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Differentiating Concepts

There are not so many of them, but I won’t consider them all. I will focus only on the main ones.

1. There is an idea that they differ in their scientific nature: psychology is a science, but esotericism is not.
2. There is an idea that there are no significant differences between psychology and esotericism.
3. There is an idea that they differ in techniques and practices.
4. There is an ugly concept that claims that esotericism is a product of primitive and childish thinking. That it is filled with superstitions, illusions, fantasies, irrational beliefs...
5. There is a beautiful concept that they differ in the area of ​​influence: psychology relates exclusively to the subjective world of man and is limited to it, while esotericism appeals to objective reality.
6. There is an idea that a person exists at different levels (atmanic, astral, mental and other bodies), and psychology and esotericism affect different levels.

Group “Philosophy. Esoterics. Psychology"

This group is the largest community on this topic in terms of the number of participants. There are more than one and a half million of them, so you can definitely find like-minded people in esoteric matters. By the way, you may also be interested in reading the article Male and female philosophy on VKontakte, in which we review the most popular communities on this topic. The group regularly publishes news and other interesting information. There you can also listen to music and watch fascinating videos on a variety of topics related to personal development. In discussions, everyone can express their opinion and discuss with other group members. It cannot offer news or comment on posts, which is undoubtedly a disadvantage of the group. However, overall there is a lot of information here and it is very informative. Here is a link to the community itself on VK: https://vk.com/chelovechestvo. Thus, we see that the esotericism of VKontakte is very popular and in demand. There are a lot of communities that will help you find all the answers you need, and we told you about the most popular of them today.

Let's understand the concepts

By accurately determining the meaning of words, you will rid humanity of half of the misconceptions. Rene Descartes

Before rejecting or agreeing with certain ideas that separate psychology and esotericism, it makes sense to understand what content we fill these words with. Otherwise, we will compare something unknown with something unknown - which is what happens in most cases.

When we talk about psychology, we should clearly understand what we mean by it.

And we should immediately highlight two large areas: academic and practical psychology.

Academic psychology is a science that studies the patterns of emergence, development and functioning of the psyche and mental activity of individuals and groups of people.

Practical psychology has completely different goals. For her, it is important to help a specific person (himself or another) or a group of people solve their specific problem.

And ideally, it is assumed that practical psychology draws work strategy, tools and practices from academic psychology... but in practice, everything happens completely differently. The fact is that academic psychology studies perhaps the most mysterious phenomenon in the world - the human psyche - which cannot be touched, directly observed, or fully measured with any instrument. And if practical psychology relied exclusively on scientific data, it would turn out to be useless in most cases.

Thus, there is a huge gap between practical and academic psychology, which may never be overcome.

But this division will not be enough for us: we should also divide practical psychology into the so-called “kitchen” (or profane) and professional practical psychology .

“Kitchen psychology” (sometimes called “everyday psychology”), as a rule, is specific and objective. It is based on known patterns, signs, laws... which can be gleaned from various sources: popular psychological literature, the wisdom of significant people, one’s own observations of others... Moreover, such knowledge can be quite adequate, or it can have a very weak relationship to reality.

Professional practical psychology (from now on I will simply call it “practical psychology” ) is largely subjective - it is aimed at the inner world of a particular person or the interpersonal processes of a particular group.

The situation is even more complicated with esotericism. It is necessary to distinguish between two opposing concepts: esotericism and exotericism .

* May the readers forgive me - I am using the term “mysticism” here incorrectly and for me it is a necessary measure that helps to define a certain supersystem that includes esoteric-exotericism. There may be a better word for this, but I don't know it.

Esotericism is secret knowledge accessible only to a small group of people.

Exotericism is public knowledge, not a secret.

Already from these simple definitions it can be understood that what we are accustomed to calling “esotericism”, in most cases, is not it. Thus, almost all of the ideas I listed that distinguish between psychology and esotericism, in fact, by “esotericism” they mean one or another type of exoteric knowledge. But most of us are not at all familiar with real esotericism.

Esotericism, due to its closed nature, is quite difficult to describe. Nevertheless, I will try to do this further in the text with reasoning. Now I will just note a few characteristic moments for her. Firstly, esotericism is not a voluntary event:

• in Castaneda one can come across the idea that it is not the person himself who takes the “path of the warrior,” but the Spirit forces him to do so;
• or, for example, the phenomenon of “shamanic disease” is known, when a person begins to be tormented by spirits and does this until he is confirmed in the desire to be a shaman;
• etc.

