Sign in Subscribe

7. The Eight C's of Self-Energy: The Qualities of Presence

Last updated on 
7. The Eight C's of Self-Energy: The Qualities of Presence

This article explores Self and Self-energy in greater depth, examining the natural qualities of presence—known as the Eight C's—that emerge when we are connected to Self.

Self and Self-Energy: A Brief Recap

From the previous exploration of Self, we can recall two central terms in IFS:

Self is the seat of consciousness—the entity or being that has certain natural qualities called the Eight C's.

Self-energy, on the other hand, consists of the natural attitudes and feelings toward other humans and parts that we naturally display when we are connected to Self.

In essence: Self is the being, the entity—who or what we are. Self-energy is the way Self relates to others. The Eight C's exist somewhere in the middle of these concepts—they are qualities of presence, but they're also the natural attitudes and feelings that characterize Self-energy.

The Eight C's: Powers of Presence and Deepest Resources

One way to understand the Eight C's is that the Eight C's are like powers of presence we possess and our deepest resources.

Powers of Presence

By "powers of presence," we mean that as we are connected to Self—or "in Self," as it's often termed in IFS—we have a certain way of being. It's not so much that we do many things (though we can also act and do). Rather, some things are just normal and natural—like being calm, being curious, being compassionate. We don't have to work for them. It's just who and what we are in that moment. "I am curious. I am open."

Deepest Resources

The perspective of the Eight C's as our deepest resources recognizes that this is such a deep part of us, so built into us, that when we are connected with these qualities, we can do things, achieve things, and deal with things we can't usually handle when we are operating solely from parts. This is really the ultimate and deepest resource we all have to deal with situations: the Eight C's, or Self and Self-energy.

Discovering the Eight C's

Richard Schwartz essentially watched people as they were "kind of the same person underneath" when they were connected to Self and Self-energy, and tried to figure out what qualities these people showed. He identified about eight qualities that could name much of what accompanied this state:

People were calmer—where before there was a lot going on in them, as soon as they connected to Self, something calmed and quieted.

They were naturally curious about things.

They had clarity around situations—"this is this, that is that."

They could creatively deal with situations.

They were connected to themselves, to others, to whatever was out there.

They had compassion with themselves, with parts, with other humans.

They had confidence and courage to face situations they might have been scared of just a minute ago.

These became the Eight C's—all qualities beginning with C (Richard Schwartz, it seems, really likes alliterations).

Mapping the Eight C's to Body Centers

A helpful way to understand and remember the Eight C's is to map them onto the body centers—a concept found in multiple spiritual schools, psychotherapeutic schools, and coaching schools.

The Three Body Centers

These schools describe humans as having three body centers. A body center is a place where you can be and collect your awareness or your presence, and from which you will feel and be slightly different, and from which you can act.

The three centers are:

Belly Center: Located more in the pelvis, deep in the body, more grounded

Heart Center: More connected, outgoing

Head Center: Not being lost in thoughts or mind, but being in a clear awareness

These schools describe the qualities that accompany these centers in very similar words to the Eight C's that IFS has discovered. This mapping makes it easier to remember the different qualities of Self and Self-energy.

The Eight C's in Detail

Calm: The Foundation

Calm is the only quality not mapped to one of the three centers, because calm is not really connected to one specific center—it's more of a general, complete state.

Often in sessions and in our lives, we have so much going on inside of us. There are different voices telling us things, there's vigilance watching things, there's so much stuff we think we need to do or really do have to do. The point is: when we connect to Self and Self-energy, so much of that just quiets or drops away.

We enter into what should be called equanimity—we drop into a state of equanimity where things are okay as they are and where we can be with them. A lot of the thoughts, the craziness, become more quiet. We're in a state between activity and being. Many parts are constantly doing (especially protectors are constantly doing), while Self simply is. We can drop into that state of being, which is inherently calm.

The Head Center: Curiosity, Clarity, and Creativity

Curiosity

As you are connected to Self, in Self, and a part is doing something—a part is creating ruckus and problems—Self's very natural inclination toward that is to be open, to not have an agenda that immediately demands change. Rather, Self is there with an attitude of: "Wow, I'm curious. I want to know why it's doing that. What drives this part? What does it try to achieve?"

In this curiosity, there is a safety that parts feel. If Self doesn't want to change them but really wants to understand, parts can let their guard down. They're often used to so much struggle—constantly, people on the outside want to change our parts. But Self doesn't. Self is just curious.

Clarity

In addition to curiosity, Self is often clear. One way to look at clarity is that so much of the time, our perception is really controlled by parts, and we see the world through the small, tiny lens that parts see through. But Self isn't constrained to that. Self, in its essence, is non-reactive—not caught in those reactive perceptions of parts.

