ILLUSION – THE OTHER
FACE OF REALITY
Dr. Fritz Perls by Otto Dix
Berlin Art Gallery
Definition of what is real: It is the unity of our conscious
experience. Our focussed attention (awareness) draws together a myriad of
sensory impressions from the environment (both inner and outer) creating a
sense of the real.
Like the notes of a melody, our consciousness ‘interfaces’
together all sensory perceptions forming a whole or a figure. Each part of the
figure derives its meaning from the whole and its own ‘being’ reflects both,
the whole and all the constituent parts. Without this unity of different parts,
there would be no experience of reality as we know it.
Most people take for granted the phenomena of consciousness.
However, it is the most essential feature of our mental life. Trying to
understand this unity in ‘technical’ terms, we realise how deeply mysterious
consciousness is and why its ‘physics’ has, so far, eluded all scientific
search.
Recently psychiatry theorists have embraced the “computer”
model calling it "Artificial Intelligence" (AI) to explain how the brain works and
as an interpretation of what is consciousness. Much research is being
done around the brain studies and neurobiology to explain the scientific model
with some good results but only as a study of the function of our grey matter.
Ever since the Greek philosopher Plato postured the notion
of “I think therefore I am” the West stressed the relationship between rational
and analytical thinking as the basic rule by which we form our thinking and
make decisions. This led to the ‘computer’ model of brain functioning at the
expense of overlooking the intuitive side of the organic brain. This intuitive
side draws upon wisdom, imagination, creativity spontaneity and insight. So
modern science found a rational explanation by pointing the neurological split
between the right brain and left brain, each having different functions.
The ‘Holists’ emphasise the creative element of
consciousness as all elements of reality, that is, everything is related to everything
else. Even the medical studies of the brain revealed that the two brains have a
common link connecting both by the Corpus Collosum, therefore proving that the unity
of all parts is indeed more than the sum of all parts. [1](David
Bohm). We may conclude that everything and everyone is so intimately
connected that all talk of individuals or separation is a distortion of facts
or an ILLUSION. Yet, our individuality is also essential (paradox) to be able
to separate ourselves from attachments and the resulting pain.
The trance we live in most of our lives is that somebody
else is responsible for our problems, issues, sufferings and needs. We
eventually must accept that on one level of consciousness we are a unity with
ALL and on another level, we are ALONE. We are born alone and we will die
alone. Also we have to accept the fact that living our life is being alone. We may be
in a family, friends, clubs, etc., but ultimately we live alone. Our family
members, wife, children, friends, co-workers are with us as we go about our
living, but they also live in their aloneness. All those alonenesses neither act on
nor connect with each other. We may live with someone for 30 years or more but
it makes no difference, we will remain strangers and wanting (like we all do)
to be close and safe with others. It is basically an illusion created by our fears.
Buddha stated: “In the
house of Indra there is said to be a network of pearls arranged so that if you
look at one you see all the others, reflected in it”
So, we as individuals living alone, see the reflection in
others our inner needs that we have projected on the multiple environments. This
phenomena creates a space for psychotherapists that are trained to ‘help’ or
‘treat’ patients or clients to become very clear at all times and be able to
identify the ‘illusions’ that people experience throughout their lives and how these illusions
create dramas and suffering for themselves and others around them.
Most therapists follow the clients’ lead of the material
they present and say or do things that are experienced by the client as
relatively understandable and safe. This approach to therapy by many
psychotherapists (of all persuasions) is rather lame as we reflected in the
article on “talking therapies’ in this blog.
Fritz Perls, the principal founder of Gestalt Therapy, was
very clear about the issues of projections and being responsible or, as he said
response-able for one self. That small
shift of the word brought about the idea that we are totally responsible for
ourselves and have the ability to respond to our life issues.
Why, then most adult people either deflect from being
responsible or look toward others to help them?
[2]Erich
Fromm in his book “Escape from Freedom” stated that we all want freedom, it is
our right to be totally free but deep inside our unconscious we are afraid of freedom. One reason is that
with freedom comes responsibility- that is- we must respond to our decisions
and live with the consequences of our free decisions. We need to deal with our
environment and all the shifts that come with it.
The other reason of fearing our freedom is that we must face
those consequences coming forth but we are afraid of what may happen if we take
on board those consequences. So it is easier to deflect, play victim, (‘poor
me’), play manipulation games and thus diminish our self-esteem and our ability
to respond.
The third reason is that our past is a trance belief. Our
family upbringing, our culture, religious dogmas, education the media and
knowledge derived from others is so powerful that we keep avoiding every sort
of personal responsibility.
Buddha said: “This is
the basic truth: that you are NOT. Because you are NOT, you cannot die, you
cannot be born and so you cannot be in suffering, in bondage – are you ready to
accept that?”
Everybody has a deep sense that we are born and we will die.