Secondly, esotericism requires significant hard work on oneself. Work that is largely psychological and should lead to the acquisition of high integrity of the psyche so that a person is able to encounter the “transcendent” without being destroyed.

Exotericism does not require such a deep immersion and makes fewer demands on a person. First of all, this is certain knowledge about mystical patterns, principles, laws... which can be understood, written down, transmitted, taught.

But exoterics can also be divided into two areas: “kitchen” (or profane ) and professional exoterics .

Professional exotericism (from now on I will simply call it “exotericism” ) involves training (transmission from teacher to student, initiation), studying certain laws, developing a subtle sensitivity of oneself and the surrounding reality, the ability to recognize and interpret signs of the world, etc.

“Kitchen exoterics” does not require anything from a person other than knowledge gleaned from various sources: from signs and horoscopes to free interpretation of serious spiritual and esoteric texts.

Esoteric techniques in modern psychology

Human consciousness, or, if you like, the soul, has been studied for thousands of years, and a lot of knowledge has been accumulated in this area, including empirically proven methods of influencing the human psyche. Many of these methods are the result of peculiar experiments by priests and other cultists, and for a long time they were kept secret. The fact is that shamans, priests and sorcerers of all stripes are not at all interested in revealing their secrets of influencing consciousness and pass off rational methods as mystical and supernatural.

Hypnosis (suggestion)

This is, perhaps, one of the first methods of manipulating human consciousness, mastered by representatives of religious cults. Hypnosis can be considered a special case of suggestion, which is a common mental phenomenon and has nothing mystical or irrational.

Suggestion is an influence on a person’s consciousness through the formation of his attitudes, views, and beliefs. The main conditions for suggestion: uncritical perception of information and the authority of the one who suggests. Since childhood, we have been subject to indoctrination, experiencing the influence of parents, teachers, friends, the media, etc.

Hypnosis is also a suggestion, but performed in a special state when rational control is turned off, so false memories, visions of supernatural beings, etc. can be suggested. The state of hypnosis is similar to sleep, although it is not sleep, and it can put an individual into this state a person who masters the technique of suggestion.

There are many myths about hypnosis, most of which are pure fiction. The fact is that this technique has one condition - the person’s consent. It is impossible to hypnotize someone against their will. That is, people, deceived by false memories and fantastic visions inspired by an occult hypnotist, were ready for this. Almost according to A.S. Pushkin: “Oh, it’s not difficult to deceive me!.. I’m glad to be deceived myself!”

Currently, in practical psychology, several types of hypnotic suggestion are used to rid a person of various kinds of phobias, depression, post-traumatic stress, to treat drug addiction, alcoholism, panic attack syndrome, etc. There is even a whole psychotherapeutic direction - hypnotherapy.

Confession in psychotherapy

What is confession essentially? This is a frank story about your problems, doubts, complexes, fears, about actions, the guilt for which lies like a heavy stone on your soul. Such pronunciation in itself facilitates the mental state, because fears, problems and feelings of guilt are brought beyond the limits of consciousness. You can “cry into your vest” not even to a psychologist or a priest, but to any person who is ready to listen. And in this case it will also become easier.

A procedure similar to confession is one of the main methods in psychoanalysis. A free story, guided by the psychoanalyst’s questions, helps not only to free the consciousness from painful experiences, but also to “pull out” fears and complexes from the subconscious level.

Entry thresholds and essential content

To better understand the differences in the described concepts, I will describe the “threshold of entry” and the essential content of each of the areas. I will make a reservation in advance that I cannot be absolutely precise in the descriptions here (this is too difficult a task) and I do not set such goals for myself, but I will try to convey the general trends of each of the areas.

* The prefix “pseudo” does not mean at all that beliefs are false and do not correspond to reality (in some cases this is true, but not always). "Pseudo" means that the beliefs are "wrapped in a wrapper" of the mystical or psychological, but in reality they are not.

As you can see, “kitchen psychology” is very, very similar to “kitchen exoterics” . And often both of these areas are harmoniously combined in the same people.

Professional practicing psychologists and professional exotericists are also similar in many ways, but the similarity here largely stems from the fact that both are professionals: they take their activities seriously, continue to learn and develop in their field.

