Mindfulness, Healing, and Purpose: The Core of Spiritual Psychology

Modern psychology focuses on various behavioral and cognitive approaches to resolve mental health issues in an individual. Spiritual psychology, also known as transpersonal psychology, on the other hand, focuses on the connection of one’s mind, body, and soul for overall development. Spiritual psychology aims to integrate traditional psychological practices and spiritual approaches and ultimately lead a human being toward self-realization and holistic development. Spiritual psychology doesn’t view a human as merely a physical being but a multidimensional entity with a soul that seeks continuous growth. It basically does not simply focus on finding solutions to various mundane problems like modern methods of psychology do, but it helps one to find their higher purpose.

The term ‘spiritual’ refers to what is beyond the consciousness of an ordinary being. It includes our identity, perceived self-worth, dignity, empathy for ourselves and others, and practical wisdom from real-life experiences rather than theoretical knowledge. It helps one to find meaning and purpose through one’s connection to spirituality. Spiritual psychology focuses on profound aspects of human existence and emphasizes one’s transformation to find a purpose in life. Moreover, it helps heal uncomfortable past experiences and connect an individual with their higher self to attain peace.

Historical Perspective on Spiritual Psychology

Spiritual psychology was the bane of early eastern and western philosophies of abnormal psychology. Both eastern and western perspectives emphasized the importance of spirituality and spiritual psychology in the overall well-being of a human being. 

Eastern Perspective

The Eastern philosophies regarding psychology focused on collectivism and cooperation. It focused on the holistic growth and integration of spiritual and philosophical dimensions. It also emphasized the importance of interdependence, collaboration, and sharing. Moreover, it promoted compassion and harmony among people. It included philosophies like Confucianism, Hinduism, Taoism, and Buddhism.

Read More: The Profound Context of Buddhism and Psychology

All these focused on attaining the core virtues in life, such as wisdom, truthfulness, humanity, and more. They also taught humans to not indulge in materialistic things since peace can’t be known when one is attached to cravings. Hinduism focuses on the path of no reincarnation as the goal and considers one’s return to this world after death (reincarnation) as a failure to achieve the ultimate knowledge of one’s self.

Western Perspective

The Western perspective of psychology applies an individual approach to well-being. It aimed towards focusing on self, personal freedom, and independence. This approach was more empirical and scientific than the Eastern perspective. This type of approach is used in modern psychology. It focuses on one’s liberty and happiness and is simple and deterministic. It includes philosophies like Christianity, Islamism, Athenian, and Judaism.

These philosophies mainly focus on two constructs – hope and uniqueness. They also highlight various virtues that should be possessed by a human being like faith, charity, gratitude, love, kindness, etc. Moreover, it also emphasized the importance of altruism and the need to seek peace.

Spiritual psychology has also evolved from various schools of psychology given by different renowned personalities. 

• Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchner’s structuralist theory emphasized that the mind is made up of different components, which can be studied through introspection. Introspection involves a person giving an account of their experience.
• Functionalism by William James studies the process of mind and behavior. Functionalists conducted scientific experiments on how learning, memory, motivation, etc. works rather than sticking to description and analysis like in structuralism.
• Behaviorism by John Watson focuses only on the measurable aspects of behavior, and the internal events do not play much of a role. It is believed that all behavior is a result of learning, and this learning can be altered only through environmental changes. Ivan Pavlov’s dog experiment was the most significant aspect of this school. It was further expanded by B.F. Skinner.
• A major shift took place with Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis, where it was believed that much of what we do and think results from urges and desires that seek expressions in thoughts and behaviors. These urges are unconscious motivations. 
• Abraham Maslow gave the hierarchy of needs, which included five hierarchies – physiological needs, safety needs, love and belongingness, self-esteem, and self-actualization. This was more of a theory rather than a working model, but it was a return to the spiritual aspect of one’s being and highlights self-actualization as the ultimate goal of a person.

Core Principles of Spiritual Psychology

There are various principles which an individual aims to attain through spiritual psychology. All these principles strive to achieve holistic growth and healing. Moreover, it connects us with the present and reduces our thoughts about the past and worries about the future which reduces anxiety. The various principles of spiritual psychology are

Awareness

Spiritual psychology promotes mindfulness as one of its primary practices. Mindfulness is a practice that helps us to stay in and focus on the present rather than constantly thinking about the past or the future, increasing anxiety, fearfulness, and uncertainty. Staying in the present helps a person to observe their thoughts, emotions, feelings, and behavior and effectively work on replacing maladaptive ones with adaptive ones. Mindfulness helps one to accept all these aspects without judgment and facilitates spiritual growth. It is referred to as ‘staying in the moment’ or being entirely conscious in the here and now. Three factors essential for practicing mindfulness are – attention, non-judgment, and awareness. 

