On September 20^th, those of us who have been touched by Roberto Assagioli’s vision are celebrating the first World Day of Psychosynthesis. The day is meant to establish a spiritual connection between everyone who is generating and working with psychosynthesis concepts and techniques. Each of us is encouraged to take time during the day to reflect on how psychosynthesis is a living, evolving idea that can be successfully applied through many formats and in various contexts.

Ultimately, psychosynthesis allows us to integrate all our human dimensions – physical, emotional, mental and spiritual – into a harmonious and synthesized whole so we can fully express ourselves and live life creatively. Beyond our individual psychosynthesis, Assagioli also urges us to seek personal and spiritual synthesis within couples, groups, and even nations.

This day was inspired by a note that Assagioli wrote. What is special about this particular note is that it is dated, something relatively rare to find on Assagioli’s notes. Most interestingly and synchronistically, on the same day Pope Francis will be hosting the World Day Prayer for Peace in Assisi with representatives from the major world religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism and other religions. Among the delegates there will also be leading personalities from the social, political and cultural worlds across the globe.

A copy of the Assagioli’s original note appears below along with its transcription.

---

     ψς

It is urgent to establish
Spiritual “Airways”
between nations,
institutions, movements,
and across the continents –

Let us give to this work
comparatively
at least as much energy,
determination, desire, time
efforts as those which are
given to establish airplane
communications through-
out the world.

20-IX-37 (September 20, 1937)

---

The Airways in 1937

To put Assagioli’s note into a historical context, the 1930s was a time of great expansion in the field of aviation – mostly for military purposes. Amelia Earhart was still flying around the world up until July 1937 when she and her navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific Ocean. Italian, German, Russian, and Japanese air forces were just starting to experiment with “carpet bombing” of civilians, with most of these attacks in support of Franco during the Spanish Civil War. In May the German Hindenberg dirigible caught fire and exploded. Records of speed and altitude flown were continuously being broken. Helicopters were coming into existence, and, for the first time, transatlantic flights offered sleeper births to their passengers.

Assagioli’s use of an “airways” metaphor was indeed apt for his time. Perhaps today, in its place, he would use the metaphor of satellite “airways” that connect the world over the internet. Nearly 80 years after Assagioli wrote this note, psychosynthesis individuals and communities are (or can be) connected across the internet “Airways”. But perhaps the essential word that he uses has yet to be realized – “Spiritual.”

The problem is most of us are barely connected to our own personal “Spiritual Airways”. How are we ever going to connect to anyone else’s, never mind the spiritual essence of an entire group, center, or institute?

And who’s to say that the group, center or institute has any sense of its own spiritual airway to which we might connect? It’s like being a radio without any tuner. Spiritual signals might be flying around the airways, but nobody is tuned it, the signals are jammed, or simply non-existent.

Let’s start by being honest…

Are you connected to your own spiritual airways? Do you meditate, pray, sit in silence, keep a journal, reflect daily on your thoughts, feelings, actions? Do you know and meet the Divine every day in your life through Beauty, Nature, and Love?

Does the partnership, marriage, family, group, center, or institute you find yourself participating in have any spiritual identity? What is the group’s spiritual vision? Do you as a group reflect on the group’s spiritual thoughts, feelings, and actions? As a group, do you know and meet the Divine in your lives through Beauty, Nature, and Love for one another?

Perhaps 20 September is a good day to start tuning into our Spiritual Airways and our divine humanity – both as individuals and in the groups in which we participate. This is a day during which Assagioli explicitly calls on our “energy, determination, desire, time, and efforts.” World Day of Psychosynthesis is a day to begin serious work and joyous play. Work that can be confronting and uncomfortable, hard going, exasperating, and exhausting. Play that inevitably leads to a shared vision full of Light and Wisdom, Cooperation and Hope for the future.

A simple meditation for the World Day of Psychosynthesis and Prayer for Peace

You might like to try this meditation for radiating prayers along the spiritual airways, sending them either close to home or out into the world.

1. Joyfully concentrate on what prayer you wish to radiate outwards. Identify with your prayer – its quality or idea, feeling and energy. The more you embody the prayer, the more it can radiate spontaneously. In this way you can combine both spontaneous and purposeful, directed prayer.
2. After this preparation, express a word or a phrase that best identifies your prayer. Imagine the prayer being fulfilled by visualizing the person, nation, animal, etc. you are sending the prayer to.
3. To actually radiate the prayer, visualize a channel or beam of light projected towards the recipient(s). You can also send beams of light in all directions. Be sure to send Love with the Light. Love is a great linking and unifying energy.