What is Synthology?

“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience;
we are spiritual beings having a human experience.”

--Teilhard de Chardin

“When the soul incarnates it has three main guidance systems: the physical, emotional, and psychological maps through which it speaks. The clues (your symptoms) are the soul’s way of communicating its needs and guiding you to a fuller, more purposeful life. When we can decipher the messages through education and awareness, we can achieve spiritual wellness that transcends simple holistic models while incorporating traditional medical methods, psychological processes and religious interpretations.”

--Cynthia Barlow

Synthology™

Synthology™ is a word I use to summarize a body of knowledge gained after many years of study and practical application while conducting hundreds of personal development seminars and spiritual retreats through my company, Constellation Learning, Inc., formed in 1997.

The word itself was birthed on March 5, 2002, while I sat outside gazing at the ocean. It encompasses a philosophy for life—a way of interpreting events so that one can feel more connected, alive and fulfilled, freeing the way to live a life of greater purpose and passion.

Synthology™ combines concepts from Jungian psychology, Judaic-Christian theology, Eastern philosophy and native Shamanic principles to provide a wide variety of interpretations—a synthesis of many “-ologies.” This multi-discipline approach to emotional wellness has proven very effective in the lives of the people who have attended the Trust Program™; it greatly aids in the development of meaning and substance in one’s experience of life.

When people walk into the Trust Program™ it is much like someone who walks into a doctor’s office complaining of an ailment. “Doc, my shoulder hurts.” The doctor will ask certain questions: “Where does it hurt? When does it hurt? When you lift your arm or when you lower it?” and he manipulates your arm in order to diagnose the collection of physical symptoms. Based on your verbal and physical responses the doctor is generally able to offer an explanation of the source of soreness in your shoulder and to propose a recommended remedy.

We have emotional and mental symptoms as well - unrest in our relationships; lack of satisfaction in our jobs; lack of direction; lack of satisfaction; lack of purpose and meaning in our lives. Together the three systems – emotional, cognitive and physical – comprise the methods used by your soul to communicate its needs for your continued spiritual growth.

When we learn how to interpret the messages it sends us through these guidance systems, we can live more rewarding, meaningful, peaceful lives.

The question becomes: How does one learn to recognize these “signals?”

The short answer is: Attend The Trust Program™.

A longer answer:

Emotional:

Our emotional maps are closest to our soul and therefore they reveal its most direct urgings: Our gut, heart, intuition, whatever one calls the little voice inside that whispers “watch out” or “go ahead.”

This emotional guidance system is real - if it doesn’t feel right to you, it isn’t - but too many of us have disregarded our alarm system for so long that it no longer serves as an accurate map: the compass no longer shows what’s north and what’s not.

The people who stand up for what they believe, who know what they believe - these people are true to themselves first. They follow the needle pointing to their internal due north.

At the Trust Program, you’ll learn how to identify, hear and follow your own due north.

The emotional system is linked most directly to the heart (fourth chakra). The refusal of the individual to listen to his or her emotions (third chakra) is at root of heart disease and most cancers. These symptoms only present themselves after years of emotional self-disregard.

Mental:

Mental illness is generally associated with the mind, or brain. I refer here to the way you think and what you think rather than classical forms of “mental illness” as defined by psychiatrists and psychologists.

Your mental “map” is linked to your emotional wiring - think of the interdependence, when building a home, of the electrical and plumbing systems - and it can actually control, (think ‘over-ride’) the emotional system - for a time.

The “positive-thinkers” know all about this: think yourself well. Perhaps.

It depends on what type of thinking you’re talking about. Eventually, if a human being is held in ‘over-ride’ for too long, it becomes a human ‘doing’ and the emotional system will revolt. And it will win.

This is often called a mid-life crisis or nervous breakdown, though they needn’t be as dramatic as those terms imply. They can be subtle and build up over time to a point where we just want some peace, a sense of balance, or a chance to rest. These times of ‘stop and listen’ are necessary to the continuing development and nurturing of our soul. But too often we dismiss the invitations to come and converse with ourselves until a crisis occurs and we are forced to sit and listen.

Our mental ‘over-ride’ program of self-protection (ultimately our very un-doing!) is based on one primary belief structure that pervades our Western Judaic Christian world. That belief is this: “I am not good enough - and therefore unlovable - as I am. The real me is flawed in some way.”

This pervasive sense of unworthiness - generally appropriated in early childhood and often directly linked and deeply rooted in early religious upbringing - can take a lifetime to unwind for those who lack an accurate map.

Physical:

Failing all else, the soul will finally be heard through physical illness, miss-hap, or chronic pain.

It is the last and most dramatic form of communication. If your body is failing you, it’s because your soul is crying out. Think of sickness as a mother yelling at her children because they haven’t been listening and she must get their attention now!

When we finally fall prey to pain and seek assistance, we are generally told to rest - indeed, we are in a place at that point to do nothing else! - which is exactly what your soul had been trying to say last month when you had that crying attack and shoved it away because you had a project to complete or children to pick up from soccer or groceries to purchase. Or when, last week, you found yourself, once again, wondering why you were daydreaming of being single again, and what all the hurry of your life was really for. Or why, after your last review, you again wondered if all the hassle was worth it.

There’s a salve awaiting your ailing soul at the Trust Program™.

We utilize a “synthological” approach for accelerated clarity, understanding and integration at the Trust Program™. Synthology™ blends various ways of interpreting your daily data so that you can compute and then transmute that information into proactive ways to go about creating the life of dreams instead of continuing to live the life of your fears.

Maybe its time for you to consider taking a big step in that direction.

“It’s never too late to become what you might have been.”

–George Eliot

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