After a pilgrimage in the desert near Arica, the teachings of Dr. Claudio emerged as a non-profit organization called «Seekers After Truth». Furthermore, the acronym SAT coincides with the term that refers to “truth” and “being” in Sanskrit and, symbolically, represents the trinitarian anthropology that characterises his conception of psychic life, as an echo of the three cosmic forces (affirmative, negative and neutralising), as expressed by Gurdjieff, and the “inner three” posited by Tótila Albert (father, mother and child). The contemporary SAT Program is aimed at carrying out a pyscho-spiritual development that embraces both the therapeutic and the contemplative aspect. The Program builds on the notion that the interpersonal sphere of the mind and the transpersonal or spiritual sphere are two sides of a single phenomenon, and that the emotional healing or re-education (which is ultimately re-establishing our loving capacity) cannot be separated from spiritual realization nor ignored in the Great Journey of the soul. The therapeutic aspect is based on lengthy research into childhood conditioning through the Psychology of the Enneagram, with a strong Gestalt component, which pursues the rebuilding of the emotional connection with the parents and interpersonal education. t also includes other elements that focus particularly on educating spontaneity: a series of psychological exercises based on the free association of ideas, therapeutic theatre and a dance-related discipline: “authentic movement.” The contemplative aspect resides in meditation and listening to music. Other exercises include the “psychotherapy lab,” structured around a graded series of supervised therapy exercises, and rebirth work that involves regressing to perinatal stages. The SAT Program has left its mark on several generations of Gestaltists and has had a strong impact on Gestalt therapy in Spain, Italy, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Brazil. It is currently flourishing in Germany, the UK and France.

An analysis of the processes of identification and projection developed in the “mother/father/child” relationship enables a retrospective of how our character was conditioned by the demands of our parents and in accordance with expectations that created the sense of feeling loved, valued and, above all, of finding a sense of belonging in our lives. As a result, we can understand the cognitive aspect of our character (fixation and crazy ideas), through exercises that invite us to re-evaluate, from an emotional level, our relationship with parental figures, siblings and older generations. A genogram (a study of family patterns across several generations) reveals how passion and cognitive distortion specific to our character are connected to family mandates and how they condition our relationships, with partners and offspring. The program involves, not only an awareness and construction of childhood emotions aimed at developing understanding towards our parents, but also the recuperation of our relationships at present, so as to overcome the negative emotions conditioned by the past, and to open the door to compassion and forgiveness, of ourselves and of others, without which we cannot experience plenitude and the freedom of the self “here and now,” and —in the words of Claudio Naranjo— experience “the beauty of co-existing with others. This module is an embrace between the Apollonian and Dionysian principle. Apollonian in the sense that it places awareness on emotions, occult forces and an understanding of the path ahead, and Dionysian because it leads to the healing of our instincts, which release the body and the mind and allow us to “re-decide” our lives, and also because it involves working on sexuality, pursuing a release from family and social restrictions to recover the ability to feel pleasure in the body and with another person, as well as considering sex a basic element of our health and the basis of the joy of life and pleasure. Everything comes together to favour the “Trinitarian unity” that Claudio Naranjo teaches: the alliance of instinctive knowledge (child), loving knowledge (mother) and gnosis as the ability to directly understand the mystery of the nature of the mind (father).

SAT Germany-France

This international SAT Program is facilitated in three languages —English, French and German— and provides a welcome opportunity to carry out “trans-cultural” and “trans-personal” work with people from different locations. Katrin Reuter and myself are organizing this program which rotates between France and Germany.

Further information: www.naranjo-sat.com