This means Self can see things clearly. It can see how things are, how things aren't—not always how they should be or must be, but rather how they are. That makes things so much simpler. We are connected to reality (and "reality" goes in parentheses because it's not like there's one ultimate reality we then see, but rather we see situations as they are). We see "yes, that's happening," and we see "oh, this is my part in it." We can see much more clearly in the sense of "as it is" rather than "how our parts want it to be."

Creativity

The third quality along with the head center element is creativity. As we are connected to Self, as we are in Self, we can find ways of dealing with situations that are unconventional. Where before we were stuck in ruts and always trod the same paths, suddenly we can try completely different things. That makes many things much easier.

We can problem-solve in places where we were stuck beforehand. We have completely new impulses, maybe coming from places we don't even know, but with those impulses we can deal with situations differently and anew. This is part of the inherent creativity of Self-energy and Self.

The Heart Center: Connectedness and Compassion

Compassion

Compassion is an essential and core element of the whole IFS process. Compassion is not the same as empathy, but rather—as we are in Self, as we are seeing clearly—there is an element of "that's happening," and along with that, as we are connected to our heart, to this heart center, there is an element of "that's happening and I feel for you."

I feel for you as a human for what you're going through. I feel for you as a part for how much you're working and how hard you're working. I feel for myself with everything I had to go through. There's a feeling of "I feel sorry for you"—not as belittling, but more as "I genuinely feel sad and sorry when I see that. That's painful. It's hard."

Along with "I feel for you" and "I feel sorry for you," there is an impulse to help. Again, it's not "I have to help" or "I have to caretake," but rather "if I can, I want to help." It's the natural expression.

The fascinating thing is that Self can help. Self can help the parts. Self can help in our system. That's what this compassion, this heart center element, is about.

Connectedness

Compassion is very closely connected to connectedness. Self and Self-energy is connected—it's the natural state of us, of this element of us. We are connected to ourselves, our body, other people, the Divine. It's just the natural state. As we are, we are connected. It's inherent, and Self is connected to that level of reality.

This deeply influences compassion as well, because if I'm connected to you and I feel what's happening for you, I can't help but be compassionate. Connection and compassion influence each other. This is the heart center element of Self-energy.

The Belly Center: Confidence and Courage

Not only can we see clearly when we're in Self, not only do we feel compassion and connected to others, but actually from Self there is a force and power connected to that, also inherent in that state of being, in that state of presence.

That power has two faces:

Confidence

As we are in Self, we are connected to our natural capacities, to our natural resources, and that brings the confidence of knowing "I can deal with this." We're calm, we see clearly—"I can deal with this situation." We know we are capable.

In that state, we can trust ourselves, and we can trust something bigger, actually, that might help us where we are not enough on our own—but something bigger can be. That's a confidence that goes along with being in Self, being connected to Self-energy.

Courage

Alongside this confidence, there is not just "I can do this," but there is courage—an automatic courage and power that goes along with it to stand up for ourselves and others, to confront problems. Not just thinking "I can do it," but there's a natural impulse to do it coming from this energy, coming from our Self.

Our Self has the impulse to deal with situations that it can deal with, and being connected to the natural resources, it can deal with quite a few different ones.

The Integration of Centers

What makes it so helpful to look at Self and Self-energy as having these different qualities and different centers is recognizing that the heart center has a different power and different element of energy than the belly center, than the head center. All of them together form this capacity that goes along with Self and Self-energy.

The head center brings clear seeing, curiosity, and creative problem-solving. The heart center brings connection and compassion. The belly center brings grounded power, confidence, and courage. Together, wrapped in an overarching quality of calm, these form the complete expression of Self-energy.

Conclusion: Natural and Available

What's most remarkable about the Eight C's is that they aren't skills we must develop or qualities we must acquire through years of practice. They are inherent—powers of presence we already possess, our deepest resources, simply waiting to be accessed when parts relax enough to allow Self to emerge.

When we are in Self, these qualities aren't things we do; they're what we are. We don't work to be curious or try to generate compassion—they arise naturally from this seat of consciousness. We don't force ourselves to see clearly or manufacture courage—they're simply there when we're connected to Self.

Understanding the Eight C's helps us recognize when we're in Self and when we're blended with parts. It gives us a map of what becomes available when we access our deepest nature. And perhaps most importantly, it reveals that within each of us lies a spiritual core with all the qualities needed for healing, leadership, and authentic living—not as something to achieve, but as something to remember and return to.

Sources

Glossary