Academic psychology and esotericism stand apart both from each other and from the other listed areas.

Analysis of delimiting ideas

Now let’s return to the delimiting ideas and try to look at them taking into account a clear understanding of what is included in the concepts of “psychology” and “esotericism”.

Psychology is a science, but esotericism is not.

Academic psychology is a science. Everything else is not. This is a completely adequate division, but most often it is meaningless, since by psychology they mean “practical psychology,” and it is this that they feel the need to separate from esotericism.

There are no significant differences between psychology and esotericism.

At the “kitchen” (profane) level, there are almost no differences. At the professional level, the differences are significant.

But the most interesting thing, of course, is the comparison of professional psychology and esotericism. Here we will undoubtedly be able to detect both similarities and significant differences - one key and several minor ones. But more on that later.

Psychology and esotericism differ in techniques and practices.

Yes and no.

This statement is incorrect in the sense that in reality, many psychologists take entirely, or adapt to their needs, already existing practices and ideas used in one or another spiritual tradition.

The statement is true in the sense that although they use the same practices in esotericism and psychology, in esotericism they often have a more total character.

So, for example, in psychology, the practice of meditation can be used occasionally (every day for 10 minutes or in situations where a person experiences strong emotions), and in esotericism, meditation can be the central (and sometimes the only) practice that should be performed everywhere and always.

Esotericism is a set of superstitions, illusions, fantasies, irrational beliefs...

This opinion about “esotericism” is, in some cases, quite justified. Unfortunately, it was the “esotericists” who put a lot of effort into this. After all, there are many who, after reading a couple of books or attending several relevant courses, begin to call themselves magicians, sorcerers, witches, warriors of light... and bring their “knowledge” to the world. At the same time, having neither integrity, nor maturity, nor stability, which could be obtained through long-term practice and psychological work on oneself, such people become the face of “esotericism” and thereby create a corresponding idea about it.

Psychiatrists know and observe people with schizophrenia every day, and the vast majority of them can talk about their hobbies for Castaneda, Blavatsky, out-of-body travel, astral battles, psychotropic substances... And this is almost the rule: almost all people with schizophrenia are “esoteric.” Therefore, there is a temptation to take the next mental step and assume that all esotericists are, to one degree or another, sick in the head.

But all this relates only to active and not very stable “kitchen exoterics”. Professional exotericists, as a rule, are quite stable people. Not to mention esotericists, who are not so easy to meet.

On the other hand, such an attitude towards esotericism is also produced by its ardent opponents - people with rigid worldviews of a materialistic type. There is also scientific atheism and medical psychiatry... some cognitive behavioral psychologists. But, in fairness, these people often have the same attitude towards professional practical psychology.

The fact is that the existence of the unknown and mysterious endangers a person’s rigid picture of the world and his idea of ​​himself. Negativity of the secret becomes a reliable defense of your world.

Psychology interacts with the subjective world, esotericism interacts with objective reality.

This is a beautiful concept that I heard from Yulia Zotova and even began to argue with her on this topic. But our discussion was not destined to come to a logical conclusion then.

The beauty of this concept is that, in contrast, it well outlines the “psychological field” in which psychologists work - the subjective world of man. And a significant departure from this field means that the professional has lost his professional position.

And here I would like to say that such a description of “esotericism” is true for kitchen exotericism and partly describes professional exotericism (but in some cases it is greatly distorted). And it is completely unfair for esotericism, where great demands are made on the maturity and integrity of a person, and therefore requires colossal internal (subjective) work.

In addition, to be honest, even professional practical psychology is not always so subjective and focused exclusively on the inner world of a person. Many things are objectified here: psychotypes, stereotyped interpretations (messages of bodily symptoms, meanings of dream images and fantasies...), laws in relationships, etc.

So practical psychology is far from subjective. Yes, if we compare practical psychology and professional exoterics, we will most likely find that the second is more objective. However, if we compare practical psychology and esotericism, then esotericism will turn out to be more subjective, since it not only pays a lot of attention to the internal processes of a person, but also, for example, strikes at the objectivity of perception of the external world.

Psychology and esotericism interact with different levels of human existence.

There are quite a lot of such delimiting concepts. They are based on the idea that a person can be divided into “parts”:

• body, spirit, soul...;
• body, feelings, thoughts...;
• etheric body, astral body, mental body, atmanic body...;
• etc.

