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Lesson 17 Autobiography

When you understand and practice Lesson 16, you can easily see how many aspects of your present situation have been determined by events in your past. Your personal history is not something of little importance. The past influences your present, first because your present situation is obviously the direct result of all that happened before, but secondly and very importantly, through the present memory of past events. Past experiences often continue to act strongly as memories; many fears, insecurities, and other climates result from past unpleasant experiences which continue to affect you and influence the present moment. Every person passes through and completes different stages in life. But in this process, there have been situations or events, some of them extremely painful, which they did not then and still do not completely understand. People prefer not to look back on these parts of their past. But, unless they carefully reconsider those past experiences which they have not fully comprehended and integrated, these memories will continue to influence them as perturbing emotional climates. Although it is not pleasant to remember accidents or sad biographical situations, one should understand that it is beneficial to work on these memories and integrate them into the whole of one’s life. One cannot leave any “islands” in the consciousness; everything must be reasonably inter-connected. We are proposing that in this autobiographical study, one connect all the past elements one remembers, even the most disagreeable ones, so these “islands” may be explored and incorporated within the ground of useful experience. This autobiographical study will take some time. As you write your autobiography, you will notice that one after another memories will appear you had thought were lost long ago. Some blank spaces will no doubt remain in your memory; fill these in with the help of family or friends who can remember the events you are looking for. Use the following plan in carrying out the lesson:

Exercise 2 A) Write an extensive account of your life in your notebook. B) Next, write a concise biographical sequence of your life using one row for each year. C) Fill in the following three categories beside the biographical data for each year: 1- Accidents such as illnesses, any important involuntary circumstances, or anything which has brought about an important change. A factor which interrupts or deviates an important project is also considered an accident. 2- Repetitions are similar situations which appear more than once throughout your life. You can recognize these, logically, by comparing the events of different years. 3- Changes of stage take place when one passes from childhood to adolescence, from youth to adulthood, etc. They are usually marked by a big change in the style of one’s everyday life, or by radical changes in one’s interests. Each person can locate real “changes in course” at certain moments of his life’ - These changes may be either abrupt or gradual. D) Finally, write a synthesis of your biography in which you summarize and extract only what is most significant from all this material.

Use the following example as a guide in carrying out steps B and C above:

YEAR AGE EVENTS

1940 1 Birth in “X place” I have no memories. 1941 2 Move to a different house. Older brother dies. Accident on head, etc. 1942 3 Fall downstairs. Sister is born. Father travels, etc.-repetition 1943 4 Escape, confusion. I have no memories. 1944 5 The man under the tree. The fire. My mother crying. “My clothes are gone” (?). The train didn’t arrive. Change of life stage.

Once you have put your biography in this chart form up to the present, then proceed to extract the accidents, repetitions and changes of stage which are now evident. When you have done this, write a synthetic account of your life in which you include only the most decisive events, and the factors you identified as accidents, repetitions, and changes of stage. Revise this synthesis several times until you obtain a coherent structure. You will then be able to comprehend how your present situation has come about, and also how your future will be likely to develop if your past tendencies keep their strength and continue to act in the present and future.