THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SELVES

ABOUT VOICE DIALOGUE AND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SELVES

Voice Dialogue is a self-growth and awareness technique created by two arnerican psychologists, Hal and Sidra STONE PhD. Building on a lifelong personal and professional experience, inspired by the teachings of C. G. Jung and Gestalt therapy, they have developed the theory of the Psychology of Selves and bonding patterns.

Voice Dialogue is an extremely flexible, simple and effective applied process, which gives an immediate and direct taste of the energies at work in us. It leads us to experience an inner family which we will learn to feel, recognize, understand and relate to and furthers the developement of an inner witness, an Aware ego, capable of containing the tension of opposites , capable of caring for our needs. This more aware Self will gradually become the axis and center of our psychic structure and help us take responsability for our family of selves, as expressed in our various, and often contradictory, inner movements, emotions, view points. This aware ego evolves because we experience these different selves through our whole range of perceptions - here and now- as they manifest in our body, mind and feelings, and then step back, disidentify and become a witness to them.

This process could be compared to a tribal gathering or coucil. An encounter where each participant can seize the talking stick and express his personal thoughts, hopes and fears, with the guarantee of being listened to respectfully by the whole conununity. The chief and all members will give their full attention to each one in turn, and so learn about the real needs at stake. The chief will be the axis of this sharing, which can take as many rounds as necessary, in order to build an understanding , enriched by the knowledge of all different view points. By and by, this will lead to a consensus, a sort of organic unity, making it possible to take those actions or those decisions, benefiting most the welfare of all.

Voice Dialogue facilitates in us a psychic structure on the model of a mandala of consciousness. As our ego undergoes this awareness process, it becomes the center of the mandala and witnesses from there - as revolving around it - the many expressions of one's psyche. This will enable us to relate to these inner selves, with detachment and compassion, enable us to honour them, care for them, set securing limits to them and so restore inner balance, self-esteem, self-acceptance and harmony in our psychic realm.

Inner peace, responsability and self-care generate more joy, more aliveness and love for others and will prove healing to our relationships as well as to the world around us.

Voice Dialogue bibliography

Hal and Sidra Stone

"Embracing Our Selves"
"Embracing Each-Other", New World Library CA
"Embracing Your Inner Critic", Harper and Row SF
"The Shadow King, (The Invisible Force That Holds women Back)",
New World Library CA (Sidra Stone)

"Partnering, (A new kind of relationship)", New World Library CA

Adelheid Oesch :
"L'Arche du Coeur, la multiplication par l'Un" Ed. Le Souffle d'Or 1999

Tome I : Du "Dialogue Intérieur" au silence intérieur. Conte initiatique
Tome II : Manuel d'Exercices, le "Dialogue Intérieur", clé d'une conscience unifiée