MACHALOVÁ,M. – SENKO,P. 2018. The Life Turn of a Person from the Perspective of Biodromal Psychology and Authentic Life Stories. Bratislava: Inštitút výchovy a športu a Prohuman. 319 p. ISBN 978-80-972795-2-3.
INTRODUCTION
What is happening to people nowadays? Social environment often appears to today’s people as a desert of social communication and interpersonal and personal relationships. New questions arise that relate to the quality of people’s lives. Also, questions of moral and social progress of humanity today are raised. Many changes in the actions of individuals and social groups are being highlighted. Many people consciously or unconsciously experience today’s reality as a spiritually empty space. They suffer knowingly or unknowingly, which is reflected in the abundant occurrence of mental and somatic illnesses.
The desert of the social environment is spreading through pathological social and interpersonal relationships, communication and people’s conduct. Many people call for a way to change the psychological and social reality of their lives because they are not satisfied with current conditions. The truth is that few of them realize that this reality is created by people themselves. Yet they often do not admit their own share in the increasingly spiritually empty space of their own lives.
And so: „Humanity as a whole stands before a serious dilemma: to continue the current trend of manipulating the world, or to turn inward and undergo a process of radical transformation that leads to a completely new level of human consciousness and self-awareness.
Whereas the easily predictable result of the first strategy is death in an atomic war or in technological debris, the second alternative could lead to evolutionary perspectives.“ (S. Grof, 1992a, p.317.) Stanislav Grof, a world-renowned psychiatrist of Czech origin, is of the opinion that at the collective and world level today there is a thought framework creating a life philosophy for people in which strength, rivalry and self-assertion are emphasized and linear progress and unlimited growth are glorified. Today material gain and growth are considered the main criterion of well-being and a measure of life level for individuals and social groups. Such ideology and strategy lead people into serious conflicts with their own nature and also into conflicts with cosmic laws.
However, the opposite is true. Only the strategy of inner transformation of the person, as a force capable of changing the world, seems to be the only real chance to preserve our world. Inner transformation can be achieved only on the basis of individual decision, focused effort and personal responsibility. People’s learning is an individualizing process of forming one’s own identity, autonomy, wholeness and integrity of a person’s body, psyche, social and spiritual dimension. A person is always learning, and therefore learning is a living and creative process. (M. Machalová, 2013.)
Any plan to change the state of the world is problematic unless it includes sustained effort to change the human conditions that created this crisis. Developmental change of consciousness is vitally important for the future of the world. And it depends on the initiative of each person. (S. Grof, 1992a.)
A person is a dignified creation. Dignity is majestic being. (Osho, 2007.) The question is whether in the current world a person is truly a majestic being. Are people majestic in their conduct and behaviour? Do they live a dignified life? Do the states of the world support the dignity of their citizens? Human dignity is connected to the spiritual light of the person, about which Š. Šak (2016, p.12) writes as follows: “The light of the soul, the light of pure reason, shines in the whole being of good, pure and holy people… because, being nothing distracted, seeing nothing unnecessary and deeply focused, while looking into their own heart, they observe every movement of it, and such perception gives people spiritual light.”
Humanity today is in captivity of possessive interpersonal relationships, a virtual emotional world, and an illusionistic construction of life that has nothing to do with respect for the person, nor with spiritual light.
This publication is focused on the transformation of the person along their life path. It embodies our long-term theoretical work on a psychological and educational concept of adult psychological maturity in the social environment. As we have already mentioned, we also present the path of persons toward psychological maturity through examples of authentic life stories of university students, who expressed their self-reflection in written work. And so in the second chapter of this book we present sincere confessions titled “My Life Turn,” by students from three universities in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. We express wonder at the emotional depth and wisdom of students whom we had the happiness to meet in life and to lead within the study subject Biodromal Psychology (Psychology of the Life Path). And this for a long time—from 2002 to 2017, in different years and semesters of their studies. We humbly and with a clear conscience state that these are literally our students and that without them this little book would not have seen the light of the world. They left a deep mark in our mind and heart. We hope they felt what we felt in our shared teaching hours. We created together a vivid environment for self-expression of each one of us. Mutuality, open discussion and engagement with topics, respect and esteem, and also willingness to speak frankly were complete givens in the lectures and seminars of the subject Biodromal Psychology. For this reason, students in their work on the topic “My Life Turn” spontaneously, sincerely and openly expressed their important experiences, events, insights and gained life experiences. We are proud of our students, who even through the written papers published in this book, expressed their personality with an open mind and heart, without embellishment.
