The New Axial Vision and the Foundational Programme Axial 2.0: From Ego to Soul draw on a number of different resources and sources of inspiration. We have divided these into two broad sections: philosophical and therapeutic.
The philosophical sources of inspiration include the insights and intuitions of the Axial Age as a whole and the spiritual foundations of humanity that are rooted in it. It draws especially on the transrational insights of the contemplative core of the axial religions or great wisdom traditions and the philosophical elaborations that accompany them. It also draws on the insights and big picture vision of contemporary integrative philosophy and metatheory, primarily critical realism / metarealism, integral theory and complex thought – all of which themselves incorporate the findings of modern science within their overarching frameworks.
Therapeutically, it makes use primarily of gestalt therapy, family constellations and internal family systems (IFS) therapy. Gestalt therapy is ideal for enabling us to face and embrace our own reality and integrate repressed or denied aspects of our self. Family constellations enables us to see the hidden dynamics that underlie the family system so as to heal the family relationships and provide a place of dignity and respect to each member. And IFS treats the individual psyche as made up of subpersonalities or ‘parts’ that form their own internal family system, and underpinned by a deeper, truer essence it calls Self. It enables this Self to attend to the various parts with curiosity and compassion and so heal any distorted or unbalanced parts, enabling them to adopt healthier and more constructive roles within the psyche.
As well as these systemic therapeutic approaches, the Foundational Programme also draws on Positive Psychology, which aims to optimise psychological well-being by, among other means, cultivating virtues like gratitude, forgiveness and love and positive character traits. It also makes use of tools like the personality typology of the Enneagram, autobiographic work, ‘heart intelligence’, and breath and subtle energy work.