Dynamisms

Dabrowski’s Dynamisms: Subject-Object in Oneself

Dynamisms are the heart of the theory of positive disintegration. But what exactly did Dabrowski mean by that abstruse term, “subject-object in oneself?” Our editor explains this powerful process.

What Goes Into Free Thought? An Interview with Dr. Marta Lenartowicz of the School of Thinking

Think you know how to think? The brand new School of Thinking at Vrije Universiteit Brussel is designed to teach students precisely this. Dr. Marta Lenartowicz sat down with Third Factor Magazine to tell us just what the School does—and offers you a few ideas to of areas to focus your own thinking, even if you can’t make it to Belgium for class.

Creativity as a Collective Activity

For fellowship to be right, there must be organization within diversity; clarity in purpose within the strength of diversity. Then does fellowship lead to order. —I Ching After eight years living abroad in Canada, I returned to my native Poland to establish a high school in Warsaw—a process of creation that ultimately led its […]

Transformative Life Experiences Through the Decision-Making Process

Emotion fuels our decisions; our decisions, in turn, mark the points in our lives that put us on the higher path. So argues Krystyna Laycraft as she reflects on her own inner psychic transformation while deciding to return to Poland after the fall of Communism.

Order Out of Chaos Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics of Positive Disintegration

Krystyna C. Laycraft brings her training in physics and psychology together to show how chaos theory and the theory of positive disintegration are essentially talking about the same process.

Political Iridescence: Courage and Complexity in a Tribal World

We’ve divided the political world into a red team and a blue team. Where does a person belong when she sees not only shimmers of red in the blue and the blue in the red, but oranges, yellows, greens, and purples besides? One thing’s for sure: it will take courage for such a person to find—or keep—a political home.

Learning to Pilot Your Spaceship Autopsychotherapy in the Overexcitable Life

If you want to make it as a metaphorical overexcitable astronaut, you’ve got to learn to read your instrument panel. That’s what autopsychotherapy is for.

An Introduction to Dabrowski’s Levels and Dynamisms

Dabrowski’s hierarchy of levels is one of the most well-known aspects of his theory of positive disintegration. But what’s really going on in those levels? And what are those “dynamism” things, anyway? The editors of Third Factor Magazine explain the basics here.

Overexcitability: Where It Came From, Where It’s Going

To navigate the controversy that has erupted around overexcitability—is it related to giftedness? Is it misused as excuse, or a reason not to seek needed help?—it’s useful to step back and see what it means in the context of the theory that gave it its name.