Or a person can be assigned one or another level of development:

• with reference to the chakras;
• relying on spiral dynamics;
• etc.

And for different parts of a person, or for people at different levels of development, to a greater extent a certain type of influence: psychological, esoteric, religious...

Each such concept is very specific: it exists within one or another mystical tradition or psychological school. And in order to critically comprehend it, you first need to delve deeper into this teaching - which in my short analysis is very difficult.

Surely many concepts are true to some extent, but if we talk specifically about esotericism and professional practical psychology, then two things should be noted:

1. Different levels interpenetrate each other and by influencing one of them we at the same time influence the other. As this, for example, happens with the body, feelings and thoughts.
2. If you look at techniques in psychology and esotericism, you can often notice their similarities. From which we can assume a significant similarity in what their influence is aimed at.

How to distinguish esotericism from psychology?

Hello, your article is very detailed. I have been trying to get my loved one out of Pavel Rakov’s psychocult for two years now, with varying degrees of success. It was objected to you here that Rakov is not an esotericist. This is fundamentally wrong. While you, God forbid, even without encountering Rakov’s followers and those who suffered at his hands, you very correctly identified him from several sources. Yes, he practically does not believe in his doctrine. But she works for him. Here are some aspects: The teaching that Rakov declares is very variable depending on the fashion for certain directions. At the same time, many positions are quite stable. For example, the benefits of “walking on coals” have been claimed for a long time. To stand out, Rakov tries to use the most striking and radical techniques and methods, which, in his opinion, do not contradict the law and cannot entail any liability on his part. Sometimes the same exercise (or statement) has been used (claimed) by Cancerians for many years, but the declared usefulness (significance) and method of application (acceptance) may vary. Thus, we can conclude that people accept Rakov’s doctrine on faith without receiving objective evidence. The creation of this faith, which brings in a constant income, is Rakov’s main goal. In the role of “God” (the highest being) in the confusing teachings of the TC there is a certain “alpha male”, an ideal man, one in a thousand, with whom you can only build a relationship by becoming a “plus woman”, having completed all the trainings of the Teacher, that is, Rakov, as a certain high priest (and at the same time also partly an alpha male, i.e. “god”), as well as his leading consultants (like apostles or mentors), who, according to their own stories from the stage, all lived very poorly, but after their lives came to the “Training Center”, everything changed for the better. Pseudo-Hindu energy practices act here as a spiritual rite, and the “Summer Camp” is a meeting of the main adherents of the teaching. From Indian mysticism came the idea that there are no special differences between good and evil (“minus and plus”). Payment for services is support for the movement and its leader, increasing one’s spiritual rating and level of empathy. This kind of comparison may seem strange only at first glance. During the entire training period, not a single “alpha male”, who would be called that, attended the “Summer Camp”, i.e. No one ever saw “god”; his image was sacralized and essentially invented by Rakov. As in many sects, such an image is based on a pseudoscientific scheme, in this case, the distribution of benefits between men. Later (in 2020), Rakov stated to his coaching students that not only men, but all people (primarily his clients - women) also go through this pyramid. Most people are slaves, and on the coaching wheel they are parasites who will never become creators. Women are also divided into three categories: “Woman Plus”, “Woman Zero” and “Woman Minus”. While living together with a woman of the first type, the man’s standard of living and energy improves, with the second it does not change, with the third it becomes worse, and the man may die (or at least move to a lower caste of the “pyramid of men”). The woman here acts as a manipulator in relation to males. In fact, most of Rakov’s “trainings” boil down to teaching women a set of techniques that in psychiatry are called “integration,” defined as “the manipulation of other people by increasing one’s attractiveness in the broad sense of the word. This type of behavior models the perception of oneself (by actively manipulating other people's ideas about one's own self) in terms of satisfying one's needs or achieving personal goals). There are three types of integration techniques: 1) raising the value of a partner - transmitting information about his positive assessment (for example, in the form of complements, flattery, praise); 2) conformism - a declaration of agreement with the opinions, assessments, norms, attitudes and behavior of the partner; 3) positive self-identification - presenting oneself in a favorable light (for example, describing one’s capabilities, abilities, talents as extraordinary); negative self-identification (self-humiliation) - creating an idea of ​​one’s own weakness and helplessness, addressed to the social principle of “help the