Grof matrices. Read to expectant mothers

PERINATAL MATRIXES OF STANISLAV GROFA AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE LIFE OF EACH OF US

Biography (overview):

Stanislav Grof was born in 1931 in Prague (Czechoslovakia).

Graduated from Charles University in 1956

in 1965 (aged 34) he defended his doctoral thesis and became a doctor of philosophy in medicine at the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, at that time a practicing psychoanalyst.

From 1956 to 1967 S. Grof is a practicing psychiatrist-clinician, actively studying psychoanalysis.

From 1961, he led research in Czechoslovakia on the use of LSD and other psychedelic drugs for the treatment of mental disorders. The use of LSD in Czechoslovakia was banned and he left for the US, where LSD research had not yet been banned.

In 1967-1969, having received a scholarship from the Psychiatric Research Support Foundation (USA), he completed a two-year internship at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA.

As a research director, he continued to work at the Maryland Center for Psychiatric Research.

In 1973-1987 he worked at the Esalen Institute (California, USA). During this period, together with his wife Christina, he developed the technique of holotropic breathing, which became a unique method of psychotherapy, self-knowledge and personal growth.

In 1977 he became one of the founders of the International Transpersonal Association.

Currently, he is a professor in the Department of Psychology at the California Institute for Integral Studies, and also conducts training seminars for professionals.

In 2007, Stanislav Grof was awarded the title of Honorary Professor of Moscow State University.

Research (briefly):

Stanislav Grof conducted research on the effect of the LSD drug on human consciousness and developed the psychotherapeutic technique of holotropic breathing. He experimentally proved the possibility of transpersonal experiences for any person and developed an extended cartography of the psyche. Grof showed that emotional and psychosomatic diseases are characterized by a multilevel structure, biographical, perinatal and transpersonal dynamics. He developed a hypothesis according to which many conditions that are characterized by physicians as psychoses and are treated with medications are in fact crises of spiritual growth and psycho-spiritual transformation.

TRANSPERSONAL EXPERIENCES- a layer of deep experiences, located behind the biographical and perinatal levels of consciousness. This is modern term for a wide range of experienced states: spiritual, mystical, religious, magical, parapsychological and supernatural. In the ordinary, or "normal" state of consciousness, we perceive ourselves as solid material bodies, and our skin, being the surface of the body, is the boundary that separates us from the outside world. In transpersonal experiences, all these limitations seem to be overcome. In them we experience ourselves as a play of energy or as fields of consciousness, not limited by their physical carrier. Space and time also lose their boundaries. We can experience various historical and geographically distant events as if they were happening here and now. Moreover, transpersonal experiences often involve such entities and areas that are not considered part of objective reality - deities, demons and other mythological characters from different cultures; Heaven, purgatory and hells.

Grof began his medical career as a classical psychoanalyst who believed that psychedelic drugs used in psychiatry under controlled conditions could greatly speed up the process of psychoanalysis.

In the course of his work, Stanislav Grof encountered interesting fact- regardless of education, gender, mental status, personality problems and other criteria, the experiences of all participants in the process of therapy have much in common. Clients resurrected the period of intrauterine development, the process of birth, and also talked about impressions that they did not have and could not have in reality. Patients turned out to be participants in events from other historical eras, felt identity with animals and plants, contemplated fantastic images of micro- and macrocosms. Particularly exciting were the feelings of unity with the Universe, dissolution in Being, disappearance subject-object relations ego experiences. This was accompanied by a feeling of going “to another level of consciousness”, an experience of the super-significance of the revealed truths.

Soon, the unprecedented richness and range of experiences during LSD psychotherapy sessions convinced him of the theoretical limitations of the Freudian model of the mind and the underlying mechanistic worldview.

These observations led Grof to believe that the “map of inner space” includes, in addition to consciousness and the traditionally understood unconscious, two additional important areas: the perinatal level of the psyche, which relates to our birth experiences, and the transpersonal level, which goes far beyond the usual limitations. our body and ego.

The result of these studies new cartography of the psyche consists of three areas:

The experimental data allow us to construct the following sequence of living in a holotropic session:

1. Sensory-aesthetic level .

It usually occurs in the first sessions, is characterized by numbness in the limbs, muscle blocks, dizziness, various visual images.

2. The level of the individual unconscious (memories from his biographical past).

This stage corresponds to Freud's concept of the unconscious and represents a return to various moments, events and stages of one's past, both repressed and accessible to consciousness..

Memories from the biography do not appear separately, but form dynamic combinations - systems of condensed experience, abbreviated COEX. COEX is a dynamic combination of memories with accompanying fantasies from different periods human life united by a strong emotional charge of the same quality.

Psychological and bodily traumas experienced by a person during life can be forgotten on a conscious level, but are stored in the unconscious sphere of the psyche and affect the development of emotional and psychosomatic disorders - depression, anxiety, phobias, sexual disorders, migraine, asthma, etc.

Any of the systems of condensed experience (COEX), according to Grof, has a theme characteristic of it.

For example, a single COEX constellation may contain all the main memories of events associated with insults, humiliation and shame.

The common denominator of yet another COEX system may be the horror of experiences of claustrophobia, suffocation, and feelings associated with oppressive and limiting circumstances.

Rejection and emotional deprivation leading to distrust of others, is another very common COEX motif.

Systems of condensed experience are considered especially important, including the perinatal area, as well as those cases when our physical health or life was in danger.

SKO is not just a repository and rubricator of memories.

It is something like a scheme of response, experience, processing of impressions. When an impression arrives, it fits into one of the COEX systems, activates it, triggers the reactions accumulated in it. COEX systems affect every area of ​​our emotional life - perception of ourselves, others and the world around us.

These are the driving forces behind emotional and psychosomatic symptoms and set the stage for our difficulties in dealing with ourselves and others.

3. perinatal level .

Reflects the client's experience of a successive embryonic period followed by birth. At this stage, the client regresses both at the level of bodily reactions (body movements, reflexes) and the affective component.

The clinical aspect lies in the fact that a person in the process of a breathing session re-lives the perinatal period and his birth, while experiencing the same "feelings" that he experienced while in the mother's womb and passing through the birth canal. In my practice, clients often relive their birth. Rarely, but there are situations when a person relives the mother's attempts to have an abortion. In these cases, the support of a psychologist is especially important.

