A TWELVE WEEK PSYCHOSYNTHESIS PRACTICE
Compiled and Edited by Thomas Yeomans, Ph.D.
No. 10 – A PSYCHOSYNTHESIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Purpose of the Autobiography
The major purpose of this task is to get in touch with the ways in which our present has been shaped by our past and is still influenced by it, thus freeing ourselves to move beyond conditioned behaviour which is no longer appropriate. We are concerned primarily with an inner autobiography rather than a record of external events for their own sake, with a study of those conditions, events, and people which have shaped our lives and the ways in which we have interacted with them. It is helpful to indicate briefly important external facts for the sake of others who may read your autobiography, including such things as date and place of birth, ethnicity, socio- economic status of family of origin, number of brothers and sisters and your place in family, and the general social and natural environment in which you lived. Attempt to indicate the effect of these facts on your development. Whenever external facts are included, make explicit the effects you believe they had on you.
Style of Writing
People have different styles of approaching the autobiography. Some find it helpful to use a chronological approach, considering each year of their life in turn, while others prefer to dip in wherever they feel attracted to start. Either approach may be effective. Sometimes a combination of the two works best, making an outline of the main themes on a chronological basis and then elaborating these in a more spontaneous way and coming back to the outline as a checklist so that important points will not be forgotten. It is desirable to write in the way which is easiest for you, even if this means neglecting rules of grammar and stylistic elegance. The key is to get the flow started by writing in any way you can. It may be helpful just to let things come to you in a “stream of consciousness” approach, allowing the major themes and patterns to emerge after this is done rather than attempting to impose a preconceived schema on the data.
Try to describe your life with as much honesty and detachment as you can, avoiding the tendency to censor points that you feel would present you in an unfavourable light. You will find it instructive to note those aspects of your life you feel ashamed of and are tempted to censor, and it is useful to mention where the “sore points” lie as you write. The attempt to reach as honest and objective a viewpoint as possible will help you to make connections with the material and to deal with it more constructively.
If you find that you have written a very long and rambling autobiography, it would be preferable to write, in addition, a more abbreviated and organized version to give to your psychosynthesis guide and to help yourself see the patterns more clearly. The longer version can help to free you up and bring out the material and is valuable for your own use, while the shorter version can facilitate communication to others and help you organize your thoughts.
Your General Development
What kind of person were you at different stages in your life? How have you changed? Did others perceive you in the same way you perceived yourself? What kinds of masks did you wear for the world? How did you distort yourself in order to be accepted by others or to defend yourself against others?
Make drawings to illustrate all of these points.
How did you resolve your psychosexual identity? How have you felt about being male or female, and has your attitude changed on this? What do you like and dislike about the sex you were born with? What would you dislike or prefer about being of the opposite sex?
Describe any developmental crises or turning points in your life which were the occasion of a shift in attitude or in level of consciousness. Frequently such events are experienced as a “trial” or “initiation” and may take the form of a crisis or test of strength.
What recurrent patterns do you notice in your life? Are there particular conflicts that you have acted out repeatedly in different situations? Are there certain lessons that you seem to have been learning through your life experience?
Specific Questions
What is your earliest memory? It does not matter if this is an actual memory or an imagined one.
Describe any recurrent childhood dreams.
Indicate any traumatic events in your life: e.g., illness, accident, death, separation, violence, sexual abuse, etc. How did these affect you?
Life Pattern and Meaning
As you tell your life story, what sort of archetypal pattern does it seem to express? Make up a myth or fairy tale about your life. Write and illustrate, by drawing pictures of the key figures in archetypal form. What title(s) and subtitle(s) could you use for it? Do you accept or resent your life experience?
What do you sense as the deeper meaning and purpose of your life?
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