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A review by morgan_blackledge
Greater Than the Sum of Our Parts: Discovering Your True Self Through Internal Family Systems Therapy by Richard C. Schwartz
4.0
Rather than being of “one” mind.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) assumes that people have “parts” or “sub-personalities” that operate together in an inner system, much like an external family or community.
Which is to say.
Sometimes your parts get along.
And sometimes they are in conflict.
Sometimes they play like a team.
Other times they compete like rivals.
IFS asserts that some parts (typically young wounded inner child type characters) become “exiled”, meaning, they are either too painful or too indecorous to experience most of the time, so we tend to suppress them.
Other parts function as “protectors” that keep a lid on exiles by either proactively “managing” life, or reactively “putting out the fires” when the managers fail.
I think we all have inner experiences e.g. shame, gilt, feelings of abandonment, feelings of failure etc. that we would like to avoid (exile) if possible.
The “manager” parts represent the ways we avoid or appease or protect our exiles, proactively, via planning, or saving, or being a this, or becoming a that.
The “fire fighter” parts represent the ways we reactively avoid or appease or protect our exiles when all that manager stuff fails e.g. drinking booze, smoking weed, playing video games, over eating, over working etc.
IFS asserts that, in addition to these parts, everyone has a Self part that is expansive curious, open, accepting and loving.
You can think of the Self as that “wise mind” that mindfulness supports.
Or you could think of it as Buddha nature (if you’re a Buddhist), or Atman (if you’re Hindu), or Christ consciousness (if you’re a Christian), or whatever enlightened state your particular spiritual tradition endorses.
IFS asserts that parts can either be “blended” with the self, and as such, run the show.
Or they can be “un-blended” and allow the Self to be in charge.
IFS calls this “Self leadership”.
And becoming “Self lead” is more or less the goal of IFS therapy.
In order to achieve “Self leadership”, step one is to get to know your parts, find out what their “burdens” are, and afford them to opportunity to become “unburdened”.
When a part becomes unburdened it feels great.
For instance, when an inner child part finally receives the unconditional love and acceptance it has always wanted, you get a big emotional release, and it feels awesome.
That awesome feeling is what IFS calls “Self energy”.
This is what other traditions call chi, or prana, or kundalini shakti, or the holy spirit, or whatever.
Whatever you wanna call it.
It’s that yummy spiritual stuff we all love to feel.
IFS asserts that your Self part can use all that unburdened Self energy to do all kinds of life affirming stuff.
That insecure inner child can become the creator or the healer when it lets go of it’s burdens and becomes Self lead.
That uptight manager part can also let go when the exile part is less burdened, creating even more Self energy.
And those fire fighters can finally put down the fire hose(s) e.g. the bottle, the bong, the fork, the credit card etc. creating even more self energy.
As interesting (or uninteresting) as all of that may be.
The real deal about IFS is that it is experiential.
Meaning.
You have to do it and experience it to get the benefits.
And trust me.
It’s totally worth it.
As for Greater Than the Sum of Our Parts
It’s a very good audio program on IFS.
But I wouldn’t start here.
Instead, I recommend reading:
Internal Family Systems by Richard C. Schwartz: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/168349)
And listening to:
No Bad Parts by Richard C. Schwartz: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55384168
I would start with those, and return to this one afterwards if you still want more.
Greater Than the Sum of Our Parts is an audio program. With lots of guided meditations and exercises for identifying and working with parts.
Many of the exercises are similar to the ones in No Bad Parts.
So it’s a little redundant if you have done that one already.
That being said.
I did all the exercises in both.
And.
I’m really glad I did.
I had very different experiences the second time through the redundant exercises.
It was totally worth it.
Why 4/5 stars?
Because No Bad Parts is similar, but better.
And I want you to do that one first.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) assumes that people have “parts” or “sub-personalities” that operate together in an inner system, much like an external family or community.
Which is to say.
Sometimes your parts get along.
And sometimes they are in conflict.
Sometimes they play like a team.
Other times they compete like rivals.
IFS asserts that some parts (typically young wounded inner child type characters) become “exiled”, meaning, they are either too painful or too indecorous to experience most of the time, so we tend to suppress them.
Other parts function as “protectors” that keep a lid on exiles by either proactively “managing” life, or reactively “putting out the fires” when the managers fail.
I think we all have inner experiences e.g. shame, gilt, feelings of abandonment, feelings of failure etc. that we would like to avoid (exile) if possible.
The “manager” parts represent the ways we avoid or appease or protect our exiles, proactively, via planning, or saving, or being a this, or becoming a that.
The “fire fighter” parts represent the ways we reactively avoid or appease or protect our exiles when all that manager stuff fails e.g. drinking booze, smoking weed, playing video games, over eating, over working etc.
IFS asserts that, in addition to these parts, everyone has a Self part that is expansive curious, open, accepting and loving.
You can think of the Self as that “wise mind” that mindfulness supports.
Or you could think of it as Buddha nature (if you’re a Buddhist), or Atman (if you’re Hindu), or Christ consciousness (if you’re a Christian), or whatever enlightened state your particular spiritual tradition endorses.
IFS asserts that parts can either be “blended” with the self, and as such, run the show.
Or they can be “un-blended” and allow the Self to be in charge.
IFS calls this “Self leadership”.
And becoming “Self lead” is more or less the goal of IFS therapy.
In order to achieve “Self leadership”, step one is to get to know your parts, find out what their “burdens” are, and afford them to opportunity to become “unburdened”.
When a part becomes unburdened it feels great.
For instance, when an inner child part finally receives the unconditional love and acceptance it has always wanted, you get a big emotional release, and it feels awesome.
That awesome feeling is what IFS calls “Self energy”.
This is what other traditions call chi, or prana, or kundalini shakti, or the holy spirit, or whatever.
Whatever you wanna call it.
It’s that yummy spiritual stuff we all love to feel.
IFS asserts that your Self part can use all that unburdened Self energy to do all kinds of life affirming stuff.
That insecure inner child can become the creator or the healer when it lets go of it’s burdens and becomes Self lead.
That uptight manager part can also let go when the exile part is less burdened, creating even more Self energy.
And those fire fighters can finally put down the fire hose(s) e.g. the bottle, the bong, the fork, the credit card etc. creating even more self energy.
As interesting (or uninteresting) as all of that may be.
The real deal about IFS is that it is experiential.
Meaning.
You have to do it and experience it to get the benefits.
And trust me.
It’s totally worth it.
As for Greater Than the Sum of Our Parts
It’s a very good audio program on IFS.
But I wouldn’t start here.
Instead, I recommend reading:
Internal Family Systems by Richard C. Schwartz: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/168349)
And listening to:
No Bad Parts by Richard C. Schwartz: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55384168
I would start with those, and return to this one afterwards if you still want more.
Greater Than the Sum of Our Parts is an audio program. With lots of guided meditations and exercises for identifying and working with parts.
Many of the exercises are similar to the ones in No Bad Parts.
So it’s a little redundant if you have done that one already.
That being said.
I did all the exercises in both.
And.
I’m really glad I did.
I had very different experiences the second time through the redundant exercises.
It was totally worth it.
Why 4/5 stars?
Because No Bad Parts is similar, but better.
And I want you to do that one first.