Inner transformation

Emerging from the darkness within: the psychology of self-transformation.

Francesca Peruzzi, psychologist · 17 May 2021 · 7 min read

Lately the word emergency has been used above all in its sense of an unforeseen circumstance, a critical moment, a sudden difficulty. Yet one of the first meanings of emergency [from emerge] is the very act of emerging, the phenomenon of one thing rising out of another.
To emerge means not only to appear, but to create a transformation from something that exists into something else that is still part of that same life. To rise up, to come to light, to lift oneself higher.

During this period we have been called to live a profound experience: to welcome parts of ourselves long submerged, to stay with uncertainty and fear, with emptiness and silence.

In moments of suffering, in a reality shattered by events, the need grows to recover some form of certainty, to seek an inner integrity and to recognise a sense of coherence between what happens inside and outside us.

And yet the spaces of the psyche, by their very nature, hold ceaseless, undefined movements, forever seeking a harmony that is itself in transformation – and so we find ourselves eternally caught up in the overwhelming.

According to analytical psychology, individuation – as a process of development, integration and differentiation – arises from what is submerged in us, there where the unconscious is a place of living, complementary and compensatory contents.

"The chief characteristic of the mind is to be constantly describing itself. It is a design that is made and unmade, and its activity, in this sense, is an artistic activity."

H. Focillon

We know that, by definition, to emerge also means to surface, to rise to the top, to lean out of the water; emerging is a surfacing, a coming to light of parts of our being that were previously hidden or ignored. So we might ask ourselves:

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF EMERGENCE IN THE LIGHT OF THE DYNAMICS OF THE PSYCHE?

"[…] to bring out intentionally what by its nature happens unconsciously and spontaneously, and to integrate it into consciousness and its own way of seeing"

C.G. Jung

Let us consider that this is not about rising above others, nor about standing out in order to move away from ourselves, but about emerging from the self and differentiating, so as then to recombine in a new form. It is a dynamic process of continuous, necessary integration.

Emerging

They say that going to the bottom gives us the push to rise again – but what if going to the bottom were necessary?

Every moment is an act of transformation and must be welcomed: this is what our psyche is called to do. Whether we want it or not, the act of emerging is a process that requires its opposite: sinking.

The etymology – from the Latin "e", out, and "mergere", to dip or plunge – helps us to observe this inversion of movement closely. Plunging outwards, as if the very push that took us down were the force needed to bring us back to the surface.

Over these months we have lived the pressure of an emergency outside and inside us, to the point where we could no longer tell where one ended and the other began. The suspension of our habits and the sense of oppression and lack are like holding our breath underwater, something we were not prepared for.

At the same time, however, an innate drive revealed itself in us: to renew ourselves, to seek new paths, and the need to recover the certainty of something known but not yet thought.

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And in the end you realise that life has always been with you, through small signs full of meaning that at first we cannot understand, and that accompany us in our inner transformation.

When you meet your path, you understand that your story was there, waiting for you; it has always been there in silence, like a wind around you – sometimes beside you, sometimes in front of you, sometimes behind.

Your story, the story of you, is the most important one you can build, tell and pass on.

Encuentra tu vía – find your way, meet your heart, because, as P. Coelho wrote, it knows all things.

My name is Francesca Peruzzi. I am a psychologist and a free traveller, and I have always had a passion for dance and creative movement. I accompany people in their personal growth, helping them make the most of the transformative potential of psychological knowledge, mind–body practices and expressive practices. Today I'd like to tell you about a special journey: my own. A life story woven from disappointments, acts of courage, huge changes, joys and suffering, all of which have contributed to my personal growth.

In short, I'd like to tell you a little about myself, and about how great inner and outer changes led me to deepen my knowledge and experience of transformative journeys, and to develop a strong empathy for those who, like me, are on a journey outside and inside themselves, exploring lands and paths different from the conventional ones.

Life sometimes leads us into blocks and dead ends shaped by our family history, by the accumulation of difficulties made heavier by the uncertainty of today's reality, and by systemic dynamics that leave us needing to start again, to be reborn in a new context.

When we search for our path far away – in travel, towards new destinations, chasing dreams and desires – we come to realise that the point of departure and arrival is nothing other than our inner home, our heart.

Psychology has taught me a great deal; in a way it saved me, and since I was lucky enough to encounter it in its many forms, I have never stopped.

I am navigating a long path of change and continuous growth. I actively seek it out, I'm never satisfied, and I want to develop knowledge and experience that allow me to share and to help people in my work as a psychologist.

Throughout my ongoing training I keep deepening my knowledge of health psychology, integrated care paradigms and therefore the complexity of the relationship between mind, body and spirit. I work on personal development across the life cycle, and I study the innovative fields of body psychotherapy and the frontiers of contemplative science.

I travel through the contributions of modern psychology, anthropological and psychoanalytic research, and I am fascinated by the ancient ancestral traditions that carry with them the wisdom of myths, rituals and dances, and the therapeutic power of nature.

The psyche, embodiment and movement are the foundations of my research and my work, together with connection to nature and creative processes. These fields now allow me to bring together my passions and my artistic soul.

I study, practise and explore awareness and self-awareness practices, which I consider genuine tools of personal transformation, essential for getting in touch with our inner world and recovering a state of wellbeing.

For this reason I integrate relaxation techniques, mindfulness and art therapy into my work.

I feel like a free nomad, and I chose to study a science of the soul in order to learn to make a journey of transformation without fear, and to accompany those who feel the need for it. I chose this path because it allows us to consciously explore and move through the infinite relationships and connections of human nature.

Because of various ups and downs I had to make a choice, and I decided to change place. My first stop is here, on the island of Fuerteventura: its wonders drew me in and welcomed me, making me feel ever more alive and connected with myself and the nature around me.

For me, the care of the soul is an art of transformation: it offers us the chance to bring awareness to our personal inner experience and to trust the inevitable processes of change we find ourselves going through.

It accompanies us in knowing and becoming conscious of our inner alchemy, and leads to a deep and lasting restructuring of our relationship with ourselves and with others.

Sometimes everything seems so far away, out of reach; and yet there is a symbolic language hidden in everything, where courage, trust and wisdom meet – a language that nature places before us every day.

A secret language we all know and can return to by looking at what is kept hidden or lost within us, at the bottom of the soul, submerged by fears and by personal and collective conditioning.

I created a podcast that offers ideas for moving through change and tools for improving wellbeing. The podcast is called "viaggi di crescita personale" (journeys of personal growth).

Thanks to technology, I continue to support people with online psychological consultations and personal growth programmes (Italians, expats, digital nomads) from all over the world, and to accompany anyone who wishes on their path of inner transformation and rebirth.

Click here to listen to my podcast!