Know Thyself - What does it really mean?

As it often happens with overused axioms, we may fall into the trap of bypassing their depth and remain stuck with admiring the external power that they emanate. The popular inscription in the pronaus of the Temple of Apollo in Delphi - ‘know thyself’ - is no exception. Some months ago, in a previous social media post, I reeled ‘𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝘆 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳’, hinting at aspects that are core to my work: 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲𝘀, 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀, and 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀.

In essence these are very similar in nature, and don’t be misled into believing that they are fixed. Before delving into how these various energetic entities are related to knowing thyself, I would like to introduce you to 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸. I was trained in Parts Work back in 2019 as an essential pre-requisite to 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘆𝗽𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝘆. Hypnotherapy can be approached in many ways and Parts Work was the framework utilized by my mentors. At the time I was not as deeply enamoured with Jungian psychology as I am now, although having been primed in Parts Work may have inevitably oiled the engine.

In its own right, Parts Work is heavily influenced by Jungian Archetypes, and even uses most of its terminology: Inner Child, Wise Woman, Magician, Trickster, etc. While Jungian Archetypes provides the theoretical model, Parts Work represents its practical application in therapy, combining with other psychological theories to help raise awareness about one’s psyche. Parts Work also often finds itself in 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝘆. Richard Schwartz’s development of Internal Family Systems (IFS) reflects the contemporary evolution of Parts Work, aligned with Jung’s view of a multifaceted psyche (Schwartz, 2001), in family therapy.

Personally, I am aligned with combining 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝗹𝗼𝘄’𝘀 𝗛𝗶𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀/ 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 with Parts Works in guiding the client assessing the needs of the various parts that are driving their current behaviour. Maslow’s theory, widely accepted in humanistic psychology, identifies self-actualization as a pinnacle goal, which resonates with the integrative goal of Parts Work (Maslow, 1943).

Not everyone is aware that consciousness is made up of several parts, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿. When a client reaches out to me for assistance in their spiritual path, I first assess their level of awareness about the composite parts of their psyche. During their first session, one client once told me that they felt distraught that their “mind seemed to have a mind of its own”. By the end of the intake session, based on what was left out, I deduced that this individual was in their initial stage of becoming aware that they are made up of different parts. The less aware we are of the 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗺𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘄𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 during challenging life situations. An attempt to expound this idea in terms of neuroscience was made by Siegel (2012). He proposed how different “minds” or neural networks can operate semi-independently, contributing to a fragmented experience of consciousness, especially under stress.

The 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 for my clients is based off this initial assessment. Depending on the stage of the client’s spiritual journey, they will be guided through 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 that are being expressed and exposed through current life situations. I am a fan of the 𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 - what I affectionately call the therapeutic version of 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴. During the Transpersonal Psychology sessions, after having identified the parts - or entities - that are calling to come out into the light, I weave questions that will assist the client into 𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀. This is a cornerstone of coaching, and I find that the blend of dialectical questioning with Parts Work beautifully brings out spiritual insight that the client desperately needs to go beyond their difficulties. It is also aligned with the principles of client-centered therapy developed by Carl Rogers, where the client is the agent of their own healing (Rogers, 1961). Let me illustrate the case of one past client as an example.

Jeannette* is a yoga instructor who recently completed a Reiki course as an additional service to offer to her clients. She expressed feeling stuck at promoting her services, hesitating to even price-tagging them. The reluctance at propelling her activities to the next level was making her feeling frustrated. She has been sitting on her certificates for months, and feels triggered and envious at the services offered by other instructors within the yoga community. Feeling jealous, she then felt shame, and spiralled into bouts of feeling inadequate, procrastination, and Netflix-bingeing.

During our intake it was evident that Jeannette was well-versed in the lore of consciousness and spirituality, and that she was experiencing an internal tug-of-war. These internal conflicts tend to be typical in situations where more than one part has become increasingly and progressively energized due to feeling threatened or needing attention to be healed. Jeannette’s internal dynamics could be further explained using Wilber’s integral theory, which supports the layered nature of identity—spiritual, psychological, cultural—and how these layers can either harmonize or conflict (Wilber, 2000).

Jeannette was aware of her jealous feelings towards those who were successful in her community, but this made her self-resent even more. Therefore, she was aware to some extent of what was going on, but she was not totally aware that her 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝗴𝗼 was running most of the show. Instead, Jeannette identified with the feelings of envy, believing she was a jealous person which in turn went against her spiritual ideals. This aroused shame which she was not ready to accept, and which she tried to numb by watch-bingeing TV series. During the course of our sessions it transpired that Jeannette’s 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 carried 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 that, compounded by an upbringing 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆, fed the values that lay at the core of her mental room-mates. Jeannette’s adult self - the enthusiastic yogi who finds joy in helping others embrace their spiritual self - was in conflict with her wounded inner child that had been programmed to live with a scarcity mentality. Ironically, it may have been the staunch religious environment in which Jeannette grew up that led to her interest in spirituality. This may further explain how its shadow - the spiritual ego - found its way to attaching to her identity. This tension between spiritual identity and psychological development is a key issue addressed in Assagioli’s Psychosynthesis model, which considers the integration of the higher and lower unconscious into a cohesive personal and transpersonal self (Assagioli, 1971).

In Transpersonal Psychology coaching, although knowing the 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗳 is the penultimate  goal of the practice, we are very careful to 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲. For someone who started session one with the complaint that they seem to have no control over their mind, it’s already considered a significant milestone to end the session with the awareness that there’s more to themselves than meets the eye. The work never stops, even when the 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗳 is brought to light.

For 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 start by booking a FREE 45-minute consultation by sending an email to 𝕤𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕝𝕪𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤𝕞𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥@𝕘𝕞𝕒𝕚𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝕞 For more information visit 𝗵𝘁𝘁𝗽𝘀://𝘄𝘄𝘄.𝗰𝗵𝗿𝘆𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴.𝗰𝗼𝗺

*not the real name

𝗕𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆:

Assagioli, Roberto. Psychosynthesis: A Manual of Principles and Techniques. New York: Viking Press, 1971.

Maslow, Abraham H. “A Theory of Human Motivation.” Psychological Review 50, no. 4 (1943): 370–396.

Rogers, Carl R. On Becoming a Person: A Therapist’s View of Psychotherapy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1961.

Schwartz, Richard C. Internal Family Systems Therapy. New York: Guilford Press, 2001.

Siegel, Daniel J. The Developing Mind: How Relationships and the Brain Interact to Shape Who We Are. 2nd ed. New York: Guilford Press, 2012.

Wilber, Ken. A Theory of Everything: An Integral Vision for Business, Politics, Science, and Spirituality. Boston: Shambhala, 2000.