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The world we are living in, a competitive one, materialist, individualist, predator, seems to have been built on purpose to keep our consciousness somehow drowsy and sleepy. If one were in search for a category from psychopathology, trying to define the adaptive personality profile that would be suitable at best for surviving under such circumstances, one would pick up the concept of antisocial personality. This has indeed been defined, not less rigorously, by psychologists as “psychopathic”. These two definitions do not perfectly overlap each other: the former focuses rather on visible behavior whereas the latter, more thoroughly, looks at some psychopathological mechanisms which might not be detectable from the outside.
The antisocial or psychopathic individual shows intolerance toward any rule, indifference to other’s sorrow, complete lack of empathy, of any moral principles and of any regret. Such a person can recklessly be lying or even emotionless cause harm to others while not feeling in any extent responsible for his own conduct. Many politicians, managers, workers in the financial, scientific, technological and military sectors and, of course, many criminals of different kind, show a similar profile; may be this profile itself swerves even to some sort of malignant narcissism (as a pathological category introduced by Otto Kernberg, who was associating it to antisocial traits). These individuals, hence, succeed as cheered and admired leaders: such is the power of delusion.
Money, power and success have become paramount values in our western societies; antisocial subjects are recklessly pursuing them with utmost resolution, going far beyond the limits that any other less pathological individual would dare to overtake. Yet it is easier to find these subjects at the top, occupying leading positions and in any place where they can accomplish their goals undisturbed and out of everybody’s intrusive view. So we would be wrong if we thought that since something appears to be inconceivable in its brutality, iniquity and wickedness, for this reason wouldn’t it be feasible: on the contrary, to a strongly psychopathic personality this can result as uninteresting or even necessary and justifiable. Not only: it also can improve his/her sense of majesty and omnipotence, which is the true pathological bottom line. Moreover: irresponsibly behaving as an anonymous individual who is merged and hidden within a group, will cause terrible consequences to human beings and to the environment all around. This has been clearly explained by the three Canadian movie directors – Marc Achbar, Jennifer Abbott, Joel Bakan – in their documentary The Corporation (2004) about multinational companies.
For this reason I believe everyone of us is basically facing three fundamental options: accepting this sort of reckless prank and becoming part of it; coming to terms with this, while trying to possibly take cover from it; developing a higher form of consciousness and quitting the game. During my profession I met lots of unhappy people. They are not getting on so well in such a mean world. Since we are multidimensional beings, made of body, mind and spirit, the missed integration of any level of our whole being gives birth to suffering, depression, rage, scare and unhappiness. We need love, beauty, harmony, cooperation, creativity, justice, awareness, in order to feel good. That is, we men and women, need to restore that spiritual Feminine suppressed for centuries. For this reason we cannot separate caring for Psyche from caring for Body and Spirit; nor can we ignore the contexts we are living in: there’s no way to happiness in a crumbling world. So, we will also find on this website a Blog called Fuori dal Labirinto (Out of the Maze), offering critical thinking and proposals about our world’s contradictions. Here Rebis is also the issue: a group of study and education aiming at rebalancing our inner Feminine and Masculine. A lay Spirituality and a political action (in the most noble sense of commonweal) are not detachable from each other, if we really want to change the paradigm. Every revolution (contrary to great Marx’s thinking) starts from the awakening of consciousness. Economics and Politics have to regain their position as part of Ethics, like they originally were in Greek Philosophy: they both have to place human dignity first. In practical terms, for us, as Italians, this means getting back and reestablishing our 1948 Constitution, which is now being broken through and torn apart in pieces every day for thirty years at least. The antidote to this current degeneration, leading us to self-destruction if we will not make a U-turn, consists of bringing into our everyday life those spiritual qualities capable of raising up people and bringing back vitality and joy of life. Not casually these are the sheer opposite of the antisocial traits of personality:
ETHICS, which is different from morality, since it is not grounded upon norms and prescriptions, always changeable in space and time; yet it is rooted in a deep respect of one’s and everybody’s dignity;
RESPONSIBILITY, that is the ability to foresee the consequences of one’s conduct and to evaluate the effect on oneself’ and everybody’s life; the capacity to cope with one’s mistakes and to positively act for choosing the right conduct and for restoring things;
JUSTICE, as the sure result of an ethical and responsible conduct;
LOVE, not to be just understood as a bounding feeling, yet also and mostly as the act of acknowledging our and everybody’s essence and as the desire for bringing up ourselves and everybody around;
JOY, which we feel whenever we are aligned to our inner core, putting apart scare, rage and guilt.
There is no real happiness without awareness. This is the aim of any real training on oneself.
“Bethink you of the seed whence ye have sprung; for ye were not created to lead the life of stupid animals, but manliness and knowledge to pursue”.
From Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy, Inferno. Canto XXVI.
You can also read the article about this topic on:
Rebis: il risveglio del Femminile spirituale
Patrizia Scanu
Rebis Creator
Translation by Paolo Genta
Gruppo Rebis - Il Risveglio del Femminile per un Popolo Sovrano e Consapevole 