role theory as a many-dimensional psychology

[Connie Miller]

Dear Adam and all,

Sadly I do not know Jacks or Georgias work yet but look forward to learning it soon; I do not know if the work overlaps but it would be nice if we are co creating something together. I know mine had been published in IJAM Winter 2000 This may answer some of your questions.
Souldrama may be conceptualized as a combination of developmental stages, or perhaps as a combination of spiritual and existential intelligences. This process of development toward the optimal expression of our higher purpose proceeds in sequential stages, each one building on and incorporating the earlier stages in such a way that no stage can be skipped and the sequential order of the emerging stages is a relatively fixed aspect of the human experience. In other words the stages are hierarchical, and development proceeds by transcendence through each stage and integration of each one. What is important here is the transitional times in between the work within the doorways.
The doorways cross thresholds of consciousness and offer a transitional space between doorways for stepping from where you are now into a new higher level of functioning allowing space so that one can integrate the work and have the security to explore states of consciousness. This transitional space is very important in this process of Souldrama.
The spaces in between the doorways can serve as gateways through which we can enter transpersonal experience. Each time we grow and change both spiritually and psychotherapeutically we need to have space in which to integrate our work. Winnicott called this a transitional space. Souldrama consciously creates transitional space in between the doorways and offers a safe holding environment so that group members can move from one doorway to another, from childhood ego dependence into adult ego independence and eventually to ego transcendence. (Waldron, 1998) indicates that there are three general phases of integration of transcendent experience. The first is coming into balance with the initial impact of the experience. Transitional space is often chaotic, and balance is most easily found when a solid infrastructure of support exists, both intrapsychically and socially. For Winnicott, it is important for the personality to be able to rest in unintegration, to float or drift between organizations, to dip into formlessness or chaos or nothingness. At this Sabbath point of personality, one takes time off from self. It is important to have time between choices, time simply to be. What a relief not to have to be this or that, not to have to force oneself into a particular shape (?shape up?) (Eigen, 1992, p. 272). A different mode of consciousness is needed to take the step of transformation, one responsive to reality in its connected aspects. Receptive consciousness is the mode whose function is to receive the environment, to relax boundaries, to allow past and future to fade away. As boundaries diminish, the sense of self becomes less distinct and less contained. ?Now? and ?merging? are the dominant aspect of receptive. 
Early childhood development occurs along developmental lines as proposed by Anna Freud (1965), with two primary lines of development that are especially crucial to the individual's ultimate health or dysfunction being the very early attachment bonding or relatedness process, and the separation-individuation or self-definition process.People construct a sense of self, a subject, experienced as personally continuous or ongoing in existence, distinct from all-else (objects) and identify with that sense of self representaion as 'I.' The imagined continuity of self is "driven by our need to propel ourselves into the next moment of existence" (Sills, 2000, p. 189); ) Early experiences are deeply embedded and profoundly fundamental in that construction of a sense of self, and the early mistaken beliefs and conclusions, such as "I am bad," or "I am alone," or "I cannot trust my own perceptions," continue to have a profound influence on the individual's choices for the lifespan unless and until they are changed at the deepest levels of embedding (cognitively, somatically, emotionally); Because we continue modifying our sense of self based on new experiences in the world, our sense of self is being constructed anew from moment to moment, although we may deny ourselves such spontaneity, choosing by default experiences which will validate our preconstructed roles and thus remain rigidly committed to them. In the words of Maslow (1968, p. 33), "What we take to be our 'self' and feel to be so present and real is actually an internalized image, a composite representation, constructed by a selective and imaginative 'remembering' of past encounters with the object world. In fact, the self is viewed as being constructed anew from moment to moment."When we stop playing roles we become can become fully present and focused on the situation and become the natural spontaneous person we are meant to be. Souldrama teaches us how to release the old roles in our lives and practice taking on new ones in action. When we can give up our old roles, there is nothing to defend and we can become our authetic selves.