So, dear students, my fellow travellers on the educational path, walk through life freely and proudly and at the same time humbly. Thank you, because we learned from each other—you from me and I from all of you.
Your professor Mária Machalová Words to readers
The content of this book consists of scientific and professional contributions and also authentic life stories of people called “My Life Turn.” We consider the combination of scientific and professional text, supported by theoretical and empirical research, with authentic life stories written by university students of full-time and external study from three universities in Slovakia and the Czech Republic as a step toward enriching theoretical knowledge with the life reality of people and, conversely, a step toward enriching people’s life reality with theoretical knowledge.
In this book we present our professional opinion on the psychological, educational and social aspect of adult life today, from the perspective of life-span developmental psychology, namely biodromal psychology, and from the perspective of social education of adults.
At the center of our attention is primarily development of people’s capacities for living, development of adult personality, social education, development of individual potential, socio-psychic adaptation of people, self-reflection and self-understanding, projective methods of knowing and self-understanding of the person, and other topics.
In preparing the book we were guided by a sincere interest in motivating readers to think about themselves and other people and in supporting them to be faithful to their own unique talent, aptitude and abilities. Because only through one’s own effort and own contribution can they reach an answer to the question Who am I? Who do I want to be? How do I live and how do I want to live? If they understand their life path, then they have a chance to understand other people on their life path.
The heart of this book is the authentic life stories of people aged 19 to 45, who are living testimony to many and difficult “life turns” and personal changes on the path of self-knowledge and self-actualization of the person.
Just as the fabulous Phoenix “rose from the ashes” stronger and more beautiful than ever before, so too do the life stories in this book testify that overcoming difficult life situations, events and problems is worthwhile, because those who overcame them usually did truly rise from the ashes. And they personally became more sensitive to themselves and to other people.
The book you hold in your hands is a living testimony to the unrepeatability and uniqueness of every person. People in youth and middle age, the main protagonists of chapter 2 of this book, by their own life stories and their sincerity and willingness to share their acquired experience, leave a precious message. They bring inspiration into the lives of receptive people who want not only to read something, but also to understand. And, enriched by new experience, also act in the benefit of their own life. The book is a scientific text that is illustrated with authentic examples of biodromal psychology (psychology of the life path), in the form of written self-expression by adults on the topic “My Life Turn.” We authored and assembled this book so that it would be not only innovative in this field of knowledge and research, but also readable through valuable theoretical and applied insights. We believe this publication has a chance to become a useful source of knowledge for everyone who is not indifferent to their own life, to the life of other people, or to life on our dear planet Earth.
