A couple of years ago, amidst completing my BA dissertation (A Psychoanalytical Discussion on the Indivisibility between A Dancing Soma (Body) and Its Psyche Explored through Osho Rebalancing Therapy, 2019), I realized that soma and psyche are not only indivisible, but they are also two opposites of the same whole. The revelation established the beginning of my love for somatic exploration, making it a life journey. The following articles aim to merge the aspects of psyche and soma, showing the complexity and mystery that lie within both.
Soma
Soma, a term introduced by Thomas Hanna, is a Greek word meaning “the living body in its wholeness” (Eddy, 2016:6), comprised of all of its internal processes: both physical and psychic. It consists of one’s subjective somatic and emotional reality or how one perceives the world from a first-person’s perspective (Hanna, 1980). However, for a body to become a soma, it needs a soul, or in other words: a psyche (Franz, 2001). Filling the body with life animates the physical being with subjective reality and truth. In a way, a soma cannot exist without a psyche, or it will simply remain a hollow body. In the same way, a psyche cannot exist without a soma to contain it. Their interrelationship and exchange produce all internal processes creating a whole individual.
“The body is merely the visibility of the soul, the psyche, and the soul is the psychological experience of the body. So it is really one and the same thing. But the body is, of course, also a concretization, or a function, of that unknown thing which produces the psyche as well as the body; the difference we make between the psyche and the body is artificial. It is done for the sake of a better understanding. In reality, there is nothing but a living body, that is the fact; and psyche is as much a living body as body is living psyche: it is just the same. ” -Jarrett, 1997:114
Deeply interconnected, they are the one whole, split in two by the rational mind. Like everything else in this dualistic world, for one aspect to be experienced consciously, it requires an exact opposite as a counterpoint (Sassenfeld, 2008). Excluding one side of the spectrum deprives the other from life, crippling its existence.
Structure of psyche
Ego:
The psyche can be described as the totality of all psychic processes: conscious, unconscious, and collectively unconscious (Chororow, 2004). The conscious includes the ego-mind: everything at the surface of our knowledge, including what we know and we are aware of about ourselves and the world around us. Joan Chodorow (2004) summarizes its concept as “the conscious aspect of the total personality. It is through the ego (in relation to the unconscious and the world) that we gain our sense of identity and capacity for self-reflective consciousness.” (Chodorow, 2004). In her book, a quote by Jung elucidates:
“The vital fact about consciousness is that nothing can be conscious without an ego to which it refers. If something is not related to the ego, then it is not conscious. Therefore, one can define consciousness as a relation of psychic facts to the ego. What is the ego? The ego is a complex datum that is constituted first of all by a general awareness of your body, of your existence, of your memory data; you have a certain idea of having been, a long series of memories. Those two are the main constituents of what we call the ego.” -C. G. Jung, 1935:11
The ego represents all the ideas, and knowledge one acquires about how to behave in the world (Edinger, 1992). That knowing is obtained from parents and surrounding environment, especially in early life. In their growth process, a young person gains the ability to think, translate thoughts into words, order things logically, and understand the concepts of cause and effect: all functions of the ego (rational) mind. As Jung explained, “it is constituted first of all by a general awareness of the body” (Chodorow, 2004:60), connecting one to the physical reality. Building a rational mind allows differentiation making it easier to separate information and to classify it. Based on its knowledge, one establishes their behaviour patterns which become the foundation of a lifetime.
As well as being a part of the psyche without which one cannot survive, the ego is also comprised of numerous defense mechanisms established to maintain the psyche and body intact (Edinger, 1992). Trained and conditioned by early upbringings about how to behave in society, it is the part of us that determines what is good or bad, acceptable or unacceptable. However, certain repercussions could come with it that would damage a psyche and soma for life unless a person decides to access these experiences to heal them consciously. The process of Authentic Movement can act as a doorway making this material available to the conscious ego-mind. The freedom of expression one has in the practice surrounds the defense mechanisms that allow the unconscious to surface in a non-judgmental environment. Along with its emerging, the ego transforms to become more accepting of integrating the new material.
Personal Unconscious
The personal unconscious consists of psychic material that was once conscious but regressed to be forgotten (Chodorow, 2004), including suppressed emotions, shadows, complexes, affects formed throughout life. Everything unwanted or unaccepted by the ego resides in this space. Chodorow quotes Jung (2004:51):
“…it [the personal unconscious] includes all psychic contents which have been forgotten during the course of the individual’s life. Traces of them are still preserved in the unconscious, even if all conscious memory of them has been lost. In addition, it contains all subliminal impressions or perceptions which have too little energy to reach consciousness. To these we must add unconscious combinations of ideas that are still too feeble and too indistinct to cross over the threshold. Finally, the personal unconscious contains all psychic contents that are incompatible with the conscious attitude. This comprises a whole group of content, chiefly those which appear morally, aesthetically, or intellectually inadmissible and are repressed on account of their incompatibility.” -C. G. Jung, 1920:310-11
Authentic movement works mainly with the personal unconscious (Lewis, 1984), where one’s life themes arise at the forefront. Individual sessions are dedicated to their exploration as the attention is focused on one participant. Forgotten memories, suppressed emotionallity of bodily impulses may desire to be acknowledged and expressed. Through the process, a change of consciousness occurs. When an integration happens, a mover embodies a newer Self, therefore embodying the change.