4. transpersonal level (transpersonal ).

Experiences of the transpersonal level refer to the experience of altered states of consciousness, such as visions, ecstasies, hallucinations, identification of a person with other people, animals, plants, God, and so on, are diverse and have religious experiences as their source.

S. Grof argues that the experience gained during hallucinations from LSD or holotropic breathing is real and the person will really receive information about the real world. For example, a person who identifies himself during hallucinations with historical figure, describes the biographical details of this person, even if he did not know anything about him before. S.Grof also claims that if a person identifies himself with the Absolute or God, he receives objective and real information about the existence of a higher being.

Grof began his medical career as a classical psychoanalyst who believed that psychedelic drugs used in psychiatry under controlled conditions could greatly speed up the process of psychoanalysis. However, the unprecedented richness and range of experiences during LSD psychotherapy sessions soon convinced him of the theoretical limitations of the Freudian model of the mind and the underlying mechanistic worldview. The emerging cartography of the mind as a result of these studies consists of three areas:

1) the (Freudian) personal and biographical unconscious (the unconscious "IT" or "Id");

2) the transpersonal unconscious (which also includes Jung's narrower ideas of the archetypal or collective unconscious);

3) the perinatal unconscious, which is a bridge between the personal and transpersonal unconscious and filled with symbolism and concrete experiences of death and rebirth.

This area of ​​the unconscious carries the greatest transformative potential. In their recent works Grof constantly emphasizes that the perinatal is not limited to intrauterine life and the process of childbirth, but forms a more all-encompassing structure of psycho-spiritual transformation, valid for all stages of the development of consciousness.

huge clinical experience Grof himself and his students, as well as the recorded experience of world spiritual traditions, indicates that regression to the perinatal level is often necessary condition to access the transpersonal.

perinatal level- level related to the experience of birth and death.

In the concept of prenatal (prenatal) human existence he created, four main periods are distinguished, which are stored in the human subconscious.

Grof calls them basic prenatal matrices (BPMs) and describes in detail what happens on each of these matrices, what the child experiences, what are the characteristics of living each of these matrices, and how BPMs can influence human behavior in later life.

Each matrix forms a unique strategy of attitude towards the world, others, and oneself.

4 basic perinatal matrices:

1. contractions (matrix 1);

2. passage through the birth canal (matrix 2);

3. actual childbirth (matrix 3);

4. primary contact with the mother (matrix 4).

PERINATAL MATRIX

Primal unity with mother

(intrauterine experience before birth)

This matrix refers to the original state of intrauterine existence during which the child and mother form a symbiotic union. If there is no harmful effect, the conditions for the child are optimal, considering safety, protection, a suitable environment and the satisfaction of all needs.

PERINATAL MATRIX I:

"Matrix of Naivety"

When its formation begins is not very clear. More likely, it requires the presence of a formed cerebral cortex in the fetus - i.e. 22-24 weeks of pregnancy. Some authors suggest cellular memory, wave memory, and the like. In this case, the matrix of naivety begins to form immediately after conception and even before it. This matrix forms the life potential of a person, his potential, the ability to adapt. Desired children, children of the desired sex, have a higher basic psychic potential during a healthy pregnancy, and this observation was made by mankind a long time ago.

9 months in the womb, from the moment of conception to the moment of the start of labor - PARADISE.

Even the very moment of conception is imprinted in our psyche. Ideally, the child lives in conditions that correspond to our idea of ​​​​Paradise: complete security, the same temperature, constant satiety, lightness (floats, as in weightlessness).

Normal first BPM- we love and know how to relax, rest, rejoice, accept love, it stimulates us to develop.

Injured first BPMcan subconsciously form the following behavior programs: in case of unwanted pregnancy, the program "I'm always at the wrong time" is formed. If parents thought about abortion - fear of death, the program "Only I relax - they will kill me." With toxicosis (preeclampsia) - "I'm sick of your joy", or - "how can one develop when children die of hunger." If mom was sick - "if I relax, then I'll get sick" Who finds it difficult to bear the second part of the process in rebirthing - to relax, then, most likely, there were problems in the first matrix.

So, the first matrix that Grof is talking about is a long period from conception to the preparation of the mother's body for childbirth. This is the golden age. If the course of pregnancy is not complicated by psychological, physical or other problems, if the mother desires and loves this child, he is very happy and comfortable in her womb. He is imbued with his mother in the literal and figurative sense - not only depending on her physically, but also spiritually - her love. This period ends (one would like to say that all good things come to an end!) with the appearance of warning chemical signals in the body, and then with mechanical contractions of the uterus. The primary and habitual balance and harmony of existence are violated, the child experiences psychological discomfort for the first time.

PERINATAL MATRIX II

Antagonism with mother(contractions in a closed uterus)

The second perinatal matrix refers to the first clinical stage of labor. Intrauterine existence, close to the ideal under normal conditions, is coming to an end. The world of the fetus is disturbed, at first insidiously - through chemical influences, later rudely. mechanically- occasional contractions. This creates a situation of complete uncertainty and threat to life with various signs of bodily discomfort. At this stage, uterine contractions affect the fetus, but the cervix is ​​​​still closed, and there is no way out. Mother and child become a source of pain for each other and enter into a biological conflict.

Second Perinatal Matrix: "The Victim Matrix"

It is formed from the moment of the onset of labor until the moment of complete or almost complete disclosure of the cervix. Approximately corresponds to 1 stage of childbirth. The child experiences the forces of contraction pressure, some hypoxia, and the "exit" from the uterus is closed. In this case, the child partially regulates his own birth by releasing his own hormones into the mother's bloodstream through the placenta. If the load on the child is too high, there is a danger of hypoxia, then he can somewhat slow down his birth in order to have time to compensate. From this point of view, labor stimulation disrupts the natural process of interaction between mother and fetus and forms a pathological matrix of the victim. On the other hand, the fear of the mother, the fear of childbirth provokes the mother to release stress hormones, placental vasospasm occurs, fetal hypoxia and then the victim matrix is ​​also formed pathological.

With a planned caesarean section, this matrix cannot be formed; with an emergency one, it is formed.

From the beginning of the fights to the beginning of the attempts - EXILE FROM PARADISE or

SACRIFICE ARCHETYPE

The second BPM begins from the moment the contractions begin to the full opening of the cervix and the beginning of attempts. At this moment, the uterine contraction force is about 50 kilograms, imagine that the body of a 3 kilogram child can withstand such pressure.

