self-awareness – Allan Johnson, PhD

Balancing Spirit and Self: Authentic Growth for Creative Minds

Posted on June 26, 2024June 19, 2024 by Allan Johnson in attachment, compassion, creativity

The term ‘spiritual bypass’ was coined in 1984 by the American psychologist John Welwood to describe the use of spiritual beliefs or practises to avoid dealing with painful feelings, unresolved wounds and unmet basic psychological needs. Our society values individualism and personal growth and supports the exploration of unique spiritual paths that deviate from established orthodox standards and yet contribute to authentic personal empowerment.

Personal spiritual practises can help us to think outside the box and ultimately provide a sense of freedom and authenticity in one’s spiritual existence. But turning to meditation, yoga, ritual, journaling, or any other form of spiritual practise as a form of superficial growth neglects real development and ultimately hides or represses even more the aspects of ourselves that most need to be changed and resolved.

When we are spiritually bypassing, we avoid personal problems by using spirituality to escape emotional pain or difficult situations. Or when we over-emphasise positive thinking and ignore negative emotions or experiences, we begin to detach from reality and disconnect from the problems and responsibilities, such as someone who meditates to escape their anger instead of dealing with the cause of their anger, or someone who uses affirmations to ignore feelings of sadness or grief.

Spiritual practises such as meditation or affirmations can be incredibly powerful opportunities for real personal growth, but we must be careful not to use our spiritual practises to hide from what we need to bring to light.

In our personal spiritual practise, the ego is quick to try to take control, using the appearance of spiritual development to boost its self-esteem or to avoid being confronted with personal flaws. We can recognise that the ego has begun to take control when someone begins to proclaim that they are more ‘enlightened’ than others, when they use spirituality to justify or ignore their own negative behaviour, or when they use spiritual practises to avoid life’s challenges.

Recognising when this is the case for us is especially important for creatives because spiritual avoidance can actually hinder your creative and personal growth because avoiding emotional depth and intensity can limit our creative expression and authenticity.

On our spiritual path, we must continue to cultivate self-knowledge and discernment. We gain self-knowledge not only through our usual spiritual practises such as meditation, journaling or ritual, but also by seeking feedback from trusted peers and taking perspectives from others who can point out our avoidance patterns, such as therapists or counsellors. In this way, we can allow vulnerability and authenticity by allowing ourselves to experience and express all emotions rather than using spirituality to avoid them.

Likewise, discernment plays a crucial role in distinguishing between genuine spiritual growth and avoidance behaviours disguised as spiritual practises. This involves a deep, introspective examination of one’s own motivations and the ability to recognise when spirituality is being used to avoid unresolved emotional issues.

Discernment requires honesty and self-awareness and allows individuals to see through the facade of spiritual superiority or forced positivity that often accompanies spiritual evasion. By cultivating discernment, one can navigate the spiritual path with integrity and ensure that spiritual practises are integrated into personal development rather than serving as an escape from it. This balanced approach fosters authentic growth and helps individuals address underlying psychological and emotional wounds, leading to a more holistic and grounded spirituality.

To avoid spiritual bypassing, the first crucial step is cultivating self-awareness and honesty. This includes regularly reflecting on your spiritual practises and motivations. Do you utilise meditation, yoga or ritual to truly connect with your inner self, or do you use these practises to escape unpleasant feelings and situations? Journaling can help you document your thoughts, feelings, and spiritual experiences.

By honestly addressing your emotional state and recognising any tendency to avoid pain, you can begin to connect your spiritual practises to your personal growth. Mindfulness meditation, which focuses on attention to the present moment and non-judgmental observation of thoughts and feelings, can also help you stay grounded and avoid the avoidance behaviours typical of spiritual bypassing.

Another effective strategy to avoid spiritual bypassing is to seek support from professionals and peers. Therapists and counsellors who are trained in integrating spirituality and psychology can provide you with valuable insights and tools to address unresolved emotional issues. They can help you recognise patterns of avoidance and work through underlying emotional wounds.

