Synanon Philosophy and Prayer

Moriah Ponder

May 4, 2016

Professor Delaporte

Blog #3

Synanon: The Philosophy and Prayer

Synanon was founded in Santa Monica, California in 1958 by Charles Dederich. Dederich was an alcoholic and was inspired by Alcoholics Anonymous and their methods. He decided to create Synanon as a place for addicts and individuals with character disorders to recover and get their lives established to re-enter society. Synanon was founded in California as a non-profit corporation. Eventually in 1968, Synanon opened their membership up to non-addicts. During this time, Synanon slowly changed their beliefs from a religious organization to a cult.

While living in Synanon members had to live by the Synanon Philosophy and Prayer. The Synanon Philosophy is a short, 265 word document that was written in October 1958 by Charles E. Dederich. This document is filled with the ideologies of Charles Dederich and was given to every member who joined Synanon. The philosophy contains ideas from Eastern Religious philosophies such as Buddhism and Taoism, especially in regards to the laws of Karma. The ideas in the philosophy, such as individualism and self- determination, were borrowed from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essays and the Transcendentalism movement of the early 19^th century. All members, new and old, read Emerson’s essay entitled “Self-Reliance”.  Humanistic Psychology was an idea talked about several times by American Psychologist Abraham Maslow. Maslow had a major impact on the beliefs and ideology of Synanon.

Many of Charles Dederichs ideas and philosophies came from when he was a member Alcoholics Anonymous. At one point, Charles Dederich signed up for an experiment with LSD. He says, "Taking LSD lead me to a different reality and generated many new insights" (Rise and Fall of Synanon) and although Dederich did not advocate the use of LSD for members enrolled in Synanon, the organization "entertained the possibility of controlled experiments" for therapeutic purposes to "increase levels of moral judgment" (Rise and Fall of Synanon, pg. 36).

Charles E. Dederich was the “wise and compassionate social scientist” (Patton, 1) who could tame, nurture, and train the dope fiend. Dederich believed Synanon was the place of development which could bring the dope fiend to civilization. In the 1960’s, there were no rehabilitation centers that focused on helping addicts get cleaned up and re-enter society. Many addicts would be committed to state hospitals where they would not get the help that was needed. Synanon has always been heavily influenced and committed to philosophical ideas. Synanon had what they called a “Noon Seminar”. This was when they would pick a philosophical concept and members would discus and debate their thoughts and opinions. Everyone would have a chance to offer their input or discuss disagreements with differing perspectives. Each Noon Seminar would end with a “capper” or “a kind of flip summary statement which placed everything in perspective and let it be known that none of us took any of it too seriously” (Patton, 5). Members would also read various other famous philosophers to establish their own philosophy of life. there were only a few who deeply influenced the Synanon philosophy, including, Kahlil Gibran a Lebanese-American poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson (who was Chuck’s favorite), Balthazar Gracian a 17th century Jesuit monk, Abraham Maslow the American psychologist, and Sigmund Freud the father of psychoanalysis. They read philosophical works over and over, each time re-evaluating what they believed was being said and more often than not, changing their ideas about the writers thoughts.

There were two ideas at the core of Synanon Philosophy. The first was The Notion of “Act As If” which can be described as the choice and action of using ones free will to overcome their character flaws and "deeply ingrained behavior patterns" (Patton, 10).
“Practice the Form to Achieve the Essence”
The second idea was in the concept of compensation. This idea was originally explained in Emerson's essay titled, Compensation, written in..... Seemingly a karmic view on action and consequences, the concept (Eastern Philosophy) Faith and Trust you will always be compensated
Line of Dichotomies (Maslow)
Pure Reality = Above the Line
State of Nirvana and Enlightenment
Everything is Everything
Life as we know it = Below the Line

Contradictions like Good and Evil
Must learn to live above and below the line when appropriate
T- Bar = Line Above the Line
“when philosophy becomes theoretical, or worse, sentimental” Tom Patton (1973)

            Synanon wanted their members to gain the element of religiosity and were encouraged to seek a spiritual connection with a higher power just like members of Alcoholics Anonymous. Change and transcendence to a certain level of self-realization was a large part of the Synanon philosophy. The prayer was said at the beginning of meetings to help members prepare for their group encounters and open themselves to different perspectives. Known as, The Synanon Prayer, it was written in the same vein as the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi: 

“Please let me first and always examine myself…Let me be honest and truthful…Let me seek and assume responsibility…Let me understand rather than be understood…Let me trust and have faith in myself and my fellowman…Let me love rather than be loved…Let me give rather than receive.”