Grof called this matrix "Victim" because the state of the victim is when it's bad, you are under pressure and there is no way out.

At the same time, a feeling of guilt arises (expulsion from Paradise), guilt is taken over: "I was bad and they expelled me."Perhaps the development of a trauma of love (loved, and then hurt and pushed out). In this matrix, passive strength is developed (“you can’t take me with your bare hands, I am strong”), patience, perseverance, and the ability to survive. A person knows how to wait, endure, endure the inconveniences of life.

The negatives of this matrix are divided into two groups:

Ø when it is not available (caesarean: planned and emergency) and

Ø when it is excessive.

With insufficient first matrixa person does not have enough patience, it is difficult for him, for example, to sit through a lesson or lecture, to transfer unpleasant situation In my life. The influence of anesthesia leads to "freezing" in life situations that require patience. With an emergency cesarean (when the contractions were, and then they stopped), it is difficult for a person to bring the matter to an end. With rapid childbirth, a person tries to solve problems very quickly, "with a tip", and if something does not work out, refuse.

With an excess of the second matrix (long labor)- a person has a strong role of the Victim in his life, he attracts situations when he is "pressed", crushed, either by the authorities or in the family, he suffers, but at the same time he subconsciously feels comfortable in this role. During rhodostimulation, a program is recorded "until they push me, I will not do anything."

After a period that is meant to be a time of bliss, tranquility, silence, peace, "swinging in the ocean of the mother's womb", the time of testing comes. The fetus is periodically compressed by uterine spasms, but the system is still closed - the cervix is ​​not open, the exit is not available. The womb, which has been guarding and safe for so long, becomes threatening. Since the arteries that supply the placenta pierce the muscles of the uterus in a complex way, each contraction of the placenta limits the flow of blood, and therefore oxygen, nutrition for the baby. He begins to experience an overwhelming sense of increasing anxiety and a sense of impending danger to life.

Grof believes that at this stage, the born baby experiences a state of horror and hopelessness.

It is amazing that each person experiences this stage in their own way.

Ø Someone "makes a decision" to look for a way out and subordinates his entire state to this search.

Ø Someone shrinks from horror and makes every effort to restore the former peace.

Ø Someone falls into a state of inactivity, experiencing a kind of paralysis.

Some psychologists draw parallels between this matrix of intrauterine development and how adulthood a person begins to respond to changed situations. How adult a person experiences a state of increasing anxiety, how he solves the problems of impending danger - the roots of his behavior, perhaps - in the decision that he "made" in the mother's womb.

PERINATAL MATRIX III

Synergism with the mother (pushing through the birth canal)

This matrix is ​​associated with the second clinical stage of labor. Contractions continue, but the cervix is ​​already wide open, and the difficult and difficult process of pushing the fetus through the birth canal gradually begins. For a child, this means a serious struggle for survival with crushing mechanical pressure and often with suffocation. But the system is no longer closed, and there is a prospect of ending the unbearable situation. The efforts and interests of the child and the mother coincide. Their joint intense desire is to end this basically painful condition.

The Third Perinatal Matrix: "The Matrix of Struggle"

Approximately corresponds to the 2nd period of childbirth. Formed from the end of the period of disclosure until the birth of the child. It characterizes the activity of a person at the moments of life, when something depends on his active or expectant position. If the mother behaved correctly in the difficult period, helped the child, if he felt that during the struggle he was not alone, then in later life his behavior would be adequate to the situation. With caesarean section, both elective and emergency, the matrix does not appear to form, although this is debatable. Most likely, it corresponds to the moment the child is removed from the uterus during the operation.

Attempts and childbirth - LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL - MATRIX OF FIGHT or

JOURNEY OF THE HERO

The third BPM covers the period of attempts, when the child moves from the uterus through the birth canal. Normally it lasts 20-40 minutes.

In this matrix, active strength is developed (“I will fight and cope”), purposefulness, courage, courage

The negatives of this matrix can also be both its excess and its deficiency.

So with a caesarean section, a rapid birth, pushing out a child, people in the future do not know how to fight, when a situation of struggle arises, they must be pushed in the back. Children intuitively develop this matrix in fights and conflicts: he fights, he is beaten.

The excess of the third matrix is ​​manifested in the fact thatthat for these people their whole life is a struggle, they fight all the time, they always find against whom and with whom. If at the same time asphyxia developed (the child was born blue or white), a huge feeling of guilt arises and in life this is manifested by a game with death, fatal dangerous struggle(revolutionaries, rescuers, divers, extreme sports...). With the clinical death of a child in the third BPM, a program of hidden suicide arises. If obstetric forceps were used, someone's help is needed in action, but on the other hand, he is afraid of this help, because it is painful. With breaks, there is a fear of one's strength, a feeling of guilt, a program "as soon as I use my strength, it will cause harm, pain."

During childbirth in the breech presentation in life, people tend to do everything in an unusual way.

The third stage is associated with the opening of the cervix. There is an exit option. Highly important point in psychological terms - first a person makes a decision - to look for a way out or not, and only then does the possibility of a way out appear! At this time, the child is doomed to begin the "struggle for survival." Regardless of whether he "made" the decision to go out or by all means try to preserve the situation, uterine contractions push him out. He begins to gradually move along the birth canal. His body is subjected to crushing mechanical pressure, lack of oxygen and suffocation.

Grof notes that these circumstances make him related to mythological characters passing through complex labyrinths, or with fairy tale characters, pushing through impenetrable thickets. If the psyche has the courage to overcome obstacles, if the inner determination to overcome has already matured, then the passage through the birth canal will be the first experience of a purposeful path for the child. There is only one way - you have to be born. But how a person overcomes this path, whether they help him in passing the path or not - from these circumstances, according to the author of the theory, much depends in his later life.

According to Grof, it is during this period that the foundations of most behavioral, psychological and, as a result, social problems are laid..

The first serious life test, which a person has not been able to overcome on his own, since he "came to the rescue", lays the installation and in the future to expect help from the outside. When a child is born from a family womb, it psychologically buds off from its parents, taking on the burden of self-establishment. social relations, he "remembers" the experience of his own birth.

