Human spirituality is all-inclusive; it is not constrained. When we abandon the mystical aspect, or nature of things, we have done ourselves a disfavour. We have punctured, or debased, our own belief in a miracle called life
Our life is like the seasons. It is simple; it is complex; it is also, at times, tetchy. Yet, in the midst of happiness and chaos, it is as exciting as a nail-biting Twenty20 cricket match. One also gets the feeling sometimes that everything in life is happening at the same time - change of job, accommodation, children's education, or marriage, improved finances, health and ill-health. It happens that one of us in the family could be at a different plane too, while someone else may be at an equally different level. The key thing is one should recognise what we are going through - to bring balance. If we don't, we get emotionally remote. This triggers anxiety; also, stress.
Our life is like cycles of several seasons overlapping one another. The only way we can bring stability is by way of a connect - we need to connect with ourselves and with others around us. This is part of a set of scales, or balance - because, our sense of spirituality forms the pivot on which relationships, values and also purpose in life are all established. This includes all things that cannot be fully explained, although we may not, at times, comprehend the unique 'connect' that exists between us and divinity.
Each of us, likewise, is unique and as distinct as our signature. This and other equally characteristic features, viz., our temperament, likes and dislikes, including our idiosyncrasies, define each of us. They include our mystical side of spirituality - of all the experiences and happenings that we know happened, because we experienced them. Carl Gustav Jung, the legendary psychiatrist, called this synchronicity, a 'jig of faith,' or mysterious occurrence.
Jung's explorations provide the grist to explaining the thinking mind as the conscious mind - one that discards "that which it does not understand." He, therefore, chose not to reject it. His credo - just because we don't comprehend something, at some point in time, does not give us the permit to dismiss it as claptrap. Jung's perceptive interpretation reverberates the words of philosopher-theologian St. Augustine, "Miracles do not happen in contradiction to nature, but in contradiction to what we know about nature."
Well, the point is - human spirituality is all-inclusive; it is not constrained. When we abandon the mystical aspect, or nature of things, we have done ourselves a disfavour. We have punctured, or debased, our own belief, or conviction, in a miracle called life, or living. Remember, mystical experiences happen in modern life, just as much as it did long ago. It is as common as political, or sports triumphs, or successful sales calls.
All of us, likewise, experience the portent of an intuitive dream - one that predicts an outcome that actually occurs days later. This is not just your story; it is just as much mine, too. We have heard of innumerable tales celebrating the present-moment, not the wonders of a distant past, or futuristic, event. This is akin to searching for cosmic signs on the path of spiritual development, or looking for pointers to deciphering the labyrinthine mysteries of life. It is all part of the jigsaw puzzle - not the actual portrait. Yet, it is a component of everyone's life. To experience it, you need not be a mystic. You just need an open mind and also the willingness to embracing the mysteries of life without the need to fully understanding the 'hows' and the 'whys' of the cosmos.
The 'mindful' realm of psychology connects our emotions, likewise, to feelings. It encompasses a triad of natural responses - viz., actions, cognitive processes and physiological feelings. They trigger the question as to whether one should include motor acts, or muscle systems, within the framework. This is, of course, a vexing equation - with no easy answers. A school of thought, or one amicable 'mode' out of the impasse, suggests that we should trust our mind to perceive the first form of our responses through restrained thought built on a set of scales as also ideas. This, in more ways than one, augments the strength of our emotions.
The idea of security, by the same token, is, yet again, well ensconced in the human mind - right from infancy to old age. In contrast, there is a school of thought too that does not fancy human imagination, but places its argument on dependable, observable facts, where causes, consequences and contextual constraints can be examined. This is analogous to the Baconian paradigm of separating the chaff from the grain, or peeling the truth from the inside out.
It is agreed that we need reliable facts before we analyse, or distil, anything, including experiential work. This is because, for every intellectual effort, from the arts to the sciences, we ought to balance ideas, theory and truth. One can checkmate a new supposition, yes, but one cannot disregard certain eternal truths that have stood the test of time - notwithstanding the fact that we have come a long way from the old to the dazzling present, the age of stupendous scientific and technological advance.
The chip has sure revolutionised our life - ever thought about its humble origins, or how our natural sciences first evolved and progressed? You know it, don't you - that the greatest of inventions have often been results of accident? If Benjamin Franklin and the Swiss chemist Friedrich Miescher had not been not alert to possibility - thunderstorms and lightning and DNA - their work might have taken a long time to reaching fruition.
What does this signify? That life is a process. It relates to transforming troubles with a new set of initiatives and not getting overwhelmed, or marooned by trepidation, pain, or grief. Rather, it is a progression towards recognising opportunities and elevating our conscious awareness. This is what that 'revs-up' our inner strength in everything we do. It also brings about a sense of balance to our existence.
Nidamboor is a wellness physician, independent researcher and author