When we take the blinders off, we can see what is in front of us. Sometimes we have to get out of our own way to see what is ahead.
The therapist, for example, in trying to help the patient change destructive patterns tries to understand what influences were present when the patient was growing up. By understanding how the family system was dysfunctional, the therapist can help the patient face buried feelings. The patient learns why he or she needed certain survival strategies that are no longer appropriate to the present. Then the patient can undo current distortions and make better choices. Without knowing the past, the patient unconsciously repeats it. Only by understanding hidden assumptions can we change them.
* From “The Creative Adventure, Part One: Love and Conception”