weak.” Thus, the main “achievements” that, according to Rakov, his students acquire are set out in psychiatric works on hysterical illness. Along with ingratiation, Rakov also teaches more severe methods of manipulation, such as arousing a sense of danger in a partner. The fact that during Rakov’s trainings the state of altered consciousness into which people are immersed is mass hysteria is indirectly confirmed by the fact that people can perform a “cataleptic bridge” when the muscles do not move. This condition, according to psychiatrists, is characteristic only of hysterics (people with histrionic personality pathology). Rakov claimed that he could remove the “ancestral curse” and find “energy meridians of power” that make it possible to correctly build a house according to esoteric canons. Rakov strongly recommended that women give men “amulets” and taught how to “charge” them with energy: “how to charge amulets so that they work. There are rituals for different occasions.” Conduct “energy fortune telling” with a ring or badge: “Our body is like a compass. The thread with this icon or ring is a compass needle. I see, right? It is desirable that the thread be longer, literally 30 centimeters. You can ask some questions to yourself, and your arrow will deviate either to the right (spinning clockwise), if “yes”, if “no”, then in the other direction - counterclockwise. I see, right? First, we released the energy and put the ring in our left hand. They put a ring in their left hand, squeezed it, released the energy that is in this ring. Then you raised the ring above your hand, you can even close your eyes and ask a question. Let’s say, is it good for me to go to school? When you interact with his items. Shirt there, socks, tie and so on and so on and so on. Today I asked you to take something... that is... from your man’s items. So let's do something good for your men who... Those girls who have men, let's do something good for your men. OK? Let's? Well, let's. We take a tie in our hand, or something... a hairpin, cufflinks, socks. Here. It is advisable that it is not washed. What will you do? So that there is a slight smell of interaction. It just happened to his body. Things that are tied around the neck, such as a tie, work especially well. Or taken in hand. Therefore, a scepter, an orb, a sword. Either they put it on the head, or it’s a hat, a crown, and so on... They had a certain influence on a man. And then they kept his energy for a long time. So what are you doing? You take his tie now. Hold in two hands, or in your palms. And as you exhale, mentally send him love. Darling, may you be lucky. May you have good fortune and so on. Remember the song, still a military one. In a cold dugout, I feel warm from your... unconditional love. It seems so. Yes, indeed, men can sense from a distance when you think good things about them. And many said that they didn’t even take bullets, because women think about the man and save him. Every girl who loves a man has some mystical powers. Like this. If you don't have a man. Will appear. You have come to a cafe, a restaurant or are sitting in the office. Your boss is in front of you. What should you do if you decide to seduce him..." "...you imagine, depending on what you want to get from this man. Remember, if you get something from an energetic point of view, you will have to pay something. . Before influencing him energetically, think about what you can give him in advance. What can you give a man? Give candy, offer a cup of tea, give him a handkerchief, knit a little thing like this. Say “dear, this is for you, as long as you need a source of strength, as long as this amulet is with you, know that my warmth will warm you...” Many women, queens did this many did. You can tie him up in the car or hang something for him. Or, that means, cut... Because when you do it with your own hands, you put your energy into this object. you look at it with your inner gaze with your eyes closed, or even turned away altogether, but you continue to observe with peripheral vision, look into it, imagine that from the crotch area, where your pubis is, yes... a flower grows, flower petals grow, right there like this, they grow, grow, and you completely take it into the cocoon with these petals, another petal goes, from below, from the side, from above these petals. And then you smoothly absorb it, pull it into yourself. And thus you become one with him. He will really want you. If you want to give him strength, you bloom a flower from your belly. Believe it or not. It works. There is no need to attract him to you with a cocoon. You bloom this flower and it mentally begins to grow like a lotus flower in his stomach, that is, this chakra, responsible for the spirit, for the will, for the character, for the influence, is activated. Part of your power passes to him. Therefore, when he comes home, take this flower back in your mind. How is a flower picked? Or is this part of energy, to put it simply? It is taken while inhaling [Rakov shows inhaling] We take energy while inhaling. Gives away as you exhale"

Rakov explains all the problems of people by the relationship of chakras and “on which chakras a person was conceived.” In general, Rakov’s teaching, based on the idea of ​​​​the need to raise a certain dormant energy in a person (kundalini) to the upper energy centers and tantrism, corresponds to the religious doctrine of the Aum Shinrikyo organization, which became famous during the terrorist attacks in the Tokyo subway in 1993.

