Mental Health and Morality

source: teenmentalhealth.org

"The reason this happens to people all the time is because they leave their lives cluttered messes, and they don't take the chaos that they know is there and go through the work to turn it into something pristine and functional. And it does them in!

We don't see any recognition of this sort of thing in any of our psychotherapeutic models of causality. I think it's because we're not willing to take the ethical bull by the horns and understand that human health is a matter of moral action, perhaps more than it is a matter of anything else. And I think the reason we don't want to admit to that, or even to discuss it generally is because I don't think people want to think of their own lives in that manner, because it would burden them with too much responsibility. 

And so all the coverage, the pseudo-scientific objective clap trap that goes along with most of our diagnostic strategizing is a form of sin of omission designed to shield us from what we're doing that actually makes people sick."

Jordan Peterson

The Self Determined Creature

Who are you? 

Well, for starters, let's say you're a human being.

What is your greatest faculty, your greatest possession as a more or less normally equipped human being?

Is it not the Freedom to decide who you are?

What is the next greatest faculty?

Is it not Reason? Isn't it the capability to learn and grow  -  to mature in the use of your freedom?

You're a human being, you're free, and you can acquire the reason to best use such freedom.

Some will say, "Our freedom is an illusion." And, granted, when you look at things from the outside-in, everything seems to be pretty much subject to the currents of nature. But why, we ask, can we even conceptualize our own freedom? "That's an illusion as well," those same people will say. Then why, we ask, do we find our greatest sense of human dignity in not only a belief in our freedom, but in its proper practice? Why does the conscience rest when we choose in agreement with our highest values? And we do not, God knows, always choose according to our highest values.

"Well, it still does not necessarily make it so. It is only an evolved perception."

Alright then, so you do not really believe in freedom. We should test the usefulness of your truth. Let us go around convincing people they are unable to rise above their natural cravings  -  That, even if they think they can, or do, transcend what is natural, it is still only according to the greater, inescapable clockwork we comprise  -  along with so many other atoms of dead matter. Tell them that, because not all of their nurtured intentions are able to manifest themselves beyond their inner world, it is proof of their inability to truly choose. Most people are actually convinced of this, though they may wish differently. But, being convinced, they seek their freedom where it is not, and they do not find it. And, in not finding it, they become infuriated and depressed.

No wonder we do not see our two greatest faculties for what they are and we have no idea how to engage them! We are confused and skeptical about our Freedom, and in the supposed absence of our freedom how can the associated pursuit of a higher Reason be very valuable? Why would we seek to better use a faculty that does not, in the first place, exist? No, in stead we see freedom where it is not, or not at all whatsoever, and for a lack of reason we literally misuse ourselves. The real paradox becomes this: The only way in which an individual is bound, or not truly free, is in the ignorance of who they actually are.

In the end you have your freedom once you believe in it. "My god, now it definitely sounds like an illusion!" the skeptics are saying. And yet, are you totally free if your freedom is completely self-evident? Rather than illusion, it would appear moreso that the reach of your freedom is so great that you are able to decide whether you are captive and what you are captive to.

Your freedom is so great that you can decide whether you are free. Now that, I'd say, is a self determined creature.

Truths! Buy One,Get One Free Deal. (Available While Supplies Last)

In spite of my more recent educational focus (Metaphysics), I feel that for the past couple years I have somewhat underrated the "power of thought" in living. Largely this is because an overexposure to the materials of any subject can seem to cheapen anything of value found therein. The Priest becomes over-exposed to his sacred symbols. The worker becomes over-exposed to her work. Overindulged passions become only numbing. (Social networking sites like Pinterest and Facebook, compounded by the mass-marketing of the 'feel-good-quickly' aspects of the New Age, have gone a long way in contributing to this general depreciation of great truths.)

But if you really get quiet, start to bypass the arbitrary feel-good-isms, you'll eventually catch that kind of glimpse of the truth you can live from.

I recently finished a thorough read-through of James Allen's As a Man Thinketh. How inspired must he have been to write that! It inspires me, and it makes me proud to possess education in Metaphysical Practice, and yet humbled to possess technical status as a Minister in the New Thought field.

I don't want to deaden this by writing any more.

Autumn is Upon Us - About the Spiritual Seasons

With the turning of the summer into fall I got to thinking about a metaphor sometimes used by people when describing their general mood or feelings: The metaphor of the four seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter.

It might be a little cheesy, but it's nonetheless appropriate. Below I've written a summary for each season with hopes of clarity. In certain cases it has helped people to grasp their current, inner lot in life. The important thing to take note of is that, just as with nature, the seasons shift and change. And, just like nature, there are both intense and mild versions of each season. There are certainly droughts now and again, but occasionally there's an over-abundance of rain and the good harvest that follows. Our attitudes and circumstances change, our perspectives change  -  nothing is static.

So, which season are you in?

Springtime

The springtime of the soul usually begins with a general feeling of hope and renewal. The greatest spring times in one's life can be personally viewed as a rebirth. Circumstances in life might be described as receiving traction and response - positive or negative response hardly matters, because things are happening!

The spiritual Spring is always synced up with an emergence from spiritual Winter, perhaps a time of staleness or immobility. But now the rain comes, the flowers are promised to bloom, and you feel neither frigid nor thirsty. There are prospects in sight for both business and personal life, and you might feel like you're looking upon the world with a new set of eyes. Even aspects of your life that might have become monotonous are getting their flavour back, and gradually or suddenly everything is appearing worth it.

Summertime

The excitement of Spring has worn off, but you are thoroughly engaged in the activities of life. The promises you felt deep within are now coming to fruition to various levels, and you are experiencing them in reality, not in mere potential.

