Robert Rowland Smith 

Introduction
The purpose of this course is to help people understand themselves better. The better that people understand themselves, the less likely they are to repeat unhelpful patterns or to behave in ways that might be damaging. To increase self-knowledge is to shine a light on one’s blind spots, and so reduce the power of the unconscious in controlling our lives.

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The course is made up of six videos plus an accompanying exercise book. (Please note that you will need a YouTube account to view the videos.) Each video consists of a series of slides with a voiceover to explain them. It takes a particular theme such as ‘Types and Archetypes’ and goes into the psychology involved. At certain points during the video, you will be invited to press pause, turn to the exercise book, and complete the relevant exercise before returning to the video. The final exercise asks you to reflect on the course as a whole.

Who the course is for?
The course has been designed for people who are ready to go a little deeper into their own psychology, and find out what makes them tick. You may have filled out personality questionnaires, read up on astrology, delved into the Tarot, or read self-help books, but now you would like to take the next step, and get to know yourself in a profounder way.

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The course will be of especial interest to those who are curious about psychological theory, though the emphasis throughout is on turning self-reflection into practice, so that life can be lived more fully.

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Whilst the course is equally applicable to people of all ages and identities, it is not appropriate for under eighteens.

The benefits of this course

The chief benefit of this course is that it provides a structured step up to a new level of self-awareness. Greater self-awareness is valuable because it helps us to notice when we are hurting other people, and even when we are subverting ourselves. To develop self-knowledge is to be able to act more consciously, to make better choices, and to become free from aspects of our past that have been holding us back.

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The structure of the course

The course consists of six modules: 

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1. Know Thyself

• The origins of the idea of knowing yourself

• The difference between what you are and who you are

• The real you: in different situations and at different ages

• What your self is made up of

• How you see yourself versus how others see you

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2. Through a Glass Darkly

• Why seeing yourself isn’t always easy

• Self-knowledge v others’ knowledge of you

• Feedback and how to ask for it

• Inner knowledge

• The unconscious and how it works

• Dream interpretation

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3. Types and Archetypes

• Everyday types and dating types

• The pros and cons of using types

• The Zodiac, Jung and the Tarot

• Tarot as self-development

• Myers Briggs Type Indicator

• Chess archetypes

• Ethical versus political types

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4. Love, Relationships and Sex

• Love, like, desire

• Self-love

• Choice of partner: reversing or repeating the past

• Leaving versus left

• Love languages

• Balance of power

• Sex profile

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5. Work and Money

• Power, achievement, relationships; Authority, presence, impact

• Belbin: team roles

• Money, work and happiness

• Work to live v live to work

• Spending, saving and freedom

• Want v need

• The value and meaning of money

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6. The Family System

• Defining the family system

• Strong and weak connections

• How close I am to family members

• Most and least affinity; Most and least spoken of

• My role in the family

• Family constellation

• The effect of my position on others

• Ex-partners: who belongs?

• My genealogical and semi-genealogical roles

• My legacy

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Each day you will be sent a video to accompany the workbook, which you can complete in your own time. 
We will be videos as private Youtube video so do make sure you have an account. 

For enquiries about the course, email robert@robertrowlandsmith.com 

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