Religion vs. Psychology
Spirituality and psychology are two complex subjects to discuss and they become even more complicated when you try to relate one to the other. Psychology deals with the processes of sense perception, thinking, learning, cognition, emotions and motivations, and personality, focusing on the behavior of individuals. Spirituality, on the other hand, is all inclusive. "Spirituality is living one's life from the realization that the body/mind/ego personality we have been taught to identify with is just the tip of our iceberg, our little head sticking through the window of the senses into this world, whereas our true body is the universe. It is recognizing that our perceived world is mostly an illusion, a shared dream we are asleep in, and that the goal of life is to awake to our real Self which is vast and multidimensional--already intimately connected with all of creation, with a twin shadow self that is already scripted, mostly primitive, and hidden from us, but that this whole Self is already One with this mystery we call God/dess whose essence can hardly be understood, but to which we give names as Eternal Wisdom, Ultimate Reality, Birther of all Life, S/he Who Is, etc." So, how can someone take two complex subjects and use one to enhance the other in their life? Is it possible to use a school of psychology to enhance the spiritual life of a person? By analyzing one school of psychology (Rational Emotive Therapy) and by focusing on how it can keep one from focusing on negative and selfish thoughts/acts, how it can make one focus on the things that matter most in life, and how it can help one in spreading a positive way of living, we will see that it is possible for RET to enhance our spirituality. However, we must first learn what RET is all about.
Rational Emotive Therapy is amazingly simple. All it entails is for an individual to perform self analysis on their way of thinking and to eliminate all the grandiose words from their vocabulary. By taking the musts,
Rational Emotive Therapy is amazingly simple. All it entails is for an individual to perform self analysis on their way of thinking and to eliminate all the grandiose words from their vocabulary. By taking the musts,
References: 1. Baute, Paschal. Theological Library. Lexington, KY. Jan 95 2. Ellis, Albert. Better, Deeper, and More Enduring Brief Therapy. Brunner/Mazel. New York. 1996 3. Ellis, Albert and Harper, Robert. A New Guide to Rational Living. Prentice-Hall Inc. New Jersey. 1961