The Phantom of the Psyche: Freeing Ourself from Inner Passivity - Softcover

Reseña del editor

Inner passivity, a common characteristic of the human psyche, distorts our sense of self and binds us to a second-hand experience of ourselves. This psychological condition, which affects men and women equally, is much more than just our difficulty in standing up for our rights. It is a complex and mysterious aspect of our psyche, concealed beneath our feelings of being helpless, overwhelmed, and indecisive. Inner passivity contributes to feelings of being defective or unworthy, and it is a factor in hundreds of symptoms, including anxiety, fear, anger, addictions, compulsions, and depression. Inner passivity is often experienced as a sense of inertia or as a lack of foresight or vision. It hides out behind the problem and the pain of being indecisive, yet it can also be a factor in hasty decisions. One of its primary emotional symptoms is the feeling of being overwhelmed, while one of its common behavioral symptoms is procrastination. We can experience inner passivity as the sense of having no power, as the feeling of being stuck or unable to move forward in our life, and as an inability to make something happen. It is present in the feeling that we're always playing catch-up or running late, in the impression that life is a losing battle, or in our worrying and emotional preoccupations concerning the uncertainty of life. Inner passivity also is the culprit in our failure to create a vision or a plan for our success, and it can also be an enemy that snatches defeat from the jaws of victory. Generally, we can say of inner passivity that we allow it to dictate and degrade our everyday experiences. We gain a distinct advantage when we identify inner passivity as a psychological condition or as a stage of our personal development. Once we identify it in this clinical sense, we're able to step back from the limiting, self-defeating symptoms it produces, thereby establishing some conscious separation from our symptoms. Otherwise the symptoms of inner passivity (low self-esteem, for instance) feel so much like our essence, as if they represent who we are or who we think we are. Without separation from our symptoms, the symptoms can define us in our own mind and thereby limit us. Free of inner passivity, we connect with our creativity, self-expression, and capacity for intimacy. We clear the way for the fulfillment of our courage, integrity, compassion, and love--and for reunion with our self.