Category: Religion and Virtues
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Admissions in Practices of Psychiatry and Psychology You do not know everything. I know, big shocker, right? Even if we deny the spiritual entirely, there are still things in any given case which are unknown and, perhaps, unknowable. A person’s obsession with things to gain power may be labelled as “narcissism,” but it could also…
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Moderating Mutual Denials Using Partial Language Language has the power to shape the cultural psychology. The words we use describe reality and reconstruct it. “Illness” in itself is a frame upon which we hang a perceived problem to be solved; “spiritual influence” on the other hand invites us to consider forces beyond ourselves. Both terms…
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Balance Despite Material Obsession A modern spiritual framework accepts the notion that mental phenomena can arise from interactions with forces beyond our visibly manifest material reality. Possession is such an influence upon our minds, causing reactions we cannot comprehend in the mere material. The key here, as in so many things, is moderation. Such a…
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Mental Reduction of Illness Let’s discuss the belief that all mental phenomena can be explained through biological or environmental causes. This is not a new idea; it is the bedrock of modern psychiatry, neuroscience, and psychology. To label something as “mental illness” is to place it within the realm of what can be measurably studied,…
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Mental Illness Versus Possession What is it we call “mental illness,” and what is meant when we speak of “possession?” These represent entirely different frameworks: two lenses through which we attempt to interpret the vast and often inscrutable terrain of the mind. Each lens offers its own advantages, yet both carry limitations that must be…
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God’s Moderation Over Idolatry’s Extremes An unmistakable pattern that emerges over generations is that of the tendency for goals outside God’s realm to veer into extremes. These goals need not be against God per se, but rather untethered from divine wisdom and empowering the self. Imagine planting seeds in your garden. If you water too…
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Gifts From God and Their Outcomes Imagine if every question was answered as immediately as it was asked, and where no one ever doubted anything. Would this not be a meaningless prison of certainty? Then let us here consider the interplay between grace and reason, for theses are not opposites but complementary forces that work…
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To Look Beyond Ideations Let us now turn our attention to scepticism, which is too often cast as mere doubt rather than the tool of discovery it is. In a world where ideas have become idols, scepticism becomes the break from their chains enabling us to seek greater things. The more we question, the more…
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Divine Love in Everything The only absolute that can truly satisfy the human soul is God’s Love. For what is an absolute if not something that remains unchanged? Even in the face of all uncertainty. Relativism and subjectivity are the rule of the day, yet truths transcend our own desires, fears, and short lives. The…
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Leadership in Doing Good Instead of Shmolitics Hope is a choice, just as much as despair, but there is always the underlying reason for hope or despair: where our faith and biases rest. A bias toward life is more than just optimism; it’s an active choice to focus on possibilities rather than limitations. Be proud…