You may experience relative low points as you start to notice the perpetual grind of your routines. Certain unforeseen stresses and fears might be realized and become apparent. But the key here is energy  -  you still have what it takes to forge ahead and surmount those obstacles until the harvest season. Life is good, and despite the humps they are simply challenges which excite you because they contribute to learning and growing.

Autumn

Spiritual Autumn comes along with its episodes of restfulness. The "change in weather" makes certain levels of labour less possible. But Autumn is nevertheless synonymous with the eventful work of reaping what one has sewn in the previous seasons.

We begin to see our final harvest for what it really is, and we might begin to contemplate the processes which led to the benefits or drawbacks we're experiencing, or can see coming. At least contemplation and restful meditation are the positive ways we can make use of this season. Sometimes we forget to take the time, we forget to ease off of the mind-absorbing business of Summer and, come the following Spring, we make many of the same mistakes.

Wintertime

The harvest has all come in. We have what we have and we must make due. Winter is constituted by further rest, often viewed as a time when nature recedes, the animals move away or hibernate - and so too can the soul.

Now, by no means is the spiritual winter necessarily a bad season! If our harvest was good, we can spend the Winter in comfort and joy. If our spiritual harvest was poor, we might find the Winter drags on indefinitely and is downright difficult to endure. The bear who doesn't store up enough fat to sleep through the winter might find himself dreaming the entire time of nothing but hunger and thirst. And when Spring finally comes, it's all the harder to get going.

Whether the Winter is good or bad, it is a time when we can seem to do nothing else but reflect upon our circumstances. We're forced inside the chamber of our soul and must confront the present condition of our heart. And our heart will convict us of what has been right, or what has been wrong.

* * *

Unlike the seasons of nature, the spiritual seasons can turn over quickly, or perhaps very slowly. We may have an extremely short winter, a normal spring, and a long summer. Some individuals might cycle through all four of the spiritual seasons in the span of a week! But in the end the pattern is dependable.

It's very important we apply wisdom and live to honour our highest ideals. And such is a personal matter, an internal matter much more than an external one.

I hope these summaries help you to somewhat grasp your current feelings and, furthermore, help you to understand the nature of the season you can next expect. As always, contact me and let me know your thoughts!

(If you think a hard winter is on the way, I'm here to help.)

darren@minister.com

The Case of the Missing Appendix

Hey everyone. It's been the better part of a month now since I've written a blog post, and I just wanted to check in to say hello. There was a brief hiatus where I needed to get away from the digital writing format and mull a number of things over. Oh, and there was that appendectomy. But I'm on the tail end of the recovery!

So, for those of you who have been reading my posts in the past, just letting you know I'll be getting into the swing of things again.

If we haven't talked in awhile, say hello back (e-mail, or something) and let me know how you've been keeping!

Darren t.a

What is human life?

Not that the following fully represents my own thoughts on life, but it nonetheless represents such a tender, submissive, and graceful state of mind  -  that I'm sharing it with you to think on.

So what do you think of it?

From the autobiography of Frederick Locker Lampson

"I am so far resigned to my lot that I feel small pain at the thought of having to part from what has been called the pleasant habit of existence, the sweet fable of life. I would not care to live my wasted life over again, and so to prolong my span. Strange to say, I have but little wish to be younger. I submit with a chill at my heart. I humbly submit because it is the Divine Will, and my appointed destiny. I dread the increase of infirmities that will make me a burden to those around me, those dear to me. No! let me slip away as quietly and comfortably as I can. Let the end come, if peace come with it.

"I do not know that there is a great deal to be said for this world, or our sojourn upon it; but it has pleased God so to place us, and it must please me also. I ask you, what is human life? Is not it a maimed happiness  -   care and weariness, weariness and care, with the baseless expectation, the strange cozenage of a brighter to-morrow? At best it is but a froward child, that must be played with and humored, to keep it quiet till it falls asleep, and then the care is over."

"It's complicated."

Here's some helpful and simple advice about making personal decisions and discerning what is right to do  -  an occasionally painful and complicated matter. 

Many philosophers have said that we humans understand existence through three major avenues: Truth, Beauty, and Goodness.

Truth might be defined as what is real.

Beauty might be defined as what is meaningful or of a high quality (physically or mentally pleasurable.)

Goodness might be defined as what is fair, moral or noble.

Whether we're aware of it or not, we seek these three qualities out as we live our lives and set long term goals. Our understanding and appreciation of them inform our ideals and determine the values we recognize and hold dear.

The extra helpful thing about differentiating between the three is this: When we are confused about what to do in a given situation and finding the answer to one of the three fails us  -  for example it is not always easy to tell what is moral or noble   -  we can look to the other two. 

The more you resort to them as sources of motivation and guidance for action, the more you'll come to see how interrelated and synonymous they are. 

To illustrate, someone's actions might be angering us. In this case let's start with the Truth. (Shouldn't we always?)

So what is the Truth of the matter? Is our anger just? Is it selfish, or selfless? Is it too hard to tell? 

Then what is Good? Should we yell at them? Should we leave them be? What would be helpful to them while simultaneously leaving us with a clean conscience? Still too hard to tell? 

Well what would be the most Beautiful thing to do? Would it be beautiful if we flew off the handle and screamed at them? Or would it be more beautiful to meditate a moment and conjure a soft answer which turns away wrath? Would it be beautiful to avoid violence, conflict, and hostility? How can we contribute to a tranquil outcome? 

If there's a problem in your life, a decision you need to make regarding yourself or someone else which you're mulling over or anxious about, try this method. Isn't seeking Truth, Beauty and Goodness what we do in life, anyway? To me, it is the way one's soul looks for God and strives to be genuinely godlike. 

D