Most psychotherapeutic practices follow the basic methodology of A + B = C. This is a linear concept based on the rationalization that something terrible happened in your life (A). That event generated hurt feelings (B) which are now getting triggered by a current situation (C). Processing is focused on the past to draw speculative and clever assumptions regarding cause and effect ultimately assigning blame (someone did something to you) which therefore defines your well being through others and places your identity in the material world which, considering the world is chaotic, is frightening. Boundaries are designed to protect yourself against new abusers and a self-help perspective is installed with neurosis as the award because of the belief that if you can manage what you get from others you will be ok. The focus is on self and processing is never-ending (insert image of carrot in front of the donkey). The result is a full time job managing what you’re getting, what you’re not getting, all your reasons for your upsets while rehearsing boundaries in a constant state of uninspired self-absorption.
A spiritual practice fundamentally acknowledges two realms. The external realm, which consists of the material world (your body, your car, jobs, things, problems of the world, money, aches and pains, etc.), and the internal spiritual realm which is abstract and immaterial but defines our experience (love, joy, fear, loneliness, inspiration, grief, etc.). In a spiritual walk, you are less important. It is your need to be important, and to get what you want, that that causes suffering and pushes God away. You don’t heal by getting what you want in the world. Your healing comes from connecting to the Divine (God), which places your identity out of the world; it is an act of transcendence. You don’t need to be clever and you don’t get to blame the problems of the world for your suffering. By surrendering your self-centeredness (sin), you receive healing from God. In other words, the cause of your suffering is your brokenness and you are broken in a way that only God can heal. There is no self-help. Boundaries, which reinforce victimhood, are traded for prayers, which allow for letting go (of upsets) and protect you from evil (that which distracts your from God). Instead of processing for years, healing can be radical and instantaneous. You must let go of the life you think you deserve to receive the life that God has planned for you. Inspiration, meaning, purpose, clarity, and a genuine service to others is the result. Grace, which is a divine gift, is the experience of sublime regardless of the chaos in the world.
(Btw, I know talented psychotherapists that combine both beautifully.)
#mindset