PERINATAL MATRIX IV

Separation from mother (termination of symbiotic union with mother and formation of a new type of relationship)

This matrix refers to the third clinical stage of labor. Painful experiences reach their climax, pushing through the birth canal comes to an end, and now extreme tension and suffering are replaced by unexpected relief and relaxation. The period of breath holding and, as a rule, insufficient oxygen supply ends. The child takes his first deep breath and Airways are revealed. The umbilical cord is cut, and the blood that previously circulated through the vessels of the umbilical cord is sent to the pulmonary region. The physical separation from the mother is completed and the child begins to exist as an anatomically independent being. Once the physiological balance is re-established, the new situation is incomparably better than the previous two, but in some very important respects it is worse than the original undisturbed primal unity with the mother. The biological needs of the child are not met on an ongoing basis, and there is no permanent protection from temperature fluctuations, annoying noises, changes in light intensity, from unpleasant tactile sensations.

Fourth Perinatal Matrix: "Matrix of Freedom"

It starts from the moment of birth and its formation ends in either the period of the first 7 days after birth, or in the first month, or it is created and reviewed throughout a person's life. Those. a person throughout his life reconsiders his attitude to freedom and his own capabilities, taking into account the circumstances of his birth. Different researchers estimate the duration of the formation of the 4th matrix in different ways. If for some reason a child is separated from his mother after birth, then in adulthood he may regard freedom and independence as a burden and dream of returning to the matrix of innocence.

From the moment of birth to 3-9 days - FREEDOM + LOVE

This matrix covers the period from the moment the baby is born to 5-7 days after birth. After hard work and experiences of childbirth, the child receives freedom, he is loved and accepted. Ideally, a mother should take the child in her arms, give her breast, the child needs to feel care, love, security and freedom, relief. Unfortunately, in our maternity hospitals, only in recent years have they begun to think about and implement the principles of the non-traumatic fourth matrix. Most of us, unfortunately, subconsciously associate freedom with cold, pain, hunger, loneliness. I strongly recommend that everyone read Leboyer's book "Birth Without Violence", which very vividly describes the experiences of a child in childbirth.

In connection with the birth experience, we also determine the experience of love in our life.

You can love according to the first BPM and the fourth.

Love for the first BPMresembles the placement of a loved one in an artificial womb: "I am everything for you, why do you need others - you have me, let's do everything together ..." However, such love always ends, and after a conditional 9 months a person is ready to die, but to break out on freedom.

Love at the fourth BPM is a combination of love and freedom, unconditional love, when you love no matter what the other person does and give him the freedom to do whatever he wants. Unfortunately, this is extremely difficult for many of us.

There are also other situations related to childbirth, for example, if the child was expected as a boy or a girl, and he was born of a different sex, there is a trauma of gender identity ("will I justify the hopes of my parents"). Often these people try to be the other sex. If a premature baby is placed in an incubator, then a barrier between oneself and the world subconsciously arises. In the case of twins, a person needs a feeling that someone is nearby, during childbirth, the second has a trauma of abandonment, that he was betrayed, left him, and the first has guilt that he abandoned, left.

If the mother had abortions before this child, they are recorded in the psyche of this child. You can experience the fear of violent death and feelings of guilt, the fear of giving yourself freedom (suddenly they will kill you again). Pain relief in childbirth can leave the program that my pain is not felt or intoxicated.

The fourth period - the actual birth.

Grof believes that this is the completion of the feat. A sharp change in all previous conditions of existence - the transition from water to air type existence, change temperature regime, the action of the strongest stimulus - light, the action of atmospheric pressure - all these conditions in combination cause the strongest stress of the whole organism of the newborn. According to most psychologists, it is birth shock that allows the child's psyche to develop so intensively in the first three years of life. There is an opinion that a person is never so close to death as at the moment of birth. And at the same time, it is after this test that the impossible in other periods of life becomes possible. Three years after his birth, any child carries out such an intellectual program that even Nobel laureate. And the feat of birth is one of the main reasons such achievements.

Rapid childbirth, caesarean section, premature birth - this is the strongest stress for the child, which later, according to Grof, will negatively affect his psyche and physiology.

But complete breastfeeding up to a year good care and love can compensate for negative prenatal matrices. And loving mother knows and feels it without any theories.

Probably each stage of biological birth has a specific additional spiritual component. For a serene intrauterine existence, this is the experience of cosmic unity; the onset of labor is parallel to the experience of a sense of all-encompassing absorption; the first clinical stage of labor, contraction in the closed uterine system, corresponds to the experience of "no way out" or hell; pushing through the birth canal in the second clinical stage of labor has its spiritual counterpart in the struggle between death and rebirth; the metaphysical equivalent of the completion of the birth process and the events of the third clinical stage of childbirth is the experience of ego death and rebirth.

The first matrix has a special meaning.

The process of its formation is due to the most complex processes of fetal development, its nervous system, sense organs, various motor reactions. It is the first matrix that makes the body of the fetus and the newborn child capable of forming complex mental acts, for example, in the normal position of the fetus, it reflects the biological unity of the fetus and mother.

At ideal conditions this is how it is, and the formed matrix is ​​manifested by the absence of the boundaries of consciousness, "oceanic consciousness", connected "with nature - mother", giving food, security, "bliss". Under the influence of unfavorable factors during the first months and years of life, symptoms may appear, the content of which will be an unconscious danger, "inhospitability of nature", perverted perceptions with a paranoid tinge. It is assumed that if such a person develops a mental disorder already in adulthood, the main symptoms will be paranoid disorders, hypochondria. With various complications during pregnancy (fetal hypoxia, emotional breakdowns in the mother during pregnancy, the threat of abortion, etc.), memories of a "bad womb", paranoid thinking , unpleasant bodily sensations (trembling and spasms, hangover syndrome, disgust, feeling of depression, hallucinations in the form of a meeting with demonic forces, etc.).

Second matrix formed over a relatively short period time (4-5 hours) with increased contractions. The fetus, for the first time after a period of "bliss" and security, begins to experience a strong external pressure, aggression. Activation of this matrix under the influence of unfavorable factors during the subsequent life of a person can lead to the detection in the patient's nervous system, i.e. in the memory of situations that threaten the survival or integrity of the human body. There are also possible experiences of being in a closed space, apocalyptic visions of the world, ominously painted in dark colors, a feeling of suffering being driven into a trap, hopeless situation, which does not see the end, guilt and inferiority, the meaninglessness and absurdity of human existence, unpleasant bodily manifestations (feeling of oppression and pressure, heart failure, fever and chills, sweating, shortness of breath).

