Seeing our own faults
In my earlier post titled, “Our awareness” I mentioned that we notice what is important to us. If we value or believe something we will seek out information that confirms our point of view. We do this automatically but this narrows our field of view. It prevents us from seeing and accepting conflicting information.
I am sure that you know that it can be easier to see other’s faults rather than our own. Of course we don’t necessarily view ourselves in good light. Some people will view themselves as good and some will view themselves as bad. However you view yourself you are sure that your view is correct. It would be totally illogical to claim that I view myself as good but know for certain that I am bad. As I have stated before, it is not possible to believe that two contradictory views of the same thing are both factual.
Getting in touch with our spirit
We have a human side and a spiritual side. Most of the time we act in our human interest. But if we become more spiritual we can examine ourselves as if it is from an outside perspective. Our spiritual side connects with God who lives within us all.
The advantage of using our spirit to look at ourself is that our evaluation will be honest. We are looking into the depth of our soul where we have inbuilt knowledge of what is right and what is wrong. The fact that we know deep down that we are being honest about our faults means that we cannot refute them. We are unable to act in a defensive manner, as we would if we tried to deal with our issues at the human level. I dealt with this defensive reaction to self-criticism at the human level when I wrote my blog titled “Controlling anger”.
Once we accept that we do have faults our psyche will automatically adjust our behaviour. It’s a hard thing to do and calls for us to stay in touch with our spiritual side. We are unable to continue to knowingly and deliberately fail to meet God’s expectations if we remain in contact with Him (my last blog, “Hearing and connecting with God” refers).
I came to realise these things as a result of my epiphany. It was not something that I had appreciated before, as I was not someone who thought about spirituality. To me that was not a subject for technically minded people like myself. Although I saw spiritual people as inherently good I felt they were easily led by superstition and ignorance.
Our psychological beliefs
Most of us do little self reflection. We avoid seeking higher levels of awareness or consciousness. It’s just too hard, as we are busy coping with our everyday life. So our mind is focussed on how we can achieve more and better things in our life. The accumulation of knowledge, assets and wealth. There is little to no focus on spiritual development.
As I have stated we are in tune with what we see as important. At our most basic level we need to ensure our safety and survival. Our mind evolved to protect those needs. It is structured to protect not only our physical but also our psychological well being. We react automatically to external stimuli to protect our own beliefs and ego.
How we react to others
Often we react quickly and in the wrong way to what people say. We are judgemental and may become angry, hypercritical or sarcastic. These reactions are not good for your image so wait for a few seconds before you do react. This gives you time to evaluate and make a decision about how best to respond.
If someone speaks badly to you, even if they are being critical of you, don’t take it personally. You can only do this if you remember, “It’s not about me”. They may be having a bad day and going through a difficult time in their life. Appreciating this and reacting in a more sympathetic way is a better reaction. This will demonstrate your adherence to the second commandment, to “Love your neighbour as yourself”.
Having empathy is heart driven and moves you forward in your spiritual journey. You value others and this will bring you greater satisfaction and make the world a better place. It will also meet the need we all have to connect with something greater than ourselves.
Seeing ourself as part of a bigger picture rather than the picture is liberating. It allows us to view ourselves in a spiritual sense and detach from our human suffering. We become an observer of self and this detachment brings us an incredible sense of peace.
A similar perspective is held in Buddhism, which strives for an end to the cycle of suffering. Followers seek enlightenment as a means of reaching the ultimate state (Nirvana).
Other relevant views
Carl Jung was a well known Swiss psychiatrist who was a pioneer in the area of psychological analysis. He claimed that conscious thought is like an island arising from an unconscious sea.
Although he came from a religious family he did not fully subscribe to the Christian viewpoint. He sought to explain religious belief as something that arises out of the unconscious levels of human beings. He felt that spirituality was entirely due to the human psyche.
For this reason I was not going to include comment on Jung’s belief in this blog. I did choose to include some limited comment, however, as I feel that the psychological power of Christian belief is important to understand. The recognition of psychological effects is not an attempt to replace Christian belief. Christian belief extends further than just what happens within our human existence.
Some of Carl Jung’s relevant quotes are reported to be as follows:
- “We cannot change anything unless we accept it.”
- “People will do anything, no matter how absurd, to avoid facing their own souls.”
- “Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”
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