36 Spirituality Studies 10-2 Fall 2024 a patient may come to see the therapist as strong enough to withstand the force of the bad object, which is then released. Fairbairn calls this the “release of bad objects”. It is a bit like an exorcism, and can happen bit by bit, or in a great force, leading to a disturbing regressed feeling for the patient. But it involves realizing where the badness began in the imperfection of the parent that was taken on by the child and internalized. This leaves the individual with an experience of a less safe world, taken care of by potentially dangerous caregivers, but the source of the badness is no longer in the patient. In a sense, it is where it belongs. Fairbairn used religious metaphors in referring to this process. In his description of one particular psychological mechanism that he termed the moral defense, he explained further why an individual takes on the sense of badness themselves, rather than allowing it to be perceived in those taking care early on (Fairbairn 1952, 66–67): It is better to be a sinner in a world ruled by God than to live in a world ruled by the Devil. A sinner in a world ruled by God may be bad; but there is always a certain sense of security to be derived from the fact that the world around is good ‘God’s in His heaven: All’s right with the world!’; and in any case there is always a hope of redemption. In a world ruled by the Devil the individual may escape the badness of being a sinner, but he is bad because the world around him is bad. Further, he can have no sense of security and no hope of redemption. The only prospect is one of death and destruction. What is particularly notable about Fairbairn’s model is that in the development of these endopsychic structures of internal saboteurs, energy, or goodness, or might we say “light”, is taken from the natural, central pristine ego, and coupled with the badness experienced in the world, and internalized. This process speaks to an allure of the internal badness. It is not there necessarily in a merely static way, but we are drawn to it. To experience the saboteur in dreams, enactments, projections, sexual desires, addictions, etc. There is a pull into the darkness. Perhaps because it contains an energy of the original central pristine ego. An example of this process can be seen through a patient dream from a renowned musical composer of Asian descent, having difficulty creating new music (Katzman 2024). I was in a jail cell. My lawyer came to explain to me that there had been a change in the sentence. I would be released in two years, instead of a life sentence. I was happy about that, content. Though in actuality, I had come to see the jail cell as comfortable and had befriended the warden. There were beautiful colorful rugs on the floor, beautiful paintings on the walls, and I had a nice adjustable bed. I was comfortable there and could easily be there for a couple of more years, though I was at peace to know that I would be released in two years. And confident that I would be. From the Fairbairn perspective, we can consider how comfortable it may be to be in jail, with the jail guards formed by our internal saboteurs keeping us imprisoned. The patient saw the therapist immediately as his attorney, negotiating a release from jail, though there was more work to do. And he had developed a comfort in the prison that was home – it had developed since he was born. As he gained insight and recovered feelings related to his early life, while held in the mind of the therapist, his creativity and ability to write music resumed. In Fairbairn considerations, one can imagine that to the extent that any of the “central pristine ego” has been sequestered by an endopsychic structure, the internal saboteur would be experienced with great strength and power. It owns a component of our original light. And perhaps taking on the bad object, in Fairbairn language, involves facing the darkness and the powers possessed by the introject to steal the piece of gold, the light, the Torah, back from the saboteur to be re-experienced. A similar description again can be found within the Hasidic text, Me’or Einayim (Isaac ben Samuel 1981): and a portion of Divinity from above was placed within the darkness of materiality. For the whole essence of the intention was so that the lowest levels can rise above and that there will be an ‘abundance of light from [note: within] the darkness,’ (Ecclesiastes 2:13). And this is the meaning of the descent of Joseph [He. YoSeF] to Egypt [He. MiTZRaYiM], the lowest levels, i.e., a ‘strait’ [He. MeiTZaR YaM] – a narrow channel of water. For through this, pleasure is increased [He. YitvaSeF] as is written, ‘an abundance of light,’ that there is an increase in pleasure when it is lifted out from darkness, and therefore he is called Joseph [He. YoSeF], connoting addition [He. toSaFot]. The joy of Jewish mysticism involves its allusion and ultimate guidance to our lived human experience – and how we can bring to life a greater sense of authenticity, immediacy, and hopefully moments of pleasure and contentment. It becomes guidance from centuries ago as to how to experience what is real. The Hebrew name for Joseph is Yosef and
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