Are greed, arrogance, and the like not diseases that cause great suffering? The cure to these diseases are billion dollar answers, yet the current mainstream approach to psychology cannot explore these effectively. I believe psychology is currently being built on an underdeveloped framework. We study the self in relation to almost every imaginable variable, yet we do not even know what the self truly is. We are worse than psychiatrists who gamble with drugs, hoping for symptom alleviation. We claim to study the ocean, but stop at the sight of algae, mistaking it for the entire ocean. We then cluster the algae into the Big Five personality traits, attempting to fix their defects by changing their colour from light green to dark green, or from green to blue. In reality, the solution to our problems lies not in shifting hues of the algae, but in diving below the algae to experience the vast interconnectedness of the ocean itself.
If we could free dive beneath that surface layer, the so-called “problems” we are obsessed with would vanish, revealing a deeper understanding of the real issues worth addressing. We are confined by our obsession with superficial changes, like tinkering with shades of green at the surface. But beneath that, there is an entire ocean, an interconnected reality we have barely begun to explore. From that awakening, the problems we thought were significant would lose their importance, and a new set of meaningful questions would emerge. We would realize that it is not about changing the colour of hue of the algae, but about clearing it up altogether to reveal our shared inner light of joy.
Lately, I have been engaging with sacred texts from around the world that are being newly translated into English. Through this exploration, I have discovered a realm of psychiatry so profound that it makes mainstream Western approaches seem shallow by comparison. Here in the West, we often fail to realize just how deep our ignorance goes. When schools of thought like transpersonal psychology emerge, they are often dismissed without consideration. Implementing sacred wisdom into therapeutic policies remains an uphill battle, fraught with political resistance.
Perhaps the solution is to connect with others who genuinely understand the value of this kind of inquiry. Engaging in this research has been, and will continue to be a lifelong pursuit for me, as it ties together my interests in transpersonal psychology with practical clinical applications. However, considering the limitations of mainstream research, I may choose to leave psychology and continue personal explorations. More to come…
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