Overall Perspective

Numerous modern perspectives of psychology and mental health focus only on the behavioral and cognitive aspects of a human being and focus on solving a particular problem. This approach fails to focus on numerous other aspects that may be the causing factors or root of these issues. Spiritual psychology, on the contrary, integrates one’s emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual dimensions. It believes that all these aspects of an individual are interconnected, and disruption in one affects the other dimensions as well. It aims towards harmony and balance between all these factors to ensure one’s holistic well-being and growth. 

Connection With The Divine

Spirituality believes in connection with something or someone more significant than all of us. This energy is universal and a higher power and the divine essence of our existence. It teaches us the importance of this connection and how it helps us to connect with ourselves on a deeper level. This connection provides a purpose and meaning to one’s life, inner peace, guidance to achieve one’s goals, and a sense of belongingness. It can be achieved through prayers, meditation, and mindfulness. Fostering this connection is a very crucial spirituality. 

Healing

We are all aware that counseling deals with healing the negative aspects of an individual and replacing them with a more positive and manageable outlook. According to spiritual psychology, true inner healing occurs when one resolves their inner conflicts and lets go of all their negative emotions towards oneself and others. To attain it, one is supposed to foster positivity, gratitude, and forgiveness and not let any negative emotions hamper other aspects. It emphasizes that these unresolved conflicts block one’s overall and spiritual growth. Healing these inner wounds is essential for achieving holistic development of a person and finding meaning to accomplish their purpose in life.

Evolution of the Soul

As mentioned previously, spirituality perceives a person as more than just a single entity but an integration of one’s mind, body, and soul. Therefore, a soul is supposed to evolve constantly. All the setbacks, failures, and challenges are viewed as learning opportunities for the soul, further leading to a holistic growth. It lays emphasis on experiencing these issues as a purposeful journey that contributes towards one’s self-realization and achievement of the ultimate goal. 

Practices in Spiritual Psychology

There are various methods and practices adopted by an individual to foster growth and healing. Some of these practices are

Mindfulness

Meditation and mindfulness are the most prominent methods used in spiritual psychology. It promotes inner peace and fosters the healing process. Mindfulness includes staying in the moment and focusing on the present. Thoughts about the past and worries about the future block the process of achieving overall and holistic well-being. This awareness gained through meditation and mindfulness enables humans to connect with their inner and true selves as well as higher consciousness.

Journaling

Journaling means to note down your thoughts, behavior, actions, and feelings and reflect on them. Journaling helps one to recognize the scope for learning and growth. It helps one to be aware of their thoughts and act accordingly if a similar situation presents itself again. Moreover, if one feels like they cannot share a particular aspect of their life with anyone, journaling becomes a good way for catharsis. 

Read More: The Connection of Journaling with Mental Health

Energy Healing

It is believed that energy flows through the human body. Energy healing aims towards balancing these energy levels and their flow. It significantly reduces stress and anxiety levels and elevates well-being. Various methods like Reiki, Chakra Balance, and Acupuncture are used for energy healing. While Reiki is not scientifically proven, it claims to calm one’s mind, regulate emotions, promote healing, increase compassion towards oneself, and enhance mental clarity. Acupuncture, on the other hand, stimulates the changes in the nervous system and balances biochemical changes to promote healing and emotional well-being.

Dream Analysis

The concept of dream analysis was originally given by Sigmund Freud. He saw dreams to be the gateway of unconsciousness. Freud’s psychoanalysis mainly focused on unconscious or repressed urges and believed that they manifest later in one’s life leading to maladaptive behavior. According to him, an appropriate interpretation of one’s dreams can give us a sense of their spiritual messages and provide insights into their spiritual journey.

Read More: How can Dream Analysis Shape Your Reality?

Visualization

Guided imagery and visualization help an individual explore their deepest desires and fears and deal with them effectively. This process is performed under the guidance of a trained professional who helps to create meaningful and goal-oriented scenarios. If one repeatedly visualizes their success and achievements, the behavior directed towards positive outcomes is reinforced, resulting in desired actions.

Conclusion

Spiritual psychology is a very transformative approach that is deeply rooted in our traditional methods of well-being. It does not just focus on finding a solution to the problem but rather on attaining overall and holistic well-being. It aims towards healing deeper wounds and connecting one with their higher self. It emphasizes that all aspects – mind, body, and soul are interconnected and affect each other.