All that we are is the result of what we have thought;
It is founded on our thoughts,
It is made up of our thoughts.
If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought,
Happiness follows him,
Like a shadow that never leaves him.
Buddha
When I first got into the counseling profession in the late 70s, there was a thick line between what we call psychological therapy or psychotherapy and what we might call religious or spiritual instruction or counseling. Most serious psychologists would never mention the Bible, God or Jesus. They wouldn’t mix the religious with the science.
Likewise, in many churches, seeing a psychologist was not always encouraged. Some people were told that the only solution to depression was more prayer and faith. There was a fear that seeing a psychologist might pull a person away from their church or religious beliefs.
In the early years, I found this to be very discouraging. I agreed then and now with the notion that I should never proselytize in a session. But I also knew somehow that psychological healing was not that different from spiritual healing. I remember looking desperately for books, or schools of psychology that integrated the science of psychological intervention with what I knew to be a powerful force of healing: spiritual truth.
I had discovered Zen Buddhism when I was about 16 years old and understood immediately that it was a scientific, pragmatic, logical and rational methodology that could lead a person to experience spiritual peace, and understanding. I studied Hinduism as well and discovered many parallels with the Christian teachings of the New Testament.
My first major in college was religion because I yearned to develop a deeper understanding of how humans had come to seek the divine in their lives and experience true peace. Later I would change my major to communication arts (journalism and broadcasting) before finally finding psychology and going on to graduate school.
In the early 80s I studied transpersonal psychology, “a school of psychology that integrates the spiritual and transcendent aspects of the human experience with the framework of modern psychology.” It was helpful but did not offer me the practical tools I was seeking to seamlessly combine spiritual knowledge, truth and awareness with helping someone with depression, anxiety, anger or relationship problems.
In the 90s I began to study Buddhist Psychology but found it too Buddhist, too jargony and too strange. I did not see how I could use it to reach my clients, most of whom were Christian and unfamiliar with Buddhist terms and meanings.
I was excited that same decade to discover David Burns and his approach to cognitive behavioral therapy, which in some limited aspects effectively integrated practical spiritual elements into what is at its core, a highly scientific, empirical paradigm. But it wasn’t until 2005 when I discovered Steven Hayes and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) that I finally found what I was looking for.
At long last, someone had broken the code and birthed “a coherent theoretical and philosophical framework…that uses acceptance and mindfulness strategies, together with commitment and behavior change strategies, to increase psychological flexibility.” ACT defines psychological flexibility as “contacting the present moment fully as a conscious human being, and based on what the situation affords, changing or persisting in behavior in the service of chosen values.”
I realized as I studied ACT over the years that this is the first psychology that effectively incorporates effective clinical methodology with the peace and power of spiritual understanding. The division is gone. Most psychotherapies before ACT were about fixing or repairing broken minds and psyches. We learned that most people are healthy or normal and psychologists treat the defective, abnormal or weak ones.
ACT, however, acknowledges that we are all in some way or another, unhappy, disturbed, worried, or confused. This is normal not unusual. People who occasionally have suicidal thoughts are much more common than people who have never had such thoughts. Human suffering is ubiquitous, not rare.
When we think of ourselves as broken people in need of repair, how can such thinking lead to peace? The teachings of Jesus and Buddha lead us to an understanding of original wholeness now. Our thoughts are the problem. Our thinking minds, our limited egos, our small, fearful selves keep us stuck.
Mindfulness based behavioral therapies like ACT allow us to be present with ourselves in this moment without judgment. Whatever we are struggling with, we can learn to stop resisting and avoiding. We can sit still with it and be.
When we can see our thoughts instead of identifying with them, we can be free. When we are willing to accept this moment as if we chose it, we can connect with deeply held values and seek their expression in our daily lives.
That which we most want, we already have. Whether we call it psychological healing or spiritual peace, it is the same thing. And each of us has the tools to gain this precious prize. It waits for us within.
Doug Craig graduated from college in Ohio with a journalism degree and got married during the Carter administration. He graduated from graduate school with a doctorate in Psychology, got divorced, moved to Redding, re-married and started his private practice during the Reagan administration. He had his kids during the first Bush administration. Since then he has done nothing noteworthy besides write a little poetry, survive a motorcycle crash, buy and sell an electric car, raise his kids, manage to stay married and maintain his practice for almost 25 years. He believes in magic and is a Sacramento Kings fan.
Comment Policy: We welcome your comments, with some caveats: Please keep your comments positive and civilized. If your comment is critical, please make it constructive. If your comment is rude, we will delete it. If you are constantly negative or a general pest, troll, or hater, we will ban you from the site forever. The definition of terms is left solely up to us. Thank you. Carry on.
2 Responses »
Leave a Response
Cancel Reply
Open all references in tabs: [1 - 8]
Another springboard for some interesting thought paths. Thank you.
a super post. The intersection between faith and psychology is fascinating. I think the guy who pulled it all together for me was M. Scott Peck, especially in The Road Less Travelled