The Sunday Mail
Mertha Mo Nyamande
DOES psychology and spirituality ever converge?
This week’s article focuses on the core of what makes us human (our psyche), the very aspect that psychology (psyche-ology) is all about. This is the study of the psyche, which leads to human behaviour.
While behaviour is what we all see, there is much more that goes on beyond it that we tend to ignore or misinterpret, let alone even understand.
Let us explore for a moment some of the invisibles around us — love, relationships, peace, kindness, unity, joy, confidence, belonging, et cetera.
All these seem mysterious invisibles that constitute the “spirit” or the “soul”. This makes the exploration of the issue even more intriguing.
The problem is how we question the unquestionable. How do we question belief without being disrespectful of the very core of our being?
How can we question or challenge our parents’ teachings? This is even despite us having doubts about their infallibility.
Philosophy has remained controversial among believers of different faiths, yet it questions the very answers they proffer.
If I challenge the very thing you know to be true, what is likely to be your response, that is, if you do not punch me? Yet again, belief is power and the most committed win. We believe in something because it comes from a source we trust.
Think of an illiterate parent who teaches their child something. The child gets information from their own illiterate parents whom they trust without questioning.
The biggest problem with ignorance is an emotional response (especially aggression) as I cannot back up anything I am saying.
Ignorance is, therefore, closely linked to aggression and violence for this very reason.
Let us put this into perspective. Someone with a doctorate can be just as ignorant as someone who cannot even read, especially in areas outside their field of study.
The fact that they hold a doctorate almost always allows them specialist opinion in almost everything and anything they care to comment on. This is the first flaw of our reputable sources. My opinion almost becomes fact because I have committed it to print and allowed it to be quotable.
Those who really know are often too humble to share their views, leaving us the empty vessels to make the loudest noises.
Now, that leads me to the natural question that follows this line of enquiry: Who grants me the honour to say what I want. In addition, who grants them that?
This is why religion challenges any philosophical inquiry into anything faith attributes to a supreme being. Can you question any authority — the church, Government or your parents’ teachings without sounding ungrateful or arrogant — without appearing rude?
Doesn’t that lead us astray as it seems to have ulterior motives?
Psychology and spirituality stem from the same core of humanity, and that is our belief. All we see has been made possible in the first instance by the belief that it is possible.
The further off our belief is from our reality determines our level of wellness.
Belief is, therefore, the foundation of all that is seen and our very destiny.
The hierarchy is: belief, thought, emotion, behaviour, habit, character, personality, opportunity and destiny.
Seek to align your beliefs with your reality as much as possible, for all wealth, peace and joy lie within.
Mertha Mo Nyamande is a psychotherapist. He can be contacted on: [email protected] or @ www.i-wellbeing.weebly.com
