The Spiritual Practice of Self-leadership

In this episode Derek Scott describes how Self-leadership is a Spiritual Practice. The conversation includes a consideration of how all major world religions have at their core the desire for Peace; the calm of Self; and how Love may be considered synonymous with the term God. In discussing the Self quality of joy, he draws on sacred music from different traditions to exemplify their commonalities and articulates how Self seeks to connect with the “Self-energy”, the happiness of the parts. He describes the “miraculous” nature of Self from a part’s perspective and in consideration of the differences between Spirituality and religion clarifies how Spiritual teachers were mystics with direct experiences of the transpersonal. Religions then emerged around these teachers as structures with prescribed behaviours on how to be more Spiritual. Ironically these man-made “shoulding” managers bring shame into the system, reinforcing the exiles beliefs and often resulting in parts that need to “try harder to be ‘good’”. This unsatisfying state of affairs that has religion(s) determining that we are somehow unworthy may account for why many seekers are following paths using Ayahuasca, MDMA, Ketamine, Psilocybin and other medicines in order to connect with their own direct apprehension of Love or God or The All. In asking, “What’s Right with Us?” Derek describes the evolution of the Western psychological view of the personality; from behaviourism through the cognitive revolution to Maslow’s Humanistic 3rd force psychology to our current Transpersonal 4th force understanding of the psychospiritual nature of being. He suggests we may all be tender souls manifesting through the human experience. And posits that perhaps we were given our parts to learn how to love them. As we learn that there is more Peace inside; and therefore more love and Compassion becomes available both for those in the inside world, and our fellow human systems in the outside world. He leaves us with the radical notion that if Self does not die, the more we can identify as Self-led, the more we can perhaps embrace our eternal nature. Podcast Feedback and Interview Request welcome at https://internalfamilysystems.pt/ifs-talks