He called the narcotic psychostimulant amphetamine the “love hormone”: according to Rakov, “amphetamine is produced during courtship and its peak occurs during orgasm.” “Dehydroepiandrosterone” (i.e., in reality, a steroid hormone with little studied functions of influencing androgen receptors) – Rakov calls it the neurotransmitter responsible for the “high.” The Pavel Rakov Training Center website also discussed the topic “How do you feel about LSD? And – to energy practices under the influence of LSD?”, and also “how to raise sexual energy to Vishuddha? [chakra]”, “How long does it take to learn to look into the future?”, “Why does the desire to strangle during sex arise.” Moreover, the participants of the training are sure that with its help there is a “transformation from shit into a person - into a God of fulfillment of one’s desires!” As one firewalking participant, veterinarian Elena (41 years old), stated: “The overcoming for me was the preparation itself, when we were a group screaming at the top of our voices. I felt like a fool, but it’s easier to be a fool along with everyone else!” .

Speaking about “orgasm and pleasure,” Rakov mentioned the dubious scientist Wilhelm Reich, whom he called “Reich” (Reich claimed that he had contacts with UFOs and tried to invent the “orgasmotron”). Also included in Rakov’s teaching was the so-called the concept of "orgasmic birth" (or "ecstatic birth"), which was introduced in 2012-2013. by the Lamaze organization D. Pascali-Bonaro and has gained relative popularity among some esoteric and neo-pagan movements in the post-Soviet space (where they talk about the secrets of healers of ancient Rus' and the shamanic ecstasy of tantra). Rakov uses the jargon of esoteric mystics, for example “balanced forces”, “importance”, “excess potential”, “player and spectator” from “Reality Transurfing” by Vadim Zeland.

Why is esotericism esoteric?

You and I have a unique opportunity that our ancestors did not have: to observe an interesting phenomenon and its consequences. The fact is that relatively recently, somewhere in the middle of the last century, a curious process began - closed esoteric communities began to open their doors and share knowledge. Why this happened I don’t know.

And so time passed, many hidden things became publicly available... but if you look carefully, you will notice that secret knowledge, having become widespread, has noticeably transformed and lost an important part of its content.

* I have very superficially conveyed the original essential content of esoteric techniques and teachings. It is not possible to do this in more detail and expanded in this text.

The list could be continued for a very long time... but I think it was possible to convey the general trend: initially, esoteric techniques and teachings had transpersonal goals, but having become widespread, the goals became, on the one hand, specific, and on the other, very utilitarian. The desire for the sublime and transcendental has disappeared, but generally understandable goals remain: the desire for strength, power, wealth, health, pleasure...

It is worth noting that the techniques themselves have become specific - with strict rules of execution and strict consistency. Which is not surprising - after all, when we lose the deep content of the actions we perform (which is what the esotericist focuses on in his practices), we can only focus more on the form, ritualizing practices and creating dogmas.

Observing how esoteric practices are transformed everywhere and become widespread, one can draw an important conclusion about what constitutes the essence of esotericism. Esotericism is not at all about secret knowledge. They are of secondary importance and, on the one hand, are generated by esotericism, and on the other, they perform the function of a vessel, which, without mystical content, turns out to be empty.

Esotericism is found in each individual person. It is expressed in a deep feeling of the existence of the beyond, which we call differently: spirit, soul, Tao, God, abstract, nagual, self, essence, Core... And in a person’s passionate desire to achieve it. Ready to go inside yourself and go beyond your limits.

But between those who have a similar feeling, who accepted the call and set out on a journey to themselves, and those who still ignore the calls of their soul, there is a huge gap. This is how Al Farid, the Sufi mystic and poet, defines it:

""Where? Who? Don’t use parables, speak directly!” - They repeat. Let me tell you that you are inside,

That you live in the darkness that gives birth to the sun, - They shout: “He is out of his mind!”

The essential esoteric content of knowledge turns out to be invisible when it reaches those who are not ready to perceive it. And at the end of this chapter there are lines from the same Al Farid, in which he vividly describes everything that I wrote about above.

“The whole world is in you, and you, like the world, are one. Be with everyone, but avoid communities.

They were once founded by a spirit, but now a Crowd of slaves, fenced off, wanders

Following the letter, completely forgetting about the call of freedom and love, an impulse.

They don't have freedom - they need chains. They are enslaved by freedom.