 Connie Miller

Connie Miller TEP, LPC. NCC 
http://www.souldrama.com/
The International Institute of Souldrama 
620 Shore Rd 
Spring Lake Heights 
NJ 07762 USA 

1-800-821-9919 


-----Original Message-----
From: Adam Blatner [mailto:ablatner at verizon.net]
Sent: Friday, August 8, 2008 09:02 AM
To: connie at souldrama.com
Cc: 'georgia rigg', 'Jack Shupe', list at grouptalkweb.org
Subject: role theory as a many-dimensional psychology

Hi Connie, (and all),
 In response to your recent comments on this most auspicious of dates (I think 8 is especially auspicious in China, which is why they're opening the Olympics---is it today?)
 Your Souldrama work --- interesting that you call these imagined roles "altered states of consciousness." Would involvement in any role playing also fit into this category?
 Your noting developmental lines, and how many there are, according to various theorists, was delightful. I'm tempted to harrumph! When there are so many, perhaps it is misleading to view them in that fashion rather than simply recognizing that almost all roles can be developed from a more, well, under-developed level to a more highly discriminated level; that most roles can be overdone or played in exclusion of others---becoming habitual, fixed, etc. and so forth. 

 I can see that you continue to thicken the theoretical foundations of your work, using different categories used by Jung, Ken Wilber, and others. 

 By the way, you included a copy to Transpessoal at yahoogroups.com
 Does this overlap with Al Pesso's Psychomotor therapy? Are you aware of Georgia Riggs' and Jack Shupe's work with this approach? (They presented on its overlap with psychodrama at the ASGPP conference in San Antonio last April.) What do you know about that approach? (Just to network y'all and wonder if there are other folks on Grouptalk who know about this method. I've known about it and mentioned it even in my first Acting-In in 1973 and before.) 

 Warmly, Adam

----- Original Message ----- 
From:Connie Miller
Cc:Transpessoal at yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, August 08, 2008 6:12 AM
Subject: [SPAM] Re: Patricia, do tell more about Janet and how you use it forpsychodrama (Anne)L


 Dear Patty and Neil, 

 Thank you for bringing Janets work into awareness. The work that I have been doing on souldrama takes people through seven altered states of consciousness by passing through
 through seven doorways and the work of Janets fits in very nicely as one moves through the levels of emotional level of intelligence using Morenos work. There have been many formulations 
 of stages  in the development of consciousness that people encounter and inhabit as they develop. These states are obviously to be viewed as energetic levels of activation of conscious awareness,
 constantly shifting. 
 We can look at the general format of the organization of these states on Maslow's (1943, 1954, 1968, 1971) Hierarchy of Needs 
Anna Freud (1965) proposed the concept of developmental lines? to explain how pathology can result from a failure in normal human development in one or more areas of growth, using developmental lines to chart the emergence of a specific developmental potential through a sequence of stages of growth. For example, there is a separate line of development for the consolidation of a sense of self (Kohut, 1971),for affect (Brown, 1985), and for the defenses (Vaillant, 1977). Ken Wilber(2000) believes that there are roughly two dozen developmental lines: ?morals, affects,self-identity, psychosexuality, cognition, ideas of the good, role taking,socio-emotional capacity, creativity, altruism, several lines that can be called ?spiritual? (care, openness, concern, religious faith, meditative stages), joy, 
The doorways of Souldrama can be a method to enter transpersonal experience. The first and second doorways represent the rational intelligence, the third and fourth doorways represent the emotional intelligence and the fifth and sixth represent the spiritual intelligence. Door seven is where all three intelligences are integrated. The doorways offer symbolic rites of passage and structure .The rationale for souldrama is that one needs to align their ego and soul to be on their higher purpose and gives us a structured action method to do so using psychodrama and sociometry in each doorway. This includes Carl Jung's theory of individuation that states that the individual strives to become whole and distinctive from the collective (Jung, 1933; Jung & von Franz, 1964). In order for an individual to realize their specific purpose, connection with one's unique self must be achieved (Eddinger, 1972; Harding, 1965). In this context, self is the whole of the individual, including all aspects of an individual's conscious and unconscious, often referred to as a paradoxical union of opposites (Harding, 1965). The Self is superior to the ego and is experienced as the center of the personality (Jung, 1933). If individuals become conscious of their whole personality, the self, they can become great spiritual leaders by becoming aware of their higher purposes and potential capabilities. 
Blessings Connie

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