Transpersonal Psychology presentation: Self-realisation in Rumi’s psychology

Transpersonal Psychology is gradually gaining more interest and it is my privilege to be giving a presentation this coming Wednesday for the Transpersonal Psychology Interest Group (TPIG) of the Australian Psychological Society (APS).
The details from Dr Jonathan Tandos; Acting National Convenor TPIG APS; are below.

This presentation will be an introduction to Rumi’s transpersonal psychology expressed through his life and works. A thirteenth century Sufi master; Rumi offers an inexhaustible ocean of wisdom at spiritual, mental and practical levels.

According to Erich Fromm: “Rumi the mystic, poet, the ecstatic dancer, was one of the great lovers of life, and this love of life pervades every line he wrote, every poem he made, every one of his actions …he was also a man of profound insight into the nature of man. He discussed the nature of the instincts, the power of reason over the instincts, the nature of the self, of consciousness, the unconscious, and cosmic consciousness; he discussed the problems of freedom, of certainty, of authority. In all these areas, Rumi has a great deal to say which is important to those concerned with the nature of man.”

Sufi psychology views the human being as “embodied spirit” (or soul) whose essential nature is love, wisdom and joy. We are separated from and forgetful of our essential nature because of the inevitable development of our ego-self (nafs). Self-realisation, then is the art of successive rebirths through which the ego-self is transmuted in various inward stages culminating in its annihilation into the soul and ultimately reunion with the Divine. It can be described as “individuality in non-individuality” or as the Sufis; and mystic Christians; say “To be in the world, but not of the world”.

From this perspective mental health issues might be seen as the soul’s cry for reunion with the Divine, when the ego-self has turned into a tyrant, distancing one increasingly away from one’s original abode or essential nature. Rumi’s path of self-realisation is the Path of Love:

Everything except love is devoured by love;
to the beak of love the two worlds are but a single grain.

Among thousands of us in me; I wonder, who am I?
Listen to my roar; do not quiet me down.

I am beside myself; do not lay glass on my path;
If you do, I’ll just walk over them;
I’ll shatter whatever I find.

Following a brief biography of Rumi, we shall take an excursion into his realm of perennial wisdom to begin to learn from his life and works, what this Path of Love to self-realisation is, and how it might help us today. Rumi’s works are predominantly in rhyming poetry infused with musicality which; particularly in most of his mystical poems; contributes to their potency and inner meanings. To enrich our experience, I will read some of his poems in the original Persian language.

Hamid Homayouni practices Life Coaching and Psychotherapy, with special interest in Sufi psychology. In addition he holds a Masters degree in Information Systems, BSc. Maths, and Grad Cert Media Studies. He has also been a student of the Diamond Approach for a number of years. Backed with real life experience in organisations and the high-tech industry, Hamid is able to apply his transpersonal psychology capacities in a variety of life contexts including personal, social, work and organisational. As a keen student of Rumi’s teachings; and privileged to access his works in the original language; Hamid has begun translating a selection into English and has written a number of articles in an attempt to make Rumi more accessible to today’s readers. Some of his articles can be found on www.innerchange.com.au.