Of course, all provisions about matrices are largely a hypothesis, but the hypothesis received some confirmation in the study of patients who underwent caesarean section. The latter leads to the fact that a child born by caesarean section does not pass the 3rd and 4th matrices. This means that these matrices cannot manifest themselves in the next life.

S. Grof, who specifically dealt with this issue, concludes that "having reached the level of birth under hypnosis, those who were born by caesarean section report a feeling of wrongness, as if they were comparing the way they went into this world with some kind of phylogenetic or archetypal matrix showing what the process of birth should be like. It's amazing how they obviously lack the experience of a normal birth - the challenge and stimulus contained in it, the encounter with an obstacle, the triumphant exit from a compressive space. "

Recognition of the role of perinatal matrices makes it possible to come to the fundamentally important conclusion that the fetus lives its own mental life in the womb. Of course, the latter is limited by the unconscious mental, but, nevertheless, the fetus can register its own mental processes occurring during childbirth. Knowledge of the pattern of activation of matrices makes it possible to predict the symptoms of the development of the clinical picture under specific conditions of exposure to harmful factors.

Ecology of life. Children: Now psychologists around the world are concerned about the problem of "fathers and children." Both parents and children, they do not understand each other ...

Now psychologists around the world are concerned about the problem "fathers and children". Both parents and children do not understand each other. But this is not the case in all families.

Our future depends on our upbringing. But you also need to understand that a child is not an animal that needs to be trained. A child is a person just like you.

So what affects the character and mental health of the child? First of all, it is the attitude towards your child. Either you scold him for every little thing, without even explaining why it’s impossible to do this, or you accept the child as he is and try to peacefully explain to your child what, why and how.

The formation of our psyche is divided into several stages:

• the period of intrauterine development of the fetus,
• infancy period,
• a crisis three years,
• seven year crisis
• transitional age.

Psychologist and researcher Stanislav Grof describes 4 perinatal matrices during which our mental health is formed:

First matrix - the stay of the fetus in the uterus until the onset of labor.

When desired child when the mother does not experience mental and biological stress, a person already at this ontogenetic period receives the experience of a blissful happy state.

And if unwanted child, the mother is in a state of stress, is ill, conflicts with her husband or parents, wants to have an abortion, etc., then such a person, if he can be born, does not have the experience of a calm happy existence. The world does not accept him initially, in utero, and in response he does not accept the world, does not trust this world.

The second matrix is ​​the period of the stage of childbirth, when contractions begin. This is the period of the first difficulties in life for each of us. This is the beginning of the first life crisis, at the end of which the fetus, as a being living in aquatic environment, receiving nutrition and oxygen through the umbilical cord, not breathing with lungs - a person dies and is born.

This is a period in which the foundations of depression, inexplicable anxiety and longing, often accompanying deviant behavior, are laid. At the same time, the deviation can be explained by an unconscious desire to return to a more comfortable, oceanic state of the first matrix. But there can be no return. There is only one way - to be born. The return, one way or another, leads to death.

The third matrix begins with the beginning of the movement of the fetus through the birth canal. The most critical moment in the life of the fetus, as a result of which there is a biological separation from the mother. It is during this period that the foundations are laid in most behavioral, psychological and social problems. From the slightest nuances of the third matrix, the features of personal history depend in the future.

Stanislav Grof suggests that the drug epidemic originates in the third matrix. Namely, the practice of drug stimulation of this period of childbirth, anesthesia or suspension of their natural course. It turns out that already in this period of the first difficulties, a person gains experience chemical disposal from them. And this is a powerful imprint that leaves an imprint on the rest of your life.

At the stage of psychological disconnection from the parental family, the transition from the world of childhood to the world of adults, with the acceptance of the severity of responsibility for one's life, a single use of a drug is enough for deep imprinting mechanisms to work and addiction develops.

The fourth matrix is ​​the stage of cutting the umbilical cord. Here our attitude to the external world is no longer embryonic, but quite human. And a situation may arise when a person was born, but did not accept the fact of his birth.

One of the characteristics of adolescents with deviant behavior- this is a total distrust of adults, parents, oneself, and drug addiction in this case may appear to be an illusion of trust. The feeling of the hopelessness of this situation is akin to the feeling of the hopelessness of the second perinatal matrix, because a person cannot refuse his own childbirth.

Of great importance in child psychiatry, and, accordingly, in psychotherapy, is the residual organic inferiority of the child's central nervous system. It is usually caused by perinatal, natal, postnatal hazards (asphyxia, chronic intoxication, Rh conflicts, metabolic disorders, severe somatic or infectious diseases the first years of life) and a number of other factors that for some period reduce the functional and dynamic capabilities of the central nervous system. And also, to one degree or another, they delay the process of its physiological maturation, which in turn can lead to a delay in the development of the most complex and perfect physiological functions: speech, social skills, and the like, turning them into a place of greatest vulnerability. On this basis, specific childhood neurotic reactions, monosymptomatic neuroses: stuttering, enuresis, etc.

In the process of psychotherapeutic work, one constantly has to deal with the enormous compensatory possibilities of the child's and adolescent brain.

With age, the main manifestations of insufficiency of the central nervous system are smoothed out, motor skills are leveled, and functionality nervous system. This is confirmed by the electrophysiological study of age-related features of the brain. published

Previously, many psychologists believed that a child comes into this world (is born) as a blank sheet of paper. He does not yet have any memories, attitudes, beliefs, his own character. They even thought of the fact that the child does not feel anything during childbirth, and the cry at birth is a reflex to the opening of the lungs.

Maybe a blank sheet of paper, but, firstly, paper, and secondly, paper already has a density, color, format, structure, etc. Generally, something is already there.

The surname of Stanislav Grof is more often mentioned as the third in the list in terms of significance of influence on discoveries in the field of the unconscious after Z. Freud and K. Jung.

30 years of research has shown and proved that any person can remember his life before birth, your life in the womb. And Grof insists that biological birth is the first and main mental trauma for a person. Grof divided intrauterine experience and birth into 4 unequal segments, stages, matrices. Now it is customary to call these matrices as - Grof's Basic Perinatal Matrices (BPM).

