January 4, 1982 - Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

The modification of the psycho-social1

Today's teaching should conclude in a proposal of action for the future. It will be based in the necessary
doctrinary references, without intending to deepen into them theoretically. Rather, such references will be at
the service of an analysis, from which certain consequences of urgency will be extracted afterwards.
We will enter into the subject referring ourselves to our well-known theme of "the three pathways of
suffering": affirming immediately that it directly leads us to the analysis of the representation.
Indeed, discarding the representation of Memory and Imagination, suffering could not be registered.
Delight could not also be registered and, in the end, the human being would be left limited to phenomena of
pain and pleasure of an animal type, without more consequences than those.
Nevertheless, in a short time, you would find again a system of codified reflexes- at a vegetative and
motor levels- that would begin to act as a sort of substitute Memory and substitute Imagination. So on, it
becoming each time more complex, till achieving a level similar to that of the work of normal consciousness,
with its respective pathways, such as we know them.
We can even suppose- inverting our development- that this process of animal reflexes had led less
advanced beings to achieve, in course of time, the phenomenon of the human consciousness.
It is not possible to detain the representation with the object of surpassing suffering, while daily operations
are effected. And if it were possible, the growth of consciousness would be detained with this.
On the other hand, since the representation is an image of response, the activity in the world would also
get paralyzed.
Because of this, when we have explained the problem of suffering, we too have not indicated the
elimination of the representation as a way out and surpassing, but rather the modification of the same.
By means of internal work it is possible to modify a particular case of representation. Do we all know that
this is possible?... whoever more, whoever less, would have done his advancements utilizing the adequate
techniques.
On the other hand, upon modifying a particular case of representation, he would have also modified a
particular case of conduct. He would have achieved to surpass oppresive resistances, or to transfer charges
and contents, producers of suffering,... but not, because of this, he would have modified his general system
of representation and his general conduct in front of the world.
This general modification would have being produced along a process that transcended the simple
transferencial techniques.
Every individual representation forms part of a system of representation, more or less co-present, that
varies according to the conditions of the data of Memory. In other words: that a response to the world, moved
by a particular representation, is produced (when) aroused by a stimulus, and has been selected from a field
of co-presence from among many other possible representations.
In this way, the system of co-presence determines in more than one sense the global conduct of
individuals and human groupings.
A society, for example, counts on in its individuals with a background that puts the conditions of copresence, from among which the options of response are given- as particular cases of conduct.
The psycho-social background is imposed by an informative code of different levels of "language"; or, if so
preferred, of different "regions" of the system of co-presence, acquired from the first steps of learning.
Very typified responses will then be obtained in closed societies, and more variable responses in
societies in whose background data from other cultural ambits went on being incorporated.
The inter-crossing of cultures, in the measure it develops itself, will impose new elements to the
background of any society. In such a way that this one will begin to respond conductually away from the
immediate "landscape" in which it happened to develop initially.
Of course that not only the closed societies will see themselves affected by this new phenomenon of
cultural inter-penetration; also the ideologies and the religions- as shapers and preservers of social
backgrounds- will receive the impact.
And, for certain that, same as stronger societies will invade the psycho-social space of those weaker,
these will end up provoking modifications in the inverse sense, provided that they are not totally sterilized
before being invaded.
To what extent a society can be closed?; or, to what extent an ideology or a religion today can impede the
inter-penetration of co-presences? : it is a subject of discussion. But, in all cases, the sole fact of the
utilization of technology- even though it were utilized with limiting interests- will lead to the final interpenetration.

1 Teaching on the doctrine given by Silo. Ceremony of magistracy and provisional first magistracy.
Note: This is a textual transcription and translation from the magnetophonic tape recorded in the opportunity of this
teaching. Done in Bombay (India), in August of 1982.