Members of Synanon lived by the philosophy and prayer. It was part of their daily lives. Charles Dederich believed whole heartedly in everything he wanted his members to believe in as well.

Learning about Synanon has opened up my eyes to cults. I honestly didn’t think I would have any interest doing this research, but I have gained a new interest in it.

Patton, Tom. “The Synanon Philosophy.” Synanon University Press. San Francisco, CA 1974.

Janzen, R. A. (2001). The rise and fall of Synanon: A California utopia. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Reflection on the Synanon Game and Individuation

Blog #2: Reflection on the Synanon Game and Individuation

        Charles E. Dederich, the leader of the drug rehab turned religious cult, Synanon, asserted that the “development of the group interaction, known as the Synanon Game, preceded, and is directly responsible for the founding of Synanon” (Dederich, 2). The Game was the central ritual of Synanon residents, being first played in February of 1958, and can be described as an aggressive form of talk therapy where members of the group would expose inner thoughts and emotions “of all kinds concerning his actions, the actions of others, and the relationship of people to each other” (Dederich, 3), allowing their peers to examine and criticize these thoughts with the utmost freedom of expression. The Game was to be played at least once a week by the community members as a “condition of residence” (Dederich, 2) because it was “the key to the formation of their (members) beliefs” (Dederich, 4).

           He explained the Game to be “an educational tool” that was used to “accomplish a unification and healing of the personality, an appreciation and acceptance of new and more constructive forms of behavior, and the adoption of new and sounder value systems” (Dederich, 3). For Chuck, the process of internal and external examination lead to changes in an individuals behaviors and beliefs. The perspectives and advice that is offered through the group interaction allows one to think of things that one wouldn’t have thought on their own, opening the person to new ideas or understandings of certain situations. Through active contemplation and self-examination, the individual who participates in the Synanon Game is able to affirm or discount their personal beliefs, enabling themselves to make necessary adjustments to their behavior and ideology.

This process of self-examination is important and related to the idea of Individuation. The term individuation was coined by the Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist, Carl Jung, and the idea was, according to Charles E. Dederich, developed through the Synanon program "to levels and to heights that he (Jung) never dreamed of in his lifetime" (individuation excerpts; CED). Jung described his theory of individuation as "a process in which the individual self develops out of an undifferentiated unconscious". He felt that this process naturally developed the individuals unique personality and would bring themselves to a self-realization. Dederich believed that through the Synanon program, one would be able to go through the process of Individuation more quickly and comfortably than it happening naturally. The Synanon Game was the most important tool in this process.

The Game had opened individuals to differing opinions and understandings of the situations and scenarios that were discussed. Steven Simon, Ph.D. who was a member of Synanon since 1968 said that "the game should be an experience in contrasts" and that it was necessary to "challenge the group's opinion of what is good and what is bad" (Simon, 15). The idea that it was important to experience peoples differences and challenge the general ideas of good and bad so that individual beliefs could be formed. Game participants were expected to listen without judgment and think of new ways of addressing situations. There was constant conversation during the hours the game was played and individuals would take their thoughts as far as possible sometimes dropping the topic and moving to a different one that is completely unrelated.

References:

Dederich, Charles E. “Individuation Excerpts.” Edited by Jeanine Otto. Marshall, CA. 7 August 1977. Synanon Foundation, Inc. Sandra Barty research collection on Synanon.

Simon, Steven I. “The Synanon Game.” Harvard University. Cambridge, MA. 1973. Synanon University Press. San Francisco, CA 1974. Sandra Barty research collection on Synanon.

“Declaration by Charles E. Dederich on The Synanon Game.” Synanon v. The Hearst Corporation. No.651-749. Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. 1973. Sandra Barty research collection on Synanon. Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA. Print.