Matrix- (literally) trace, cast, imprint.

Perinatal- from the Greek. peri - close, near and Latin natalis - birth, i.e. "pertaining to genus".

Basic base, foundation, basis.

Each of the perinatal matrices is vital for the normal existence of a person and is an important stage in the formation of his psyche. However, the traumatic experience of any of the matrices can distort a person's behavior.

First BPM. Matrix of Paradise, Bliss. The Naivety Matrix.

Her period is from conception to the start of contractions.

At this time, the child is in a state of bliss and comfort. He does not worry about food, heating or cleaning his habitat, security is also not his concern. And most importantly, my mom is there. And the mother (most often) loves her child. Even at the level of instincts, she protects him (in case of danger she will cover her stomach with her hand).

Such a blissful stay is "recorded" in the subconscious of a person with a feeling of the Primordial Paradise, harmony with the Universe. After all, mom is his universe. Thanks to this Matrix, we love and are able to relax, rest, rejoice, accept love. The same Matrix stimulates us to develop and serves as the foundation for faith in God, the Higher Cosmic Mind, and so on. A desired and well-bearing child in adulthood will be capable of great love and deep affection. An adult person accepts himself as he is, he has a high life potential.

If the peace of the child in the womb was disturbed by negative events in the mother’s life (by the way, Grof also lists the mother’s smoking, her drinking of alcohol or potent drugs as negative factors), then in the depths of his soul he will form an unconscious fear, a feeling of vulnerability and helplessness. With an unwanted pregnancy, a subconscious program is formed “I’m always at the wrong time”, “I’m not expected, no one needs me in this world.” If parents thought about abortion - fear of death, the program: "As soon as I relax, they will kill me." Unwanted children grow up with a sense of alienation, guilt. With all their appearance, they seem to ask for forgiveness for what they are. If the parents wanted a child of the opposite sex, this may be a prerequisite for the development of sexual problems in the future. It is not at all necessary that he will join the ranks of sexual minorities, but the child’s gender identification will be more difficult - the setting “I was not accepted as I really am” is already with him.

Second BPM. The Victim Matrix.

The period from the beginning of contractions to attempts.

Imagine this nightmarish situation for a child: all his “conscious” life is a state of harmony in the ocean of bliss, and now suddenly this heavenly Universe begins to squeeze from all sides, there is not enough space, oxygen, and there is nowhere to run, the exit is closed. Panic, feeling of hopelessness. At this moment, the uterine contraction force is about 50 kilograms - and imagine that the body of a 3-kilogram child can withstand such pressure!

In this case, the baby partially regulates its birth by releasing its own hormones into the mother's bloodstream through the placenta. If the load on the child is too high and there is a danger of hypoxia, then he may slow down his birth somewhat in order to compensate. From this point of view, labor stimulation disrupts the natural process of interaction between mother and fetus and forms a pathological matrix of the victim. On the other hand, the mother's fear (fear of childbirth) provokes the release of stress hormones by her body, spasm of the placental vessels occurs. With a planned caesarean section, this matrix is ​​not formed (with an emergency one, it is formed).

If the birth is normal - not too fast, without stimulation, caesarean section and anesthesia - the baby develops the ability to survive in difficult situations, perseverance in achieving the goal, independence, the will to win, self-confidence. It is very important that during this period the mother is calm.

If the child, as they say, "jumps out", this may come back to haunt the fact that in the future he will try to solve problems quickly. If something does not work right away, the “swift child” will refuse it. Those kids who, on the contrary, have been “getting out” for too long, may feel like a victim, they can often find themselves in situations where they are pressed. If the birth was stimulated, then such children may not be able to take the first step or choice. For "cesarean children", difficulties may arise with overcoming obstacles, and for children born under anesthesia, with the ability to solve problems. difficult questions: when you need to be active, they will "hibernate".

Grof called this Matrix the matrix of Victims (the state “I feel bad, they put pressure on me, but there is no way out”). It is accompanied by feelings of hopelessness, depression and fear. This phase is unpleasant, but necessary for the formation of such qualities as patience, the ability to complete the work begun and not to panic in a hopeless situation.

In the subconscious of everyone there are these experiences associated with the contraction of the uterus before the cervix opens. We've all been imprisoned in this shrinking dungeon. However, according to Grof, those who felt particularly bad in this dungeon had emotional problems associated with this phase. In adult life, they are expressed through frequent depression and claustrophobia (fear of a limited enclosed space, such as riding in an elevator).

Third BPM. Revolution Matrix. The Fight Matrix.

The period from the full opening of the cervix until the moment of "publication". The passage of the child through the birth canal.

But now the painful, but necessary fights are behind - "the path is open" - attempts begin. The cervix opens, the child adds its own movements to the contractions of the uterus, striving to literally"to the world". The experience of “light at the end of the tunnel” also belongs to the images of this matrix. It characterizes the activity of a person in those moments of life when a lot depends on his active (or expectant) position. If the mother behaved correctly in the difficult period, helped the child, if he felt that he was not alone in his struggle, then in later life his behavior would be adequate to the situation. With caesarean section (both planned and emergency), the matrix does not appear to be formed. Most likely, it corresponds to the moment the child is removed from the uterus during the operation.

This Matrix lays down the program "I can do everything". This is a real struggle for life (hence the name of the matrix). This is the first major hurdle to overcome. And you need to go through it, relying on your own strength. If the child independently mastered this path and “met the deadlines” (normally, he should do it in 20-40 minutes), then in later life he will not panic and become depressed on the way to the goal.

If childbirth takes place with the use of painkillers, then this is reflected in behavior, if problems arise, a person goes, for example, into drugs, because the first experience of this kind was obtained already at birth. Such children are especially predisposed to computer addiction.

The use of forceps in childbirth is a strong psychological trauma for the child. If you do not compensate for it in early childhood, a person can grow up vulnerable, prone to tantrums. In addition, he may refuse help because the first help in life was painful.

Babies born by caesarean section skip the struggle matrix: they may have a lowered sense of danger, a desire to get everything at once, the slightest obstacle “paralyzes”.

If a child independently, but for a very long time, made his way "to freedom", he can live with the feeling "all life is a struggle." If he walked ass forward, then there will be a desire to do everything in an unusual way (however, this is not such a drawback).

