Week 3 - Anna Le
In class, we were asked about how the western world could meet in the middle with spirit realm. The question made me feel frustrated because I believed that in Western mainstream science, there would be no room for studying spirituality. If it did, then it would be the implications of spirituality on health, but the origins of these spiritual practices and teachings would then be watered down for contemporary means or shoved aside as pseudoscience.
This idea was mentioned in the article by Oman & Singh (2016) where mindfulness which was originally a Buddhist concept has been watered down and distilled, leaving out important Buddhist concepts that could very well benefit spiritual, physical, and mental well-being (p. 6). I have used mindfulness as a way to integrate my spiritual interests into my career goals, but I knew that the scientific and mainstream understanding of mindfulness was lacking in depth and it felt superficial. When one understands the rich teachings that underly these practices, I think that a person could better achieve a more wholesome level of health (physical, mental, and spiritual). I believe that having a religious or spiritual understanding could bring the depth needed to change one's life. Without it, I think the everyday person who stumbles upon mindfulness would easily dismiss it or find it hard to do. Mindfulness is a practice that aims to silence "the ego" or the mind from self-identifying. There's a belief that self-identification with one's thoughts or feelings is what leads to suffering. If you understand mindfulness from a Western point of view, then mindfulness is more of a practice that you have to force yourself to do in your busy life to reduce stress. The keyword is "reduce stress" and that is all it is for Western society, but the origins of mindfulness make it much more. You don't silence your mind just to reduce stress or suffering, but to help you self-realize that you are much more than just suffering.
I generally really liked this article as it gave me hope that there is room for spirituality in contemporary science and that the article highlighted the importance of "self-evidencing" or to look at examples of those who have religious/spiritual experiences and analyze and combine these experiences into a "cumulative argument" (p. 3). I hope that I can make a career or a living out of spirituality and that the world has a place for me to express my passion. This week I struggled with doubts and fear concerning my own spiritual experiences versus that of rationality, science, or "others". I often dismissed myself because I thought that the rest of the world would call me crazy or delusional, so I never spoke up and/or downplayed my experiences. I felt that Western Science is now our current God, so I should discern my own sense of reality to that of science, but after seeing the quote from Gandhi, I started to feel otherwise. "I can say this, that not the unanimous verdict of the whole world against me could shake me from the belief that what I heard was the true Voice of God” (p. 34). I have been philosophically debating myself about this in my head for the past week (even though this internal fight happened even before this week), because of this quote, I could at least put this debate to rest.
References:
This idea was mentioned in the article by Oman & Singh (2016) where mindfulness which was originally a Buddhist concept has been watered down and distilled, leaving out important Buddhist concepts that could very well benefit spiritual, physical, and mental well-being (p. 6). I have used mindfulness as a way to integrate my spiritual interests into my career goals, but I knew that the scientific and mainstream understanding of mindfulness was lacking in depth and it felt superficial. When one understands the rich teachings that underly these practices, I think that a person could better achieve a more wholesome level of health (physical, mental, and spiritual). I believe that having a religious or spiritual understanding could bring the depth needed to change one's life. Without it, I think the everyday person who stumbles upon mindfulness would easily dismiss it or find it hard to do. Mindfulness is a practice that aims to silence "the ego" or the mind from self-identifying. There's a belief that self-identification with one's thoughts or feelings is what leads to suffering. If you understand mindfulness from a Western point of view, then mindfulness is more of a practice that you have to force yourself to do in your busy life to reduce stress. The keyword is "reduce stress" and that is all it is for Western society, but the origins of mindfulness make it much more. You don't silence your mind just to reduce stress or suffering, but to help you self-realize that you are much more than just suffering.
I generally really liked this article as it gave me hope that there is room for spirituality in contemporary science and that the article highlighted the importance of "self-evidencing" or to look at examples of those who have religious/spiritual experiences and analyze and combine these experiences into a "cumulative argument" (p. 3). I hope that I can make a career or a living out of spirituality and that the world has a place for me to express my passion. This week I struggled with doubts and fear concerning my own spiritual experiences versus that of rationality, science, or "others". I often dismissed myself because I thought that the rest of the world would call me crazy or delusional, so I never spoke up and/or downplayed my experiences. I felt that Western Science is now our current God, so I should discern my own sense of reality to that of science, but after seeing the quote from Gandhi, I started to feel otherwise. "I can say this, that not the unanimous verdict of the whole world against me could shake me from the belief that what I heard was the true Voice of God” (p. 34). I have been philosophically debating myself about this in my head for the past week (even though this internal fight happened even before this week), because of this quote, I could at least put this debate to rest.
References:
- Oman, D. & Singh, N.N. Psychol Stud (2018) 63: 172. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12646-016-0362-x
Comments
Post a Comment