Recently, I was reminded of this profound poem by Pablo Neruda. Along with Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself, 51 (You know, “…Do I contradict myself? Very well then, I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes.”) it might very well serve as the poetic underpinnings of the Multiplicity of Mind Theory, from which many robust psychological approaches have emerged.
Among them, is the beautifully intuitive Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS).
IFS posits that our internal psyche is essentially multiple—that we all have a Larger Self (our unbroken, undamaged essence—the core of our being, soul, or seat of consciousness), and various ‘parts,’ which carry our pain, parts that protect that pain, and still others that spring into firefighter-style action when our internal system is threatened.
The overarching goal of IFS is to create harmony amongst our parts, release them of their old, outdated burdens, encourage them to take on new, update roles kin the system, and generate more access to peaceful, playful, compassionate, calm, curious and creative Self Energy.
Here’s the Neruda poem, for your enjoyment:
We Are Many
Of the many men whom I am, whom we are,
I cannot settle on a single one.
They are lost to me under the cover of clothing
They have departed for another city.
When everything seems to be set
to show me off as a man of intelligence,
the fool I keep concealed on my person
takes over my talk and occupies my mouth.
On other occasions, I am dozing in the midst
of people of some distinction,
and when I summon my courageous self,
a coward completely unknown to me
swaddles my poor skeleton
in a thousand tiny reservations.
When a stately home bursts into flames,
instead of the fireman I summon,
an arsonist bursts on the scene,
and he is I. There is nothing I can do.
What must I do to distinguish myself?
How can I put myself together?
All the books I read
lionize dazzling hero figures,
brimming with self-assurance.
I die with envy of them;
and, in films where bullets fly on the wind,
I am left in envy of the cowboys,
left admiring even the horses.
But when I call upon my DASHING BEING,
out comes the same OLD LAZY SELF,
and so I never know just WHO I AM,
nor how many I am, nor WHO WE WILL BE BEING.
I would like to be able to touch a bell
and call up my real self, the truly me,
because if I really need my proper self,
I must not allow myself to disappear.
While I am writing, I am far away;
and when I come back, I have already left.
I should like to see if the same thing happens
to other people as it does to me,
to see if as many people are as I am,
and if they seem the same way to themselves.
When this problem has been thoroughly explored,
I am going to school myself so well in things
that, when I try to explain my problems,
I shall speak, not of self, but of geography.
Pablo Neruda
(Fun fact: A stranger on the interwebs with a strange bone to pick recently messaged me with an unsolicited scolding for not including the translators name. They themselves didn’t it, interestingly. I then received a good ole’ fashioned shaming for not responding ‘therapeutically” because I called out the unsolicted shaming. Then followed an IFS diagnosis of our interaction framed in or as ackowledgement/apology. I hoped that was the end of it. Alas, here they come again, this time offering the translators identity, presumably because I pointed out the irony of their not knowing it, and my saying I’d be happy to include it in the post. So here it is, according to the troll anyway: Alastair Reid. Disclaimer: May or may not be accurate :).
Interested in getting to know, befriend, and create harmony among the various ‘parts’ of yourself? And a safe, trauma-informed process of helping your parts unburdening themselves?
Internal Family Systems (IFS) is an intuitive, gentle but powerful, evidence based therapy that I’ve been studying and using with my clients since 2006. In true Outside the Box fashion, I offer a customized, Transpersonal approach to IFS.
Looking for an IFS Therapist in Nashville? or an IFS Therapist in Franklin?
Visit me at: Therapy Outside the Box or call me at 615.430.2778 or email me at: chris@therapyoutsidethebox.com.
Some services available virtually the world over via HIPPA-Compliant Telehealth/Video.
Peace, Love, and Self Energy!
Chris Hancock, LCSW, ACMHP
Franklin, TN