Conscious dissolution of the self as an evolutionary potential of ageing

My thesis that the conscious dissolution of the self is the evolutionary potential of ageing is one of the most questioned aspects of my understanding of a Transpersonal Gerontology, so I would like to turn to some central concepts here:

In my professional practice as a clinical supervisor in the care and support of people with dementia, I have observed, witnessed and studied a phenomenon that I call ‘unconscious self-dissolution’, and I ask everyone who works professionally in this field (for family carers this is often much more difficult due to the personal relationship) to take up and examine this thesis:

If the process of increasing disorientation can be observed over a long period of time, a gradual dissolution of the ego can be noticed – on the level of everyday consciousness, the person increasingly forgets the history of their own ego, albeit not completely. This only applies to the level of everyday consciousness, not to a spiritual perspective.

Symptoms may include the following (among others):

• Experiencing oneself as an increasingly younger version of one's previous self.
• Forgetting information that was linked to ‘older’ versions of the self.
• Associated with this is the increasing forgetting of one's own history.

The scene in an educational film about integrative validation, in which an old man, addressed by his own name, says, ‘I don't have much to do with that anymore,’ is an example of this development, which I have witnessed many times in other forms of expression.

The ‘I’ becomes increasingly transparent and weaker, while parts of the ‘ego’, i.e. pre-personal parts, shadow issues and unresolved traumas, often remain for a very long time – I have also found numerous examples of this, especially in my work as a case supervisor in a 'Pflegeoase' ('nursing oasis', a care unit for people with severe dementia), where we often asked ourselves why some people with dementia live so long when we could hardly perceive any drive in them. They all still had at least one trigger that indicated that something within them was not integrated and prevented them from letting go of material life, even at this very unconscious level (e.g. traumatic experiences as children while fleeing during the Second World War).

I call this unconscious dissolution of the self.

However, the phenomenon itself, the increasing dissolution of (personal) identity, of the personal self, is not negative, but rather describes what actually happens in a process of consciousness development that has mainly been described by so-called Far Eastern spiritual traditions. In the Western context, it is often described with the term I- or self-transcendence, but in my experience, this only inadequately reflects the challenges associated with such a process and conceals the ‘raw experience’ of such a transformation process. Self-transcendence may be the beginning, but the underlying experience is one of dissolution, as I have experienced it myself – and as I have also found described in other sources (such as in the book ‘The End of Your World’ by Adyashanti, which I have repeatedly referred to as an important source). But other spiritual teachers are also becoming increasingly transparent about the fact that their own transformation process was not simply a transcendent experience, but in some cases extremely challenging over a period of years – with symptoms similar to dementia, as I and others have experienced.

‘Die before you die’ – that is the quality of experience I am referring to.

The death of the personal identity and, after the integration of this transformation process, the ‘resurrection’ of another, more conscious identity, which I call transpersonal identity, we-identity or higher self – according to my current understanding, this is what ageing, as the longest phase of our biological existence (from 50/60 years onwards), is for.

This is another term that is often questioned – what do I mean by the evolutionary potential of ageing?

What is the purpose of ageing in the context of human existence?

Embryo, foetus, childhood, youth – these stages of development serve the growth of a human being, the unfolding of all biological, material and vital potentials inherent in each individual.

Adulthood, early, middle and ‘mature’ adulthood – as we have largely developed it as humanity so far – serve the unfolding of the mental, but also the emotional potential that is inherent in each of us (and these potentials are never identical to those of another human being; we are truly all ‘individuals’), and the passing on of life and the opportunities to develop one's own potential to other individuals.

But what is the meaning of the age that I consider to be the beginning of old age, i.e. the phase when reproductive capacity ceases or at least declines, and physical strength and thus the means to shape this world independently with one's own hands also decline? Is it really just to support the previous generation in order to preserve one's own gene pool, as the grandmother hypothesis suggests? Hardly, its significance is mainly limited to the relationship between daughters who have children and their mothers who support them. It does not apply to mothers of sons and fathers in general. And other theories that attempt to explain the evolutionary purpose of ageing also have only very limited significance in my view.

In my understanding – based on my own personal experience, my gerontological expertise on ageing and my reading of many studies and writings on (spiritual) consciousness development and neuroscientific consciousness research – ageing serves the development of consciousness beyond the mind, the development of consciousness of consciousness, of meta-consciousness or higher spiritual consciousness, as described, for example, by Sri Aurobindo. And if I think this through to its logical conclusion, then so-called spiritual awakening is part of the evolutionary potential of ageing.

More on this? Coming soon on my Patreon.

Did this text expand your awareness and understanding?
That is the goal of my work!
If possible, I would ask you to make a contribution in return.