Over the last fifty years, we have seen a widespread interest in ideas of self-development drawn from Western psychology. Not all of the practices that evolved from these ideas have been effective, but then it is hard to quantify or measure individual or collective growth and development in this field. The contemporary exploration of the inner world has been championed and derided, met with enthusiastic advocates and equally passionate detractors. Have the Western attempts at self-awareness and raising consciousness failed or is the evolution of collective human consciousness underway? First, let us look back in summary.

The Promise of the Human Potential Movement

In the 1970s, therapy and personal growth were in their bright infancy. The idea of freeing oneself by expressing repressed emotions and shedding conditioned behavior patterns was exciting and liberating. The counter culture - the sexual revolution, recreational drug-taking and 'progressive' pop music, all mixed with Eastern mysticism - had promised a lot and fallen short of its dream. Personal growth seemed to be the flowering of that cultural upheaval, the fulfillment of the dream, the keeping of the promise.

The new therapies, collectively known as the Human Potential Movement or simply, the growth movement, proposed a new paradigm of individual well-being and collective consciousness-raising. They elevated therapy above the traditional psychoanalytic concern with mental illness. Not only the casualties of society, but everyone, could benefit. The growth movement promised a glorious world of vibrant, unselfconscious, self-regulating people motivated towards change and self-transformation.

Personal growth focused on the individual, but personal freedom held implications for society. Therapy could lead to an emancipated future for humanity, a collective transformation and a new paradigm of depth, authenticity and caring. Inner work would usher in a new era of peace and compassion, ending conflict and facilitating new understanding through honoring diversity. Therapy was in the vanguard of a pioneering movement that seemed destined to bring about radical change.

Personal Growth meets Commercial Enterprise

But the growth movement failed to change the world. On all inward paths, both psychological and spiritual, many begin and many falter along the way. So once the heady excitement of the honeymoon period was over, many people relinquished their ideals and got on with the everyday challenges of career and family.

The integrity of the growth movement was compromised as it met with commercial enterprise. In-depth spiritual journeying was simpler when it took place behind the walls of the monastery or the ashram. Lured by the material rewards of the modern age, superficial self-help books, self-styled gurus and flimsy trainings sprung up. The deeper benefits of thorough inner exploration were lost.

Many pioneers of the growth movement sought regulation and accreditation, aligning themselves with the modern trend towards rules and accountability, a process that stifled the freedom of innovative practice and sucked psychotherapy back into the mainstream. Eventually, the cycle came full circle and psychotherapy became once again primarily associated with mental illness.

The Spirit Lives On

However, for a minority who had experienced the deep benefits of inner work, something iridescent and real had happened that would not be threatened by the fickle tides of modern trends. These practitioners steadily developed their practice founded on self knowledge, diverse trainings, wisdom and intuitive guidance, and sought to share and teach others.

An ancient Taoist story tells us of the useless tree - a big old tree so distorted and full of knots that a straight plank cannot be made from it, the branches so crooked that they cannot be put to any practical use. The useless tree is left to grow while other trees are chopped down for their usefulness. But it is precisely because it is useless that it survives and people come to rest in its shade. The useless tree is likened to the Tao - the primordial reality, the source of all things. Authentic self-discovery has become like the useless tree of the Tao - the genuine article which no one has any use for. No one wants it and it is therefore left alone. But we can still rest in its shade.

The inner revolution of the 1970s growth movement heralded a noble impulse towards growth and change but its golden promise was never fulfilled. Now it is an almost forgotten path. But for those whom it truly touched, life changed irrevocably and, like the useless tree, the spirit lives on. Despite the watering down of therapy, the authentic fire still burns and is, perhaps, wisely hidden. It is still worth looking for, because it burns within us. If we can find that fire, we will discover it offers a blazing path to fulfillment, a radiant path to fathom and unfold our individual selves, our 'I'.

BLOG entry #87

This article by Richard Harvey was originally published at http://www.therapyandspirituality.com/articles/  and it is part of an ongoing retrospective series of blogs. ‘Whatever Happened to Personal Growth, Meditation and Enlightenment’ was first published in 2011.