Collective Unconscious:
The third layer of the psyche is the collective or impersonal unconscious layer common for all humankind. A continuation of Jung’s quote in Chodorow’s (2004:51-21) book explains:
“As the name indicates, its contents are not personal, but collective; that is they do not belong to one individual alone, but to a whole group of individuals, and generally to a whole nation, or even to the whole mankind. These contents are not acquired during the individual’s lifetime, but are products of innate forms and instincts. Although the child processes no inborn ideas, it nevertheless has a highly developed brain that functions in a quite definite way. This brain is inherited from the ancestors; it is the deposit of the psychic functioning of the whole human race. The child therefore brings with it an organ ready to function in the same way as it has functioned throughout human history. In the brain, the instincts are preformed, and so are the primordial images which have always been the basis of man’s thinking – the whole treasure-house of mythological motifs [archetypes].” -C. G. Jung, 1920:310-11
Group practices in AM constitute a collective field where everyone’s unconscious is present (Leweis, 1979). It resembles an energetic field that one feels. A mover’s (as well as a witness’) ego self and personal unconscious are essentially constituted by the cultural unconscious (family, society, nations, etc.). Therefore, moving in a session, one inevitably taps into the collective layer of the psyche.
Archetypes:
Aspects of the psyche such as ego, the Self, shadows, and other symbolical images found in all three layers are archetypes that represent various psychic energy manifestations (Franz, 2001). Jung suggests they derive from archaic times. Carrying a vast amount of wisdom, they bridge the numinous and can be perceived as the numinous itself. Archetypes communicate through symbolism. Fairy tales, mythology, dreams, religions, and any form of arts are examples of where they can be found (Franz, 1997). Such symbolical representations speak directly to the personal unconscious and impact a person on a deeper level with or without them realizing it. Mythology and fairy tales transmitted from generation to generation carry primordial archetypal images that teach modern people particular life lessons. Other examples of archetypes can be the “mother”, the “maiden”, the “hero”, “anima/animus,” and others. Essentially, each one embodies a single aspect of human nature. Suggesting they are primordial, Jung (1991) speaks of them as closely related to instincts. Deriving from a time when the conscious mind in humans was not developed yet, they connect us to the archaic nature we carry. Their impersonal and inherited traits motivate and present human behaviour. Further description of archetypes explains they are associated with the soma, in which they act as a link between the unconscious and soma. In their original form, archetypes are:
“images and, at the same time, emotions. One can speak of an archetype only when these two aspects coincide. When there is only an image, it is merely a world-picture, like a corpuscle with no electric charge. It is then of little consequence, just a word and nothing more. But if the image is charged with numinosity, that is, with psychic energy, then it becomes dynamic and will produce consequences. It is a great mistake in practice to treat an archetype as if it were a mere name, a word, or concept. It is far more than that: it is a piece of life, an image connected with the living individual by the bridge of emotion.”-Jung, 1961b:257, in Chodorow, 1997:46
Constituting the spine of the psyche (Jung, 1991), archetypes are found within every layer of the psyche. Although imagery aspects, each of them represents an emotion. As such, they are all specific experiences embodied through the soma.
Emotion:
In my personal experience, emotion represents the soul. It is a genuine soulful experience embodied through the physical form: an occurrence deriving from the core of the being communicating to the conscious mind. Originating from the depths of the psyche, emotion consists of an unconscious impulse attempting to be recognized by the awareness and integrated within the reality (Chodorow, 1991). Gluing psychic material with the soma, emotion merges the psychic and physical level in a single joined experience. Connecting to it, I connect to the soma. It is the very seed filling my body with life. That is the moment when my soma and emotion (psyche) unify into one whole. Encountering the whole being in this truthful manner, I am able to experience what I name “soul”. Soma bestows me with direct access to that unknown world within myself. Embedded within my DNA, the past of my ancestors, the entire collective unconscious resides within, linking me to ancient times. These aspects extend far beyond time. With or without realizing it with my conscious mind, they continue living through my body. Carrying thousands of years of evolution feels like a surreal realization making me think of the world’s vastness, the soma, and its psyche. A human is at the tip of their species evolution. The world, soma, and psyche fuse into a single entity. Past, present, and future unite into eternity. A conscious Self is transcending the ego steps into witnessing, acting as a bridge between two realities: one that is yet to occur (unconscious) and one that is already available (Edinger, 1992).
The highest manifestation of Authentic Movement presents the very amalgamation between those two worlds. In the presence of a witness, the invisible realm receives the absolute freedom to “be.” A mover becomes the unconscious allowing it to flow as if one becomes the very energy that created the world. It is an embodied timelessness. Dancing between conscious and unconscious establishes an aware Self and can provide life meaning.