This will be so because even the technological objects are a product of social conducts that respond to
the world from a system of representation. And all of this without taking into account that such technology
opens the consciousnesses to the planetary communication.
Even discarding the each time faster communications, the telecommunications and the contact between
people of different regions, (which is, on the other hand, impossible); a pretended closed society will begin to
modify its system of co-presences through the work with the new technological elements.
It will be necessary neither the language nor the art, nor the sport. It will suffice the sole technological
object in order to carry - ciphered within itself- the background of the other culture that is wanted to be
denied.
The background goes on getting integrated through the action that is effected in a "landscape" and
through the education that is received from the environment. But it can get modified upon the appearance of
objects elaborated in alien "landscapes": above all, if the work with them in one's own "landscape" starts.
On the other hand, according to how events advance today, it cannot be already designated with property
that which one's own "landscape" is.
This is what empirically happens at a psycho-social level. But our concern is referred to the modification
of the psycho-social background in those negative aspects that go on incorporating and accumulating
themselves in all the cultures through this accelerated process of present inter-communication.
We know how the formation and modification of backgrounds empirically operates. We also know how to
modify particular conducts, working upon particular representations. But our difficulty lays on the modification
of the system of representation, in the variation of the background wherein the options of particular
representations arise.
Because of this, the demanded question is this one: can a factor be introduced in an individual, in a
society and in the world, a factor that make the background of representation vary?
And this question should be accompanied by the following conditions: First: that this factor should not be
introduced through simple empirical process, through simple historical mechanics; but rather through
meditated action and with the finality of displacing the contents that constitute a menace for the development
of life.
Second: that this factor could be introduced surpassing the resistances offered by the backgrounds that
are wanted to be modified.
We will try to reply positively to this question without discarding the two conditions mentioned.
Well. When we work in the modification of a particular representation- for example, in the case of the
transferencial techniques- we do it by proposing new images that should displace the conflictive one. Also, in
more complex cases, we do it by transporting indefinite climates to new images.
In both cases we propose representations that move themselves in a more or less definite process.
Many daily activities, many artistic productions, some ideologies- provided they are converted into action-,
some aspects of religions and many of the nocturnal dreams proceed empirically to modify particular
representations, or to make the background vary in a greater or lesser measure.
But in all the cases the phenomena are produced through the action of new representations.
When we propose ourselves to modify particularly negative representations, in the case of persons whom
we want to liberate from conflicts so that they collaborate more efficiently with our task, we make use of the
techniques we know, which also include proposals of new images in a process that is carried forward
technically.
But our enthusiasm decays if we intend to modify not one aspect, but to make his background vary in a
substantial way.
And it decays because it demands on the part of the subject a very big preparation in order to
comprehend the magnitude of the change that is expected from him.
Widening the fields we would see ourselves much more discouraged if we had to provoke transferences
to all the population so as to finally obtain from it partial modifications.
At last, we would not even try to modify backgrounds of all the population.
So it is that our discouragement increases in the measure that we want to advance towards the large
groups in a transferencial process that could be recognized vigilically and that, for a greater difficulty, it
should not transform particular aspects of representation and conduct, but make the background of this
group vary.
On the other hand, our possibilities of success are greater in individual or groupal transferences- as in the
case of the "guided experiences"- then in proposals to human groupings, in which we do not present a
transferencial "landscape".
Even in our individual or groupal proposals, the images we present are placed in the way of psychological
fiction: since it occurs nobody to say that the "guided experiences", for example, are real!
In this way, the work has an indubitable vigilic direction. But, we dispose it from the motor of conviction.
And in the case of proposals to larger groups there are not even images, but allusion to internal states.
Let us make some grotesque comparisons. It is not the same to promise a celestial "landscape" - that
leads to an state of peace and bliss- ; or a happy society- that can be imagined also with its implications of

peace, abundance, etc-: than to present a state such as happiness or peace without an object that motivates
them.
Because, when a system promises comfort, for example, such an image brings the happy register. But,
when it is spoken of happiness as an state, without proposing images, things are made difficult;;; mainly if
that happiness has to be achieved through psychological techniques, which discards by itself the motor of
conviction.
Let us remember that the naive opinion is that the psychological things are not real, we are, instead, the
objects that are promised... even though they would never be reached.
Without proposal of image there is not only difficulty for a transferencial process, but not either the
conduct is given a direction towards the world.
As a counterpart of the difficulties enunciated, we have counted on the advantage that, in not proposing
"landscapes", it was enabled that the acts launched were completed by individuals of different cultures with
the projection of their own backgrounds.
On the other hand, it has been wisely calculated that the "landscape" proposed by religions as well as the
systems and the ideologies, were going to get altered in a short term because of the invasion of inter-cultural
factors. And there has been no failure in this, because these "landscapes" languish day by day.
Nevertheless, there subsists for us the problem of the modification of the backgrounds and the orientation
of the new individual and social conducts... if it is that we do not place proposals of representation. It is
because of all the previous that we should proceed- and with a certain urgency- to launch to the psychosocial scenery a plot with precise images that count on the motor of conviction, that enable transferencial
elements to be introduced, and that elude the resistances of the cultural backgrounds.
Nevertheless, the implementation of such process should begin cautiously, taking its own dynamics,
starting from a single individual who, located in some decisive space, would commence his action.
This caution would allow us to go on effecting the corrections as the case may be, without any
compromise for our structures, and without altering our plans of activity.
But if the action in question would accelerate up to a speed greater in its results than those we are getting
at present, then yes, we should tip all our force over that direction.
Nothing else.