CONTENT
Message to the topic of the book Words for readers Statements of university students on the topic “My Life Turn”
INTRODUCTION
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CHAPTER PSYCHOLOGY AND SOCIAL EDUCATION OF THE PERSON OF TODAY 1.1 Words for the everydayness of a person 1.2 In people one should search for the source of psychical strength and also the meaning of their life 1.3 Person is a living soul 1.4 Educational social work and development of personality 1.5 Self-identification and person today 1.6 Spiritual crisis, integrity of the person and social education
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CHAPTER MY LIFE TURN Self-expression and self-reflection of university students Psychological self-diagnosis 2.1 Metaphor of Being: A person is a child of Heaven and lives on Earth 2.2 Authentic stories I 2.3 Authentic stories II 2.4 Authentic stories III 2.5 Authentic stories IV 2.6 Responsibility of the person for their life
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CHAPTER KNOW YOURSELF THROUGH THE PROJECTIVE METHOD PSYCHOLOGICAL DIAGNOSIS AND PERSONAITY RESEARCH 3.1 Knowing personality from tree drawing and handwriting (psychographic method and psychological diagnosis)
3.2 Psychological maturity expressed in handwriting (psychographic qualitative research of personality) 3.3 Signs of sociability in handwriting of psychology teachers and students (psychographic quantitative research)
- CHAPTER THE LIFE PATH OF A PERSON IN THE CONTEXT OF BIODROMAL PSYCHOLOGY 4.1 Biodromal psychology – delimitation of the concept 4.2 Person’s personality in biodromal psychology 4.3 Biodromal psychical development of a person 4.4 Life path and life events in biodromal psychology 4.5 Life developmental tasks and developmental tasks of personality 4.6 Life stages, developmental tasks and development of personality in adulthood 4.7 Biodromal psychology in short
CONCLUSION
About the authors About the book Content Summary Conclusion About authors
IN CONCLUSION
The decisive perspective for people’s learning throughout life is neither economic, nor professional, nor career perspective, but is the development of the person’s personality. From this it follows for a person that one must not learn as if one should, but one must learn, and this from cradle to grave. Even in the last second of earthly life a person must learn and, humbly and obediently, fulfill the Main task of human life on Earth: to become a developed person and to be a developed person within the limits of one’s own endowments from God – that is, in professional terms, within one’s own genotype and inherited ancestry through the ages. Therefore we never ask why we need to learn throughout life, and thus in childhood and youth, as well as in adulthood, and in old age and also advanced age. It is always necessary to learn, because just as we breathe ceaselessly, so do we continually learn. We learn not only until the grave, but even beyond the grave. After all, who is to master the transition from material being to being after earthly life for us?
Knowledge of every person, which is transfigured into the rational, emotional, moral experience of the person, is original, unique, and therefore absolutely non-transferable. But: Knowledge must be interiorized, that is, the person must internalize what they know. Through internalizing what a person knows, one becomes aware, understands, knows. To know is a higher level of human functioning. To know means to transform knowledge into life through reason and heart because a person is a holistic being: Knows – Knows – Acts and at the same time Feels and Evaluates. A person must come of age into their own wisdom, which they can also authentically express. Wisdom is reached only and solely through one’s own effort, one’s own feeling, one’s own thinking, one’s own behaviour, one’s own action.
Why educate and lead people? To systemic capability for living, that is, to the ability to socialize by acquiring social experience; the ability to identify socially, psychologically, culturally and spiritually with someone and with something in the social environment; the ability to adapt to the social environment of a person; the ability to integrate into the social environment as part of social groups and to be a psychologically, socially and spiritually integrated person; the ability to detect and know and realize one’s own psychical and social potential, namely natural gift and talent for life.
And also to educate and teach people so that a person is fully aware that in their essence they are a spiritual being and, accordingly, live in that way—that is, behave and act—in that way. Only then do they have a chance to develop positively in reason, feeling and morality, and thus become a developed person. People by their essence are the Spirit expressed through their unique individual Soul - the Psyche. The soul is an individualized manifestation of the Spirit. Let us imagine a person as a “computer,” in which there is an essential program: and that is the Soul, which can be imagined as divine software gifted to the person. The bodily system of the human organism can be imagined as divine hardware gifted to the person.
We fully realize that we are presenting to you, dear readers, thoughts that may seem to be only speculation. Yet at the same time, we ask: where did these “speculations” come from in our head and in our heart? If we know that nothing that happens in life, and nothing that happens in a person, is any chance event! Everything that happens is lawful. For, figuratively speaking: “The Lord God never plays dice.”
Title: The Life Turn of a Person from the Perspective of Biodromal Psychology and Authentic Life Stories. Authors: MACHALOVÁ M. – SENKO P. Publisher: Inštitút výchovy a športu a Prohuman.
Year of publication: 2018 Number of pages: 319 p. edition: first ISBN: 978-80-972795-2-3