GROUP DYNAMICS: Personality Force and Soul Energy

The subject of group interplay is enormous and requires a carefully planned thesis that is backed by sound knowledge based on an understanding of the constitution of Man and his ever-expanding consciousness within the long evolutionary process. This article is a vague attempt at elucidation and is intended solely as an incentive for personal observation, reflection and experimentation in group relationships.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the overriding trend everywhere in our world today is towards group consciousness. Great power lies in collective enterprise. I’m sure that most of us have experienced that joy and ease of burden when we find ourselves chipping in along with others, each playing his/her part in some group endeavour. When the group comes together in full cooperation the result is magical!

Many of us enter our group relations expecting a sense of fun and ease, mutual affection and camaraderie, assuming at the outset that it will be a simple and clear-cut process. We soon discover in experience, however, that group dynamics require far more effort than was anticipated, and that relationships within the group body are often wrought with unexpected twists and turns as personality forces and energies play out between people.

In group interplay each member presents a mirror in which we see our individual reactions and responses clearly. Accurate observation within these mirrors, however, is only possible for those who are willing to observe dispassionately the prevailing forces that are operating in any moment. We may or may not realise that most of our relationships are simply the interplay of forces of differing qualities playing through us like air or sound in musical instruments. The level of awareness and the condition of the instrument of each player will determine the response or reaction to the incoming and outgoing impacts. This is a key point and a difficult one to remember and to hold in mind while inter-relay-tionships are actually going on.

We need to remember that all relationships are the meeting ground of forces and energies of varying potencies. Loving indifference is the key to accurate observation.

The everyday forces which prevail within the three worlds of human endeavour are conjured mostly by the personality, that threefold generator of mental, emotional, and physical force. It is only after long and due process within the evolutionary cycles that the personality becomes in time a unified and integrated point of consciousness, with its three forces blended into one with greater potency. At this stage the man/woman begins to think, decide, and to determine the direction that the personal life should take, thereby assuming better control of the life expression and becoming more influential in one way or another. It is the capacity to think coherently and to act creatively within the social stream which determines the degree of personality influence in the world. There are many today who have achieved this point of personality integration, and for them motive becomes a determining factor in the quality of life.

The Integrated Personality, therefore, is a powerful force and usually effective in whatever it does. Where motive is impure there we will observe some form of selfishness and ill-treatment (often cunningly hidden) and the coming into being of a potential petty tyrant. It is said by certain shamans that it is good fortune indeed to come upon a petty tyrant in one’s life as they force within the one who is persecuted the surfacing of latent powers. Great strength is gained in the right handling of petty tyrants. Where the Integrated Personality is becoming purely motivated and selfless, on the other hand, there we will find evidence of a growing alignment with the soul and the emergence of group-love and true creative impulse; the pure energy of the Inner Light finds its way into the rightly motivated personality and is expressed outwardly into the world without undue obstruction.

The difference in quality and expression between the selfish and unselfish ‘integrated personalities’ is great. The first type (the selfishly integrated personality) is ever fixated on acquisition; service is indeed rendered in some form or other and much sacrifice is endured, but it is sacrifice endured primarily in the interest of personal gain. The second personality type (the unselfish integrated personality) is focussed on contribution; being considerate and unseparative, s/he renders service and sacrifice in the interests of the greater whole and for the benefit of all.

Energy, in truth, is all there is in the universe and the way in which it is used by personalities determines the point of development achieved on the evolutionary arc. ‘Through energy the worlds were made and through that energy they make progression,’ so say the Wise. The whole gamut of existence is, in essence, manifested energy. Human beings and all living beings in every form are fundamentally energy packets, and the quality of energy demonstrated by each is ever determined by the level of consciousness attained.

Energy then is a universal power used by all throughout the long evolutionary process; in our world, it is used as a force for the purpose of sustenance and for gain of experience. After long and repetitive use of energy within the varying fields of experience (physical, emotional and mental), self-consciousness evolves to a point where energy flows unimpeded into a more purified and experienced personality set-up, demonstrating thereafter as goodwill, intelligence and selfless service. Great men and women, saints and servers of humanity in every field of endeavour, are shining examples of this culminating process. It is one of the major goals of evolution.

It is useful to understand in all group situations the varying stages of personality development. The non-integrated personality (a common feature in many people still) manifests as self-absorption; not yet integrated, this personality type is governed still by physical instincts, appetites and desires of the lower nature; immersed in the ‘me and mine only’ paradigm, they have, quite naturally, no other real concern. The non-integrated personality can be quite a force to deal with in certain contexts, both from the point of view of the individual himself, and of those who come into contact with it. These types are frequently emotionally dominant and unreasonable.