Life is like a river flowing towards the sea- the final cosmic sea. Everything
in Nature has its beginnings and ends. Just take some time to watch the seasons. However humans do not know their end and therefore they spend
time filling in with ‘things to do’. When we feel alone, we seek someone to
fill that void: a friend, a teacher, a guru and in the West it is usually a
therapist.
If a therapist is well experienced and has done his or her
inner work, then he or she may begin with a short term contract with the client
to enable that seeker to learn how to recognise their inner capabilities to
live well and accept that one is alone. Then the inner work will begin.
Alejandro [3]Jodorowsky
(we reflected about his work in a previous blog) writes about the necessity to
‘learn how to die’ by abandoning fear and begin to enter in the process of
inner change. Just like Buddha encouraged his disciples to surrender, to let go
in order to be able to accept the beauty of life and the joy of death.
The next section will examine the techniques of Brief
Therapy that I found to be very useful and successful in terms of alternatives
to common therapies. Let me know what you think.
BRIEF THERAPY
In the last few blog REFLECTIONS we were able to explore
various alternatives to psychotherapy from the point of view of Gestalt therapy
theory and practice. Fritz Perls was an excellent ‘integrator’. He adapted
ideas from Zen, Psychodrama, Body Work, Art therapy, Psychoanalysis and more. He
developed an exiting methodology that is existential, practical and Holistic.
I am supporting brief therapy because in my own practice,
Gestalt therapy is, by definition, a brief modality. Over the years my
contracts with clients and groups is usually for six sessions, then a revision
of outcomes and, if needed six sessions more. It is my own experience that
brief therapy, used in a Gestalt context, can be more grounded in the here and now;
promote deep life shifts with clear outcomes that are not usually so clear in
long term therapy :( psychodynamic, behavioural and Psychoanalysis).
In brief therapy the therapist does not follow the client’s
conscious issues or presented problems. There is little emphasis to deal with transference
or working through the relationship with client and therapist. Here are a few
examples from the work of the great teachers in psychotherapy.
Fritz Perls, Milton Erickson and Walter Kempler are only a
few examples of the first explorers of brief therapy. Fritz developed a group
style workshop where he ‘worked’ with one person and the rest observed and, at
the same time, learned from the client’s work with Fritz.
Milton Erickson used hypnosis and trance inducing stories
(metaphors) to accomplish fast and lasting shifts in his clients in only one
session. He took painstaking details from the client’s process, noting minimal
clues to reach the unconscious and access inner healing.
Walter Kempler , a student of Friz, was known for his
Gestalt work with families and couples. He was considerate, passionate and at
times ruthless with his attempt to reach the family’s deep conflicts. He would
work with a force that would deconstruct the stuck places of each family member
and open deep healing resources for the family’s issues. He promoted
self-regulating ways of achieving positive results in two or three hours of
work. He would carry on for more hours until a deep solution was achieved.
Therefore the evidence from his results was the achievement of successful and
deep impacts on the whole family system and each individual.
In exploring the work of the three major pioneers of brief
therapy, I conclude that no matter how the client or family experience their
deepest issues, the therapist, with him or herself as the focus of intervention
selects the greatest obstacle that will
be worked on to resolve the deep conflicts within each member (or person) and
engages this conflict as a warrior would. Thus, the pain, suffering and denials
or deflections of reality, all are confronted and resolved in a shortest time
possible in order that the individual can recuperate his or her inner power to
go on with life.
Finally, therapists must become aware that clients are much
more resilient than therapists give them credit for. This means that all
clients have a strong possibility to benefit from brief therapy that brings
them to the deep capacity to deal with their conscious and unconscious self.
BRIEF THERPAY
GUIDELINES
1. Start to take some small risks slowly. Be clear about
your interventions that may not go in the desired direction, experiment.
2. Use art therapy tools.
3. Make sure you have some years of training and experience
and supervision in brief therapy.
4. Some deep interventions that reach into the unconscious
may surface issues like suicidal wishes, homicidal phantasies, illusions of
grandeur and/ or primitive ways of being. You can expect that these symptoms
may develop confusion, anxiety and fears in the client. This may indicate a
positive movement toward healing old pain.
“To know yourself
means to understand that you are the Universe” A. Jodorowsky
[1] David
Joseph Bohm FRS[1] (December 20, 1917 – October 27, 1992) was an American
scientist who has been described as one of the most significant theoretical
physicists of the 20th century[2] and who contributed unorthodox ideas to
quantum theory, neuropsychology and the philosophy of mind.
[2]
Erich Seligmann Fromm;(March 23, 1900 – March 18, 1980) was a German social
psychologist, psychoanalyst, sociologist, humanistic philosopher, and
democratic socialist. He was associated with the Frankfurt School of critical
theory.
[3] (2010),
Psychomagic: The Transformative Power of Shamanic Psychotherapy, Rochester, VT:
Inner Traditions, ISBN 978-1-59477-336-5. Jodorowsky, Alejandro (2001).
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