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shawnsmith
Czech Republic
2048 Posts |
 Posted - 09/17/2010 : 07:57:31
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Guideposts to Happiness
What Lurks Within?
By Will Meecham, MD, MA
http://blogs.psychcentral.com/happiness/2010/09/what-lurks-within/
Recent post have more or less trashed both over-reliance on thinking and unexamined emotions. The third major pillar of mental life is often termed spiritual; it also warrants examination.
Those with strong atheistic beliefs will likely roll their eyes at this point. Having been raised with solid materialist and reductionist attitudes, I am sympathetic to such philosophies even though they are no longer my own. But there is a way to discuss the same part of the human mind without drawing on mystical concepts.
Neuroscientists often divide mental life into thought, emotion, and motivation. Using this formula, what often gets call spirituality is most closely aligned with motivation. This can be approached on multiple levels. On the most mundane plane, there is the question of what pushes us to eat, gather possessions, seek mates, and raise families. What drives are compelling us to engage in life?
A more rarefied question is: what gives life meaning? What underlying value systems keep us interested and make us feel that life is worth its many hardships?
Somewhere in between is the question of everyday motives. If we help others, are we acting in self-interest, hoping for future favors? Or do we work from the more laudable place of truly caring about the welfare of those around us? If we pursue a sexual partner, are we simply interested in carnal pleasure, or do we yearn for lasting connection with a life-partner?
Although religious systems have much to say about deeper motivational levels, healthy choices can also be pursued pragmatically. True, when we search within for our best purposes, they often have a spiritual flavor, and hover near the transcendent experience. But that doesn’t mean we can’t use either mystical or neuroscience terminology, according to our preference.
In the modern world of commerce, motivational purity (aka spiritual value) is quite often neglected if not outright derided. Not only are we suspicious of it, we also recognize that it places demands on our lifestyle. If we were truly spiritually/motivationally fit, if we obeyed our most heartfelt tendencies, we might consume less, give away treasure, and live more austere lives. This might be inconvenient not only for us as individuals, but also for family members who share our lifestyles. It is easier to push away the nagging conscience, and offer it tidbits via small acts of charity.
But only when we are faithful to our deepest motivational (spiritual) voice will we feel truly serene. As long as we are living lives that conflict with core values, we will experience unease in the heart. Whether we are working a job that harms the environment or doesn’t fit our personalities, or living in a relationship that’s not based on love, or consuming far beyond necessity, the heart knows and exacts its price in subtle discontent. We may think we have our lives all worked out, but we feel vaguely disturbed all the same.
We are trained in this culture to follow shallow goals and avoid looking too deeply at why we live as we do. We are trained to want the new car, the big house, the physically beautiful mate, without considering what might be best for our happiness, the planet, or our souls. But most people harbor within themselves a sense of the underlying purposes of their actions, and they know whether these are deep or shallow, helpful or harmful. It seems obvious that many people ignore their most profound inner voices, but I strongly suspect even the most successful executives and political leaders would be more at peace if they listened.
There is grave necessity to examine what calls us at our very center. If everyone on the planet opened themselves to these deepest stirrings, the one’s closest to the heart, greed and cruelty would diminish, wars would gradually cease, ecological destruction would abate. Yes, this is a naive viewpoint. But those who favored an end to slavery, or a start to women’s suffrage, or racial equality were all viewed as naive. Yet history has supported their visions. The time has come for the human race to look within, whether it seems practical or not.
Some people approach their center with prayer, others with formal meditation, others with long walks in nature. Each person finds his or her own path to the motivational/spiritual core. But this act is a vital part of true mental health on individual, domestic, community, and global levels.
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After an exceptionally traumatic upbringing, Will Meecham, MD, MA specialized in neurobiology during graduate school, and ophthalmology and reconstructive surgery during medical training. In 2000, neck disease prevented him from continuing to work as a surgeon. The collapse of his hard-earned career sparked major psychiatric symptoms, which were worsened by misdiagnosis and medication errors. The past decade has been a time of emotional, intellectual, and spiritual exploration into the ways people cope with childhood trauma, adult disappointment, and mental illness. Having rebuilt his life, he now works in a number of healing, writing, and speaking capacities to spread the message that recovery is within reach, and largely depends on openness, adaptability, and profound acceptance. More of his writings can be found at his personal website and blog, WillSpirit.com. |
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Guideposts to Happiness: What Lurks Within?
