VOLUME 9 |ISSUE 3 |2018 279
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Acknowledgments
I wish to acknowledge Patrick Knapp’s help in both
inspiring the thoughts in this article and helping
me with their development. After reading his
paper Nothing Need Go to Waste, in which he claims
that his dysfunctional family of origin played a role
in his enrollment in a cult for more than thirteen
years, I shared my ideas with him, and he shared
his with me.
About the Author
Jose Fernández Aguado is a
psychologist at PEHUÉN Psicologia
y Formación, in Barcelona
(pehuenpsicologia.com). He has
been a couples and family therapist
for nearly twenty years. You can
reach him by email at jfernandez@
pehuenpsicologia.com n
o “I will [paradoxically] communicate that you
should reject me because I am unworthy, volatile,
and untrustworthy.”
Integration: The Alternative to Dysfunction
One way to describe the opposite of dysfunction is integration.
Integration is a healthy relationship between different parts of the
self, different members within the family or group, or different
people belonging to different families or groups. Integration implies
differentiation but not disconnection between the related elements.
Instead, there are contact and harmony between the elements,
which retain their individuality but strengthen the whole.
It is not the purpose of this paper to suggest how people in
dysfunctional families or cults may learn to relate to people in a
healthy way however, a suggestion can be made through the image
of a knotted rope, as in Figure 3.
Figure 3. Image of knotted rope.
The colored strands visible on either end of this rope are held
together by the knot. Each strand retains its full color but is only in
proximity to the others no single strand can rely on the strength
of its neighbor. They are not integrated. The strands between the
knots, in contrast, are woven together in such a way that their colors
are all still visible, but they combine to form a whole stronger than
the individual strands.
Something similar happens in healthy families and groups, in which
individuals are the threads working in harmony with the family or
group, which respects the individual’s color, while the individuals
gain from their integration into the whole.
Integration means differentiation without disconnection—what
happens in healthy relationships. On the contrary, dysfunctional
relationships are characterized by the basic polarity of those in
the relationship being either undifferentiated (enmeshed) or
disconnected. It is as if the members had only two modes for
relating to others they have no other options in their repertoire. n

A recent book by Bob Roth, Strength in Stillness: The Power of
Transcendental Meditation,1 reflects, in my opinion, the deception
that makes Transcendental Meditation controversial. Indeed,
approximately 40 percent of this book’s reviews on Amazon.com are
negative because, it seems to me, many purchasers falsely believed
from the title that they would learn TM from the book. Instead, they
received what might be construed as a lengthy marketing brochure.
This essay is not a formal review of Roth’s book. The essay does,
however, discuss sections of this book to demonstrate some
important deceptive TM teachings and practices.
The book, like the TM movement, seems to avoid confronting
the implications of two important aspects of TM. The first is that
learning TM involves the student’s participation in a Hindu religious
ceremony and that TM mantras are the names of Hindu gods. The
second is that the majority of the hundreds of research studies
so fervently hyped by the TM organization are often biased and
preliminary, with little, if any, compelling evidence that TM is
superior to alternate meditation techniques.2alternateto
8 ICSA TODAY
A recent book by Bob Roth, Strength in Stillness: The
Power of Transcendental Meditation,1 reflects, in my
opinion, the deception that makes Transcendental
Meditation controversial. Indeed, approximately 40
percent of this book’s reviews on Amazon.com are
negative because, it seems to me, many purchasers
falsely believed from the title that they would
learn TM from the book. Instead, they received
what might be construed as a lengthy marketing
brochure.
This essay is not a formal review of Roth’s book. The
essay does, however, discuss sections of this book
to demonstrate some important deceptive TM
teachings and practices.practices.and
The book, like the TM movement, seems to avoid
the implications of two
aspects of TM. The first is learning TM involves
the in a Hindu
ceremony and are the
of gods. The that the
of hundreds of research so
TM are biased and
with little, if any, compelling evidence
that TM is superior to alternate meditation
techniques.2
Deception in
Transcendental
By Aryeh Siegel
A recent book by Bob Roth, Strength in Stillness: The Power of
Transcendental Meditation,1 in my opinion, the deception
that makes Transcendental Meditation
controversial. Meditation
Indeed,
approximately 40 percent of this book’s reviews on Amazon.com are
negative because, it seems me, many purchasers falsely believed
from the title TM from the they
received be construed as a lengthy brochure.
This is not a formal review book. The essay does,
however, discuss of to demonstrate
important deceptive TM teachings
The book, like the TM movement, seems to avoid confronting
implications of of first is that
learning TM the participation in a
and are the names The
second is the hundreds of
so fervently hyped by the organization often biased and
preliminary, evidence that TM is
superior to alternate meditation 2
8 ICSA TODAY
1 in
40
percent of this book’s reviews on Amazon.com are
negative because, it seems to me, many purchasers
falsely believed from the title that they would
learn TM from the book. Instead, they received
what might be construed as a lengthy marketing
brochure.
This essay is not a formal review of Roth’s book. The
however, sections of this
to demonstrate some important
teachings and practices.
The like the seems to avoid
the of two
aspects of The first is TM involves
a religious
ceremony and the
of Hindu majority
hundreds
hyped by TM and
little, if any,
that TM is superior
techniques.2
Deception in
Transcendental
Meditation
By Aryeh Siegel