And, having fallen to their knees, they strive to be captured by the one who calls everyone to rise from their knees.

Only external paths are familiar to them, but the spirit orders them to enter within themselves.

And in the depths to finally see in one heart thousands of hearts.

This is your limit, the edge of your aspirations, the shining Sinai of your soul.

But freeze here. Stop the flight, Otherwise the flame will burn through your chest.

And, having found balance, return to things and days, breathing breadth and height into them.”

Differences between psychology and esotericism

Taking into account what has already been said, let’s compare practical psychology and esotericism. If we focus on practices and techniques or try to rely on the criterion of “subjectivity,” we will stand on shaky ground. After all, it is in these moments that psychology and esotericism are very similar to each other. But there are also obvious differences.

Let's start with the secondary distinctive features and end with the key ones.

Social representation

Practical psychology is a social institution. In addition to the fact that she strives to solve specific problems of a particular person, she also strives to satisfy public demand. For example, we can historically trace how different approaches and directions emerged in response to the needs of society:

• Psychoanalysis, with its ideas of sexuality, became widespread in a society in which sexuality was marginalized.
• The ideas of humanistic trends became widespread after the Second World War, when society felt the greatest need for them.
• Etc.

Due to its social representation, practical psychology is regulated by public or unspoken rules and participates in various social relations.

But none of this happens with esotericism. She is not represented in society at all! It does not solve social problems, but only meaningfully fills the lives of individual people, who are still in no hurry to share this with others.

Presence in a person's life

Practical psychology strives to occupy part of a person’s life, but not consume all of his time. What does this mean:

• You can often find recommendations for practicing specialists to have activities, interests, and hobbies outside of psychology and not related to it. This is important for preventing professional burnout.
• The process of psychological consultation or group therapy is initially constructed as existing in parallel to the main life (as if not included in it). Psychologists say they create safe and supportive spaces for their clients, separate from real life, where they can experiment, try new things, be different.
• The practices (homework) that psychologists recommend to their clients are also most often local in nature - limited in time (for example, 15 minutes every day) and complete (for example, write a list of 10 positive qualities or write it until you get bored) .

In other words, practical psychology is, as it were, separated from real life and occupies only part of it.

Esotericism claims to cover a person’s entire life and strives to occupy every moment of wakefulness and sleep. It is not separated from life - it exists at its very epicenter. And the practices here are often total.

Choice

Practical psychology in most cases supports and promotes freedom of choice. This also manifests itself at the threshold of entering a profession, where a person decides for himself whether to become a specialist or not. This is a person's personal choice. This is also manifested in the desire of psychologists to expand the arsenal of possible choices for their clients.

Esotericism exists at a level where a person has no choice. It is not the person himself who decides whether to enter the territory of esotericism or not. For example, Castaneda has a statement that “on the path of a warrior there are no volunteers.” And in the same Castaneda one can find a description of a warrior’s attitude to freedom and choice. Where the only choice a person makes on the path of knowledge is to be a warrior. And the only freedom is to act perfectly.

It should be noted that none of the approaches is wrong. Each of them looks at life and people from different points of view.

Goals of practical psychology and esotericism

Practical psychology and esotericism have different goals. And this is their main difference.

Practical psychology sets itself very clear and, one might say, very human goals. Most often, this is helping a person solve his specific problems: conflicts in the family or at work, fear of public speaking or being rich, difficulty making a choice or low self-esteem, getting stuck in grief or guilt... Less often, more global things become goals: for example, development a person's ability to love and work.

The goals of psychology stem from the needs of people. And requests are based on our ideas about ourselves and the world.

Esoterics looks at a person more broadly, and in its vision, our knowledge and ideas about ourselves, as well as our desires, are not all who we are. All this is a small part of the real us, just the tip of the iceberg, infinitely far from complete integrity.

The goals of esotericism are based on the whole person and take into account many of his unconscious parts and manifestations. Thus, the goals of esotericism are beyond what is known to us, cannot be fully understood and cannot be adequately described in words. Undoubtedly, we can say that the goal of esotericism is practical movement in spirit, God, abstract, self, Core, essence... But if such a definition seems satisfactory to you, if you can clearly explain what “self” or “essence” is... then know , you have already distorted the hidden essence and deceived yourself.

Can psychology be esoteric?

This question can be answered very simply and succinctly - psychology can never become esoteric.