The selfishly integrated personality is also a common feature today in many, with its domineering influence over lesser minds and presents just as many challenges as the one previously mentioned. All the unsettling experiences we may meet with in daily affairs: the insensitive criticisms, irritations, unreasonable likes and dislikes, blind attachments to things and people, intolerance, cunning expedience, impatience and selfish scheming, all stemming fundamentally from a lack of control of personality forces or from a selfish integrated bull-headedness. We may observe these forces in ourselves, if we are at this stage of development, and in our group members.

The fundamental difficulty in most group relations lies in the inability to observe personality motives and ambitions in ourselves and in others. ‘Blind personal agenda’ and ‘compulsive desire’ both blinker the potential for right human relations in group dynamics: they dissipate the balancing forces of love and reason that are ever necessary for group integration. We cannot see objectively what is taking place in any relationship, group or otherwise, if the inner eye is blinded by an overpowering force of personal desire. Where there is lack of self-awareness there will be lack of RESPONSE-ABILITY and the repeated occurrence of conflict between people.

The state of soul-infused personality is one that is anchored in conscious self-awareness, and provides that much-needed insight into the activities operating, often blindly, in the sutle worlds. With the development of conscious self-awareness, the ‘eye of the soul‘ sees clearly the realms of habitual thoughts, desires and feelings usually hidden below the surface. In the clarity thus created the powers of discrimination, love and reason (necessary for right human relations) can operate unimpeded. At this point of achievement the awakened mind becomes the directing agent upon the physical plane, indicating an alignment of the three-fold lower nature (the personality) with That which stands above (the soul); the eyes no longer covet indiscriminately the things of the world and the heart is in process of liberation from the ‘me first and you after’ syndrome; the man/woman is becoming a reasonable being with the focus of his/her life on true service; s/he is gradually liberated from the compelling forces of the lower nature and the lower planes of consciousness.

The point in evolution of each Observer is determined very largely by the field of his observation and the focus of his directed attention. This is a key statement and warrants careful reflection. Conscious Self-observation is developed naturally over time in the course of right living and is engendered by intelligent discrimination between what is real and unreal and between the true and the false. It is achieved through a process of self-development over time and cannot be enforced on anyone.

In course of time and through due process, personality integration is attained eventually by all. In the ageless wisdom this state of being is described as the Dweller on the Threshold – a most apt name, for it is at this point that the evolving consciousness is ready to be magnetised onto the higher spiral through direct contact with the soul. How long until this bridge is fully forged between the Dweller and the Soul is dependent on the intrinsic nature of the individual and the choices made in life’s challenges and tribulations. For a long time the battle ensues between the two, constituting some of the major trials in the evolving life of the individual.

In group dynamics, we will discover a mixture of these forces and energies emanating from all group members. Each individual is at a particular point in the evolutionary process and this should always be remembered, for inner potencies, or lack of, are ever dependent on the inner status or level of self-awareness of the individuals in the group. Under observation we may perceive those who are integrated personalities (selfish or otherwise) or at the earlier stages before integration (non-integrated personalities), while others are at a more advanced stage of soul-Infused personality. These latter are able to emit a greater flow of soulenergy which is ever conditioned by group love and creative intelligence. Needless to say, soul-infused personalities are always easier to engage with in intelligent and loving communication. Towards the less evolved, however, a spirit of understanding supported by clarity of perception will be necessary for maintaining a measure of harmony and goodwill within group relations.

It is useful to remember that it takes time for people in a group situation to learn to work together in understanding and in a spirit of impersonality, and so eventually attain that one-pointedness of purpose which will achieve the needed group objectives. As we find ourselves working as a group member (and we always are) we would do well to train ourselves to ‘think and act’ as a group member, and so give to the group the best that is possible in us. In this way we grow inwardly and all will benefit in the long run.

The Wise have said:

Unselfish people are not rare. Unselfish groups are very rare. Pure detached devotion in a human being is not rare but to find it in a group is rare indeed. The submergence of personal interests for the good of the family or for the good of another person is often to be found, for the beauty of the human heart has manifested itself down the ages. To find such an attitude in a group of people and to see such a point of view maintained with an unbroken rhythm and demonstrating spontaneously and naturally – this will be the glory of the New Age.