It is also beneficial to discuss your spiritual path with trusted teachers and guides who can give you honest feedback. Sometimes others can recognise our avoidance patterns more clearly than we can ourselves. Participating in group discussions or spiritual communities where members value personal growth alongside spiritual development can create a supportive environment that encourages authenticity and vulnerability.

Finally, it is important to maintain a balance between spiritual practises and real-life commitments to avoid spiritual bypassing. It is important to remember that spirituality should enhance your ability to engage with the world, not serve to escape from it. Grounding practises such as physical exercise, spending time in nature, or engaging in community service can help you stay connected to reality.

Check in regularly to see if your spiritual activities are improving your ability to deal with life’s challenges or if they are becoming a way to avoid them. By ensuring that your spiritual practises are integrated into your daily life and responsibilities, you create a holistic approach that promotes true personal and spiritual growth. This balance not only prevents spiritual bypassing, but also enriches your overall well-being and creativity.

Spiritual bypassing is a very common problem that hinders spiritual and personal growth as well as creative development. And recognising and addressing the spiritual bypass is crucial for creative people embarking on the path of authentic spiritual and personal growth, while overcoming the challenges that come with it. True spiritual and creative growth involves addressing and healing our soul wounds, utilising grounding practises such as exercise or walks in nature, and taking a holistic approach to our spirituality and creativity that allows input from experienced spiritual teachers.

What Causes Imposter Syndrome and How Do You Get Through It?

Posted on August 22, 2022August 20, 2022 by Allan Johnson in wellbeing

Imposter syndrome refers to the belief that a person is not as intelligent or successful as they are perceived to be by others. Imposter syndrome often affects people who are very successful or high achievers in their field of work. People who have high levels of internalised imposter feelings may feel that they have cheated in some way to get where they are in lifeor that they are only considered competent in a job or relationship because of luck or external factors. These feelings can lead to anxiety, an overwhelming desire to please others, and a constant fear of being found out.

The term was first coined by Suzanne Imes and Pauline Clance 50 years ago, but seems to have become more widespread in recent years. A person suffering from imposter syndrome is usually unable to internalise their achievements and feels that they are actually just a ‘fraud’ or ‘imposter’ and do not deserve their success. Although people with imposter syndrome know they are intelligent and capable, they feel they are a fraud and do not deserve their success.

There seems to be an evolutionary explanation for imposter syndrome. To the human mind, a social risk such as shame or embarrassment is perceived in the same way as a physical risk, because for our earliest ancestors, exclusion from the tribe was tantamount to death. So humans have an innate tendency to be alert to social judgements and threats of shame, and, in many ways, the imposter syndrome is a form of self-protection.

However, this does not mean that we have to be guided by mental models developed for the hunter-gatherer age. Imposter syndrome makes us more cautious, less willing to take risks, and more inclined to stay in our comfort zone. This is good to a certain extent, but in many cases imposter syndrome can become a limiting belief that prevents us from doing things that might challenge us and help us grow. It becomes problematic when our self-protective mechanisms become so extreme that they actually put us at risk of failure and self-sabotage.

Instead of resisting the experience of imposter syndrome, we need to learn to accept it. When we experience imposter syndrome, we can mitigate our experience by recognising that it is part of a larger process, that we are vulnerable, and that as human beings we are particularly vulnerable to anxiety. When we suffer from imposter syndrome, we need to expand to a larger reality by accessing the inner strength and resources we can draw from to feel more confident, manage our fears and expand our comfort zone. As human beings, we need to be able to make mistakes and be imperfect because that is the only way we can learn and grow. When we are able to remember our humanity and our ability to bounce back, we can begin to take responsibility for our experiences.

