Spirituality is about bliss and recognizing we have this natural deep feeling of a sacred realm. It is also about finding a balance between what it means to be human, our psychological well-being, and our connection to the universe.
In this day and age, it seems many have lost this balance
Some mistakenly chase a sense of ‘constant bliss’ without realizing this chase has become a demand for ‘self-gratification’.
Others may even surround themselves with special prayers, daily affirmations, or even ritual objects to skim the surface of life and hide behind the safety of a concept these things provide, rather than looking deeper into our own psychology.
More yet become preoccupied with their own stories of defeat, victimization, and faults. Consequently, they begin to neglect the importance of participating in the community to which they belong.
So how do we find this sacred balance?
Many spiritual paths tell us that a divine realm already exists within each and every one of us and advocate that we have the capability to meet all our experiences and difficult circumstances without fear. That we are already perfect and whole.
Many may then ask “if our essential self is so peaceful and expansive, then why do every human being experience times when we become anxious, fearful, confused?”. There are those who will answer “because the mystics are wrong, life is hard and then you die”. Whereas, a traditional religious answer may be “because you are incomplete because you are a sinner because you can only find inner peace and freedom in a place called heaven”.
Luckily, there is another answer that does not avoid or condemn our human-ness. The answer comes from embracing psychology on the journey of spirituality. We can choose instead to see the benefit of our human-ness, and all of our experiences in life as stepping stones towards discovering our actualised selves.
“The first part of the spiritual journey should properly be called psychological rather than spiritual because it involves peeling away the myths and illusions that have misinformed us.”
Sam Keen
Mindful psychology suggests transformative ways of ‘being here now that help us to tune into and then remember the divine status of our being. So we can really begin to wake up, from a dream into a more vibrant present moment. And we can start to embrace everything that being a human means, even our darker moments as we pursue our spiritual path. A path that will lead us to become genuine fearless human beings.
The sphere of mindfulness psychology is an important part of the puzzle in a more elaborate and sophisticated system of practice aimed at self-transformation or self-cultivation or self-realization
Through psychology, we can indeed learn how to see with more clarity the influences of our cultural, familial, and societal conditionings on how we perceive and react to the world; and peel away illusions, repressions, and expectations.
In mindfulness, we let off an attachment to illusions. In psychology, we work on ourselves to become clear and responsible, both personally and in relationships. Then we can return to our higher spiritual consciousness, to our original wholeness.
So, in essence, learning about the eternal self will come after learning about the basic human self
By blending mindfulness psychology and spiritual practice into a unique path of our own, we can learn to be at peace with this basic human self. We can then compassionately observe our human qualities, without being caught up on a hamster wheel of fruitless spiritual seeking.