With a successful birth, this matrix develops active strength (“I will fight and cope”), purposefulness, courage, and the ability to take the first step. With the clinical death of a child in the third BPM, a program of hidden suicide arises.

Fourth BPM. Matrix of Freedom.

Corresponds to birth (separation from the mother), cutting of the umbilical cord and the beginning of the life of the newborn as an autonomous being.

The child symbolically “dies” in that intrauterine world and is born in this material world. How did the world welcome him? Bright, eyes-burning light, loud, frightening sounds? Or subdued light, pleasant, soothing music, gentle, good hands? Depending on this, a person will either fight the world (destroying the environment) or love and protect it in the future.

It is very important that the child immediately placed on the mother's stomach. Firstly, for 9 months he heard his mother's heartbeat, lived in his mother, felt her as a single organism with himself. Having gone through a difficult path, he needs to write down a program in himself that everything ends someday, and ends well, and the Universe loves me, everything is in order.

Secondly, psychologists believe that BPM - 1 lays in a person the ability to set goals - constructive or destructive. BPM - 2- wait, endure, be able to limit yourself somewhere when achieving the goal, believe, hope. BPM - 3- move your feet in the direction of the goal, take responsibility, overcome obstacles. So, BPM - 4- this is the result, the achievement of the goal, the relief and joy of possession. The cycle is completed.

You must have met people who do not know how to rejoice at the results achieved, who do not know how to celebrate holidays.

If you immediately take eggs from under the hen, where the chicken has just hatched and do not allow her to complete the process of incubation by the process of “bringing chickens to the people”, then she will sit to exhaustion, even if not a single egg is already under her. And the chickens won't recognize her as their mother.

With a successful delivery, this matrix corresponds to the images of revolution, victory over the enemy, the spring awakening of nature, the opening of rivers from ice, etc. But this is the case if the child was allowed to reunite with the mother immediately after birth, that is, to experience reunion with the “original paradise” of the uterus.

After hard work and the experience of childbirth, the child is freed, loved and accepted. Ideally, a mother should take the child in her arms, give her breast, the child needs to feel care, love, security and freedom, relief.

If a child, for some reason, was separated from his mother after birth, then in adulthood he can regard freedom and independence as a burden and dream of returning to the Matrix of Naivety.

If the child was immediately taken away from the mother, then a panic fear of being left without a mother, even for a short time, may develop. In adolescence, an “uncomfortable” birth threatens to result in alienation, a lack of understanding with parents. And already at an older age, this can manifest itself in the fear of being left alone, without loved one. Fear of death, unreasonable jealousy (like fear of loss).

Our ancestors had an idea that the life, actions, thoughts, emotions of a pregnant woman affect the child. Therefore, in all cultures, they tried to protect pregnant women from any negativity. But, nevertheless, we do not live in sterile conditions. Therefore, midwives immediately after the birth of a child for several days “rolled out” the perinatal negative with an egg (they removed the negative from one egg (womb) to another). Also, during pregnancy, they rolled out an egg, “cleaned” the information field of the mother and child.

Grandmothers - midwives knew that in the process of childbirth, the bones of the child's skull fold and are under tremendous pressure. You can imagine how important it is that the bones then become correct, because. it affects the brain. A large load also falls on the cervical and thoracic spine. Therefore, the grandmothers “sculpted the head” of the child, followed the spine (and knew how to expose!).

If doctors in maternity hospitals knew how to do this, probably 90% of children would not have cerebral palsy.

It is not true that a newborn is a blank sheet of paper! Parents, despite all their efforts, “get” completely formed personalities, Grof believes. With his attitude to this world, parents and what is happening around them. If you want to correct something, you have at your disposal pregnancy, a day after childbirth and the first hours of feeding. Will you have time?

Stanislav Grof - M.D., American psychologist of Czech origin. His name is associated with the discovery of a new, transpersonal direction in psychology. According to the theory of Stanislav Grof, a person's character is formed even before his birth. A passionate desire to have a child, a successful pregnancy, natural childbirth, the first feeding - this is what will provide a happy and harmonious future for a little person. Stanislav Grof believes that at the moment when you put a tiny body to your chest for the first time, and dad is filming this event on camera, the formation of a child's personality is completed. All further, including upbringing and education, will work with the effectiveness of a bactericidal adhesive plaster. This is a fact proven by the majority of Grof's patients, who, in the course of research, remembered not only the circumstances of their birth, but also the previous nine months. During this time, the fetus goes through four stages of psychological development, corresponding to the period of pregnancy, labor, childbirth and the first feeding. The information that comes "inside" is "uploaded" into the matrices (in other words, it is sorted into the subconscious), in order to then become the lifelong basis of a person's actions. And let his relatives argue over whose ears and nose he has. You managed the most important thing - to participate in the formation of the character of the baby!

4 matrices by Stanislav Grof

Matrix 1. Paradise or the matrix of love

It "fills up" when the baby is in the womb. At this time, the baby receives his first knowledge about the world, basic and deep. With a successful pregnancy, the child formulates for himself: “The world is OK, and I am OK!”. But for a positive position, this period must be really prosperous. And not only for medical reasons, but also from the point of view of the unborn baby.

And for him, first of all, it is important to be desired. If a mother flutters throughout her pregnancy at the thought of the upcoming replenishment, her feelings will certainly be transmitted to the baby as the setting “everything is fine with me” for any life situation. By the way, a child's sexual self-awareness is also directly dependent on "internal" information. For example, if the girl's mother strongly desires a boy, in the future the baby may have serious problems with female nature, up to infertility.

It is also very important that the mother's body works like a Swiss watch. A healthy pregnancy is a sure guarantee that the baby will feel comfortable, expecting only pleasant surprises from life.

Your task: to lay in the subconscious of the child a positive attitude towards the world and towards oneself.

Time to decide: your pregnancy.

Correct result: self-confidence, openness.

Negative result: low self-esteem, shyness, a tendency to hypochondria.

• Emotional discomfort experienced by the mother;
• Expecting a child of a strictly defined gender;
• An attempt to terminate a pregnancy.