To break the cycle of imposter syndrome, we need to introduce new beliefs and new ways of thinking. It is important to recognise that imposter syndrome is a perception, a story and a belief we tell ourselves about the world. Imposter syndrome is an illusion, a drive triggered by fear and self-doubt, and it is temporary. When we experience imposter syndrome, we need to take a step back, take a breath, reflect and engage with our bodies. We do not have to believe our thoughts and stories unquestioningly. Instead, we can explore the nature of our mind and realise that the moment we question our automatic reactions, we make space for something else. Once we recognise imposter syndrome for what it is, we can begin to let go of our negative relationship to it.

The key to being less vulnerable to imposter syndrome is to become aware of the beliefs and stories we tell ourselves about ourselves and our world. Part of the illusion that imposter syndrome creates is that we downplay all the smaller achievements we make every day. When we suffer from imposter syndrome, we do not allow ourselves to acknowledge our own achievements because we simply do not believe them. We ignore the small acts of courage and strength we perform every day and fail to recognise the extent to which we help others. It is not always the big, obvious achievements that matter most. Very often it is the small, everyday successes that show us that we are constantly growing and developing. We can begin to break the cycle of imposter syndrome by looking for evidence of our competence and intelligence, even in the smallest things. When imposter syndrome sets in, acknowledge the invisible accomplishments that others do not see.

Imposter syndrome is a self-protective mechanism, but we can change it. When we expand to a greater reality of our own achievements, we have the opportunity to replace the imposter story with new stories that empower us. We can use the power of these new stories to support, protect and nurture us. We can encourage ourselves with stories of our courage, resilience, kindness and authenticity. These are the stories that help us cultivate the self-compassion, self-confidence and courage we need to overcome imposter syndrome.

Download your free 21-day course in The Path of Mindfulness. In this life-changing 21-day mindfulness journey, Dr Allan Kilner-Johnson guides you through a series of self-guided mindfulness exercises and shows you how and when to bring mindfulness into your daily life.

What is Psychosynthesis?

Posted on February 13, 2022August 20, 2022 by Allan Johnson in Psychosynthesis, wellbeing

The term Psychosynthesis refers to a process of psychological and spiritual development that takes place at the conscious and unconscious levels of the human psyche. Psychosynthesis was developed by the Italian psychiatrist, philosopher, and esotericist Roberto Assagioli (1888-1974), who was influenced by the work of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, with whom he was in regular correspondence. However, Assagioli’s thinking differed in several ways. While Freud focused on the impact of early childhood experiences on the formation of the psyche and Jung on the common collective unconscious inherent in human beings, Assagioli recognised that a complete approach to the mind must take both aspects into account. Assagioli developed a scientifically based psychospiritual system that he eventually called psychosynthesis, an approach to self-development in which individuals perceive themselves and the world from a new perspective. It involves a comprehensive theory of human development and a unique methodology for self-development.

Like other talking therapies, psychosynthesis emphasises the value of regular conversation between the therapist and the client about their experiences, which can help the client progress in their personal and spiritual development. The main tools of psychosynthesis are reflection, art, journaling, dialogue, active imagination, and contemplation. These tools facilitate critical awareness of the contents of consciousness, especially the motivational aspects of consciousness, in a non-judgmental and compassionate way. It encourages us to see thoughts and feelings as transient events that arise and pass within us, rather than fixed, unchanging realities, and it encourages us to enter into dialogue with these inner phenomena. Psychosynthesis also encourages dialogue with the deeper levels of the unconscious. In this sense, psychosynthesis is an approach that encourages critical self-awareness and the development of a capacity for self-observation and self-regulation.

Psychosynthesis is a complete and holistic philosophy and psychology of the human being. It includes a theory of human nature, an understanding of the development of consciousness and a methodology for psychological and spiritual self-development. Psychosynthesis approaches human development by emphasising the transformative potential of the deep self and seeks to enable the individual to live a more complete and satisfying life. Psychosynthesis is not necessarily spiritual, but it is a practical approach to looking at the human being from a spiritual perspective. It is an approach that aims to integrate the mind, body and spirit and help us develop a more fulfilling, compassionate, and meaningful life. It is an approach that seeks to help us all awaken our spiritual potential and bring it into alignment with our daily lives.