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Aspiration is not merely a wish or a mental decision. It is a deeper call from our true self towards a more joyful and fulfilling existence. In this excerpt from my 2018 talk at SACAR, Pondicherry, I talk about aspiration as a fundamental technique of Integral Psychotherapy.

The idea is to move beyond simply trying to eliminate what troubles us and begin cultivating a deeper vision of what we wish to become. If we struggle with anger, for instance, our aspiration need not remain limited to managing our anger. We can aspire towards a deeper state of peace. If we experience sadness, we can aspire towards a deeper state of joy.

The emphasis shifts from merely correcting what is undesirable to aspiring towards a more integrated way of being. This is one way of the several ways in which Integral Psychotherapy based on the work of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother can help us in psychological transformation.

— Pulkit Sharma
Clinical Psychologist | Psychoanalytic Therapist | Spiritual Counselor & Author
Pondicherry, India

#IntegralPsychotherapy #SriAurobindo #SpiritualPsychology #ClinicalPsychology #PulkitSharma

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Transcript
00:00Aspiration is not a wish, it's not a mental decision, but it's a call from a true self, from a
00:07deepest self for a joyful existence.
00:10You know that when we say that, yes, that's how I want to be, that's how my life wants to
00:16be, that's the best I want to be, you know, that is what is aspiration.
00:23You know, so it's a very deep call, it's a very deep wish and it's something for, you know, for
00:34a very, very joyful, very, very pure existence.
00:39So after we are convinced that the change needs to be brought about, we need to create an aspiration.
00:47You know, so, and this aspiration should be like, you know, something so powerful that it permeates all layers of
00:58a being and it seeks a total reformation.
01:02You know, meaning like when, say, if we are angry, the aspiration should not be that I have to work
01:09with my anger.
01:10The aspiration should be that I am very, very peaceful, I am as calm and, you know, as peaceful as,
01:22you know, the way that, you know, the water flows in a stream.
01:28So that kind of an aspiration needs to be made.
01:31You know, if we are very sad, then we need to make an aspiration that I am in a state
01:39of eternal joy, you know, a joy that does not end, a joy that continues perpetually.
01:46So, yes.
02:01So, yes.

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