Spiritual Psychology

I am convinced of the spiritual nature of our successes and failures.  In fact, I believe fulfillment is the spiritual response to material success.  I also believe peace is the spiritual response to failure.  When I make repetitive mistakes after having apologized or reviewed lessons learned at my workplace, for instance, I ask myself, what am I evaluating?  Am I making an authentic attempt to improve my skills and knowledge or attitude, or am I drawing conclusions about me – as a person?

As a teacher, I know students sometime take an exam and if they scored an “A”, this proves they’re an “A” of a person, if they score a “B”, they’re only a B person all the way to a mark of “F”; suggesting that “I’m a F, as a person… I’m a failure.”  But I also do this.  If there would be a solution, I am certain most everyone would jump on the opportunity to unlearn those behaviors and embrace new patterns of thought and action.  I believe I have a possible solution.

When Sigmund Freud shared his views concerning the unconscious mind and the unresolved conflicts harbored therein, the nature of the crisis was certainly new for all readers of this pioneering thinker.  We understand psychology today to have many more dimensions and with current neurological and consciousness studies, the wonder and sophisticated nature of how we think, and act is far more complex as well. 

Coupled with psychology are spiritual aspects which after Jung became almost undeniable for many psychologists to ignore.  Spiritual psychology, therefore, take s the psyche and the soul as interacting and overlapping areas of force, influence and motivation, over each of us. 

The self as we understand ourselves is a myriad of thoughts, attitudes and memories.  These influence us and determine much of what we think, interpret and accept about reality and others.  But how do these aspects of “me”, affect my spirituality?  Too often what we believe about ourselves is rooted in how we judge what our value as a person is, what level of competence do we possess, are we lovable or not and are we worth your time or not. 

The answers to these questions informs the deepest nature and sense of personhood.