Matrix 2. Hell or victim matrix

This matrix is ​​formed in contractions, during the first acquaintance of the child with environment. The child experiences pain and fear. His experiences are: “The world is ok, I am not ok!”. That is, the child takes everything that happens at his own expense, believes that he himself is the cause of his condition. Labor induction causes irreparable damage to the formation of the second matrix. If during this period the child experiences too much pain caused by stimulation, then the “victim syndrome” is fixed in him. In the future, such a child will be touchy, suspicious and even cowardly.

It is in fights that the child learns to cope with difficulties, to show patience and resistance to stress.

Having coped with her fears, mom can control the course of contractions. This will allow the child to gain tremendous experience in independent problem solving.

During the period of contractions, the baby simply needs to feel the support of his mother, her empathy for him.

After all, now he must learn to look boldly into the future. If the result of the struggle was his benevolent acceptance into a new, kind, glorious world, then he again returns to paradise. The child can experience these feelings only in the mother's stomach. Where you can feel her warmth, smell, heartbeat. Then the newborn is applied to the breast, and he once again receives confirmation that he is loved and desired in this world, that he has protection and support.

If the mother demands “to do something, only as soon as possible!”, Then the baby will, if possible, avoid responsibility. There is also an opinion that the use of anesthesia, which is almost always combined with stimulation or is done by itself, lays the foundation for the emergence of various kinds of addictions (including alcohol, drugs, nicotine, food). The child remembers once and for all: if difficulties arise, doping is needed to overcome them.

Your task: form the right attitude to difficulties and patience.

Time to decide: contractions.

Correct result: patience, perseverance, perseverance.

Negative result: weakness of spirit, suspiciousness, resentment.

Possible errors in solving the problem:

• Stimulation of labor activity
• Cesarean section
• Mom's Panic

Amendment for "caesar": Grof believed that babies born through a caesarean section skip the second and third matrices in development, and remain at the level of the first.

The result of this may be the problems of self-realization in a competitive environment that a person will experience in the future.

It is believed that if the caesarean section was planned, and the baby did not pass the test of contractions conceived by nature, then he will try to escape from problems, and not solve them on his own.

3 matrix. Purgatory, or the matrix of struggle

The third matrix is ​​laid down as the baby passes through the birth canal. In terms of time - a short period, but do not underestimate it. After all, this is the first experience independent action baby. Because now he is fighting for his life himself, and his mother only helps him to be born. And if you provide him with proper support at this critical moment for the child, in overcoming difficulties he will be quite decisive, active, not afraid of work, will not be afraid to make a mistake.

The problem is that doctors are often involved in the birth process, and their intervention is not always justified. For example, if a doctor puts pressure on a woman in labor to advance the fetus (as often happens), the child may develop an appropriate attitude towards work: until prompted, pushed, the person will not move in indecision and will miss happy opportunities.

The third matrix is ​​also related to sexuality.

Birth hint: A woman in labor who is in an altered state of consciousness tends to reproduce the scenario of her own birth. And what did our mothers see in Soviet maternity hospitals? With rare exceptions, alas, nothing good.

You can change this picture:

• Signing up for special courses to prepare for childbirth
• Picking up a good maternity hospital in advance. Moreover, you need to pay attention not only to the big name and technical equipment, but also to the willingness of the staff to support your desire to give birth naturally and preferably without medical intervention.
• By correlating the decision on caesarean section or anesthesia with information on perinatal matrices. If such manipulations are due to medical indications, and the desire for comfort, you deliberately harm the psyche of the child.

According to Grof, the passivity of many men, their inability to achieve the object of their love, is precisely the result of a “flaw” in the third matrix.

Your task: develops efficiency and determination.

Time to decide: childbirth.

Correct result: determination, mobility, fortitude, diligence.

Negative result: fearfulness, inability to stand up for oneself, aggressiveness.

Possible errors in solving the problem:

Medical pain relief

Epidural anesthesia

Containment of contractions

Unwillingness to participate in childbirth (“I can’t - that’s all!”).

Amendment for cesareans: The influence of the third matrix is ​​so weakened in them that it becomes obvious that a baby born through a caesarean section will not be able to grow up as a purposeful and active person.

4 matrix. Paradise again, or the matrix of freedom

The first hours of life are the time to reap laurels after trials. And you are obliged with all generosity, love and cordiality to provide them to the baby. After all, now he must learn to look boldly into the future. If the result of the struggle was a benevolent acceptance of him into a new, kind, glorious world, then he returns to paradise again: "The WORLD is OK, I am OK." The child can experience these feelings only on the mother's stomach, where you can feel her warmth, smell and heartbeat. Then the newborn is applied to the breast, and he once again receives confirmation that he is loved and desired in this world, that he has protection and support.

Such a ritual has long been traditional in Europe, as, indeed, in many domestic maternity hospitals. However, there are still quite a few where mother and baby are separated from each other, which, from the point of view of Grof's theory, is very dangerous. After all, this is how a child learns that all his labors and sufferings are in vain. And since there is no need to wait for a reward, then the future awaits him gloomy.

Amendment for "caesar": These babies are usually even less lucky: immediately after giving birth, they can be separated from their mother for a long time. Therefore, for correct formation In the fourth matrix, psychologists recommend that women choose an epidural to take their newborn into their arms as soon as they are born.

Your task: the formation of the child's attitude to life prospects and face-to-face acquaintance with the world.

Time to decide: first hours of life.

Correct result: high self-esteem, love of life.

Negative result: laziness, pessimism, incredulity.

Possible mistakes:

• Cutting the umbilical cord at the stage of pulsation
• Birth trauma of the newborn
• "Separation" of the newborn from the mother
• Rejection or critical attitude towards the newborn
• Careless treatment of doctors with a newborn

Correction of matrices after childbirth

If you had a caesarean section, you need:

• To stimulate the child to achieve the goal from infancy;
• Give breastfeeding, which is harder than bottle feeding;
• Teach to reach for toys and other necessary things;
• Do not limit his activity by constant swaddling and the walls of the arena;
• In the future, find a psychotherapist who will help the child “work through” the moment of his birth;

If there was a difficult pregnancy or separation from the child in the hospital, you need to:

• Take the baby in your arms as often as possible;
• Take him for a walk in a backpack - "kangaroo";
• breastfeed;

If there was an imposition of forceps, you need:

• Before demanding independent results from the child, patiently help him
• Do not rush the baby when he is trying to solve some problem. published

P.S. And remember, just by changing your consciousness - together we change the world! © econet