterable Self, but that his Self is continuously changing (p.9). Ouspensky contends, "At the current stage of human development, the bright side is that nothing is permanent; if a small thing becomes permanent, this is a sign of madness. Only alienated people can have a permanent ego" (p. 63). The perception of having a physical body, a name, life conditions and habits is what creates the illusion of entirety. Ouspensky states that man is susceptible to 3 types of influences (p.46): A. Interests and attractions created by life itself: health, safety, comfort, wealth, pleasure, entertainment, vanity, pride, reputation, and others. B. Interests of other levels, awakened by ideas that are not created by human life, but that originate in schools of knowledge. C. Man has found school and is liberating himself through ideas and teachings that start to occupy his magnetic center. Slowly these ideas and teachings penetrate into different parts of man's personality, until eventually they reach his essence. Consciousness in man is a particular type of acquisition of inner knowledge about himself, including the knowledge of who he is, where he is, what he knows, what he does not know, so on and so forth. Only the individual is capable of knowing if they are conscious or not at any given moment. The fact to be analyzed is that consciousness has distinctive degrees of self-observation, which can vary with inner development: 1. Duration: For how long was he conscious? 2. Frequency: How many times was he conscious? 3. Amplitude and depth: What was he conscious of? There are as many ways to understand human beings as there are human beings themselves. To understand man in a single fashion is not accurate. Man is not one; man is multiple in relation to the changes and growth that a person undergoes. Man can be divided into two parts: 1) Essence - what is innate; and 2) Personality - what is acquired; both parts should grow in parallel, without one prevailing over the other. Man does not realize how much his observations and theories can be deceiving, even so he continues to believe in them. The development of consciousness can neither be based on lies, nor on fooling oneself. Man's possible evolution, based on the desire to acquire knowledge and to change, is limited by the narrow vision of what man is. Man is not capable of evaluating the extent of his self-knowledge. In order to find out about his own limitations and possibilities, man needs to eliminate false ideas about himself. These false ideas are based on the concept that man is a machine, an automaton, with memories from previous experiences and a certain amount of stored energy. Neither does man realize the amount of energy spent and the difficulties created as a result of an incorrect work (p. 43). A change should be made based on the acquisition of accurate information through the understanding of different consciousness states and their functions. One gradually acquires control of one's own consciousness, leading to the state of continuous consciousness. Man is not a complete being. When man obtains a method, which provides him with the knowledge required for his evolution, he will be able to promote the development of qualities and inner charac-teristics by himself. Usually these characteristics remain embryonic and do not develop spontaneously, only through personal efforts. Experience and observation, according to Ouspensky, indicate that man's development is only possible in well defined conditions that require personal efforts and an adequate help from those who, before him, undertook similar endeavors and arrived at a certain degree of development or, at least, obtained some knowledge about methods. Once the observation process starts, man will be able to distinguish strong and weak traits in regards to the possible knowledge about the self, a possible awakening and a possible development. Man will be able to discern what can become conscious and what cannot and should be eliminated. The author considers rather important to classify man into seven categories. This categorization can be applied in several possible ways of studying human activity, and it serves as an instrument to define manifestations that represent different levels of being. We present below a summary of the study of man's model proposed by Ouspensky. The first 3 centers are related to the physical body and they represent the categories of man that prevail in our society: 1. Physical man - the instinctive center or motor center, which prevails over the intellectual and emotional centers; inferior part of the trunk. 2. Emotional man - the emotional center, which prevails over the intellectual, motor and instinctive centers; part of the thorax. 3. Intellectual man - the intellectual center, which prevails over the emotional, motor and instinctive centers; part of the head. 4. A man who differs from the first 3 due to the knowledge about himself, the understanding of his situation and the acquisition of a permanent center of gravity, similar to an attracting magnetic center. The idea of his development, acquiring unity, consciousness, the permanent Self and will became more important than all of his other interests. 5. A man who acquired the unit and the consciousness of himself. 6. A man who acquired the objective consciousness. He possesses a greater number of new faculties and powers far beyond the understanding of the common man. 7. A man who has reached everything that a human being can reach. He has a permanent Self and free will, and is able to control all his states of consciousness without losing any acquired knowledge. Similar to our awareness, our understanding is not always at the same level, it continuously increases and decreases. If we realize this fluctuation in ourselves, we will be able to maintain and even surpass our superior levels of understanding. In fact, if we wish to interact with and to understand more advanced people, we first need to change ourselves. In man's natural course of evolution, he develops his knowledge and being. Both aspects cannot stop growing, if one does not develop, the other weakens. Comprehension is the arithmetic average between knowledge and being. CRITICAL ANALYSIS This thin but profound book is filled with ideas that stimulate critical questioning, analysis and reflection on important aspects concerning individuals and humanity such as the study of the consciousness. It can be observed that the author lived in a continuous search to understand what man is as well as his potentials for developing and evolving. At the same time, Ouspensky also attempted to understand the difficulty in clarifying to himself and his fellow researchers all the knowledge that they have already acquired. Even taking into account all the effort put in by the author, the complexity of his study, and even the translator's attempt to maintain the original ideas intact, there are many occasions where the author's writing is not clear, making it quite difficult to understand what he means. In addition, the lack of clarity in the sequence and repetition of ideas hinders the comprehension of the material. On the other hand, it is quite remarkable to verify that approximately one century ago there already existed researchers who defended a shift of the scientific paradigm of that period, proposing the introduction of participative research, self-research, and even suggesting human evolution as the most important subject of psychological investigation. Along these lines, the author seemed to have achieved in his life a certain degree of consciential maturity, evidenced by his evolutionary intelligence (an area currently investigated by conscientiology). I agree when the author expresses that "to know" means to be able to recognize knowledge within oneself; also, that man's restricted understanding on what he is and how he functions is a main impediment to that recognition (p. 33). The author also mentions the evolutionary process related to the innate, subjective aspects of the human being, contributing to the expansion of psychological studies. However, his approach is still very restricted because he does not consider the consciousness within a multidimensional context. In order to help the reader to have a greater understanding of the information contained in Ouspensky's book, we present the following ideas, selected according to the consciential paradigm: Sympathetic assimilation of energies Even with the great effort of many researchers, science assimilates new ideas very slowly. Then again, today humanity is undergoing an accelerated search for knowledge about ancient human phenomena. This knowledge now appears as new ideas because it is the result of recent and advanced methods and techniques. About the author: P. D. Ouspensky was born in 1878, in Moscow, in a family of artists and intellectuals. He is known as a mathematician, author, journalist, and as a person interested in several areas of knowledge: philosophy, psychology, religion and cosmology. He was one of Gurdjieff's best students in the Esoteric Fourth Way School. In 1918, he organized his own groups of study, promoting cycles of conferences on methods of consciousness development, including self-observation and self-discipline. After living in several cities, he settled down in London from 1921 to 1941. In 1941 he traveled to New York, where he lived until 1947, returning then to London to continue his work. However, he passed away on that same year. Among his published books are: Tertium Organum: Key to the Enigmas of the World; A New Model of the Universe; In Search of the Miraculous: Fragments of An Unknown Teaching; Talks with Devil; Conscience: the Search for Truth; The Fourth Way. Pilar Alegre |
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