Sacred Psychoanalysis - etheses Repository - University of ...

What I noticed immediately was the noise, institutional noise, within the building and a
great deal of noise outside the building – hardly a haven of quiet therapeutic ambience. PM
struck me as being dynamic: there was an energy about him that went beyond his medium
build, quiet voice and conventional attire. On the wall were framed certificates on ‘thought
field therapy’ that struck me as unusual. I had even then, and despite my ‘normal’ pattern of
forming positive transferences to interviewees, a sense that his person would match my high
opinion of his writings.
Personal ontology
PM’s ontological views are holistic in nature and are expressed through a series of over-
lapping concepts. Firstly, PM adopts a concept of universal connectedness. He combines
quantum physics, Callaghan’s energy psychology, Freud’s unconscious, and a spiritual
tradition that recognizes God. ‘We are all interconnecting energy fields’ that connect the
psyche, the body, the mind, and which spans distance and time, including both the
unconscious and God. This results in a universal desire for something more, something or
someone beyond, a true self, and an expressive spirituality unhindered by dogma. People
are ‘ever unfolding’ and this brings great pleasure to PM to see this happening.
Secondly, paradoxically we live with the illusion that we can know our true self, yet this
aspect of self is highly elusive. However our search for the true self forms part of a
narcissistic structure that defends us from change or engagement with new and evolving
concepts. 370
370 For a detailed examination of these ideas drawn from Winnicott, see Ulanov (Ulanov 2001).
205