But this “no” is not so clear-cut. If you look at practical psychology as schools, approaches, books, communities of psychologists, centers... then this, of course, is not esoteric.

But the essence of practical psychology is not at all in knowledge and practices, but in the person himself... or rather, in his deep processes. If a person did not have an inner world or did not have the opportunity to come into contact with it, then all psychological techniques would immediately lose their meaning. Practical psychology can help a person only because he himself is able to “go inside himself.”

And here we come to an interesting point: the essence of practical psychology is the possibility of interaction with the inner world of a person, but also in esotericism “the spirit orders you to enter inside yourself.” And no matter how paradoxical it may sound, esotericism is closer to practical psychology than to exotericism.

The differences between practical psychology and esotericism stem from different goals and are expressed in different treatments of the inner world. Practical psychology goes “inside oneself” and returns from there with gifts - new understanding, conflict resolution, changes. Esoterics offers not just to be a guest and explorer of the inner world, but to settle in it and become its master (“die to vanity and come to life within”). Or, in other words, to unite with him, to become identical with him.

“Having long ago realized that the goal and meaning of the path is to find the immeasurable in oneself.

So give up the external, die to vanity and come to life within.

Having calmed the confusion, discover within yourself an unclouded inner peace.

And in the spring of eternal purity you will unite with yourself.”

* Dying to vanity does not at all mean giving up the outside world. The situation is exactly the opposite - by connecting with ourselves, we get the opportunity to deeply immerse ourselves in the reality around us.

In other words, practical psychology will always dwell on the threshold of the inner world, acting as a conductor between the manifest and the hidden. And as soon as the practitioner decides to go deeper, he will lose his orientation towards society, and what he will do will no longer be called psychology. And if a psychologist moves significantly away from the inner world, then he will lose his professional position and will engage in profanity.

What is esotericism

Esotericism cannot be considered as a separate science or even parascience, despite many similar statements on the Internet. This is not a single body of knowledge, but disparate, sometimes completely dissimilar, and even contradictory teachings and magical practices. These teachings arose at different times, in different cultures and among different peoples. In the modern world, many of them have changed, adapting to new realities, but, nevertheless, have not lost touch with their ancient roots.

Thus, esoteric teachings include the secret doctrines of the Freemasons and fortune telling from the ancient Egyptian “Book of the Dead”, the theosophy of Helena Blavatsky and the mystical teachings of the Rosicrucians, Jewish Kabbalah and Islamic Sufism, the Hermetic philosophy of the European Middle Ages and much more.

The only thing that allows us to unite these teachings and cults under a common concept is the presence in them of secret knowledge, accessible only to initiates and carrying a certain sacred meaning. The term “esotericism” itself comes from the word “secret”, “hidden”. It was introduced into scientific use at the beginning of the 17th century by the English philosopher Thomas Stanley. Esoteric knowledge exists in society along with exoteric, that is, open, public. There is another term for these teachings - occultism, and it is also translated from Latin as “hidden”. But the concept of “occult” is less popular among promoters of various mystical practices, as it evokes an association with religious cults and spiritualism, which was discredited at the beginning of the 20th century.

With the spread of interest in psychology as a science about the inner world of man, parallels are increasingly being drawn between psychological knowledge and practices and esotericism. How justified is this?

What can psychology and esotericism give each other?

Practical psychology and esotericism are close to each other. Both of them are aimed at interacting with the inner world. But, as we found out, they do it in different ways. These differences do not at all make practical psychology and esotericism antagonists, but can complement both.

Practical psychology, solving people's problems, has learned to resolve internal conflicts well. And all this leads to an important consequence - gaining greater integrity of oneself, so necessary in esotericism. Here, practical psychology has collected extensive knowledge, experience, work strategies... that will be useful to any mystic.

Esotericism, for thousands of years, with trepidation, love and care, has cherished the knowledge that “the non-existent exists.” Knowledge, without which life becomes dry and lifeless, and people are robots performing social tasks. Or they strive to satisfy only their every-minute needs.

Knowledge of the “beyond” fills life with taste and inspires you on the path to yourself. Esotericism can share all this with practical psychology. Giving it meaning, colors, excitement and making it extremely real.

Ideally, practical psychology prepares a reliable foundation and accompanies you on the journey to yourself. Esoterics – sets the direction for movement and feeds energy along the way.